Masters Seminar · English And Comparative Literature
I learned about the hidden curriculum, learning and teaching methods, how to apply to grad school
I learned to approach the topic of pedagogy and the university from a different perspective.
I learned a bit about reading and interpretation, and reviews/criticism.
The writing of a book review. Experimental criticism. Syllabus construction.
This course was very good at talking about things that typically do not receive space in the academic setting, but are extremely helpful to the graduate academic student. Uncovering the hidden curriculum, how to go about writing, submitting, and publishing an article, how to write a book review are just a few of the very helpful things that were covered in the course.
I learned the realities of a life in academia: job opportunities after the academy, how to write book reviews, journal articles, and what good literary criticism looks like. I also learned how to navigate coursework in a different way than I did in undergrad: there are different sorts of reading for different sorts of jobs. A life in academia will require a lot of reading, and developing new skills in regards to how to manage large reading loads was beneficial.
We learned about the disciplinary history of literary studies in American universities as well as different modes of writing/engaging with scholarly work.
An excellent indoctrination in to the program, the college, and the discipline. Every class was a master class in a different tools necessary to success. The lack of a through-line was worth the multitudinous perspectives introduced to our collective skill sets. Many helpful guest lecturers offering windows into their off-the-beaten track work.
It was a good introduction to grad school where we talked a lot about some of the more nebulous kinds of knowledge you need to succeed in grad school.
The course itself did not teach me very many things. The processes seemed quite forced; especially discussions about careers etc. The assignments were very helpful but the readings seemed quite random.