Working With Archives in the Literature Classroom

by Matthew Teutsch

This summer, I am teaching an American literature survey curse through 1865. While I have taught this course multiple times, I have been contemplating and incorporating new assignments into the classroom the past couple of times I have taught it. One such assignment calls for students to use digital archives of the Freedom’s Journal to find a an article, summarize it, then tell their … Read More Working With Archives in the Literature Classroom

May 10, 2017 + 10 bands i have seen (one is a lie), african american literature, american literature, caribbean literature, early american literature, frank norris, gothic literature, identity, irish literature, john updike, Literature, louisiana literature, Maximillian Alvarez, mississippi literature, native american literature, Pedagogy, professor, shelia liming, southern literature, Uncategorized, writing

The Facade We Sometimes Wear

by Matthew Teutsch

As a student, I would always sit in class amazed when during a lecture professors would start to rattle off various authors and works that related in some way to the topic we were covering that particular day. I never thought I would be able to reach that same level of knowledge; however, I regularly catch myself in classes doing the same thing that … Read More The Facade We Sometimes Wear

May 2, 2017 + african american literature, american literature, caribbean literature, early american literature, elizabeth moss, gothic literature, irish literature, Literature, louise erdrich, louisiana literature, margaret atwood, mississippi literature, native american literature, recitiatif, richard spencer, southern literature, the haindmaiden's tale, the mary sue, the red convertible, toni morrison, Uncategorized

“Why can’t we read this story as a universal text?”: Questions from the Classroom

by Matthew Teutsch

Recently, I taught Louise Erdrich’s “The Red Convertible.” The story focuses on two Chippewa brothers, Henry and Lyman, and their relationship after Henry returns from the Vietnam War. During our discussion of the story in class, someone asked a question about the text and some of our previous readings that caused me to think well past the end of our session. The student posed … Read More “Why can’t we read this story as a universal text?”: Questions from the Classroom

April 27, 2017 + african american literature, american literature, dante, divine comedy, flannery o'connor, gothic literature, gwendolyn brooks, inferno, Literature, purgatorio, revelation, sepultura, southern literature, t.s. eliot, the love song of j alfred prufrock, the sundays of satin legs smith, Uncategorized

Dante in T.S. Eliot, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Flannery O’Connor

by Matthew Teutsch

Ten years ago, I participated in an NEH Summer Institute at Grambling State University on teaching the Western classics at HBCUs. There, I read, for the first time I might add, Homer’s Illiad and Odyssey, Dante’s Divine Comedy, Christine De Pazan, and others. During the institute, I learned about the connections between African American authors and some of the classics, specifically from Patrice Rankine, … Read More Dante in T.S. Eliot, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Flannery O’Connor

April 25, 2017 + #ncte, adidas, african american literature, american literature, dorothy allison, english, fsa, language, owi, recitiatif, river of names, russell lee, southern literature, toni morrison, Uncategorized

Language and Syntax in the Classroom

by Matthew Teutsch

The day after the 2017 Boston Marathon, the marathon’s sponsor, Adidas, sent an email to participants who completed the race. The subject line read, “Congrats, you survived the Boston Marathon.” On the surface, nothing appears wrong with this line; however, given the events at the marathon on April 15, 2013, when Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev detonated two homemade bombs close to the finish line killing … Read More Language and Syntax in the Classroom

Interminable Rambling

Working With Archives in the Literature Classroom

Category: african american literature