Reading selections for the first two courses I'll ever teach

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UnforgettableLemon

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I posted a few months ago that I was accepted into the English Master's Program at Rutgers-Camden and given an excellent assistantship. One of the benefits of my teaching assistantship is that I get to select my own theme and materials for my courses. For the section of 101 that I'm teaching, I had full reign. For the 102 section, it had to be something relevant in contemporary society. Also, there are fewer assigned primary sources in 102 because it is more researach-oriented. So here are my selections. The selections are obvious in places, but I'm really looking forward to a few of them. Especially since I've been encouraged to include films and graphic novels. All freshman writing students here have to read Joanne Harris' Chocolat as well.

English 101: Composition 1: Exploring the Holocaust through Academic Writing

Books -

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Night by Elie Wiesel
I am My Own Wife by Doug Wright
Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi
The Cunning of History by Richard L. Rubenstein

Films -

Schindler's List (1993)
Cabaret (1972)

There will also be a few short stories and poems, undecided as of yet.

English 102: Research in Writing: Underground Movements Against Nation States in Fiction and Literature

Man's Fate by Andre Malreaux
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd

Films -
Michael Collins (1996) (I may also have them read some of Yeats' early nationalist poetry and drama to tie in)


I'm really excited about this stuff, particularly 102. I think I'm going to have them use their assignments to connect the ideas in these stories to what's going on today. Get them to think about the ideas and motivations rather than political rhetoric.
 
I read it early on in high school (I was an avid reader, but still a mistake, it's definitely a college-level/adult book, not b/c of explicit content, but the way he writes...kids wouldn't appreciate it. I should re-read it). I've read quite a lot of books on the Holocaust, but The Cap is different from ALL of them. The way he rights about his experiences, it's like you can tell he was almost numb, like he just accepted it as reality and that was that. He describes things and then is on writing about something else and the reader is like "wait, did that really just happen?" b/c it's pretty horrific at times. I dunno, I'm not a lit person so I can't really explain it, but I'd recommend it to anyone who reads a lot of Holocaust books. It's a good contrast, The Cap vs. Night, something like that. It's way different, an amazing perspective that I haven't really found anywhere else.

Also, I thought The Grey Zone was also a good Holocaust movie. And by good I mean it was gut-wrenching. It is about the Sonderkommando uprising in Auschwitz-Birkenau crematorium and also a gas chamber survivor (I believe that is also a true story, but they kind of lump them both together, so it's not entirely accurate).

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0252480/plotsummary
 
I'd take these courses :up:

If you're reading V for Vendetta, should you also watch the movie?

Or watch Braveheart? Even Return of the Jedi?
 
LemonMacPhisto said:
I'd take these courses :up:

If you're reading V for Vendetta, should you also watch the movie?

Or watch Braveheart? Even Return of the Jedi?


I like V for Vendetta movie, but I don't want them using it as a crutch. The book is much more pointed, but at the same time has a stirring ambiguity that gets lost in the film.

Braveheart is a thought :hmm:

At the very least, I'm going to put together a list of further materials for them to consider for papers.
 
Very cool.

I had a class similar to 101 once - we also read Maus and Man's Search for Meaning, both of which are fantastic.
 
anitram said:
Very cool.

I had a class similar to 101 once - we also read Maus and Man's Search for Meaning, both of which are fantastic.

Maus is amazing ... a very interesting approach to telling the Holocaust story.
 
UnforgettableLemon said:



I like V for Vendetta movie, but I don't want them using it as a crutch. The book is much more pointed, but at the same time has a stirring ambiguity that gets lost in the film.

Braveheart is a thought :hmm:

At the very least, I'm going to put together a list of further materials for them to consider for papers.

You have a point with the V movie. I need to read the comics, btw.

Further materials :drool:
 
I'll just say congratulations on the opportunity to teach. As a MA student, I taught an introductory European history course, which proved to be an invaluable experience- hopefully you will find the same.
 
Pfffff...I probably won't start mine until August :wink:

Make sure you have clearly explained, firm policies, especially about attendance, whether or not you'll accept late work, whether you'll accept work by email (I'd say not to do either of those). Have a very clear statement about plagiarism, as well as a break down of how each assignment, in-class work, journals, and participation will factor into the semester grade.

Feel free to PM me if you have questions. I've been teaching these kinds of classes for six years.
 
Those both look really interesting. Though I'm really glad I didn't have to teach for either of my postgrad experiences. :crack:
 
If your students are really willing to learn about it you might want to include the "Wannsee Minutes" (translation) It's not very long but showing the "language" used by the Nazis and it gives a small insight in how the Holocaust was planned.

Good luck with your course.
 
Week 1 is done. We're still discussing Chocolat, which was the required reading for all fall 100 level courses. I didn't love it, but my freshmen are really participating well so far. My sophomores in 102 are kind of boring me, though. Still, my first week as a teacher is over, and I feel so much better now.
 
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