Retreat From The Global (3 Viewers)

[joe1016]

yeah trial hsc is coming up....its gonna be tough


im trying to sort out my texts of own choosing right now.

i will probably use the mosquito coast and fight club...........but im not sure about the later one.

any hints helpful ideas etc...?

 

[glitterfairy]

I don't know much about either of those two texts, but just strongly advise that you "know your stuff" prior to trials (this is normally the time when all EE1 modules "click" and start making sense in your head).

In my HSC year about a week prior to trials I sat down and forced myself to write about 3 pages each on all the texts I was going to cover. Not in essay format, just writing about it. I found it SO HELPFUL for getting my thoughts together - finding links with my other texts, getting a stronger grasp on themes/techniques etc. Ended up getting full marks for my EE1 Trials essay

Practice writing from here till your HSC is your new best friend Know your stuff well - and then you will never need to go over it again!

Alternatively, DISCUSSION is your other best friend. In 2004 there were a good number of people discussing various RFTG concepts and perspectives - not neccessarily related to essays, but just to throw ideas around and get a stronger grasp on what the module was about. It was very beneficial

 

[joe1016]

hey, yeah that sound like a good idea. i should do that. i have done it for one text, but i still need to do it for three others..............

cos it is all so much fun u guys

 

[goldz]

HATE HATE HATE RTFTG what were they thinking!! especially with Island. and on top of that i ahet my teacher

 

[glitterfairy]

oooh is this MacLeod's LSGOB?

That and Heaney were my two stronger RFTG texts. Feel free to start up a new thread with questions about that text (or ask in here, however the former is preferable as it means I can concentrate on one thing per thread )

 

[kcchippy]

Re: Retreat From The Fucking Global

I have to admit that I also found RFTG extremely dry to begin with. Don't get me started on the Shipping News, I hated the darn thing Good to study though, and a number of my friends did really well with it.

The thing about RFTG that works in your favour is that YES, it can feel really boring. However once you get the hang of that they're talking about (Heaney is really good for this) it becomes a lot easier, and hence somewhat enjoyable

Seriously guys and gals - feel free to ask questions about the texts. I did Heaney, Lost Salt Gift of Blood and Shipping News, so I can definately help out on those, and other people can cover any other areas. Discussion can only start when questions are asked! And remember - no question is a stupid question

Well I read and studied them all. In the HSC Extension english exam, I only needed MacLeod and Heaney. I think RFTG was very confusing to start out with, but once you rid of the jargon of the syllabus, it was probably the most relevant and interesting study I've done in my entire life.

Oh and people, don't worry too much with the study guide (written by one of my high school english teachers), it was made years ago, NOT to be used so much as a study guide for students but as a means of clarifying the convoluted syllabus at the time so that it actually made sense and was easier to teach (you'd be surprised as to how convoluted and theoretical it was before).

However, some of the additional material in there (the study guide) is really interesting. I found the Star Trek episodes were the most fascinating link and can apply to Star Gate too (excellent for journeys additional also...actually especially good is the episode where there are time reversals). Star Trek where the Borg is the overtaking global (interloper) that destroys all other cultures in its wake. Then this is then linked to the idea of Communism, where we all stand equal in our roles and there is a sense of homogeneity emphasised, in that we can only be equal by being the same (which is similar to the Borg philosophy of "oneness") and the fear that it would take over the world. If you do happen to get the study guide, this is probably the only thing I really got out of it, just the way in which ideas can seem very remote from the real world but can actually be symbolically associated so that it fits the syllabus - that is "eroding the barriers of time and space" etc.

Anyway this probably isn't very well explained, my point is that RFTG is awesome because it exemplifies the life we lead at the moment, it encapsulates the way the 21st century exists as, it's not just about globalisation, it's about adapting to a changing reality, whether it was in the 1950s or 1990s.

 

[topsyturvy86]

oooh is this MacLeod's LSGOB?

That and Heaney were my two stronger RFTG texts. Feel free to start up a new thread with questions about that text (or ask in here, however the former is preferable as it means I can concentrate on one thing per thread )

Did this ever happen? I might go on a hunt and dig this up. I am doing MacLeod - LSGOB, The Shipping News and Heaney. So far, I've only done LSGOB. I'd enjoy it so much more if he wasn't so persistant in making them incredibly sad. I've cried so many times, can't any characters live?. Hmm, I like them, none the less. I'm finding it hard to link some of them to 'Retreat From The Global' though, reallllly struggling.

 

[kcchippy]

Did this ever happen? I might go on a hunt and dig this up. I am doing MacLeod - LSGOB, The Shipping News and Heaney. So far, I've only done LSGOB. I'd enjoy it so much more if he wasn't so persistant in making them incredibly sad. I've cried so many times, can't any characters live?. Hmm, I like them, none the less. I'm finding it hard to link some of them to 'Retreat From The Global' though, reallllly struggling.

You don't have to link them ALL to RFTG, because realistically in the exam, you won't get time to talk about more than 2 or 3 stories (because of the depth you should go into). Otherwise, if there are specific stories that maybe you can list, so we can help you with those in particular?

 

[glitterfairy]

Did this ever happen? I might go on a hunt and dig this up. I am doing MacLeod - LSGOB, The Shipping News and Heaney. So far, I've only done LSGOB. I'd enjoy it so much more if he wasn't so persistant in making them incredibly sad. I've cried so many times, can't any characters live?. Hmm, I like them, none the less. I'm finding it hard to link some of them to 'Retreat From The Global' though, reallllly struggling.

I think so.

Feel free to start a new thread though that "post new thread" option is there for a reason! lol

(I will of course, discourage thread topics if they've already been posted 5 times that year, but there hasn't been an LSGOB thread for either this year or last year, I think?)

 

[jlnWind]

mmm retreat from the global isnt all that bad...

the issues raised are important issues regarding contemporary life...
i think what you have to focus on is the idea of hybridisation.

we can only survive in todays society, by retaining the local (keeping culture and heritage) but also absorbing global (changing technology, efficient lifestyles).

This hybdridisation paradigm is analagous to the philosophical notion of the individual vs society.. like we have to "conform to be different" (quote from Catch 22). its a paradox but its a combination of the two opposing ideas

 

[kcchippy]

mmm retreat from the global isnt all that bad...

the issues raised are important issues regarding contemporary life...
i think what you have to focus on is the idea of hybridisation.

we can only survive in todays society, by retaining the local (keeping culture and heritage) but also absorbing global (changing technology, efficient lifestyles).

This hybdridisation paradigm is analagous to the philosophical notion of the individual vs society.. like we have to "conform to be different" (quote from Catch 22). its a paradox but its a combination of the two opposing ideas

I think the most difficult thing about RFTG is trying to distinguish your argument from everyone else's, and I think that primarily comes in when you choose original supplementary material and bulk up your essay with a bit of literary theory.

 

[longtusk]

AHHHHHHHHH EXTENSION SPEECH TOMORROW AND I STILL HAVEN'T STARTED WRITING IT!!!!

Hey glitterfairy, guess what? I'm in Eldridge's class too ; D isn't that COOL? ...actually it's not really that cool for me cos everyone else in my class is like top of the grade in English and I'm one of the worst in the grade cos I hate English with an unrelenting PASSION but yes!! Small world huh??

... also, is it just our year or do we seriously get NO creative writing practice whatsoever? :/

 

[samwa89...]

glitterfairy you seem really helpful
i just got my results for my RFTG speech and i didn't do too well
my definition needs some work but i honestly can't think of any more ideas
pleeeaaasssseee help!

 

[krispykreme]

Re: Retreat From The Fucking Global

we had him (Eldridge) for a lecture at school. i have notes from his lecture if anyone wants them....
i'm supposed to present a lecture to my class without any visual support on how retreat form teh global relates to freaking postmodernism
and i still cant figrue out waht postmodernism is...HELP!!!

 

[glitterfairy]

Re: Retreat From The Fucking Global

colonial: this is why civilised people rock

post-colonial: Crap we really screwed over some other people, colonisation isn't so good after all

modernism: You fools! This is what it's all about!

post-modernism: Y'all all suck. Your truths suck. There is no truth. I reject your truths. We shall now embark on a destination-less search where we don't think we'll find anything, but way-hey! This is cool! Absolution in confusion!



Why are you being asked to relate RFTG to postmodernism, by the way?

 

[chengas]

Can anyone help me with Macleods short stories and how it relates RFTG

 

[glitterfairy]

start a new thread (not hijacking another one), ask some slightly more specific questions (so you can get some slightly more specific answers) and then we'll talk

 

[topsyturvy86]

I hate RFTG Hate, hate. Just not grasping the concept. Hmmpppphhh. Is it advantageous to quote theorists in essays?

P.s Poor Quoyle

 

[glitterfairy]

Technically yes if you know what you're doing. But if it's just a throwaway to say "look how smart I am, here's two sentences from suchandsuch!" then I don't think it's worth it

 

[bussoti]

Wow. Just reading through this thread has made my head swirl. I'm having trouble grasping the concept. I really can't understand if RFTG is about trying to discern what a healthy balance of the local and the global is, or whether to pick either extreme and blab on about it in my essay. I think it's so contradictory, and pretentious to say that one is better than the other since they support one another, and find that almost every related text I've been guided towards is quite cliche in associating global with bad and local with good. In any case, it's just...ack! Extention shall be the death of me.