More bonus marks

Up to 2% added to your final grade for a review of Beowulf the movie. I would need the reviews the week after the exam.

Class cancelled on Tuesday Nov. 20

This will no doubt be crushing news, but I am canceling class on Tues. Nov. 20 because the Graduate Students’ Assn. in F’ton is having a demonstration at noon and I i) want to allow you to attend if you are able; and ii) have agreed to speak at it myself. Since we have two classes on Gulliver’s Travels, we will fold the discussion into one.

Second thing: if any of you would like to sign this letter, please drop me a line. No pressure, either to sign or to attend the demo.

See you Thursday!

Bonus marks!

To reiterate what was said in class on Tuesday: you can earn 1% extra on your final grade by attending a performance of Dracula at the Imperial this weekend (proof required: either a programme or bite marks on your neck). Earn another 1%, for a total of 2%, by writing a brief review.

Don’t say I never gave ya nothin.

Upcoming Events

10/10—Public Forum

13/10—Rally and March

15/10—Public Forum

16/10—Rally and March

RALLY

[Click image to download PDF file, suitable for printing]

Rally for UNBSJ and Saint John Tuesday at 12 noon in the quad.

Jim Turk, Executive Director of CAUT, will be among the speakers.

Threat to UNBSJ

Folks, you may have heard or read in the news about the proposal to close UNBSJ and replace it with a polytechnic (check out the newest issue of The Baron for an excellent story). Timing is important now; the final report of the Post-secondary education Commission is due out by the end of this week, and then the provincial government will comment. It is important that we speak out now, in order to shape their response. Go to Living in interesting times for a list of City Councillors, MLAs, and MPs. Emails are fine. In fact, because of the time factor, emails would be best.

Beowulf

There is a new filmed version of Beowulf coming out in November. Too late to see it while we are still discussing it in class, but it should open before the term is over. Looks like the producers have felt the need to sex it up — Angelina Jolie as Grendel’s mother! — but it will surely be interesting. An amazing cast, including Anthony Hopkins and John Malkovich. Not to mention the fabulous Neil Gaiman having co-written the screenplay.

And, hey, there is a video game, too.

Here are some Beowulf links:

Beowulf.org
Beowulf in Cyberspace
Electronic Beowulf
Legends: Beowulf (lots of links)
Resources for the Study of Beowulf