Have you taken the required course ENG 401, yet? Literary Theory and Criticism is one of the most important classes you will ever take as an English major or minor. One might think this course is just another requirement for the major and one can breeze through it with minor work in the class. This is not so. Literary Criticism is the essence the English major. All the learning one does in survey courses is based in literary criticism and theory. The professors teach students how to analyze literature through the many lenses of criticism. The papers one writes, the research one commences, is all steeped in Literary Criticism.
Literary Criticism is confusing at times, but with practice and study, one can easily come to understand the nuances and rules of each theory. Psychological, Feminism, Marxist theory, Eco-criticism, Postcolonialism, Formalism, Structuralism, and Narratology are just a few ways to approach a text. One can use psychological criticism to read a text and understand why characters act the way they do and what their innermost secrets are, not only because authors write their characters so completely it is conceivable to do this, but because psychological criticism allows readers to understand more about the human condition. Each theory is a way to unlock a text, to view it's innermost ideas, structures, and to find a path into the author's mind when creating the text. A book about ordinary people--a common theme in American literature--can not only show us the mindset of people at the time and the world's maturity, but the forces from the world that are forced on characters living such ordinary lives. Modern readers are allowed to see how ordinary they are and how generations before us thought the same thoughts, felt the same feelings, and pined over a lost love or a past age (the "Golden Age" perhaps). Literary theory and criticism will keep coming up for the continuing academic. Graduate school is based on it, Ph.D. schools are steeped in it. One will likely study under the brilliant modern minds of a specific literary theory as a Ph.D student. Do not take for granted this class, and the theory one learns from it. There will come weeks when some theories will bore everyone to droopy eyes and sleepy stares, but the theories are all important. The discussions students have in class like American Lit survey, World Lit Survey, and British Lit Survey, aware or not, are based in literary theory. There are so many theories with so many rules and many ways to apply them, find the one that intrigues you the most. One you won't get tired of after a 15-20 page paper. Push yourself to delve into more than one theory throughout your undergraduate and graduate careers, become an expert in a few of them, and you will never be without something to say.
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You already read so many books for classes. You might carry 18 units, a job, and be in a club or activity, so why should you add one more thing to your burgeoning schedule? Because the book club is a place where anyone who loves reading and books can come and find others who love books and reading. Finding camaraderie is important to the sense of belonging on campus, but let me list the professors who attended the book club on Wednesday, September 10: Dr. Veltman, Professor Isaacs, Tronti, Renfro, Bruinius-Alspach, and Dr. Newton. That is six professors in one room, at one time, with your attention. How many times does that happen in college? How many times have you tried to foster relationships with professors and failed? Maybe shyness and quietness in class are inhibiting your networking abilities. Maybe you have goo intentions and life gets in the way.
The Book Club really is an amazing place. These professors who have devoted their lives to education, books, literary criticism, critical thinking, and reading; professors who are among the leaders in their field, are impressive publishers and journal article writers, who have life experience we cannot fathom, are all sitting in a room waiting for students to talk about books. The Book Club provides the perfect place to spend time with these greats. I attended the Book Club on Wednesday and during the discussion, I looked around the room, saw the four students in attendance, the six professors, and could not believe I had the opportunity to sit with people who could be my colleagues, and watch them talk about two short stories with almost no preparation. To sit in a room with great minds discussing literature is an awesome sight. It is something that you cannot get in class. Class is devoted to student learning, to making sure students are learning and understanding something pivotal about a time period or a specific author. While that is important and exciting, try an atmosphere where there is no expectation of imparting knowledge on a student, no course objectives, no agenda. We are all there to discuss these stories, how they made us feel, what we loved about them: the writing, the lyrical nature, the profound message they have left with our soul. And you get glimpses into the professors hearts, minds, and souls because they too feel what we feel, see what we see, analyze what we analyze. After all, they taught us how. So why not try out the Book Club, why not add one more story to your reading list and homework stack, why not take a chance and spend some uninterrupted time with a large portion of the English Department? For days, times, and short story URLs, visit our 2014 page. Sigma Tau Delta is offering scholarships in various amounts from $2,500-$4,000. As a student of CBU, that's a lot of money you won't have to pay next year. I mean, let's face it, we all joined Sigma Tau for the possibility of scholarship money. So go apply and get nominated. We could all use a little extra help and what a better way than to be award money for being an English Major?
Scholarships are available for undergraduates and graduate students currently enrolled and planning on being enrolled next Fall. Do not let this opportunity pass you by because there are steps involved! The officers and advisors are here to help you, so email one of the advisors (emails found on the contact page) or email our gmail account at [email protected]. The deadline for applications is November 10, 2014 and you MUST create an account on the STARS site to submit an application. It is pretty easy, to do and does not take up too much time. From Sigma Tau's newsletter, "Sigma Tau Delta uses STARS (Scholarship Tracking and Review System) to simplify and streamline the online submission process for scholarships and academic awards. STARS also alerts students to all application opportunities available to them, increasing their chances of receiving funding." The following link allows you to see what scholarships are available and who is eligible. A few scholarships that are available are: Senior scholarships, Junior scholarships, a Distinguished Student scholarship, a Part-Time student scholarship, a study-aborad scholarship, graduate scholarships, and scholarly paper scholarships. Keep in mind you do need to be nominated for these scholarships and you are required to have recommendations from professors. Be sure to apply for these scholarships, FREE MONEY GUYS. Don't let this opportunity pass you up! Did you know this? I sure didn't. Book Patrol.com provides cut outs of poets like Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allen Poe, Pablo Neruda, T.S. Eliot, and more. I would definitely print one out and haul it to work. I'd like spending the day with a poet, wouldn't you?
We are still doing the Book Review Series, don't forget! There have been no submissions, so your chances of publication are high! Check out the blog for further instructions. Review any book, 500-1000 words, get published and put it on your resume, CV, and get a head start on publications for a Masters and Ph.D program! Alpha Tau Sigma members only ![]() Don't let this be you! Submit today to [email protected] and get published. The last words of a book often give readers closure. Many theses and dissertations are on the last words of a book and what they mean to a story. Have you read any last words that leave you wanting more? Read on to see how many you recognize.
We are all English Majors and we love it. There could be no greater major than ours. See how many things from Buzzfeed you agree on from 17 signs you are an English major Check out some literary needlepoint of Hemingway, Woolf, Salinger, Plath, and more. I think I want these on my walls. Below is a menu of Literary books and Coffee from BookRiot.com
![]() A book review is a great way to step into the publishing arena. A review is small enough to not be intimidating and big enough to have substance in the analysis. We all love books and have our opinions on them. It's why we go to class and it's why we enjoy talking to other English majors. Read a book this summer and write a review about it. There are associated links to help you get an idea of how to write a book review. Two are examples of book reviews and the other is the format and ideas on physically writing the review. If you need more examples, search the Annie Gabriel Library "Onesearch" and limit results to book reviews. Read some and focus on the content, how the author critiques, what the author critiques, and the structure of the review. Shoot for at least one page, but no more than four. Remember reviews do not focus solely on the negative. Respond to what the author did well, how they presented information, their experiments with sentence structure (if any), how the author relays information to make the reader feel precisely what the author intends, etc. Again, for more information on how to write a book review see the last file written by Laura Belcher who also wrote a book on how to write an academic journal paper in 12 weeks. The article is easy to understand, helpful, and includes the format, which is drastically different from MLA academic papers written for class. The example articles are on "Maus" by Art Spiegelman and two books of poetry from Li-young Lee, "Rose" and "The City in Which I love You." The following article, "The Endangered Scholarly Book Review" by Lynn Worshan, makes great points about why we hold still write book reviews, in essence, reviews let us exercise our mental muscles and they give us practical experience in writing and critically honing our intellectual skills. This a great first opportunity to get a head start on writing book reviews. Submit one today and in the future, you will be comfortable with the format and have a head start on other graduate and doctoral students. If published on the site, you can write it on your resume in a "publications" section. This is just what writers and continuing academics need. https://chronicle.com/article/The-Endangered-Scholarly-Book/131361/ (this is the same article as the one linked above) If you need more sources, check out Purdue's Writing lab that gives advice on how to read a book for a review or Trent University's page on the structure of book reviews. ![]()
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How to SubmitFrom your lancer mail email [email protected] the review in a word document. In the subject of the email write Summer Book Review and in the body of the email be sure to write your name, academic standing (freshman, sophomore, etc) and that you want the review to be published on the website. You can review any book you want: classic literature, fiction, non-fiction, biography, self-help, a book you read for class, or a book you checked off your reading list. We will email you a confirmation and let you know if it will be published (most likely it will). Submissions not written in the proper format will not be published.
Be the first published! Submit by May 15 for June publication June 15 for July publication July 15 for August publication |
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