On Mon, 21 Apr 1997 09:47:28 -0500 lissa bloomer wrote:
>
> >NH: Do you know what they do read?
>
> hi nalo et al,
> in my questionnaire/contract i ask my students (freshpersons) what
they
> read... usually in a class of 25, 5 have never read a novel all the
way
> through, 15 of them (all young men) read Stephen King, Tom
Clancy, and
> Michael Crichton... and the young women (the 7-10 -- women are a
minority
> still here, though not by much) usually report texts that they read
as
> assignments (Hamlet, Macbeth, Jane Eyre, 1984, Scarlet Letter....
canon
> stuff). of 25, about 5 seem to be avid readers. by the end of the
semester,
> i think i have changed that -- perhaps my proudest aspect of
teaching.
>
> if i'm lucky, i'll get one student who has read sci-fi. and it's usually
a
> young male who reads Heinlein. (one of whom introduced me to the
works of
> Giger -- the artist for the movie "Alien")(perhaps the only visual
artist
> who could be labelled science fiction feminist???)(anyone know of
> others???)
>
> i wish wish wish i had more students who came to the class as
avid
> readers-- and sci-fi readers. it's one of my goals to change this.
>
> -lissa bloomer
>
>
>
These days I find I am lucky if they have ever heard of Heinlein (the
only one recently was a student who wanted to write on sf writers
perceptions of the city and whose only suggestion was Heinlein -- I
encouraged him to find another topic). William Gibson and Philip K.
Dick are the most common, but most talk about tv. sf and I am
starting to build a small Babylon 5 fan group amongst my students.
(Plug time -- if anyone is interested, I am running a conference on
Babylon 5, 13 and 14 December 1997 in York England, contact me off
the list if you are interested).
In Britain, if all else fails, mention Terry Pratchett. I realise he is not
so popular in the states, but here students apply to college saying
that they like reading "Jane Austen/Thomas Hardy *and* Terry
Pratchett". You just know what were the set authors this year.
Farah
>
>
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