Gateway to the English Major: ENGL 297
As a “gateway” to the English major, and hence a preparation for later courses, this course is intended to introduce students to contemporary debates in literary history, literary theory, and the interpretation of literary works. We shall study both literary and critical/theoretical works, paying particular attention to the historical contexts in which they emerge and in which our own discussion of them occurs. The emphasis will be on intensive or close reading rather than extensive reading, “exemplary” rather than “representative” texts and issues. We will explore works such as William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, John Milton’s Paradise Lost, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and T. S. Eliot’s The Wasteland through multiple lenses including formalist, historicist, postcolonial, and poststructuralist perspectives. Course requirements will include midterm and final exams and participation in a discussion section. Students must also enroll in a writing link (English 297).
Since high school, I'd been touting - much to the general uneasiness of my parents - that I would be majoring in English. That dream finally took its first steps as I took the "Gateway Course" for the major, the linked ENGL 297/ 301 courses. I wasn't completely sure what to expect, as I'd never taken a legitimate English class at UW. I was worried that I'd be left in the dust, because obviously all the other students were already well-versed in Faulkner and Shakespeare and who knows what else, while I hadn't even gotten around to reading Huckleberry Finn yet (as of June 20th, 2014 however, that has changed). But, as it turned out (much like it usually does), I was perfectly at ease in the English classes. The extensive reading of texts and the analysis in class is what I'd missed in all my Pre-Med courses and what I craved so dearly, and so midway through my second year of college, I finally felt that my long term plan to major in English while doing Pre-Med was finally justified and that I wasn't crazy (my parents are still a little uneasy though).
301 was a breeze, which is why I'm not bothering to mention it in its own sub-page. Basically, it was a lot of reading, listening to lectures, and then spewing that back on the tests. This isn't to say that our Quiz Section discussions weren't super interesting or illuminating, but in terms of enriching me as a student, it wasn't all that memorable. 297 on the other hand forced me to build quite a lot of character.
The first essay I wrote for the class, I thought I'd done a great job. Then, when we Peer Reviewed it, my peers said that it was just fine. Then I took it to my one-on-one session with the class instructor, and she ripped it to shreds. More than that though, she ripped me to shreds. In the course of half an hour, it was insinuated that I was the kind of student who was just in the class for the grade and wasn't looking to improve myself. That, of course, is the exact opposite of what I was hoping to achieve, and I left that one-on-one seething and not the biggest fan of the instructor. I thought that what I'd written was great, and she told me that I had to essentially rewrite everything I had from the very beginning. I didn't take her advice, made some minimal changes, and turned in the essay below.
301 was a breeze, which is why I'm not bothering to mention it in its own sub-page. Basically, it was a lot of reading, listening to lectures, and then spewing that back on the tests. This isn't to say that our Quiz Section discussions weren't super interesting or illuminating, but in terms of enriching me as a student, it wasn't all that memorable. 297 on the other hand forced me to build quite a lot of character.
The first essay I wrote for the class, I thought I'd done a great job. Then, when we Peer Reviewed it, my peers said that it was just fine. Then I took it to my one-on-one session with the class instructor, and she ripped it to shreds. More than that though, she ripped me to shreds. In the course of half an hour, it was insinuated that I was the kind of student who was just in the class for the grade and wasn't looking to improve myself. That, of course, is the exact opposite of what I was hoping to achieve, and I left that one-on-one seething and not the biggest fan of the instructor. I thought that what I'd written was great, and she told me that I had to essentially rewrite everything I had from the very beginning. I didn't take her advice, made some minimal changes, and turned in the essay below.
I received a 3.5 on the paper above. It was good, but not great. And so I took a step back and considered my options. I could barrel through this class, stubbornly sticking to my own convictions and continue earning mediocre grades, or I could humble myself and try to learn something from this instructor who was definitely much smarter than myself. So I went to her office hours, really got my entire thought process for the next paper out there and worked everything out. After I'd written my rough draft, I went into the next one-on-one session ready to rip it to shreds with her, and the process was much more constructive. Instead of thinking of her as an enemy trying to destroy my beautiful work, I tried to think of us as a team trying to make my work into something beautiful. This led to my second essay, which I earned a 4.0 on.
By the time the Quarter was coming to a conclusion, I had nothing but respect for the instructor. Part of this was because she'd given me a good grade, but mostly it was because she'd taught me the value of humility. In the previous quarter, I'd had Frances McCue, who was wonderful because she convinced me that my writing actually had merit and that I had some talent. Rachel Graf helped me balance that self-esteem by keeping it from going out of hand. Now I know that it's really important to be proud of yourself, but not to the extent that you take criticism as a personal attack. If I can't be open to the possibility of my work needing improvement, then I won't ever grow as a person. This balance helped my writing become much more efficient while still retaining my style, and if you read this next essay (which also earned me a 4.0) and compare it to my writing from last year, I'm sure you'll see the huge improvement in the clarity and depth of my arguments and rhetoric.