New York University
Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development
Department of Teaching and Learning
ENGE-UE.1030: Literature Seminar for English Education
Spring 2015
Monday 4:55- 8 p.m.
Location: 25 West 4th Room C-10
Professor: Alyssa Trzeszkowski-Giese
Phone: 571.730.9185
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: By Appointment
Course Description and Overview
The purpose of this course is to provide English Education students with intensive collaborative
practice in ways of enacting the study of literature as a discipline in secondary school classrooms,
and to offer a forum for discussing and reflecting on how the study of literature is related to broader
conversations about adolescent literacy and linguistic diversity in U.S. schools and other learning
environments. Among the questions we will consider this semester are:
makes literary ways of reading different from other ways of reading, and how does the
teaching of literary reading relate to the teaching of other forms of literacy? What distinguishes a
“literary” from a “non-literary” text, and what are the pedagogical implications of such a decision?
are contemporary multimodal practices (e.g. the use of Web2.0 tools, social media, and the
widespread availability of tools for creating digital images and video) shaping definitions of literacy
and affordances for making meaning from texts?
are the implications of linguistic and cultural diversity for the teaching of literature? What
resources do English teachers have at their disposal for working toward equity, inclusion, and social
justice for our students?
-based knowledge and learning, particularly academic language and
literacy practices and related genres? How might our classrooms acknowledge and incorporate the
language and literacy abilities that our students employ outside of our classrooms and schools? How
might we build bridges from non-school to school-based language and literacy practices?
LEARNER OBJECTIVES
By the end of the course, students will have developed:
1. An understanding of how various critical theoretical stances towards texts can be deployed in the
service of teaching literature and communicative practices;
2. A knowledge base of best practices for teaching literature in the English classroom;
3. An understanding of how to employ multimodal tools to make meaning from texts and to
support students’ making of meaning from texts;
4. A familiarity with major debates and issues within the field of English Education, and the place of
literature within these debates.
5. A collection of resources (lessons, strategies, assessment guidelines) for teaching novels.
TEXTS
The course readings consist of a variety of kinds of texts: empirical and theoretical articles about the
teaching of literature, composition, and literacy; online resources that explore the shifting nature of
reading and writing; policy briefs on the teaching of language arts; educational research articles and
chapters; and required textbooks. All assigned readings not from the textbooks are available in pdf
format on NYU Classes under “Readings." Reading assignments may change, additional readings
may be added, and other readings may be substituted for those listed, as the instructor’s sense of
students’ interests and needs evolves.
Required Texts
1) Appleman, D. (2009). Critical Encounters in High School English: Teaching Literary Theory to
Adolescents, 2nd Ed. New York: Teachers College Press.
2) Eckert, L.S. (2006). How Does It Mean?: Engaging Reluctant Readers Through Literary Theory.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
3) Your assigned Shakespearean play, from the following list: Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello,
Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest. These texts can be easily acquired online, or perhaps you
already own them. It is not necessary that all members of the group have the same edition of
the play, only that everyone have an edition that contains line numbers in the margin to
facilitate reference to the text during discussion. Try to obtain an edition with some critical
supporting material, essays or background information on Shakespeare’s work and times.
Editions that are especially good in this respect are: the Arden Shakespeare (also known as
“the playgoer’s edition”); the Folger Library Editions (published by Washington Square
Press); and the Norton Critical Editions. If the edition contains a translation into
contemporary English make sure that it also contains the original text on facing pages.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
You are required to complete a series of assignments that integrate key concepts and methods
learned from the course.
A. Critical Response Log (see Appendix A; due at the start of Monday’s class)
We will be studying a range of texts to inform our understanding of teaching and learning in the
ELA classroom. Upon reading and reflecting on the assigned readings, you will be responsible for
recording and responding to key quotes for each text. Your responses will focus on analyzing and
questioning the texts (See Appendix A). I will provide you with a template for Three Column notes
on the CLASSES site.
B. Novel Guide
A Novel Guide is a compilation of material, activities, and resources that a teacher can draw upon as
they work through reading a text with his or her students. As presented here, the goal of the novel
guide is twofold. First, developing these materials and strategies will provide you with the
opportunity to demonstrate and deepen your understanding of the role of critical lenses learned here
as you apply them to a novel of your choice. Secondly, this guide will be of practical use and benefit
to those who are either in the classroom currently or who plan to be in one next year.
What you choose to include in your Novel Guide will be based on the material and strategies we
explore together in this course, and will vary for each student. However, three components of the
Novel Guide must be included: (1) an annotated passage from the novel (either paper or hypertext);
(2) discussion questions; and (3) an essay “Marking Guide” that identifies what a reader would
ideally notice and discuss in a written analysis of a passage.
Students will have a choice of turning in their Novel Guides in either paper or Wiki format.
C. Shakespeare Group Presentation
You will be reading a Shakespearean play (assigned in class on session one) with a small group of
classmates. You will be given time in class to discuss this reading periodically. The purpose of this
group work is to discuss your individual and shared experience of reading a canonical literary text –
one that you will likely teach one day – in relation to the theoretical perspectives, research findings, and
experience-based accounts presented in the course. Your reading experience will culminate in a presentation
on the last day of class in which you present an aspect of the play that illustrates your response to it.
Grading:
Critical Responses: 20%
Novel Guide: 40%
Shakespeare Group Presentation: 30%
Participation & Attendance 10%
Participation: Note that an important part of your participation is your effort to engage in lively
discussion and group activities.
Attendance and Punctuality: You are a valuable resource for your peers, and the stronger the
community we build in this course, the richer our learning environment. As such, you are expected
to arrive on time and attend every class.
Please note that missing more than 1 scheduled class meeting, except in exceptional circumstances,
may result in significantly lowering your final grade or a failing grade.
Academic Integrity:
All students are responsible for understanding and complying with the NYU Steinhardt Statement
on Academic Integrity.
A copy is available at http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/policies/academic_integrity
Students with Disabilities
Any student attending NYU who needs an accommodation due to a chronic, psychological, visual,
mobility and/or learning disability, or is Deaf or Hard of Hearing should register with the Moses
Center for Students with Disabilities at 212 998-4980, 726 Broadway, 2nd Floor, www.nyu.edu/csd.
Reading Schedule
Date
January 26
February 2
Topic
Introduction
What can literary theory teach us about
teaching literature?
Readings
Appleman, Ch. 1-2
Eckert, Ch. 1
Mellor, B. & Patterson, A. (2000). Critical Practice: Teaching “Shakespeare”. Journal of
Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 43, 6
February 9
Reader response theory
Appleman, Ch. 3
Eckert, Ch. 4
Rosenblatt, L. (2005). What Facts Does This Poem Teach You? In Rosenblatt, L. Making
Meaning with Texts. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Rosenblatt, L. (1995). “The Literary Experience.” In Literature as exploration (pp. 24-54).
New York: Modern Language Association.
February 16
February 23
March 2
NO CLASS – PRESIDENT’S
WEEKEND
Formal and Structural Theories
Historical and Biographical Criticism
Eckert Ch. 2 &3
Eckert Ch. 5
Bristol, M. (2011). Macbeth the Philosopher: Rethinking Context
New Literary History: a journal of theory and interpretation, 42,4, 641-662,757.
Carlson, J. R. (2010). Songs that Teach: Using Song-Poems to Teach Critically. English
Journal, 99, 4, 65-71.
Ayres, B. & Gibbs, P. (1997). Mythic America: Developing an Interdisciplinary Course.
Teaching English in the Two-Year College 24.4, 326-333.
Juzwik, M. (2013). The Ethics of Teaching Disturbing Past: Reader Response, Historical
March 9
Analyzing Power in Literature: Race,
Class & Gender
March 16
March 23
March 30
NO CLASS – NYU SPRING BREAK
Deconstruction and Poststructuralism
Teaching literature in multilingual and
multicultural contexts
Contextualization, and Rhetorical (Con)Textualization of Holocaust Texts in English.
English Education, 45, 3, 284-308.
Appleman, Ch. 4&5
Eckert, Ch. 6
Appleman Ch. 6-7
Smitherman, G. (1995). “Students’ Right to Their Own Language”: A Retrospective. English
Journal, 84,1, 21-27.
Wolfe, P. (2004). The owl cried: Reading abstract literary concepts with adolescent ESL
students. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 47, 5, 402-413.
DiNicolo, C. (2010). What Language Counts in Literature Discussion? Exploring Linguistic
Mediation in an English Language Arts Classroom. Bilingual Research Journal, 33, 2, 220-240.
April 6
Writing and Literature
Farabaugh, R. (2007) ‘The Isle is Full of Noises’: Using Wiki Software to Establish a
Discourse Community in a Shakespeare Classroom, Language Awareness, 16:1, 41-56,
Lewis, W. & Ferretti, R. (2009). Defending interpretations of literary texts: The effects of
topoi instruction on the literary arguments of high school students. Reading & Writing
Quarterly, 25(4), 250-270.
Broekkamp, H., Janssen, T., & Van Den Bergh, H. (2009) Is there a relationship between
literature reading and creative writing? Journal of Creative Behavior, 43(4) , 281-297.
April 13
Digital and Multimodal perspectives on
literature
Vasudevan, L. (2010). Literacies in a Participatory, Multimodal World:
The Arts and Aesthetics of Web 2.0. Language Arts, 88(1), 43-50.
Dallacqua, A. (2012). Exploring literary devices in graphic novels. Language Arts 89,6, 365378.
Broz, W. (2010). The Green Knight should be green: Graphic response to literature. English
Journal, 99.3, 57–63.
Rubin, D. (2011). Mindcrime and Doublethink: Using Music to Teach Dystopian Literature.
English Journal, 101, 2, 74-79.
Whitin, P. (2005). The interplay of text, talk, and visual interpretation in expanding literary
interpretation. Research in the Teaching of English, 39, 4, 365-397.
April 20
Literature as a discipline and in relation to
other disciplines
Janssen, T., Braaksma, M. & Rijlaarsdam, G. (2006). Literary reading activities of good and
weak students: A think aloud study. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 21, 1, 35-52.
Shanahan, T. & Shanahan, C. (2008). Teaching Disciplinary Literacy to Adolescents:
Rethinking Content-Area Literacy. Harvard Educational Review, 78(1), 40-59.
Park, J. (2013). All the ways of reading literature: Preservice English teachers’ perspectives
on disciplinary literacy. English Education, 45, 4, 361-384.
April 27
Literature and its place in the English
Curriculum
Peskin, J. (1998) Constructing meaning when reading poetry: An expert-novice study.
Cognition and Instruction, 16, 3, 235-263.
Xingjian, G. (2007). The case for literature. In Xingjian, G (2007). The case for literature
(pp. 30-48). New Haven: Yale University Press.
Sperling, M. & Dipardo, A. (2008). English Education Research and Classroom
Practice: New Directions for New Times. Review of Research in Education, 32(1),
62-108
Misson, R. & Morgan, W. (2007). How critical is the aesthetic? The role
of literature in English. In Ellis, V. Fox, C. & Street, B. (2007). Rethinking
English in Schools (Chap. 6, pp.73-87). London & New York: Continuum.
May 4
Literature and its place in standards for
literacy
NCTE (2009). Literacy Learning in the 21st Century. A policy research brief
produced by the National Council of Teachers of English. Urbana, IL: NCTE.
NCTE (2007). Adolescent literacy. A policy research brief produced by the
National Council of Teachers of English. Urbana, IL: NCTE.
NCTE (2007). 21st Century Literacies. A policy research brief produced by the
National Council of Teachers of English. Urbana, IL: NCTE.
Common Core State Standards for ELA & Literacy (accessible via this link:
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/)
May 11
No Readings
Novel Guide Due
Shakespeare Group Presentations in Class
Appendix A
Guidelines for writing Critical Response Log
(Minimum Length per Reading: 3-4 pages, 8-10 quotes)
The type of critical response that we are asking you to produce for this course has three parts. The first part identifies quotations
from the original text that seem to capture the author’s thinking, or seem provocative or even controversial to you.
The second part of the response should be a response or critique of individual quotes you have identified, guided by one or more
of these questions:
*To what extent do you agree with the perspective of the author, and why?
*What important aspect(s) of literature, reading, or teaching English as a subject has the author included or overlooked? Why are
these aspects important?
*In what way does this article further, or fail to further, your thinking about the nature of literary and/or the teaching of English as
a subject, and why? This critique may have a negative or positive slant, depending on the position you take towards the ideas in the article.
What’s most important is the “why” component of the questions above: we are looking for evidence of how well you have thought
through the position you take.
The third column of the note-taking log will be left blank, and in class you will have the opportunity to reflect on your initial
thinking during our discussion of the reading.
A template for three-column notes will be available on the CLASSES site.
ENGED 1030 Spring 2015
Critical Response Log
Quote & page #
Name:
Initial Response
Reading:
Reconsidered Response