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English: Skills & Insight – Focus on Comparing Texts – Techniques/Approaches With Dr Birgit Breidenbach From University of East Anglia
12th March 2024 @ 10:00 - 10:45
In this English session, Dr Birgit Breidenbach, Lecturer in Literature and Philosophy at University of East Anglia, will run an interactive skills and insight workshop for students on Comparing Texts – Techniques/Approaches.
What’s the point of comparing literary texts? And how can we go about it? This interactive session will address these questions with a focus on exploring different techniques for bringing texts into dialogue with one another. To illustrate these, we’ll draw on UEA alumnus Ian McEwan’s novel Atonement alongside William Blake’s poem ‘The Garden of Love’ as an exemplary pairing. We’ll also explore what comparative approaches to literature might look like at degree level, and how they can, more broadly, help you in your literature study and beyond.
Familiarity with the two works is not essential for the session. However, as a short poem, students may like to read ‘The Garden of Love’ in advance. See Preparation/Pre-Reading below.
Speaker Profile: Dr Birgit Breidenbach
Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. This means that sessions will continue irrespective of possible school closures.
As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.
Suitable for: Year 12 & 13 students (and equivalent) studying, or with a possible interest in studying, English and related disciplines.
Preparation/Pre-Reading: Familiarity with the two works is not essential for the session. However, as a short poem, students may like to read ‘The Garden of Love’ in advance.
The Garden of Love by William Blake
I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen:
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.
And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
And ‘Thou shalt not’ writ over the door;
So I turn’d to the Garden of Love,
That so many sweet flowers bore.
And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tomb-stones where flowers should be:
And Priests in black gowns, were walking their rounds,
And binding with briars, my joys & desires.
The IT Setup: The event will be run on Zoom and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.
Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below: