Even when syllabi feature open resources and inclusive reading lists, we still encounter students who don’t read assigned texts. We believe the problem might stem from the way literature is brought into the classroom. Inspired by Angus Fletcher’s Wonderworks: Literary Invention and the Science of Stories (2022), we have moved away from assigning literature (and asking students to interpret it for hidden meanings). We have transformed Fletcher’s brilliant book into an open resource for use in literature courses. In Searching for Wonder, students are encouraged to choose texts according to their own goals for reading, chronicle their reading experiences, and complete creative projects that don’t require interpretation or argument. These resources were built in collaboration with an intrepid group of students in a literature survey course. Our presentation will introduce the approach through the experiences of four students in this course, with guidance on adapting the method.
Attendees of this session will be able to:- Recognize the role of choice in one’s experience reading literature
- Reflect on the value of students actually experiencing literature
- Shift from assigned reading to student-directed exploration
- Replace argument-driven literary analysis papers with creative assignments that students want to share with their classmates (and, perhaps, future students)
