It was just an Occident…

First things first, your guesses on my book total have left me feeling quite inadequately stocked! Peter was closest with his guess – the actual total is 1347. To put that in perspective, it’s rather more than one a week since I was born. Eeps.

I’ve spent large chunks of today embroiled in Edward Said’s Orientalism… gosh.

Don’t know what to write about it, as it’s not going to be the sort of thing I’d read for pleasure, though perhaps I underestimate the stamina of my blog readers – perhaps theoretical history is your bedtime reading. All fairly interesting – the history of Orientalism as an acedemic pursuit, as a Western colonial concept, and as an Eastern voice. Lots of springboard topics for my Literature of Empire and Nation module, but also set for Week 1 of the core course for my Masters. Which apparently will look at the differences between modernity and Modernism, as well as at colonialism and so forth – seems quite a lot to handle in a two hour session, so will keep you posted. The modernity/modernism has some interesting avenues into the middlebrow area which interests me so much, and how this enormous section of literature can be studied to nuance an understanding of the period, rather than seeing it just as High Modernism.

Speaking of which, it won’t be very long before I have to start thinking about my Doctorate Application… gosh. In fact, I’ll have to submit my proposal before I’ve started my Masters dissertation… which seems quite silly, but there you go. Not reasoning why, and so forth. But I’m sure you’ll all come along for the ride (!)