CORE 180 focuses on literary reading. In this section, we will explore texts that represent diverse voices, themes, and genres in literature. Together, we’ll contemplate what it means for us to be readers. Taking an inquiry approach, we will consider a few key (and deceptively simple) questions:
- What does it mean to read? To respond to literature? How are readers, texts, and writers connected?
- Why should we read, and how? What does it mean to read for life and to be a lifelong reader? What are strategies that skilled readers employ, and how can we develop and apply these strategies?
- What should we read? What counts as literature and as good literature, and who decides—and how?
- What does worldview have to do with our experiences with texts, authors, and other readers?
- What can/should/will we do with a practical-and-theoretical understanding of literary reading?
In order to develop clear (and complex!) answers to the questions above, much of our learning will be accomplished by doing—that is, by reading and by responding through discussion and writing. Just as importantly, we will also study about reading (and about texts, authors, and readers) through assignments that help you to think about the course focus questions. Note that I will regularly ask you to discuss your in-process and polished work with your classmates and with me and to participate in small group discussions and activities.
Our work toward answering the course questions should inform your understanding of responding to literature at practical, theoretical, and evaluative levels. Upon completion of CORE 180, you should be able to (1) demonstrate your knowledge about responding to literature through practice and reflection and (2) offer in-depth answers to the focus questions.
