English Majors

The Time Machine: Illustrated Classic Edition

2008-07-24T04:40:59Z

When I was a child I got great enjoyment out of the 1983 Illustrated Classics Edition of The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. It was heavily abridged and the language was somewhat modernized, but it wasn't until several years later that I realized I hadn't been reading the real thing. Only last week, I finally got around to reading Wells' original, and enjoyed it immensely, but something seemed to be missing. I scrounged around for a while looking for my old Illustrated Classics copy (it turned out to be on my niece's bookshelf) and discovered that Shirley Bogart, who had performed the adaptation, had added a whole new chapter called "The Golden Age of Science" right before the Time Traveler's return to the 19th century.

The new chapter takes place in the 22nd century, in which technology has advanced considerably and the world has been reorganized by the World Science Governing Board, an idea that seems reasonably consistent with Wells' notions of social progress (although there's no mention of socialism). But one passage made me laugh aloud and confirmed that the chapter must have been an original creation by Bogart:

The first thing I noticed was four enormous portraits on the wall. They were all of people in white lab coats. In one, an Oriental woman was peering at a kind of chemical tube. In another, a black man sat by an elaborate microscope. In the third, a red-skinned woman was working was working with a tri-square and compass. And in the last, a white man stood in front of a blackboard covered with complicated symbols.

As a child, I didn't even pick up on the heavy-handed multiculturalism of this passage, but now it seems absurdly out of place in a story first published in 1895. Has anyone else had a similar experience with literary adaptations for children?

Cross-posted to english_major and english_majors. Sorry if this appears on your Friends page more than once.

To Get Into Grad School

2008-07-23T05:53:12Z

Hi Fellow English Majors,

I'm finishing up my BA in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing and I really want to go to grad school and get an MFA in creative writing. Besides having a good GPA and an excellent writing sample, what is important to have when applying to a grad school? What do you wish you had done/known when you applied?

Any advice is appreciated!

Second language?

2008-07-13T18:17:19Z

So I took a couple years off after high school, and I am only now getting into the swing of University life. I have just finished my first year, and am majoring in English with hopes of one day becoming a professor.

I am really stuck on just what second language I should take. I want something that'll be useful to me. Many people are telling me Spanish or French are great practicality-wise because a lot of people speak them all over the place. Others have recommended Italian, Latin, Greek, etc.

I'm not sure! Anyone have any suggestions??? Many thanks!!

Classic literature box set for sale

2008-07-12T15:38:48Z

I hope it's ok to post this here! My partner and I are moving house and as such need to sell some of our books. It's a mixed bag, including a brand new box set of 20 'classics' for only £3.49, plus postage. We're based in the UK but will happily ship anywhere (though of course shipping will cost more outside the UK, please ask for a quote). We also have various political thrillers, psychological thrillers, horror, sci-fi, and nonfiction books for sale. If anyone's interested, please go to http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/ngshake for a look at what's on offer. Thanks!

Rudyard Kipling - Just So Stories
Lewis Carroll - Alice in Wonderland
Aesop's Fables
Robert Louis Stevenson - Treasure Island
L. Frank Baum - The Wizard of Oz
J.M. Barrie - Peter Pan
J.L.C. and W.C. Grimm - Grimm's Fairy Tales
Charles Kingsley - The Water Babies
Antoine de Sainte-Exupery - The Little Prince
Henry Gilbert - Robin Hood
Hans Christian Andersen - Andersen's Fairy Tales
Louisa May Alcott - Little Women
Anna Sewell - Black Beauty
Robert Louis Stevenson - Kidnapped
Rudyard Kipling - The Jungle Book
L.M. Montgomery - Anne of Green Gables
Kenneth Grahame - The Wind in the Willows
Frances Hodgson Burnett - The Secret Garden
E. Nesbitt - The Railway Children
English Fairy Tales

British Fiction from the 1920s

2008-07-12T13:52:44Z

Any recommendations? I am particularly looking for books written by women or about women/gender topics, even if these are not explicitly stated. Even contemporary fiction that is a historical piece is fine too. I'd prefer anything by canonical or obscure authors.

Thanks!

english_majors @ 2008-07-10T20:29:00

2008-07-11T00:36:51Z

I'm trying to construct an Independent Thesis project and decide on texts to use. If anyone can offer suggestions of novels, short story collections, and critical work related to the following it would be GREATLY appreciated

1. Books influenced by Alice in Wonderland/Through the looking Glass. Of course there are the obvious ones like Coraline, but I would be really interested in other texts that either contain many allusions or are in some other way influenced by the text - preferably not texts that are in the "fantasy" genre
2. Magical Realist Texts
3. Post-national/Postcolonial/Migrant Literature
4. Mythic Fiction/ Fairytale influenced texts (again more interested in texts that are interstitial, not purely fantasy)

I only can use Novels and Stories whose original language was english, no translated works (unless in cases like Ngugi wa Thiongo who wrote originally in another language and then translated the texts himself)

Thank You!

x-posted.

Romantic Poets

2008-07-10T23:13:29Z

Does anyone know of a good biography about all of the romantic poets, i.e. Coleridge, Wordsworth, etc? Or, if there isn't one book out there about all of them, I'll take recommendations for biographies about them individually.

Book recommendations!

2008-07-06T13:47:04Z

Hello all,

I was browsing my book collection recently, and I've noticed I have hardly any comical/humorous books. A friend recently introduced me to David Sedaris's work, and now I've decided I need to look for more humorous literature. Can anyone recommend any other humorous authors?

english_majors @ 2008-06-30T16:45:00

2008-06-30T23:46:38Z

Hello everyone.

I am bit rusty on phonetic transcription, so I was thinking if any of you had some IPA workbooks and whatnot that you could recommend. A good workbook with a lot of transcription exercises and an answer key would be ideal.

english_majors @ 2008-06-30T16:05:00

2008-06-30T20:05:08Z

The Gender Public Advocacy Coalition is pleased to announce the release of its 2008 GENIUS Survey in partnership with Ernst & Young. GenderPAC works to ensure that classrooms, communities and workplaces are safe for everyone to learn, grow and succeed.

The Gender Equality National Index for Universities & Schools (GENIUS), GenderPAC’s most recent effort to end discrimination and promote awareness, encourages colleges and universities to recognize the benefits of a GenderSAFE^tm campus - supportive equitable and protective for all students. Choosing to participate in GENUIS sends a strong public statement that bullying or discriminating based on the race, sex or gender of a student, faculty, or staff member is not tolerated at your institution

Fill out the survey at: www.gpac.org/GENIUS2008survey, and make sure that we have data for as many schools as possible. Your voice will help us continue to work towards a safe and welcoming environment for every student.

While we greatly appreciate the interest taken in GENIUS by students, staff and faculty at academic institutions outside of the United States, at this time GENIUS is only able to track schools based in the United States.

Shakespeare and Austen?

2008-06-29T19:44:49Z

Hello all. I wanted to pose a quick, probably silly question to you and see what everyone else thinks.

For anyone who has read both Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, do you see a surprising comparison between the relationships or characters of Elizabeth/Darcy and Beatrice/Benedick?

I'm finishing up a paper for an independent study class and it just sort of smacked me in the face while I was writing, so I just thought I'd see what everyone else thinks!

Book recommendations?

2008-06-29T18:58:36Z

This may seem like an odd request, but I just finished Joanne Greenberg's semi-autobiographical novel, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, which deals with her in-patient treatment for schizophrenia. I found it fascinating and was wondering if anyone could recommend some other good books dealing with the subject of mental illness? Thanks in advance.

english_majors @ 2008-06-27T12:11:00

2008-06-27T16:12:47Z

Is there any point to the word "utilize" other than to make businesspeople who can't write seem more impressive when they're writing poor sentences? I see it every day in my tech editing job and I die a little more. Am I overreacting and it's a perfectly valid word under certain circumstances--and what would those be?--or is it pretty much a given that we should utilize "use" instead?

Missing reading list?

2008-06-26T19:37:04Z

I'm driving myself insane looking for a specific website. It's simply a college-level reading list that has everything from poetry to prose. I've found other lists, but none feel as complete as this one. I feel so dumb for not bookmarking it immediately.

I believe it was affiliated with a university or a similar institution. The website is green and white, I think. It had at least seven different links that would lead to a huge list of novels according to time period. I know, I'm no help! What I do remember is if an author was repeated, the underscore would replace it. Like so:

NABOKOV, VLADIMIR -- LOLITA
_________ -- PALE FIRE

Now, I'm asking you all because I found this website here. I've looked through 300+ entries and I'm pretty sure it's somewhere in the 160-220 range, but I must be skipping over it. (When you're trying to find something, you never find it!)

Thank you SO much.

Hi, I'm new.

2008-06-24T04:09:43Z

And I have a question.

In one of my literary English courses, a fellow student asked my professor if "funnest" was a word. I'm kind of a smart ass (and an English major...), so I immediately answered, "NO!"

...but my professor ignored me and said "yeah... fun, funner, funnest, right?" *facepalm* WHAT?? He was being serious, too.

Now I can understand if funner and funnest were added to the dictionary recently (eg, bling) but I m-w.com'd it and nope, not words.

So the question I present to you is this: are funner and funnest words? And if so, is it because of a situation similar to "irregardles?"

I found this article interesting:

2008-06-21T23:42:52Z

http://www.slate.com/id/2194087/&GT1=38001

; ( Has modern life killed the semicolon?

(If this isn't allowed, my apologies)

Citation questions

2008-06-19T21:45:28Z

I've googled this, looked it up in the Chicago Manual, and I STILL can't figure this out:

1. How do I cite a title-within-a-title...both for endnotes and a works cited using Chicago style (obviously, the "humanities" version) ?
The work is The Waste Land, which I believe is normally considered a "longer work." Several of the authors that I cite use the name in their articles or books. I have a vague idea, following these rules lifted from the Chicago Manual of Style online:

17.58 Titles within titles

Titles of long or short works appearing within an italicized title are enclosed in quotation marks. For a title within an article or a chapter title, see 17.157.

N:: 22. Allen Forte, The Harmonistic Organization of “The Rite of Spring” (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1978).

23. Roland McHugh, Annotations to “Finnegans Wake” (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1980).

R:: McHugh, Roland. 1980. Annotations to “Finnegans wake.” Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press.

***
This seems to suggest that if the larger work is a book, the "title within" ALWAYS goes under quotation marks for both endnotes and footnotes

17.157 Italics and quotation marks within article titles

Book titles and other normally italicized terms remain italicized within an article title. A term normally quoted is enclosed in single quotation marks in a note or a bibliography (since it is already within double quotation marks) but remains in double quotation marks in a reference list. See also 8.175, 8.187.

N:: 23. Judith Lewis, “‘Tis a Misfortune to Be a Great Ladie’: Maternal Mortality in the British Aristocracy, 1558–1959,” Journal of British Studies 37 (1998): 26–53.

B:: Loften, Peter. “Reverberations between Wordplay and Swordplay in Hamlet.” Aeolian Studies 2 (1989): 12–29.

***
This seems to suggest that if the larger work is an article/chapter (aka, would normally be in quotations), the "title within" goes under single quotations in the endnotes/footnotes, but is italicized in the works cited

But what about punctuation? It seems when I'm using single quotes, it ONLY compasses the title itself--not the punctuation

For an endnote, should it be:

Steven Helming, “The Grin of Tiresias: Humor in 'The Waste Land',” 146. (this looks off to me)

OR

Steven Helming, “The Grin of Tiresias: Humor in 'The Waste Land,'" 146.

(I'm doing both a works cited and endnotes, so I'm using a shorter citation for the endnotes)

2. How the HECK do I cite footnotes? Specifically, I'm referencing the (in)famous footnotes to The Waste Land, and I'm only quoting Eliot (as opposed to a footnote that contains another reference). I can't find any information on how to cite a footnote in the manual...only how to create my own footnotes in the Chicago Style manual. Can anyone offer a reference number? I find it hard to believe that the Chicago manual never addresses this issue...

*palmface* Is it blatantly obvious that I usually use MLA citation?

english_majors @ 2008-06-18T21:03:00

2008-06-19T02:28:55Z

I'm going to apply to graduate school for Literature/English. I've been taking GRE classes, rewriting my essays and researching schools. I've read "America's Best Graduate Schools" and I've done some googling. But I am having a hard time finding what I want from a grad program.

Can anyone suggest schools that have a option to specialize in poetry and poetics? Or at least that have a few good courses that involve the study of poetics (and that is NOT an MFA program)?

I majored in English. I'm published. I still get DISSED on the internet? NO!

2008-06-18T11:25:02Z

Okay fellow students of my beautiful mother tongue. I have been graduated now for almost a good 10 years. I have been published by numerous publications. Not only have I read the most important books of all time, I've crafted a good long essay or two. I've taken a stab at fiction! and poetry!

I applied to this serious internet writing community on LJ youcantwrite last week with my other journal. Basically, it's a group of know-nothing jackoffs who think they have some sort of talent. Some of them are decent writers, okay, I'll give them that, but some of them need to go back to grammar 101, know what I'm sayin'?

I should tell you, that as a writer, you'd be hard pressed to find someone more skillful than I. Now, imagine my fury when, instead of accepting me into their little piss community, they denied me and told me that I couldn't write. They are just clearly jealous ov my skillz, madd skillz.

It stirred me up a little and made me wonder: Am I really a writer?

english_majors @ 2008-06-17T17:23:00

2008-06-17T21:23:52Z

*While we greatly appreciate the interest taken in GENIUS by students, staff, and faculty at academic institutions outside of the United States, at this time GENIUS is only able to track schools based in the U.S.

Aaack!

2008-06-17T15:41:40Z

Using MLA how do I create an in-text citation for a painting? I've embedded the image into the paper.

Help help help!

I wish I were an English Major

2008-06-16T19:45:37Z

I really, really do. For now I'm an intern at WEbook.com, a really cool creative writing/publishing site. So I was wondering if any eloquent and enthusiastic English or Creative Writing majors were interested in, well, writing and/or publishing. You can go straight to the site, or check out "webook 101" at my lj. Feel free to leave questions or comments, or tell me if this isn't an okay thing to post on this comm (er, I really hope not).

Thank you! (and good luck with your majors!)

english_majors @ 2008-06-16T09:05:00

2008-06-16T07:05:01Z

Hello, if I remember correctly this is my first post here.
I am currently a freshman in college and I would like to work as a tutor during summer break in order to make some money.

However, and I don't have any experience that's why I am making this post. The guy I am going to tutor is a former classmate of mine and currently studying for the final examination in high school. (I'm from Austria.) He is having especially having problems when it comes to intonation and in his written English. Are there any websites that offer information about how to tutor a non-native speaker? And what do you do when you are tutoring someone?

Thanks a lot in advance.

x-posted

Proust Discovers LiveJournal

2008-06-15T18:36:34Z

This makes me laugh.

hmmm.

2008-06-15T18:26:08Z

I have an English degree. Now what?