Conclusion

You are asked to add one more concluding blog to your series of eleven. This last blog is an opportunity for you to sum up what you have learnt, and possibly see the links between the different texts. You are allowed to acknowledge your favourites and those which proved more elusive to comprehension. There is no secret code to break, no magic secret, no mystical link, but it should be obvious to you that certain themes connect the  texts; hopefully providing a roadmap for your own critical thinking.
Some of these themes you might like to pursue further in your dissertation, which we shall begin to discuss next semester.


The image above was taken in Cardiff recently, and certainly caused Julie and I to pause for thought. In the present political context I view it as hopeful!


Blog Submission: You are asked to print out your twelve blogs as hard copy in reverse order to the way they appear on the screen; starting with your first blog and ending with your summing up just as you would in a book. Bind your submission to A4 and submit one copy to the Faculty Office on the 3rd Floor of the Tower Block. Use one of the submission forms provided outside the office, and make sure it's marked clearly for my attention.

Date for Submission: First thing before studio teaching Monday 9th January 2017.

Session Eleven: The Epic (Pt2)

You will be relieved that this week you do not have a reading task, you simply have to come along to the session and enjoy (?!) a speedy rendering of Ayn Rand's book The Fountainhead as a movie. You should note that the tone here, that of the triumph of the individual, is markedly different to that of Dos Passos. You should also note that the publication of both book and release of the film bracket the period when McCarthyism was prevalent across the USA; when previous allies became mortal enemies, and the 'red menace' had to be stopped in it's tracks.

My own opinions on the Roark phenomenon are articulated in the Reputations feature in the December 2013 edition of Architectural Review. Go to architecturalreview.com and it's an easy search once you sign up (for free).