September 5, 2023: Fall Semester Previews: English Studies Capstone

[This weekmarks the start of the Fall 2023 semester and my 19th year atFitchburg State. So as ever, I’ll kick off the semester with preview posts, thistime focused on ongoing challenges and leading up to an update on my currentbook project!]

Unlikeyesterday’s focal course, to which I’m returning after a number of years away,our EnglishStudies Capstone class is one I’ve been able to teach almost every year.I’ve tried to continue revising it as I’ve done so, so this section willfeature some returning favorites (like Kevin Gannon’s RadicalHope as our Education Unit shared text) and some new ones (like EricNguyen’s ThingsWe Lost to the Water as our Literature Unit shared text). All of thatfalls entirely under the umbrella of things I’m excited about—but I can’t lie,with each passing year it becomes more of a challenge to teach this particularcourse with my usual, congenital optimism. That’s due not only to all theuncertainties of the future (a subject on which this class focused a greatdeal), but also to thestriking threats to higher education generally and the humanitiesspecifically in the present (another pair of such focal subjects). I’m notgoing to pretend I have any answers to those challenges—not here, and certainlynot with the students—but one thing I’ll say is that I very much look forwardto talking about them with one of my favorite groups of people in the world,Fitchburg State English Majors!

Nextpreview post tomorrow,

Ben

PS. Whatdo you think? Fall previews you’d share?