I now officially have a first degree in English Literature! The decision to go to university changed my life unimaginably. At the age of 16, I left school and spent a year working because I was told that I wasn’t ‘academic’. After deciding, I could and would do more, I went back to sixth form and got my A levels. Again, I was told that I wasn’t ‘academic’ enough and that I wouldn’t achieve at university. So, I ended up working for another year until the drive to learn pulled me back to education and university. This decision led to being estranged for first year as my family disagreed with this decision; however, my life began to flourish across the board year after year! The university even paid for me to study in Athens for a year! University may not be for all people but don’t let anyone else make that decision for you. I have thrived at Brighton University and had the best four years of my life… so far!
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For this assignment, I had to create a program for one of Shakespeare’s plays. I have always loved Othello, from the first time I studied it in GCSE, then again in A-Level and finally for my degree. This 2015 production of Othello is outstanding. Casting Iago black allows the genuine, toxic relationship between Othello and Iago to be exposed in-depth, without race offering a simplistic answer to the betrayal. The program delves into the history of the Moors in relation to Othello and a man that inspired Shakespeare to write the play, along with interviews with actors and the director. If you are a fan of Othello, I would 100% recommend watching the 2015 RSC production, directed by Iqbal Khan. On this assignment I received a first, this is the markers comments: ‘Great looking programme, well though out, and lucidly argued. The choice of different perspectives is well done, and the serious focalisation on Leo Africanus well researched and a good counterpoint to the way in which many viewers might think about the play.’
Final Year Dissertation: From Exotic to Enemy: British Perception of Afghanistan, 1832-186224/6/2021 For my dissertation, I combined my interests in conflict and history with my degree in English literature. I decided to focus on the first time the British invaded Afghanistan (1839) and the subsequent withdrawal from the country (1842). One hundred and seventy years later, and again we see a withdrawal from Afghanistan. The fate of the country is unknown, however, it isn’t looking great. The Taliban have already re-taken many districts and captured a considerable amount of military equipment. It is hugely frustrating to see the West make the same mistakes continuously in regards to Afghanistan. If you are interested in Afghanistan's current affairs, I would recommend reading my dissertation to understand where the relationship between the British and the country/people of Afghanistan began. I am confident that if politicians studied past engagements in a little more detail, conflicts such as the most recent invasion of Afghanistan could and would be avoided. I am proud to announce that I achieved a first on this dissertation. A massive thank you goes out to my supervisor, who supported me through my study and research, despite the topic not being taught on my course. Feedback from marker: This is a strong piece of work that shows a real engagement with imperial literature and history (a topic not extensively covered on the course). The argument - on the changing paradigm of British representation of Afghanistan in the mid-nineteenth century - is a fascinating one, well supported by literary, historical and biographical research.
Overall, the work is well ordered and focused throughout, with a clear introduction and a powerful conclusion, drawing links to the Western discourses on Afghanistan in the contemporary period. At times, the shift in paradigm that each chapter explores could have been flagged up more clearly, and the structure of each chapter could have been tightened, reducing the small instances of repetition that occur. At the same time, analysis of some of the longer quotations could have expanded with a wider range of diction and imagery commented upon, and more research into imperial discourse would have improved the theoretical underpinning of the dissertation. Still, the use of Said and Spurr is effective, the historical context is clearly detailed and the biographies of the writers are drawn in usefully, with some excellent commentary on reception, readership and national loyalty. The work is also engagingly written, with expressive prose and proficient referencing and bibliographic layout. Overall, an intelligent and informed piece of work that clearly communicates your historical interests, as evidenced in the very impressive bibliography. Feedback from secondary marker: Very good dissertation. The focus on representations and their analysis demonstrating the paradigm shift is very good all through. Formative comment: It would have been interesting to reflect on the motivations for the British to go to Afghanistan and to compare those then and now. Overall a well informed and solidly documented piece of work with good contextualisation and pertinent analysis. Well done! When I took up the website from South Coast Conferences the site was near impossible to find on Google. Over the past four years I have relaunched the website twice and work continually publishing on the site frequently. Last week we relaunched the site with new branding with the help of Mammoth. Not only does the site look incredible, it is now easily accessible on all search engines and user friendly. It has been amazing working for South Coast Conferences over the last four years, the website has been a challenging at times but has also been one of my best projects.
We have just got back from ten amazing days in the North of England. These are my best ten images from the road trip, however, Elly will be doing a blog post with all the details of the trip, both good and bad, so keep an eye out.
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