M2 translation into English exam marks

Here are the marks for the exam.  You are identified only by your initials, so that this information cannot be found in twenty years by searching for your name. (so I would be JM)

LB 10

DC  13

LLG 10

MM 15

VN  15

JP    11

MS   7

PT   7

TV   13

A little further down in this blog you can see my suggested translation. If you are in my seminar on the 1970s, I will show you your script in class. If you are not, and you wish to see your script, contact me by email (william.shakespeare@univ-rouen.fr but with my name instead of his) 

Agrégation compréhension

Our first class is on Wednesday.
To prepare for this épreuve you need to listen to radio programmes. They are much more dense than are films or TV series, and the latter will not give you sufficient practice.

I will recommend some radio programmes on Wednesday.

M2 seminar on the 1970s

Each week there will be some preparation to do for the seminar. For Tues 29 January I asked you to watch this TV programme and especially to think about it from the point of view of a historian.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJd063guo4Y&t=177s

For the following Tuesday I will  be asking you to read this article.

M2 seminar. Photos of the 1970s

here

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-in-the-1970s-fascinating-photos-reveal-life-in-the-capital-40-years-ago-a3780461.html

L3 Popular culture

We will be looking at visual art and the dividing line between high culture and popular culture. This is in the news today :

https://next.liberation.fr/culture/2019/01/26/le-banksy-du-bataclan-vole_1705644

L3 civilisation

Not everyone knew who D H Lawrence was.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._H._Lawrence

M1 Master MEEF

Visit this page regularly, because I post here useful videos and other links when I come across them.
Since you need to revise British history, if you search for words like "podcast" or "mp3" in this blog you will find a few dozen files ( and some broken links) which you can listen to and which will not do you any harm.

For the marking of the module, which is made up of my classes paired with those of Mme Vallet, there will be a "concours blanc" which Mme Vallée will be fixing, and there will be a home assignment. I have given out in class the documents to be used for this assignment, but if your dog has eaten them, or you were absent for the first class, you will find them here.

You will hand in the assignment by email on or before the 20th February. My email is prenom.nom at univ-rouen.fr (and my nom and prenom are at the top of the blog).

(This code is to stop robots sending me thousands of advertisements)

Theme

L209

Master LEA Women in the USA podcasts

Here are the first two recordings of classes on Women in the USA.

First class is here

Second class is here

The powerpoint will follow in a couple of weeks. Note however that I deliberately use the PowerPoint for illustrations, and do not put much information in it in written form. This is because you need the listening practice.


You can find  online

The video  about US women in football here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkASh_mjIts&

The video about women in space here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQoBz01uWJQ&t=8s

MEEF

This documentary will help with the work I am going to give you very soon.

It's not supposed to be a neutral documentary, but it is full of useful information.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wnh6howakc

Today's newspapers

Of which many are blaming ... Jeremy Corbyn!
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/17/how-thursdays-papers-covered-mays-brexit-vote-aftermath

Government defeat, the biggest ever

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/16/brexit-front-pages-on-wednesday-after-may-vote-defeat

Note for M1 LEA

Do not use contractions in university work.

Master LEA

I am having a serious computer problem, so I will be late for class, I'm afraid.

Tenir le haut du pavé

Fascinating expression. See here: https://www.linguee.fr/francais-anglais/traduction/tenir+le+haut+du+pavé.html

Thème Next class

Because I received 12 scripts from the concours blanc and only 8 from the DST we will start the next class on Wednesday with the concours blanc (the passage beginning “... ne doit étonner personne”).

I have just finished marking your translations of Joel Dicker ( Everyone was talking about my book...). I have sent your scripts back to you by mail, so do come to the class with any questions.

The translations of Dicker I received (8 of them) ranged from 10 points faute to 60. Translating this into a realistic agrégation mark is not easy. The seul d’admissibilité is around 8 I believe.

Below is the guide I used for the  penalty points. It is rather approximate of course.


PS: I don't have an email address for Harry Scott, so if he can send me an email (I am prenom.nom@univ-rouen.fr) that would be great .

Marking scheme

NS       Non-sens                                            12

TGF Très Grave Faute de syntaxe                   12

CNJ: conjugaison                                           9

PRET/PF Erreur preterite/present perfect        9

SING singular/plural error                              8

COUNT Count/non count error                      8

CS: contre-sens                                               8

GFS grave faute de syntaxe                            6

GEN Genitive error                                        6

OMU: omission unité de traduction                6

AJU: ajout fautif unité de traduction               6

DEIX: Déixis                                                  6

MOD wrong modal or missing modal             5

CON Contraction error                                               4

BAR Barbarisme, mot ou locution inexistante            4

CAL: calque                                                   4

CONSTR: construction verbale, adv, prep…  4

LEX: insuffisance lexicale sauf mot rare         4

SRTR: surtraduction significative                   4

SSTR: sous-traduction significative                4

TEMPS: erreur de temps bal                           4

ASPECT erreur d’aspect                                4

ART Erreur d’article défini/indéfini etc          4

PHON: phonétique/phonologie                       4

FS: faux sens                                                  3

O: omission de mot                                         3

AJM: ajout fautif de mot                                            3

LR insuffiSance lexicale mot rare                   2

REG Registre trop familier ou trop soutenu    2

QUOT: quotation marks (“” vs «»)                 2

SP: orthographe 1 ou 2 selon rareté du mot     1 ou 2

MAJ Erreur de majuscules                             1

PUNC: ponctuation (sauf “”)                          1

Unité de traduction très bonne                     +4

Unité de traduction excellente                      +8

Great Black women in US history: Ida B Wells

Very good documentary here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10g0fJVQPKA&t=45s

Concours : revising Ireland

follow this link for a recording of a lecture on the history of Ireland
https://johncmullen.blogspot.com/2012/10/l1-bloc-2-social-and-ethnic-identities_31.html

Concours: revising Britain since 1945

if you follow this link and listen to the first two recordings, it will be useful revision on British history since 1945

https://johncmullen.blogspot.com/2018/04/revising-british-popular-culture-since.html

M1 LEA

Cours en L208 dans 11 minutes

agrégation mercredi

salle L209

9h correction de concours blanc avec Mme Vaughan
9h30 à 11h cours de thème (texte Beckett - correction concours blanc la semaine prochaine)

How the UK parliament works

In 60 seconds !
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GbLTwQwXqWc

India Kumbh Mela

A short explanation of the Kumbh Mela festival
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OnHC5V59WM&app=desktop

India: a common confusion

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-Hindu-and-Hindi

Capes Idea of progress

I am a great fan of BBC documentaries. While those on the political side of history are often partisan even if very useful, those on the history of science are even better. This one on a British clock which saved thousands upon thousands of lives and changed the world is well worth a look.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-g27KS0yiY

Don't hesitate to convert to Mp3 with a site like this one, so you can listen to it while doing the shopping https://www.telechargerunevideo.com/en/

M1 LEA Questions sociales et économiques...

Our class next Tuesday at 11am is in room L208.

All students

You may well need practice listening to English which is more concentrated than it is in a film or TV series. There is a BBC podcast for you. Try these:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4

Thème agrégation, last passages

As promised, here is a booklet with the passages we will be looking at in the final few classes. If you cannot come to class, since many of you have classes in didactics or something like that, you may of course send me your translation, which I will correct. My suggested translation will be posted on this blog each week, but will only remain online for two or three weeks.

Download here the booklet in question.

Thème agrégation DSt and concours blanc

As I mentioned, we will work on Beckett in the first class of the New Year. In the second we will go over both the November classroom test and the "concours blanc". Some of you did not do one or both of these, so here are the passages you may wish to prepare for the second class: the first one is from the DST, the second from the "concours blanc".

Happy New Year!

Best wishes for peace and prosperity for each of you in 2019

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/happy-new-year-2019-london-firework-display-live-pictures-a8706211.html

Préparation de l'agrégation : cours de thème

Unless I am mistaken, we have seven classes after the Christmas break. Here is the programme:

8 january :  passage from Beckett (please do send it me, before the 5th).

15 january: we will go through BOTH the classroom test (Tout le monde parlait du livre ...)  and the concours blanc (Ceci ne doit étonner personne ...). I will put my suggested translations for these passage up here on the blog beforehand, so you can prepare questions etc.

22 january and onwards: we will work on passages from the new booklet, which will go up here on the blog in PDF format over the next few days.

Otherwise, I hope the holidays are going well for you, that Father Christmas was generous, and that 2019 brings you both the agrégation and joy and peace.

Concours

If listening to podcasts is a good way for you to revise British history, you will find a lot of them on this blog. Just click here then scroll down and choose the ones that might help you.

https://johncmullen.blogspot.com/search?q=mp3+class

memory, heritage, servants

This fascinating BBC documentary looks at what life was like as a servant in the grand stately homes which are so popular with tourists and TV viewers today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqiMASk5MIU&index=1&list=PLfHP8cnex_oE_tA3yEwsBXwk3utfegb3_

Royal Family

This is an anti-monarchy documentary, not attempting to be neutral. It explores the position of the Royal Family in the UK today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=641Oyk3d5HM

Memory, slavery, television

Fictional représentations of slavery on TV are usually about the US, where slavery is more recent. But not this one . https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/the-long-song-tv-review-episode-one-hayley-atwell-lenny-henry-a8688416.html

Bad news from the UK

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/dec/17/many-pupils-in-england-hungry-and-badly-clothed-say-teachers?CMP=share_btn_fb

Last seminar historiography/memory studies/ww1

Wednesday 19th December 3pm Salle A202.
On last week's blog the date was wrong.

The idea of progress

There are a number of key moments in the history of scientific progress over the last few hundred years. We often hear about new factories and Fordism, or about transport and railways. Communications though are just as important, and here is one highlight from communication history : the first transatlantic cable, allowing for the very first time instantaneous communication across the world, by telegraph. Before you click on the link to the documentary, guess the date of the first transatlantic cable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UTrqHZf7Cg

A historic front page

Theresa May

What next ? An explanation
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/dec/12/what-happens-now-for-the-prime-minister-and-her-brexit-plans

Thème agrégation : grammar time

You have got through about two thirds of your translation classes. You need to find a few hours ot go through them again, with your Grammaire explicative de la langue anglaise, look at the grammar mistakes you made, and study the grammar book until you are confident you would not make that particular mistake again.

The most dangerous attitude is to think that translating is a matter of feeling, and that if you practice it your feeling will solve the different problems.

Home rule in Ireland - an important debate

On the hundredth anniversary of the 1914 Home Rule Act, an Irish television station organized this debate. Should the Home Rule Act be celebrated as a constitutional advance which could have worked out, or seen as a dead end policy which was fortunately soon replaced by a more radical strategy? Our guests do not agree; there is nothing like a consensus; and if you can measure and describe their differing reasons, that is a great start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8iVuX6Ec2A&t=37s

MEEF More on the British Empire in India

A much more establishment view of the British Empire is available in this documentary. The images are very impressive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhKYg641K3c

M1 LEA last class

In the last class, I spoke of the history of racism and antiracism. My recording device did not work, so here is last year's class on (almost) exactly the same topic

Just click here for the Mp3

And the slides for all the multiculturalism classes are here as a Powerpoint slideshow

Here are a couple more links on the subject

A documentary on Cable Street

A documentary on Rock against Racism

Finding time to study when you don't have time to study

Especially for the concours, it's hard to find enough time to read and to revise. Here is a tool which i find extremely useful. Most of us have a few hours a week when we are cooking, shopping, cleaning, driving or on the bus, when we could listen to an MP3, but when it is not possible to read seriously. The website zamzar will convert a document file (word etc, not pdf) into an Mp3 for you to listen to. All the wikipedia articles you need or articles from the Revue française de civilisation britannique, etc.

The site is here https://www.zamzar.com/

It only works in English.

Here is an example of the resulting Mp3 just click here

That is just a short example, but it works for documents which are many pages long.

mémoire, héritage, ruptures - India

Obviously for Britain, one aspect of remembering heritage is commected with the British Empire. How should it be remembered and taught, in particular in England today where an important minority are descendants of Indians? This discussion between two Indian intellectuals about the history of British India opens up some of these questions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG2vAJosY_Q&t=2049s

Introduction to research

If there are any MEEF students who, for their "mémoire" in M2 would be interested in looking at some aspect of historical reality TV shows in Britain, do get in touch.

Here is some info https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Historical_reality_television_series

Here is an example (but there are dozens, from different centuries and with differing approaches). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F9B1qevOK8U

I would think it was a subject which it would be easy to use subsequently in collège.

Today in the UK

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/dec/02/revealed-the-stark-evidence-of-everyday-racial-bias-in-britain

M1 recherche/ MEEF First world war revising/extending etc

As you know, we have one last seminar, on Wednesday the 19th December 15h A202. Then your exam is in January.

For revision, naturally you can listen to some of the classes again - just scroll back through the blog.  There are also two articles here on the historiography.

My article in French here

https://www.academia.edu/12719959/_PDF_texte_int%C3%A9gral_Les_historiens_britanniques_et_la_Premi%C3%A8re_Guerre_Mondiale

And a completely different view of the same historiography here :
https://www.histoire-politique.fr/index.php?numero=22&rub=dossier&item=212

For the question of commemoration my article in English here, on which the first few classes were based:

https://www.academia.edu/12671576/_PDF_full_text_Experiences_and_Contradictions_how_the_British_celebrated_the_centenary_of_1914

Thème agrégation: où en sommes-nous?

If anyone besides myself is confused...

I will be marking the DST and giving you back your scripts in the fullness of time.

On 5th December we will be working in class on the passage from Victor Hugo.

On12th December, the passage from Vargas.

On 19th December, there is no class - this is the week of the mock exam, which I then intend to mark over the holidays.

On the 9th of January, we will work on the passage from Beckett, the last passage in the booklet.

On Christmas Day I will post here another booklet, including passages for the remaining classes we have together.

M1 LEA multiculturalism

If you liked "Back in time for Brixton", episode two is available on Youtube here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6RAhpUOu4w

M1 LEA reminder

Let me repeat then: contrary to what I told you a month ago, there will be an ordinary class on the 4th December. The exam, which is worth 100% of your semester mark, will be on the 18th December.

Thème agrégation; about Victor Hugo

Je sais que vous êtes occupé ( e ) s , conseils de classe etc. J'accepterai jusqu'à samedi soir minuit vos traductions du texte de Victor Hugo.

Brexit today

The Brexit situation changes every day and can be hard to follow, not least because spreading panic is part of the strategy of some forced. This articles helps to clarify what is likely to happen in parliament.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/nov/28/brexit-how-the-meaningful-vote-will-work

What next On Brexit?

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/nov/27/david-dimbleby-in-line-to-host-bbc-election-night-if-there-is-snap-poll

One Conservative commentator compared Theresa May’s Brexit deal with the parrot in this s very famous sketch

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=whHfE48b4VA

M1LEA

An article published today on one aspect of multiculturalism
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/islamophobia-muslims-islam-uk-myths-economy-social-advantage-mps-government-a8653216.html

Thème agrégation

Le cours de demain matin aura lieu comme chaque semaine.

Dépeindre l'Autre dans le monde de la chanson populaire de la Grande Guerre

Mon intervention lors de la journée d'études à Rouen

https://www.academia.edu/37860815/_MP3_et_Powerpoint_D%C3%A9peindre_lAutre_dans_le_monde_de_la_chanson_populaire_de_la_Grande_Guerre

M1 LEA pas de cours mardi 27

Je suis souffrant et je ne ferai pas le cours M1 LEA  Ce mardi de 11h à 13h . Faites circuler le message svp.

Thème reminder

We will be looking at the passage from Ben Jelloun in class this week. Marking of the DST will be a little longer.