Blog | English Literature | York St John University
The Study Development Team at York St John offer a range of study development workshops and tutorials!
The first workshop of the Summer Term takes place on Tuesday 20th April and is about working productively from home.
To book a place click here and to find out more about all the study skills support available to York St John students click here.
You are warmly invited to come along and hear staff present short papers on their current research and chat about research during the time of lockdowns, remote working and endless zooming.
You will hear members of the team talk about magical women of Arthurian romance, representations of the architect in twentieth-century novels, Virginia Woolf’s representation of early eighteenth-century essayist Joseph Addison in her 1928 novel Orlando, the legacy of Andrea Levy, the challenges in guest editing a special edition journal, renovating My Beautiful Laundrette for the 21st Century, honesty in the work of C.H. Sisson, speculative genealogies, and the social value of writing about independent music space. All in one evening!
This range of subjects reflects the breadth of research within our fantastic programme. Our staff look forward to giving you a snapshot of their specialisms. We hope you’ll come along.
To book a place click here.
In this post by one of our YSJ literature students, Ripley Cook, they explain how lockdown helped them understand their neurodiversity and their gender identity.
For most of my life I can honestly say that I was never comfortable in my own body. I put it down to a lot of different reasons: how men perceived me and the sexism that came with that, basic insecurities, and the bullying I experienced because of my appearance in high school. It never occurred to me that it was more than that, at least not until lockdown. Continue reading “How Did Lockdown Help Me Come Out As Non-Binary? by Ripley Cook for Trans Day of Visibility”
As human beings, we have a tendency to look back at our history and compare it to what is happening in the present. This, by and large, is a fairly good thing. We get to learn from our past mistakes and exorcise the ghosts that haunt our cultural memory. However, the recent tendency to compare the COVID19 pandemic to the AIDS crisis is, I believe, a tendency that is rooted in ignorance. Continue reading “Mask 4 Mask: Should we really be comparing COVID and AIDS? by Adam Kirkbride for LGBT History Month”
There’s still time to catch some brilliant LGBT+ History Month activities in the area before the end of February!
Emily Balmer, our YSJSU LGBTQ+ Liberation Officer, has been sharing stories, advice and resources all month. Find all of her LGBT+ History Month posts on Facebook.
Jane Speck is in conversation with members of the YSJ LGBTQ+ community. In her latest video, Jane chats to Director of International and LGBT+ staff network chair, Phill Gray. Listen to his take on spirituality and religion in relation to LGBTQ+ issues as he reflects on his own journey. Catch Jane’s other conversations with Helen Sauntson and Saffron Vickers Walkling here.
And check out this brilliant graphic which tracks Google searches for popular LGBT+ figures. It was made by Pierre-Philippe – one of our Senior Lecturers in Mathematical Sciences and LGBT+ Staff Network steering group member.
Outside Event:
Matthew Todd: LGBTQ+ Mental Health
YUSU LGBTQ+ and Matthew Todd
Friday 26 February, 6:00pm
Multi-award winning author Matthew Todd will join YUSU LGBTQ+ to give a talk on mental health within the LGBTQ+ community, followed by a Q&A session. Full details on the YUSU website.
Student Top Tips for Lockdown Study and Wellbeing
Continuing in our series of posts by students, two of our Level Five students share their ideas for how to maintain a healthy study/life balance. We hope you find them uplifting and inspiring.
Continue reading “Looking After Ourselves in Lockdown: Students Share Their Thoughts”
Please see below a message from the All About Respect team about activities taking place this week.
Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week 1st – 5th February
Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week aims to highlight sexual violence and abuse in society. In 2021 we’re taking our campaign completely online, and having our conversations about sexual violence online to raise awareness that in terms of sexual violence #itsnotok. Continue reading “All About Respect”
The Study for Success workshop programme for Semester 2 is now live! Workshops include ‘Making the Most of your Feedback’ and ‘Writing Academically’. Click here to book a place and find out more.
As a literature student, I am used to buying books second hand. The quality of the copy doesn’t necessarily matter because when we’re finished with it, it will undoubtedly have illegible scribbles in the margins and post-it notes spilling out of its edges. For this year’s Shakespeare: Perspectives module, I found an online supplier of second-hand books for the exact editions that were suggested for the reading list. I found a copy of Julius Caesar with the description “excellent condition, slight yellowing of the pages and a lovely dedication”.
When it arrived, flicking through the pages to see the condition, I discovered a series of signatures on the inside cover. I immediately researched some of the more legible names, as they were unknown to me at the time. I discovered the names belong to the Royal Shakespeare Company cast of 2004, starring Christopher Saul as Caesar and Zubin Varla as Brutus. Continue reading “An Unexpected Surprise in Julius Caesar! by Annie Denton”
Jamie Windust in Conversation
6.00pm | Monday 15 February | Free
Join author and model Jamie Windust and Dr Esther McIntosh, Associate Head of Religion, Politics and International Relations at York St John University, for a fun and frank evening of conversation about the key issues for the LGBT+ community in 2021.
Jamie will discuss their debut book, ‘In Their Shoes: Navigating Non-Binary Life’, and share their thoughts on topics ranging from the need for kindness in the LGBT+ community to the impact of Pride cancellations in 2020.
To book a ticket, click here.
Beyond the Binary: Scientific Thinking about Sex 1900-1950
5.00pm | Tuesday 16 February | Free
In the last decade, a growing number of young people identify as non-binary. Some governments are now considering recognition of a neutral gender in official documents. However trans and non binary people are still being stigmatised by the media. In these instances science is invoked to help us defend or challenge our understandings of gender and sex to enable systemic change. In this talk Dr Chiara Beccalossi (University of Lincoln) discusses how science increasingly sees gender and sex as a spectrum.
To book a ticket, click here.
As we entered into our third national lockdown in response to the Coronavirus Pandemic at the beginning of this month, we have asked our students to share their reflections and their tips on online learning. For some students, online learning can seem alien and a challenge, whilst for others it opens up accessibility. Three York St John Literature students from different stages of their degree share their reflections and their tips on approaching online learning in these times. Continue reading “Online Learning: Reflections/Top Tips From Current Students”
Current students – if you need to return a library book but are not able to travel to our campus to return items, and are in the UK, you can send the Library your books for free… Continue reading “Good News about Library Book Returns”
The English Literature and Creative Writing programmes are hosting a Festive ‘Watch-along’ of The Muppet Christmas Carol! Next Friday afternoon, the 11th of December, Dr Rob Edgar and staff will host a viewing of this celebrated musical fantasy comedy of Charles Dicken’s Christmas story through Teams! We invite you to attend to view it alongside other students on the two programmes and to post observations in the chat. AND – at the end of the viewing, Rob and team members will announce the quiz questions, which will be aimed at those of you who have watched the film the most carefully! There will be prizes! 
As part of our Wellbeing and Welfare Series, we have asked our YSJU Chaplain, Jane Speck, to introduce the Chaplaincy to us and outline the ways it can support us. The Chaplaincy is there for people of all faiths and none. Incidentally, Jane also has a degree in English Literature!
Wellbeing and the Chaplaincy by Jane Speck
I sometimes wonder what people think of when they hear the word, ‘Chaplaincy’. These days if I ask people, I more often than not get a blank stare! It’s not a word that’s used very often, and if people have heard it at all they tend to associate it strongly with religion (which is fair enough!), but then think that Chaplaincy is only for religious people. Continue reading “YSJU Chaplaincy Support for Wellbeing”
We’ve had an update from the Wellbeing team about the support available for you
The Wellbeing team have created a new service which allows them to meet with students on Teams, over the phone and via chats. Students can contact the Wellbeing Service via the wellbeing email wellbeing@yorksj.ac.uk or by filling in a simple form on the web.
We have also introduced the UniWellBeing App which provides students with self help and advice.
A 24/7 service, CareFirst is also available to students which is a confidential service providing information, advice and support on both emotional and practical issues. Counsellors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If students are in isolation, students can get support and there is a Moodle site dedicated to supporting students in isolation: https://moodle.yorksj.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=24189
Please share this information widely among our YSJ student community.
See our previous post on wellbeing and welfare services here for further information about established services.
