L3 Other tools of the anti-slavery campaign

The movement invented many many ways of gettign its ideas out. This picture shows a collection of poems written against slavery. There were also thousands of pamphlets, many of which are held in museums and have never really been studied.

L3 Abolitionist sugar bowl

The campaigners against slavery did everything they could to get their views known. This is a sugar bowl made by campaigners. In this way you could show the people who visited your house that you were boycotting sugar made by slaves and only eating sugar made by free people. It is in some ways the equivalent of people today deciding to only drink Fair Trade coffee (commerce équitable).

L3 civilisation britannique - pro and anti slavery documents

This link takes you to a gallery where you can see a seried of images of anti-slavery political campaigns, and some proslavery ones. Notice in particular the extremely popular images with the slogan "Am I not a man and a brother?" and the feminine equivalent.

Are there any signs of the attitides of the abolitionists in these documents. Is there anything surprising about them ?

L3 Contestation sociale - Whiggish historiography - Wikipedia

Whiggish historiography - Wikipedia

One of the pitfalls we will be looking at on the course is that of a whiggish view of history. You may not know what this is : the wikipedia article on it is a fair introduction - follow the link.

Basically a whiggish view is to see history as inevitable progress...

William Blake The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, copy F, 1794 (The Pierpont Morgan Library): electronic edition

Free online now - great English poetry and art from William Blake.
This link takes you to "The marriage of Heaven and Hell", a heretical poem from Blake.
The easiest place to begin with Blake's work is no doubt his "Songs of Innocence and Experience" which are available on the same website.

L3 Contestation sociale - Paul Gilroy - What really ended slavery?

YouTube - Paul Gilroy - What really ended slavery?

Recently there were celebrations of the anniversary of the abolition of slavery. Many debates and seminars were organized as part of this celebration. This youtube video shows Paul Gilroy speaking on the issue "What really ended slavery".

L1 Grammar Possessive Pronouns

410 Grammar: Possessive Pronouns

The L1 grammar class I am taking begins on Friday 1st February. Every week you will have in class some explanations of tricky grammar points, and some exercises on paper. But I will also be giving you on the blogs links for you to follow. These are usually exercises to do online.



This first link takes you to a short exercise written by staff at an American University, on possessive pronouns.

Actualité britannique : le racisme en GB aujourd'hui

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown: Why is racial abuse now considered acceptable? - Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Commentators - Independent.co.uk

This article by a black journalist from The Independent gives her view on the continuing existence of everyday racism in Britain.

Consultation de copies

Those of my students
L1 civilization
L2 civilization
L2 Thème

who would like to see their scripts from the "contrôle final" and pick up their research papers, can find me in my office 208 on Thursday 31 January at 1pm, and on Thursday 7 February at 2:30 pm.

You may keep the scripts.
I recommend people do come, because seeing what mistakes you may have made is very useful for the next stage in learning.

John Mullen

Actualité britannique - les valeurs britanniques

World Tonight transcripts

Le gouvernement britannique a lancé un grand débat sur "les valeurs britanniques". Ce lien vous amène à une retranscription d'un débat radio sur la BBC concernant ce débat. Notamment présentes Neal Ascherson, historien réputé, et Salma Yaqoob, une des militantes musulmanes les plus connues en Angleterre.

Option A cinema Sense and Sensibility (1995) a review

Sense and Sensibility (1995)


My Option A classes in cinema start this week. The classes will be partly made up of a chronological element : the history of British cinema, with particular emphasis on what images of Britain are presented in British cinema, by whom, when, and why.

The other part of the class will be an analysis of a number of extracts from British films which use images of Britain. This part of the class will have a thematic structure - we will be looking at

- images of "traditional" Britain
- images of "working class" Britain
- images of Britain as a "leading country" in the world
- images of a Britain of romantics and eccentrics
- images of "the immigrant experience in Britain".

All this probably in that order. So to start us off, follow this link to a review of Ang Lee's "traditional Britain" film "Sense and Sensibility".

Option B

Les cours d'option B "150 ans de musique populaire britannique" débuteront le 7 février. Les jeudis de 16h à 18h sur 10 séances, la dernière séance étant consacrée à un contrôle de connaissances.

Marks for L2 Thème régime général

The marks for my students in thème L2 régime général have now been posted outside my office Room 208.

L2 research papers

I have received research papers, or annotated bibliographies for the RD students, from the following people :

Clément R , Elsa S, Aurélie L, Margaux D, Karen B, Stéphanie P, Nabila B, Melody G, Laura P, Adrien M, Pauline G., Wendy R

You still have till tomorrow if you haven't handed it in yet.

JM

Civilisation britannique : Number 10

Number 10

This fascinating site is the official Prime minister's site ... for children. Set up by Tony Blair and now continued with Gordon Brown, it is aimed at explaining politics and government to children. Education for citizenship or establishement propaganda? Everyone will have their own opinion. Click on the link...

Actualité britannique| Q&A: Identity card plans

BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Q&A: Identity card plans

In Britain, the government would like to introduce identity cards, like in France. There have been no ID cards in Britain since 1952, and the question is extremely controversial. The government plans to introduce them very slowly, but it may be politically impossible to do so. This link takes you to the BBC story on this question.

Tutorat pour les étudiants inscrits en première année à Créteil

Pour mes étudiants dans le département d'anglais à l'université de Créteil :
Pendant toute la durée du deuxième semestre, il y a des séances de tutorat pour des étudiants de première année qui ont besoin d'un coup de main. Les tuteurs/tutrices sont le plus souvent des étudiant(e)s en master qui sont embauchés pour vous aider.
Quand une matière est très difficile, ne restez pas dans votre coin!

Les séances de tutorat de deuxième semestre auront lieu aux horaires suivants.

lundi 12h30-15h30 salle 258
mardi 13h-15h salle 268
jeudi 9h-11h salle 268

Notes à Créteil

Marks for students work in the first semester will be posted in front of my office (Room 208) as and when they become available. Do be patient - there are a lot of scripts to get through.

Video: Sir Edmund Hillary conquers Everest | News | guardian.co.uk

Video: Sir Edmund Hillary conquers Everest | News | guardian.co.uk

Edmund Hillary has just died. In 1953, he was one of the first two men to conquer Everest. This link shows a video of him at the time, with his colleague Tenzing.

British Cinema - interview of Stephen Frears

BBC - Radio Homepage |

I know students are still finishing or recovering from exams, but if you are planning on taking my option "Images d'angleterre dans le cinéma britannique" in the second semester, or if you are interested in general in British cinema, this link will take you to an interview on BBc radio with Stephen Frears, one of the most well-known British cinema directors. He directed a series of films such as "The Snapper" and "The Van" and "Secrets and Lies", which aimed to present different aspects of English and Irish society, in particular working class society, and recently had a smash hit with "The Queen", a surprising film in that films are normally made about British monarchs only after they are dead...

Thème L2 Revision

L2 Thème revision

A little later than promised, here is the text of the December test, and a suggested translation. You need to go through your script with the suggested translation, to be sure you understand each mistake. Remember that for the Final test in January, and indeed for the whole of second year thème, grammar is the central point.

Here is the test and the suggested translation :

Université Paris 12 Val de Marne
UFR de Lettres et de Sciences Humaines, Département d’anglais
L2S2 Thème John Mullen Devoir sur table décembre 2007
Aucun document n’est autorisé.

Traduisez en anglais. Faites attention à la ponctuation.

C’était le Maigret maussade, aux mains derrière le dos, à la pipe vissée entre les dents, qui se tenait dans un coin de la cellule. Il avait prévenu les autorités qu’il ne s’occupait pas officiellement de l’enquête et qu’il ne suivait celle-ci qu’en curieux.
Plusieurs personnes lui avaient décrit le télégraphiste et l’image qu’il s’en était faite répondait trait pour trait au garçon qu’il avait sous les yeux.
Un grand jeune homme maigre, au complet correct, encore que fripé, au visage grave et timide à la fois de premier de classe.
Il avait sursauté quand la porte s’était ouverte. Il était resté un bon moment très loin de la jeune fille qui s’avançait. Elle avait dû se jeter dans ses bras, littéralement, y rester de force, tandis qu’il lançait des regards éperdus.
« Marie !... Qui est-ce qui ?... Comment ?... »
Il était troublé au plus haut degré. Mais ce n’était pas l’homme à s’agiter.
« Il ne fallait pas venir... »
Et il épiait Maigret qu’il ne connaissait pas, puis fixait la porte restée entrouverte.
« Est-ce que ma mère ? ...
- Elle n’est pas venue ! Mais elle ne croit pas non plus que tu sois coupable... »
Ils se regardaient et ils ne savaient que dire, ils cherchaient leurs mots. Alors Marie désigna Maigret.
« C’est un ami de Jorissen. Il accepte de nous aider... »
Le jeune homme hésita à tendre la main, n’osa pas le faire.
From Au rendez-vous des Terre-Neuvas de Georges Simenon


Suggested translation

Université Paris 12 Val de Marne
UFR de Lettres et de Sciences Humaines, Département d’anglais
L2S2 Thème John Mullen Devoir sur table décembre 2007
Aucun document n’est autorisé.

Traduisez en anglais. Faites attention à la ponctuation.

It was a sad-looking Maigret who was standing in the corner of the cell, his hands behind his back and his pipe firmly fixed between his teeth. He had warned the authorities that he was not following the enquiry in an official capacity, but only out fo curiosity.
Several people had described the telegram boy to him, and the image he had built up of the boy corresponded in every detail to the young man who was sitting in front of him.
It was a tall, thin man, wearing a reasonably smart, if crumpled, suit. He had that serious, shy face of a boy who had always been top of the class.
He had started when the door had opened. For several moments he had stayed away from the girl who was moving towards him. She had had to throw herself literally into his arms and stay there by force, while the young man looked around him desperately.
“Marie... Who ?... How ? “ He was very much troubled, but was not the sort of man to get worked up. “ You shouldn’t have come. “
And he looked over at Maigret, whom he did not know, then gazed at the door, which had been left ajar.
“Has my mother ?...”
“She hasn’t come ! But she doesn’t think you are guilty either.”
They looked at each other, lost for words. Each was trying to think of something to say. Then Marie introduced Maigret
“This is a friend of Jorissen’s.He has agreed to help us.”
The young man wondered whether to shake hands or not, but did not dare to do so.
From Au rendez-vous des Terre-Neuves de Georges Simenon

Last bit of holiday fun The Breakfast Sketch Part 2

YouTube - The Breakfast Sketch Part 2

No doubt by now, all my students are hard at work. Here is a last bit of holiday fun. Morecambe and Wise, an important comedy duo who were together for forty years, but were perhaps typical of the seventies.

If you are interested in other classic British comedy on Youtube, try searching for Tommy Cooper or the Two Ronnies, as well as Monty Python of course. To be watched in short breaks between studying !

Civilisation GB L2 Régime dérogatoire

Here is the information about the oral exams for L2 British Civilization Régime dérogatoire. This information will also be posted around the tenth of January on noticeboards at the University.
Just to remind everyone : if you are in régime général, you have marks from classroom tests, exposés, research project and a "contrôle final" on the 11th January.
If you are in régime dérogatoire, you have two exams - a written on Tuesday 22nd January, and an oral on Wednesday 23rd January. Here are the detailed instructions for the oral. All of the documents can of course be found in the booklet of documents ("brochure") for the course.


E.C. 31.21 / 41.21
Civilisation britannique DEUG 2

Session de janvier 2008 mercredi 23 janvier 14h salle 208


ORAL pour étudiants en régime dérogatoire



For your oral exam you are required to prepare ALL of the following texts. On the day of the oral, you will be given one of these texts to present to an examiner. You will have 15 minutes to prepare the text and 15 minutes to present it (you are allowed to use your notes and the textbook). All texts are in the brochure.




1. Emmeline Pankhurst, My own story, 1914
2. The Great Pinnacle of Sacrifice, speech by Lloyd George, 1914
3. The Carthaginian Peace, J M Keynes 1919
4. A seditious Middle Temple lawyer, Winston Churchill 1931
5. Let us face the future Labour Manifesto, 19455
6. Naked into the conference chamber, Aneuran Bevan 1957
7. The White Heat of Technology, Harold Wilson 1963
8. The Left attacks Thatcherism, Arthur Scargill 1987
9. Crossing the Rubicon, Gerry Adams 2000

L2 Revision BBC - History - The Welfare State - Never Ending Reform

BBC - History - The Welfare State - Never Ending Reform

This BBC History site is useful revision -_in a few pages, it summarizes the history of the "welfare state".

L1 Civilization Revision - The Levellers

The Levellers

This Spartacus site gives interesting information about the Levellers and other radicals during the English Civil War. Useful for revision.

YouTube - New Year Fireworks 2008 from London - BBC One

YouTube - New Year Fireworks 2008 from London - BBC One

Happy New Year!
This link will show you the fireworks from London to bring in the new year 2008.