An Atypical English Class (Part 3):Summer School

[fblike]Hannah Rodgers

While in England this summer, Harlaxton Manor isn’t just a “vacation” home-it is a classroom. Literature class is divided into two different kinds of days: “normal” class days and travel days. For normal class days, we are expected to be prepared for the day’s readings. Typically, we will begin class with a short quiz over the material and some students will give a presentation on their research related to the day’s readings. The same material is then used as the topic of the day’s “round table” discussion.

During these discussions, Professor Rutledge will present a brief timeline of events or an article of history to help set the stage for us to think like real “literary analyzers”. These supplemental materials can include the life of the author, the setting of the story, or even a lesson on the time of its publications. After a few excerpts of the readings, Dr. Rutledge will begin a lecture, usually focusing on deeper aspects of the works like the author’s choice in audience or the well-obscured underlying themes. For A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the class focused not only on Shakespeare’s lighthearted tales of romance, but also, on the dark side of love and how he paints it as both an instrument of happiness and remorse. We put our newly-found scholarly knowledge to use on our travel days when explore England and the places which helped the authors bring these stories to life.