388V Class Observations – 2/9 Observation of ENGL398A

 When I first got there (about 10 minutes early) students were slowly trickling in
 Once they got there they were opening their laptops and doing things on there
 Y got there about five minutes before class started and took a seat in the back
 Going over reading and editing the manifesto’s which was an assignment that they are
working on
 Professor opened up the floor for questions about the assignment
 Student asked questions if they should have a more narrative structure
o Goes over how to structure it differently when you are writing a shorter piece and
there is probably less room for narrative writing
 Goes over purpose of paragraph and that each paragraph should be doing something to
work towards thesis, and if you find that it doesn’t help develop your thesis than it is best
to delete it or move it or try and find a way to make it work towards your thesis
 They are scheduling conferences and they can conference with the Professor, Y, and Z
(who I believe is another one of the TA’s)
 Professor emphasizes the importance of reading the textbook chapter because it will
definitely help them with the assignment, because they will not be going over the reading
in class because it is a waste of class time
 Had discussion about can an interpretation about a piece of art be wrong
o One student discusses that yes and you can be limited by your own ignorance and
if you don’t know what you are reading about or interpreting you could interpret
wrong
o Someone argued that audience not understanding does not mean that the
interpretations are wrong, they are just different, and there could be a spectrum of
what it means to be wrong
o Another student discussed how the term interpretation can be ambiguous and how
perspective matters because people think they are interpreting thing in different
ways
o The author of the class reading is that whoever gets to determine what the correct
interpretation of the piece? Unless the artist is there to tell you what the correct
interpretation is then how could you ever know? Then you can’t ever be wrong if
you can never know what is correct
o Professor argues that you definitely can be wrong and tells story about when she
interpreted Jane Eyre wrong but did not realize how her interpretation was wrong
until she talked to her professor at the time
 Also have discussion about the difference between disagreements in taste and
disagreements in interpretations about art
 During the class every single student seemed to be engaged in the lecture and
conversations, which is really impressive
 Students weren’t distracted on their laptops or their phones which I believe is a sign of a
really great class
 Y sat in the back of the class and definitely seemed approachable
 Professor was very energetic and lively – especially for an 8am class
 Also had a conversation about spectrum of honesty and how ethical limitations do exist in
art and whether or not they should have limitations
 Also, should you write about things if they don’t apply to you? Can an author write about
a queer character if they are not queer?
o Lots of differing perspectives and it is really hard to get a good answer
o Also, why should being transparent in writing and spreading awareness become
the burden of the people who are affected by it. Minority groups get a lot of
pressure to write about their experiences being in that group, but why can’t they
just write about whatever and whoever they want to? These are tough questions
and they tied it all back to, should these questions impact our interpretation of the
art. Does the author matter?
 Gave the example of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and how Harriet Beecher Stow wrote about
slavery and it completely revolutionized public opinion towards abolition. Did she have a
right to write that story? Probably not, it was not her story, but was the book necessary for
the right thing to finally happen, yes it was.
 Also authors in contemporary literature become celebrities?
 What if we never figure out who the author is – how does that change how we interpret
work
 Once the class was over, people left and was thanking the professor
 It seemed like a few students were actually students who were staying back to keep
discussing everything with the professor, I wish I could have stayed to listen but I
unfortunately I had a class on the other side of campus that I needed to rush to

Reflection:
I loved observing Y's class, Teaching for the Arts. I learned so much while I was
observing. The class was at 8 AM, yet everyone was so energized. I loved how much
everyone in the class was participating in the classroom discussion. The discussion was on
the interpretation of art, and if it is possible for art to be interpreted correctly. There were
so many different perspectives, and I had never thought about that question before. Some
of the questions that were discussed were, who gets to determine the correct interpretation
of a piece? Is there ever a correct interpretation? Is there ever an incorrect interpretation? I
was very impressed with the energy that the class brought to the discussion, so it was also
clear that everyone had done their reading prior to the class. One thing I did like was that
the professor let the silence grow if no one was participating. The class would just sit in
silence for about 30 seconds and eventually someone would say something. This didn't
happen too often because the class was very engaged, but this method was effective. I
have to lead a lot of discussions when I UTA, and I always feel so awkward when people
are not participating so I just keep throwing out differently phrased questions. I think next
time I am going to just let the silence grow until someone eventually participates. Overall,
I loved my experience observing ENGL398A :)