Pen and Paper

BS English, Study Notes. These notes cover Modernism and Postmodernism as literary movements and theories. Timeline: From Modernism to Postmodernism Modernism (about 1890–1945) Postmodernism (about 1950 onward) 1890s Early experiments 1914–18 World War I 1922 Ulysses, The Waste Land 1945 End of World War II 1979 Lyotard, Postmodern Condition 2000s Continuing influence Dates are approximate; the two movements overlap and critics debate where one ends and the other begins. Figure 1: Timeline of Modernism and Postmodernism Contents Part 1: Modernism Part 2: Postmodernism Part 1: Modernism 1. Definition of Modernism Modernism is a literary and artistic movement that emerged in the late nineteenth century and flourished in the early twentieth century, particularly between 1900 and 1945. It challenged traditional literary forms, values, and conventions and introduced new ways of representing human experience. Modernist writers explored the psychological, social, and cultural changes of the ...

Four Years of English, Yet Unable to Speak It: What Is Wrong with Our Education System? We study English literature, memorize linguistic theories, analyze Shakespeare, discuss Wordsworth, explore postcolonialism, and write research papers. Yet, when someone asks us a simple question in English, many of us hesitate, search for words, or immediately switch to Urdu. Why? There is something deeply contradictory about studying English for four years, completing a BS in English Language and Literature, pursuing an MPhil, and still struggling to communicate in the very language we have spent years studying. This is not a question of intelligence. It is not necessarily a question of hard work, either. It is a question of what our educational system actually teaches us—and what it fails to teach us. 1. We Study English; We Do Not Practise Speaking It In many institutions, English is treated as an academic subject rather than a living language. Students study phonetics, morphology, syntax,...

  When Teachers Become Machines: The Forgotten Dignity of Teaching in the Private Education System There is something deeply wrong with an education system that wants teachers to build the character of children while systematically breaking the dignity of the people who teach them. We talk endlessly about student success, academic performance, fee recovery, results, admissions, discipline, attendance, marketing and institutional reputation . But somewhere in this race, we seem to have forgotten one basic question: Who is the teacher? Is a teacher merely an employee who enters the institution in the morning, performs an endless list of duties, stands for hours, teaches classes, supervises breaks, performs morning duties, manages students, completes paperwork, attends meetings, prepares results, handles administrative tasks and leaves exhausted at the end of the day? Is a teacher a machine? Does a teacher have no emotions? No family? No physical limits? No difficult days? ...