A Fabulous Oxford Friday

Friday was a great day.  I gave a paper at the graduate-run Interdisciplinary Nineteenth-Century Culture Forum on Africa, empire, and masculinity in Charlotte and Branwell Bronte's early writing.  There was a small group in attendance, but they asked really interesting question after that stretched my thinking and also gave me a great opportunity to talk about some of the other cool things I've learned in my research but that I couldn't fit into the paper.  One fellow was doing part-time study and had come along on his day off - I really hope my talk was worthwhile!

In the evening, Tim and I took in the free panel discussion ending Vanessa Redgrave's stint as Visiting Humanitas Professor of Drama.  The panel was on politics and the theatre, which was an interesting take on the never-ending arguments about the value of the humanities in general.  Also on the panel were Ralph Fiennes (who I blame for landing me here in the first place, as his Heathcliff in the 1992 Wuthering Heights adaptation sent me after the book and made me want to write an M.A. thesis that would give me an excuse to quote his awesome speeches), Michael Billington (Guardian drama critic), and Simon Stephens (playwright).

The panel also gave me an excellent opportunity to show Tim the Examination Schools, which is a beautiful, beautiful building, with lovely wood and marble work.  I jokingly said I wouldn't mind writing exams in such a gorgeous building, but I suspect that, in reality, this would not be true.

Last night, which was not Friday and therefore doesn't quite fit the title of this post, we finally watched Bringing Up Baby.  About time - it's hilarious.  Also, we started on and watched almost all of the second season of Blackadder.  Unfortunately, now we are almost done, which is sad.