Dr. Shaun Duke, Professional Nerd

Editor. Writer. Professor. Host.

Teaching American Dystopia: The Reading List

I’m teaching a course called “Dystopia and American Anxiety” this spring.  The idea came to me while brainstorming with friends on Facebook.  Because dystopia is a genre the frequently plays upon our fears and anxieties, it seemed fitting to put together a course specific to the American side of the skill.  The following is the […]

Adventures in Teaching: The Dystopia Lit. Syllabus Reading List

My “The Dystopian Tradition and American Anxiety” syllabus is finalized and submitted to the English department for approval.  Good news, no?  In the meantime, I’d like to share the reading list for this course, just so everyone can see what I’ve assigned for these poor little undergrads to read.  There are still a few gaps, […]

Adventures in Teaching Literature: Dead German Skulls

Several weeks ago, I taught William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying in my Survey in American Literature course. Of all the texts I’ve taught since the summer before last (when I started teaching literature courses), this one may have been the most difficult.  For those unfamiliar with the book, it is told almost exclusively in […]

Adventures in Teaching Literature: David Henry Hwang and the Ethnic Debate

In an attempt to bring some of what I do as a teacher (and, in other posts, as an academic) to this blog, I’ve decided to start these little “Adventures in Teaching Literature” posts to explore my class experiences.  Some of these will focus on what I take from a text (or tried to teach […]

Survey Says: My American Lit Course Reading List

I’ve finally finished my bloody syllabus for the survey in American lit that I will be teaching this fall.  Since some folks expressed interest in what I will be forcing my little college students to read, I’ve compiled the list in no certain order here (mostly chronological, though it may be).  The theme of the […]