Reader Response Theory Presentation

Hey Everyone :)
The slides have already been posted for our presentation, so please give them a look if you would like further confirmation about any parts of the theory we covered.

Overall, we really enjoyed exploring this theory and giving the presentation. Reader-response seems like sort of an abstract theory, in regards to the fact that it is based on people and their responses rather than a set of beliefs or regulations. This makes it really easy for people to jump into it, because it's really about what they think and how the create responses, but it also makes the theory a bit difficult to explain and teach.

Giving the presentation and hearing everyone's responses definitely helped us learn some new things about the theory for ourselves. The responses people gave to the pictures were a great way to see the theory in motion. Before the presentation, we were only drawing on personal experience with our own past reading. However, getting to take part in the process of reader-response and watch people connect to and create text was really great. I found that I had personal biases and assumptions that others' responses caused me to reconsider and widen my gaze (ie. the picture of the legs and assuming that it was a girl; others' responses were not the same as mine, and I grew because of that).

I think the class as a whole did a great job of responding to all of our "text". All parts of the theory seemed to click well with people. I did notice that the beginning of the "Where the Wild Things Are" activity was a little rough, maybe because people were still unsure about what they were getting themselves into. If I could change it, I would have done a little more introduction in planning about the activity and the end goal of it.

Also, I think as a group we would have benefitted the class more by allowing more time for questions in between or at the end. We were excited to see students asking questions about some of the theories, but we would have liked to see more of that.

The powerpoint was a very helpful tool and as a group it kept us very directed. Our goal was to make sure we weren't clinging too tightly to it, and I think that went pretty well.

I also think as a group we could have been more helpful by creating a handout of the different types of reader-response theory, since there are five. I don't expect that everyone remembers what each theory was. Perhaps it would have been helpful to create a quick excel doc with the names of the theories and their main points.

Again, we had a great time overall and we really hope that reader-response theory is something you will find useful in your own reading as well as some of your classrooms. :)

Group- Anything else we'd like to add?
--Kristi & The Reader Response Group

Reader response slides...

... are posted on Angel.

Week 11: Reading "The Arrival" using Reader Response

Reader response theorists distinguish between one’s first read of the text in which the meaning unfolds as one moves through the text and subsequent reads in which the reader has a sense of the whole before moving through the text.


One strategy for reading The Arrival might be to:

• Use post-it notes to mark what you notice/understand as you do your initial reading.
• Reread the text and use a different color post-it to mark what you notice during your 2nd+ reading.
• Or, use different colors to mark visual themes.

In your paper, you might ask questions like: What story did I tell as I read? How does the text invite and shape that story? What assumptions/knowledge/reading strategies, etc. did I use to animate the text?

Reader response criticism varies a great deal in emphasis, so focus on something that intruigued you about the text and use whatever tools help you explore that idea in depth!

On Thursday we'll hear from the post-colonial theory group!

Thinking about the final project

FINAL PROJECTS!

Although I'm not asking you to hand in anything on your final project until 4/20, I'm happy to talk with people before then. My office hours are Tuesdays, 3:00-5:00; Fridays, 1:00-3:00; and by appointment.

Dates to remember:

• Hand in 1-page proposal for your project/paper for feedback. (Tuesday, 4/20)
• Workshop. Bring draft of project/paper for peer feedback. (Thursday, 4/29)
• Share projects/projects due. (Wednesday, 5/5)

In addition to the description in the syllabus, you might check out the week 5 and week 8 powerpoints on Angel.

Keeping up with GLBTQ YAL

If you are interested in keeping up with new YAL with GLBTQ characters and themes, there are several blogs that post reviews. Lee Wind is known for thoughtful reviews.

There's also a blog called "Worth the Trip" that is good, but it seems to be temporarily down. :-(

LGBT presentation next week on campus

The Gender Center has the following LGBT presentation coming up if anyone is interested:

25 Mar, 2010 Thursday

Sex/Crisis: LGBT Studies in an Era of Cutbacks
7pm to 8pm
Lake Ontario Room, MSU Union

"Sex/Crisis: LGBT Studies in an Era of Cutbacks," presented by Lisa Duggan, Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, New York University. Co-sponsored by the Center for Gender in Global Context, Department of English, LBGT Resource Center, and the Women's Resource Center.

---

26 Mar, 2010 Friday

Lisa Duggan Follow-up Discussion
10:30am to 12pm
213 Morrill Hall

Please join Professor Duggan for a seminar following her March 25 evening lecture (Sex/Crisis: LGBT Studies in an Era of Cutbacks) discussing the intersections of sexuality and neoliberalism in the university context. Students are particularly encouraged to bring questions about her lecture or any aspect of her work.

Week 10: Freak Show, Queer Theory, and Reader Response

Thanks to Katie, Emily, Emily, Guy, and Peter for their presentation on Queer Theory yesterday! I've posted the slides from their presentation on Angel. Although you are welcome to ask other types of questions in your critical response papers to Freak Show, one approach that might work well with this book would be to explore how the author plays with the idea of "heteronormativity".

I've also posted an article called "Anti-homophobic Pedagogy" in the Additional Readings and week 9 folders. This is optional reading. I posted it because, although it is written to an audience of educators, I think the author makes some interesting points about how sexual orientation is discussed and why one may or may not one might be public about sexual orientation in the workplace. (He does make the point that those who are heterosexual might have less expeirence thinking of this as a choice that carries certain priviledges.)

To recap, for Tuesday, please read Freak Show and write a one-page critical response. On Thursday we'll hear from the Reader Response Theory Group!

Enjoy the weekend!

Queer Theory Group

As a group, we think that we did very well presenting Queer Theory to the class. We met two times to work on the project together plus had a meeting with Valerie. Our group got along very well and we all thought we were easy to work with. We also thought that we divided up the work evenly and covered the important material in the chapter as well as include some things of our own. Although it was the day after St. Patrick's Day and the class seemed tired, they also seemed interested and we, for the most part, were able to keep their interest. Although there was a lot of things that we had to lecture about, we did incorporate some interactive things as well which kept the class alert. I think the read aloud that we chose was very effective, and I do feel bad that I did not know the ending. So, for the people that do want to know, Kyle and Jason do end up dating by the end of the book! Our videos seemed to catch the classes interest as well and were good tools to wrap up our presentation while covering everything we had talked about.

Human Care Bears article

In our discussion of "Meant to Be Huge" we started talking about how the normal body is constructed in stories.

This article takes on how "retarded" is used as a term and how the "retarded figure" works in popular culture:

"Human Care Bears: Rahm Emanuel's "retarded" outburst made good headlines, but the way some advocates portray the mentally disabled is far more offensive"

Week 9: Professional Resources / Queer Theory

In the spirit of spring break, there's no specific assignment to prepare for Tuesday, March, 16th. (Although you might want to do some reading for the final project.)

On Tuesday, we'll continue our discussion about how young adult bodies are constructed in the media and do the mid-semester feedback. Then we'll spend some time looking at professional resources that might help you in your final projects. Please bring the images of young adults we were supposed to discuss before break and your coursepack to class.

On Thursday, the Queer Theory group will do their presentation!

Have a safe and fun spring break!

A little light spring break reading

I was browsing Children's Literature in Education and came upon an article that reminded me of our discussions in the last two weeks:  Colonizing Bodies: Corporate Power and Biotechnology in Young Adult Science Fiction. In addition to being an interesting piece of scholarship, the reference list has some YA science fiction that sounds interesting!

Sweet Valley High

Evidently the Sweet Valley High saga continues!