Reflection
The Spring Hill College English
department has helped shaped me as a reader, writer, and educator in a variety
of ways. Before attending Spring Hill College, I enjoyed my English classes in
high school, but had nowhere near the interest and passion I have for English
now. My freshman year here, I was originally a Biology major. By the end of my
first semester, I was dissatisfied in my chosen career path, and I knew I truly
held a higher interest in my English courses. So, after completing my first two
English courses here at Spring Hill College, my initial major quickly changed. The
English professors that I have had the opportunity of having here display a
passion for both teaching and encouraging a love for literature. The professors
in my English courses not only had a way of explaining and analyzing the texts in
a way that I had never experienced before, but also had a way of encouraging
students to share their own individual insights. It is my professors who have
influenced my love for English, and who have encouraged the enjoyment I now
have when analyzing literature and sharing my own ideas and insights.
I
remember my first English paper as a freshman was on As You Like It by William Shakespeare. Before college, Shakespeare’s
writings had always intimidated me. However, my professor provided our class
with unique ways to help us understand Shakespeare’s writings. We constructed
character lists and concept maps, which aided me in my understanding and
analysis of his work. After learning to read and analyze Shakespeare’s
literature, the paper assignment became enjoyable rather than something I
usually dreaded. Ultimately, it was my
professors’ passion and excitement that influenced me to switch my major, where
I could have a concentration in English. Although some of my later English courses have
been challenging, I have enjoyed learning more about the world of literature.
My professors have challenged me to write in an array of styles, write to a
variety of audiences, and write simply for my own self expression. Ultimately,
my English courses at Spring Hill College have prepared me to be a more
well-rounded reader, writer, and educator. Being a future English teacher, I
now have the opportunity to instill that same passion and excitement for
English in my own students’ lives.
Approaching
my Senior Seminar project, I already had some idea of what I wanted to
accomplish. My original idea was actually influenced by two of my courses
during my time here at Spring Hill College. In my second English course as a
freshman, our class was assigned to read Ceremony
by Leslie Marmon Silko. Analyzing the themes and issues surrounding the text
led me to discover an interest in American Indian literature. I remember
writing my paper on kachina ceremonials in Laguna Pueblo culture. Kachina
ceremonials tend to be very secretive in their culture, so much research was
involved. However, after turning in my paper, I could honestly say I enjoyed
doing the research because I was so interested in the topic and culture. It is
hard to believe that it was a freshman English course that has inspired me to
pursue my chosen topic my senior year.
I
later had the opportunity of displaying my interest in American Indian
literature again in my second American Literature class during my junior year. As
part of the course requirements, we were asked to give presentations throughout
the semester to help prepare us for our Senior Seminar projects. I slightly struggled
in my first two presentations. So, in order to do better on my final presentation
of the semester, I chose to do a topic that interested me. I chose a topic
which focused on American Indian literature and culture. After giving my
presentation, my professor commented on the interest I displayed and suggested
I do something similar for my Senior Seminar project. My grade on that
presentation reflected this as well. It was from this course, that my idea and
enthusiasm for my Senior Seminar project began to heighten.
At the beginning of the semester, I
decided that for my Senior Seminar project, I wanted to discuss the significance
of storytelling in American Indian literature. From my previous readings of
American Indian literature, I noticed that storytelling was a prevalent
characteristic in American Indian writings, and thought it would be interesting
to research. Starting out, the aim of my research was to illustrate not only
how culture has affected the literature, but also how many American Indian writers
have used literature to affect the culture. I wanted to particularly examine
the use of oral narratives communicated in written text, and how American
Indian writers such as Leslie Marmon Silko, N. Scott Momaday, and Louise
Erdrich utilize this approach to recover or recreate oral tradition in their
communities. However, after learning so much more about American Indian culture
and storytelling, I discovered that storytelling is much more complex than I
initially thought. From there, I shifted my analysis to the meaning of the
stories. I asked myself questions like “what are the differences between
ancient, historical, and personal stories?” and “why are they used?” It was the
research and musing of stories that then led my interest to shift to the meaning
and use of the narrative forms. Reading Ceremony
my freshman year, I noticed how different the text was laid out on the
page. Silko continuously uses strange spacing and blocking of the ancient
stories in her novel, which I had always been perplexed about. I noticed that
the layout and structure in N. Scott Momaday’s A Way to Rainy Mountain and Louise Erdrich’s The Plague of Doves were also arranged in unique ways. This led me
to consider the meaning behind these complex narrative forms.
Analyzing
and writing about the structures and layouts of the texts I chose proved to be
very challenging. Although we had discussed the physical features of texts in
my previous English courses, I have never had the opportunity to truly analyze
and write about them. Yet, because Senior Seminar is a capstone course and my
last college English project, I wanted to challenge myself. Honestly, I am so
glad I did. Throughout the semester, I often doubted myself and was anxious
about tackling such a unique and complex topic. I went back and forth on ideas
in an attempt to stray away from my own insights. However, my mentor, Dr.
Litwiller, steered me back on course and encouraged me to embrace my own insights
every step along the way. As a result, my final work was creative and original,
which was the most rewarding of the entire process. Although the process was
both stressful and challenging, I enjoyed branching out of my comfort zone to
work on a topic I am extremely interested in and passionate about. Overall, my
experience in Spring Hill College’s English department has challenged me to
achieve far more than I ever thought I could.
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