A new school year begins
What I have in store for the upcoming semester as a literature teacher at a university and at Books & Culture!
Dear book lovers,
the summer is drawing to an end, the students are back in the city, and it is time to begin a new school year. It is the last week of August, and I feel very excited about what is to come, and what I have in store for my students.
Officially, the semester begins next week (but teachers begin much earlier than that!). This year, my focus in on Academic Writing. I’ll be teaching the principles of Academic Writing for first-year students and offer more in-depth training in the workshop “Academic Writing for PhDs”. Writing is the backbone of any academic career; learning to organize your thoughts and structure them in good, engaging, coherent texts is an essential skill, hence the importance of these courses.
To make things more interesting, I bring my own knowledge and academic repertoire to the Academic Writing classroom. For the first-year students, I have decided to focus our classes on the theme of historical reconstruction in historical fiction. We talk about what history is, whether there is such a thing as an accurate representation of the past, the task of the historian and the literary writer, how far an author can go in reimagining the past, how what-if scenarios can be explored in literature, how fantasy creates a mythical medieval past, and much more! It is such a fascinating topic, I hope my students feel the same way and get motivated to write about it, putting the knowledge they receive in the Academic Writing course into practice.
Our starting point for the literary analysis in this course is Henry James’ novella The Aspern Papers, a book that deals with historical reconstruction, the search for historical artifacts and the ethical boundaries in the search to “possess” history.
Have you read it yet? If no, I’d definitely recommend adding it to your TBR!
In addition to being a teacher at university, I also own my own online literature school, Books & Culture. This is how I connect with book lovers around the world who love to read the classics of literature in context. I create online literature courses and workshops to share my passion and knowledge, and to guide students in meaningful reading experiences.
In September, we’ll begin a new series of guided reading sessions on YouTube. Last year, we read together and discussed Jane Austen’s first published novel Sense and Sensibility. In 2024, we read Charlotte Brontë’s The Professor, and now, as a way to continue our studies of the Brontë sisters’ literary legacy, we’ll read together Anne Brontë’s Agnes Grey, starting on the first week of September. So, if you haven’t yet done so, subscribe to the Books & Culture YouTube channel.
Finally, I will be hosting a free online literature event in the second half of September called The Classical Reader Week. This event is for book lovers who want to learn the tricks and tips to read the classics of literature meaningfully, going beyond the book pages and having a fulfilling reading experience. The goal is to become confident to read outside of their comfort zones and to express well their thoughts about what they read. Is this something for you? Let me know in the comments below!
I am very excited to begin a new school year and to spread the love for reading and writing. I hope you are, as well!
Have a great day!
Your literature teacher,
Fernanda