Containing Multitudes - American Studies UEA

Research Seminar: Jon Mitchell

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:29:57 PST

At this week's Research Seminar, AMS's very own Jonathan Mitchell will be talking about, "Cutting out the ‘I’s in American Psycho." Wednesday 25th, Arts 2.51, 3pm. See you there!

News: Liam Heffernan on the Golden Globes

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 10:54:52 PST

For many, January is the start of an intense guilt-induced period of cutbacks, and as these people stress about their post-Christmas budget and waistline, the film buffs are stocking up their alcohol supply and bracing themselves for the start of another awards season. The Golden Globes is very much the opening ceremony, where Hollywood’s finest (and Stacy Keibler) descend on the Beverley

Research Seminars: Spring Schedule

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:17:35 PST

The new semester's approaching fast so, hot off the press, here's the compelling schedule for our Research Seminars this semester. See you there! Doing Justice in, and to, America: Visiting Speaker series, School of American Studies University of East Anglia, 20011-12 All seminars will take place on Wednesdays, 15:00-17:00, in Arts 2.84 Jan 18th Philip D.

Research Seminar: Ross Hair

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 05:40:29 PST

At this week's research seminar, AMS' very own Ross Hair - author, most recently, of Ronald Johnson's Modernist Collage Poetry (Palgrave, 2010) - will be speaking about: "Pan's People: Transatlantic Pastoral and the Jargon 'Society'". Arts 2.84, 3pm, all welcome.

News: Liam Heffernan On This Season's American TV Imports

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:10:54 PST

by Liam Heffernan An obsession with film and television can be a terrible hindrance to essay-writing. Spending hours upon hours a day telling yourself you will start just as soon as you have caught up on Have I Got News For You and QI, but then you remember you forgot to watch Happy Endings and Glee from Thursday and how much work can you really be expected to do in the few minutes it

Opinion: Bev Cadby on American Consumerism

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:57:54 PST

Black Friday shoppers by Bev Cadby America’s baby boomers are the first generation to have been submitted to media manipulation from the moment of their conception in the 1950s through their childhoods and working lives; now, with many of them in their retirement, they are still being ‘courted’ by marketers. The post World War II years were kind to America. Unscathed by the devastating

News: Professor Nick Selby's Inaugural Now Online

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 08:58:54 PST

(from Susan Howe's "Thorow", via) Some viewing for the weekend: Professor Nick Selby's inaugural lecture, Reading Difficulty: What's American about American Poetry, is now available to view in full here. Enjoy, and feel free to ask any questions you might have below!

News: Thanksgiving Round-Up 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 08:57:47 PST

(Norman Rockwell, via) Happy Thanksgiving, America. Or commiserations on the National Day of Mourning, depending on your point of view. Either way, link round-up below! Thinking of hosting your own Thanksgiving party? The New York Times is running a Thanksgiving help line... ...Gizmodo advises on turkey preparation (clue: brine)... ...and, thanks to The Guardian, you might like to consult

Letter from America: Tom Macarte

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:04:49 PST

Letter from America - an occasional series of posts by students on their Year Abroad in America. by Tom Macarte Hi. My name’s Tom. I am currently studying abroad at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. I could go on about how wonderful it is here, how many bluegrass and country gigs I am going to, how much fried chicken and sweet tea I am consuming, etc. etc. Instead, I am going to

Research Seminar: Karen Huntress

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 08:23:51 PST

This week, we're excited to welcome Karen Huntress to the School of American Studies. Karen is currently the Cultural Outreach Officer for the US Embassy in London, and she'll be talking about issues related to race, gender and American justice. In the meantime, Karen blogs for the Embassy here, and you can follow her on Twitter here. Arts 2.84, 3pm, all welcome.

"A Frisson of Sexual Deviance": Today's American Vampire

noreply@blogger.com (Andi Bawden) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 04:04:41 PST

by Andi Bawden Before I get started, I have spent days thinking over possible topics and finally made the decision whilst watching True Blood in my pyjamas and trying not to look at the stack of reading on my desk. Over these past few weeks it has seemed impossible to escape the media frenzy over the most recent Twilight offering, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are plastered

Undisciplined: A New UEA PG Journal Seeks Submissions

noreply@blogger.com (neek) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 07:26:57 PST

By Neekta Khorsand Undisciplined is an online-based postgraduate journal started this semester by none other than myself for the purpose of creating community among UEA PGs across disciplines while also providing a platform through which PGs (taught and research) can express themselves whether academically or creatively in areas that their research or focus may not necessarily allow. Centering

New Campaign Aims to Increase Awareness of HIV and AIDS

noreply@blogger.com (NKB) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 23:40:45 PST

by Natasha Broad This year marks the 30th anniversary of the discovery of HIV and AIDS and, to commemorate this event and highlight the importance of ongoing research into the disease, a new campaign has been launched by fashion designer Kenneth Cole, in collaboration with the MTV Staying Alive Foundation and amfAR. Although HIV and AIDS are no longer seen by many people as being

"Helplessness Blues" And The Burden of American Individualism

noreply@blogger.com (neek) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:42:50 PST

By Neekta Khorsand "Helplessness Blues" by Fleet Foxes -- Soundcloud The title track of Fleet Foxes’ sophomore album*, “Helplessness Blues,” is a series of contradictory statements and questions uncomfortably abandoned in the last line. However, its opening lines are ones to which many Americans, regardless of generation, can relate. Lead vocalist and songwriter for Fleet Foxes, Robin Pecknold

Race-ing images and words: the power of linguistics and visual culture in maintaining racial oppression

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:07:17 PDT

by Jon Ward In response to last week's American Studies Research Seminar, presented wonderfully by A. Robert Lee in a talk entitled "Postcolonial/PostIndian: Literary and Other Representations of Native America", combined with the timely reading of some interesting blog posts about the cultural appropriation of various Halloween outfits, I started to think about the importance of words

Research Seminar: Roger Thompson

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 10:57:23 PDT

At this week's research seminar, AMS's own Professor Roger Thompson will be talking about: "From Deference to Defiance: Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1629-1692." Roger is the author of a wide range of books about colonial New England, and is about to publish a new book which shares the title of his talk. Wednesday November 2nd, 4pm, A2.86. All welcome.

Opinion: To blog, or not to blog?

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 10:52:22 PDT

The origin of a different kind of Silver Surfer by Bev Cadby To blog, or not to blog; that is the question. You see, I’m a mature student and it’s not until you actually get to university you realise there are mature students…and then there’s me! So when an email came around asking for people to sit on the Social Media Editorial Committee for the School of American Studies, I thought why not

Tomorrow: Prof. Nick Selby's Inaugural Lecture

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:45:28 PDT

Tomorrow (Tuesday November 1), Head of the School of American Studies Professor Nick Selby will be giving his inaugural lecture. All welcome. "Reading difficulty: what's American about American poetry?" Thomas Paine Study Centre, 6.30pm.

News: Halloween 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 02:26:54 PDT

It's Halloween! Link round-up below. Let's start with pumpkin carving. Both The Guardian and NPR offer expert advice on getting the best from your gourd. Looking for a change from the same-old same-old? Martha Stewart offers an alternative. Both the Los Angeles Times and CNN break down Halloween 2011 by the numbers. The New York Times describes this year's Halloween celebrations at the White

Fateful Birth: William Faulkner’s Absalom, Absalom! turns 75

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 06:20:38 PDT

William Faulkner, looking haunted by Ed Clough This week sees the fall of Halloween and Dia de los Muertos – festivals celebrating (ostensibly, anyway) death as abstract and haunting, and as personal and familial; as elemental horror and as intimate loss – and, in both cases, as excuses for some freestyle, heavy-duty material and consumptive excess. It’s apt, then, that this week should

AMS Discussion Cafés: Crisis and Contemporary America

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:44:18 PDT

The first in a series of Discussion Cafés hosted by students from the School of American Studies' final year module "New American Century: Culture and Crisis" takes place tomorrow! No need to book, no charge, and refreshments provided. Tomorrow's session: ‘How do national cultures deal with globalisation and Americanisation?’ October 25, 11-12, The Maddermarket Theatre, St. John’s Alley,

Research Seminar: A. Robert Lee

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:52:40 PDT

At this week's research seminar, A. Robert Lee will be visiting. He is the author and editor of an wide-ranging number of books, and is, most recently, editor of this four volume collection of Native American Writing. On Wednesday, he will be talking about: "Postcolonial/Postindian: Literary and Other Representations of Native America." Wednesday 26 October, 3pm, Arts 2.84. All welcome.

Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison and the Spirit of Invention

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 05:13:05 PDT

Thomas Edison, relaxing with his iPod by Nick Cleaver I’d like to talk a little about Steve Jobs. Not in the sense of an ode to a life tragically cut short – I never met the man and, while I do own a phone which could be considered to a greater or lesser extent a product of his genius or vision, without wishing to sound callous I would not presume that this places me in sufficiently close

Research Seminar: Matthew Ward

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:35:22 PDT

At this week's research seminar we're being treated to a visit by Matthew Ward (University of Dundee). Matthew is the author, most recently, of The Battle for Quebec: 1759. He writes: My current research examines the Seven Years' War in North America and its effects on Native Americans, French-Canadians and Anglo-American settlers. More broadly I am interested in Britain's involvement in early

Opinion: Four Weddings and Three Hundred Funerals

noreply@blogger.com (Thomas Ruys Smith) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:08:36 PDT

by Liam Heffernan On Thursday 28th April 2011 Alabama and the southern states were hit by a storm killing almost 300 Americans. It was 'the worst tornado outbreak since 1974' leaving thousands of people homeless and over a million without power. The following morning, I was sitting in a hostel in downtown Boston trying to see the news through the heads of old ladies huddled