Thursday, January 27, 2005

So lectures have started and its back to the grindstone for me. This semester's modules: English History 1216 - 1399; Barbarians of the Dark Ages - Anglo-Saxons and Vikings; Victorian Aristicracy and Democracy. Barbarians is looking good so far. I'm the only person in my seminar group who did it last semester too, so my tutor, bless her, talks to me like I'm her best friend. I haven't had my Eng Hist seminar yet - first one's this afternoon - but seeing as how its only my fave period, should be great. The Victorian one's the dodgy one. I hate modern history, with a passion, and this is very modern (and very boring) history, of which I have absolutely no background knowledge. So should be interesting. Also, the tutor must weigh at least 20 stone and wears braces. As in trouser hold-ups. I didn't know real people actually wore those. Next thing, he'll be wearing leather patches on his elbows. Plus, every ten seconds he stops, for about ten seconds, and just pauses, standing there. Very bizarre.

Ooh, I went to a special lecture last night given by Bettany Hughes, a historian who produces history programmes for the BBC and Channel 4. She lectured on how to have history programmes commissioned and how they're made. She actually pitches programmes herself and then goes off and makes and presents them too. She made that Seven Ages of Britain programme that was on last year. My ideal job would be as a historical consultant on historical dramas, such as say, ooh I don't know, North and South (ahum). I'm thinking it would combine my two greatest loves - history and TV! But I think what really happens there is that programme makers just call in academics who specialise in a period they're covering, rather than have in-house specialists. So maybe factual programming is the way to go! Slight problem of less attractive actors to meet in that line, though. Hmm, dilemma.

2 Comments:

  • At 2:12 pm, Blogger Marie said…

    Yes - researchers just ring up academics who tell them the information they need, though if the budget is big enough they might have someone on a retainer who's their special consultant. Bearing in mind I made a 20-part series on Christianity back in my TV past and never met either of our historical consultants even once, we just rang them when we needed them. But you could be the researcher who rang the academic - though they tend to be old braces / leather patch men, not Richard Armitage types, sadly. If they were RAs, I would never have quit.

     
  • At 2:34 pm, Blogger Laura said…

    yes, alas, i have realised all this. ah well. next career option!

     

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