I really enjoyed this course! I haven't been in an English class before that explores texts from such a diverse ranges of places and times. That was something that surprised me in a good way. Whether it was ancient plays or contemporary novels from East Asia, I was exposed to a fully new set of books. I think the most unexpected thing about the course for me was learning about the history of print. I'd never studied this before and, to be honest, I didn't totally understand the significance of it at the beginning of our course. However, as time passed, it became clear that the history of print is not only important for understanding the history of books and reading in general, but its also just quite interesting! From visiting Archives and Special Collections, I learned about the types of materials used in print. My individual final research project helped me learn about a specific printed newspaper and its origins. The little activities we did with the class really felt like they came together in the end to provide a well-rounded depiction of printing and its importance.
Hey Audrey! I enjoyed this course as well. I think that the fact that it was Global Literature meant that there was a lot of diversity in what we read geographically, culturally, and chronologically. I liked that we didn't try and jump around too much and get every location at every time, as this would be an impossible feat and trying to do it might prove a waste of time. Focusing deep on just a few places and times each quarter really made for a deeper understanding.
ReplyDeleteHey Audrey! I also had a fun time engaging in this course. It was enjoyable and exciting to be introduced to texts that I have never heard of before because they are not mainstream nor "Western". I think learning about the history of print also was a hidden gem for me. Prior to this course, I would never thought learning something like that could be useful to understanding a text but now I know better.
ReplyDeleteHey Audrey! I think the focus on non-Western texts was really refreshing in this course as well. I think, in the area we live in, it can sometimes be difficult to find and access these texts (they aren't in popular conversation, not on display at stores, etc.), so having them almost hand-picked out for us was really nice. I also enjoyed how everything came together at the end-- especially with book history.
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