The Pequod
Blog URL http://www.thepequod.org.uk/blog/blog.htm
Located Durham, County Durham United Kingdom
Tags literature, culture, photography, books, PhD, environment, politics
A blog on literature and criticism, as well as general culture and the arts, particularly photography.
Latest Blog Posts
- Who is Our Modern Marinetti? on Nov 13, 2009 in Photography and Art postmodernism modern art Literature modernism Marinetti
2009 sees the centenary of one of the most important works in the history of Modernism, Filippo Marinetti's "Futurist Manifesto." In celebration, the Tate Modern recently held a major exhibition on Futurism which I heard and read much about, but sadl...
- The Open University: First Impressions of a Unique Institution on Nov 12, 2009 in Open University University Life teaching virtual learning
Over the summer, I was (more by luck than skill, I suspect) appointed as an Associate Lecturer for the Open University. This is the first of two posts contrasting the OU with the more conventional university at which I have taught part-time for sever...
- University Contact Hours on Nov 10, 2009 in tuition fees University Life student loans contact hours
A.C. Grayling has just written a comment piece in The Guardian complaining that more "contact hours" do not equate to a better education. This is the belief apparently held by Peter Mandelson, who in calling for universities to become more commercial...
- Peanuts and Monkeys: Why Students Will Not Drive Better Teaching Along with Higher Tuition Fees on Oct 21, 2009 in tuition fees University Life Peter Mandelson student loans
In a thinly disguised attempt to prepare the ground ahead of raising the cap on university tuition fees (which seems inevitable no matter whether Labour or the Conservatives win the next general election), the business secretary Peter Mandelson has s...
- The Twittering Tutor on Oct 16, 2009 in University Life teaching twitter Literature
One of the pleasures of university life is the three months in summer when students depart, and rather than having to swim against a tide of preparation and marking, one actually gets to tread water, reflecting on what has gone before, and planning n...
- Review of A.S. Byatt, The Children's Book on Oct 14, 2009 in A.S. Byatt Literature
As a young, so-called literary critic, it is nice to know that my literary tastes and acumen are up there with the best. I had just written a review of A.S. Byatt's The Children's Book, when I came across James Wood's essay on it in the London Review...
- A Mad Tale's Best for Winter on Oct 12, 2009 in fate Shakespeare Literature
I went to see The Winter's Tale last weekend, but a strong production (see postscript) could not conceal the cracks in Shakespeare's original, and my prior impression of the play was confirmed: it is something of a mess. The problem begins with Leon...
