I feel the need to bring back from the dead the thread that Hamlin
had started way back in winter about what kinds of classes we
(students) would like to take. The suggestions last time included
Sarah suggesting more creative writing classes across varied
genres--let’s not forget that Bob Gibson IS doing a 200-level
creative writing of non-fiction class in the fall, a poetry writing
class that Monica suggested based off her prior experience with it
in Columbus--which I would certainly enjoy as it might allow me to
actually write something poetic that's worthwhile, and my own suggestion of
increased variety across the literature offerings.
What prompted the resuscitation of this thread is that I have very little
time to devote to recreational reading. I was recently exposed to a
small portion of Moby Dick and realized that due to length I could
never complete it while attending classes. Entire classes devoted to
novels that are too lengthy to only spend a couple of weeks on
would be perfect for that. My vote then is for a Moby Dick class.
I’m curious to see what the rest of you might suggest for not only
new classes but also grand novels to focus entire classes on.
Actually, Cori Martin will be teaching a poetry writing class in the fall. Just FYI.
Posted by: MM at May 1, 2006 11:08 PMI'll second Monica's FYI (full disclosure -- Cori Martin is my wife). That should be a wonderful course, and if you're interested and want more info, go and talk to her.
I'm also interested in Nic's comments about a Moby Dick course. One of our handicaps at OSU is that our terms are so short. This means that it is hard to include BIG books in courses that have to cover a lot of material. Maybe one solution to this problem is to have courses entirely focused on major works. I've certainly come across these at other universities. As an undergrad, I took a course almost entirely on Joyce's Ulysses. At Yale there was a course on Hamlet. So why not Moby Dick! The other possibility, which still might solve the problem, is to have more courses focused on single authors. I've taught Milton (and it's up again for the fall), spending a good long time on Paradise Lost. Jim Buckley taught what I gather was a very successful course on Poe. Maybe he'd be willing to do a Melville course (Melville, by the way, also wrote some wonderful poetry). Who are some other possible candidates? The other obvious figure in my period (the Renaissance) is Spenser, though I don't know whether he'd appeal. He is actually a wonderful poet, and spending a course on the Faerie Queene would be mind-expanding. But what about Swift, or Wordsworth, or Blake (didn't Todd make a pitch for this?), or Whitman, or Faulkner, or . . . ? I notice I've included no women or minority writers, but there could certainly be single-author, perhaps even single-work courses on such writers too. Virginia Woolf? Toni Morrison?
Posted by: HH at May 2, 2006 03:04 PMI would be interested in the poetry class in the fall, if I can fit it in my schedule. I also am in a French literature class right now and find it interesting, so maybe, we could have a literature class with famous literature from all around the world.
Posted by: Ashley at May 2, 2006 04:18 PMI'd love to see a more modern Feminist Litterature class come into OSU-M. We do have a womens lit class, but we read classics like Jane Erye and Pride and Prejudice (Not that I dont love Jane Austen shes just a gem and I have all her books) We also have a Womens Studies class, but it was purely a history/feminist definition type class, We didnt read any modern authors. I probably wouldnt be able to utilize a class like this because I already took one like it at Kent State, but it would be great for diversity, and I know a couple people that would be interested. We could include compilation books like This Bridge Called my Back, with authors like Babara and Lordes.
I also think that a whole quarter devoted to Jane Austen would be very fullfilling to my acedemic enrichment. I dont know if I'm just partial (because I am) or I just thought of the most ingenious idea (because I did) So we should do this, no votes. ;)
alright. done. JeSi
Posted by: Jesi at May 3, 2006 06:48 PMJust a clarification, folks: The Writing of Poetry class (ENG 266) is being offered (for the first time!) next spring (SP07) not in the autumn (AU06). Mondays and Wednesdays 9:55-12. Should be lots of fun, so come one, come all (though I believe the limit will be 15 students).
Posted by: C. Martin at May 8, 2006 04:27 PMI know it is recent and all, but I'm also suddenly intrigued by what a class on Mark Danielewski's House of Leaves might be like. I haven't read the whole thing, but surely there is more than a quarter worth of conversation on the evolution of literature buried in this book. The book has come up briefly in various conversations with faculty (including a great moment in 398 when Jim Buckley passed it around and I knew what it was already, got to feel ahead of the game and all that) so I know that it's not too unknown. Also, it has a section in Writing Machines (a text we're using 596) dedicated to it. I know it's probably not a likely kind of class around here, but it's a fun idea.
Also, I'm really glad to hear that the 266 class on poetry will be in the spring, it fits into my expectations for scheduling for next year much better.
Ok so why are all of the courses that sound interesting only in the mornings? Oh well… here’s a suggestion for an afternoon class. How about a study on Dostoevsky‘s Demons, one of his lesser known works. Challenging and difficult it’s about 19th century politics. “Nikolai Vsevolodovich Stavrogin,… (joins) a circle of other nihilists who will justify any and all violent excesses for the sake of their ideas. Stavrogin aims for a ``systematic corrupting of society and all its principles'' so that out of the resulting destruction he may ``raise the banner of rebellion.'' (Amazon review)
I read (most of it) years ago but would be up to tackling it again.--Jim