Fin

It is really unbelievable that a semester has gone past so quickly. It was not until Thanksgiving break that it really dawned on me that another semester was basically over. Looking back on my semester is not something that I feel ready to do.....it is too soon.....I am just not prepared to acknowledge that 2007 is coming to a close....I don't want to see children sitting on Santa's lap just yet (I saw it today at Wal-Mart)....IT'S JUST TOO SOON.... ..... fine. I have to say that I enjoyed the class and liked the teacher (I am not just saying that [last semester I dropped my English class because I did not like it or the teacher]). The books we read were, in general, not the type of thing I would have read on my own and really caused me to pause and think. Several of the books were written from perspectives with which I was not familiar and made me reconsider some of my presuppositions (and consider some of my other presuppositions). The class discussions were intelligent and sometimes quite insightful; I was impressed by the low number of pointless tangents that might have been expected if the discussions had not been well led. English was my only class in which I did not struggle to remain conscious; the interaction was a nice hiatus from the normal lecture style classes or from the even worse "Death By PowerPoint" style Air Force briefings. In conclusion, I've learned lot's of things in this class (such as snazzy closings like "In conclusion" and how great contractions are) and I hope that I contributed something to everyone's classroom experience and general quality of life.

English 108 in Retrospect

At the beginning of this semester I was slightly disgruntled that I was taking an English course; especially English 108, an advanced class. For me, English has always meant a lot of writing and extensive papers and I was worried English 108 would detract from my studies on my mostly science based schedule. However, reflecting on what we have done this year, I am extremely happy that I chose to take this course. Although the workload for this class was extensive, it didn't hurt me in my other classes and I found the literature we read and the movies we watched to be a refreshing break from the rest of my schedule. English 108 is the first class I have taken where all of the material we read has been recently published. Also, out of all the English classes I have taken, the material in 108 has by far been the most interesting for me. I believe that the material we went over was the strongest aspect of the class. All of the books we read had controversial topics and led to great discussions in class. In addition, I always felt like the class environment was very open and non-judgemental and that my opinions on topics were always respected. Although I disliked these blogs, they were very beneficial to my writing skills. These blogs have improved my writing style and the speed in which I get my ideas out on paper. At the beginning of the semester I was spending twice as long to write these blogs as I it takes me now. If I had to say anything negative about this class, it would be that we had to read "The Hours". I absolutely hated that book. Other then that, I felt like English 108 was an excellent course for me and I would recommend it to other students. My time spent in 108 was enjoyable and I would like to thank Richard for everything he has taught us.

ENG 108 Reflection

My first experience with college writing was a welcome relief from high school English classes structured around analyzing rhetorical devices. For once I actually got to study materials that were at least somewhat interesting to me from a standpoint other than diction, syntax, or symbolism. I was able to diverge from these old ways to study in depth the meanings of the works on a larger scale. One thing that surprised me about the course, however, was the lack of writing assignments. In high school we were made to write essays in class nearly every day in preparation for the AP tests, so getting a chance to relax in class was excellent.

Although I enjoyed not writing so many essays, I think I would have found it beneficial to do more writing. I can honestly say that my writing has not improved as a result of taking this course, though my comprehension and insight on different aspects of texts have improved significantly. The blog assignments, to me, seemed almost deleterious to my writing. I became accustomed to writing in an informal manner and my writings became simplistic.

Professor Severe exceeded my expectations as an instructor. As my first male English teacher, I enjoyed seeing the differences in perspectives from my previous teachers. He obviously knew what he was doing and guided the classroom discussions in such a way to open minds and get the students to think for themselves and trust their opinions and argumentation. One recommendation that I have is to provide more feedback on essays. There were very few comments on my essay and no rationales behind the grade I received. Maybe this is my analytical mind needing order, but I would like to see where I went wrong so that I can improve my writing.

All in all this class met most of my expectations, but was not the great leap that I thought it would be from high school to college. Though it was not as writing intensive as I was used too, I do feel that my insight and understanding of literature and films has increased due to this class.

My thoughts on ENGL 108

Though I was initially dreading the thought of taking English 108, I now realize why it is required of me by Purdue University. I really appreciate both the skills that I acquired, and the methods that were executed in order to instill those qualities. Much to my chagrin, this class has served to stretch me in my writing abilities and the abundance of work has forced me to rise to the occasion. For this I am grateful.
When I began the class, I had never heard of the terms ethos, pathos, and logos, let alone did I know what they meant. I have been able to effectively apply these concepts in order to more effectively express myself and persuade my audience. The class discussion has been an excellent tool to make me more aware of other’s views on important and popular subjects. Also, the peer critique is great, because it allows for a second opinion on my writing before I turn it in to be graded, and it forces me to have something written several days before the deadline. One more thing that I liked about the class is that I became less uptight about my writing assignments. During the first part of the semester, the thought of having to write these blogs used to ruin my weekend. Now, it has become the norm and something I take in stride.
Though this class has taught me a lot, there are a few small things that I would suggest for improvement. First of all, and I don’t know if this is even possible at such a large university, but more one-on-one time with each student discussing how to improve each individual’s writing would have been very effective. Possibly it would have been helpful to devote one or two class periods to having scheduled ten minute sessions with each student. I felt like only problems that were shared by several of us were addressed. Secondly, though our blogs were read, they were never critiqued, thus, I felt like there was no point to writing them, because it did not provide for improvement in my writing style. Also, it would have been extremely helpful for my grades to have been posted online as they are for all of my other classes. Lastly, I felt like the objectives of this class could have been accomplished using less explicit materials. In conclusion, thank you Prof. Severe for all of your much appreciated and excellent efforts!

Nathan Hartman's Postseason Ramblings

I truly enjoyed taking English 108 this semester with you all. This was a great class and one of my favorite's throughout the semester. Richard and the rest of my fellow students made this class the great experience it was though their unique and open perspectives. Studying and analyzing with everyone was my biggest draw to this class. As many of you know by now, there are a lot of classes you do not want to go to, but fortunately, English 108 was just the opposite.

All of the books we read were enjoyable. Could be that I just like reading, but these were really enjoyable books. My favorite overall experience would probably be V for Vendetta, but Brokeback Mountain was definitely attractive in its different theme. I had never seen the film in the past, and never really felt the need to. However, I now consider it one of the better sentimental films I've seen in recent memory.

Richard did a great job in instructing this class. Class discussions were great and he made a good effort to try to hear everyone's opinion and spark interest and debate in the topics. I really enjoyed discussing all of the novels and films with the class. Everyone was very respectful of each others' views and arguments. I also enjoyed discussing with the other students outside of class in addition to the classroom setting.

I want to thank you all for making this a great semester. Have a great Christmas break!

Reflections on English 108

Being an English major, I couldn’t wait to see what my first college English class would be like. It was everything I thought it would be and more. I loved the different novels that we read, and I really enjoyed watching the movies and getting a different perspective.

I also enjoyed how the whole class got involved with everyday discussions. Each person was able to add his own thoughts and ideas, and while some of our discussions did get slightly heated, that just made class all the more exciting.

In high school, I was so used to “Read this book. Now write a paper. Now read this next book. Now write another paper,” that I was so excited to get to get to college and experience what a real English class would be like. And English 108 was exactly what I was hoping it would be. Each assignment was different, and while all the novels had something in common, they each focused on a different main issue that made the class fun. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I looked forward to getting up and getting to English. It has definitely been my favorite class of the semester.

Richard Severe has done an amazing job teaching this class. As an English major, I’ve looked up to him throughout the semester, hoping to learn more than just what we can all get out of reading. And I was extremely impressed with him. I hope to someday take another class taught by him before my time at Purdue is over.

A Semester's Worth of Knowledge

I can’t say that this class exceeded/met/fell short of my expectations, because I didn’t have any expectations. That first blogging assignment? It damn near killed me. I think I must have spent about an hour staring at the computer screen and thinking, “English class will, in all likelihood, massacre my GPA. I expect it to be a painful and drawn out process. Now, how can I word that so that it doesn’t sound so bad?”

Even though I love the English language - and all languages, for that matter (although I did go through a phase were I thought that French sounded strange) - I’ve never gotten much out of my English classes. I usually ended up disliking three fourths of them – from the books, to the assignments, to the so-called classroom discussions – and could easily write a ten page paper full of complaints about any of them. Well, anyway, even though I didn’t like some of the books/movies that we’ve had to read/watch in this class, I actually enjoyed most of the written assignments and all of the classroom discussions. The book/movie reviews in particular were fun; they gave me an excuse to watch a movie and browse the internet. The research paper was kind of fun as well, but, then again, I’m a geek and like to research things. It’s not enough, though, for a class to be fun. It’s more important for it to be educational in some way; that, after all, is what we’re paying for. With that in mind, here are a few of the things that I have learned over the course of this semester:

Halloween is slutty

Virginia Woolf was kind of crazy

Some guys in art/music schools wear skirts

The French are famous for their farces

Schizophrenia can be a pain

The cost of a diamond is high, but not in the way that we would expect

Women can't be priests in the Catholic Church because, according to the Vatican, looks do matter

Society is to blame for Clarissa, Laura, and Virginia’s misery; Ennis and Jack’s failed relationship; the “narrator’s” creating Fight Club; V’s terrorism; and all of the world’s problems in general