English Synthesis

Kristy Tyson

Professor Geary

English 4950

16 January 2013

Synthesis

Utah Valley University’s mission statement exerts that it “is a teaching institution which provides opportunity, promotes student success, and meets regional educational needs. UVU builds on a foundation of substantive scholarly and creative work to foster engaged learning. The university prepares professionally competent people of integrity who, as lifelong learners and leaders, serve as stewards of a globally interdependent community”(UVU). All disciplines must create courses of study that reflect the mission statement. I believe the English Department has implemented the mission objectives in a way that has impacted the way I read, the way I write, the way I think, and especially in the way I engage with society.

According to UVU”S homepage, “UVU values the broad acquisition of knowledge and recognizes the value of critical and creative thinking and practical skills. We prepare students to contribute to society, adapt creatively to new challenges, and thrive in an ever-changing world community”(UVU).

The English Department has adopted a mission statement to focus their course to support the University mission statement. “The English & Literature Department offers a wide variety of fascinating and challenging classes in writing, literature, and critical theory. English students engage with texts in multiple ways and at multiple levels—reading, analyzing, and discussing literature ranging from the classical to the contemporary, but also producing their own critical and creative work. English courses broaden students’ cultural awareness, deepen and refine their critical thinking abilities, and enhance their skills in written and verbal communication”(UVU).

English 2600 with Professor Albrecht-Crane was my first introduction to critical theory. I had taken my lower division courses over 20 years ago and had never been exposed to theoretical approaches to literature. At that time, the focus was on finding meaning in literature through themes and motifs. My courses focused on what the author’s intended meanings were. We learned to look at characterization and how they affected the plot. We learned to write about how we felt while we read and how the readings affected us personally. English 2600 changed how I look at literature now. I was introduced to the details of language. Language is made up of words.We don’t have language to sufficiently describe or name everything. Professor Albrecht- Crane used Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka to teach theoretical approaches. One book was used all semester and yet I learned to use nine critical theories in that single piece of literature.

            Professor Karin Anderson challenged me to attack the Theory Beast! English 3890 is one of the most difficult courses I have taken at UVU. The pace, the readings, the theoretical approaches and applications from text to text made me feel like I was always hanging from a cliff. Though it was extremely challenging, this paper has caused me to look at what I learned from the course. My favorite reading from the course comes from Octavia E. Butler’s novel, Kindred. I studied that texts for a whole semester first, because I was assigned the reading and the work to apply the Critical Race Theory to the book, but second because through the study of the different theories, I found myself becoming deeply affected by what language does in this particular novel. I found the language to represent a world unknown to me and as much as I tried to plug myself in to the possibility of representing the “other”, a non-European white society, I kept falling back into the white world I come from. I have a difficult time separating myself from a white constructed world.

In the final pages of literary criticism of Butler’s novel, there is a push to show the “white” world just how far we are from representing “otherness”. The criticism is beautiful and somewhat haunting to me. As a white American, it is extremely difficult to represent, through language, other cultures and people.  Butler does not attempt to explain what she describes so graphically at the end of the sixth chapter; “How could Dana’s arm, from the elbow down, be physically joined to the plaster of her living room wall? The author is silent on the process by which Dana’s arm is severed in the twilight zone between past and present. Kindred, one could say, is no more rational, no more comfortably explicable than the history of slavery itself. But that is a little too easy. The fiction has a ruthless logic to its design, and in an interview Butler has stated that the meaning of the amputation is clear enough: “I really couldn’t let her come all the way back whole and that, I think, really symbolizes her not coming back whole. Antebellum slavery didn’t leave people quite whole”(Butler 267).

“Time damages as well as heals, and genuine historical understanding of human crimes is never easy and always achieved at the price of suffering”(Butler 267). I love how this passage stands as a strong justification of why literature is important. The language used to describe human crimes and suffering of the signifying “other” challenges one’s ideas and perceptions in a very personal way.

 In English 3670, Professor Brian Whaley expanded my understanding of both prose and poetry. Whaley’s passion for literature and his thorough way he approached both novels and poetry is extraordinary. In every discussion, I learned to read more carefully. He encouraged us to embrace the beauty of words and the power of language. Whaley’s insight and instruction with poetry helped me to better grasp key skills needed to understand and appreciate it. I have always struggled with poetry, specifically in the mechanics of knowing what rhyme schemes are, how patterns work in poetry, and what one can deduct from use of language. Whaley’s teaching added a measure of mathematical applications when approaching poetry. Whaley asked that each student study two poems and use the skills he taught us throughout the semester to annotate, explicate and show evidence of understanding how language gives rise to meaning. I chose two poems about women. As I applied the skills he taught, I came to love poetry. I wrote about a poem by Christopher Reid, What the Uneducated Old Woman Told Me.         Some of the skills I learned are evidenced in my work on that particular poem. By using an anaphora with each sentence beginning with That, it shows repetition to a thought, familiarity to a place and time, and provides a license for a narrative that could work in expressing both a first person and third person voice.

Some of the most striking uses of language include the author’s use of specific words that when grouped together, create specific meanings. In this poem, word families that describe age, modernization, death, war, family, superstitions, companionship, and death work to express voice, mood, binaries and commonalities in human life. Using these word families also helps a reader to make assumptions about where the woman is sharing these thoughts. As a reader, I made predictions that she may be on a front porch telling her story to a young friend or family member. The ordinary, day to day word choices illustrate someone who sees things simply or would like to explain her realities simply to be clearly understood. I consider my poetry education to be one of the greatest assets to my English Degree. Whaley helped me personally to become immersed in the beauty found in poetry. Now, I wish I had had more opportunities with poetry.

Professor Grant Moss made Shakespeare’s work come alive! Professor Moss has an amazing knowledge about Shakespeare and the time period, and yet he consistently led a guided discussion that allowed students to make their own connections. He introduced us to several plays and I learned about the categories of his work which include tragedies, romantic comedies etc. Professor Moss gave students the assignment to write about anything that interested us in Shakespeare’s work but required several sources. I chose to write about women represented in Shakespeare’s plays. First, I learned that the University Library really does help students. Annie in the library not only helped focus my topic but she also helped me with inter-library loans. She even followed up with me during the process. Second, I read multiple books that were related to my topic and as I read from so many sources, I also learned many other interesting facts and trivia about the time period. This assignment not only increased my understanding of William Shakespeare’s works, but it also solidified my belief in his influence on society and the influence society had on his work.

English 3640, Restoration 18^th Century British Literature taught by Professor Nathan Gorelick, introduced me to Gulliver’s Travels and  many wonderful classics. Together we explored the Age of Enlightenment focusing on great philosophers such as Descartes, Locke, Rousseau, and Voltaire. These philosophers helped to shape ideas and theories that have had influenced literature. Prior to this course, I cannot remember being introduced to these philosophers and their work. I really enjoyed Professor Gorelick’s teaching style as well. He offered great feedback and careful critique of all my submissions. Gorelick’s feedback has helped me to improve my writing.

English 3540, Contemporary American Literature, introduced me to current novels. The novels included issues relevant to the 21^st century. As a returning student of several years, I believe this class was needed for me to be as current as I can in the English field, especially if I do decide to eventually go on to teach at a high school or college. Professor Charles Vogel has an incredible knowledge of hundreds of novels. He would assign a novel and then share several other novels that were either written by the same author, written during the same time period, and/or share a common theme. This teaching method is one that I have adopted both at home with my own family and hope to someday be able to replicate in my own teaching.

Professor Carney and Professor Davidson have  imparted valuable literary skills and knowledge. Each taught me to be thorough in examining a text and to be willing to take risks in my approaches to literature. From them, I learned to think outside the box, to not just regurgitate, but to find ways to express myself in fresh new ways.

Choosing English as my major has been an adventure. Through literature, I have travelled through time, issues, cultures, and people from America to Britain. I have read over one hundred works. I have critically thought about each piece. I have written and written more about different aspects of each work using the variety of skills I have learned.

I believe that the selection of professors is a reflection of UVU’s Mission Statement. I also believe that the course objectives, particularly English and Literature Studies, have given me a wide variety of experiences, applications, and critical thinking skills. I have been able to engage with texts in multiple ways and on multiple levels through reading, analyzing, and discussing literature. (English Department) It is by this training that I now have some desire to further my education to become a teacher so that I too can help educate others in the wonderful ways I have been taught!