The End is Nigh...

Hi everyone.

Phew! Things have really been heating up, with the result that blog posts have been few and far between these past few weeks. I'll be picking up the pace prior to your exam, though, so keep checking back.

This week marked our last official class together. As I mentioned to you, it really will be the last class, as I won't be returning next semster. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sad about that.

Never fear, though, I won't be dumping you in the deep end just yet! First, lets get through this exam period together. I'll be posting loads of tips, revision and some poetry reminders over the next 2 weeks - check in regularly to take advantage of this.

As a special offer to blog readers/students, I'm offering an EXTRA CLASS on Tuesday 21st April in LR 27 at 11:30. Be there with questions on the course and be ready to cram some of the poetry we didn't make it to. I'll also be posting one or two thoughts on Madonna of Excelsior on this site afterwards.

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As an end-of-semester event, I suggested we go and see Decadence at the Intimate Theatre in town in the first week of May. It's horridly expensive - R60 - so not for everyone, but for those who'd like to join, I can guarantee it'll be a goodie. Here are details:

This naughty little number is a feast for all the senses. Sex, temptation, indulgence, and glorious extravagance meet desire and a touch of murder.

Steven Berkoff’s comment on British society traces the sensual exploration of two couples’ hysterical love affairs and unusual fetishes. DECADENCE comments on the complex dynamics of mans’ relationships not only with the opposite sex, but with food and copious amounts of money. Helen, Steve, Sybil and Les have seemingly nothing in common, except for their apparent inability to resist temptation...

This risqué story of love and obsession, written by infamously mischievous Steven Berkoff, is performed by Scott Sparrow and Emily Child, and directed by acclaimed comedic expert Christopher Weare. It runs from the 29th April – 16th May at the appropriately named Intimate Theatre on 37 Orange Street Cape Town.

Emily and Scott are ridiculously talented (and ridiculously hot). If you want to come, you should bring money to class on Tuesday and I'll book on the spot for you. The theatre is on the UCT drama campus in town (Orange Street, opposite the Mount Nelson).

Friends, Students, Theatregoers!

Whilst the fabled ides of March may have come and gone, Qaphela Caesar is still running at Hiddingh until friday. A combination of the schools of dance, drama, music and film, it's a pretty spectacular production. Hardly any of the original Shakespeare makes it into the show, with text being interpreted mainly through movement and music.So what can you expect? Half naked women in duct tape doing dances with fire extinguishers, full-body painted men doing choreographed dances with playing cards and black leather shoes, not to mention rather interesting combos of togas and high heels. And that's just for starters. Go and see it - it's a legal mind-altering experience.

We’re back!

…and I’m sure you missed me dreadfully. Unfortunately, we hit a bit of a snag these past 2 weeks, as hyper active VC internet filters cut our access to the blog. But, after fighting the good fight, I’ve managed to get us up and running. You can thank me in chocolate (or, better yet, first class essays).

Also, hello there to the little cluster of non-Cape Townian readers we’ve sprouted! I've had three emails from non VC students...and that's just this week. Although I unfortunately won’t be able to critique your essays and work like I do with my own students, you’re very welcome to work along with us. You're also very welcome to leave comments on the posts.

So, what’s been happening at VC Cape Town?

Macbeki, for one. Fifteen of us went on Tuesday night and watched Macbeth…SA style. It was many things – overly long and hard to hear, yes, but highlights included the disgruntled ‘previously advantaged’ porter, Macbeki’s overly-zealous verbal referencing and Lady Manto’s drunken “come, you spirits” speech. Let’s do it again!

On an academic front, boy have we hit crunch time, people. Midterms, essay deadlines and the pressure of reading the novels in time has taken hold. REMINDER: you are writing your English midterm on Friday 20th March, the same day your two UNISA essays are due. It's a lot to juggle, but please don't drop any of those balls.

On that note, come and talk to me if you feel things are getting to you, ok? I promise to only get slightly mad to hear you still haven’t bought the book, etc. Rather let’s fix it while we’ve got time than stick our heads in the proverbial sand. It’s only going to get crazier.

Of course, there are some things I can't do for you: attend class for you, read your novels for you, make your notes. If you're not doing that....eish, sweetheart.

I'll post a couple of assignment hints this weekend for you. Check this space!

Hope for More than Just Refugees

First thing’s first. We have an ESSAY EXTENSION – your 2 essays are now both due on the 20 March. This means both your essay on Karen Press' Hope for Refugees and the essay on your choice of the three novels will be due on the same date.

This does not mean that you should leave them until then! Rather start them now and use the next week to show me your drafts (as some people already have). Remember, you’ll have a lot more work coming up around that time (like your midterms!). Speaking of midterms, come and fetch an exam timetable from me if you haven't already got one. You write ENN101 on March 20th - the exact same day your essays are due. Easy on the memory, hard on the execution.

We had a nice long chat about the poetry essay in class this week. You seemed to have a lot of anxiety over where to start your analysis, but I reminded you that you actually know more than you think about poetry. In fact, when it comes to understanding the subtleties of language, rhythm and sound effects, you already have all the ‘answers’ – you just need to identify the right questions to ask yourself. After I handed out some guiding questions for you, this turned out to be the case. Glorious! Remember to come and see me, though, if you want to run your essay by me…or if you want help coming up with more questions!

Some further tips for writing a first-class essay:

1 - Don't waste space talking about 'what the poem is about'. Even worse, don't spend pages talking about the context of the refugee situation in South Africa. Although you might want to reference both of these topics, keep them short and to-the-point. In general, your essay should be more focussed on the POEM itself - think of yourself as a scientist dissecting and tweezing apart each little word, sentence contruction and image and sticking it under the microscope. Your essay should be a CLOSE EXAMINATION of the text, first and foremost. If you follow the headings I suggested you talk about (form, rhythm, word choice, imagery etc), you should stay away from the pitfalls of going off topic. Use this extra time to really craft your poetry essay! I look forward to reading them.

2 - Don't confuse the POET (the fabulous Karen Press) and the SPEAKER (unknown person whose attidude and views are complex and worth investigating).

3 - Always follow through on your three golden questions of critical anlaysis (WHAT do I notice that is different and interesting? WHAT EFFECT does this create in me the reader? WHY might the poet have wanted to create this effect?). Stopping half way through will almost always undermine your argument.

4 - QUOTE from the text to support your arguments. If you're trying to show show how a particular line creates a certain meaning, quote it. It's hard to make meaning out of an abstract concept. Show it off, parade it about and, above all, make it work for you.

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So, what else did we do?

Well, for one thing, we discovered that pretty much everybody needs to brush up on their Heart of Darkness plot knowledge.

Read. Read, or I'll throw more than marshmallows at you next time.

We chatted about the concept of Empire, power and representation. I asked you to get into the mindset of a white, British man at the height of Empire....temporarily. This was to understand the rhetoric (ways of talking) and world view that the novel would be set against. It's often hard for students to see just how revolutionary and before his time Marlow's perspective on colonisation is, so hopefully remembering this exercise will help to clarify that for us.

Hopefully I'll be seeing many of you on Saturday, at the 'Infecting the City' outing. Wear comfortable shoes - we'll be doing a lot of running between venues - and bring a camera!

PROGRAMME

At 9:30am, we will be meeting in Church Square (corner of Adderley and Bureau Streets – behind the Old Slave Lodge) to watch Limbo – a new collaborative work about today’s immigrants that dangles breathtakingly above the square where white slave-owners used to buy foreigners.

We will then move to Thibault Square (corner of Riebeeck and Long Streets, opposite the SARS tax office) where, at 10:30am, we will watch Amakwerekwere. “Amakwerekwere” is a derogatory South African term to describe African immigrants and, as such, this piece explores the issue of xenophobia.

At 11:15am, we move to the Adderley Street Fountains, where we’ll see Exile - a work about loss that haunts Cape Town’s iconic fountains while the traffic circles.

At 12 noon we will head over for the launch event in Riebeeck Square (corner of Shortmarket and Bree streets)– Turning into the Void. Sponsored by Red Bull, this vast animated sculpture hangs suspended from a crane against Cape Town’s dramatic skyline.

Have a great weekend,

C

PS 71 students have put their names down for Macbeki so far. SEVENTY ONE. (R28, March 10th). Just call me Ms Marketer.

Who are YOU? Identity, Othering and Difference

This week, we talked about REPRESENTING DIFFERENCE.

We used travel photography (mine!) and travel tales (yours!) to understand how we unconsciously construct cultures in terms of difference.






1 - Action snap in Vietnam as I see what the food stall at the side of the road is selling.

2 - Goth in Recoleta Cemetery, Argentina.

3 - "You shall not pass!" Immobile in India...

Look at the politics of representation in these pictures - what am I/the photographer unconsciously saying about difference, culture and meaning?

I introduced you to ‘othering’, which is a technical term for doing just that (representing people in terms of their difference to you). I suggested that, whilst othering is something we all do (often without thought or malice) it’s good to be as aware as possible of who we are and how that might affect how we represent others. In fact, our English textbook has a title that perfectly encapsulates our themes for the course – Selves and Others.

With this in mind, I asked some of you to write a short piece on yourself – who you are, what your influences have been – to try and start becoming self-aware about some of your own politics and influences. It’s the first step to becoming better thinkers and, by extension, writers.

The link to our first novel is clear. Heart of Darkness is one man’s travel tale of a journey through central Africa at the height of colonization.The European colonial period in Africa is well known for a particularly dangerous and derogatory form of othering, so keep an eye out for these sorts of things as you read.
HINT: look out for the different layers of language and perspective of Africa you get in the novel - Marlow the traveller's language and views, the Colonial officers' perspective, as well as Marlow's friends, relative and bosses back in Europe.

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On a culture front, there are loads of exciting things afoot. We're heading to the Spier Performing Arts Festival ('Infecting the City' '09) on Saturday 21st. The theme this year is 'Home Affairs', with a focus on the concept of South Africans' sense of identity and 'belonging'. Strong themes of xenophobia, othering and identity politics will be explored - perfect for our course!

We'll be meeting in the morning at Thibault Square in town and moving from performance to performance over the next couple of hours. Best of all? It's totally free. I CAN'T WAIT!

Here are some scenes from last year's festival...

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We are also having a class outing to Pieter Dirk Uys' Macbeki at the Little Theatre in town on Tuesday 10 March. Tickets are R30 and it looks like loads of fun.

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The Feb Frenzy

...don't let it get to you.

Buy your books (see below), find your venues, make it to class. We're diving straight in.

I'll be starting February off with poetry to give you a chance to read your setworks. Use it! You can find out what order to read your setworks by referring to the semester planner I handed out in the first class. If you missed out on this, come and fetch one from me. You can find me on the ground floor of Postilion House. Turn left at reception, through the door nearest the railway tracks. You'll hear me before you see me.

I want you to consider this blog as extra assigned reading. I'll be posting assignment hints, feedback and tips throughout the semester. Feel free to leave comments, questions and rants as we go. I'll also be pointing you in the direction of some great Cape Town cultural events - let me know of anything you think would be interesting to visit, or review the things I post. I really want you to get out there and make the most of Cape Town culture!

Speaking of which, there are a couple of exciting theatre events on at the moment.

Maynardville continues to play host to an awesome production of Shakespeare's As You Like It until Valentine's Day. I've heard they are reintroducing midweek ticket specials - 2 tickets for R100. Now that's a deal! If not, swing by any night at 7:45 with your student card and see if you can pick up a R60 student ticket.

Take a picnic, a glass of wine and a warm top and be entertained by a rip-roaring tale of cross-dressing, mistaken identity and misguided passion.

It also helps that the actors are hot.

***I am organising a class trip to this play on WEDNESDAY 28th JANUARY at R40 per ticket. Email me by Monday 26th if you're keen***

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Don't forget to try The Baxter's Feb offerings. If you're quick, you can catch Sir Antony Sher in Shakespeare's The Tempest. It's an African spin on the play - many themes of which (disposession, control and slavery) lend themselves to this interpretation. It certainly is a sensory feast, with some amazing puppetry, costuming and sound effects. Despite all the pagentry, I found myself rather underwhelmed by the production. I'd love to hear what you thought...

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Something I can heartily recommend is Pictures of You, also at the Baxter.

It's a truly magical piece, combining actors in full facial masks, puppets and a very ingenious set. The Baxter write-up says it "explores the quirky lightness as well as the darker truths of undying love and obsession" and I think that sums it up better than I could. On Monday nights you get the show plus a full dinner in the restaurant for R55. They also have a Tuesday (twosday) special: Two tickets for the R65 price of one.

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See you in class!
C