It’s all drawing to a close. Erin and Heather and I went on another jaunt around the city since we only have one more day to venture around Oxford together. We climbed up St. Michael’s Saxon Tower, the oldest building in Oxford. It was built about 1040. The tower has a great view of the city, so I took several pictures from the top. This view is of the spire of the chapel at Exeter (my college) and the Sheldonian Theatre in the background. I’m going to miss this city! =(
There are endings, finales, and terminuses everywhere. We had our next-to-last lecture this morning. The speaker was American (!!!) She was the only American on the lecture circuit and she is very young to have her doctorate and be a lecturer at the University of Oxford. At first I was put off that I was learning something about British literature from a fellow American, but then I was inspired because if she can do it, maybe I could too… And she sure knew her British female authors!
Today was also my last class with Dr. Cunningham. We finished discussing Jude the Obscure and then ventured into other areas of Victorian writing. I’ll miss having my brain filled so much! This man is an ocean of information (which contains more water than a fountain, so I chose ocean for my metaphor). =) At the conclusion of class, Dr. C handed out glasses to everyone and opened two bottles of wine, and we toasted the end of our time together. I was getting a little misty-eyed over the whole thing (and I hadn’t even had the wine!) =) My professor is in the far right of the picture (almost cut out) sitting in his arm chair, looking very intelligent!
I met with Dr. Byrne, my Jane Austen professor, for my tutorial to discuss the essay I had handed in to her. She was very kind in her assessment of my paper, and also gave me recommendations about how to pursue further degrees at Oxford if I am interested. I am certainly interested, but I don’t know if it is feasible. She said I wouldn’t have trouble getting in, but financing a minimum of three years for my doctoral degree is quite expensive. And what would I do with my very expensive degree? Teaching isn’t quite like being a doctor or a lawyer where the salary eventually offsets the price of the education. =) Even if it is just a dream, I enjoyed hearing her opinions and recommendations about the idea. She has been a great inspiration to me during this programme; she has the knowledge of her subject area AND the passion for it (she truly loves literature!) I feel honoured to have had her as a tutor.
After class, I met Art and Anne Gard (my brother’s in-laws) who are also travelling in the UK right now. They stopped in Oxford on their way to meet some friends elsewhere in England. I showed them around the city, we had tea at the Buttery, we went to a free organ recital at Queen’s College, and then had dinner at an Italian restaurant. It was good to see them, and I enjoyed being “tour guide” again. I really feel like this has become my city!
Date: 19 July 2007
Location: Oxford
Highlights:
- the view from the Saxon Tower
- visiting with the Gards (especially at the recital - this picture is from inside the chapel at Queen's College where it was held)
- having a tutorial with Dr. Byrne
Thought of the Day: taken from the Book of Common Worship, Church of England: “Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit.” I was reading through the Book of Common Worship while I listened to the organ recital this evening and came across that line. I’ve been thinking about “inspiration” and the fact that it is derived from the phrase “to breathe into” (see Dad – I do listen!) and how I have been using the word to describe my experience here. I really feel like I have had a new-found excitement and love for literature breathed into me over the past few weeks. And I like the line from the liturgy, too: the breathing in of the Holy Spirit into our lives cleanses our hearts. That’s some great imagery right there!
There are endings, finales, and terminuses everywhere. We had our next-to-last lecture this morning. The speaker was American (!!!) She was the only American on the lecture circuit and she is very young to have her doctorate and be a lecturer at the University of Oxford. At first I was put off that I was learning something about British literature from a fellow American, but then I was inspired because if she can do it, maybe I could too… And she sure knew her British female authors!
Today was also my last class with Dr. Cunningham. We finished discussing Jude the Obscure and then ventured into other areas of Victorian writing. I’ll miss having my brain filled so much! This man is an ocean of information (which contains more water than a fountain, so I chose ocean for my metaphor). =) At the conclusion of class, Dr. C handed out glasses to everyone and opened two bottles of wine, and we toasted the end of our time together. I was getting a little misty-eyed over the whole thing (and I hadn’t even had the wine!) =) My professor is in the far right of the picture (almost cut out) sitting in his arm chair, looking very intelligent!I met with Dr. Byrne, my Jane Austen professor, for my tutorial to discuss the essay I had handed in to her. She was very kind in her assessment of my paper, and also gave me recommendations about how to pursue further degrees at Oxford if I am interested. I am certainly interested, but I don’t know if it is feasible. She said I wouldn’t have trouble getting in, but financing a minimum of three years for my doctoral degree is quite expensive. And what would I do with my very expensive degree? Teaching isn’t quite like being a doctor or a lawyer where the salary eventually offsets the price of the education. =) Even if it is just a dream, I enjoyed hearing her opinions and recommendations about the idea. She has been a great inspiration to me during this programme; she has the knowledge of her subject area AND the passion for it (she truly loves literature!) I feel honoured to have had her as a tutor.
After class, I met Art and Anne Gard (my brother’s in-laws) who are also travelling in the UK right now. They stopped in Oxford on their way to meet some friends elsewhere in England. I showed them around the city, we had tea at the Buttery, we went to a free organ recital at Queen’s College, and then had dinner at an Italian restaurant. It was good to see them, and I enjoyed being “tour guide” again. I really feel like this has become my city! I know I am dwelling too much on leaving Oxford. I should be excited that I'll be traveling to Stratford-upon-Avon, London, and Ireland over the next week and a half! It is just difficult to think about leaving a place that has had such an impact on my intellectual (and personal and emotional) growth.
Date: 19 July 2007Location: Oxford
Highlights:
- the view from the Saxon Tower
- visiting with the Gards (especially at the recital - this picture is from inside the chapel at Queen's College where it was held)
- having a tutorial with Dr. Byrne
Thought of the Day: taken from the Book of Common Worship, Church of England: “Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit.” I was reading through the Book of Common Worship while I listened to the organ recital this evening and came across that line. I’ve been thinking about “inspiration” and the fact that it is derived from the phrase “to breathe into” (see Dad – I do listen!) and how I have been using the word to describe my experience here. I really feel like I have had a new-found excitement and love for literature breathed into me over the past few weeks. And I like the line from the liturgy, too: the breathing in of the Holy Spirit into our lives cleanses our hearts. That’s some great imagery right there!
