Tag Archives: universities

Murder, Mirth and Care Bears: The uses of an Oxford English degree

Posted on February 13, 2013 by samiraahmed

Photo copyright and courtesy of: Ian Fraser at Virtual Archive Writing for news bulletins, writing for standup comedy, writing murders for tv drama, writing for comics and fantasy gaming novels. These were some of the uses to which a group … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Comedy, Comics/graphic novels, Culture, Education, Media, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Anglos, Diphthongs & Perfect Snogging: Saving the German A-level

Posted on August 22, 2012 by samiraahmed

This piece was written for The Guardian in August 2012, after A-level results showed the number of UK students taking German had declined to below 5,000 for the first time. There were also significant drops in French and other modern … Continue reading →

Posted in Comedy, Culture, Education, Film, Germany, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

1951 then and now: Britain Mended, Britain on the Make

Posted on September 25, 2011 by samiraahmed

If you want to know what Britain was like before The Festival of Britain you should watch the masterful 1950 film noir, Night And The City. It features a chase around the industrial chimneys and postwar rubble of what was … Continue reading →

Posted in Comics/graphic novels, Culture, Design, Film, Religion, Science, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Swingeing (cuts) 80s: Lessons from The Ghost Town Generation

Posted on June 30, 2011 by samiraahmed

They were playing the jaunty TV theme tune to “Jeeves and Wooster” on Monday night when guests walked into the Financial Times summer party at Lancaster House near Green Park in London. It reminded me of how much I enjoyed … Continue reading →

Posted in Business/Economics, Culture, Education, Film, Music, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Truth About The Jam Generation (80s remix)

Posted on May 10, 2011 by samiraahmed

Since David Cameron claimed class war anthem “Eton Rifles” as one his Desert Island Discs, many political journalists seem to have bought the argument that they are “The Jam Generation”; the subject of a recent Radio 4 series. It seemed … Continue reading →

Posted in Comedy, Culture, Education, Film, journalism, Media, Music, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Michael Gove on educational elitism — a flashback to Oxford 1988

Posted on January 20, 2011 by samiraahmed

  Hearing the attacks for alleged “elitism” made on Education Secretary Michael Gove’s  plans to make the National Curriculum of English state schools more academically rigorous, I remembered something he wrote about that very subject 23 years ago, in January … Continue reading →

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