Each week, our five class periods will include time for each of the following:
In-depth discussion of the literary works we are reading (the majority of our time)
Presentations and discussions on the reading led by you and your peers
Informal reader’s response writing
Vocabulary development
Lessons on writing conventions and strategies, based on the class’ developing needs
Conferencing about your writing and revision of your writing
Introduction of new literary terminology and critical methodologies
Our Readings
For each text, we will examine:
-Our own experiences and interpretations of the text
-Literary elements within each text (character, tone, theme, setting, etc.), both those that are universal and those that are specific to each genre
-The author’s writing style, use of figurative language, and rhetorical strategies
-How culture, time period, the author’s background, and literary period influence the piece
-Critical methodologies that can be used to analyze this text (Feminist, Marxist, Structuralist, etc.)
Your reading assignments will be the most important assignments you complete all year. The class is based upon our discussions of the reading, and it is imperative that you be prepared for each day’s discussion. We will focus on active reading strategies to help you read productively and in a sophisticated manner.
For each novel-length text, you will work collaboratively as a team and will be assigned one literary element to focus on in your reading (the elements will rotate throughout the year). For example, you might be in charge of tracking themes Death of a Salesman. You should be prepared to comment on how the author is using that literary element, have questions for the class based on the themes you see emerging, or have marked a significant passage for us to analyze in class. You are expected to take notes on your literary element while you are reading at home so that you will be prepared to share in class. Your group will also present your assigned element or technique on the text on a pre-scheduled basis.
Our main readings for the year
TIn the Time of the Butterflies- Julia Alvarez
Death of a Salesman – Arthur Miller
Beloved, Toni Morrison
The Color Purple- Alice Walker
Lots of poetry by British and American writers, 16th century to the present, including Keats, Wordsworth, Stevens, Moore, Dove, Cummings, Eliot, Marvell, Donne, Nye, Neruda, Collins, William Shakespere
Short stories and essays by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jhumpa Lahiri,
Many of our short stories, poems, sample essays, and reference materials will come from The Bedford Introduction to Literature, edited by Michael Meyer