The Book Surgeon

Brian Dettmer uses surgical knives and other tools to turn old books into remarkable, fantastical...things. They remind me a little of something I posted a few months ago, about the Tree of Codes. Have a look at this blog to see more images of Dettmer's work.

Why you shouldn't plagiarise...

It might come back to haunt you! Saying you are too busy running a government ministry is no excuse...

Narrating History: Undergraduate Conference

Koç University has organised an undergraduate conference on the theme of Narrating History, to be held on May 12th. I know some of you were thinking about putting in proposals to present a paper at the Bilkent conference - if you didn't manage to do that, maybe you could do this instead.  If you are doing a dissertation that fits this topic, presenting your research at this conference might be an excellent idea. 

Again, I'm happy to help anyone who wants to put together a proposal. Here is what Koç says about the conference: 

This one-day conference will allow undergraduate students to present any academic work that deals with the issue of how historical events are narrated through both fictional and non-fictional writings, films, photography, and other forms of media and fine arts.

This is an excellent opportunity to interact with students from across Istanbul in a relaxed atmosphere.  By presenting your research you will also gain valuable experience that will be useful in job searches and graduate programs.  Come join us for a great day of food, fun and scholarship!

Students will present a 7-8 page paper or a powerpoint presentation, in English, for 20 minutes, on any aspect of history and narrative.  If you are interested, please submit a one-paragraph summary of your work to edebiyat@ku.edu.tr by March 15, 2011.  This conference is open to all universities and departments. Complete panels (up to four participants) are also accepted.

 Some Specific Examples:

-Personal histories: diaries, auto/biographies

-Ethics and the writing of history

-History in textbooks

-Historiography

-Historical sites in fiction

-Remembrance and Representation

-Travel writings

Or any topics that are related to narrating history are welcome.

More Dylan Thomas / Catch-up class

Here's a link to the BBC Wales website's pages on Dylan Thomas. There are  interviews, introductions to some of his other poems, and various other material you might find interesting and/or useful, including a series of links to other good websites on Thomas.

I've also created a doodle poll to decide when next week we will hold the catch-up class. Please enter your details by Friday morning, and I'll then email everyone Friday afternoon to let you know when the class will take place.

The Sublime and the Picturesque

As promised, here are some images to illustrate these aesthetic concepts, which we discussed today. Firstly, let's take the picturesque. There is a very helpful webpage about the picturesque here, and here are two images by William Gilpin, the father of the picturesque:

Notice in this  first image the ruins, the rocky hill, the tree jutting over the river - all typical elements of the picturesque.

The second image is certainly a picturesque scene, but we might also argue that it has elements of the sublime: those hills rising into the distance, the heavy, threatening sky, the mist that obscures the details.

For a real taste of the sublime, though, we should turn to the artist John Martin. He's a bit of a late Romantic - most of his pictures are painted in the 1830s and 1840s. Perhaps for that reason, he sometimes seems to be trying TOO hard to be sublime (and perhaps ends up just being silly or ridiculous, and thus not sublime at all). Still, his art illustrates the concept of the sublime very nicely. And - guess what? It's Milton again! Here's Martin's picture of The Fallen Angels Entering Pandemonium:

Probably the greatest Romantic painter of the sublime was the German, Caspar David Friedrich. It's really worth getting to know his work, which often features mysterious ruins (the picturesque transformed into the sublime) or spectacular, awe-inspiring landscapes. You might have already seen this image, which is often used to illustrate the idea of the solitary Romantic artist high on a mountain peak:

Another wonderful example of the sublime is The Wreck of The Hope, below. Here human endeavour is mocked by the terrifyingly huge sheets of ice which have crushed and entrapped the ship, which is now only just visible. Can you see it?

You can see an excellent slideshow of his work here.

I hope that helps clarify these concepts and gives you an idea of the work they generated and help to explain - feel free to ask any questions by adding a comment below, or by sending me an email (or simply ask me in class).

Dracula's Guest

Dracula's Castle

Exciting news! I've just discovered that the BBC is dramatizing Dracula for radio, in seven parts. You can listen to the first episode here. It's only available until next Thursday, however, so listen soon. There is also a BBC radio dramatization of 'Dracula's Guest', a chapter Bram Stoker initially intended for Dracula, but which was later published separately as a short story. You can find the text of the story here.

Jane Eyre - which edition?

Unfortunately nowhere seems to have the Oxford World's Classics edition of Jane Eyre in stock. I've therefore decided to stick with the Collins Classics edition, which is widely available from D&R, and elsewhere. We shall use this in class, ignoring or defacing the awful cover and introduction.  If you have a different edition, that's fine, but I'll give references to page numbers in the Collins. I'll also point you towards other good introductions to the novel elsewhere.

Pandora are ordering good numbers of the Oxford World's Classics editions of Dorian Gray and Dracula, so we'll use those when the time comes. 

See you tomorrow (if you are reading this on Thursday)!