The following are adaptations to the reflective essay assignment used with students participating in the Anamosa Book Club. The essay and Book Club are discussed in the article “Literature Goes to Prison: A Reciprocal Service Learning Project,” by Carol Tyx and Mary Vermillion.
EN210 Writing and the Analysis of Literature
(a writing course that also introduces literary theory)
Describe and reflect on what Book Clubhelped you understand about theinterpretive process and about the power and purpose of literature. As you reflect on the interpretive process, consider the following issues and questions:
As the group interprets the text, consider where participants (both MMU and ASP) primarily seem to look for meaning:
- the text itself
- the author (and his/her context)
- the reader/s (and his/her/their contexts)
- or some combo.
Do you notice any important similarities among the participants’ interpretive strategies? Do you notice any differences in the places the participants look for meaning? What, if anything, do you make of the similarities and differences?
What has Book Club taught you about your own interpretive process and theoretical approach to literature?
EN234 Shakespeare
Describe and reflect on what Book Club helped you understand about the interpretive process, about the power and purpose of literature, and about Shakespeare’s enduring influence on our culture.You might respond to some of the questions on our syllabus, especially the following ones:
- How can the study of literature (in particular the study of Shakespeare) contribute to my intellectual and personal growth?
- What are the characteristics of great literature (hyper-canonical literature)? How does it impact us and our world?
- Why is Shakespeare considered one of the greatest writers? How does he “speak” to 21st-century readers and viewers? How has he shaped our world?
EN278 American Literature 1914 to the Present
Choose an interpretive issue that emerges from your text. This could focus on character interpretation, interpretation of a certain scene or a larger theme, or some other aspect of the work that raises interpretive questions—ie there is more than one possible way to look at that issue/concern. You will spend a chunk of this section making an argument for your interpretation. Then you will analyze how the Anamosa discussion challenged or complicated your interpretation. You might include some speculation as to why these differences emerged.
For non-English majors courses, we sometimes assign a shortened paper:
Reflective Response to Anamosa Book Club
You do not need to respond to all these questions; choose what is most important to you. Aim for 2 single-spaced pages; this response will be worth 2 reading responses.
In response to the tour:
1. In what ways did the prison, inmates, and staff meet your expectations? Not meet them? What surprised you? Puzzled you? Disturbed you? What other thoughts, feelings, questions arose for you?
2. Literature cannot exist without images—vivid mental pictures that inspire thoughts and feelings. Describe an image from ASP that lingers in your mind. Explain what it makes you think and feel.
In response to the discussion:
3. What went well during your discussion? What could have gone better? What did you learn about facilitating a discussion?
4. What insights did you gain about your piece of literature? Did any of the responses surprise you? How so? What different perspectives on your literary work did you see?
5. What specific moments in the discussion stood out for you? What was the context of that moment? Why did it seem significant for you? Did you experience any uncomfortable moments in the discussion? What happened? What contributed to your unease?
6. What issues seemed more important to the inmates? Why do you think these particular issues caught their attention?
7. What makes reading literature matter to all of us? Did you experience at Anamosa give you any new insights into that question?
Supplemental prison-related sources for EN234 Shakespeare
Bates, Laura Raidonis. “The Uses of Shakespeare in Criminal Rehabilitation: Testing the Limits of ‘Universality.’” Shakespeare Matters: History, Teaching, Performance. Ed. Lloyd Davis. Newark: U of Delaware P. 151-63. Print.
Cobb, Hal. “The Pursuit of Character.” PEN American Center. 2010. Web. A Prize-winning essay by the inmate who plays Prospero in the 2003 documentary Shakespeare Behind Bars. Recommended for those leading a discussion on The Tempest.
The London Shakespeare Workout. Web. The LSW’s Prison Project, unlike our own Book Club, emphasizes Shakespeare’s language.
Mickey B. Dir. Tom McGill. Educational Shakespeare Co. 2007. DVD. An adaptation of Macbeth performed by inmates in Meghaberry Prison in Northern Ireland.
Scott-Douglass, Amy. Shakespeare Inside: The Bard Behind Bars. London: Continuum, 2007. An accessible examination of the uses of Shakespeare within American prisons. Features the programs of Curt Tofteland (of Shakespeare Behind Bars), Jean Trounstine, Agnes Wilcox, and Laura Raidonis Bates. Note that the author’s flirtation with some inmates and the questions that she asks about their crimes are not appropriate during Book Club. Pages 55-70 feature an interesting discussion of Othello and race in Shakespeare. Pages 76-88 discuss men playing women’s roles in Tofteland’s program. See also 109-120 on Bates’ work with Hamlet, Othello, and Merchant of Venice at the secured housing unit at a super-max prison in Indiana.
Shakespeare Behind Bars. Dir. Hank Rogerson. Philomath Films. 2005. DVD. Great documentary about Curt Tofteland’s Shakespeare program at Luther Luckett Correctional Complex in Kentucky.
Trounstine, Jean. “Texts as Teachers: Shakespeare Behind Bars and Changing Lives Through Literature.” New Directions For Adult and Continuing Education. 116 (Winter 2007): 65-77. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web.
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