Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Primary education

The Rise of New Criticism

The New Critical method was rapidly adopted, particularly in the North, due to its inexpensive and easily transferable characteristics. Prominent scholars in the North included Austin Warren, W.K. Wimsatt, and Cleanth Brooks. Brooks, in particular, emerged as the most influential New Critic.

Transforming Literary Study

Traditionally, English literature was taught as the History of English Literature, an extrinsic method. New Critics sought to transform these departments into centers of Literary Criticism. They achieved this through three key methods that fundamentally changed the organization of the teaching profession:

• Staffing University Departments

  Gradually, New Critics began to occupy chairs of literature previously

The Genesis of New Criticism

English Foundations: I.A. Richards' Influence

The roots of New Criticism were initially in England, specifically at the University of Cambridge, championed by I.A. Richards. A lecturer, Richards linked New Criticism to the USA by moving to Harvard in 1939. He found in America a very suitable ground to develop his theory of criticism, as Americans sought new methods for literary study without relying on external context. Richards' seminal work, Practical Criticism, explains his method in detail.

René Wellek and Cosmopolitanism

René Wellek contributed significantly to the cosmopolitan component of New Criticism, ensuring it was not an exclusively Anglo-American method of criticism.

American Roots: The Southern Literary

Understanding New Criticism

New Criticism is a significant critical movement characterized by renewal and innovation. It has two main branches:

• The British branch, known as Practical Criticism.
• The American branch, called New Criticism.

Originating in England in the 1920s, New Criticism reached America, where it found fertile ground for growth. It significantly influenced the study of literature and poetry in Western countries.

At the beginning of the 20th century, American critics were captivated by European, particularly British, art and culture. They experienced a sense of cultural inferiority, feeling limited to European or Native American traditions.

New Criticism's influence is undeniable; one must either oppose it or align with it. It is impossible... Continue reading "Understanding New Criticism: Origins and Impact" »

Victorianism: A Period of Transition (1840–1880)

The Victorian era (1840–1880) was characterized by profound doubts, significant changes, and hesitation. It was a period of great movement, connecting the old world with the new, the ancien régime with modernity, serving as a crucial transition toward the modernity of the 20th century.

Key Features Shaping Victorian Criticism

1. Growth of Literacy

   A large segment of the population gained the ability to read and write English. In 1807, a bill providing universal education was defeated by the British Parliament because the Napoleonic Wars introduced revolutionary ideas, and Parliament feared the English populace reading them. The bill was eventually passed in 1877.

2. Weakening of Religious Dogma

   Religious

Modernism's Literary Revolution: Key Movements

The early 20th century marked a transformative era in literature, often referred to as Modernism, with Ezra Pound as a central figure.

Periods of Modernist Development

Modernism can be broadly divided into two significant periods:

• 1910-1914: The Period of Aggressive Dismantling of Victorianism. This initial phase saw a deliberate break from the conventions and sentiments of the Victorian era.
• 1920-1930: The Period of Fulfillment and Artistic Fruits. This decade witnessed the maturation of Modernist art, yielding some of the greatest contributions to English criticism.

Pioneering Critics of the Modernist Era

The latter period produced influential English critics such as T.S. Eliot, I.A. Richards, F.R.... Continue reading "Modernism's Dawn: Imagism and Vorticism's Impact" »

T.S. Eliot's Concept of Literary Tradition

This concept forms a crucial point of union between Eliot, Pound, Arnold, and the New Critics. While 'traditional' often implies outdated, for Eliot, it held a unique meaning. Eliot's perspective on history sometimes appears contradictory. He sometimes viewed the poet's role as simply expressing their epoch, and at other times, as actively disagreeing with their contemporary period. Eliot leaned towards the former, believing a poet should passively represent their era's ideas without disagreement. This is why he praised Elizabethan poets for their wonderful capacity to 'poetize' their period.

Great universal classic art, in his view, lacks a critical historical capacity; it doesn't question events but... Continue reading "T.S. Eliot's Poetics: Tradition, Language, and the Poet's Role" »

Key Figures

Ken Robertson: Journalist and photographer at the Daily Dispatch.

Mamphela Ramphele: A 20-year-old black woman working at the Daily Dispatch.

Plot Summary

Preliminary Situation

Woods learned about the mistreatment of black people by white people, reported in the Daily Dispatch. Ramphele approached the editor about Biko. Biko was interested in Woods to publish his ideas.

Inciting Event

Woods visited Biko, who was under house arrest for inciting revolution. They visited a clinic in Zanempilo and a black township to show Woods the living conditions of black people.

Rising Action

Biko spoke at a stadium advocating for black rule, equal laws, and non-violence. He was arrested. Police attacked a church, reported in the newspaper despite risks.... Continue reading "Cry Freedom: Story of Struggle and Escape" »

The Contextual Interference Effect

Contextual Interference (CI) occurs when multiple skills are practiced concurrently, causing interference between the tasks. This increased difficulty results from introducing three or more distinct tasks within the same practice session.

• Low CI: Typically achieved through blocked practice (performing all repetitions of one task before moving to the next).
• High CI: Typically achieved through random practice (interleaving different tasks unpredictably).

Impact on Learning and Performance

The CI effect demonstrates that introducing greater levels of interference into the practice setting enhances a learner's ability to remember skill-related information long term, although it may negatively affect short-term performance... Continue reading "Motor Skill Acquisition: Contextual Interference and Specificity" »

Fundamental Chemical Principles

Reactivity Trends in Groups I and VII

• Group I (Alkali Metals): Reactivity increases down the group.
  • Their atoms lose their outer electron to achieve a stable electron shell.
  • As the number of electron shells increases, the outer electron is further from the positive nucleus, making it easier to lose.
• Group VII (Halogens): Reactivity decreases down the group.
  • Their atoms gain or share an electron to achieve a stable electron shell.
  • The positive nucleus of the atom attracts the extra electron.
  • As the number of electron shells increases, the outer shell is further from the nucleus, making it more difficult to attract an electron.

Common Ores and Alloys

• Iron Ore: Hematite
• Aluminum Ore: Bauxite
• Sodium Ore: Rock Salt
• Lead Ore: Galena
• Zinc

Unit 10: Marketing Fundamentals

"Marketing is the social process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want, through creating and exchanging products and value with others." This involves exchange, satisfaction, strategy, vision, and direction (avoiding marketing myopia).

Marketing Defined

Marketing is the business discipline responsible for detecting the wishes and needs of consumers and guiding the company to satisfy them through mutually beneficial exchanges.

Core Principles

• Values (Business Ethics): The set of principles, beliefs, and rules that dictate how the organization will be managed.
• Mission (Based on field of activity, essential capabilities, and culture, including values and beliefs): Answers questions like: Who are