UQ Cyberschool – Literature online
• Databases – some general observations
– access
– direct experience
– professional development
Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary
Theory and Criticism
• Key strengths
– currency
– refereed
– ease of access
Primary use – English Extension
• University level application of literary theorists must be
evident within each task.
• The course is an intensive program of understandings
and applications of literary theory: text-centred;
reader-centred; world context-centred; etc.
• Literary theories (e.g. Derrida) explicitly taught upfront by the teacher.
• The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and
Criticism includes mainly secondary sources that offer a
range of commentary, explanations and applications of
a range of literary theories.
Student activity
• The students are allocated one theory or
theorist.
• They complete research from the database.
• They present to the class and devise a learning
resource.
• The teacher then fills in gaps.
Activity
• Peer Teaching Roster 2010
– Guidelines:
– Present for no longer than 10 minutes.
– Provide a succinct summary + handout.
– Be innovative in your presentation.
– Use multimedia as much as practicable.
– Test your colleagues’ comprehension in some way.
Extension English tasks
• Demands of Tasks 3(a) and (b):
– independent choice of two texts [novel and film]
– 3(a) is a multimedia seminar presentation
– the student posits a theoretical approach
– “justify your initial and provisional selection of
texts, integrating device, and theoretical
framework”
– “display your awareness not only of the subtleties
of the four reading approaches, but also of their
interconnectedness”
Task 3(b)
• An essay for an academic journal
• The student must demonstrate the central contention that
– “whatever literature is, it is dependent on how, when, where, by
whom and for what purposes it is read”.
• Involves
–
–
–
–
“the selective and synthesised application of literary theories
“sophisticated engagement with … theoretical underpinnings”
a bibliography of references
the correct application of terminology and technical terms
appropriate to the genres and the theory
Secondary use – professional
development
• English teachers
– Year 12 Hamlet
– Year 10 Macbeth
– Year 11 reader response theory
• 30 hours!
Another possibility
• National curriculum – specified element of
research.
– Year 6: which is about to become the final year of primary
school for us - “Determine the nature and extent of information
needed and selectively source specific information using
evaluative library and online research skills”
– Year 7 (what is about to become our first year of secondary
school) “Collect evidence from a variety of sources including
libraries, websites, databases and search engines”
– Or Year 10: “Undertake independent research using libraries,
media sources and online resources”