Below are the 6 most recent journal entries recorded in uwenglishteacher's LiveJournal:

Tuesday, October 18th, 2005
8:45 am	How Dave Matthews killed rock and roll historical analogy: I wasn't around to witness exactly how the Captain and Tinelle of the 70's did massive violence to the politically driven rock of the 60's, but I think I did witness the likes of Hootie and the Blowfish and The Dave Matthews Band kill everything that the alternative movement of the early 1990's and its anti-Reagan/Bush message stood for. This is around about way to argue that the most important album in the recent past is Nirvana's Nevermind. I still remember the first time I heard "Smells Like Teen Spirit," as a senior in high school. I was driving my parents car, with tapes littering the floor of such classics as London Calling by the Clash and REM's Document--what Nirvana represented was a return to the basic guts of rock: a drum set, a bass, and two guitars wailing away on three chords, and speaking the truth. In part, Nirvana and other bands of the grunge movement encapsulated for a brief moment the spirit of idealism and equality that helped usher in the Clinton years. What the Doors represented to the 60's, Nirvana represented to my generation. Of course that spirit was sapped in large measure by Kurt Cobain's tragic suicide, and the general malaise popular music took in the mid-1990's. Grunge is dead and I blame Dave Matthews. (Comment on this)
Monday, October 10th, 2005
1:22 pm	Free Write Question Over the next few weeks you will be asked to consider and then re-consider your attitude toward what a text is. Before we run this gauntlet, however, I'd like you take a few minutes and write a thoughtful common-sense definition of "text" for your classmates. What is a text? How do we know one? How do we create/recognize/interpret one? Please spend 15 minutes or so composing your definition; then post the definition to the livejounral community bulletin board. (And, with any piece of writing, give your piece a snappy title in the Subject line.) Take some time to read and respond to your classmate's opinions. Respond: ask questions, raise problems, notice points of disagreement, and/or similarity of approach. Current Mood: good Current Music: Kaiser Chiefs (Comment on this)
Thursday, October 6th, 2005
11:34 am	Office Hours Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 4-5 PM in Padelford B-35 and via the AOL instant messenger. (Comment on this)
11:33 am	Next Weeks Assignments For Tuesday: Read Chapter 3 in Introduction to Poetry. Working with a partner who is in your group, critically read each other’s paper. You will be expected to hand in the copy of the paper your partner edited and the final draft of your paper on Tuesday. In addition, you will write a paragraph evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of your partner's paper; and you will write a second paragraph were you will then address differences in how you approached the same poem—differences in understanding, interpretation and/or assumptions brought to the text. In addition to the paper copies (your final draft and the draft your partner examined) please bring an electronic version of the final draft to class—either email to yourself, or bring it in a data stick or floppy disk For Thursday: Chooses a poem from chapters 1-3 that you think is particularly inventive in its use of language and write a brief (two to three pages) analysis of it. (Please consult Chapter 23 for the differences between explication and analysis.) Concentrate on the diction of the poem and word order. For what possible purposes does the poet depart from standard English or incorporate unusual vocabulary? Your essay must be typed, double-spaced, using one-inch margins, and Times New Roman font. Handouts: "The Heresy of Paraphrase" by Cleanth Brooks and “Interpreting the Variorum” by Stanley Fish. Current Mood: tired Current Music: The Stereophonics (Comment on this)
Thursday, September 29th, 2005
12:38 pm	Ah, the first day of class. I had figured out I could catch the 8.01 bus and be early. Instead, the 8.01 bus came five minutes early and I had to wait for the 8.16 bus, which meant I was right on time, but I had no time to drop off my backpack or gym bag in my office. i survived. i think class went well. we started by taking roll, and then going over the syllabus, that took just over half the time. i had my silly questionnaire ice-breaker thingy, then we went over "Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio," which is a marvelous poem. As a general frame work, I tried to show what information we prize when reading and evaluating a poem: is it information about the author or the time period? information about the text? or information about the audience and/or communities of interpretation? Theoretically, we will begin the class with the conflict between New Critics, as apostles of the text, specifically Cleanth Brooks, and their disagreement with both new historical or biographical critics, who might have an overweeningor undue interest with either the poet his or herself, or with the historical context; and their conflict with more post-modern theories of audience, such as Fish's, who state the poem is "written" by the audience as they perform certain learned interpretive moves. Although, we are going to ease our way into that conflict--slowly, slowly. The point of the next week or so will be recognizing the different sorts of lyric poems, and how to do a close reading. We will also read a genius poem from the 18th century, Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard." Mostly because I am an uncouth swain. I too have to go to class. So off, off. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 27th, 2005
1:27 pm	Initial Post I have spent the day finishing up the syllabus, but it's been a difficult process because last night I decided to ditch my bag in R's car before going to D's farewell party at the Rosebud. Now R. is not home, so I can't finish up the assignments, which only leaves me more time to edit what I already have done and finished. Eh. I have been listening to an audio version of "The Elegy Written in a Churchyard," and I'm in love. It was assigned near the end of my "Age of Wit" class, and I'll admit, I was struggling to keep up with the readings, so it's a treat to read and enjoy. I'll be asking the class to read the poem for our first day in the computer lab. So far my plan for the first day is to 1.) do the rules and log-in procedures for the computer lab. 2.) spend time establishing the livejournal community. 3.) after the break we'll begin the discussion questions for the "The Elegy," and give out the discussion questions for Cleanth Brook's essay, "The Heresy of Paraphrase." One last thing is on my mind as I'm finishing up the syllabus: blogs, and livejournal in particular. At first I dismissed blogging as something that incorrigible political nerds who like Howard Dean a little too much do in lieu of a life, or something that emo kids cry into while listening to the Postal Service. And believe me, I've found both those maladies online, and others that I didn't even dream possible. However, I've enjoyed keeping an electronic journal. It's helped me remember little brilliant things that have happened in my life. It's helped me to connect to people online who share my interests, and whose input and expertise I value. It's help me connect to people outside of the realm of cyberspace. It's helped me know people in a different, perhaps a fuller sense, that was otherwise limited in our casual interactions in work or school. However, it's also been a party to disagreeable drama in my life that I could very well live without. I've thought long and hard about maintaining a separate "teaching" journal in addition to the one that chronicles the other parts of my life. Based on the principle that the personal is the political and that college instruction should be more about mentoring, initially I was going to just keep all the materials in one place. However, I decided that it was better for me to maintain a hazy division because it would be less of a distraction for the class. That being said, I still hope to post to this journal some of my thoughts and philosophies that inform my teaching, which might be a more useful insight to students than how I spend the rest of my time. Current Mood: good (Comment on this)