1.
Proposed Courses:
Humanities 024-
Shakespeare’s English Kings: History, Literature and Drama
English 253 – Survey
of Late English Literature
English 230- Thinking
and Writing Critically About Literature
2. Alternate Courses:
English 154 - Shakespeare and His World
English 252 – Early
English Literature
English 180 –
Literature of the Drama
3.
One of the programs that I helped to create at
LMC is the American Experience Learning Community, which pairs English 100 and
Political Science 10. My husband, Dave
Hobbs, an adjunct political science professor, and I first piloted this program
in 2003 to help students to see the connections between these two disciplines
and to create a community which supports student success. I have enjoyed
linking our course content as students think and write about important issues
in our democracy. For the past two years
I have focused on “California issues and politics” as a theme for the English
100 class, and in one unit students studied and wrote about the intersection of
food and politics. Students learn about the Slow Food movement, the edible
school yard project and local farmer’s markets that connect farmers and
consumers. They also read Epitaph for a Peach, by David Mas
Masumoto, and learn about farming from a third generation Japanese farmer.
In addition to classroom
activities, we have organized out of classroom experiences that connect our
course content to our local community.
We have invited local representatives such as Mark DeSaulnier and
journalists from local publications to present to students and the larger
college community. Last year we invited Robert Allen who spoke about the Port
Chicago Explosion, a significant event in East County’s history. For the past 6 years we have organized a Slow
Food film festival at LMC (in partnership with Slow Food Delta Diablo), offered
one evening in October, which showcases independent films that explore the
connections between food and politics.
We have also taken students on field trips to the Oakland Museum, and
the Museum of Anthropology at UC Berkeley.
All of this work has prepared me
well for the Study Abroad program, which involves developing courses and
linking content, as well as organizing outside learning experiences to enhance classroom
instruction. I have enjoyed the curriculum development work in the learning
community, and am excited to create lessons for students to help enrich their
learning experience in London.
5.
I am qualified to teach: English (Composition and Literature), English
as a Second Language, and Humanities courses at LMC under Interdisciplinary
Studies.
Recruitment
1.
I have a great deal of experience with
recruitment because of my involvement in the learning community. In 2003, when we first began to offer the
American Experience learning community, we actively recruited students to
enroll in this new program. I visited classes at LMC and talked with
instructors, attended high school orientations, and college nights to inform
students about this unique experience. We continued to recruit each year,
making announcements in the school newspaper, putting up posters, writing
descriptions in brochures and for websites and making class presentations. Because of our success, we were invited to
participate in the Transfer Academy at LMC and have been a part of this first
year experience initiative since Fall 2011.
As part of my recruitment for the Study
Abroad Program at LMC, I would first target students in the Transfer Academy
and then expand to other special programs as well. LMC has a very active Honors program and I
have already made contact with the Jen Saito, the Program Director, to set up a
study abroad workshop in the spring to get LMC students planning for study
abroad experiences in the future. Other special programs include Puente, Umoja,
MESA and ACE. In these programs, many students are in their first year of
college, a perfect time for them to start thinking about and planning for a
study abroad experience. I will create a
multi-media presentation to use for recruitment in classes,
meetings and orientations. I
will also elicit the support of my English department colleagues and ask to
make presentations in their courses. I
have taught previously at the Brentwood Center, and will schedule class visits
and informational meetings there as well.
I will recruit heavily at DVC, SRC and
CCC. I will work closely with the Study
Abroad office and spend two to five hours per week making presentations and
recruiting students. I can adjust my
teaching schedule to accommodate these important visits and presentations. I
will distribute information generated by the District Study Abroad office and
will attend all meetings for recruiting and orientation.
2.
One of the reasons I enjoy teaching and working
in a learning community is that I get to know my students on a personal
level. I have counseled and advised students
in the learning community since 2003. I
would welcome having a cohort of Study Abroad students to help through this
process, by providing educational information, personal advising, reminders and
other support services. I look forward
to establishing and building those relationships with students and other
faculty before we spend the semester together in London.
Other Details
1.
I have
not participated in a Study Abroad program in the past.
2.
Most of my travel experiences have been with
others in groups of various sizes. I was
a Peace Corps volunteer in the 1980s, and spent 2 ½ years in Kenya, teaching
English at a boys’ boarding school in Kwale, near Mombasa. In addition to traveling extensively
throughout Kenya on my holidays, I traveled through Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and
Tanzania. On the way home I spent three
months traveling through, India, Nepal, Thailand, Hong Kong and China. In the past decade, my travel experiences
have been closer to home, and in most cases involved learning about the people
and/or historical sites of the places we visited. As a family we have traveled to British
Columbia, and through the Southwest, including rafting through the Grand Canyon
and visiting Pueblo sites. We have also
taken trips to Princeton, Philadelphia, New York, and most recently to
Washington D.C.
3.
Speaking English will not be an issue, except
for different phrases and expressions used in England. Nonetheless I studied Spanish for 6 years, through
4 years of high school and in my first two years of college; I could read,
write, and speak conversationally. In
Kenya I learned conversational Swahili and achieved a 3+ on the Foreign Service
Exam.
4.
I have seen how travel has enriched my life and
each semester I talk with my students about my Peace Corps experience and
encourage them to take advantage of travel opportunities. This program appeals to me because it
provides a unique teaching and learning opportunity. When I was in the Peace Corps, I lived among
the people in my village, and got to experience, not just the beautiful sites
of Kenya, but the Kenyan people and culture on a daily basis. I value the
experience of being a resident rather than a tourist, and I will encourage
students to immerse themselves in the London culture and see how much they can
learn by stepping outside of our American cultural bubble.
As an English major I can think of no better
place to go on a literary adventure.
Visiting Shakespeare’s Globe Theater, combing the British Library, which
honors the rich tradition of England’s literature, and catching a play at
London’s West End would be wonderful experiences to share with students. I have been attracted to the Study Abroad
Program for several years, and now that my youngest son is in graduate school,
it is the perfect time for me to participate in this program.
5.
I bring to the program, 33 years of teaching
experience. I still love teaching and
learning. I am dependable and organized,
and will meet deadlines and follow through with commitments. I am positive, and
flexible which helps when working with others in a different environment. I like to collaborate with others and I look
forward to working with other faculty, staff and students in the program.
6.
I have the full support of my family and will
make the necessary personal and financial arrangements if selected.
7.
I joined the Study Abroad Committee two years
ago because I want to support this important program. I welcome the opportunity to participate as a
Study Abroad faculty member and bring my experiences back to the LMC community
and our district.
Course Descriptions:
Humanities 024 –
English Kings: History, Literature and Drama
The course description reads: “Shakespeare created an exciting series of
plays about the English kings who sought to gain the crown of France while
holding on to their own crowns (and heads) at home. These are powerful, tragic, heroic and often
funny plays that chronicle England’s evolution from a medieval kingdom to a
modern nation. “
Focusing on Shakespeare’s plays about English kings provides
an exciting window into England’s history, politics and power struggles. Students
will learn the history behind each play, as well as how the story was interpreted
by Shakespeare to make more dramatic characters and plot. In addition to reading the plays and
attending productions, students will informally act out scenes as a means to
understanding the plays and characters in more detail.
While studying Shakespeare’s life we will visit key
Shakespeare sights such as Shakespeare’s
birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon. There
is a self-guided tour on “Shakespeare: Life, Love and Legacy” and students can
see an original 1623 First Folio of Shakespeare’s work. We will view Shakespeare’s final resting
place and see a play performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company – an
unforgettable experience!
While students get a brief introduction to English history
and study the kings in depth we can visit Windsor Castle, which has housed the
Royal Family for 900 years, and Westminster Abbey, where kings and queens have
been crowned and buried since 1066. I
would also arrange field trips to The National Portrait Gallery to see
Shakespeare’s portrait and other paintings chronicling 500 years of English
history as well as the British Library. In
London we can also see plays at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
To learn more about the British crown we can take a Tower of
London tour, which includes the Medieval Palace and the Crown Jewels.
Students will be able to immerse themselves in Shakespeare,
English history and drama, which will make this course come alive.
English 253 – Survey
of Late English Literature
This course focuses on British Literature from the 19th
and 20th centuries. Students
will read poems, fiction, drama and non-fiction from the Romantic, Victorian,
modern and post-colonial periods. They
will be able to see how the literature was a reflection of British society in
each of these periods.
Students will learn about the rich tradition of British
literature by reading and discussing classic works. We will also focus on the
authors themselves; students will be responsible for making a multi-media
presentation on one of the British authors or poets, utilizing the resources
available in London.
When studying the Romantic period, students will read poetry
from William Blake, William Wordsworth, John Keats, Lord Byron, and novels from
Jane Austen. Many of these writers are
celebrated around London. For example,
on the second floor of the National Portrait Gallery, students will visit the
exhibit on the Romantics and see paintings of Keats, Coleridge, Wollstonecraft,
Wordsworth, Shelley and Byron. In mid-September
we would be sure to visit the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, just a train ride
away from London.
During the Victorian age, England was the wealthiest nation
on earth with a global colonial empire. Students will learn about the way colonialism
shaped the world then and continues to affect the world today. Students will learn about Queen Victoria, who
inherited this world empire at age 18. The
Victorian era was the great age of the English novel and the course will focus
on the novels of Charles Dickens and also key women writers, such as the Bronte
sisters, and George Elliot, (Mary Ann Evans).
Key poets include Alfred Lord
Tennyson, Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Christina
Rossetti. There is a wonderful exhibit
on the first floor of the National Portrait Gallery which chronicles the story
of the Victorian Age through paintings of Queen Victoria, and influential
writers such as the Bronte sisters , Charles Dickens and Alfred Lord Tennyson,
as well as Charles Darwin, who also had a major impact on this time
period. We can also compare the themes
of poverty and exclusion that Dickens explored in his novels to economic
situations in London today.
There are many locales where students can get a sense of
life in the Victorian Age.
We will take a walking tour that includes the Dickens House,
the home of Charles Dickens from 1837 to 1839. Now a museum, the house contains
his study, manuscripts, original furniture and other items. They will visit Ye
Olde Cheshire Cheese Tavern on Fleet Street in London to sit in Dickens’
favorite seat and possibly enjoy a
steak-and-kidney pie. Also, they can find the “Oliver Twist” steps, which offer
one of the best views of the London Bridge.
English 230- Thinking
and Writing Critically About Literature
During the opening ceremony of the London Olympics, England
celebrated its great contributions to children’s literature. From Beatriz Potter to Harry Potter,
England’s rich tradition of children’s literature has captivated children and adults
for over 150 years. In this course,
students read and discuss literature from a variety of cultural perspectives,
with the focus on children's literature.
Students study literary genres such as short fiction, poetry, drama and
the novel, write critical essays and engage in literary research.
In addition to reading and writing, students will research
and visit key settings in many of these classic works. For example:
Students
will read the classic tales of the Paddington
Bear and visit the sculpture of the
little bear, sitting on a suitcase in Paddington Station in London.
After
reading about the adventures of Peter Pan, and viewing the film, Finding Neverland, students will visit
the Peter Pan statue on Kensington Gardens.
This is a tribute to the author J.M. Barrie and the days he spent with
the Davies boys and their dog, Nana who were the inspiration for Barrie’s characters.
Kensington Park and Hyde Park were both locations used in the
semi-autobiographical film.
The Wind and the Willows is a classic
work by Kenneth Grahame. Students will
take a river cruise down the Thames, and at the end of the trip visit an
Elizabethan Manor said to be the model
for Toad Hall.
Students
can research Roald Dahl, author of Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory, by visiting the Roald Dahl Children’s Gallery in
Buckinghamshire.
At
Nearby Oxford, in addition to the university, students can visit wonderful sights.
At Christ Church College, where Lewis Carroll attended, students will walk
thorough Christ Church Meadow which was a setting used in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
In the Church itself, they can see where scenes from Harry Potter movies
were filmed. J.R.R Tolkien and C.S.
Lewis, who were friends, both attended Oxford and belonged to a famous writing
society, which met at a pub called The Eagle and the Child –an establishment still
open today.
Harry
Potter’s story was set in a fictional Britain, but students can visit many real
film locations such as King Cross Station, where Harry catches the train to
Hogwarts or The London Zoo’s reptile house where he talks to a boa
constrictor. There are also Harry Potter
tours for students who want to visit many real film locations.
