My New Book!

My New Book!
My New Book!

Wednesday, August 31, 2022

August 31, 2022: Fall Semester Previews: Honors Lit Seminar on the Gilded Age

[This week we start a new semester, one I desperately hope will feel a bit more settled and positive than the last few. To that end, for my annual Fall previews I’ll highlight something I’m especially looking forward to in each class, leading up to a weekend update on my current book project!]

Exactly a year ago I previewed my Fall 2021 section of this course, and I would certainly say that all those reasons why I keep teaching it remain just as true (and perhaps even truer) a year later. I’m also very excited to get back to a more fully in-person class dynamic this semester, as this course always has the best discussions (and while I’ve gotten a lot better at creating conversation when some students are streaming and some in-person, as was the case with all my classes last year, it ain’t ever gonna be my bag, baby). But in a Fall that will no doubt be dominated by headlines related to elections, voting rights, and white supremacy (among other issues of course, but with all those high on the list), I’m even more excited for the next chance to share my favorite American novel, The Marrow of Tradition, with a group of our awesome Honors students. I’ve long called Chesnutt’s novel the one book all Americans should read (if I had to pick just one, which luckily I don’t), and since that likewise only becomes more and more truer with each passing year, ending this favorite class with my favorite book remains one of my favorite pedagogical choices.

Next preview post tomorrow,

Ben

PS. Classes or other things you’re looking forward to this Fall?

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