Honors Literature: The H-Factor

Honors Literature: The H-FactorRecent Honors Literature CoursesENG201: Introduction to Literature: DramaENG202: Introduction to Literature: NovelENG203 and 204: World Literature I and IIENG205 and 206: American Lit. I and IIENG208: Modern American NovelENG212: Introduction to Literature: Poetry ENG221: Women in LiteratureENG227 and 228: British Literature I and IIENG232: Post-Colonial Women WritersApproach: Literature as a pseudo-capstone course incredibly connective and cross-disciplinary

How is Honors Lit. different? Students actually read and want to discuss.

More synthesiscross-disciplinary applications with Honors Psychology, Sociology, History, and Philosophy.

More ability to view literature as an artifact embedded in culture as well as a shaper of culture.

Great proving ground for new texts or practicesimpacts standard classes, too. What makes it Honors? Student-centric:Students choose some of the class readingsStudents lead discussionStudents do pre-reading research and report (ex: Duong Thu Huongs Paradise of the Blind) -- Women and Confucianism -- Women and Communism -- Education in Vietnam -- Family Values in Vietnam -- Colonial History of VietnamThe H-Factor? --more use of critical sources and critical approaches--fantastic web sources--expect a little more on essays - more research - better integration of others ideas - original claim based on textual analysis--Independent project and performance art

Performance Art

And describe for me the sweet time of youth, whose picture and feeling has vividly materialized before me Conferencing and Publishing Opportunities

Bergen Honors Conference, March 2013Kingstons Voice Thunders and Jingles Like Copper Pans Jillian BorrowLiterature in Action

Prof. Fran Davidsons Honors Poetry Class Performs at the Lawrence Twp. Library, March 2008Springboarding from Literature to Real World Awareness: Other professorsFamilyFriendsWork associates

Ideally, they leave class with more ability to critically analyze, but also relate to what is happening in the real world to real people. Reading serious (not formulaic) literature creates more empathy and awareness of the human condition on a human, not just factual, level. Its not so much what we assign or how we plan the course --

its what the students do with the class that creates the H-Factor.