Theories of Composition and Pedagogy, Quest Narrative in Hemingway, Ecocriticism and Hobbits, American Identity, and Medieval Mysticism

So it's been an unforgivably long time since I've blogged. As you can tell from the title, I have many many different pursuits going on with my reading right now. Perhaps that's why I haven't written - I really wouldn't know what to write about.

I'm taking Composition Pedagogies this semester, and it's quite the intriguing, and at times frustrating, course. It is intriguing because the various theoretical approaches and the justification for these approaches encourages and challenges me to examine my own teaching methods. It is frustrating because much of the theory loses touch with actual practice, and much composition theory doesn't seem to concern itself with what goes on outside of the composition classroom. As a professor in training, I worry about the future of my field, and this kind of isolationism threatens the future of my field. I feel like it is imperative that composition studies, as well as studies in literature, find a way to become relevant outside of the classroom, as well as outside of the university. It seems obvious that learning written communication is important, and it is important. In the text-dependent culture we live in (whether the internet or Facebook or writing grant and business proposals or texting) a certain understanding of how language works and how to communicate most effectively in speech or text is necessary. The problem, then, is determining how that communication should be taught, and what type of discourse should be taught.

I have too many thoughts on this to go into now - I'm working on a research paper for my course that will propose a first year composition program. Ambitious, I know, but I have some ideas floating in my brain that I want to attempt to put into practice. I'll write more on my thoughts on composition theory and discourse relevance as I continue to research for my project.

My other reading - I'm taking a Hemingway course right now, and loving every moment of it. Every time I read a new or revisit a familiar Hemingway text, I fall more in love with Papa's prose, and with his investigation of human experience. My paper for that class involves researching quest narratives and religion. Lots of interesting reading going on there as well, and I also have too many thoughts on them to address right now.

Finally, ecocriticism and Hobbits - I'm writing a paper dealing with environmentalism in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Trilogy and the Silmarillion for a conference in April in Montreal. Needless to say, lots of different thoughts going on there as well, all of which I will revisit once the paper is written and I have successfully (I hope) presented my findings at the conference.

Oh, and I'm occasionally revisiting concepts of narratology, sonnet convention, medieval mysticism, and Renaissance ideology as I continue to work on and revise my thesis.

And, the readings I've assigned my students in my American Identity themed research course. I'm thinking I'll have to take each of these topics for separate blog entries. I'm not sure what kind of convoluted connections I'll make otherwise.

More soon (which is a relative term - more when I have time)