Lesson Plan: Generating Theoretical Evidence
Comparative Literature and Culture
Objective
To develop skills for deriving quotations from theoretical articles that are applicable in a comparative literature essay; to model the process of critical thinking required to produce an essay in the discipline of comparative literature; to get students started on their next assignment by selecting quotations that they may use in their essays; to introduce the readings for today’s class
Estimated Time
30-35 minutes
Work Completed Before Class
Students have been assigned to select two quotations from a theoretical article (of their choice) that they plan to use for an upcoming essay assignment that asks them to use a work of literary theory to compare two literary texts. Prior to class, students have posted their quotations on our online course manager. In preparation for class, students have also read a theoretical article and two literary texts (different from the ones they will be using in their essays). Just as the students have, I have posted two quotations from the theoretical reading assigned for this class in the online course manager. I have also copied and pasted all of the quotations the students have chosen into handouts to be distributed in class.
In Class
- Discuss some of the challenges of locating a fruitful quotation in a theoretical article. Discuss the characteristics that make a quotation from a theoretical article useful for comparing two literary works. The discussion should highlight that, in order to be useful, an article should generate some theoretical question that will serve as the foundation for a comparison. (5 minutes)
- After distributing the handout containing the theoretical quotations the students posted online, ask for volunteers to read their posts. After each student reads, discuss (as a group) the theoretical issue invoked in the quotations and probe how that might serve as a fruitful point of comparison. (5-10 minutes)
- Ask a student to read the two quotations that you (the instructor) have selected from the theoretical reading assigned for today’s class. As a group, derive a theoretical question from those quotations that might serve as the foundation for an essay in comparative literature. (3 minutes)
- Divide the class into two parts for an in-class writing assignment. Using the two literary texts assigned for today’s class, assign half of the class to apply the theoretical quotation(s) from step 3 to one literary text and the other half of the class to apply the same theoretical quotation(s) to the other literary text. Students should write for 4-5 minutes. (5-7 minutes)
- After students have finished writing, ask one group to share and discuss their responses in a way that develops consensus reading based on the theoretical article. Do the same for the second group. Conclude the exercise by carrying out a comparison of the readings produced by each group. This group comparison should model the thought process of using a theoretical article to generate a comparative analysis while transitioning smoothly into a discussion of the readings for today’s class (since those are the texts used in the exercise). (15 minutes)
Ryan Wepler
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