UCC Textualities Conference Reflection

In life, each and every one of us will have to partake in an event, occasion or experience that will test the very limits of our personal abilities. My D-Day for 2015 fell on the 27^th February: it was the day of the Textualities Conference held by the English Master students of UCC. Since learning the conference was due to occur a month earlier than previously thought, it had positioned itself insidiously at the back of my mind. For some, speaking in public comes as natural as walking your dog in the park; however, for others (like myself) it seems a near impossible feat comparable to climbing Mount Everest with a man-eating monkey strapped to your back. Nonetheless, public speaking is a fundamental ingredient an academic must either possess or acquire, and this very reality meant I had to shape up or ship out. As the weeks drew closer, the tension and excitement reached new levels of eminence. The easiest task of my presentation was choosing a topic, Evelyn Waugh being the number one contender and outright winner. It was my personal appreciation of this exquisitely eloquent and highly articulate writer that compelled me to speak about him, but, more importantly, I felt the need to share my experience of Waughism with my fellow academics. 

Petcha-kucha was the order of the day, a most frightening confinement to how one would usually present an academic exhibition. However, my trepidations about using such an unfamiliar technique seem to have been unfounded. Instead of debilitating my presenting abilities, the use of Petcha-kutcha facilitated me in concentrating and compacting my thoughts and ideas to twenty slides, each lasting 20 seconds. In preparation for the event, I practiced relentlessly until my words correlated unerringly to each and every slide, a characteristic one must be ever so proud of.

Once the day finally arrived, my nerves took a back seat, a marvel consequential to me enjoying the other speakers’ varied and interesting presentations. Contrary to expectations, the conference room was replete with enthusiastic students all encouraging one another. ‘Evelyn Waugh Revisited: Vile Bodies and Modernism’ was the title of my presentation and I must say, once behind the lectern my enthusiasm for Waugh took over and the six minutes and forty seconds elapsed too quickly. My topic involved discussing how and why Waugh’s Vile Bodies should be considered an example of modernist literature. Satire and the use of individualism were the focal points of the presentation. My lecture posed two or three extremely pertinent questions relating to my topic which were answered competently, I hope. The level of efficiency present throughout the day’s events was due to the meticulousness of all the students involved. I took great pleasure in chairing the final group of speakers, whose varied and dynamic presentations concluded the day’s events superbly. During the weekend following the conference, my thoughts were dictated by the little Everest I had overcome, and the eruditions shadowing such an achievement revealed themselves accordingly. On reflection, the three principal accomplishments obtained from the conference were: (1) learning about new topics on which my fellow classmates presented, some leading to a renewal of past interests; (2) newfound confidence in speaking academically in front of more than two people; (3) furnishing an interest in Evelyn Waugh among my classmates. All in all, what I formerly thought to be a daunting and suffocating occurrence transpired to be terribly enjoyable, and the feeling of achievement following the culmination of the day’s events was invigorating.