English Subject Reflection

The assignment evaluating the English Department, my reflections on the program and how it has transformed me into the graduate student of today was a very hard model to put into words. Since my entire experience has been only 4 quarters, it was difficult to analyze. Nonetheless, those quarters have made an indelible imprint. My father once said, “If you don’t have anything good to say about something, then don’t say anything.” This assignment eluded me for that very reason which is why I discovered I try to avoid it altogether. My first thought I had nothing, in fact, good to say about the program. After self-reflection, there have been some great experiences along with some the truly disappointing ones. In this reflection, I will try

Pan’s 450 class I enjoyed learning about new criticism. I had taken new criticism before and I had developed a complete distaste for the subject. We explored all different aspects of criticism and for the first time, I was able to see other perspectives of literature. He went back to the basics much to the chagrin of our class, but necessary. How to analyze a poem, a work of art, and a literary novel in our own voice using a specific and clear theory was his mantra. No preconceived notion that a particular way of thought or interpretation was the right or wrong as long as you had evidence to prove your point. By introducing Queer Theory, Race Theory, Marx Theory, Freud Theory, Deconstruction, etc. I could see our class take ownership of their opinions and have the ability to analyze a text through the lens of that particular theory. This gave student’s arguments and opinions great strength. As a result, one group project took the childhood literature of Dr. Seuss and showed how an innocuous piece of a children’s rhyme was so racially charged with subliminal messages was eye-opening. Those innocent texts held so many hidden prejudices that I never saw before I found amazing to uncover. This model of learning new knowledge I hold dearest to my love of academia. The funny thing about Dr. Pan’s class was all of the students were at first so behind in their knowledge of theory, but by the end of the term, we all became particular experts in the discipline we chose to speak about. Even the most reluctant student, found new ground and was able to capitalize on their subject matter. This had a great impact on both the students and the