A possible way to handle the embarrassment factor:
Largely to make some level of performance possible with large upper
division literature sections (50 students at FIU), I had students in my
Ren. Lit. class last fall record "performative readings" (audio or a/v,
their choice) of lyric poems and upload them to a class wiki. (Many
students can do the recording on their cels.) Their lyric poetry project
pages also included a paraphrase of the Renaissance poem and a brief
analytical essay, which was *supposed,* at least, to underscore the
choices they made in their readings. Each student was also assigned
responses to the lyric poetry project pages of two other students. When
they were done, I chose a few examples of strong readings and played
them for the class. (Including one by a music student who gave his
sonnet a folksy setting and sang it with guitar.)
I'll be doing something similar in the Sidney Circle course I'm
teaching in the spring, so this conversation is quite helpful to me as I
imagine how to revise the project assignment to get more, um,
consistency. Thanks everyone!
-Andy Strycharski
Peter C. Herman wrote:
> A question for Prof. Davis (or anyone else): how do you handle the
> embarrassment factor? Many of my students resisted the idea of reciting
> a memorized poem because they are terrified of speaking either in front
> of the class or even in front of me in the semi-privacy (the door is
> always open) of my office? I'm serious about this question, because I
> take Prof. Fleming's point and would really like to have all my students
> do some form of memorization/performance.
>
> pch
>
--
Andrew Strycharski, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, English Department
Florida International University
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DM 453
11200 SW 8th Street
Miami, FL 33199
phone: 305-348-2989
fax: 305-348-3878
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