ERIC Number: EJ1097394
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0007-8034
EISSN: N/A
An Architecture of the Literature Survey
Denno, Jerry
CEA Forum, v36 n2 Sum-Fall 2007
The author began his experience with survey design in 1998 when, having been awarded a post-doctoral teaching fellowship, he was assigned to teach a variety of literature surveys, including the standard British literature survey from Chaucer to Milton, the poetry survey from Donne to the twentieth century, major British novels, early English Renaissance drama, and modern drama. The plan that the author currently uses, and that he likens to architectural design, has resulted from years of trial-and-error, and from careful consultations with his students and colleagues--accompanied, especially in the early years, by sometimes frenetic self-education about various authors, texts, genres, and periods. The author has adopted 6 objectives in his plan for survey design, the last being to induce students into an authentic seminar--i.e. into a cohesive, cooperative, and authentic conversation by means of which they would question, interpret, criticize, and collectively, with the professors guidance, teach each other about literature and literary history. The attempt to achieve this last objective is the subject of this article. The author has variously discovered, borrowed, and adapted a number of assignments that help to create an effective seminar. These include the formal presentation paper, judiciously timed secondary readings characterized by students, prompted journals, and timely assessments through questionnaires and conferences, which are described in this article.
Descriptors: Introductory Courses, Curriculum Design, College Curriculum, Seminars, English Literature, Assignments, Reading Materials, Student Journals, Teacher Student Relationship, Conferences (Gatherings), Student Evaluation
College English Association. Web site: http://www.cea-web.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A