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Discussing my expectations for a class is always difficult, but I normally really enjoy literature and culture courses, as I have taken quite a few minority culture courses. I am interested in understanding, applying, and using Queer and feminist theory, or rather being able to view the world through the Queer and/or Feminist lens. I have worked with some theories before, including Formalism, Marxist Criticism, Feminist Criticism, New Historicism, and Criticism, so the idea of literary theory is not foreign to me.
The feelings and thoughts that books create lead to interesting discussions with different people. Each person has had unique experiences, and all of a person’s experiences up to this point affect their mind in some manner. These different experiences make it so no one is going to read one text the same way. Just as we are all unique in our own ways, the way we interact with a text will be a unique experience. Different readings of a text are possible, as different characters may resemble people in our lives (maybe even ourselves).
Discussing differing views on a text is one of the most interesting things for me, as discussing a text shows a bit of a person’s personality and tells a bit of their story. Close reading skills (IEEE note taking or reading logs), the importance of reading and writing, and creating a paper are all things that have been taught to me before. I am someone who needs feedback on formal assignments, as I feel biased trying to read my own work. Having people give constructive feedback is one of the most beneficial things for any paper.
Discussions of text and looking up background information makes understanding the text much easier and may lead to new meanings. To understand and analyze any text, I need to read it at least twice. This may be because I am still not “an expert”, but I feel like to really chew over all of the words of a text reading it twice is beneficial. Not merely looking at the text, but looking at how the text creates meaning. It can show symbols, themes, or character development that may have been missed the first time it was dead.
I enjoy keeping a reading log with multimillion pens, each pen resembling a different time I read the text. After every color, I seem to find more and more. The reading logs then become the basis for my self-reflection as well as offer me ideas for papers or topics to discuss in class. The idea of solely focusing on one portion of this reading-writing process, expresses my exact sentiments on this? reading and writing are a process. I don’t feel like I am ever really done, there is always something ore to look at.
Discovering meaning in a text, or deriving how a text creates meaning, is dependent on one’s perception, as my perception is ever changing, texts may have new meanings later on in life. Reading and writing change with the person, and Just as the development of self, developing reading and writing skills take time, practice, and experience. I am so looking forward to developing myself more as a writer and a reader, helping myself get better at this process. Literary Theory Reflection By beyond 18