looking back: 2017 in review #2

This is the second post celebrating 2017 the world of English Literature at YSJU. Today we’re going to be looking at some of the debates that took place across the programme, ranging from a robot reading group to pressing questions regarding diversity and the university curriculum.

1. 

   Last year saw the launch of Terra 2, a major project led by Liesl King, Deputy Head of the School of Humanities, Religion and Philosophy. In this first post Zoe Buckton reflects on the launch of the project and asks, ‘Is it time to leave Earth?’

2. 

   The Literature programme marked the beginning of summer with its Big Summer Read. The first run of this annual event focused on Colm Tóibín’s 2012 novella The Testament of Mary, and in this post Charlotte Stevenson reflects on the text and treats us a rendition of ‘The Crucifixion’ from Samuel Barber’s Hermit Song cycle (1953).

3. 

   Next up, Jessica Osborne introduces us to the Robots vs Humans Reading Group. Students at YSJU frequently put together readings groups to discuss topical issues that relate to their studies. Among the pressing questions under consideration here: can a robot consent?

4. 

   2017 saw the inaugural Words Matter lecture, delivered by Dr Kaley Kramer. In her lecture, Dr Kramer discussed the politics of citational practice at a time when the leader of the free world is a certain Donald J. Trump. Here, Nicoletta Peddis and Jenna Houston reflect on the lecture.

5. 

   Finally, Ellie Anderson-Ingham writes about Black History Month and the Transatlantic Imagination, an event that took place in October and included presentations from YSJU Literature tutors on topics as wide-ranging as Marxist cricket punditry and the Black Panther comic series. Bonus post: shortly afterwards, Literature Subject Director Dr Anne-Marie Evans and Associate Professor Sarah Lawson Welsh appeared on the blog with a response to the Decolonising the Curriculum furore at the University of Cambridge.