Well...

Hello there!

After a long break I am back and I promise I will make up for missing entries. My life right now is one big mess and any attempt to sort it out fails so be understanding, please!

When it comes to my BA thesis... I would willingly stop here but I must give you some info. My original idea was to write about Tolkien's stereotyped images about America on the basis of his letters. I admit, it was  great idea. However, his letters, 700 pages, does not provide  enough information about the States to write 3 decent chapters. That is why the subject of my thesis has to change. I think I have an idea but I will write about it when I am hundred percent sure.

Nevertheless,  I am still writing about Tolkien at least one chapter. His opinions on America are very critical and almost every single utterance about this country brings a negative message. It really had intrugued me so I started digging deeper to find source of such an attitude. I am still in process, though. If you have any meterials that may help me find the answer you know where to find me 😊

I have to admitt, I've chosen very difficult subjct. Yet, I am so keen to discover, or at least try to discover, what was in Tolkien's complicated mind that I will do everything in my power to write this chapter. After reading his letters I am in love with Tolkien and I respect him even more, even though he was a little bit glossy. But hey, after all he created a masterpiece so let's turn a blind eye to his vagaries.

I wish all of us good luck with literature test tomorrow! 
See ya!

Shame on me...

After quite a break I am back! More alive and kicking than ever (except I can barely squeeze into my jeans) 😂

I don't know about you but I find extremely difficult trying to go back to normal after such a long period of eating, sleeping, and eating again. However tomorrow's quiz makes me get back on the track a little bit faster.

When it comes to my BA thesis... Well... Shame on me. I did absolutely nothing during Christmas break. I shouldn't be writing this, but hey, let's be honest with each other.

However, there is one interesting news I've got. The team of Elendilion (facebook informational profile about Tolkien) that i wrote about in my last post responded to my message. They didn't provide me with much information but they prompted me an additional source that my be useful for my BA thesis.

The plan for the rest of the week is to do some decent research and read Tolkien's Letters that constitutes the base of my BA thesis. 700 pages cannot wait any longer  so see you quys tomorror!

Toodles!

Tolkien confirmed.

Yes, that is right. Next to America Herself Tolkien will be definitely the main focus of my BA thesis. However, due to help of our supervisor, I will broach completely different subject than I wrote about in my last post. "Tolkien's letters- Englishman's stereotyped images of America" sounds full title of my thesis. You have no idea how  excited I am about this new subject. In fact, I like it much better than the previous one. 

During upcomig Christmas I will read Tolkien's Letters (primary source for my dissertation)- a book that has been standing on my shelf for two years and every time I was about to take it and read it there was something that disturbed me. In view of the fact that Tolkien actually never visited America I will try to find his perception and stereotypes of America in the letters and then maybe the reflection of this perception in "The Lord of The Rings" or other books of his. 

Possibly, you are familiar with the Facebook profile 'Elendilion- Tolkienowski Serwis Informacyjny'. If not, I strongly recommend you to check it. I've been following this profile for two or three years now and trust me, the quality of their posts is unbelievably good. People who run this news service publish some serious research that is far from amateur, To the point, I have just sent them a message asking for some help an I really hope they will answer me. 

If by any chance, you know any interesting, blogs, websites, newspapers, youtube channels concerning the topic described above, please, let me know! 

I am more than excited about writing on this particular topic. My Tolkien fever has doubled. I am actually liestening to "The Lord of The Rings" audiobook while writing this entry 😂

Cannot wait to read about your progress!

See you all tomorrow! 

Yes, that's right, more changes to come...

Hiya! 

It is time for some update on my BA thesis, right?

“Insist on yourself; never imitate. Your own gift you can present every moment with the cumulative force of a whole life's cultivation; but of the adopted talent of another you have only an extemporaneous half possession. That which each can do best, none but his Maker can teach him” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, leader of transcendentalist movement, and a champion of individualism, in his famous essay entitled “Self-Reliance”. Emerson argues that self- sufficiency gives one the freedom to discover one’s true self and win true independence. Self- reliance, according to him, is the foundation of a productive, efficient, and self-sustaining society. However, the ideas expressed in Emerson’s essay constitute much broader panorama. Namely, Emerson, addressing anonymous individual, addresses the whole America as a country.  This myth of self- reliance presented by Emerson nestled deeply in Americans mentality and gave origin to one of the most paradoxical myths Americans live to date. Over the centuries, they have been emphasizing that all the bonds between Europe and their homeland no longer exists or that they do not need European influences in art, philosophy or politics and the biggest afflatus comes from America herself. America in which they may found everything they need to live happily ever after. Nevertheless, the perfect image of self- reliance does not exist. I wanted to prove it in my dissertation by employing the greatest Europeans names whose ideas may be found in the creations of the biggest Americans figures. I wanted to demonstrate that Emerson was wrong and that Americans are not able to come up with everything by themselves. When I wrote this sentence I got scared. After all, undermining ideas of one of the greatest figure in America is quite risky.

And then I saw our supervisor to discuss my BA thesis and things changed again. I was proposed a new topic, still closely related to Tolkien, which I am totally excited about! Check my next post to read more about it.

Out of the blue

 Hello, hello, hello!

That's it guys! I think I might have found the perfect subject for my dissertation. It's 11.22 PM and literally 5 minutes ago, out of the blue, it came to me!

I think you remember one of our first classes when we got short passages concerning American myths and paradoxes connected to them. Well, my passage was about America's self- reliance and separation from Europe that, actually, has nothing to do with reality. You may also remember that I am absolutely and completely in love with Tolkien and everything he had ever created. With some spontaneous help from Ania I managed to combine these two things into my, hopefully, perfect subject! It took, at least partially, weight off my mind.

I have to tell you that I really enjoy reading your blogs, especially other Łucja's blog (now it is time to admit that simply all Łucjas are awesome). I am literally jealous of how straightforward and structured her thoughts are. At the same time there is always something interesting to read about. I am also really impressed by Ania's last entry, strictly speaking, by the subjecet she came up with for her dissertation. The Myth of Perfect American Housewife is super- cool! I am sure some great piece of work will come into existence!

Since December is already here I am no longer ashamed of my Christmas fever that is in full swing! I got tons of fairy lights, baked gingerbread and, obviously, watched more cheesy Christmas movies. Less enthusiastic is my wallet, I suppose because of all the gifts I have to buy. Nevertheless, the view of my goddaughter opening her presents is worth the money!

I hope you are all well, despite quite freezing weather.

See you on Monday!
Toodles!

Change of plans, folks.

What's up everybody?

I am slowly recovering from Christmas fever, although festive playlist is still on on my Spotify, but hey, one thing at a time, right?

A lot things happened this week that made me rethink the subject of my BA thesis. I came to a conclusion that analyzing female characters in political TV series is not a good idea, eventually. Why? In large part because I am not a feminist and I don't think I'll ever be. It appears to me that this is a huge obstacle, I mean, writing about something and not feeling it fully. Of course, I could come up with many arguments in favour of this subject but what's the point? I want my BA thesis to be about matters I stand for.

That is why, I want to tell you about something that really, really inspired me. Namely, our litrature class and the novel, "The New Atlantis", that  totally spoke to me. As I told you during our class on Monday, I am really into books or movies that picture the issue of totalitarian system which actually looks copletely different in every book I've read or movie I've watched. The goal is, obviously, the same- to control people and their actions. In the case of "New Atlantis", the regime attacks a "thing" that make people most powerful and united- the family. Marriages are forbidden, women must undergo compulsury abortion, divorces are seen as something exemplary along with sex orgies. However, the most striking and extremely touching thing about all of this is the response of people that are to live in such system. I was literally moved by the resistance they display and hope that never leaves them. While for many of you this novel is rather pessimistic, for me it is a representation of hope for better future, in the shape of this new land that arises along the line. The novel emphasises the fact that there are always people who fight back and remain faithful to their values.

Ursula le Guin wrote a very up to date novel. Much of the content is a reflection of what is going on in today's America, and world in general. For example, exlpoitation, environmental damage, sea level rise, the issue of woman and, in my opinion, less and less favorable conditions for having large family.

To sum up, hello confusion, my old friend. I am trying to figure out how to turn all of this into some consistent thesis. Yea, good luck with that. I am a hundred percent sure that next week I will write about another brilliant idea that I would like to turn into my BA thesis.

Anyway, I hope that you are better off with your dissertation.

Have a nice weekend and see you all on Monday! 😊

Under Pressure: Part 2

Welcome back everyoone!

This is my second entry today so make sure you checked previous one.

I hope you all enjoy this beautiful snowy afternoon as much as I do. 

When it comes to my bachelor's thesis, I am getting more and more frustrated from day to day. The topic of our seminar is very extensive and universal, yet I cannot think of anything suitable for me. I am greatly fascinated by America and Hers phenomenon of freedom, opportunity, diversity and boundlessness. However, all of this seem too shallow and common to be the topic of my dissertation. What do you think? Be sure to let me know. 

 There is one  particular idea that I have in mind and that keeps coming back to me. I think I mentioned it last time. Namely, politics. I have structured this notion a bit. In a view of growing popularity of political series, I have come up with the idea of analyzing three most popular political series or, to be more precise, about analyzing three female protagonists of this series. While politics is mostly dominated by men, the plot of these series is  focused on  women politicians and their strong commanding characters that take over the world of politics. 

I am really confused, guys. Any help is welcomed. 

Take care!