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!