Week 5 – Discussion 2

Prepare: Review the quote by Skwiot and Clugston that you considered in your Week 1 The Value of Literature discussion: “Literature enriches our lives by challenging us to have new perspectives on life’s experiences and the world in which we live” (Chapter 1, para. 2). You should also review your posts in the Week 1 The Value of Literature discussion. Finally, read the Harry Potter Through the Focus of Feminist Literary Theory (Links to an external site.) article. If you are unfamiliar with the Harry Potter series, please review the Series Overview (Links to an external site.) web page before reading the article so you have some foundational knowledge of the series.

Reflect: Consider how your understanding and perspective of literature has changed (or has not) over the duration of this course. You can also think about the value of literary study and research as you reflect on your experience reading the article. Then, respond to the questions and directives below.

Write: The initial post must be 200 to 300 words in length and posted by Day 3. In your initial post,

• Summarize your understanding of literary research. How does the article exemplify it?
• What critical thinking skills are developed by performing literary research, as you did in this course?
• What critical thinking skills are developed by reading literary research, as you did for your final literary analysis essay and for this discussion?
• What is the value of literary study? How does it help one to become a better individual, colleague, and global citizen? You should use at least one quotation and paraphrase from the Harry Potter article to provide a specific example. For help on writing paraphrases and quotations, review the Ashford University Writing Center’s tutorial Integrating Research (Links to an external site.) and the Quoting, Paraphrasing, & Summarizing (Links to an external site.) web page.

Reflect: Consider how the Introduction section discusses literary theory as a “lens” through which expressive works (poems, stories, plays, paintings, film, and more) can be analyzed. Think about which of these five theories listed above is most interesting to you as a possible lens through which you can think further about literature. Consider, especially, how this lens will help you think further about the value of literature in your world and the world around you.

Write: Your initial post should be at least 200 words in length. The minimum word count does not include references. Choose one of the five theories to discuss in relation to these questions:

• Imagine you are the teacher, and you have a student who does not understand the theory you chose. How would you describe it, in your own words? Be sure to give a specific example of how the approach would be applied to a critical reading of a text.
• Now, imagine you are trying to convince that same student why this approach is so important. What is it about this approach that is so interesting and valuable?
• Consider the text you wrote about for your Literary Analysis Draft assignment in Week 3, and apply the approach you wrote about above to that story now. What literary elements, themes, and conflicts would you focus on if applying this approach to an analysis of the text? Review the List of Literary Techniques (Links to an external site.) and Types of Conflicts Found in Literature (Links to an external site.) documents for assistance.