Tutorials

So, after my first real week of tutorials, I'm getting my feet on the ground here in Oxford. The tutorial system is vastly different from anything I've ever experienced at home. Basically, you meet with your tutor once a week to discuss your previous week's work. You talk for about an hour, then you decide what you'll be studying during the upcoming week. Then, you're on your own.

Tuesday I had my Romantic Lit class--we read Wordsworth and Coleridge's "Lyrical Ballads." I had to read my paper out in that class--which is pretty scary, but since I had practice reading out in a seminar, it wasn't too bad. So after we discussed my paper and one of my classmate's papers, it was pretty much the end of our time together. This week we're looking at William Blake's "Songs of Innocence" and "Songs of Experience," as well as some of his longer poems.

My favorite class, though, is my 19th Century novel class. It's just me in that class, and my professor is really flexible about what I get to study. She leaves it almost entirely up to me. So for my first week, I got to study Jane Eyre--which, if you know me, is one of my favorites!! It was so nice to pick my own topics and do my own research--even if it did get a little overwhelming sometimes. This next week I'll be looking at Anne Bronte's "The Tenant of Wildfell Hall," and possibly Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights." So, I think this week will be good as well!

More exciting travel plans are in the works--I go to Brighton tomorrow, and I'm planning my wonderful, wonderful trip to Scotland for about two weeks from now.

Exciting times in Oxford!
Thanks for your continued love and support! (Especially you, Merv and Tish! Every time I get something in the mail from you it makes me smile and think of you!)


Cheers,

Sarah