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Oxford 2011 Freshers Chat Thread

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Original post by mcgovernjon
I still don't get it... :confused:


I thought it was just a reference to the date '14th June 20110' in the letter, and then 'the time machine', being obviously being a time traveler thing of some sort.. I'm confused again. :frown:
Original post by LtCommanderData
Maybe it wasn't a mistake...


I don't get that either... :hmmmm:
I thought he was saying that H. G. Wells was also a mistake to come from Oxford...

...I say we end this discussion here and say no more about it :biggrin:
Original post by 04ghicks
I thought he was saying that H. G. Wells was also a mistake to come from Oxford...

...I say we end this discussion here and say no more about it :biggrin:


Oh, please let's continue! We can easily get this discussion to take up at least three more pages. :wink: I personally think it was a joke within a joke within a joke that was partly lost in translation. :biggrin:
I'll summarise the joke:
Perhaps it was not a mistake, but the letter really was written in the year 20110. In that case, time travel must have been involved. As a big H G Wells fan, I decided to express this thought process with the cover of that book.

That decision turned out to be a bad one! It wasn't a very funny or sophisticated joke. Did anyone get it straight off?
Original post by LtCommanderData
I'll summarise the joke:
Perhaps it was not a mistake, but the letter really was written in the year 20110. In that case, time travel must have been involved. As a big H G Wells fan, I decided to express this thought process with the cover of that book.

That decision turned out to be a bad one! It wasn't a very funny or sophisticated joke. Did anyone get it straight off?


:biggrin:
Original post by Nag o ma Scylla
Yes, it didn't seem too bad! :tongue:


:biggrin: Thank goodness for that! :tongue:
Original post by meganeira
Mine's slightly different. I have to read them all beforehand apparently. :frown: Also, they've been more specific with the Baudelaire which is more helpful than St. John's has been. The editions are also slightly different too.

I'm dreading how many lectures/tutorials I'm going to have seeing as I've only been told what I'll be having for French...

To be honest I wish that Oxford offered Linguistics as a single honours course. I didn't realise how much literature there was going to be. Not that I'll do this, but I wonder how flexible Oxford is on switching courses.


You will be able to choose linguistic options for Finals and sway your course towards that side of things if you want to. But for me the literature is the best part! It is honestly enjoyable... I promise...

I think with regards to editions and things, it doesn't realllly matter. I mean some of the ones they told us to get are completely different and to be honest there are copies of all of them in libraries if they have useful notes or introductions. As long as they contain full and correct copies of the texts (which I think some Proust ones don't and they will say abridged or excerpts from) they are fine. Just buy the cheapest one.
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Avatar for BeritV
BeritV
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Original post by ~ Ellen Timothy ~
Your name is AWESOME :biggrin: My name is Ellen and I really really really hope that I will be doing Music :s-smilie: xx


Goooosh why is my name awesome??:biggrin:
Dear Students bound for German (or possibly other subjects)

I reckon most of you've got your reading lists by now but did you know you can read up about all your prelim exams (including reading lists for those whose colleges haven't sent them out yet), and, more excitingly (in my opinion), the course options in later years? I guess this is true of most if not all subjects, but I'm obviously especially interested in German.

Here is the prelims handbook link: http://www.mod-langs.ox.ac.uk/files/docs/handbooks/german_prelims_1011.pdf

And here the Later Years Link: http://www.mod-langs.ox.ac.uk/files/docs/handbooks/german_fhs_1011v2.pdf

As for later module options, I'm drooling over Old Norse (see my sig - I'm a bona fide Scandinaviophile), The 'Bildungsroman', and German Expressionism in Literature and the Visual Arts.

I think I'll cry if they don't offer Old Norse in my year. I'm actually pretty sure I'll cry. Nevertheless, this has got me even more excited! I think I'll go finish 'Civilization and its Discontents' now.

And a question for LINGUISTS! Be you on course for French, Spanish, German, Russian or other -- are you reading your books in English/your native tongue, or the target language? I read everything fiction in German, but with the Thought module (Kant, Marx, Nietzsche, Freud) I got English copies which I read side-by-side with the German to support my understanding. I'd just be interested to know how y'all are finding it.

Original post by meganeira
I wonder how flexible Oxford is on switching courses.


Hi, did you know you can find your handbook for prelims and later years online? You'll be surprised at how much you can tailor your degree choices towards linguistics.

Original post by jenny18
I've just had a quick look at the virtual tour on Lincoln's website. I have fallen in love again.


I've got a friend at Lincoln, and I visited her a couple of times this year. Her room is AMAZING, and I think it's a really nice college (no Exeter, of course, but close enough - literally)! Since it's a Turl Street college we'll be neighbours anyway :smile:.

Original post by 04ghicks
Assuming we all get in, will people be arriving with parents on the first day, or coming alone?


I don't know... I live close enough (35 minutes) that theoretically my parents could drive or I could get the train with relative ease so I haven't thought about it. I might car-share with some of my other Oxy friends. I think the point I'm trying to make (? not well, obviously :P) is that taking my parents won't be an "OH MY GOD I LOVE YOU and I won't see you for months" affair since they live so close. If I bring my parents, I'll bring 'em like donkeys (i.e. transporting my bags and guitars) :wink:

Original post by blahblah16
Any chance of possibly copying out / scanning reading list? Don't get mine to mid August and will be away Thanks so much


You can probably find it with all your prelim info online

Original post by defuzion
You are all rather dashing. Hope you have a smashing good time at Oxford.

Chaps


Why someone negged you for this is a mystery to me. This is hilarious. :biggrin:

(edited 12 years ago)
Trying to buy some of these books on amazon from the French reading list and in the "customers that bought this also bought" section are all the other books from the reading list!
Original post by blahblah16
Trying to buy some of these books on amazon from the French reading list and in the "customers that bought this also bought" section are all the other books from the reading list!


I noticed that too - quite convenient.
I just thought "many Oxford students have obviously done exactly what I'm doing now".

I wonder if any current student would sell all their books....
Original post by qwertyuiop1993
I noticed that too - quite convenient.
I just thought "many Oxford students have obviously done exactly what I'm doing now".

I wonder if any current student would sell all their books....


A couple of the books aren't on amazon though - where are we meant to get them from?! Awkward because i don't even feel like i'm going to make my grades :frown:
Original post by blahblah16
A couple of the books aren't on amazon though - where are we meant to get them from?! Awkward because i don't even feel like i'm going to make my grades :frown:


Yea, it's a bit cheeky of them getting us to buy all these books when we might not even get in =S

I guess i'll have to do some tracking to find the rarer ones - though on my list it says it doesn't matter what edition we get - have you been searching specific editions?
Original post by qwertyuiop1993
Yea, it's a bit cheeky of them getting us to buy all these books when we might not even get in =S

I guess i'll have to do some tracking to find the rarer ones - though on my list it says it doesn't matter what edition we get - have you been searching specific editions?


Nah I just get the one with the prettiest cover :wink: (kind of not joking...) and also some of them are £30ish - definitely not doing that. I try to find the cheapest too.
Really really not looking forward to medieval French litearture though...
Original post by blahblah16
Nah I just get the one with the prettiest cover :wink: (kind of not joking...) and also some of them are £30ish - definitely not doing that. I try to find the cheapest too.
Really really not looking forward to medieval French litearture though...


Oh well, we'll all struggle together =S

I love Baudelaire though :biggrin:
Original post by pinstriped.flower
You will be able to choose linguistic options for Finals and sway your course towards that side of things if you want to. But for me the literature is the best part! It is honestly enjoyable... I promise...

I think with regards to editions and things, it doesn't realllly matter. I mean some of the ones they told us to get are completely different and to be honest there are copies of all of them in libraries if they have useful notes or introductions. As long as they contain full and correct copies of the texts (which I think some Proust ones don't and they will say abridged or excerpts from) they are fine. Just buy the cheapest one.


What sort of options would you take if you did want to stray from literature? Obviously I need to see how things go before I decide which I prefer really.
Original post by blahblah16
Nah I just get the one with the prettiest cover :wink: (kind of not joking...) and also some of them are £30ish - definitely not doing that. I try to find the cheapest too.
Really really not looking forward to medieval French litearture though...


I usually use the same criteria for choosing editions. :smile: I just bought a 1960s copy of Elton's The Practice of History because it had a gorgeous cover photo of a desk laid out with manuscripts and an open window looking out onto a meadow... it's a beauty :biggrin:
Original post by komovalondon
What sort of options would you take if you did want to stray from literature? Obviously I need to see how things go before I decide which I prefer really.


Like I was saying.. you will be able to choose linguistics options. You will still have to do a period paper certainly in french but you can choose to look at linguistics instead I think. Someone else has helpfully posted the Final Honours Schools handbooks on here (that you can find if you google modern languages oxford) so have a look if you want. But I think the best thing would be to keep an open mind and see what you like about the Prelims course!
How busy do you guys think we'll be in freshers? It's just there is a gig at the O2 academy on the 6th October, Enter Shikari and Your Demise are playing!! I'm really tempted to buy some tickets but I don't want to miss out on anything in freshers :s-smilie:

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