What are Your English Students Reading Right Now?

May 25th, 2011

by Meredith Nudo, now bringing you a nifty new blog about college classes and life, recommended reads and hopefully more to come.

Students boasting a particular flair for reading, analyzing and writing literature might want to consider majoring in English. Like pretty much any degree plan that doesn't involve science, math or business (or some combination thereof), it comes bundled with a set of disconcerting stigmas and myths driving otherwise interested participants away. Unfortunately for them, skipping a course load they might very well thrive in – maybe even love – means missing out on one of academia's most diverse offerings. Once dismissed as the exclusive realm of "old dead white men," English classes around the world have slowly started growing and embracing a broader selection of both fiction and nonfiction reads. Considering how often the discipline overlaps with nearly every subject imaginable, occasionally in ways few would even think about, such measures were sorely needed.

I freely admit that the literary canon could still use some work, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't celebrate the progress that's already been made. For this project, I e-mailed a litany of professors in both English and some of its related fields and asked them the following questions: What are your students reading right now?; What is the title of the course you are teaching? and Why did you choose this book and how does it fit into the goals of your English course?. Responses embodied a nice range of genres, nations of origin, subjects, themes and author genders – a great testament to what potential majors might look forward to someday.

Sincerest thanks to every professor who agreed to participate in this project! Their contributions will hopefully prove valuable to students thinking they may want to try that English degree after all. And, of course, I still appreciate those who wrote back and were unable to help for whatever reason. At least taking the time to read my initial query was more than enough! I have done my best to quote responses directly from e-mails, leaving the original spelling and grammar intact. About the only thing I've changed is formatting, and even then it's all quite minor.

The first educator to respond was Dr. Dennis Jerz at Jerz's Literary Weblog. Science-fiction, most especially some of the relatively newer examples, is oftentimes unfairly dismissed as "too genre" for serious academic inquiry. As Dr. Jerz points out, however, such a mindset precludes the beholder from enjoying valuable literary works.

Students in "American Literature 1915-Present" just finished reading The Hunger Games. I wanted to end the course with a contemporary work, something that will hold their interest as the weather turn warm and their final projects in all their other classes are due. We have read other works you could classify as dystopian, others that explore technology and the media, a war novel, a coming-of-age novel, and poetry and drama that explores poverty and power. The Hunger Games revisits all of those themes. Like all science fiction, it explores how our human nature is affected by the tools we use, so we learn about our own society. And it's a romance, but the heroine is not a traditional helpless female addled by love, she is a skilled hunter and shrewd thinker. But most of all, it's a gripping story. At least half of my students were reading ahead of the lesson plan and finished the book early. Some went on to the second book in the series, even though it's not required for my class.

Dr. David Beard, one of the many contributors to The Blogora, is a rhetorician rather than an explicit English professor. Seeing as how the ability to intently dissect language and clearly communicate concepts forms one integral component of the degree plan, his suggestion proves invaluable. Consider it when looking for ways to tighten your analytic and writing skills.

What are your students reading right now? Theodor Adorno, The Stars Down to Earth and Other Essays on the Irrational in Culture (Routledge Classics)

What is the title of the course you are teaching? Research Methods in the Study of Writing (an upper division undergraduate course)

Why did you choose this book and how does it fit into the goals of your English course? Adorno engages in "content analysis," a research method a little like literary criticism. Instead of focussing on one text (a book, a poem, a short story), content analysis involves reading lots and lots of texts — hundreds, even thousands of them. Instead of looking for meaning in the close reading of one text, you look for patterns of meaning across many texts.

Adorno is looking into horoscopes, trying to identify the features of language and of content that make them attractive to thousands of Americans everyday. At a deeper level, he's looking for the reasons that people sometimes "give up" personal responsibility and give it to the "stars." The book was written after World War II, a time when scholars everywhere wee trying to understand why people submit to tyranny — they were trying to understand "the Authoritarian personality."

English majors would benefit from exercises that ask them to see patterns of meaning across multiple texts. They would also benefit from the ability to connect their skills in seeing meaning in a text to understanding larger sociopolitical issues, like the issues around the Authoritarian personality. Tomorrow's English major will know what the 21st century problems are and will begin to answer them from the minute they start college.

Like Dr. Beard above, Dr. Clay Spinuzzi teaches rhetoric and writing instead of "standard English classes." So many resources about the major place heavy emphasis on reading lists, the importance of writing sometimes receives hefty obscuring. Dr. Spinuzzi's contributions will certainly help bring it to the forefront of students' consciousness.

What are your students reading right now? 328: The Handbook of Technical Writing, Ninth Edition by Gerald J. Alred, Charles T. Brusaw, Walter E. Oliu; Team Writing by Joanna Wolfe (Bundled with Alred et al.); Conversation and Community: The Social Web for Documentation by Anne Gentle

309s: Science in Action by Bruno Latour

What is the title of the course you are teaching? RHE 328: Principles of Technical Writing for Liberal Arts Majors

RHE 309s: Critical Thinking and Persuasive Writing for Natural Science Dean's Scholars

Why did you choose this book and how does it fit into the goals of your English course? 328: Technical writing has changed significantly over the past two decades. In the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s, consumers began buying software and needed considerable documentation, so technical writers were suddenly in demand. But in the 2000s, software interfaces became more standardized; more and more people began using software and became familiar with how it worked; and the social web meant that consumers could share tips, tricks, and case studies with each other. All of these changes mean that technical writers have to add new tools to their toolkits, including the ability to solicit and incorporate user feedback and manage user communities. Gentle's book takes on these issues, while Wolfe's book gives students grounding in team writing. Alred's book covers the nuts-and-bolts of writing as well as a focus on traditional technical writing genres and techniques.

309s: In this class, natural science students learn about critical reading and persuasive writing within their disciplines by examining the texts, tools, and instruments that researchers in their field produce and write. Latour's classic book gives them the analytical tools to do that. It's also provocative enough that they can critically push back against it when appropriate.

I am not ashamed to admit that Dr. Kate Flint with forms traced by light inspired a moment of shrieking fangirldom once I received her e-mail. The novel happens to be one I dearly loved when I read it. Not to mention how – in just one selection – she dispels every single word of the "old dead white men" misconception regarding English class syllabi.

What are your students reading right now? Zadie Smith, White Teeth

What is the title of the course you are teaching? "The Changing Face of England, 1901-2011" – under the general rubric of "Issues and Problems in C20th Literature and Culture"

Why did you choose this book and how does it fit into the goals of your English course? I chose this book for three main reasons. It stresses the multi-culturalism and diversity of today's England; it also is in some respects a historical novel, with sustained episodes stretching back to the end of the second world war – and we've been looking at how the C20th is written about with historical hindsight; and the style (whilst offering up an enjoyable read), is challenging enough to withstand a good deal of analysis and to stimulate lively discussion. I was very pleased how engaged so many of the students were with the book, and many of them have chosen to write on it for their final paper (sometimes together with Sam Selvon's The Lonely Londoners, and sometimes together with Shane Meadows' 2006 movie, This is England). This movie, and Ian McEwan's Atonement, were notable for sparking off some fantastic discussions. The students were, I know, delighted to learn about sides of Britain that are completely different from their Masterpiece Theater formed preconceptions.

digital digs' Dr. Alex Reid specializes in new media, an area of study tech-savvy English majors will likely find thoroughly stimulating. His response blends journalism, academic writing and digital media for a delightfully eclectic read. Be sure to check out his excellent tidbit of general writing advice, too!

My students are reading Newsgames by Ian Bogost, Simon Ferrari, and Bobby Schweizer for ENG 399 Journalism, which is an advanced journalism special topics course. This particular section explores the role of digital media in journalism. This book is an examination of the role that games are playing in explaining complex current events.

As to your more general question about books to read to improve writing/communication skills, I would suggest that students need to think more specifically about the genres in which they wish to write rather than thinking about writing skills in general. This is, they need to think about whether they want to write in journalism, public relations, technical communication, etc. For students focused on academic research writing in the liberal arts, I would suggest Wayne Booth et al's The Craft of Research.

Dr. Bill Allegrezza at p-ramblings will actually be teaching these books in the upcoming summer semester. He picked them both with the hopes of exposing his students to completely new (or, more likely, unfamiliar) perspectives and ideas from around the world. Kudos to him for doing his part to showcase excellent literature that goes largely ignored by the American mainstream!

What are your students reading right now? The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector

What is the title of the course you are teaching? The Literature of Brazil

Why did you choose this book and how does it fit into the goals of your English course? This book introduces students to both a major Brazilian novelist and to a major female novelist of the Americas. Lispector also likes to play with the concept of fiction, so she's a good person to read for students just developing a sense of what fiction can do.

What are your students reading right now? Coconut by Kopano Matlwa

What is the title of the course you are teaching? Literature of the Non-Western World: Female Novelists

Why did you choose this book and how does it fit into the goals of your English course? This novel introduces an important contemporary female novelist from South Africa to the students. It's also a novel that explores shifting cultural identities and how to navigate them, so while South Africa might seem distant to the students, this theme still resonates.

Genius that I am, I of course launched this project while most professors were preparing themselves for, if not administering, finals. Some opted to send me copies of their syllabi for potential English majors – or students and visitors just looking for some piquing reads – to look over and consider in lieu of the interview questions.

Dr. Katherine D. Harris at Teaching Romanticism and tripoftri keeps a beautifully comprehensive listing of past, present and upcoming courses on her official site. Most of them feature a description of core goals in addition to the book titles explored (or about to be explored).

• http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/harris/Courses.htm

Along with his course listing, Dr. Matthew L. Jockers also sent some very cool articles about his teaching methods, which incorporate digital and new media. He serves as both a lecturer and Academic Technology Specialist in Stanford's Department of English, which affords him a unique expertise on how both subjects interact with and influence one another.

• http://english.stanford.edu/courseDetail.php?course_id=3383

• https://syllabus.stanford.edu/mercury/stanford.syllabus.standalone/mercury/inline_popup.jsf?syllabusItemEntry=26979&courseString=ENGLISH-253-01:%20LITERATURE/DIGITAL%20LIBRARIES

• http://humanexperience.stanford.edu/digitaltexts

• http://chronicle.com/article/The-Humanities-Go-Google/65713/

Dr. Gerald R. Lucas will be focusing more on the humanities rather than English in the coming semester, but so much overlap exists between the two fields anyone considering either major would do well to study it. Like many professors, he keeps an online record of his courses for students and interested visitors to consult. Art, humanities and new and digital media buffs will find these courses particularly fascinating.

• http://litmuse.net/courses

Once again, HUGE thanks to everyone who either contributed or would have done so had our schedules lined up better! Your cooperation will hopefully assist students considering an English degree make the right choices for themselves.

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