August 22, 2005

 

 

Dear English majors and minors,

 

I want to invite you to participate in a new, one-credit course being offered by the Department of English for this first time this fall. We are calling it the Practicum Seminar, and it is intended in the first place for those who will be, or have recently been, involved in a practical learning experience such as an internship, teaching assistantship, or off-campus program. But it is open to other English majors and minors as well, and it will be especially valuable for those who are facing more closely the question of how they may put their education in English to work in the world.

 

I will be teaching the course this fall, and the goals I have in mind for it are:

• to deepen learning from the rest of your English program, especially practical experiences such as internships, assistantships, and off-campus programs, through individual and group reflection;
• to develop a better overall understanding of English as a discipline, how it relates to the world, and what your education as an English major is good for after you graduate;
• to develop a clearer sense of your direction in life as it regards work and further study by thinking together about how people find a sense of purpose and calling.

The course will be shaped largely by the interests and ideas its members bring to the table, but we will also use some readings and short writing assignments in order to enrich our thinking and conversation. Readings will include some of the works by the guests in this semester’s Visiting Writers Series (certainly Lynda Barry’s cartoons and Marilynne Robinson’s novel Gilead, maybe more), articles that address concerns that stretch across the discipline of English (e.g. David Foster Wallace’s essay “Tense Present”), and some essays on finding one’s place and purpose in the world. Short writing assignments will address various ways in which the study of English relates to life beyond the classroom.

 

The class will meet once every two weeks for two hours. The meeting time is yet to be determined according to the availability of participants, but I would like to suggest Thursdays at 3:30 as a possibility (with alternate arrangements to be made for the two Thursdays with Visiting Writers Series events). The first meeting will happen during the second week of classes.

 

The course is listed in the catalog as English 395-01, “Internship Seminar,” for one credit, but since it is new and somewhat experimental, I am inviting students to take it for no credit, especially if adding a credit would give them an overload. I will still expect students who take it for no credit to do the work, of course, but would be willing to negotiate some of the particulars.

 

If you are interested in taking this course, or would like more information about it, please send me an email at gruenler@hope.edu. The sooner I hear from you the better, but I will certainly need to hear from you by the first day of classes, Aug. 30, in order to set up a the course’s first meeting during the second week.

 

Blessings,

 

 

 

 

Curtis Gruenler

Associate Professor of Enlish

 

P.S. I will also be serving as the Internship Coordinator for the English Department this year, and if you have any interest in doing an internship during either semester, it’s not too late. Feel free to send email about that as well—the sooner the better.