I finally got my rear in gear and got my book orders done. Unfortunately, that made me realize that I'm going to be teaching a bunch of new plays in one class. And I've decided to revamp another class significantly. And there's a new common text (that I've read, but I'm not enthusiastic about) for the writing class.
I ought to get my common sense examined!
I'm going to teach history plays (and historiography stuff) in an upper level seminar, and I've decided to teach the Famous Victories with Shakespeare's Henry V. I'm also lined up to teach another Shakespeare play for the first time (in line with my goal to teach all the plays by the time I end my career). I'm going to have the students use EEBO (Early English Books On-line) to read the Famous Victories, so they'll actually get to know that resource a bit better than otherwise.
I've ordered Graff and Birkenstein's They Say / I Say for all three classes. I actually think it's got a lot of potential to help all three very different levels of student. So, we'll see if I'm right! (And if I'm totally wrong, which class will I be most wrong about?)
I am SO jealous of that history plays seminar. Hope you have fun with it!
ReplyDeleteI'll be interested to see how the Graff/ Birkenstein stuff works: I met them last fall, and left feeling actually angry at some of the underlying assumptions of their methodology (though they themselves are lovely people). It's just that the whole template approach makes me itchy.
ReplyDeleteAs for the History plays, I'd love to sit in in that course. jsut out of curiosity--have you considered any modern/ contemporary history plays (or revisions of Shakespeare's History plays) as comparisons? It's probably late to compare such things, but it could be interesting. I'm thinking particularly of Canadian playwright Normand Chaurette's The Queens, an alternate take on Richard III...interetsing and useful for unearthing rhetorical function in the history play form.
Never heard of They say-I Say till now. Went to their web site and read the intro - very intersting.
ReplyDeleteDo you think they-say, I say is an approach one could take with Blog writing, or is it just for the academic papaer?
Thanks, Quills! I hope to!
ReplyDeleteHorace, wow, that's an interesting idea. I've totally ordered early modern texts for our readings, but it might be cool to offer another view. Hmmmm.
TBTAM, Graff and Birkenstein's approach would work for any sort of writing where you're responding to someone else's ideas as a way of getting out your own opinion. It would work for a blog post where, for example, you took X opinion and explained why it wasn't quite sufficient, or why you disagree with it. It might also be useful where you take X opinion and frame it for a different reader (take a sci paper and explain to patients, for example). It's really aimed at college students, and does a good job showing how we position our work in relation to that of others. My students, I think, will find that useful at all levels.
Hiya! Nice blog! Just wanted to let you know that I tried to click some of your 'Bardiac's Best' links (in particular poetry blogging'), and they didn't work. Might just be something strange with my computer, but maybe not.
ReplyDeleteTSIS worked really well in the summer condensed version of comp I. I'm really pleased with it. I'm trying it this fall in the regular comp, too.
ReplyDelete