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Monday, January 21, 2008

How to upload your assignments to /www.turnitin.com/

1. Go to /http://www.turnitin.com/
2. Click on New Users button on the left hand top corner of the page.
3. Select the option Student and click Next
4. Enter your respective class id and password which is given in the blog post below and click Next
5. Enter your email address which you normally use and click Next
6. Enter a password for your turnitin account. Re-enter it and click Next
7. Select your Secret Question. Write an Answer to the question.
8. Enter your First Name and Last Name
9. Click on I Agree – Create Profile
10. Click on End Wizard and Login, if you do not want a demo
11. Click on your respective class
12. Click on the submit icon
13. Enter your First Name, Last Name, and Submission Paper Title and click on the Browse button to upload the file. After uploading click Submit.
14. Check your write up and if it is ok, click on Yes, submit. If not click No, go back
15. Copy your submission id. A digital copy of it will also be sent to your regular email account.
16. Click Logout

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Turnitin Assignment Submissions

website to upload your assignments is http://www.turnitin.com

Logins and Passwords
I year FEP: class id: 2153237
password: fepied

I year BA Additional English- class id: 2153254
Password: addenged

III BA Cultural Studies- Class id : 2153257
Password : autonomied.

for clarification you may approach your respective classreps or email me.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Panel discussion on Post-globalisation Media Scene in India

Date: 15 Jan 2008
Time: 10 am to -12.30 pm
Duration: Two and a half hours
Venue: 802, Auditorium Block, Christ College
Participants: Communication Students of Santa Barbara College, California and
Christ College, Bangalore

The panel discussion will have presenters on print, film and television, and radio addressing the post-globalising developments in these media and their consequent impact on the socio-political and cultural imagination of and context in India. Each presenter makes presentations for 20 minutes. There will be two interactive sessions.

Schedule
Introduction : Dr William da Silva (5-10 min)
Print : John Thomas (15 min)
Film and television : Prakash Belawadi (20 min)
Internet : Nishant Shah (20 min)
Discussion (20 min)
Break (10 min)
Postglobalisation and media : Dr William da Silva (20 min)
Overall discussion (30 min)
Conclusion : Dr William da Silva (5-10 min)

Chairperson
Dr William Da Sliva, /wrdsilva at gmail.com/ has taught at Christ College; Universities of Mangalore, Goa and Manipal, India; Universities of Hamburg, and Osnabruck, Germany. He has written and translated over 24 books. Currently the Director of Sandesha Bharati, School of Communication and Konkani Studies, Mangalore. His translation of the Bible from original tongues into Konkani has won the best Bible Translation Award.

Speakers/discussants
John Thomas /john.thomas at christcollege.edu/ is a Professor of Journalism at Christ College, Bangalore. Formerly, Dean, Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media, Bangalore, and Editor (operations) of Vijaya Times. Has worked form major Indian Newpapers and Reuters.

Prakash Belawadi /prakashbelawadi at yahoo.com/ is a journalist, writer, stage & TV director and filmmaker. Presently also the director of the Centre for Film and Drama, Bangalore . His film Stumble won the National award for the best feature film in English in 2003.

Nishant Shah /itsnishant at gmail.com/ is researcher on cyberculture at the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society (CSCS), Bangalore. He has worked as a cybercultural consultant for multinational companies and as an information architect for academic and political organisations in India. He is an expert on Asian Cybercultures.

Anil Pinto
Coordinator

Thursday, January 10, 2008

On pedagogy and knowing - Responses to BA II sem Additional English students

I found the discussion that was perhaps fuelled by my remarks about combinations interesting and useful. I must thank all those who contributed to it.

In order not to take the classroom time for clarification from my side and also since we have limited number of hours, I wish to engage with the discussion and questions here.

For me, the debate has thrown up a lot of curious questions on the purpose of English, the purpose of Additional English, pedagogic practices, nature of learning and classroom dynamics.

Let me take up one by one.

What is the objective or purpose of Additional English as a subject? At one level it replaces the so called ‘second’ language – for those who cannot or do not want to take up Kannada, Hindi, French or Tamil. In such a case, the paper fulfils merely the structural requirement. If we accept that as given, then the next question is what is the objective of additional English? The only source for the ‘official’ version is the Book of Syllabus. The objectives as laid down in that book are:
1. To introduce the students to contemporary literature
2. To inculcate literary sensibility/taste among students across curriculum
3. To improve language skills both verbal and written
4. To make students read the text critically (Page 34)

The objectives of the II Semester are “To read the text critically; To be aware of the socio-political and cultural aspects of the text; To enable the students to compare and contrast the different cultures.” (Page 36)

I see that the objectives of the course and the paper clearly indicate that the texts are only contextual to discuss other things and to build the language skills of the students. To that extent my three-hour lectures on notions of text and texualities, growth and development of theatre, student presentation and discussion on travelling, on tense, articles, and alphabet, pronunciation are very much in line with the course and paper expectations.

I use a text to bring out the subtexts in the given text by locating it in contexts. From there I try to introduce and challenge the literary, linguistic and critical abilities of the students. It is important for me that I do not prepare you for exams but take you beyond them. The exam needs are taken care of in the process.

I ask questions, problematise the given answers, delay my own answers so that I can inculcate a sense of questioning in them. It is also an attempt to help students to take charge of their learning rather than looking up to teacher as the repository of all knowledge and learning. Towards this end, I use numerous and subtle techniques. Most importantly, I constantly experiment.

There is always a scope to ask questions. I have tried various ways to make you ask questions, and respond, mostly in vain. But I am not disappointed. Since one is trying these things in a system/structure that has different covert demands, it is an uphill task, and one has to do it because one believes in it, and not because one wants to change the world, or one is hopeful of seeing any significant changes or one is going to be recognised or appreciated for it.

With these clarifications let me assure you that should there be any clarification required you are free to seek it any point of time in the class.

However, I have some expectations from the students’ side. Since you know the syllabus and have all the prescribed texts with you, do come to class having read them. In this semester I have not seen it happening. But do it at least in the rest of the semester. When you read please take the help of a dictionary to find out the meanings of words. Despite that if the meanings are not clear do ask me in the class. However, although I welcome questions, if the student does not do the basic required coursework then it does not speak well of that student.

As far as possible raise your questions in the classroom so that they benefit all your classmates.

If you have any suggestions to me or expectations from my side please email them to me or post them in my blog. I will be quite open to look at them.

This apart, the discussion was interesting because it made me look at more closely the questions like what is learning? What is knowing? What is to understand? How does one know that he/she has understood or learnt or knows something? How are learning, knowing constructed for us? Do we have one construction of it or we keep participating in multiple constructions?

Such moments, as the one I encountered in the last class, make me reflect on my own pedagogic and academic practices. I am grateful to you for that as well.

I wish to see your responses to what I have said above and to the discussion we had in the classroom. So email on … or comment on ....

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

II Semester BA Additional English - CIA 3

Write a critical analysis of a poem, short story, novel, anthology, play, critical essay, or biography (any one) published not earlier than July 1, 2007. The analysis may be linguistic, literary, semiotic or interdisciplinary. The text has to be in English. If you are analyzing a poem, please submit it along with your assignment. In other cases please keep the book/text ready. I may ask for it, if required.

The write up should be typed in not less than 500 words and printed on A4 size paper with one and a half line space and 12 font size. You may use anyone of the following fonts only: Times New Roman, Garamand, Book Antiqua.

Please write your name, registered number, class, subject, teacher-in-charge on the right hand top corner of the first page. Please do not attach a cover sheet.

The non-extendable date to submit your assignment is 20 January 2008. You may however submit before the last date. In order to avoid confusion please send your assignment through your respective class representatives. Class representatives please maintain a list of all those who submit their assignments.

Please avoid plagiarism. If you are using ideas or lines from books or online sources please cite them. To know how to cite please refer to the post on bibliography writing in my blog (http://anilpinto.blogspot.com/2008/01/bibliography-writing.html). You may however use other formats or evolve your own provided there is consistency and is logical.

Late submissions may not be entertained.

Evaluation Criteria :Critical engagement, language, writing skill.

For any clarification email to anil.pinto at christcollege.edu or enter your questions in the comment section of the blog post below.

Anil Pinto
Dept of Media Studies 09 Jan 2008

Bibliography writing

Bibliography

Recording Essential Publication Information
Book
1. Authors full name (last name first)
2. Full title (including subtitle)
3. Edition (if the book is a second or later numbered edition or a revised edition)
4. Number of volume and total number of volumes (if the book is a multivolume work)
5. City/place of publication
6. Shortened form of the publishers name
7. Year of publication
E.g.:
Budden, Julian. The Operas of Verdi. Rev. ed. 3 vols. Oxford: Claredon, 1992.

Article in a scholarly journal
1. Authors full name (last name first)
2. Title of the article (including subtitle)
3. Title of the journal
4. Volume number
5. Year of publication
6. Inclusive page of the article (i.e. the number of the page on which the article begins, a hyphen, and the number of the page on which the article ends)
E.g.:
Frith, Simon. “The Black Box: The Value of Television and the future of Television
Research.” Screen 41 (2000):33-50.

Newspaper or magazine article
1. Authors full name (last name first)
2. Title of the article
3. Title of the periodical
4. Date of publication
5. Inclusive page of the article

Hoover, Eric. “New Attacks on Early Decision.” Chronicle of Higher Education 11 Jan. 2002: A45-46.

Internet resource:
1. Author’s full name
2. Title of the document
3. Full information about any previous or simultaneous publication in print form
4. Title of the scholarly project, database, periodical, or professional or personal site.
5. Name of the editor of the scholarly project or database
6. Date of electronic publication or last update
7. Name of the institution or organization sponsoring or associated with the site
8. Date when you accessed the source
9. Network address, or URL


E.g.:
Bitel, Lisa M. “St . Brigit of Ireland: From Virgin Saint to Fertility Goddess.” Matrix. Ed. Katherine Gill and Bitel. Feb. 2001. Boston Coll. 23 Jan. 2002 .

Single author
Anderson, Benedict. Imagined Communities. London: Verso, 1991.

Edited book
Baker, Mona. ed. The Routledge Encyclopaedia of Translation Studies. London/ New York: Routledge, 1998.

Two authors
Bassnett, Susan, and Harish Trivedi. eds. Post-colonial Translation: Theory and Practice. London: Routledge, 1999.

More than three authors
Gilman, Sander, et al. Hysteria beyond Freud. Berkeley: U of California P, 1993.

Two books by the same author
Durant, Will, and Ariel Durant. The Age of Voltaire. New York: Simon, 1965.
---. A Dual Autobiography. New York: Simon, 1977.

Work in an anthology
Allende, Isabel. “Toad’s Mouth.” Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. A Hammock beneath the Mangoes: Stories from Latin America. Ed. Thomas Colchie.

Dictionary ref.
“Noon.” The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989.

Encyclopaedia ref
“Mandarin.” The Encyclopaedia Americana. 1994. ed.

An edition
Austen, Jane. Sense and Sensibility. Ed. Claudia Johnson. New York: Norton, 2001.

Second or subsequent edition
Bonderella, Peter. Italian Cinema: From Neorealism to the Present. 3rd ed. New York: Continuum, 2001.

A Film
It’s a Wonderful Life. Dir. Frank Capra. Perf. James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, and Thomas Mitchell.

A Performance
Hamlet. By William Shakespeare. Dir. John Gielgud. Perf. Richard Burton. Shubert Theatre, Boston. 4 Mar. 1964.

Musical composition
Beethoven, Ludwig van. Symphony no. 7 in A, op. 92.
A painting, sculpture or photograph
Rembrandt van Rijn. Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

A cartoon or comic strip
Chast, Roz. Cartoon. New Yorker 4 Feb. 2002:53.

Online source
“Fresco Paintings” Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. 2002. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 8 May 2002

CD-ROM
“Ibn Hamdis.” Encyclopaedia of Islam. CD-ROM. Leiden: Brill, 1999.


Endnotes

Notes share the same information with bibliography but in different form with four main divisions: The author’s name in normal order, followed by a comma; the title; the publication data in parentheses; and a page reference. There is a period only at the end. Notes are numbered consecutively.

E.g.:
1. Debora Tannen, You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation (New York: Morrow, 1990) 52.

Note:
1. Bibliography is written in the alphabetical order.
2. I have taken most of the examples and explanations from MLA Handbook, 6th edition. If you have any further doubts you may please consult the book or get back to me.
3. If you find any mistakes, as they are likely to be there since I typed them myself, please inform me via email.

This is one useful thing you will have leant at the College.
If you find it useful even after you are done with this paper or later in life, do drop a line to tell me so. I will be happy.



Anil Pinto
05 October 2007

Monday, January 07, 2008

Certificate Course in Introduction to Cultural Studies

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Certificate Course in Introduction to Cultural Studies

Duration: Jan to early March

First Class on 12 Jan 2008

Time: 2 pm

Venue: Room 109

You can take the course along with other certificate courses

if it does not clash.

For Further information

Contact: Naresh Rao, or Anil Pinto - Dept of Media Studies

Mail to: anil.pinto at christcollege.edu



Details

Introduction to Cultural Studies




General Introduction:

Cultural Studies is an emerging area of research and teaching that brings in new perspectives to the study of culture and society.


Topic titles:

The paper covers ten topics, listed below. Each topic requires the student to log on to the course material and also do the required exercises, which will be discussed during the contact programme. The following are the titles of the lessons. The course begins with the introductory session on 12.01.08.


1. The Concept of Culture 12.01.08 Introduction and Registration – Anup Kumar Dhar and Zainab Bawa


2. Cultural Studies 19.01.08 Ashwin Kumar AP


3. Theorizing Culture 25.0108 Zainab Bawa


4. Orientalism 02.02.08 Nitya Vasudevan


• 5. Uses of History in Contemporary India 09.02.08 Ashwin Kumar AP

5.. Imagining the Nation 15.02.08 Nitya Vasudevan


7. The Identity Question 16.02.08 Zainab Bawa


8. Femininity – Masculinity 22.02.08 Nitya Vasudevan


• 9 .The Country and the City 23.02.08 Nishant Shah

• 10. Legal Identity and Culture 01.03.08 Geetanjali Srikantan



2 Day Workshop on ‘Cultural Studies’ at CSCS on the 8th and the 9th of March (10 am – 6 pm):

Possible Speakers: Tejaswini Niranjana
Vivek Dhareshwar
S. V. Srinivas
Ashish Rajadhyaksha
Sitharamam Kakarala
Rochelle Pinto
Prasanta Chakravarty
Sruti Chaganti



Sunday, January 06, 2008

Screen Play writing / Film Analysis Homework / Assignment 1

Hi
As mentioned in the class today when you come on next Sunday please come with the following work done.

1. Pick two favorite films
  • Identify the three acts
  • State protagonists state of mind at the start of the story and state of mind at the end of the story.
Example to get you going - Casablance: A tough American expatriate rediscovers an old flame only to give her up so that he can fight the Nazis.

2. Identify a couple of sequences within a film
  • Describe them
  • Identify character values at start and end (talk about state of mind)

3. Pick a film and identity at least three to four elements of the seven steps form within it.

4. Describe an antagonist (from a film or book) that fascinates you. Explain why.

For any clarification please mail to Darshin Naidu on <darshscript at gmail.com>.

Anil