University - 1st year - results.

                                    I GOT A 2:1 OVERALL FOR FIRST YEAR. :D

               This is a picture of my cockatiel Charley to show you how happy I am! 
                                                  (because she looks so chuffed) :)

Les Revenants (the returned) had its first airing on channel 4 tonight....

Photo credit: http://www.acrossthedays.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Les-revenants-serie-canal+.jpg

Us Brits tend not to like subtitles, maybe it's because we're too lazy to read or feel that having to divert our attention to the subtitles at the bottom of the screen takes away from the overall viewing experience, whatever the case may be, I think it has been overlooked for this brilliant French thriller. 

(Yes, I'm putting this on my blog because it is French ;) )

This subtitle phobia is even common among my own family, who were unwilling to watch this very programme tonight until I convinced them otherwise. Most of the time, they refuse to watch anything French with me because they say that they don't understand it and don't like subtitles. Luckily les revenants has managed to change their minds. 

Its gritty cinematography and surreal narrative, I feel, is typically French. Even the colour scheme seems similar to that of Amélie (Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain), with a green hue  being the overwhelming colour throughout.

The fact that a French programme has managed to get onto British television, and has been received really well is brilliant, and I hope that it's something that will continue to emerge in time to come. 

In terms of the narrative, I think that it's really captivating and the mystery behind it is something that the French seem to master. As the first episode, it has introduced us to an extremely complex narrative, with many unanswered questions for us viewers. 

A general synopsis of the first episode:

A group of school children were on their school bus driving along the mountains (on a school trip) when a young female pupil runs to the front of the bus and wants to be let out (presumably sensing the danger ahead), the bus proceeds to go off the edge of the mountain, with the vehicle and all of the passengers falling thousands of feet towards the ground. 

The victims have begun to reappear in their relatives homes (often their family home) and the people around them can see them (despite the fact that presumably, they are ghosts). Their reappearance has left their families in despair with nobody knowing how to deal with the situation. 

The consensus is that the victims do not know that they have died and have returned home to live their lives as they would if they were alive, with no recollection of the accident which killed them all. 

Here is a link to the channel 4 website for more information & links to watch the episode online: 

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-returned 

First year of university.

     Picture credit: http://www.port.ac.uk/media/Media,89042,en.jpg

This beautiful building, above, is Park building. Where all but one of my lessons were held this year. I love that the main vicinity where my lessons are taught is the building closest to the train station (as I get the train to and from Portsmouth every day), it could not have been more convenient. 

When I first started uni, or just before I started, I was so worried, as you would be as a newbie, that I wouldn't fit in, wouldn't make friends, and wouldn't do well. All of those things have faded into insignificance. I fit in, I've made friends and I've done well this year. RESULT.

The work load since September, I'm not going to lie, has been a little bit hectic. Mainly because I did every task that was set, even the ones that weren't marked. I suppose, on reflection, I should have tried a little less, as it's first year and all that, it doesn't count towards your final grade, which is a shame really, seeing as I've got a 2:1 in all of my units. 

The unit that I found the most challenging this year was 'making of modern Europe', it was so heavy-duty. So much to remember, so much reading, so little time. I didn't like speaking up in lessons because I didn't feel that my answers would be correct, or even relevant (despite doing all of the suggested weekly reading before the seminar on a given subject.) I literally spent days revising for the MME exam, it was ridiculous. It was like reading pages and pages of history and nothing was going in, or so I thought. When the exam actually came around, I spent a little time, maybe a few minutes planning my response to the essay question and I actually ended up with quite a lot of content. I wouldn't really want to study history again but I'm really pleased with my results to be honest! :)

Quite a few of my friends have said that they found 'introduction to French studies' really difficult, and undeniably, it is. The sheer amount of knowledge that you are expected to have is quite insane but I can honestly say that after studying this unit for the past year, (well, since September), that my knowledge of France has immensely increased and I actually enjoyed the unit. :)

I'm still waiting for my grade to come through for my French language exam. I think I did well, but you know when you think you've actually done quite well at something and then you get your results back and they're really not what you expected. Yeah, I'm thinking that's going to happen now! It's even worse that the exam is worth 50% of the unit. Oh dear! 

The university of Portsmouth really is a nice, friendly place and French studies is a great degree. I'd recommend it. ;)

Gordon & Meunier state "France are loudly resisting globalisation whilst quietly adapting to it at the same time", to what extent is this statement valid in 2013? - INTRODUCTION TO FRENCH STUDIES EXAM WRITE UP

Well first of all, I thought the question choices for this exam were absolutely awful. 

One of the lecturers said *just before the exam started*, "Oh don't worry, there's nothing we haven't covered in class, I haven't got a good imagination." I thought to myself, "Oh good, I've attended all the lectures and seminars this year, I'll be fine. 

But no. I turned the sheet over, looked at the questions and thought to myself "brilliant, I don't feel confident with any of these". 

None of them looked good, interesting or were based on anything I had revised..

The only question I could have chosen (which I eventually did after about 10 minutes of trying to choose which one would be best grades wise.) was the one on globalisation. 
*which is in the title of this post*

The only reason I even chose that question was because I had previously written my Introduction to French studies essay on globalisation in France, which I suppose was lucky. 

So, in this exam (which I sat on 16th May 2013) was essentially a regurgitation of what I could remember from my essay. 

_____________________________________________________________________

Here is a bullet pointed version of what I wrote: 

• To first analyse whether or not Gordon & Meunier's statement remains to be true in 2013, it is first necessary to look at the reasons for which France is resisting globalisation and to see if these reasons are still prevalent in contemporary French society.
• Reason 1 : Power to control their own economic affairs - France's anxieties towards globalisation are based on a conflict between the french exceptionalist model (which is based on a state-controlled economy) and the Anglo-American universalist model (which is based on a more liberal market) - it is increasingly important for Francois Hollande, and France itself, to maintain control over its own economy especially since it had been announced that France had just hit a double-dip recession (16/05/13).
• Reason 2: France's need to be an international power - Globalisation, of course, poses a threat to France's role in the world. Especially since globalisation is most often equated with Americanisation (with a transfer of American dominated ideas & culture).
• Reason 3: France's need to maintain their l'exception culturelle. - José Bové's outburst in 2001 when he dismantled a McDonalds in a small French village - against American malbouffle - He saw, as many people in France do, America, and thus globalisation a threat to French culture and their many other exceptions which set them apart from the rest of Europe.

• I think that the above points were the essence of my essay and I concluded  (something along the lines of..) Gordon & Meunier's statement that France are loudly resisting globalisation whilst quietly adapting to it at the same time remains to be true in 2013 because France have / are actually adopting elements of the universal model e.g. the liberal market, whilst retaining an element of state control, in order to create 'mondialisation maitrise' -  & as long as the above reasons remain a worry for France, they will continue to resist globalisation.

To what extent was Imperial Germany to blame for the outbreak of the 1914-1918 conflict? <-- Making of Modern Europe exam write up.

I took this exam on the 13/04/2013 so I'll just write a few bullet point notes from what I remember writing. :)

• Ongoing Russian/Austria-Hungary tensions over Bosnia (Bosnian crises).
  
• Final spark - Assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand of Austria by a Serb nationalist.
  
• Blank cheque - Germany gave Austria-Hungary the 'blank cheque' meaning that they would support Austria-Hungary in event of conflict against Russia.
  
• Scramble for Africa- All countries had imperialist aims - but Germany was keen to build an empire- Britain and France had already acquired successful empires at this point - Germany's imperialistic aims were also fuelled by French revisionism whereby France wanted to claim back Alsace & Lorraine  (their two richest regions) from Germany which they had lost after the Franco-Prussian war.
  
• Germany's military rivalry with Britain - arms race - right to have the best / most advanced military.
  
• Entangled alliances system meant that all main powers would be brought in (in the event of conflict between two opposing powers.)
  
• Shlieffen plan - Germany had a plan in place to attack France before Russia could mobilise their troops so that they would not have to fight a war on two fronts (from Russia and France)
  
• Nationalism of the great powers.

__________________________________________________________________

My overall conclusion was something along the lines of :

Although Germany may not have been directly involved with the main sparks which caused the outbreak of World War I, they had heavily anticipated it and even encouraged it - it is undeniable that Germany were prepared for war, with the Shlieffen plan and military expansion.