Man the barricades for Cologne January 26, 2010

Samuel T. Coleridge’s “Cologne” is a devastating portrayal of Cologne in the 18th century.

Should we really let this English poet get away with his bleak description of our beloved hometown? Man the barricades and defend Cologne!

Write your own poem about your hometown OR write a personal comment on why Cologne is the best town on earth OR, if you don’t agree, discuss the pros and cons of living in Cologne. To be done by Monday 01 February.

From Monday on, you’re supposed to rate the entries of your class mates.

Dictionary ban in US schools January 25, 2010

Dictionaries have been removed from classrooms in southern California schools after a parent complained about a child reading the definition for “oral sex”.

Merriam Webster’s 10th edition (a “classic” among English dictionaries), which has been used for the past few years in fourth and fifth grade classrooms (for children aged nine to 10) in Menifee Union school district, has been pulled from shelves over fears that the “sexually graphic” entry is “just not age appropriate”, according to the area’s local paper.

Read more.

Wordsworth – Upon Westminster Bridge (1802) January 21, 2010

Slide show and analysis of the poem can be found here.
The poem is also compared to Blake’s “London”.

New York – Heaven or Hell? January 19, 2010

Some songs about New York that we’re going to analyse next lesson:

Frank Sinatra “New York New York” (an absolute classic)
U2 “New York”
Ryan Adams “New York New York”
Cat Stevens “New York Times” (there’s an audio file on the website)

Multiculturalism in the UK today January 14, 2010

This is an interesting article on multiculturalism in the UK:

Minister: ethnic minorities ‘no longer automatically disadvantaged’: John Denham says racism still exists but progress has helped create a society more comfortable with diversity than ever before.

And here is a comment on this article saying that Discrimination is not dead and buried.

You can find more articles on the race issue in the UK at this website here.

William Blake – London (1794) January 10, 2010

A nice slide show of the poem can be found at this BBC webpage. There’s also a nice analysis of subject, structure, language, ideas and attitudes, which might be of interest for you.

Copenhagen Climate Change Summit 2009 January 3, 2010

For your Abitur, you should gather some background information on the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit 2009. These articles can also help you to build up some thematic vocabulary, terms and phrases around the word field “climate change”.