Second Year English

x-xRaCheLx-x

Anyone just finished or have a good idea of what to expect for Second Year English? Trying to decide if I want to do it next year but really don't know what to expect.... anyone?

JeanH

http://english.nuim.ie/secondyearinformation.shtml

Hi Rachel. I did this course a while back but judging by the link I have provided the content has not changed too much. I have no experience of the After Shakespeare or Revolution and Tradition modules but I am familiar with the others.

The negative thing about second year English is that Shakespeare is compulsory. Actually all of the modules were compulsory. It would have been nice to have a few options. Third year English is brilliant by the way.

Regarding second year:
My favourite course was Critical Genealogies: the Hermeneutics of Suspicion. Some of the names mentioned on the link above were not discussed so much when I did this course. This course is basically about critical theory. Walter Benjamin's Illuminations was the book I decided to read. However, I do not see that listed here. We had an excellent lecturer and he makes these often difficult texts much easier to comprehend. In third year he continues on with literary and cultural theory as he discusses Adorno's Culture Industry and Judith Butler's Gender Trouble. For both of his courses it was acceptable to use examples from popular culture in the essays. It was a very fun module really.

Romanticism – The two lecturers I had for this seem to have left. Well one definitely has left. This was a fantastic course. Sadly I do not see Charlotte Brontë's Villette listed on the synopsis in the link. This is one of the best novels I ever read. I REALLY RECOMMEND YOU READ IT.
Even if this novel is not a part of the module anymore perhaps it would give you a flavour of the essence of the course. I read Villette and Shelley's Frankenstein so you can see that the theme is Gothic. (I see Emily Brontë is now mentioned so perhaps you'd be reading Wuthering Heights – I think Emily has short stories too. I'm not sure.)
However, the other half of the course focused on the more airy fairy stuff that I'm not that bothered about. Lady Morgan's The Wild Irish Girl was a main concern for this half. Wordsworth and Coleridge were main features.

Rise of the Novel – It seemed important to remember that the novels studied were constructing a format that would become known as the novel. The novel was not a clearly definable form at one time. I read Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne. This actively disrupted a form that had not even been established. There was a whole section where the author just spoke about a fly. I then came across a page just containing a squiggle. Then a page coloured black. Strange book. I recommend you read this for your leisure but warn that it can be difficult to read when you have so many other modules to attend to.
One of my friends opted for The Female Quixote by Charlotte Lennox and it seems it was more enjoyable.

Writing the Image – Lots of moodle assignments which were ridiculously easy.
A 600 word essay which sounds ridiculously easy but it actually is quite difficult.
This course involves looking at the poems written about paintings. Cannot remember very much about it other than it was relatively easy and therefore a welcome break!

Seventeenth Century Poetry – Sex! Yes I remember those dirty poems fondly. I opted to read Paradise Lost by Milton in the end. This course was imbalanced when I did it with about 6 out of 10 lectures being devoted to Milton's PL. However, it was enjoyable.
READ ANDREW MARVELL'S DAMON THE MOWER POEMS! I urge you to. Marvell is most enjoyable. (though as you can see in the link Donne, Milton and Dryden are the main concerns). If you decide to read Andrew Marvell you would pair him with John Donne's stuff as they are examples of metaphysical poets. If you do Paradise Lost by Milton you don't have to read any other poems at all. PL is very long though. It is an epic poem and is written as twelve books. It's about the Garden of Eden and all that stuff. We had a great lecturer for this one too.

I would recommend you stay with English. The lecturers in that department are fantastic. However, I do not like the sound of the over dependence of Moodle. I hope you have tutorials next year if you decide to stay with it.
Of course your decisions should reflect your career aspirations so if you think it'll be of benefit and you enjoy it go for it.
While I liked second year, third year was better. They don’t seem to change the courses dramatically from year to year so just check out links like the one above to help you with the decision-making process.