English and History TSM

macgowan

Just wondering what this course is like... work load, lectures, tutorials, all that stuff... Do you really have to read close to a million books a week??

And how much of a disadvantage is not having done LC History?

Attractive Nun

Can't give much help about English (though thinking about it pretty much all the English students I know are very bookwormish, so you'd want to like reading obviously!), but I do study history.

I'd go as far to say that not having studied history for the LC will make absolutely no difference. At least with the subjects I chose in first year, there was no overlap with what I did for LC. In second year, we did cover a few topics that I'd also done at LC level, but tbh I'd pretty much forgotten everything I'd learned by that stage. In any case the level of detail you'll go into at university level makes the LC course look very simplifie - nothing a quick glance over wikipedia couldn't make up for.

And as for any general 'history skills' you might pick up at LC level, I wouldn't worry about that either. For LC, learning history is pretty much just a matter of memorising the history book. At college, you'll have to go find the books yourself, pick out your own topics, and try keep up with lectures - it's really not comparable. Plus, the essays you'll write in college will be significantly longer than the ones you'd write at school, so you won't really learn all that much from them either. The only thing that would be useful at university level is the LC special topic, which is kinda similar to a standard history essay at college, but not that similar really. I suppose the format of the history exam at LC level and at Trinity are also pretty similar, so it might be useful to have practice at that, but not hugely so.

In summary, you'll be fine - and history in Trinity is great so enjoy it!

gigglingrat

I do English and History TSM! Just finished first year. The workload is really what you make it yourself, I generally found that for English I just read the books/extracts/poems required for tutorials and didn't bother with the other stuff....or secondary reading...but I'm pretty lazy like that. Worked out grand for me though. There were three lectures and three complimentary tutorials a week.

With History, I found that you just use bits and pieces of different books to zone in on topics, rather than reading the whole tome. Again, it's kinda up to you how much or how little you wanna read. Since JF history focuses on Medieval stuff, it doesn't really matter that you haven't done LC history from a factual point of view. The only thing it might have helped with would be learning to research properly, write bibliographies, essay style etc but none of that is too difficult to pick up. Can't remember the hours last year, think it varied but was generally about four lectures and two tutorials a week.

Hourswise, I had between 10-12 a week. Of English and History combined. So plenty of leisure/reading time.

Hope that helps!

macgowan

Thanks for replies!

Also, do you have to be a lightning fast reader or are there ways around it? I'd say I'm fairly average at the moment - about a page a minute... Would that need to be drastically improved?

Sir Ophiuchus

I don't do History, but I do take TSM English. So with Attractive Nun, I'm guessing we make a reasonably competent team.

Yeah, you will have to read a lot. Full disclosure: no-one reads *all* the assigned texts in English, but there are a lot.

The TSM English courses are as follows, assuming they haven't changed from last year:

Critical and Cultural Theory: This is the biggie. A lecture and tutorial every week for the entire year. The only reading is bits from the set book by Rivkin & Ryan (which, by the way, is crap) each week. You're better off just borrowing it from the library and buying a copy of "Beginning Theory" by Peter Barry (library call number: LEN 801 N51*1) instead. Literally everyone in JF English uses this, as it's possibly the best intro to the ideas of literary theory out there. You won't understand it just from the lectures & tutorials, I assure you.

Literature & Sexualities: Michaelmas term - book a week for 9 weeks, lecture & tutorial a week.

Romanticism & Revolution: See above.

Writing Ireland: Hilary & Trinity terms, book a week, lecture & tutorial a week.

The Hero in English Literature: See above.


So that works out at about ... six hours a week, and three books/texts, though some courses have two in the same week. Not as bad as it looks. That being said, you'll have two essays due in Michaelmas term (October-December) and two in Hilary term (Jan-Apr), which'll require a fair bit of background reading. The library is your friend. Do the tour, go in and browse the shelves, practice requesting books online. Learn how to search the academic papers catalogues - the best one for English is JStor.

http://www.tcd.ie/Library/resources/resourceList.php?resourceType=Database&schr=J

Click JStor there on a college computer, and you can search it for academic papers you can read, quote and cite in your essays. Finally, pick a citation style (I use APA, but that's a personal choice), learn it, and ALWAYS use it in EVERYTHING you write for the School of English. Footnotes and all.


I apologise if all this seems a bit overwhelming, but better to be overprepared than underprepared. In practice the workload isn't that overwhelming if you don't let it pile up and end up (say) writing an essay overnight the day before it's due. *coughs*

Good luck!

macgowan

Great help everyone, thanks.

Finally would you say it's possible to hold down a light part-time job (i.e. <15hrs weekly) with a course like this?

claire h

Last year's JF handbooks are online for both subjects, incidentally, if you want to take a glance:

http://www.tcd.ie/English/assets/docs/Freshman%20Handbook%200708.pdf

http://www.tcd.ie/history/undergraduate/pdf/JFHandbook07-08.pdf

Re: part-time jobs, it depends on yourself really - obviously, time-wise, you can probably manage it, because you're managing your own time to a very large extent, but if you're doing something that tires you out, that's obviously going to affect how much you can concentrate on what you're supposed to be reading. (Buy copies of the novels et al you need for English and carry them around with you to read at the bus stop, when waiting for someone, etc. With the history stuff, the torturous essays for Crit & Cult, and background critical reading for your other courses, you're better off in a quiet library-esque space. Reading time for that kind of stuff is probably quite different to reading time when working through a decent-ish novel.)

Beginning Theory = best book ever! Oh, but you'll be glad of having taken Crit & Cult in English when you have to do Historiography in third-year history - all the waffly theory stuff will seem, if not entirely comphrensible, at least a bit more familiar.

kieralicious

With English, most people really only aim to have an in-depth knowledge (ie you'd feel confident writing an exam essay about) of three texts per course. Don't feel you absolutely HAVE to read every book you have a tutorial on - it will just lead to stress.

I think there are about six tutorials for each course in Michaelmas/Hilary terms, and if you have done enough reading to make a few intelligent contributions in around half of those, you should be fine; that's what most people tend to aim for. I read next to nothing and although I got away with it I wouldn't recommend it - but at the same time, don't sacrifice your life on the altar of English.

Monkey61

Of course you can have a part time job. I worked 30ish hours a week in 1st year TSM English and it was fine. I'm not sure about history, but with English you only do essays twice a year and there's feck all else to do except read.

lilmizzme

Im starting Eng and History this year too and starting to panic a bit if Ill be able to manage it!!

See u there mc gowan!!

SamHamilton

I was a JF TSM English student this/last year. English is awesome.

The first week is the scariest. I walked into a Lit&Sex lecture and the lecturer starts talking about a book I hadn't read, a book she assumed anyone in any way interested in English would have read by now (Pride and Prejudice). I sat there for an hour going "ahhh!" and lost in character names, love plots etc. that I hadn't heard of before. Then at the end of the lecture we were given the name of the text we'd be studying next week. That was 1 of 3 English lectures that week. I spent the rest of the week panicking, thinking I was behind, reading P&P and the text for the second week.

Then everything fell into place when I began to realise that 80% of the class were drinking all day and not reading anything.

You get used to the rhythm very quickly and you start to look forward to your lectures and tutorials, thanks to the cool (somethings odd and strange) lecturers.

The English course for JF is great. You will hear loads of moaning about CCT but by Hilary term it'll probably end up being your favourite module. (By the way, attend your 9 o'clock lectures in CCT, PLEASE. I know it's hard but by exam time I was wishing I had attended more.)

What else, hmmmm. Maybe read P&P before you go to uni so you're not freaking out like me but maybe you won't need to if you're more level headed than me and don't panic about little things because it's not a big deal.

Apart from that, don't worry. The hardest part was getting here. First year in college is one of the best things you'll experience. :cool:

dan719

SamHamilton wrote: »

I was a JF TSM English student this/last year. English is awesome.

The first week is the scariest. I walked into a Lit&Sex lecture and the lecturer starts talking about a book I hadn't read, a book she assumed anyone in any way interested in English would have read by now (Pride and Prejudice). I sat there for an hour going "ahhh!" and lost in character names, love plots etc. that I hadn't heard of before. Then at the end of the lecture we were given the name of the text we'd be studying next week. That was 1 of 3 English lectures that week. I spent the rest of the week panicking, thinking I was behind, reading P&P and the text for the second week.

Then everything fell into place when I began to realise that 80% of the class were drinking all day and not reading anything.

You get used to the rhythm very quickly and you start to look forward to your lectures and tutorials, thanks to the cool (somethings odd and strange) lecturers.

The English course for JF is great. You will hear loads of moaning about CCT but by Hilary term it'll probably end up being your favourite module. (By the way, attend your 9 o'clock lectures in CCT, PLEASE. I know it's hard but by exam time I was wishing I had attended more.)

What else, hmmmm. Maybe read P&P before you go to uni so you're not freaking out like me but maybe you won't need to if you're more level headed than me and don't panic about little things because it's not a big deal.

Apart from that, don't worry. The hardest part was getting here. First year in college is one of the best things you'll experience. :cool:

Don't mind David, he was in the twenty percent, along with Tim,that were in the library all day, no but seriously do listen to him,he has some great advice on the course. One thing I picked up on in college from English students(none of whom know I do Maths :P) is never read everything in your course, I know some people who tried, and two who succeeded (David was one of them to be fair) but it is just not worth it IMHO, focus on three or four books for each course and you should be fine.

lilmizzme

ah dan, was waitin for u to show up somewhere! you used to frequent the lc boards about the same time as me i think (apologies for the slight stalkerism, just recognised the name!)

Yeah, the general consensus seems to be just read bout 3-4 books for each module and we should be ok....hopefully...

....now, to dig up my old copy of pride and prejudice....

Sir Ophiuchus

SamHamilton wrote: »

The first week is the scariest. I walked into a Lit&Sex lecture and the lecturer starts talking about a book I hadn't read, a book she assumed anyone in any way interested in English would have read by now (Pride and Prejudice). I sat there for an hour going "ahhh!" and lost in character names, love plots etc. that I hadn't heard of before.

Hehe, I remember that. The startled bunny look on your face was just hilarious.

SamHamilton

IMHO, focus on three or four books for each course and you should be fine.

That's if you want to do the bare minimum. You can pass the year comfortably by reading 2/3 texts for each course but don't do the bare minimum. You won't get anything from the course if you do. The English course is so interesting. You don't have to read everything but read as much as you can. I read loads of the course and still managed to go out about 3 times a week, start a band, write songs, do the Freshers' Co-op (highly recommended by the way), play in a few battle of the bands, go to loads of shows, become addicted to Halo 2 a month before exams, buy an xBox 360 during exams and get addicted to Halo 3, etc. There's no reason you can't enjoy the English course and have buckets of fun.

lilmizzme

Just got my orientation pack there....didnt know we get to choose history modules this year!!

Not sure what to go with tho...tho Im leaning a bit more towards the Pattern B, the year long course and two half year courses!! Any advice/suggestions??

java_junkie

Sorry to bring back an ancient thread but I've just been offered my place on this course and am wondering if anyone has any advice or tips for me?