Hi my name is Reidie. I am a sophomore, majoring in English with a minor in French. I love English and this course sounds very interesting. I love Virginia Woolf, and literature by female authors. This no longer seems to be a requirement course for me, but a chance to really understand different works of writing.

Hi, my name is Stephanie. I'm a sophomore double majoring in English and Art History. Some of my favorite books include the Twilight Series and Harry Potter. I also like some of the classics, such as The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye. Outside of reading, I like playing volleyball and sitting at Starbucks with my best friend and a cup of coffee.

Hi! My name is Laura and I am a first year English and Sociology double major. Some of my favorite authors are Jodi Picoult, Natalie Babbit, Jennifer McMahon, Alice Sebold, Wally Lamb, Audrey Niffenegger, and Mitch Albom. I love children's books, especially after working at a daycare center for four years! One of my favorites is Make Way For Ducklings. Although I am required to take this class, I am excited as I love both reading and writing.

Hello!
I already posted one of these little blurbs but it didn't seem to work, so I'm sorry if I am repeating myself.
My name is Maggie and I am an English major. I just recently took an expository writing class last semester and really enjoyed it--I learned about how to write as a journalist and really get the right information. I hope that this class teaches me how to use specific tools for critical analysis of literary works!

Some of my favorite authors include: Michael Chabon, Hemingway, Shakespeare, David Eggers, John Irving, etc. I just finished a book called "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" and it was fantastic.

Hi my name is Cody and I am I sophomore. I am from Charlotte, VT. I have just chosen to be an English major and have yet to chose a minor. I do a lot of skiing and enjoy music. I am excited to take this class and to gain an insight into literary critiques. Mosty favorite authors are American: Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Tim O'Brien and Raymond Carver. In general I'm not to particular about what I read though so I am ready to read some different literature in this class.

hello,
my name is eamonn and i am in the tuesday thursday class. i have a double major in political science and spanish and thinking of picking up a minor possibly in philosophy or english. i am a junior and am from pittsburgh. this is my second literature course and i was interested in different ways to analyze literature as well as reading some fresh material. my favorite authors include kurt vonnegut, jonathan foer, and tom robbins. the social commentary blended with cynical humor is definitely my thing. look forward to the class...

Hi...my name is Jacqueline and I am from Westchester County (about 50 miles north of the city). My two favorite books are Pride and Prejudice (a classic of course!) and a book called Summer Sisters by Judy Blume..its fantastic. I hope to learn new ways to analyze what I am reading in new ways. This class is a requirement which is a major reason I am taking it but I believe it will help me in the long run!

Hi, my name is Marcus and I'm a third year student here at UVM. I grew up in southern Connecticut, just outside New Haven. I took this class hoping to learn about how to analyze literature, the way it fits into past and present time periods, and its role in society. I am not very well read but have read a decent amount of Charles Dickens and John Steinbeck and enjoy their writing very much, especially A Tale of Two Cities, which I would call my favorite book.

Hey everyone, my names Anna and I know there are two of us in the class, but Annaelizabeth is actually my full name so i guess i can just go as that. I'm a sophomore and am from Bergen County NJ - about 15 minutes outside of the city. I took this class as a requirement, but it seems interesting so far and i' looking forward to reading the various novels. I don't have one favorite author, but i love to read and some favorites are.. "My Sister's Keeper", "White Oleander", and "The Time Traveler's Wife". I also like slam poetry and "Aloud Voices from the Nuyorican Poets Cafe" is a really good collection. Okay, i think thats all.

Hi all, I'm from a town in upstate New York called Cambridge. I'm a junior Environmental Sciences major and I love to snowboard. I'm taking this course not only because it is one of my major requirements but also because throughout the last three years I've lost touch with reading. Almost all of my classes have been bio, chem, or calc and it has left little room for literature outside of class. This semester I hope to develope as a reader but also as a critical thinker and communicator. Each day in class we have the opportunity to consider the readings and respond in an attempt to make your ideas understandable to the rest of the class. I'm really enjoying the emphasis on discussion and open forum style learning.

Some of my favorite authors while growing up were J.R.R. Tolkien, Gary Paulsen, and Roald Dhal, but lately I've been enjoying Hunter S. Thompson. I also enjoy reading biographies and autobiographies. I find that reading stories about people's expriences throughout their lives, from childhood to adulthood, is very interesting.

Hey everybody! My name is Mark. I am a junior from York, PA. I'm a double major in English and Spanish. I took this class just to fill the requirement for my major, but it doesn't seem as bad as I had originally thought. I am surprised at how well it is meshing with my other classes.
Though I enjoy reading just about everything my favorite authors are Conrad, Jon Krakauer, Thoreau, Graham Greene, Poe, and Herman Hesse. Just a few days ago I finished Hesse's The Glass Bead Game and it is one of the best books I've ever read. I'd reccomend it to anyone.

Hi Guys!

My name is Stephanie. I am from Westchester County, NY specifically Somers. I am an English major and a nutrition minor (at least for right now, I decided on the whole nutrition thing today). The reason why I decided to major in English is because I absolutely love writing, mostly short stories but I want to someday write a novel :) we will see. I am taking this class because I want to be able to read something and notice things that I typically would have never looked for before. This class is also a requirement for me so that is definitely the major reason why I'm taking it. I have a lot of favorite authors but right now my favorite is Stephanie Meyer. See you all in class!

Hey everyone, my name is Lauren. I'm a junior and newly declared English major with a Spanish minor. Like most already said, I'm taking this course to fulfill the English requirement, but it sounds interesting and I am excited to learn more about how to analyze literature.
My favorite genre of literature would I guess be historical fiction. I don't have a particular favorite book but The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Pride & Prejudice, Angela's Ashes, & The Great Gatsby are some that I really like.

Hi everyone!
My name is Kate, and I'm a sophomore English and Religion major, Studio Art minor. I'm from Minneapolis, MN, like to play soccer, ultimate frisbee, guitar, and draw. I'm intrigued to learn about the different perspectives on literature that thinking about theory provides, because I have a vague idea about some of the areas that could use some clearing up.
My favorite authors are Dostoyevsky, Chaim Potok, Robert Frost, Dylan Thomas, Paul Muldoon, Orhan Pamuk, Marquez, Borges, and Roberto Bolano among others.

Hey all, I'm Toby, this is my second year here at UVM. I'm a Secondary Ed major with a concentration in English, I'm also pursuing a political science minor. I'm quite severely dyslexic, so throughout my childhood I didn't do a ton of reading like the rest of you probably did. Even today I don't read recreationally very often, at least not pros, however, my favorite thing in the world is poetry. I try to stick to pieces written in modern english and stay away from epics or other translated works. My favorite poet is Poe.
Sorry this is so late I had a little trouble figuring out the website.

After spending the first 18 years of my life in the small city of Torrington CT, I am now in my second year here at UVM in the beautiful city of Burlington Being an English major, this class is required, but that in no way takes away from my interest in it. After the first few classes, i realize that it is not really a question of what i hope to learn in this class, but more so what i hope to question. I look foreword to continue to expand my knowledge of literature, adding more diversity to the selection of works I've experienced, and the ways i can interpret and analyze works in the future.

I love most types of literature, poetry being my clear favorite. More modern literature appeals to me most, but I enjoy works across a broad spectrum of categories. My most recent favorites have been "War All The Time" a collection of poetry by Henry Charles Bukowski, "The Fountainhead" a novel by Ayn Rand, and most of the work of Chuck Palahniuk. I tend to gravitate to literature that is either existential, or is gritty and realistic, a strange combination that may explain my love of Bukowski and Palahniuk as of late.

I look foreword to getting to know everyone, whether through class or the online posts, and hopefully learn from each others opinions and experiences.

Hello my name is Maxwell and I am junior at the University of Vermont. I am an economics major and I enjoy learning about different subjects. Taking this english class does not fulfill any requirements for me academically but I figured it would be nice to learn how to analyze literature in an effective manor. I was born in Nigeria and moved to the United States when I was 5 years old. I look forward to seeing what this class has to offer for the reminder of the year.

Hey, my name is Dave and I am a Sophomore at UVM. As an English major, I am required to take this course, but I am looking forward to the perspective on literature I gain from this class. I like to read but I usually neglect to set aside time for it. Therefore, I am excited to be forced to forge through pages of text.
I have been reading some Kerouac and other beat generation writers lately, but I'm still in the process of figuring who my favorite authors are.

My name is Kevin, I am in my second year here at the great UVM! I am in the Business School, but and still undecided as to what my major is going to be. This sounds like it is going to be a good course so I am excited for it.

I want to learn how to better be a critic of literature, so that is really what I am looking forward to in this class.

I wouldn't say I have a favorite author, but I like action/adventure books or books that are real page turners.

Hey guys,

My name is Skylar and I'm an English major. I'm a junior who transferred from Champlain. I am really excited to learn more about how to analyze literature. It seems as though teachers are always saying that a work is good, but they never explain why. I love poetry and works of nonfiction. My favorite poet (for the time being) is probably Raymond Carver, but I'm taking two poetry classes this semester and am eager to discover new material. I enjoy writing poetry and try to do it whenever I find the time or the inspiration.

hi everyone, my name is Brendan and I am currently in my third year studying psychology at UVM. I have wrote for the Cynic on and off and have been recently studying media (the politics, psychology and public discourse). That being said I am hoping to further my study into why certain literature has become part of a main stream medium and more importantly whether or not it is legitimate. When reading for fun I tend to like more controversial writing similar to the work of the late Hunter S. Thompson.

Hello all, I'm Justin. I am a sophomore double majoring in English and Political Science. I was born in Ansbach, Germany but I have lived in Bennington, Vermont for most of my life. I am a big sports fan, especially hockey, baseball, and football. I love to read engaging novels and short stories, but I enjoy poetry most. My favorite authors include (but are not limited to) Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, Margaret Atwood, Robert Frost, Robert Lowell, Raymond Carver, William Faulkner, John Updike, Tim O'Brien, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. I am hoping to learn more about literary criticism and its effects on modern writing and I am also very excited to read "In the Skin of a Lion" by Michael Ondaatje.

Wassup everyone, my name is Chandler and I'm in m 2nd year here at UVM. I'm an English major and most likely will become a chemistry minor. I'm from Bronx, New York born and raised. I'm a poet and out of this course I intend to learn and understand literature from different angles but most importantly I'm open minded to whatever I learn from this course. I walk in open minded and willing to learn.
I wish everyone a good semester and get out there and enjoy the snow

Hi, I'm Morgan. I'm an English major and have yet to decide on a minor. I'm taking this class to fulfill the requirement although I think it will be interesting and helpful. I often find myself in classes wondering how everyone else got what they did from the text, and it sounds like this course will help me get on par with everyone else as far as analyzing and drawing from different readings.

My favorite book of all time is Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli and I read and loved every page of both the Harry Potter and Twilight series... oops. I'll read any trashy beach novel, and I loved the Great Gatsby, 1984, and The Glass Castle.

hello all, my name is Ed Guardaro and I am a sophomore/junior ( i don't really know anymore) English major, studio art minor. Of course, like almost all of us I am taking English 086 because it is a requirement for my major. However, (at least over the first week) it doesn't seem like any of my other bland, boring, and depressing required courses that i have taken here over my two-year stay.I can't sit here and on-the-spot name all of my favorite authors, but here are just a few, George Orwell, Carl Hiaasen, Hunter S. Thompson, and Alan Ginsberg.

I hope that through this class I can learn how to better discuss a literary work and "pump-up" my discussion skills along the way. I hope to read anything that will stimulate me mentally. The class seems interesting and i look froward to taking it.

My name is RJ. I am a sophmore History major considering an English minor. This class looked very interesting to me as i would love to learn how to analyze and interpret literature better.

Some of my favorite authors are Tom Wolfe, Oscar Wilde, and Jay McInerney. Right now I'm reading Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs.

Hi I'm Alex, I'm taking this course to decide if I want to be an English major -sort of. I figure if I like the one required major course I can't go wrong. I already write poetry and song lyrics (I personally find there's a big difference between the two) and I've been working on a book over the past couple years, so I'm confident this is a good fit.

The first "big" book I read was The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, and it was an amazing experience. I pretty much like anything Tolkien, even his poetry ("Errantry" is enchanting). My favorite poets are Billy Collins and E.E. Cummings. And two (out of many) poetic works that I enjoy by different authors are "The Boston Evening Transcript" by T.S. Eliot and Poe's "A Dream within a Dream."

My name is Molly and I'm a senior Theatre and English double major currently applying for grad school at The University of Edinburgh in Scotland for Creative Writing. I decided to add an English major while I was abroad in Florence last spring, which is why I am racing to get everything done, and am taking a basic requirement class at the very last minute.

Especially because this is my last English class, I'm really excited to go back to theory and analysis, and basically examine the roots of my education thus far.

My favorite books are The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Once and Future King, The Last Algonquin, The Great Tree of Avalon, and any Jane Austen. Having said that, my concentration is in Poetry, but I can't even begin to list my favorite poets/works. I look forward to reading more.

Hello,

My name is Maggie and I am in my second year at UVM. I am an English major and Italian minor. This course is a requirement for my major and I expect that I will learn quote a bit about literature and why it is imperative that people read it.

I have always enjoyed reading--especially Hemingway, Michael Chabon, John Irving, James Salter, Shakespeare, and David Eggers.
At the moment I am reading "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" and it's absolutely brilliant.

Hello. I'm Megan and although I think I'm technically a first-semester senior, I've decided to double major in English and Theatre so I'll have another full year after this spring. Like most others, I'm taking this class because it's required, though I do like reading theory as long as I don't take it too seriously. I like theory for the questions it proposes and the neat ideas, but I try not to look for any concrete answers in theory.

As far as favorite reading material, I enjoy almost anything. Over the break I read The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende, which was excellent. I also like Harry Potter, Tom Robbins, Jane Austen, Irvine Welsh, and The Bible. I used to read a lot of poetry, but mostly now I listen to rap.

Looking forward to getting to know all of you.

Megan H.

Hey everyone! My name's Abbey and I'm a sophomore from Jericho Vermont. I'm majoring in English and Philosophy, with a minor in Italian, and I'm taking this course as a requirement for my major. I also took expository writing last semester, and I agree with Danielle in the similarities between the classes. I look forward to analyzing literature, as I love to read, and I think that this semester should be a fun one.

I love to read anything that challenges me or forces me to think in new ways, so it's difficult to pin point one genre that I prefer.

Hi I'm Dan and I'm a second year business major thinking about doing an English minor. I am taking this class because I am trying out different types of courses and I would like to be able to analyze literature. I don't get to read as much as I'd like to but I do enjoy JD Salinger John Steinbeck, and CS Lewis.

Hi! I'm Rachel and I am a third year elementary education major with a concentration in English.I hope during this semester that I will be able to take a closer look at literature and understand why we like and read the stuff we do. I also hope to be able to actually understand whats going on in class and not be super confused(although apparently thats a good thing). As far as reading is concerned, I really enjoy authors such as Thomas Kyd, Shakespeare, Milton, Whitman etc. I also like recent authors and although I can't think of any I enjoy reading fictional romance, fantasy, etc. So basically, I'm across the board as far as what I like to read.

Hi, I'm Hannah-I'm an English major with a personal focus on writing with a Sociology minor. I'm in my second year. I'm from New York...blah blah. I'm hoping to exercise my thought process on theory to question new avenues of thought about my major and my personal writing, reading etc. I don't have a favorite author, but a few of my favorite books are Alice in Wonderland, The Met by Ovid, Catcher in the Rye, and The Great Gatsby. I also like poetry, Richard Brautigan is a favorite poet of mine.

Hi my name is Emily.I'm a sophomore English major and a Latin American studies minor. Some of my favorite books ar Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the things they carried, Tim O'Brien and the stranger by Albert camus. I'm hoping to get out of this class a greater understanding in the ways to approach and evaluate literature, and to hopefully prove wrong some of the negative English 86 reputations.

Hello! I'm Ashley, and I'm a senior English major and Geography minor. I enjoy reading most nonfiction, especially travel narratives. Some of my favorite authors include whoever wrote Beowulf, Shakespeare, Richard Wright, and Margaret Atwood. I especially like Wright's Native Son and Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. My favorite English classes that I have taken so far at UVM are Women in Literature and British Lit to 1700. I have to admit, when I think of critical theory the first words that come to mind are "boring" and "complicated" (and now that I've typed that out I realize that those are oxymorons...), but hopefully this class will make me think otherwise!

Hello everyone,

I'm Ashley. I'm a second-year English major/History minor and am planning on switching my major to secondary education with a concentration in English, or something like that. This course is a requirement and honestly I am hoping to get out of it alive. My fellow students seem particularly interesting and I hope I can get to know them better.
I'm a sappy romantic and like Nicholas Sparks and historical fiction writers like Julia Quinn. I particularly enjoy the disillusioned American writers like Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Faulkner. I like poetry too, like cummings and Hughes. Maybe I'll get some reading suggestions from you all!

Hi, my name is Rahel. I'm a second year English and Math major. This is my first literary theory class and I'm looking forward to learning new ways to approach literature. I like Jhumpa Lahiri's writing and Chaim Potok. Lately I've been reading memoir and nonfiction, "Reading Lolita in Tehran" and "Fierce Attachments". I liked "The Fat Man's Race", a short story by Louise Erdrich and I'm also interested in Mary Gaitskill's writing. I like being introduced to new writers through class and I'm looking forward to this semester.

Hello, my name is Megan. I am a sophmore Englsih major and contemplating an animal science minor. I decided to take this class because my advisor told me that I had to take it. It seems like it will be an interesting class, to learn more about the ways of analyzing and interpreting literature.

One of my favorite authors is Gregory Maguire, he is the author of the books Wicked and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. They're just books about the villian's perspective of the fairy tale. I like these types of books because I like getting all sides of the story. Pretty much I enjoy fictional books, because it's always nice to escape in a different world.

Hello everybody.

I am Amanda. I'm a junior english major, sociology minor. I'm taking this course because I have to as an english major. I attempted to take it last semester with Schillinger but it was boring and crazy-making as what, so I dropped it and decided to try it again with a different professor; so far, things are looking much much better! =) I guess I'd like to come out of this class having my own way of exploring the things I read and hopefully, I will also gain some new perspective. I am more interested in the writing aspect of the english major, so perhaps this will give me new ideas and thought processes to incorporate into my own writing - or at least things to consider while doing so.

My favorite authors are Chuck Palahniuk and TC Boyle. I like how although sometimes obscure their stories seem very real and human. I like being shocked and disgusted (whether by some kind of attitude, injury, event - whatever) and both are able to do that. I also like how both authors are able to sum up the entirety of an emotion or sentiment in a sentence.

Outside of Palahniuk and Boyle, I'd say my favorite book is Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman. It is an exploration of different theories of time, each written as sort of a journal entry. I am generally intrigued, infuriated and confused by time, so it was definitely enjoyable content. The style is also very quick and easy to get through - it moves.

I'm one of the Annas. And going alphabetically I would be the second one. I am a sophmore and am trying to decide between an English major or an Anthropology major. My minor is theater. Aside from this being a requirement course I'm hoping to compare my method of breaking down texts in relation to others' and hopefully learn new ways to analyze literature.
I enjoy reading fantasy, comedy and sci-fi novels the most and Terry Prachett is my favorite author.

My name is Alex. I'm a freshman, but I'm very used to the college and area since I grew up here. I love to read, and I'm hoping that this class will help me understand and appreciate the nuances of literature more.

My favorite author is by far John Steinbeck, but I branch into many different genres, I will read anything. I also love drama; my favorite play write is Arthur Miller. One of my favorite books is The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald (although I hated it until I read the last chapter). I also really enjoy foreign literature when read in the original language like Goethe's Faust and Virgil's The Aenied.

My name is Jeffrey. I am a Junior English Major. I primarily became an English major because I like to write however I am finding that I really enjoy the literature classes here. English 086 seems as though it will be an informative class. I am looking forward to what we will go over.

I have many favorite writers. My favorite by far is John Kennedy Toole, who wrote 'Confederacy of Dunces'. I really enjoy short stories, especially during the school year. I really enjoy the short stories of Flannery O'Conner. I really seem to enjoy the work of authors from the south, I'm not sure why.

My name is Arseny. I am a senior, majoring in Russian and minoring in Russian & East European Studies. When I sat down with my advisor last semester to decide which courses to take, he thought for a moment, chuckled, and said "Why don't you take English 86? That should be amusing." So here I am.

I have no idea what I want to get from this course, maybe it will knock me off my Formalist Critic's soapbox.

I'm a fan of some more or less modern writers such as John Gardner, Nabokov (Hegellian Syllogism anyone?), Solzhenitsyn (who I recommend to any disillusioned college-aged socialist), the Strugatsky brothers, Huxley, Burgess, Heller, Sorokin, Lukyanenko, Yevtushenko.

Though I have to admit I am guilty of "intellectual slumming" if you will. My guilty pleasure is fantasy...Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, Harry Potter, Earthsea series, Wheel of Time,etc.

More than anything I love 18th century Russian literature & Russian poetry - Pushkin, Esenin, and Vysotsky are amazing. I am writing my honors senior thesis on Vysotsky this semester, though he is (regrettably) practically unknown in Western academics.

My name is Meaghan. I am a sophomore and my major is speech pathology and my minor is special ed. I also love english and this course sounds interesting. I'm hoping to learn more about critiquing literary works and finding the deep meaning of the work. I love poetry. I love Frost, Hughes, Wordsworth and Plath to name a few. Some of my favorite books are The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, Pride and Prejudice and easy beach reads.

Hello I'm Christopher, or Chris, whatever works for you. I'm a sophomore, double majoring in English (Creative Writing) and Music (Jazz Studies / Performance). Honestly, I have no idea what I expect to take away from the course. In my sophomore honors english class in high school, my teacher emphasized the importance of perspective and close-reading of text on a level that I have yet to experience in college. Hopefully this course will expand upon that information...

Over the years I've realized that I don't read as much as I should because of the amount of time I put into studying/practicing music. But like Katie, I also loved Conrad's Heart of Darkness, loved The Poisonwood Bible, The Law of Similars, Black Boy, Ceremony, and short stories by Shirley Jackson, Checkov, and Melville. It's a strange and eclectic group of texts. What they all have in common is intelligent language, heavy meaning, and emotional human subtext, but without the pretense. This is also why I dig poetry, even moreso than literature.

My name is Katie. I am a first year English major and International and Community Development minor. I'm hoping to learn more about the different ways of analyzing literature in this course.
One of favorite types of literature, believe it or not, is Children's Literature. I think it probably comes from the years of working in the picture books at my home library. I also have come to love mysteries. Some of my favorite books are Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen.
I'm taking this course to fill the requirement for my English major but I love reading and writing so I am pretty excited about it.

My name is Katie. I am a first year English major and International and Community Development minor. I'm hoping to learn more about the different ways of analyzing literature in this course.
One of favorite types of literature, believe it or not, is Children's Literature. I think it probably comes from the years of working in the picture books at my home library. I also have come to love mysteries. Some of my favorite books are Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen.
I'm taking this course to fill the requirement for my English major but I love reading and writing so I am pretty excited about it.

My name is Danielle. I am in my second year. My major is Secondary Education with a concentration of Spanish. I am also double minoring in English and Special Education. For me this course is one of my minor requirements. I am pretty excited about the course though--which is sweet because generally required courses aren't any fun!

At any rate I would like to learn more about how to analyze and interpret literature. Last semester I took an English course on expository writing and learned a lot about how to look at the written world. It was such a fun class and I think that this class will feed off of the other which is why I am looking forward to it!

Some of my favorite authors are: Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jorge Luis Borges, Nicholas Sparks, Tolkien, Salinger...etc. I usually just read what people suggest. From taking so many Spanish Literature courses (more so than English) I have grown to love many of those authors- especially those within the magical realism genre.