Which period from Appendix C are you most familiar with (from high-school, college, outside reading)?
In what ways is this categorization useful? Not useful?
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Introduction to English Studies
Instructor: Mat Wenzel, MFA, M.Ed.
E-Mail: mwenzel@fsu.edu
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I took a brit lit class that focused on medieval works like Canterbury Tales and Beowulf. The english was hard to read and a lot of the discussions started with figuring out what the words would have meant in that time. I haven't read any post modern literature in school. we've stuck to victorian/romantic era, which probably says more about the education system I was in- super formalist
Within the context of my own outside reading, I tend to focus on postcolonial literature, particularly regarding contemporary social issues. I am currently reading Ta-Nehisi Coates's "Between the World and Me," which is essentially an analysis of the life of black individuals in the U.S. today. This directly correlates to ideas such as colonialism, Western power complexes, and the recovery from such issues.
The classification outlined in the book is helpful in categorizing genres and styles of literature. However, there are certainly many pieces that do not fall into a category, or cross the lines of the constraints outlined by Pope.
I'm somewhat familiar with Medieval Literature - I took a class on Medieval Monstrosity that I LOVED, and we read Judi, The Lyfe of Seynt Margarete, and Mandeville’s Book of Marvels and Travels, among others. From my own independent reading, I'm most familiar with the Post-Colonial. I've read mostly fiction in my own time, and most of it has been written in the last 30 years or so. I'm taking a 19th Century British Lit class right now that I'm really enjoying, so by the end of the semester I'll know more about the Romantic period.
The periods with which I am most familiar are the modern/postmodern eras. This was due to the overwhelming concentration my past education had upon novels from the 20th century, and the evolution of the novel throughout that era. From this exposure grew a love for modern/postmodern literature, with a tendency to focus on dystopian themes. And while I do love the other periods covered in Appendix C, having discovered my love for reading through the cliche (but still valid) avenue of Jane Austen's writings, I relate to the expansion of ideas introduced in modern/postmodern writings.
My high school reading experience was one based around trying to navigate around trapping the students inside one timeframe. Expecting us to read modern works on our own time, the curriculum moved between different eras within each school year with victorian, romantic, and modern all being present. However, I do think that my own outside reading is what I will always be more familiar with considering there is no outside pressure to finish something without interest. To that, my greatest familiarity was with contemporary and post-modern works. These helped re-ignite my interest in reading as it helped me to assimilate myself into the worlds provided by the text, something I had previously struggled with for fantasy and pre-modern works. I…