At this moment in a mere two weeks I will officially be a college graduate. I never thought that this day would come, even as it advanced closer and closer. This semester has been so full of changes in me that I never thought it was possible. The first blogging portfolio found me hesitant to this field of study and rusty on my blogging skills. My blogs were long and thought out, but they didn't really say very much. As the semester moved on and I entered into the meat of the class, I found that my blogs were getting shorter. However they were getting more interesting to read. I was making my points faster and a lot of people seemed able to discuss and to interact with on these topics.
I was also more willing to discuss in this part of the class. Many of my classmates, including myself, presented during this time. It was interesting to see what they had to say and although I got my presentation blog up late, I felt that I was able to accomplish a lot during my presentation. As I mentioned in my reflection to Dr. Jerz, the presentation part of my blog was a bit lacking, however the discussion part of the presentation went really well. (Thanks guys!)
This third part of the semester has been very interesting. I have been writing papers left and write, but my mini papers for this class have gotten better. I felt a huge sense of pride and accomplishment when I saw that my grades had improved because this is something that I have struggled with all semester. I also found that I had begun making connections to many different aspects of the course. I think that what helped this was the critical project. Val and I had a blast getting into Harry's mind and where the reader fit into it all. I also enjoyed seeing what the others did. I attribute the light bulb that finally went off to this class.
The last major accomplishment for this semester will be completing the monster of a paper that was assigned. I have never even thought about writing a paper of this size. As I mention here, I have been struggling. After a meeting that I had with Dr. Jerz today, I find that I may be further along than I thought.
If there is anything that I have learned this semester in literary criticism it is that by sticking with it you can accomplish a ton of things. Around the middle of the semester I was ready to give up and just throw in the towel, but now I know that if I just put my mind to it I can get through anything. I'm really glad that I didn't throw in the towel. I think that, after being away from literature all of last summer and the fall semester, I came back into it with trepidation. I was worried that this course, the toughest literature course Seton Hill offers, would be the end of me and I almost let it.
All of that said, I think that it is time to get to the portfolio. I want to send out a thank you to everyone that participated in my (soon to be completed) carnival. No worries if you haven't posted your carnival entry yet. You have until Wednesday at 6 to get it done...I'll get that hostess entry up shortly thereafter. Have a great summer everyone!
The Coverage and Timeliness
de Man confuses me...
A nod to the psychological
Full of assumptions
Finally, something I think I semi-understand
Marx? A Literary Critic?
The Yin and Yang of Literature
The Theories Lie in History
Barker and Hulme...I just don't know what to say....
A writing on the Ode
Depth
The Yin and Yang of Literature
The Theories Lie in History
Blog Carnival
Ferris Wheel of Literary Criticism
The hostess entry..."Step right up and enter in the mystical world of educational criticism!"
Thanks to all who participated!
Interaction
Barker and Hulme...I just don't know what to say....
I feel bad that I didn't interact more with my classmates, but I found that I was writing my entries long before anyone else had theirs up, or that I had an idea that I particularly wanted to hit on.
Discussions
de Man confuses me...
Kevin Hinton's Ideology And Childhood
Vanessa's The Irony of Wallpaper- Feldstein Presentation
Extra Stuff
Literary Escapades into Harry Potter
There is creativity in criticism?
Struggling with the Narrator
Sixteen pages!!!
Xennoblogging
Comment Grande: Vanessa's Ah, the French
Comment Informative: Vanessa's The Irony of Wallpaper- Feldstein Presentation
Link Gracious: Kevin Hinton's Ideology And Childhood and David's It's All About Production
Wildcard
I'm sorry for those of you that are tired of Harry Potter, but I am particularly proud of the following entry. Written on a rainy afternoon, I was appalled to learn that Laura Mallory was taking a THIRD SHOT at my beloved teenage wizard. Thus this entry was spawned.
Portfolio III -- Jerz EL312 (Literary Criticism)