Topic 13 - Shared knowledge and absurdist drama (Session A) > More about shared schematic knowledge > Task C

More about shared schematic knowledge

Task C – Schematic knowledge about places and situations

Part b - Our answer

3, 4 and 18 are highly deviant for UK lectures (though, interestingly, in some countries students do provide the lecturer with tea). The reason that it is conceivable, even though deviant, to think of ice-cream sellers in lecture theatres is that cinemas and lecture theatres do share some schematic features (cinemas have a screen at the front, raked rows of seats for the audience etc). So it would be possible to think of a spoof of a lecture in a TV sketch having an ice-cream seller, for example because they schemas for lecture theatres and cinemas overlap to some degree. We leave you to work out the possible scenarios where 18 might become possible!

2, 8, 14 and 15 are possible but unlikely. Modern UK students, in our experience at least, are not so considerate (but compare other times and other places . . .)

Of the rest, some are optional. Not all lectures have handouts, for example, not all lecturers summarise what their lectures will be about, and not all lectures involve analysing texts. But we have included them here because they are typical of Stylistics lectures at Lancaster. We think the order is:

13. The students saunter in and sit as near to the back of the lecture theatre as they can.
6. The lecturer arrives.
1. The lecturer distributes the handouts.
5. The lecturer summarises what the lecture will be about.
10. The students start to take notes.
12. The lecturer switches on the overhead projector to display a text.
11. The lecturer reads out a text.
17. The lecturer analyses a text using a copy of it on the overhead projector.
7. The lecturer switches off the overhead projector.
16. While the lecturer is still talking the students start putting their notepads away and some begin to leave.
9. The lecturer tells the students what they need to do in between the lecture and before the seminar which follows it.

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