One of the features of the introductions in the revised HUM Readers will be a selection of “tags” for each work. Those who write introductions will be invited to identify 5-10 tags that will appear in an information box at the start of the introduction. The editors, including some of us who have already written introductions, wondered about using the term “tag” rather than “theme,” and a healthy debate resulted. The following attempts to clarify what a tag is, how…
Writing and Inquiry in UNC Asheville’s HUM Program, Part I Writing is the circulatory system of a liberal arts education. It extends into all parts of the curriculum, oxygenating and sustaining learning in every discipline. Writing as learning is not identical to learning to write, though. The Buddha once said that his teaching is like a raft: once you reach the opposite shore you do not continue to carry the raft with you (Alagaddupama Sutta). Learning to write is focusing…
When we editors coalesced around the idea of inquiry as the fundamental student learning objective, we began to think of ways to prompt it in the Readers, primarily in the introductions. We imagined several components that would deliver information—timelines, snapshot boxes of dates, locations, genres—and others that would provide “entry points” and invite an active engagement with the reading. Once we had identified those components, the next step was to write or rewrite introductions using them. I chose a rewrite….
After I read Kate’s lovely post yesterday, I kept mulling over one image: “PARs are a way to reach out to students and create a bridge into their initial engagement with the material in an informal, low-stakes, no wrong answers sort of way – a gift freely given. It is a form of intellectual hospitality that invites our students to the table…” Narratives and symbols are important, and I love the image of the shared table. (I love the reality…
Welcome! Over the next two years, we editors will use this blog to communicate with all interested faculty and students–and anyone else–the conversations that we have and decisions that we make as we work on revising our primary course Readers. The process itself is important, and it will involve many faculty beyond the seven of us. We want to make it as open as possible. This blog is our attempt to do that.