Month: October 2024 (Page 1 of 2)

For this question of what assessments or discussions are being raised about the English major within the humanities, I looked to an article “The Lifelong Benefits of English Class” from The New York Times. From the title, I also feel it raises an important point of relevance to what is being said about the value of humanities majors like English in our society right now and how things like transferable, interdisciplinary skills are so needed. The framework of this article is actually a collection of responses readers had to a previous column by Pamala Paul “How to Get Kids to Hate English” which was a critique of the ill effects common core English courses have. I found this to be really insightful because you get this more professional, academic mindset of the writers at the NYTs but then hear from what the masses think about English majors. From middle school English teachers, young students, and Professors, to the President of Hamilton College, their responses all in some capacity had to do with cross-disciplinary skills and the recognition that the skills English majors amass are desperately needed in the workforce. I also found it nice to see that people can distinguish the different things reading does. It can be someone who has “enjoyed these books as great stories” with their children before even attempting formal “English” education as a writer and former teacher Nancy Lubarsky says and it can be a means of opening up vital knowledge and knowhow such as “cultivat[ing] intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, aesthetic appreciation, civic literacy and a host of other attributes that money can’t buy.” There is also a sense of debate within what Paul’s article perhaps appears too traditional or academic in her emphasis on canonical literature – the classics. I get what some of the respondents are saying in that she is stripping away the meaning kids find in more contemporary fiction but I would agree to an extent that the historical significance of reading certain classics is what allows those discussions and analyses of politics of the time, why people wrote the things they did, and how we got to now is essential too. In thinking about citizenship and what a humanities major like English does for a person I think there is something to be said about how all these people feel a reaction strong enough to write in to counter someone else’s observations

“The Lifelong Benefits of English Class.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Mar. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/03/25/opinion/letters/english-courses.html

The primary goal of this project is to take a previous paper from my English course ENG 216 titled “The Legal Ideal and its Irrefutable Detriments: In Conversation with Brontë and Bodichon” and provide an extension into the political theories and legal discourse that underlie what the literature and progressive thinkers of mid-Victorian England were grappling with. My previous paper was a response to how the realities of marriage as dictated by the law proved to be an immense misalignment. What can be understood when different branches of Victorian writing are employed? What through-lines emerge when the implicit connections of the law within Brontë’s novel are actualized by case law? In what ways were the political theorists and social reformers’ thinking informed by literature?

Through my in-depth examination of the various branches of writing and discourse of women’s rights and the confines of precedent within this period of mid-Victorian England, I will have highlighted that by identifying what was missing within my original paper, the political and legal sources, and thus incorporating them into this project, makes for a meaningful extension of my interests and subject knowledge within political science and legal analysis. For instance, this extension will draw from prominent political philosopher John Stewart Mill and his piece On the Subjection of Women and writer and social-reformer Frances Power Cobbe and her essay “Criminals, Idiots, Women, and Minors: is the Classification Sound? A Discussion on the Laws Concerning the Property of Married Women.” In addressing a few poignant primary documents such as examples of case law from the period 1850s-1860s and excerpts of parliamentary debates on the reform bills of marriage a divorce, I can illustrate the powerful lived experiences that parallel both the literary sources and theoretical.

Furthermore, it will provide a foundational framework for my additional research to draw upon this progressive moment of the mid-19th century regarding women’s legal status and challenging the operation of legal precedent as an essential historical context. In arguing that works of literature such as The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë can be read to provide a tangible reality of the result of oppressive laws, it offers connections to both the social and political activists of its era and that questions of equality are always evolving. This project also opens up incredible avenues for contemporary engagement in the law and proves that we must look to the same opportunities today to draw from the empathetic and humanistic nature of literature along with an array of contemporary political, feminist, and legal theorists to question and force the uncomfortable realities of the law’s shortcomings to be reconciled.

Journal #5: Reviewing Past Project Proposals 

#1 → “Can a Just God Allow Suffering?”(interdisciplinary studies in the humanities) 

I found this example of a capstone proposal to be very clear and direct which makes it easy for me to understand why this student is interested in this topic, the questions or a puzzle that they plan to work from, and what relevant skills they already have from coursework and what methods of aid are needed to continue. I also think that they did a good job of outlining the vast scope of the philosophical question of how can a just God allow suffering but then narrows down to this aspect of free will as a way to manageably go in depth to one aspect of this topic. However, it did make me wonder what prompted them to title their proposal “Can a Just God Allow Suffering” – I do think it makes sense but I wonder what it might have looked like if they were able to showcase that narrowing down into free will or maybe lend us as readers a clue that they aren’t trying to tackle this enormous principle but have an interesting point of interaction that raises their own argument. I also think there might have been room to get just a touch more in depth in what exactly they are trying to critique or raise in regards to this argument of free will – yet I understand not giving away the whole project itself. Perhaps for a reader like myself who might not be super familiar with those philosophical discussions, it could help to briefly quote that sparked some questions to the student and would strengthen the so what aspect of why they want to revisit these arguments and raise new ones. While reading this proposal and looking ahead to my proposal, I am thinking of how this student was able to draw from the course material they have taken outside of philosophy that helped frame this project and made a point to not just list the materials themselves but what they gained skill wise. Items they listed such as close reading, research methods, notes and familiarity with academic writing that can be drawn from for their project was really helpful for me to see how they incorporated those. 

#2  Research Proposal & Bibliography: Analyzing the Use of Animals in Popular Victorian Literature (English) 

To start, I find the topic of this really intriguing and in limiting their scope to just three novels and using that historical context of the Victorian period as an avenue to explore why cultural significance on animals was present during this one time in history allows for again a narrowed and detailed analysis. The central question of why literature uses animals is very broad but I do think that the unconventionality that those novels bring – for instance the idea of the creature as animal/human and the again cultural context of Mary Shelley and Victorian ideas surrounding animals – allows for the topic to become more manageable and not become lost in such a large question. One aspect of this proposal that I found compelling and might think about as I start to plan my abstract and proposal is how they incorporated possible responses – or negative critique – and addressed those concerns before someone might even air them. To me it shows you are comfortable with your knowledge of this area to anticipate what criticisms might be made and to showcase further that you have a specific goal in mind, sources/evidence, and can bring the focus back to that. One question or suggestion I might have in how this student could further improve this proposal would be to maybe lay out in a bit more detail those timetables and action plan – it is rather short and appears to rush in at the end and I know that I as a reader would have liked to hear more about the next portion of their project relating to this work in connecting the three novels. In what capacity? 

#3 → Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities 

The format of this proposal follows the second sample guidelines and has a very clear and well structured outline that delves into the specifics right from the beginning. Following this, I think a strength that is evident within this proposal is how well the student has thought about their project in the most condensed version which does allow us as a reader to understand the heart of this project and we can see that outlined in this question of what it means to attribute humanness to others within literature, history and social constricts. I do think that while the outline meets the general criteria from the guidelines, one way to develop this proposed argument even further would be to briefly discuss maybe one example of how literature addresses this question and maybe a bit of commentary on how that sparked further questions and interest for this student that ties into that deeper understanding from their courses. I am thinking about how we make room for extending our projects and creating space to do something new and expansive – from this proposal I feel it reads more like a revisiting of an interest and I might be missing the explanation which I am sure the student has explored further in this project but it would be nice to get a glimpse of how this topic answers something their courses or other experiences didn’t. I also wondered if in this proposal it was appropriate to include specific primary source materials or to just state what kind of source material will be utilized. I think it would be helpful if applicable to maybe cite an example or two that could really connect with those comments made about those questions that arose through certain course materials and experiences and could in a way address my other observation for development above.