The Set Up:

As you know, I think a big part of my job is helping  you to make literature meaningful in your lives, whether or not you’re an English major and whether or not you read very much. This group assignment asks you to imagine how a work of literature will be meaningful to you in the future, how you will carry it with you into different parts of your life (work, family, education, friendships), and therefore how that work of literature might inform and enrich your various ways of life.

The Prompt:

As a group, discuss one or two class readings that you think you’ll remember long after the semester has finished. It is the literature that we can’t forget that has the deepest impact on us and becomes most meaningful to us. Here are some  pointers and questions to consider (there are many others as well).

–Why you think you’ll remember this text or texts? 

—Be specific in how you discuss the text, especially in terms of  which parts will be memorable to you. What makes those parts stick in your mind?

–What happened in class that will help create your memory of the text? What did your classmates say, or what discussions emerged that stuck with you?

–How do you think your memory of this text will change/grow? Memories change over time, so what makes you think *this* memory will stick?

–How, if at all, might remembering this text help you to live your life?

The Process:

The goal of this assignment is not to get everyone to agree on a common memory but instead to discuss your individual relationship with a piece of literature in a group setting. Part of that work means listening closely to your peers and engaging with what they have to say. Ask each other questions, build on what others say, help each other recall details from the text and from class discussion, help each other to come to an understanding of how and why a text may become memorable. Take notes during your discussion and then type up these notes into a post. The post can look like a dialogue or paragraphs, but it should include the perspectives of each group member, and it should reflect the group dynamic. I’m not looking for an essay here or a “finished” product, just a record of your conversation.

The Product:

On the last day of class, your group will restage the conversation you had today. You’ll also post the record of your discussion to the class website. Tag all group members. Your job in your presentation will be to tell the class about the most important conclusions you came to, the most interesting interactions within the group, the most fascinating revelations you came to about the text and your relationship to it. Everyone in the group should have a speaking role on the final day, though you don’t have to split the time equally.