"First, an obvious external cause [for the drop of English majors]: money." - William M. Chace The Decline of the English Department
Yeah, my choice of majors earns sometimes earns looks of mixed amusement and sympathy, and the immediate follow-up question, "So what're you going to do with that degree? Teach?"
As Aja points out on her blog, many people majoring in English do so with the hopes of becoming teachers. Great, the world needs teachers. Sincere kudos to you aspiring teachers out there, because God knows I do not have the patience or the skill for it. When I laugh a little and shake my head at the "will you teach?" question, the interrigators then say, "Oh, so you want to be a journalist?"
"Uh, not really. I don't really know what I want to do. I want to write?" This last sentence always comes out as a question, a request for approval.
The questioners sigh sadly. "You're not going to make any money." And then they walk away, leaving me to my inevitable financial demise.
While the English major is technically versatile, it still has the two main doors people tend to walk through: Teaching and Journalism. I do not want to pursue a career in either field, and yet here I am, and the question I sometimes have to ask myself (when begging for loans or writing my final papers) is why. Well, the truth of the matter is I became an English major not because of any great talent I have for the field, but because of a profound lack of talent I have in all other areas of life. It's true, I am "less worse" at English. heh. So I was not originally as romantic about the field as those naturally talented people, however I found my respect and passion for English as inevitable as the bankruptcy I'm apparently going to suffer because of it.
Even though I was driven to this path paved with poverty, I can't think of anything else I'd rather do. It definitely saddens me that people are turning away from this major and demeaning its worth. Maybe the study of English is hard to defend, because its best attributes must be worded in a slightly philosophical way, and our world has become less appreciative and trusting of anything not purely factual. I can write until my hands fall off about how literature reveals common ground for us to walk upon, allows hard-won truths to blossom, and makes the aches and pains of life bearable, but people want dollar signs. Hey, I can relate, if for no other reason than the fact I've grown used to eating over the past 20 years. And yet, I can't help falling back on that old cliche, money isn't everything.
"The analysis of even a short poem, however, can grow long because of the need to descibe word positions and stresses and also to determine the various effects" (Roberts 197).
All the more reason to make sure your prosody explanation passes the tried and true "So What?" test. As with everything in literature, have a reason for what you write. For example, stating a poem has an A B A B rhyme scheme and leaving it at that does not further your thesis. Even if your professor specifically asks you to right about prosody, it still should be tied into a greater theme. What does the poet accomplish by applying those techniques? What mood is enhanced? Do the practices add to or detract from the tone?
Just make sure when you're refering to prosody, you're not just going through the motions. It's great to be skilled in scansion, but always make sure your observations are encompassed by your thesis.
I'm going to quote this poem and my reactions while reading this poem, just to see if anyone was on a similar wave-length. Begining from line 33:
"Prophyria worshipped me; surprise
Made my heart swell, and still it grew..."
Aww. The speaker's god complex is a little annoying, but they loooove each other.
"While I debated what to do.
That moment she was mine, mine, fair,
Perfectly pure and good..."
Well, he appreciates her. How nice.
"I found
A thing to do...
He's going to buy her a gift? That'd be a thing to do. Kind of lame, but there might be a metaphor there somewhere.
"and all her hair
In one long yellow string I wound
Three times her little throat
And strangled her..."
Aw, how...wait...(rereads) Holy unexpected violent tendencies, Batman!
Despite Roberts' claims to the contrary in the essay on pages 201-204, I didn't see much foreshadowing in this poem, at least the first time through. The language at the begining, "The Rain set early in to-night/The sullen wind was soon awake..." etc. just served as a a type of juxtaposition for the atmosphere when Porphyria entered the house. That contrast did not strike me as odd, because how often in literature is love seen as the only bright spot in a dark world?
I truly think that in this poem the foreshadowing is interwoven so minutely into the poem that it needs to be examined on the second or third reading. Once I knew what happened, I could go back and find foreshadowing, but I didn't immediately recognize the weather or prosody for what it was. In this case, the subtle foreshadowing was clearly a good way to have that literal twist as the climax.
These are the links I've found so far. Also, today I just completed an interview with the Financial Aid department at Seton Hill, which will be a part of the story. So far there is some contrast between how Seton Hill is handling the economy crisis and how other schools are dealing with it, which I found interesting. Here's where I'm hoping the interactive part of the blogs will help me out: Is there anything about student finances and the economy that you're dying to know?
Students Feeling Economy's Crunch
-An article discussing the difficulty of landing a loan due to the credit crisis. States that of the federally backed loans, 40% of them are made through the government, and not affected by the market turmoil.
-This website was listed as a source in the above article, as a website that tracks financial aid industries.
Economy Sending More Students to Community College
-An article stating that when the economy dips, more students enroll in community colleges.
8 Top-Paying Part-Time Jobs for Students
-Lists the top eight part-time jobs for college students, factoring in flexibility, pay, and resume shaping.
Oversight board rejects Pittsburgh budget proposal
-Mayor Luke Ravenstahl proposed a 1% tax on college students. The proposal was rejected, but the Mayor wants to go through with the bid regardless.
I thought the Cavalier Daily was less overwhelming than the Harvard Crimson. I'm not a fan of the huge white space between the masthead and the "top stories" section, though that space may be what contributed to the neater look of the web page.
The pictures at the top were a good way to grab attention, but I like the Crimson's style of spreading out the images. Without that space, the Cavalier seems text-heavy, and it certainly isn't.
The article teasers at the top of the page are a good idea, but a little confusing, in my opinion. Especially since the first one reads like this:
"Jeff
Major?
Physics"
All before a question is asked in a full sentence, which made it seem like the Cavalier was textually burping. Manners, Cavalier, manners.
The image of the print addition was a thoughtful touch. I don't know why this appealed to me so much, but I think it added visually to a page that was sadly lacking in images below the fold.
I'm going to have to go with Angela on this- I didn't find the Harvard News page that impressive. OK, the changing images at the top was pretty neat, but...Did anyone else think the pictures changed too fast? Reason #342 why I'd never get into Harvard; I can't read fast enough.
I guess I'm not really being fair, because I haven't said what I think would improve the site. Now, I am definitely not a web page master. I took a series of multimedia classes in high school, so I can sometimes hold my own in a conversation about webpages. However, it's been so long since I've used those programs (Flash, Dreamweaver, Fireworks...fun stuff), that I would need to take a class again just to remember everything. Anyway, the point of that trip down memory lane is that I know webpages can have animation (not just the kind that sits there and stares at you, but more interactive type images), but that can really add to loading time. After I complained about the loading time in my last blog, I don't think I can really suggest anything to make the site more interesting. Any thoughts?
My personal conclusion: The site did what it was supposed to do, but because it had the Harvard name attached to it, I, perhaps unreasonably, expected more.
The links in the article concerning Alan Moore's controversial comics serve to direct the readers to other articles or information pertaining to the linked phrase. For example, after mentioning a librarian who took some of Moore's comics out of circulation, Scott Thill links to an article that questions whether such moves are child protection or censorship, and covers the trial of the librarian who was fired for her act. Also, after mentioning a risque scene (among several) in the Watchmen graphic novel, Thill links to his review of the movie.
This observation is not link-related, but I would also like to comment on the tone of Thill's article. After reading several internet articles, I've noticed a trend in tone. The writers seem to be a bit freer on the internet to create their own voice and express their own opinions. In Thill's case, after warning his readers that the images shown below may be "shocking," he sarcastically says, "Please report your offense to the nearest God-fearing public library employee." Obviously not every web article will have the privalege of sharing the writer's opinion so clearly; it depends on the organization the writer is writing for, but I have to say I enjoy the bits of humor here and there, and the voice that marks the piece; humor and voice that are so often lacking in newspaper articles. I'm not saying you can't find them there, just that so far, it's been easier for me to find such attributes on the internet.
The multimedia feature from the Arizona Star showed me some of the perks of multimedia evergreen pieces. The ability to fit a lot of information under one topic was flaunted. The definition for a landfill was given, which in a regular news article may happen, but if words needed to be cut, you can bet this definition would be one of the first things to go. Also the videos and the pictures made for an aesthetically pleasing site, whereas a newspaper is more limited, because pretty pictures take up space, so 15 images will most likely not accompany one article.
Something I found hindersome about this site, though, was the number and length of the videos. Allowing that not everyone has an internet connection that causes videos to take ten minutes to load, watching the videos provided by the site was time-consuming--- a little too much so. Had I been just browsing the site, I guarrantee I would have skipped the majority of the videos, not for lack of interest, but for lack of patience. Greta speaks a bit more eloquently about this topic, and offers solutions in her blog.
The public's perception is that as reporters and editors discuss story assignments,
they typically have a preconceived notion of the story line and the sources to be interviewed.
This means that instead of taking a fresh look at the topic and casting a wide
net for sources who can talk about it authoritatively, the story is framed based on what
is known or suspected, or how the reporter thinks about what is known or suspected (Haiman 58).
This is more of a push for flexibility than a scolding for preconceived notions. I think it's natural to have an idea of where a story's going to go. No matter how unbiased you try to be, it's pointless to pretend that you don't have opinions or thoughts.
However, the public's problem is not that journalists aren't robots. Their problem seems to be that journalists pick the path of the story before looking at different angles. Maybe use the obvious sources as stepping stones to the less considered. Bypassing sources early in the intervieweing process because they will take your story a slightly different direction is not honest. Just remember, especially with investigative reporting, to think outside the box.
And what if, after all that digging there's no story? Sometimes that happens, and it's better to concede that a story did not exist than to print something biased and untrue.
In my search of the New York Times website, I found a slideshow titled "The Frugal Traveler Sails the Caribbean." The pictures on this slideshow range from a shot of the sun reflecting off the ocean, to a scene of a meal eaten aboard a ship.
Now, when searching the Times' website, there was no shortage of multimedia to entertain. Truly, I have no trouble understanding the presence of videos and audio clips, which could not be shown in the paper, but at first I was puzzled over the slideshow, pictures that could've been included in a publication.
It didn't take long for me to get a better grasp on the "why" of slideshows. First, while some people who read the New York Times may visit the website, the site can also be viewed by those of us who do not have such lofty reading habits, so even if the pictures could be included in a paper, the audience is also made of those who would not know if the pictures were there or not. Secondly, there were 12 pictures in the slideshow. That's a little excessive for one story, where room is limited. On a website, if one has 12 pictures he/she wants to include, space is not such an issue. Viewers can capture the beauty of a Caribbean trip in 12 photos instead of one.
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