tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188858439852729115.post244483455211052264..comments2023-05-22T03:04:42.242-05:00Comments on Dame Eleanor Hull: Chaucer syllabus reviewDame Eleanor Hullhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06512884104691200975noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188858439852729115.post-19404365577786708692011-11-16T15:42:37.589-06:002011-11-16T15:42:37.589-06:00Elizabeth, this is an upper-division, majors-only,...Elizabeth, this is an upper-division, majors-only, required course. The Bayeux Tapestry has little to do with Chaucer, as does the topic of nunneries in the life of the lower nobility. I think if you pay attention to my posts on teaching, it's clear that I'm fine with the structure of the English major at LRU, and actually, as unfashionable a position as this is, I'm on board with the traditional canon. What I mind is having students with tiny vocabularies and the constraints that this imposes on my teaching.Dame Eleanor Hullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06512884104691200975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188858439852729115.post-3480623439230071772011-11-12T04:33:55.022-06:002011-11-12T04:33:55.022-06:00Why not use tapestries. One of the courses had us...Why not use tapestries. One of the courses had us examining tapestries and making cultural assessments based on what we could SEE. The Bayeux Tapestry was a good way to introduce a lot of ideas (along with 'winners get to not only write but show history how they like it, not unlike Hollywood'). Because we had already engaged with the text before class, and then, we had something to add (our observations, as detailed in assignment), and then listened to the lecture with more interest.<br /><br />I would personally rather the students learn the symbology and mythology that shows up in every aspect of literature until about 20 years ago than worry too much about the reading of Middle English. Or to give you a real example, would you like them to be able to read middle english perfectly, but ask, as I had a majority of 18-20 year old students ask, "What is Sin?", "What is Hell?", "Why is Hell considered bad?", "Why would a woman choose to be a nun?"<br /><br />The role of the nunnery in the life of the lower nobility is a lecture itself. Also, what about some critique on Queenie and her husband who set up this list in 1930 that you are teaching today? Are you happy about that? Are the students happy that a married couple, at Oxford decided that there should be a list, and somehow, every university teaches that same list? And are these really the most important books in the lives of people 100 years ago? Or for the people in those periods?<br /><br />Or, should they follow the advise of Quiller-couch in 'The Art of Reading' and 'The Art of Writing'? Is the ability to be the self reflective reader the only thing of import? And do the easy answers which 'testing' comprises takes us away from the challenging questions, which often have no simple answer, not at that point in the life of a young person?<br /><br />Good luck on the plan.Elizabeth McClunghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03627373214555333537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188858439852729115.post-35892797226130110732011-11-08T11:21:54.741-06:002011-11-08T11:21:54.741-06:00Janice, it's two sections, not a single big cl...Janice, it's two sections, not a single big class, but aside from that, the net result is much the same. I've tried staggering the assignments but it just gets me confused, which is then confusing for the students. Better just to have the same stuff due at the same time and cope.Dame Eleanor Hullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06512884104691200975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188858439852729115.post-41456282332881732922011-11-07T15:15:24.111-06:002011-11-07T15:15:24.111-06:00It sounds like the heart of the problem is that yo...It sounds like the heart of the problem is that you have to do this with 70 students. I have classes that large and the saving grace is that we're dealing with early modern English for their readings. That's challenge enough some days.Janicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14093558563358431804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188858439852729115.post-2066958635693496652011-11-06T21:18:39.493-06:002011-11-06T21:18:39.493-06:00Hey, Z, that's great news!Hey, Z, that's great news!Dame Eleanor Hullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06512884104691200975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188858439852729115.post-7919279111018743022011-11-06T14:57:22.049-06:002011-11-06T14:57:22.049-06:00We do have the same problems of how to pitch class...We do have the same problems of how to pitch classes. <br /><br />Check out the teaching load I negotiated for next semester after throwing fit at chair.<br /><br />Intro to literary genres<br />Modern survey<br />+ random grads / senior projects<br /><br />That's it!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188858439852729115.post-30003812946329171902011-11-06T10:35:46.881-06:002011-11-06T10:35:46.881-06:00ooh! Provost is teaching Chaucer this semester, an...ooh! Provost is teaching Chaucer this semester, and I would love to see how your syllabuses compare.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188858439852729115.post-33110918641601498172011-11-05T20:06:07.600-05:002011-11-05T20:06:07.600-05:00Thank you. My workload does not compare to yours,...Thank you. My workload does not compare to yours, but I think we share some of the problems of how to pitch our classes, and how these classes differ from what we were trained to do.Dame Eleanor Hullhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06512884104691200975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7188858439852729115.post-11658599960292071512011-11-05T00:13:54.077-05:002011-11-05T00:13:54.077-05:00Your plan is good.Your plan is good.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com