667 words

Raymond Williams' definition of culture and its historical complexity

According to Raymond Williams, "culture" has one of the most complicated histories of any word in the English language, with such terms as civilization. The terms 'Ministry of Culture,' 'civilization' and 'cultural anthropology' not far behind.

~4 min read

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579 words

Redlands Regional Players' modern production of Hamlet reviewed

In the month of March 2008, the Redlands Regional Players put on a production of William Shakespeare's classic play, Hamlet. Hamlet is widely considered to be one of the greatest literary works of the English language.

~3 min read

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600 words

John Smith's account of Jamestown and religious motivations

John Smith's account of Jamestown has come under attack on several occasions but so has everything Smith ever wrote concerning his voyages. Smith is credited for the discovery of life in the wilderness that resulted in first permanent English Speaking settlement in the New World.

~3 min read

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1,288 words

Theravada Buddhism's appeal to Western practitioners compared to Zen and Mahayana

The facts of Buddhism are simple and easy to understand. The Buddhists use a sacred book called the Tripitaka, or the Pali Canon. To translate the Tripitaka from an ancient Indian language into English is tough, because it is so long, over forty volumes.

~7 min read

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1,198 words

Five-paragraph essays and portfolio assessment in student writing

Requiring students to produce compositions or essays in a standard five-paragraph format is one of most popular methods of assessing student performance, especially in English, History, and Social Studies classes. The essay format does indeed have many points in its favor as a method of assessment.

~6 min read

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1,423 words

Narrative perspective in Heaney's and Gardner's versions of Beowulf

The legend of Beowulf is one of the most representative Anglo-Saxon texts, and as such, it has benefited from many translations and adaptations into Modern English.

~8 min read

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1,575 words

Sir Thomas More's moral opposition to King Henry VIII

Yet, at the same time, his drastically self-interested acts as king managed to significantly alter the course of English history. Furthermore, the philosophical and moral questions that his reign posed both the people living in his age and today remain relevant and compelling.

~8 min read

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1,723 words

Language choice and cultural identity in African literature: Achebe and Ngugi

When authors are relating the African experience, must they write the original book in the native language? Does this add to the experience? Better yet, does writing it in English lose its cultural identity?

~9 min read

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4,027 words

The Whorfian hypothesis and second language learning: academic perspectives

How relevant is the Whorfian Hypothesis (WH) - also referred to as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis - to language learning, in particular for the person who learned (or is learning) English as a second language?

~21 min read

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1,703 words

Social and political differences between England and the colonies before 1776

Describe the social and political climate in England; how was it different in the colonies. Although English culture was not as admired as French culture within the European community - indeed the English seemed "...only a cut above barbarians" (Middlekauff p.

~9 min read

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