Non-Fiction Anthology Texts Context

Chief Joseph Surrender Speech and Speech at Washington

  • Chief Joseph also known as Hinmahtohyahlatkekt (Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain)

  • second son of a Nez Perce chief Old Joseph.

  • U.S. military forced Chief Joseph's people off their lands, Chief Joseph helped to lead some 750 people on a fighting retreat toward Canada. 

  • forced to surrender after intense fighting fewer than forty miles south of the Canadian border, only 431 tribespeople were alive at the point of surrender.

  • taken captive and moved to Oklahoma and Kansas, where they were held for almost eight years. 

  • Chief Joseph went to Washington and addressed U.S. leaders during that time

  • eventually were returned to the Northwest but were never allowed to reclaim their Wallowa Valley lands. 

  • Chief Joseph died 1904

  • speech published posthumously in "I Will Fight No More Forever” (1963) - Merrill D. Beal played an important role in challenging stereotypes about Native Americans as savage primitives

  • gave his speech to the general's adjutant (administrative staff officer), but was also documented by journalists who had been following the progress of the Nez Perce retreat

  • appeared in printed form in the November 17, 1877 issue of the magazine Harper's Weekly

Edward VIII Abdication Speech

  • Edward wanted to marry Wallis Simpson, American divorcée → constitutional crisis, led to abdication speech

  • Establishment set against his marrying her because of questionable morals

    • not allowed to marry divorced woman whose husband is still alive

  • Edward popular and wanted to modernise the monarchy

  • largely supported by working class but not those in the Establishment

  • pre-planned speech

  • national radio broadcast through BBC, mass medium for the country and empire

Jeremy Paxman Newsnight Interview with Valerie Amos and Dizzee Rascal

Jeremy Paxman/Newsnight

  • Paxman: broadcaster, journalist, author TV presenter known for abrasive interview style

  • attended Cambridge — member of Labour Party Club

  • initially socialist but later described himself as one-nation conservative

  • joined BBC in 1972

  • aware of imbalance between Rascal and Amos in terms of political composure: appears condescending towards Rascal using simplistic terms yet also tries to overcompensate for his natural favouritism towards Amos

Valerie Amos

  • British Labour Party politician and diplomat

    • appointed Secretary of State for International Development in 2003

      • first BAME woman to serve as Cabinet minister

  • left Cabinet when Gordon Brown became PM

Dizzee Rascal

  • Dylan Kwabena Mills

  • British MC and rapper

  • pioneer of grime music

  • debut album won Mercury Prize

Horrible Histories

  • British comedy TV series

  • based on books by the same name

  • produced for CBBC — children’s television network

  • parody other UK media/celebrities

  • reruns still pay today

  • creative team recruited from mainstream adult UK comedy scene

  • took inspiration from British comedy classics e.g. Blackadder, Monty Python

Julia Gillard’s Speech to Australian Parliament

  • audience: Australian parliament predominantly, but also publicised to Australian public

  • Gillard under pressure to keep her party in power amid scandals and personal attacks

  • Abbott recently photographed at anti-carbon tax rally next to sexist signs

  • sexist media reporting

    • fixation on her wardrobe

    • empty fruit basket in kitchen = childlessness

  • Gillard criticised for her leadership being “unseemly and unduly brutal for a woman”

  • part of no-confidence motion to remove Peter Slipper as speaker

  • very popular: trended on Twitter → Gillard at peace with her years of politics being reduced to this one speech, but didn’t expect t to get so popular

This American Life: ‘Three Miles’

  • journalistic non-fiction programme

  • each week’s show has a theme explored in several acts

  • stories often explore current events exploring aspects of human nature

  • as many as 80% of interview with subjects don’t make it to air because they look for people who tell stories in a “particular way”

  • audience: anglophone, predominantly American

  • 2,000,000 weekly listeners

  • 500 public radio stations in U.S.A., also in Canada and Australia

  • award winning: first Pulitzer price to be awarded to a radio show/podcast

Art Lab with Emily Graslie

Emily Graslie

  • background in art and biology

  • Chief Curiosity Corresponder at museum in Chicago

  • insightful and accessible approach to science

Art Lab

  • edutainment

  • targets older children (9-13) without parents watching along

  • relatively unscripted

  • makes science relevant to young people

  • James Weiss: expert in his field (natural history and entomology)

Roxane Gay’s Effective Ways of Being Heard

  • writer and social commentator predominantly focused on feminism, identity, and body image

  • Hunger: award-winning memoir about her struggles with body image

    • triggered by childhood sexual violence

  • did press tour for Hunger: predominantly female audience, adults

  • went to Yale University, has a PhD.

PBS

  • Public Broadcast Service

  • publicly funded, non-profit

  • news: adult American audience

Desert Island Discs with Liz Carr

  • 1st broadcast in 1942: one of the longest-running radio programmes in the world → presitigious

  • audience:

    • 35-55

    • higher education and socioeconomic background

    • primarily UK-based

    • listeners who enjoy personal connection/interviews and music

  • guests include celebrities, politicians, artists, and public figures

  • host Lauren Laverne: from Newcastle, retained some of accent → friendlier, point of difference

Liz Carr

  • actress: BBC TV drama ‘Silent Witness’

  • won Olivier Award

  • power in an interview rests with interviewer but interviewee has different sort of power

  • wheelchair user

  • vocal disability rights activist

Off Menu with Motsi Mabuse

Motsi Mabuse

  • South African-German dancer

  • initially became famous due to having appeared on ‘Let’s Dance’

  • judge on Strictly Come Dancing

Strictly Come Dancing

  • British television dance competition that pairs celebrities with professional dancers to compete in various dance styles each week

  • airing on BBC One since 2004

  • one of the most popular and enduring entertainment shows in the UK

  • appeals to a broad demographic, including viewers of all ages and backgrounds

  • known for its family-friendly appeal

Off Menu

  • guests discuss their dream meals from every angle to create a custom fantasy menu

  • Guests from the world of comedy, acting, music, and, of course, food are guests on this podcast

  • Ed Gamble is a British comedian and actor known for his stand-up comedy, podcasting, and television appearances

    • witty and observational humour

  • James Acaster: distinctive comedic style and offbeat storytelling

    • dry humor and clever wordplay

Letter from Lady Ann Fanshawe

  • serves to commemorate her husband and son’s father while also recounting their travels in countries her son will likely not get to see now that they are poor

  • fervent Protestant

    • Queen of Spain offered Ann money for the funeral if she converted to Catholicism but she refused

  • initial audience of her son & close family → publicised later

  • husband

    • secretary of war to Charles II and ambassador for Britain in Europe

    • taken prisoner in Battle of Worcester

    • passed away in Madrid in 1666

    • wrote poetry, Ann wrote cookbooks

Some Thoughts Concerning Education, John Locke

  • initially sent as letter to friend asking for advice as first-time mother

  • holistic idea for education radical idea for the time

  • “father of modern liberalism”

  • famous philosopher

  • Atheist

  • Age of Enlightenment

A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift

  • made Dean of St. Patrick’s Church in Dublin, IE

  • Anglo-Irish satirist

    • part of Irish ruling class so partially sided with England

    • frustrated with Irish government’s inaction

  • political pamphleteer (Whigs → Tories)

  • published under psuedonyms

  • dry, deadpan, ironic writing style

Letter from Isabella Lucy Bird to her sister Henrietta

  • British missionary and global explore: travelled to Canada. Japan, Tibet, India, etc.

  • unusual career for a lone woman of her time

  • first woman to be member of Royal Geographical Society

    • awarded honorary fellowship by Scottish Royal Geographical Society

  • wrote books on her travels

  • letter written in Wyoming

Captain Robert Scott’s Last Expedition Final Diary Entries

  • went on 2 expeditions before his fatal last (Discovery & Terra Nova)

  • was a naval officer before devoting 12 years of his life to antarctic expeditons

  • led party of 5 men

  • race against Norwegians, woefully unprepared — Norwegians won

  • publicised posthumously when body was discovered on recovery mission

    • audience changes from private diary entry just for him → public, loved ones of his crew (immortalising their bravery) when he realises they won’t survive

Allistair Cooke’s Obituary of Marilyn Monroe

  • British-American journalist

  • obituary published in The Guardian — left/centre-left, educated audience

  • published ~1 week after death

  • known for radio show ‘Letter from America’

  • Golden Age of Hollywood: glitz and glamour, media/paparazzi and public obsession with celebrities

Marilyn Monroe

  • born Norma Jean Baker

  • chilidhood spent in poverty and foster homes

  • stardom began with modelling for a lewd calendar

  • Academy-award winning actress

  • known for playing “dumb blonde” persona — iconic red lip and blonde hair

  • 3 marriages: 1. blue collar worker, Joe DiMaggio (baseballer), Arthur Miller (playwright, Death of a Salesman)

  • conspiracy theory that death was a cover-up for CIA killing after she slept with JFK and brother Bobby Kennedy

I am, I am, I am, Maggie O’Farrell

  • Northern Irish but travelled extensively as a child

  • suffered near-fatal encephalitis when she was 10-12 which left her bedridden

    • now has a stammer and poor proprioception because of it

  • started writing the memoir after her daughter was diagnosed with immunology disorder to look at the fragility of human life

  • memoir looks at her 17 near-death experiences, chapters named after relevant body parts

Soph Talks Science

  • PhD in stem cell biology from University of Southampton

  • transitioned to science communication

  • created the blog to maker learning science more accessible by stripping away jargon

  • Science communicator

  • advocates for diversity in STEM on social media

  • blog won Best Education award in 2018

Americana (And The Act of Getting Over It), Luke Healy

  • wrote 5 graphic novels, 3 of which were awarded Book of the Year by the Guardian

  • studied journalism at Dublin City University

  • MFA in cartooning

  • book about Pacific Crest Trail

  • Irish, emigrated to U.S.A.

Lucy Mangan’s Feel Good Review

  • won columnist of the year in 2013

  • work focuses on feminism

  • wrote for women’s magazines Cosmopolitan and Stylist

  • books focus on more personal aspects of life

  • TV review columnist for the Guardian

Feel Good

  • semi-autobiographical comedy-drama

  • initially aired on Channel 4 then internationally via Netflix

  • Mae Martin (recovering addict) navigates new relationship with girlfriend