Key Terms
Analogy used
Multiple people at a meeting describe the same person standing in the center of the room. Descriptions differ based on:
Term origin
Latin "studia humanitatis" -- translates roughly as "a liberal education."
Renaissance humanism
Revived the idea of the humanities. Developed largely as a reaction to late medieval scholasticism.
Core Renaissance humanist idea
Humans can be either bestial or angelic, but have a duty to choose the latter. Focused on the dignity of humanity.
Translation
Knowledge exists to produce virtuous action. Skills that most lead to virtuous action deserve the highest status.
Reference
Obama's 2013 State of the Union address called for redesigning high schools to focus on STEM (science, technology, engin
Observation
In chain bookstores, "Fiction" sections were crowded; "Literature" sections were nearly empty; "Poetry" sections looked
What happens in colleges
Teachers forget what first interested them in literature. They erect formidable walls around literary works, implying th
Result
Literature seems like the province of scholars. Students learn that you have to be "smart" to read it -- as though major
Wrong approach
Reading quizzes, mining texts for vocabulary words, symbol hunting, forcing memorization of rules and terms before stude
Right approach
Engage with the work; take it apart word by word, phrase by phrase, verse by verse; examine those parts; then put them b
Correct sequence
Make students excited first; then teach rules and terms. The rules become meaningful after excitement is established.
Analogy
Focusing only on unrequited love in a Renaissance sonnet is like buying a bicycle because of its color -- the color may
Reality
There is no single correct way to read a good piece of literature.
CRITICAL DISTINCTION
Multiple interpretations being valid does NOT mean all interpretations are equally valid simply because everyone is enti