[01:02.17]Beth:Oh good morning. You must be James.
[01:04.99] I’m Beth Cartwright - please call me Beth.
[01:07.92]James:Thank you.
[01:08.86]Beth:Now as this is your first tutorial since you started on the Scandinavian Studies course, I'd like to find out something about you.
[01:17.79] Why did you decide to take this course?
[01:20.20]James:Well, my mother is Danish, and although we always lived in England, she used to talk about her home a lot, and that made me want to visit Denmark.
[01:30.65] We hardly ever did, though - my mother usually went on her own.
[01:35.03] But whenever her relations or friends were in England they always came to see us.
[01:40.55]Beth:I see. So I assume you already speak Danish, one of the languages you'll be studying.
[01:46.66]James:I can get by when I talk to people, though I'm not terribly accurate.
[01:52.20]Beth:Now you probably know that you'll spend the third year of the course abroad.
[01:57.37] Have you had any thoughts about that?
[01:59.51]James:I'm really looking forward to it.
[02:01.57] And although Denmark seems the obvious place to go, because of my family connections, I'd love to spend the time in Iceland.
[02:09.38]Beth:Oh, I'm sure it can be arranged.
[02:12.05]Do you have any plans for when you graduate?
[02:15.05] A lot of students go on to take a master's degree.
[02:18.14]James:I think the four years of the undergraduate course will be enough for me.
[02:22.47] I'm interested in journalism, and I quite like the idea of moving to Scandinavia and writing for magazines.
[02:30.00] I'd find that more creative than translating, which I suppose most graduates do.
[02:35.95]Beth:OK. Now how are you finding the courses you're taking this term, James?
[02:41.17]James:Well, I'm really enjoying the one on Swedish cinema.
[02:44.41]Beth:That'll continue next term, but the one on Scandinavian literature that's running at the moment will be replaced by more specialised courses.
[02:53.19]Oh, and by the way, if you're interested in watching Danish television programmes - there's going to be a course on that the term after next.
[03:01.66]James:That sounds good.
[03:03.17]Beth:Have you started thinking about the literature paper that you have to write in the next few weeks?
[03:07.59]James:Yes, my first choice would be to do something on the Icelandic sagas.
[03:12.81]Beth:Hmm. The trouble with that is that a lot of people choose that topic, and it can be difficult to get hold of the books you'll need.
[03:21.66] Why not leave that for another time?
[03:23.91]James:Right.
[03:25.11]Beth:You might find modern novels or 19th century playwrights interesting.
[03:29.19]James:I've read or seen several plays in translation, so that would be a good idea.
[03:35.20]Beth:Fine. I'll put you down for that topic.
[03:38.28]James:Right. So what would you advise me to aim at in the paper?
[03:41.78]Beth:First I suggest you avoid taking one writer and going into a great deal of detail.
[03:47.11]That approach certainly has its place, but I think you first need to get an understanding of the literature in the context of the society in which it was produced - who it was written for, how it was published, and so on.
[04:00.54] I also think that's more fruitful than placing it within the history of the genre.
[04:05.05]James:OK, that sounds reasonable.
[04:49.18]James:Could I ask for some advice about writing the paper I'm working on about the Vikings?
[04:54.61]I have to do that this week, and I'm a bit stuck.
[04:57.77]Beth:Of course. Have you decided yet what to write about?
[05:00.96]James:No, I haven't. There’s so much that seems interesting - Viking settlement in other countries, trade, mythology...
[05:09.53]Beth:Well, what I suggest is that you read an assignment a student wrote last year, which is kept in the library.
[05:16.08] It's short and well focused, and I'm sure you'll find it helpful.
[05:20.37] I'll give you the details in a moment.
[05:22.90] Textbooks usually cover so many topics, it can be very difficult to choose just one.
[05:28.33]James:OK. I've got a DVD of the film about the Vikings that came out earlier this year.
[05:34.05] Should I watch that again?
[05:36.04]Beth:If it's the one I am thinking of, hmm, I'd ignore it - it's more fantasy than reality.
[05:42.62] But I've got a recording of a documentary that you should watch.
[05:46.49] It makes some interesting and provocative points, which I think will help you to focus your topic.
[05:52.03]James:Right.
[05:53.33]James:So then should I work out an outline?
[05:56.21]Beth:Yes. Just headings for different sections, at this stage.
[06:00.12] And then you should start looking for suitable articles and books to draw on, and take notes which you organise according to those headings.
[06:07.96]James:I see.
[06:08.93]Beth:Then put short phrases and sentences as bullet points under each heading.
[06:13.26]Make sure that this skeleton makes sense and flows properly, before writing up the paper in full.
[06:19.59]James:OK. Thanks, that's very helpful.
