1

Oxford as I See it

by Stephen Leacock

From My Discovery of England, 1922

2

Warming up discussion

Do you think SCNU is an excellent or good university ? Use specific reasons to support your opinions.

Which university, at home or abroad, do you appreciate best ? Why?

How do you judge a university?

3

Criteria for Judging a University

Buildings and Facilities Enrollment and Endowment Curriculum and Programs of Studies Distinguished and responsible faculties Favorable academic environment and atm

osphereThe number of graduates to be employedAnd more

4

Oxford University It is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. It i

s also regarded as one of the world's leading academic institutions.

It traces its roots back to at least the end of the 11th century, although the exact date of foundation remains unclear.

After a dispute between students and townsfolk broke out in 1209, some of the academics at Oxford fled north-east to the town of Cambridge, where the Cambridge University was founded. The two universities have since had a long history of rivalry and competition with each other as well as many common features and are often jointly referred to as Oxbridge.

One of the professors at Oxford once said, “Oxford teaches you nothing of everything; Cambridge teaches you everything about nothing”. 牛津教你有中之无，剑桥教你无中之有。

5

6

7

8

9

Stephen Leacock (1869 - 1944)

Born on December 30, 1869, England, educated in Canada and the U.S., and died on March 28, 1944 (aged 75), in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Occupation: humorist, essayist, historian economist and professor of Economics and political science at McGill Uni., Toronto, Canada.

Genres: humorous fiction. He is known as “Canadian Mark Twain”.

10

Major Worksby Stephen Leacock

Literary Lapses (1910) Nonsense Novels (1911) Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (1912) Arcadian Adventures With The Idle Rich (1914) The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice (1920) My Discovery of England (1922) Economic Prosperity in the British Empire (1930) Mark Twain (1932) Humor: Its Theory and Technique (1935) Canada: Foundations of Its Future (1941) Montreal: Seaport and City (1942) My remarkable Uncle (1942) Canada and the Sea (1944)

11

The Three Major Branches of Science

Natural Science: theoretical :maths, physics, biology, chemistry, etc. Applied: plumbing, car-manufacturing, gas-fitting, el

ectric wiring, civil engineering, etc. Social Science: Theoretical: sociology, economics, politics, arts, ethi

cs, psychology, etc. Applied: housekeeping, salesmanship, advertising,

etc. Humanities: literature, history, philosophy, linguistics, aesthetics,

etc

12

Purpose and Reader

Answer the following questions after the first reading of the text:

What do you think is Leacock’s ideal reader?

What is Leacock’s purpose of writing?Are you able to get a clear picture of Oxfor

d as the author sees it? Or has Leacock successfully achieved his purpose in this section, why or why not?

13

This text is part of an essay “Oxford as I See it ” , taken from My Discovery of England written by Leacock, and first published in 1922.

Full text of “Oxford as I See it ” which will not be read until we finished reading the selected paragraphs in this lesson.

Notes to the text

14

Questions in Paragraph I

1. Why does Pro. Leacock begin with an uncompliment

ary reference to Oxford’s dilapidated (antiquated,out

dated) buildings? Is this a willing admission of Oxfor

d’s drawbacks in the way of housing facilities or sho

uld it be regarded as a reluctant concession he feels

bound to ( 觉得有必要，必须 )make?

15

Yes, The opening phrase “in spite of” clearly indicates that i

t is an unwilling concession Leacock feels bound to mak

e. Prof. Leacock pretends to share the American and Ca

nadian scholars’ opinion, his depreciative remarks begin

in Paragraph 1 do not bespeak his genuine feeling about

Oxford’s noble architecture. He just echoes some of the

objections American scholars are raising. The mention of

these drawbacks is obviously to emphasize the convictio

n that Oxford is the greatest University in the world.

16

2.Why does Leacock start off by comparing enrollment and endowment of the universities in question (in discussion)?

17

It is generally believed that enrollment in a university

testifies to the degree of success of the university. In the

meantime, the state of its educational facilities, the

standard of its education, and the size and quality of its

teaching staff are, to great extent, dependent on financial

resourcefulness. Financial resourcefulness is in turn

represented by endowment drawn from public and

private sectors.

18

The number of enrollment and the amount of donations are th

erefore generally regarded as reliable indicator of the prestig

e of the university enjoyed. In both these aspects, the compa

rison leaves Oxford nowhere (puts Oxford in an insignificant and o

bscure position ). Yet Leacock persists in his assertion that Oxf

ord’ is the greatest university in the world. Therefore, the fact

or contributed to its fame must be looked for in other aspects.

19

The comparison leads to the writing purpose: Paragraph I Yet, in spite of its dilapidated building and its

lack of fire-escapes, ventilation, and up-to-date kitchen facilities, I persist in my assertion that I believe that Oxford, in its way, is the greatest university in the world.

…seem to leave Oxford nowhere. Yet the peculiar thing is that it is not nowhere. By some queer process of its own it seems to get there every time.

It was therefore of the very greatest interest to me, as a profound scholar, to try to investigate just how this peculiar excellence of Oxford arises.

20

Questions in Paragraph II

1.What kind of sentence is the first sentence ?

Organizing sentence: sentence that establishes the pattern of organization for an entire essay or for a major part of it.

21

Questions in Paragraph II

2.From the discussions in paragraph 2, what do you think North American universities emphasize? What’s the difference between the Oxford students and American students?

 Applied sciences.Oxford students learns nothing of …; Amer

ican students can do …

22

Questions in Paragraph II

3. In point of curriculum/programs of studies, is Oxford superior to North American universities?

By no means. Oxford is not superior at all. The comparison in this respect turns out to be even more disappointing. It seems Oxford is quite elapsed in Applied Science in contrast to North American curriculum.

23

Questions in Paragraph II

4.What do you think might be author’s genuine attitude toward the exclusion of Applied Science from Oxford curriculum?

The author actually regards the exclusion of these unscholarly areas of study from Oxford curriculum as something positive, for they are, anyhow, mechanical side of education –

the disciplines belonging to vocational school rather than a university of Oxford’s standard.

24

Translate:

It is these things indeed which stamp him as a college man, and occasion a very pardonable pride in the minds of his parents. But in all these things the Oxford student is the merest amateur.

正是这些本领标志着他是一个大学生，使他的父母为之欣慰和骄傲。而对于上述种种，牛津的学生几乎完全是外行。 Occasion: (fml.) to cause

25

Questions in Paragraph III

1. The author shifts the focus of comparison to the higher and more cultured aspects of university education. What is the result of the comparison? Does Oxford bear favorable comparison with American Universities in this aspect?

26

The comparison in this aspect also puts Oxford in an unfavorable position. Oxford excludes all these disciplines such as housekeeping, salesmanship, advertising, comparative religion, etc. Oxford can boast none of the merits that can be reflected through the higher and more cultured studies offered by the universities on the other side of the Atlantic.

27

Translate the following sentence and paraphrase the underlined part ：

 True: but one searches in vain in the Oxford curriculum for any adequate recognition of the higher and more cultured studies.

28

诚然（这不假）。但要在牛津的课程设置中找到 ( 所谓 ) 高深学问的科目也是枉然。

cultured studies: branches of learning having primarily a cultured （有教养的，讲究的，有修养的） character as distinguished from those that have a utilitarian( 功利主义的 ) or vocational character.

(American pragmatism)

29

Questions in Paragraph IV

1. The author shifts the focus of comparison to the position of professors’ lectures. In this respect, Oxford is again given a crushing blow, how and why?

 The author conducted a survey among the students. The very result of the opinion poll have proved that the lectures given by Oxford professors are entirely worthless. This gives Oxford a further crushing blow.

30

Yet, when the reader has carefully accessed the values

and standards upheld by American and Canadian

Universities, he may feel relieved that Oxford has been

spared from the pernicious (harmful) effect of

commercialization of higher education. So, in

comparison with American and Canadian University

Oxford is the greatest university in the world.

31

2. The passage is ended with five that clauses, which are concerned with the comments on the professors’ lectures at Oxford. Is there anything special in the order of the comments.

32

that the lectures were of no importancethat nobody took themthat they don’t matterthat you can take them if you likethat they do you no harm

33

General conclusion

By using comparison and contrast, Leacock ironically and humorously condemns American universities and praises Oxford University.

• What account for the author’s success in inducing his readers to conclude the exact opposite of what the comparisons display?

34

欲扬先抑The technique of comparison is quite extraordinary. It’s desi

gned to bewilder the reader all along the way until he begins to question about validity of the comparison, and until the reader finds himself convinced of oxford’s excellence. The advantage of conducting the comparison is to give the rein to( 放任，使自由发挥 ) irony. The writer will be free to use irony and finally strike out at his opponents under the premise of sharing common ground with them. By misleading his readers and by pushing things to a ridiculous extreme, he has achieved in winning them over with far greater ease than if he had used positive persuasion.

35

Writing Techniques

1. Comparison seesaw pattern (also alternating pattern,

e.g.: paragraph I): The writer interweaves statements about both

subjects, and groups those statements under more general topics.

all-about pattern (also called block comparison, see paragraph 2):

The writer first writes of one thing (all about it) and then writes of the other thing (also all about

it).

36

Simdiff pattern:The writer puts all the similarities between

the subjects together and all the differences together.

This technique is suited to those subjects whose similarities and differences are more balanced.

Implied /negative comparison (see paragraph 3):

37

The writer talks about one thing, but implies another.

There is a variation in paragraph 3. The writer mostly talks about American universities, but he implies that at Oxford, there are no such things.

38

2. Irony ( 反语，讽刺 ) A figure of speech which either ridicules err

ors or faults by seeming to approve them, or defends virtues by seeming to condemn them.

The method of using words to mean something different from or opposite to what you seem to say on the surface, often as a joke.

The entire text is ironic. Please find out the examples of irony from the text.

39

P1: profound scholar; P2: best models, flourishes, frankly quite laughable, less Applied Science …than would be found with us

in a theological college; college man, pardonable pride; P3: higher and more cultured studies, moral business man, the feeble form; P4: a real part of the college life, punk, rotten. …

40

3. negative proof, positive effect ( 反证法） 1) The author applies the method of reductio

n to absurdity (by misleading his readers and by pushing things to a ridiculous extreme so as to make them question the validity and fairness of the comparisons).

2) the author pretends to share the opinions of the scholars on the other side of the Atlantic (so that he can give rein to his irony).

41

Discussion:

Should universities emphasize the theoreti

cal or practical side of study?

42

Selected paragraphs from “Oxford as I See it”:

I understand that the key to this mystery is found in the operations of the person called the tutor. It is from him, or rather with him, that the students learn all that they know: one and all are agreed on that. Yet it is a little odd to know just how he does it. "We go over to his rooms," said one student, "and he just lights a pipe and talks to us." "We sit round with him," said another, "and he simply smokes and goes over our exercises with us."

43

From this and other evidence I gather that what an Oxford tutor does is to get a little group of students together and smoke at them. Men who have been systematically smoked at for four years turn into ripe scholars. If anybody doubts this, let him go to Oxford and he can see the thing actually in operation. A well-smoked man speaks, and writes English with a grace that can be acquired in no other way.

44

…If we had had at Toronto, when I was a

student, the kind of dormitories and dormitory life that they have at Oxford, I don't think I would ever have graduated. I'd have been there still. The trouble is that the universities on our Continent are only just waking up to the idea of what a university should mean.

45

They were, very largely, instituted and organized with the idea that a university was a place where young men were sent to absorb the contents of books and to listen to lectures in the class rooms. The student was pictured as a pallid creature, burning what was called the "midnight oil," his wan face bent over his desk.

46

If you wanted to do something for him you gave him a book; if you wanted to do something really large on his behalf you gave him a whole basketful of them. If you wanted to go still further and be a benefactor to the college at large, you endowed a competitive scholarship and set two or more pallid students working themselves to death to get it.

47

They must eat in a big dining room or hall, with oak beams across the ceiling, and the stained glass in the windows, and with a shield or tablet here or there upon the wall, to remind them between times of the men who went before them and left a name worthy of the memory of the college. If a student is to get from his college what it ought to give him, a college dormitory, with the life in common that it brings, is his absolute right. A university that fails to give it to him is cheating him.

48

The real thing for the student is the life and environment that surrounds him. All that he really learns he learns, in a sense, by the active operation of his own intellect and not as the passive recipient of lectures. And for this active operation what he really needs most is the continued and intimate contact with his fellows. Students must live together and eat together, talk and smoke together. Experience shows that that is how their minds really grow. And they must live together in a rational and comfortable way.

49

If I were founding a university--and I say it with all the seriousness of which I am capable--I would found first a smoking room; then when I had a little more money in hand I would found a dormitory; then after that, or more probably with it, a decent reading room and a library. After that, if I still had money over that I couldn't use, I would hire a professor and get some text books.