English 10 LCI Goals and Challenges
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[edit] Catalog Description
2005-2006 Catalog Description for English 10 LC
Acquaints students with purposes and tools of literary interpretation. Introduces techniques and vocabulary of analytic discussion and critical writing. Emphasis is on literature and the culture of information. The class also introduces students to the Transcription Project located within the English Department.
Source - http://www.catalog.ucsb.edu/index2.htm
[edit] Department Description of the English 10 Course
As a result of the undergraduate meetings of 2000-2001, it was decided that the following statement be used as a guideline for teachers of English 10:
"English 10 should teach students to interpret a variety of literary works, including poetry, enabling them to participate in the discourse of literary studies. In practical terms, the course will teach students to do close readings, to develop an interpretation of a text, to use evidence from the text to support their interpretations, and to shape essays appropriate to upper-division literature classes. In addition, instructors may also wish to teach students how historical context affects the meaning of a text, how to read critical essays and use them in their own interpretive essays, how to revise their own writing, and how different critical approaches (or theories) ask different questions of a text and produce different interpretations. Students will be expected to develop their writing throughout the term and produce a series of essays, totaling approximately 4,000 words.
The literary content of the course will be decided by the individual instructors, with some emphasis on poetry. Instructors are encouraged to teach the fundamental vocabulary of literary analysis and the basics of MLA style."
[edit] Student Awareness of the LCI Focus in English 10LC
Although English 10 LC is designed for English majors and intended to attract students interested in the LCI emphasis, previous instructors have found that many of their students are non-majors taking the course in order to fulfill a GE requirement. Many students are unaware of the LCI emphasis when they enroll and may be resistent to computer work.
[edit] Working with Genre in English 10 LC
One of the challenges with the LCI 10 is to move between media and among genres. The goal is to balance the wide range of media and genre with the departmental emphasis on poetry, while not introducing too great a discontinuity between the materials in the LCI English 10 and the other English 10s.
Some methods that instructors have found helpful in covering genre are:
- Organize the course according to genre: move from genre to genre throughout the quarter to ensure coverage.
- Include a poetry section: include a wide swath of contemporary poetry, print and otherwise.
- Pair texts: study “traditional” print texts alongside contemporary media texts.
Often when teaching hypertext or digital media, there are two levels of difficulty masquerading as one: 1) students are unfamiliar with twentieth century experimental literature. 2) Students are unfamiliar with the new media. The two problems are often collapsed into one outcry of “this doesn’t make sense!” Keep in mind that when teaching digital poetry, students must have some background in print poetry or they do not understand its digital form.
[edit] The Use of Theory in English 10 LC
The use of theory can greatly enhance class discussions and challenge students in a really productive fashion. Use caution, however: some texts that we take for granted are incredibly challenging when you look at them from the perspective of a first-time reader. Instructors have found the following approaches helpful in integrating theory into their English 10 LCI:
- Have students summarize a really difficult piece. They will be forced to grapple with the text rather than just give up.
- Use lecture as a way to communicate general theory ideas.
- Assign only sections of a text.
Some theory texts that instructors have found productive are:
Foucault, Michel. "Panopticism." Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Vintage, 1995.
Freud, Sigmund. "A Note Upon the 'Mystic Writing-Pad." The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud. Vol. 19 Eds. James Stratchey, et al. New York: W.W. Norton, 2000.
Manovich, Lev. The Language of New Media. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2001.
McLuhan, Marshall. The Medium is the Massage. Corte Madiera: Gingko Press, 2001.
McLuhan, Marshall. "The Medium is the Message." Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. London: Routledge, 1994.
--Kknight 17:34, 13 August 2007 (PDT)
