07-04

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⋮⋮ Program

• Borders
• Finding a novel
• Ordstilling

≣ Tasks

Borders

A border generally separates one thing from another, often countries. When you cross a border from one country into another, you have to show your identification papers and maybe a visa to the border patrol officials. Sometimes neighbouring countries have border disagreements, if they think the lines were not placed fairly or if the various populations don’t get along.

Borders can also be more unofficial. You might want to plant a border of tulips along your front path, or you could comment on the border of a picture. Especially if you think the picture in itself borders on the ugly. You might also want to sew a border of sequins along the edge of your shirt. But don’t use too many because that may border on the flashy.

• In pairs: Find examples of the use of the word “border” in the text above and match them with the definitions below.
  1. A strip of ground along the edge of a lawn.
  2. To be close to being something.
  3. The line dividing two countries or areas.
  4. A band or a strip around the edge of something

Borders

Discuss the following questions:

• How many borders between countries have you crossed in your life?

Borders

Discuss the following questions:

• How many borders between countries have you crossed in your life?
• What other kinds of borders can people cross?

Borders

Discuss the following questions:

• How many borders between countries have you crossed in your life?
• What other kinds of borders can people cross?
• What makes people want to establish borders?
• What makes people want to cross borders?

Borders

• Read paragraphs 1-4 and write down/underline all the expressions used about the line between Mexico and America.
• Read paragraphs 10-12 and note what is said about the erection of the border and the effects of this on people.
• Read paragraph 16. In what way is the question raised by the rancher an existential question? What does the question show about the effect of the border?

Finding a novel

Find either:

• a novel in English to read, or
• a longform podcast series in English to listen to,

that connects in some meaningful way to the theme of borders.

You have 60 minutes.

Finding a novel

What counts as “borders”:

• national borders, migration, exile, refugees
• borders between cultures, languages, classes, or communities
• psychological or personal boundaries
• borders between childhood/adulthood, life/death, human/non-human, real/imagined
• any other strong interpretation you can justify

Your goal: By the end of the hour, choose one text/audio work that is: - interesting to you - appropriate for your English reading-level - clearly connected to the theme

Finding a novel

Research steps:

1. Brainstorm 4-6 possible meanings of borders.
2. Decide whether you want to look for a novel or a podcast.
3. Search for at least 5 possible options.
4. For each option, collect:
   • title
   • author / host / producer
   • year
   • genre
   • length
   • one short summary
   • how it connects to borders
5. Check difficulty:
   • Is the language manageable but challenging?
   • Is there enough information about it online?
   • Is it obtainable?
6. Narrow your list to your best 2 choices.
7. Choose 1 final work.

Finding a novel

Use reliable sources:

• publisher websites
• library pages
• major newspapers/magazines
• literary reviews
• podcast platforms and official episode pages
• interviews with the author/creator
• digital previews
• Goodreads or similar sites only as a secondary source, not your main source

Search ideas:

• “novels about borders”
• “fiction about migration identity exile”
• “best podcasts about borders migration identity”
• “novel crossing cultures language border”
• “podcast episode refugees borderlands belonging”

Finding a novel

At the end, submit:

• your final choice
• 2 other options you considered
• a 150-200 word justification explaining:
  • what the work is about
  • how it relates to borders
  • why it is a good choice for you
• 2-3 sources you used

Success criteria:

• your choice is clearly linked to the theme
• you can explain that link convincingly
• your sources are reliable
• your final work seems suitable for sustained reading/listening

Finding a novel

Available here:

• About a boy (Nick Hornby)
• An Inspector Calls (J. B. Priestley)
• Born on the Fourth of July (Ron Kovic)
• East is East (Coraghessan Boyle)
• Dead Poet Society (Nancy H. Kleinbaum)
• Gun Love (Jennifer Clement)
• Into the Wild (Jon Krakauer)
• Juliet Naked (Nick Hornby)
• Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
• MacBeth (William Shakespeare)
• Normal People (Sally Rooney)
• On Chesil Beach (Ian McEwan)
• One flew over the cuckoo’s nest (Ken Kesey)
• Short Cuts (Raymond Carver)
• The Body (Stephen King)
• The Cement Garden (Ian McEwan)
• The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
• The Hate U Give (Angie Thomas)
• The Merchant of Venice (William Shakespeare)
• The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber (Ernest Hemmingway)
• A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess)
• A dry white season (André Brink)
• Alice’s adventures in wonderland (Lewis Carroll)
• Animal Farm (George Orwell)
• Black like me (John Howard Griffin)
• Cal (Bernard Mac Laverty)
• Disgrace (J.M. Coetzee)
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Louis Stevenson)
• Heart of Darkness (Joseph Conrad)
• Nineteen Eighty-Four (George Orwell)
• Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)
• Praxis (Fay Weldom)
• Regeneration (Pat Barker)
• The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath)
• The Collection (John Fowles)
• The Complete Talking Heads (Alan Bennett)
• The Crucible (Arthur Miller)
• The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
• The Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar Wilde)
• The Life & Loves of a She Devil (Fay Weldon)
• The New York Triology (Paul Auster)
• Where Angels Fear to Tread (E.M. Forster)
• Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Edward Albee)
• The Things They Carried (Tim O’Brien - connected short stories)