The counterculture movement of the 1960s and 70s is widely considered to be at the forefront of many important social changes in the Western world, which in its aftermath rippled across the globe, impacting people even to this day. The word counterculture explains itself: it is essentially an anti-establishment/mainstream cultural phenomenon. There have been many countercultural movements throughout history, but the one that still has… Read More
What immediately comes to mind when ‘classic literature’ is mentioned in an English lesson? Perhaps wistful Victorian orphans or spurned women running across a heath. The texts we find in the literary canon are almost entirely Western, and that should not come as any surprise: English is a ‘Western’ language after all. But against the backdrop of a postcolonial and globalized Hong Kong, it is… Read More
Poetry is an artform employed to explore the deepest human truths that are otherwise almost impossible to get hold of via day-to-day prose. Its musical qualities and relative brevity mean that it has been created by writers from all sections of society, regardless of culture and class, giving us incredible insight into diverse lives. It would therefore be remiss of us to only pay attention… Read More
What are your impressions of the UK? Do you picture Victorian buildings inhabited by people looking prim and proper and speaking the Queen’s English? You might be surprised, but the UK of today is a country of diverse cultures, one quite unlike that portrayed in older books and films. My time studying at the University of St Andrews granted me a small but invaluable window… Read More
