By Rachel Louise Atkin

@rachelatkin_

Moving to university is strange – that’s how I remember it anyway. It was strange because it was a complete mess of feelings and I was thinking about ten things at the same time. My moving weekend didn’t start great when it turned out I couldn’t fit all of the books I’d bought with me onto my shelf (I’m a literature student, it’s what we do), but speaking to my housemates for the first time kind of gave me the sense that everybody was in the same boat. We were all a little scared, a little excited, and relieved to know the others were too.

But of course, the worries didn’t go away after the first weekend. I remember spending days and days worrying about what exactly could go wrong in each situation. What if I didn’t learn how to cook? Or I did… but set the kitchen on fire? Or if everyone was smarter than me? Or if I ran out of money? You can’t exactly get rid of fears like this, and questions are bound to plague anybody who is making such a huge step in their life towards independence. But take it from a third year who survived – I don’t really see why I worried about all of that stuff anymore. There are so many things which I wish I could go back and tell myself in first year, just to make the experience that less daunting and more like something I want to look back on with pride. Every experience is one in which you learn something, and though these lessons are important, so is realising that it’s okay to just stop worrying, and enjoy your year.

If there is one thing I wish I would’ve known, it’s that it’s completely okay just to be yourself. For a long time, I tried to please others in the way I dressed, acted, and spoke, but all it did was make me constantly worry about how I was perceived. Being yourself is underrated. Not only does it just make things 100% easier in terms of not always having to make an impression, but I felt that it gave me the confidence to develop my own voice in my assignments. For a long time, I would play on things that other people had said in lectures and seminars because I was too afraid to create my own arguments. Now, I know that’s perfectly okay. Establishing my own critical voice and sense of self made me feel more confident, and I’m much happier overall.

The highlight for me on the course last year was all of the reading. We got through one text every 1-2 weeks per module. And we did three modules per semester. That’s a lot of reading. But I loved it. You think I’m crazy right now, but reading is what I live for. Bear this in mind; there’s so much stuff to read, but it’s worth it. Maybe one week you’ll not want to read a text just because you can’t be bothered. Okay, you do that, but you’ll never know what Barthes meant by ‘Death of the Author’ and you’ll never actually find out the importance of being earnest. The texts are rich with culture, information and ideas which really enhance your university experience. Over the past few years, I have uncovered some real favourites.

On the flip side, don’t stress yourself out with work. Set yourself certain times to do reading and research so that you can give yourself breaks and time to do other things. There are so many amazing places in York. On the first week I walked the walls with my housemates, and it was a great way of getting to know them. The Perky Peacock is a cafe on Gillygate which do amazing coffee (and YSJ students get a discount too). The Castle Museum, Yorkshire Museum and Railway Museum are good places to go on days out, and students get in free to York Minster. On Saturday nights the SU had karaoke, and the Golden Fleece is the most haunted pub in York. Oh, and check out the cocktails in Evil Eye too.

If I have to sum up my advice for you, it’s just to make the most of it. You can’t re-do your first year, and it’s such a great opportunity to try new things and meet new people, as well as laying a good foundation for the rest of your degree. York St John is full of amazing, colourful and creative students and staff – the expanse of sports and societies just shows this. You’ll want to look back on the year knowing that it was the best it could be, so don’t worry about other people, just make yourself happy.

I’m most looking forward to discussing my texts next year. (That’s boring, sorry.) Third year gives you access to a lot of well-known texts and by this point I’ve really developed my confidence. But I’m also going to spend about half of my life in the library because dare I say it – dissertation. Wow. You lucky first years.

Welcome to all new students!

Today marks the start of Welcome Week for Freshers at York St John and we’re really looking forward to meeting all the new students. Introductory sessions are planned for Wednesday 11.30-1.30pm and Thursday from 9am-11am in Temple Hall, for all single Honours and Joint Honours students.

If you’re new, don’t be shy: come and say hello to any of the staff in the Literature team! Find out more about some of us on the ‘in-profile’ pages.

Next week, classes start and we will be welcoming back returning students.

In the meantime, to keep up-to-date with news, events, study tips, student voices and more follow this blog, and follow us on Twitter (@YSJLit)

By Jenny Prout, second year English Literature student

The Texts and Contexts Project is facilitated by the Head of Programme for English Literature, Dr Liesl King, who works with a group of students on the Literature at Work module. This year there were six of us who came together to create the anthology for 2016. The anthology comprises extracts from some of the best work produced by students over the past year, and interviews with the featured students. The project gave us the opportunity to put forward the English Literature Programme’s Contribution to Create ’16, the Faculty of Arts end of year festival.

As a group, we had regular meetings to discuss our thoughts on the content, layout and design of the new anthology.  We also had meetings with Liesl to discuss our progress with her, so that we were on the right track.  We worked really well together because we kept in constant communication and presented our own ideas as well as listening to each other’s.  Members of the team were individually responsible for choosing extracts, editing them and sending out interview questions to students selected to appear in the anthology.

One of our aims was to improve the anthology from the previous years.  The biggest change that we made was including illustrations, created by the art students, to accompany each module description.  I’m also pleased to say that we were able to include a bigger volume of work, so that many more students were recognised for their talent.  The module descriptions themselves were also re-written by the module tutors, in their own words, making the anthology more accessible for the new students that are looking to join the university.  To put our own stamp on the project we included an afterword, signed by the team.

Overall, this project was very rewarding  as we got to hold a finished product in our hands. If you decide to take the Literature at Work module, I would recommend taking the opportunity to get involved in the Texts and Contexts project, as you can gain so many skills.  If this is something you take part in I hope you enjoy it and learn as much as I did!

Dr Janine Bradbury, Lecturer in English Literature

What are your research interests?

Broadly speaking, I’m very interested in issues of race, gender, and performativity in African American literature and American popular culture. My teaching and research spans a diverse range of topics including passing-for-white novels; drag; American professional wrestling; Black hair, beauty, and stylisation; critical race theory, and Afrofuturism.

What was your last publication about?

I’m putting the finishing touches to a book chapter about an American pro-wrestler named ‘Goldust’ who, back in the mid-1990s, toyed with androgyny and drag in his in-ring performances. Gold, glitter, and camp are three of my favourite things.

What are you currently working on?

I’m currently reworking my doctoral research on literary passing into various forms, and I’m drafting an article on the performer/actress Grace Jones.

Which modules are you teaching on this year? (UG & MA level)

Writing for Academic Success, Reading Texts 1, Literature at Work, American Literature, Space and Place, Gender and Sexualities, and American Literature in the Twentieth Century. I supervise undergraduate and MA dissertations (including several on African American women’s writing). I also contribute to modules on our MA in Contemporary Literature.

Is there a topic or text you especially enjoy teaching?

I obviously love teaching things related to my research interests, especially where there is scope for interdisciplinary learning and teaching (film clips, music, advertising, as well as literature). Highlights of the semester include lectures and seminars on Jennie Livingston’s documentary Paris is Burning (1991), the Harlem Renaissance, and Sapphire’s Push (1996). But I especially love working with our first year students on their writing skills – their energy and enthusiasm is infectious.

What do you read for pleasure, when you’re not researching?

I’m a big fan of contemporary American crime thrillers and I really like Attica Locke’s novels (The Cutting Season is my favourite, and I’m halfway through Pleasantville – she’s also a writer for the TV series Empire).  At the risk of sounding like I’m plugging it, the last book I devoured in one sitting was written by my wonderful colleague, Naomi Booth. It’s called The Lost Art of Sinking and I was utterly absorbed by it. I love sports writing and commentary –specifically anything to do with pro-wrestling. I adore books as objects and collect first and rare editions. I like books about art (books about Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kara Walker, Ellen Gallagher, and Lorna Simpson are on the coffee table at home). I also really enjoy podcasts (RuPaul has a great show, I was engrossed by Serial), audiobooks, and American TV boxsets (The Walking Dead, Mad Men, etc.).

Our wonderful colleagues in Creative Writing held a launch event for their new journal York Literary Review last night. Issue one is available here.

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— York Literary Review (@YorkLitReview) May 3, 2016

Congratulations to all involved!

Don’t forget to follow the Beyond the Walls blog for updates on Creative Writing at YSJ.