writing / en Ā鶹ֱ²„app historian's ā€œFive Ways of Being a Paintingā€ wins prestigious Notting Hill prize /news/u-t-historian-s-five-ways-being-painting-wins-prestigious-notting-hill-prize <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Ā鶹ֱ²„app historian's ā€œFive Ways of Being a Paintingā€ wins prestigious Notting Hill prize</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-07-12-William_Nelson.jpg?h=58088d8b&amp;itok=nOlRCLRx 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2017-07-12-William_Nelson.jpg?h=58088d8b&amp;itok=Uh5i_nnG 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2017-07-12-William_Nelson.jpg?h=58088d8b&amp;itok=S7_s1Ipn 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-07-12-William_Nelson.jpg?h=58088d8b&amp;itok=nOlRCLRx" alt> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-07-12T16:24:06-04:00" title="Wednesday, July 12, 2017 - 16:24" class="datetime">Wed, 07/12/2017 - 16:24</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Assistant Professor William Nelson won the prestigious Notting Hill Editions Essay Prize (photo by Ken Jones)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/don-campbell" hreflang="en">Don Campbell</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Don Campbell</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/arts" hreflang="en">Arts</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/writing" hreflang="en">writing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/humanities" hreflang="en">Humanities</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utsc" hreflang="en">UTSC</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/history" hreflang="en">History</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">He typed parts of the essay on his iPhone at night</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>A Ā鶹ֱ²„app historian's unique essay exploring the experience of estrangement through art has won the prestigious Notting Hill Editions Essay Prize.&nbsp;</p> <p>Assistant Professor <strong>William Nelson</strong>, an expert on the Enlightenment and French Revolution, won the top prize of Ā£20,000 ($33,000 CDN) for his essay <em>Five Ways of Being a Painting</em>.</p> <p>Judges were&nbsp;impressed by the way he was able to combine text and images,&nbsp;weaving&nbsp;together how historical figures from Europe and China ā€“ and even his own memories from childhood ā€“ form the experience of estrangement. &nbsp;</p> <p>ā€œI started by recognizing a conceptual relationship between these things, but I didnā€™t want to write an argumentative piece,ā€ he says. ā€œI wanted to weave them together, to create a resonance and range of meaning that would engage readers and slowly draw them in.ā€&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__5277 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/La%20Rochelle1_0.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 467px; margin: 10px;" typeof="foaf:Image"><br> <em>ā€œThe&nbsp;Vues des ports de Franceā€&nbsp;(Scenes of the harbours of France) is&nbsp;a series of paintings by French painter&nbsp;Joseph Vernet, made between 1754 and 1765, that are featured in William Nelson's essay</em></p> <p>Nelson says the experience of estrangement explored in the essay is a subtle one, a way in which people can step outside of themselves in order to reassess aspects of their life. &nbsp;</p> <p>He originally drew inspiration for the essay from a few sources, including a photograph of German philosopher Walter Benjamin who had talked about being totally immersed by looking at objects as a child, and from Chinese artist Liu Bolin who is known for immersing himself in environments for his artwork.&nbsp;</p> <p>Nelson also was inspired by a piece of art criticism for the Salon written by the French Enlightenment philosopher Denis Diderot. In it, Diderot&nbsp;eloquently describes going on a picnic with a priest and some students before Diderot sets off on&nbsp;a walk around the French countryside. Itā€™s only after the description that Diderot reveals heā€™s actually talking about a specific painting ā€“&nbsp;not a personal experience.&nbsp;</p> <p>ā€œItā€™s an interesting example of being a painting by placing himself inside the art heā€™s describing. Itā€™s a very creative way to tell readers about the painting, but it also allows them to believe that they took this imaginative leap,ā€ Nelson&nbsp;says. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>While Nelson started collecting his thoughts for the essay about three years ago, it wasnā€™t until he learned about the Notting Hill prize that he fully committed himself to finishing it.&nbsp;</p> <p>Whatā€™s remarkable is he was able to complete the essay while teaching a full course load, writing an academic book and raising his young son. He was so busy that he committed to writing sections of it on his iPhone at night before going to sleep.&nbsp;</p> <h3><a href="/news/five-ways-being-painting-u-t-historian-crafts-essay-smartphone-longlisted-elite-prize">Read more about his essay</a></h3> <p>Nelson was joined by his family for the award presentation in London, England.</p> <p>ā€œIt was an extraordinary experience because they presented me with this beautifully printed version of <em>Five Ways of Being a Painting</em>, and then I was asked to read a small passage from it.ā€</p> <p>He says he was surprised that he could focus on the words without getting too overwhelmed.&nbsp;</p> <p>The majority of the finalists who were shortlisted are professional writers, making Nelsonā€™s achievement that much more remarkable. From the time he started graduate school, heā€™s been studying non-academic forms of writing in order to sharpen his skills. He adds that an important part of being&nbsp;a good historian&nbsp;is engaging with people. &nbsp;</p> <p>ā€œI wasnā€™t quite sure what I wanted to do with this idea that took shape when I started three years ago. I kept returning to it, refining it&nbsp;and set a goal to do a small section each night on my phone,ā€ he says.&nbsp;</p> <p>ā€œI feel incredibly fortunate that it turned out the way it did.ā€&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 12 Jul 2017 20:24:06 +0000 ullahnor 109937 at Five Ways of Being a Painting: Ā鶹ֱ²„app historian crafts essay on smartphone, longlisted for elite prize /news/five-ways-being-painting-u-t-historian-crafts-essay-smartphone-longlisted-elite-prize <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Five Ways of Being a Painting: Ā鶹ֱ²„app historian crafts essay on smartphone, longlisted for elite prize</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-04-12-nelson.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=znvsNgnK 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2017-04-12-nelson.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=9lEDlmKH 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2017-04-12-nelson.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=EyXAaIju 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-04-12-nelson.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=znvsNgnK" alt="William Nelson"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-04-12T14:11:04-04:00" title="Wednesday, April 12, 2017 - 14:11" class="datetime">Wed, 04/12/2017 - 14:11</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Assistant Professor William Nelson's essay is up for the $33,000 Notting Hill Editions Essay Prize (photo by Ken Jones)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/berton-woodward" hreflang="en">Berton Woodward</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Berton Woodward</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/arts" hreflang="en">Arts</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/writing" hreflang="en">writing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utsc" hreflang="en">UTSC</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/humanities" hreflang="en">Humanities</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/history" hreflang="en">History</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p><strong>William Nelson</strong>, an assistant professor of history at Ā鶹ֱ²„app Scarborough, has been&nbsp;longlisted for the prestigious Notting Hill Editions Essay Prize, worth Ā£20,000 ($33,000 CDN).</p> <p>Nelsonā€™s innovative 4,700-word essay, ā€œFive Ways of Being a Painting,ā€&nbsp;combined&nbsp;text and images to examine ā€œthe ways that people have used paintings to think about the experience of estrangement.ā€&nbsp;</p> <p>Historically, other Ā鶹ֱ²„app essayists have done well in the competition. <strong>Michael Ignatieff</strong>, then a professor at Ā鶹ֱ²„app's Munk School of Global Affairs, won in 2013, the first year of the biennial prize. In 2015, Philosophy Professor <strong>Mark Kingwell</strong> was longlisted and received special mention.</p> <p>In Nelson's essay, he mentions&nbsp;anecdotes and musings about historical figures and images from the past 400 years in Europe and China, as well as memories from his own childhood.</p> <p>ā€œI wrote the essay in an experimental form that weaves together five storylines exploring the ways that people can ā€˜beā€™ paintings,ā€ he said.&nbsp;ā€œI am an academic historian of ideas. This is another type of exploration of ideas.ā€&nbsp;</p> <p>He began writing the essay about three years ago, then put it aside to work on a book. Last year, seeing the&nbsp;deadline coming up, he completed the essay in fragments in bed at night, typing on his smartphone.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__4223 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/La%20Rochelle1.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 467px; margin: 10px;" typeof="foaf:Image"><br> <em>The&nbsp;</em>Vues des ports de France&nbsp;<em>(</em>Scenes of the harbours of France<em>) is&nbsp;a series of paintings by French painter&nbsp;Joseph Vernet, made between 1754 and 1765, that are featured in William Nelson's essay </em></p> <p>Notting Hill Editions, a website and publisher aiming to ā€œreinvigorate the art of the essay,ā€&nbsp;was founded by games inventor and entrepreneur Tom Kremer, who helped popularize Rubikā€™s Cube. The shortlist for the prize will be announced on May 3, and the winner and five runners-up will be selected June 28.</p> <p>Nelson, whose piece is one of 76 on the longlist, said&nbsp;he has published a number of academic works but never a literary essay. Most of the other authors on the list, he noted, are professional writers.</p> <p>ā€œWhen I was doing my PhD, I realized I wanted to pay a lot more attention to writing,ā€ he says. ā€œSo, I practiced writing in a number of different styles.ā€</p> <p>Nelson, who grew up outside Washington, D.C., did his PhD at the University of California, Los Angeles. He was a&nbsp;post-doc researcher&nbsp;and a&nbsp;visiting professor&nbsp;at the University of Cambridge, the University of Miami and the University of Texas at Austin. A specialist in 18th-century intellectual history, he came to Ā鶹ֱ²„app Scarborough&nbsp;in 2011.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 12 Apr 2017 18:11:04 +0000 ullahnor 106705 at UC Writing Centre /node/8823 <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">UC Writing Centre</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-01-07T15:47:22-05:00" title="Thursday, January 7, 2016 - 15:47" class="datetime">Thu, 01/07/2016 - 15:47</time> </span> <div class="field field--name-field-url field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">URL</div> <div class="field__item">https://www.uc.utoronto.ca/writing-centre</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-above clearfix"> <h3 class="field__label">Tags</h3> <ul class="links field__items"> <li><a href="/news/tags/writing" hreflang="en">writing</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-campus field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Campus</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/taxonomy/term/6953" hreflang="en">St. George</a></div> </div> Thu, 07 Jan 2016 20:47:22 +0000 sgupta 8823 at