Instructors assigned to teach the first part of the British-literature survey know they face a formidable challenge, for they enter class to find a sea of hostile faces. Students taking this course — often in order to fulfill general-education literature requirements — tend to arrive with firmly preconceived notions about it. In their estimation, the class will fail to be “relatable”and will provide little appeal to them on a “personal level.” Consequently, they rest assured that they will find the course mind-numbingly dull and a waste of their scant time.
This presentation will explore one potential method for eradicating student apathy regarding these early eras and their works. The recent spate of discoveries concerning the Middle Ages and the Renaissance – from archeological finds of early-modern theaters to the Old-English recipe determined to combat MRSA – provides professors with a serendipitous means of engendering enthusiasm for their subject matter. The MRSA discovery in particular went viral, suggesting that these stories of our past do appeal to millennials. By incorporating these news items into their classes through a variety of methods that appeal to their target audience, professors may be able to illustrate the continued significance of these eras and the works created in them while also providing students with a better sense of the conditions in which these stories were composed. Unlike other methods of engendering interest in these early works, such as the use of flim, tv, and videogames, the use of the news has the advantage of keeping the focus on the actual works, whereas the incorporation of modern productions runs the danger of overwhelming — or even distorting — the original material. News items act as a supplement to the stories at hand, helping students recognize the past’s stubborn refusal to remain forever buried.
About the presenterMary Behrman
Mary Behrman received her PhD in English from Emory University in 2004, where she wrote her dissertation, “Chaucer, Gower and the Vox Populi: Interpretation and the Common Profit in The Canterbury Tales and Confessio Amantis,” under the direction of John Bugge. She has had articles published in journals including The Chaucer Review and The Henry James Review. One of her essays, “The Waiting Game: Medieval Allusions and the Lethal Nature of Passivitiy in Ian McEwan’s Atonement,” appeared in the Winter 2010 volume of Studies in the Novel and stemmed from an essay first presented at MAPACA’s 2008 conference in Niagara Falls. Currently, Ms. Behrman teaches English courses at Kennesaw State University and serves as MAPACA’s president and the Co-Chair of the Medieval/Renaissance Area.