The Palliative Nature of Music in Louise Kennedy’s “Trespasses”

Tag: Literature

Early in Louise Kennedy’s Trespasses, Gerry Devlin asks Cushla to accompany him to a friend’s house in Belfast for a party. On their way to the house, they encounter a checkpoint manned by young British soldiers. The young soldiers, one of whose “complexion was cratered with acne scars and his mouth smelled of Juicy Fruit,” interrogate and accost Gerry, taking him out of the car … Read More The Palliative Nature of Music in Louise Kennedy’s “Trespasses”

July 2, 2026 + Belfast, irish literature, Literature, Northern Ireland, syllabus, The Troubles, U2

Identity in Contested Space: The Troubles and the Invisible Border Syllabus

by Matthew Teutsch

Near the end of Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast (2021), a coming-of-age story set at the start of The Troubles in Belfast, the nine-year-old protagonist Buddy talks with his grandfather at the hospital. During their conversation, Buddy tells his grandfather that his family may move “over the water” because his dad found work in England; however, his mom tells him that if they move there then the English … Read More Identity in Contested Space: The Troubles and the Invisible Border Syllabus

June 30, 2026 + american literature, Dorthy Starchey, literacy, Literature, Pedagogy, reading, Stefan Zweig, walt whitman

The Power of Literature and Education in Our Lives

by Matthew Teutsch

Whenever I teach an early American literature survey course, I know that most students didn’t choose to take the course because they wanted to read American literature before 1865. Most students took the course because it filled their general education requirement and fit the time slot that they wanted for a course. It’s as simple as that. However, almost every time I teach the course, … Read More The Power of Literature and Education in Our Lives

February 19, 2026 + Alexandre Tefenkgi, comics, ernest j gaines, n.k. jemisin, Pedagogy, pornsak pichetshote, R.F. Kuang, s.a. cosby, unessay project

The Joys Of Assigning Unessay Projects in Class

by Matthew Teutsch

At least once a year, I assign an unessay project and essay in my classes. I’ve written about this numerous times, and while I am always nervous about what the students will produce, because fear and apprehension keep them from really leaning into the project, I end up standing in awe at what the students end up producing for their unessay project. Last semester, I … Read More The Joys Of Assigning Unessay Projects in Class

February 17, 2026 + america, american dream, american history, american literature, frederick douglass, J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur, Pedagogy, syllabus

“What is an American?”: Early American Literature Course Syllabus

by Matthew Teutsch

It has been a few years since I have taught an American literature course from colonialism to 1865. This semester, I am doing just that, and I am again thinking about the ways that I structure this course. I have always organized this course, and others, around conversations, taking Kenneth Burke’s “parlor metaphor” to heart that conversations continue onwards, ceaselessly, even when participants leave. … Read More “What is an American?”: Early American Literature Course Syllabus

Interminable Rambling

The Palliative Nature of Music in Louise Kennedy’s “Trespasses”

Tag: Literature