Continuing with Barry’s Beginning Theory, which is the kind of dense book I have to take breaks from, I’ve come across an bit of text which makes me stop anyway. The following quote is much elided, to cobble together the sense I want to respond to, but I think his meaning is intact. “Postcolonial criticism… is one of several critical… (more…)
One of the things that strikes me as being very different about university level study of literature – or, indeed, looking across the broader spectrum of the arts – is that it’s about criticism, about one’s own ideas, and how other people’s works measure up. This is in stark contrast to how English is taught in secondary schools here, and… (more…)
I’ve started reading Peter Barry’s Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. I’m pretty sure someone explained the SQ3R reading technique to me before, so it’s not the lightning bolt it might otherwise be, but it’s still a pleasantly reassuring and solid sort of an idea. I’m equally sure that the explanation of the technique did not come… (more…)