Comments on: A Day in the Life of a Literature Professor, or Why I Do What I Do

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By: » A Day in the Life of a Literature Professor

» A Day in the Life of a Literature Professor — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:56:16 +0000

[...] If your fragile ego is tied to either camp and can’t stand up to clear-headed rationality and some basic decency, you might not want to read on. [...]

By: Rima Abunasser

Rima Abunasser — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:18:31 +0000

Well, it’s good to hear that this story wasn’t indicative of her teaching as whole. That makes me feel better. But if it was, as you say, a quip, then BOY did it ever come out wrong. :-)

We’ll definitely have to trade notes. Thanks again for the comments!

By: Samuel Snoek-Brown

Samuel Snoek-Brown — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:44:54 +0000

To be fair to my wonderful former professor, it was just one of those quips that came out wrong. It was her bad luck that there was a writer in the room, partly because I took such issue with it but mostly because it makes such a great story and I keep telling it. In her defense, she actually was a good teacher–if a fantastically difficult one–and an even better dean and I rank her among my best professors ever. But you’re right, it was a bunch of crap. :)

I probably won’t get to hit PCA/ACA again until I’m back in the States but we’ll definitely have to prod each other into action and attend one in the near future. I ran my freshman research courses in Wisconsin as pop culture courses and culminated each spring semester with a campus-wide pop culture poster session, and they were awesome. So I’d love to know what your approaches have been so I can make my classes even cooler. We’ll trade notes.

And again, awesome post.

By: Rima Abunasser

Rima Abunasser — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:21:36 +0000

Thanks! I really appreciate it.

By: Drax

Drax — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:43:11 +0000

Great guest post, well done. Really enjoyed this.

By: Rima Abunasser

Rima Abunasser — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 15:38:03 +0000

“My first professor in grad school was a Faulkner scholar who proudly declared the first day of class that she had wanted to be a creative writer until she read Faulkner and figured, what’s the use? because it doesn’t get any better than him.”

What a bunch of crap, indeed. This bothers me for a couple of reasons. First, it’s sad. If she really had wanted to be a creative writer and allowed herself to be scared off, then she has wasted a lot of her life (and possibly her talent, as well). Second, that is *really* bad teaching. A good teacher should never (IMHO) discourage his or her students like that. I’m glad you called her out. I mean, really. To tell your students that a writer should be so intimidated by good writing that he or she should NEVER attempt it?? If anything, she should have been trying to teach her students to be inspired by excellence (whatever it is that they perceive excellence to be). I wonder how many students who may have been struggling with their own writing heard her and thought, “You know, she might be right?” Argh. But, on the bright side, you came out of that experience relatively unscathed and writing up a storm. So, take that, bad teacher!

I’ve been teaching pop culture for a long time — since I was in grad school. Our paths haven’t crossed because I, unfortunately, haven’t been to PCA/ACA in several years. It’s definitely one of the conferences that I want to start going to again. We’ll definitely keep each other posted.

Thanks for the great comment!

By: Samuel Snoek-Brown

Samuel Snoek-Brown — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:36:51 +0000

My first professor in grad school was a Faulkner scholar who proudly declared the first day of class that she had wanted to be a creative writer until she read Faulkner and figured, what’s the use? because it doesn’t get any better than him. And I said–out loud–”What a bunch of crap!” She was the dean of the college. I’m lucky I ever got my masters. But talk about the stereotype of the failed-writer-turned-academic! I used to argue with lit scholars that one cannot truly understand literature unless one has at least attempted to create it, which means creative-writing studies is essential to literary studies. But the further I got in my own studies and my own writing, the more convinced I became that too many creative writers create in a bubble, somehow pretending to ignore literature outside their own work or, sometimes, the immeditately contemporary. The studio-only method of learning to write tends to shunt aside literary studies as irrelevent, and I can tell you from experience that the resulting writing suffers tremendously. So I absolutely agree that the fields are complementary and should always be so, which is why I value the degree I have from our shared alma mater.

By the way, I didn’t know you were teaching pop culture. How have we never crossed paths at PCA/ACA? We’ll have to try and meet up the next chance I get to go–we’ll keep each other posted.