Tag Archives: introduction

Hey There!

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Hey everyone,

my name is Phillip Grimshaw, and I am double-major in English and Political Science.  I’m from Greenville, SC, so when I’m not tanning on Sullivan’s Island, I’m out enjoying the mountains of the upstate.

English literature is one greatest passions, and I especially have grown rather fond of works within the medieval realm.  Initially, when I came to Charleston, my focus was more on American authors in the western canon, but as I was exposed to new materials in my 200 level courses, I began to harbor a fascination with British works; more specifically I was drawn to the medieval era.  The medieval time period piques my interest, since it is such an elaborate time, yet the stories of the age seem quiet accessible when compared to British modernists. Therefore, it is the ornate story telling in works like ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’ or ‘Dream of the Rood’ that truly grabs my attention.

When I am not pouring over a work by Melville —who is my favorite author— or reading a dystopian sci-fi novel, I can usually be found playing golf, running, or designing web-sites. Running and golf are two activities that I thoroughly enjoy, since they are an excellent way to relieve stress and get fresh air. In fact, I enjoy running competitively at local races and with the CofC running club.  Most of my friends and my girlfriend think I’m absolutely delusional for taking pleasure in going on a four-mille training running, but until one has experienced it, there is not a greater feeling than dropping onto the couch and falling asleep after a good workout.

Anyway, that is enough about me, so I look forward to getting to know everyone in class and beginning this course!

Introduction

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Hello!  My name is Autumn.  I am an English major here at C of C in my senior year (graduating this December).  I am in the process of applying to graduate school at the University of South Carolina.  I intend to study library and information science which I am very excited about.  I am also applying to some jobs as well.

I am interested in philosophy.  Specifically Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism (explanation here).  I am currently  in the process of forming a club on campus to discuss her ideas, and I am really looking forward to it coming together.  I am also interested in economics and history–I spent part of the summer studying North Korea.  Sometimes I get both overwhelmed and excited when I realize how much there is to learn about everything.  Overwhelmed because I worry I will run out of time, and excited because of all there is to learn!

I love learning about favorites.  So, I would say my old faithful favorite movie is probably “Lost in Translation.”  My favorite book is “We the Living” by Ayn Rand.  I don’t currently have a favorite musician, but I really like Johannes Brahms.  I have been listening to Glenn Gould’s performances of his works and I really enjoy them.  I also carry a soft spot in my heart for Elliott Smith (I always will).  My favorite restaurant is probably Chop Sticks on Soceity St.  Sometimes I have to dance in my chair because the food is so good!  And I can’t ever turn down a cookie.

 

 

Hello

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I’m Thomas Burnette, a 20-year-old English and Biology double major from Columbia, South Carolina.  My path to you and this course was a strange one, as I entered the college with enough credits to graduate in three years, but who would want to do that?  I decided to continue my pre-med path while majoring in English, a subject which I have always enjoyed.  Spending these years with new ideas and new friends has been the highlight of my admittedly brief life, and my fondest memories thus far are those from the English classroom.  I’m an addict for those “Eureka!” moments one has while studying literature, discovering the extra layers of meaning which bring a work to a new, more exciting level.

I keep myself busy with activities of various levels of nerdiness.  I recently finished the complete works of Stephen King, but I never have enough time to read for pleasure during the course of the semester.  I volunteer at Franke Homes and provide company to hospice patients every other week, and I’m currently working with Dr. Zimmerman to discover new bacteriophages to combat tuberculosis.  I’d like to think that I’m one of the few sympathetic ears on the honor board, which most members view as a hanging jury.

Football season’s approaching and I couldn’t be happier.  I can’t wait to kill my voice every week while yelling at the Indianapolis Colts alongside my suite mates, who I suspect get more enjoyment from my creative swearing than from the sport.  If Irene doesn’t cause too much trouble I’ll resume my bi-weekly trips to the beach, which do wonders to clear my head and get me back in touch with reality.

That’s enough for now.  I tend to be relatively brain-dead by the end of the week from all my coursework and obligations, but that’s the same for all of us and things are looking pretty bright this semester.  Hopefully you’ll hear plenty from me in class, and I hope to hear plenty from you all in kind.

Hello English 395!

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Hello everyone!
My name is Max, and I am a Senior English Major with a Minor in Biology. I know, it’s a strange mix of academic interests, but I always found the biology classes interesting, I just wasn’t prepared to go all the way with the Major. On the other hand, I love English! I think taking classes where you are supposed to write your opinions on various topics is a great way to spend four years in academics.

I am from St. Louis, MO and I still am not entirely sure how I ended up in Charleston, SC.  I love sports and I’m always on espn.com trying to get updates on the Cardinals and Rams. I spent this past spring semester in London, UK at the University of Westminster.  It was amazing living in the multinational city of London.  I rode the tube (subway) to class and took the buses around the city.  That was an experience itself.  Along with traveling across Britain and Europe I picked up some great new swear words!

I was able to watch the royal wedding while at a pub surrounded by quite a few Brits.  I have to say after coming back from London, I can add beer to the list of my favorite things.  I love watching movies and currently my favorite is Shaun of the Dead, but I’m sure within the next couple of days I’ll have a new favorite.

Well I think that covers the important parts and I look forward to getting to know all of you better!

Wait, so, who are you?

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This first week’s blog post is, as I explained in class Wednesday, an introduction of yourself to us. You decide what you’d like to share and how you’d like to present it. I’ve produced one that is pasted at the bottom of this “assignment.”

I encourage you to present your introduction of yourself as a post to the blog. If instead you present it as a response to (comment on) my post, I’ll assume that means you tried to post but it didn’t work and we need to spend some more time in class on Monday going over the steps of posting.

First, though, please head over to the Dashboard (see “Get Blogging!” in the menu bar if this doesn’t make sense) and update your profile so we see your name, not your official username, with your post. In the left hand menu, it’s the third category up from the bottom (Users: Your Profile).

After tonight’s 8pm deadline, please read around, getting to know your fellow classmates.

Some things about me:

I’ve been teaching at CofC since 2000. Prior to that, I taught college in Los Angeles and in Portland, Oregon, which is my chosen hometown. I return whenever I can, and will be running the 40th Portland Marathon there in October (my 2nd). I’m a medievalist but that hardly means I find medieval literature and culture vastly more interesting than anything else. Though I fell for Chaucer my very first semester as an English major (having been a Bio major, then a Soc major before that) and went to grad school expecting to specialize in medieval literature, I was very nearly lured away by James Joyce and by the American 1890s. Now, I love contemporary British literature, in particular. I’m also quite a pop culture fan, currently engrossed by True Blood and Weeds and catching up on It’s Always Sunny, eagerly awaiting the return of Beavis & Butthead. (Really.) My favorite film of late is Beginners, which I can’t recommend strongly enough. I’ll be seeing the Flaming Lips again when they’re here this Fall and really miss all the shows I got to see in Portland. On the rare occasion that Modest Mouse, my favorite band of the late 90s and early 00s, comes to town, I always seem to be elsewhere.

This summer I spent writing two articles that are very nearly finished (the deadline for one is tomorrow) and training in the heat for my upcoming race. I took a week off to head to the UK to visit my in-laws in Devon (staying in Dartmouth, more specifically) and hanging out in London, where I spent my senior year of college studying abroad, and took a quick weekend trip to DC.

You can find out a few more things about me on my home page.

Ask questions! I really enjoy hearing what they are.

An Introduction

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Though one should never need to excuse themselves for what they write, especially if the subject matter is personal, writing a summary of who you are is difficult at best. For instance, does one place emphasis on the information that others deem significant, or the details that matter most to them personally? Additionally, there is the question of whether it is even possible to concisely tell the story of your life, and how helpful this act can be when to truly cultivate a relationship with someone you must be in dialogue with them, instead of merely reading their late-night wonderings. However, since it’s inadvisable to give up on any task if it is impossible to complete it perfectly, I’ll stop being a stereotypical English student who questions the question, and get down to the nitty-gritty.

My full name is Joshua Jacob Jackman (yes, 3 J’s – just a lucky coincidence, I assure you, rather than attempt by my parents to imbue me with a love for hook-shaped letters), and I’m a 21 year-old Study Abroad student from England. I usually study at the University of Nottingham, though I have my roots in London, where I still live outside of the academic year. I have an unhealthy obsession with football (soccer), a season ticket at Arsenal, and a belief that many of the tales which emanate from sport carry all the tragedy, ecstasy, and exploration into mankind’s limits which fill the pages of the most celebrated novels. With this in mind, it figures that if all pans out well, I want to become a sports journalist after I finish my degree in English and American Studies.

I also love music, both for the way it makes you feel, and also for its rich source of fantastic writing about life. I like any song that puts a smile on my face. This can be because it’s simply upbeat, or because the lyrics are either so wonderful or so awful that they demand a standing ovation or ceaseless mockery, respectively. Rebecca Black’s Friday is a masterpiece in the latter respect, while Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody embodies all that is wonderful about surrealist song writing. This so-bad-that-it’s-good phenomenon is also true of some films, such as Tommy Wiseau’s spectacularly bad The Room, which creates new levels of appalling scriptwriting. Brilliantly good films are of course still preferable though, and in this vein, When Harry Met Sally and The Shawshank Redemption stand out as films that I could watch over and over again, and be affected by every time. I also reckon that there’s a lot to be said for judging a piece of work on how it makes you feel, rather than how many critical checkboxes it ticks.