Representation of Horror
Michael Gamer profile
R 12-3
This section of English 800 will provide a forum to address to think theoretically and practically about pedagogy--particularly those issues associated with teaching first-year students and with teaching literary theory. We'll use seminar meetings to address everything from what to do when one of your students is suicidal to thinking through some very basic theoretical questions about teaching. What do lectures and discussions actually "do" and how do they mesh with what you want to accomplish at a given moment in class? What kinds of papers do you want your students to be able to write? What kinds of basic skills should your students leave your class having? Why are these particular skills desirable and others not? We also will use class sessions to address various basic aspects of conducting discussion, giving paper assignments, grading, meeting with students, running student workshops, etc. We'll discuss these, furthermore, before you have to do these things in the classroom.
We also, however, will read a number of articles--on pedagogical theory, syllabus formation, reading and writing, power and authority in the classroom--and discuss them at length in our meetings. The course readings will aim to equip you, among other things, for that time when you will go on the job market-- that arena in which you will be asked in detail to theorize and explain your own teaching habits. Consequently, I am planning for the course to provide you with at least tolerable acquaintance with current issues, theories, and practices of pedagogy. To address this, we'll be using a number of experimental models in the classroom: writing workshops, portfolios, student-instigated discussions, etc. My goal is to provide you with enough tools so that you can make informed decisions and conduct a teaching style that works well with your strengths and interests. The course will carry two writing components. Firstly, each week I'll ask you to respond to the course readings on the course listserver. We will use this as a catalyst to beginning our discussions. Secondly, the course will end with two conference weeks: one in which you'll deliver a fifteen-minute scholarly paper on horror and the other subjects that come up during the semester; and another in which you will present the class you will teach in the spring semester.