This has been one of my favorite classes that I have taken here at Shippensburg so far. I really didn't think I was going to like or even enjoy enrolling in any literature class here. I imagined myself being forced to read both books and articles that I probably would not understand nor be able to analyze. I imagined a literature class where I would have to try my hardest to remember the specific little details in a book in order to do well on a quiz. I am so grateful that this class turned out to be something totally different and way better than I had ever expected.
There were many times where I enjoyed coming to class because I was eager to find out what was going to be discussed in class and how our topic was going to be connected to modern day issues or to related media examples. I always liked watching the video clip examples (from YouTube). It made it easier to analyze and discuss both the books and topics that were raised in class. I always like having examples of any subject matter that I am trying to learn about, especially the visual ones like videos as I recently said. And overall they are just fun to watch!
I have learned a great deal of information in this class about issues that are affecting me and basically everyone else in ways that I have never thought about prior. For instance, I really liked the nonfiction book that we read, Culture Jam, because it was quite intriguing reading about the specific ways, or shall I say techniques, that advertisers choose to use in order to "manipulate" us into purchasing and supporting their products. It is kind of scary because I know that I was certainly unconscious of them. It makes me uncomfortable to realize how far many advertisers will go just to sell. Reading Culture Jam was an interesting reality check. Now I think I'll be more skeptical when it comes to accepting any ad for what it is. For some reason I always thought of a nonfiction book as being boring... but this book has for sure altered my opinion on that.
I know that I value this class and will hold on to the many discussions that were held in class. It was nice to consistently be able to relate all of the texts to present issues. Also, I liked the variety of examples from the media that were used and how all of the books were closely related to one another. It was a learning experience to have the chance to see the different ways each of the authors have taken to share one common message. This was a really neat class and I am glad I ended up in it!
I thought this class was going to be a traditional, boring (no offense) class. It was also one of my favorite classes I have taken here at Ship. Angel, I agree that you like to see all the connections being made-- I do too. I thought the Because It's Good for You was really cool to tie into the class too. For some of the classes I have taken here, the assigned reading would be due and the day it was due, we would be tested on it, but would never talk about it. I liked how there was a lot discussion and we made connections in every possible way you could imagine!
ReplyDeleteI agree that this is one of my favorite classes that i've had here at ship. I too like the modern day connections that we made. The material we read was for the most part very interesting and I too have learned a lot and will be taking that knowledge with me.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this class as well! Culture Jam really opened my eyes to some issues in our world today. Most of the things said in that book were reflecting our society today and it was disappointing! I thought it was going to be a boring book when I first picked it up, but it was actually very interesting to read. It was pretty neat that Dr. Mortimore used YouTube videos as examples. It helped me understand better. Overall, it was a pretty enjoyable class!
ReplyDeleteI also found myself wanting to come to class to find out what we were going to talk about next. I liked the discussions we had that related the texts to modern day things. I too also value the insights into our culture that I got from taking this class. I now look at things much differently than I did before.
ReplyDeleteWhen we first started class I really didn't even want to show up because I thought it would be horrendous. Obviously I was completely wrong and ended up never missing a class because we always did something new and fun. The books we read I would never had read on my own and it really opened up my eyes to this literature. When I read Hunger Games it made me want to read more books like that but honestly I probably won't lol But I thank everyone for a great semester and how fun you guys made it. Thanks =)
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