Bruce R. Magee

QUESTION GUIDE FOR PROPOSAL

Reading and Writing about Literature

GENERAL INFORMATION

1.	Teaching Issues. What are the most important issues facing undergraduate composition and literature instructors today?

I think our greatest challenge is teaching our students to think clearly. They need to be able to read and to comprehend what they are reading. They further need to be able to analyze the material, form their own opinions about it, and write well-reasoned papers in response. These skills are important in their other subjects as well.

2.	Course and Text.

For which course would you use this text?

English 102 (the second English composition course)

Which text and/or reader do you currently use for this course?

Literature and the Writing Process. (McMahan, Day, & Funk).

What do you like most about it? If you were describing the text you are using to a colleague unfamiliar with it, what is the strongest reason you would give to recommend it? Is there anything that might cause you not to recommend it?

Its organization. It has three broad divisions (fiction, poetry, & drama). Each is divided into smaller units explaining different components of literature (character, setting, symbolism, etc.) These divisions give them ways to analyze the literature they read. I do think that their rather New Critical approach does not prepare the students for the articles they read for their research papers; most of the journal articles have other critical perspectives. However, the textbook could easliy become bogged down in theory and never get to the literature.

3.	Writing Ideas (Optional). If you had time to begin an undergraduate text, describe what you would write, for which course it would be intended, and with whom you would work.

The closest I have come is for my sophomore literature classes - English 201 (British Literature) and English 202 (American Literature). I have been working on a web site for teaching these over the Internet (http://www.latech.edu/~bmagee). I am putting my notes on the site, and plan to post the texts themselves so the students will not have to buy an anthology.

PROPOSAL

4.	General Response. What is your general response to the goals and plans for the project contained in the proposal and tentative table of contents?

I am impressed with the way it responds to concerns that I voiced above. (I answered the General Information questions before reading the proposal, so my statements above were not tailored to the proposal.)

What are its strengths? How is it distinctive?

It is broader than the other textbooks that I have examined, covering more of the critical perspectives that are reflected in current journal articles. I also like the idea of the easy-to-understand introductions to those perspectives. The student essays are also a good feature; students often have trouble emulating models that are too "professional."

Is there anything that might cause you not to consider it? Would you recommend any additional features that would strengthen the project?

Will there be selections in addition to the ones listed? Some teachers might want a broader selection of readings.

5.	Table of Contents. What is your response to the proposed organization of this textbook? Are there any advantages, disadvantages, or ways it could be improved upon or sharpened? How would you use the book in class vis à vis its organization? Does the table of contents provide sufficient flexibility?

I think it is very flexible, ranging from Aristotle (chapter 6) to Derrida (chapter 7). I am not sure that I would classify deconstruction as rhetorical criticism, but I think that the chapter belongs in the book, given the popularity and opacity of Derrida.

6.	Conclusion. Based on the preliminary plan and sample material in this review, would you characterize the likelihood of your adopting this text when published as very likely, somewhat likely, or unlikely? Why or why not?

Very likely because of the broader approach to introducing methods of interpretation.

Would you be interested in reviewing future drafts of this project?

Yes.