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[plaxman]

I'm a newbie at a regional campus of a state university, and I have been asked to include theory in the introductory survey course (in the humanities) that I am going to teach next semester.  When I mentioned this to a colleague, he snorted, "Good luck!" and told the tale of how his students' eyes glaze over whenever he attempts to introduce theory.  I asked about his method, and the only information he offered up was that he handed out selected essays and then reviewed them in class.  Is this approach in itself a problem?  Is it more effective to lecture on an individual's particular theoretical perspective as outlined in a specific essay BEFORE handing out the relevant essay so that students aren't struggling just to understand the points the author is making?

[careerbugger]

Hi,

I am totally new to teaching but have worked in Higher Ed for the past 7 years. But, I wanted to chime in that I agree with you- that the 2nd approach, to have the types of theory outlined first, perhaps a lecture first and then a presentation of the essays would be more feasible.

[fiona]

The word "theory" is the first thing that gets students' eyes to glaze over.

If you use another word, such as "ideas," that might head off the glazing a little.

The glazing also comes because a lot of theory or idea-writing is written in boring jargon. If you can find well-written pieces, you may be able to avoid some of the negativity.

The Fiona

[starfleet_grad]

The first step is to decide what is meant when you say "theory." Do you want to include philosophies (say, humanism, for example) or theoretical perspectives (say, social interactionism) or specific theories (say, critical race theory or transculturation theory or whatnot). (NB: I know there is plenty of debate over what groups or categories the different -isms ought to be under and which -isms should exist in the first place; mine is just one example).

Anyway, once you have that figured out, let students experience it. Give them discussions of the same text from different perspectives and let them identify the different interpretations to see how theory influences one's view of truth and reality. Give them a questionnaire to find out what their favorite, say, philosophy is (those are available online), and then discuss how their personal "theories" influence their perception. Once students realize that theory affects them personally, you have a better chance at an inroad.

[elsie]

I enjoy teaching the introduction to theory, and I think the students enjoy how I teach it.

First, introduce the theories as ways of focusing on a particular aspect of a text. Each theorist happens to be interested in a different set of questions. Foucault is all about power, for instance. Don't worry about being simplistic at the introductory level. Remind them that the theories aren't mutually exclusive. You can get answers with a variety of theories; it's just that each theory will provide a different lens for you to focus your ideas.

Acknowledge that the theoretical readings are difficult and explain why. Sometimes it's because the theorist has read works that the students haven't read yet. The students have yet to enter the conversation. That brings up my central approach to teaching theory -- the ongoing conversation.

My favorite way of talking about theory is using Kenneth Burke's party metaphor:

Where does the drama get its materials? From the "unending conversation" that is going on at the point in history when we are born. Imagine that you enter a parlor. You come late. When you arrive, others have long preceded you, and they are engaged in a heated discussion, a discussion too heated for them to pause and tell you exactly what it is about. In fact, the discussion had already begun long before any of them got there, so that no one present is qualified to retrace for you all the steps that had gone before. You listen for a while, until you decide that you have caught the tenor of the argument; then you put in your oar. Someone answers; you answer him; another comes to your defense; another aligns himself against you, to either the embarrassment or gratification of your opponent, depending on the quality of your ally's assistance. However, the discussion is interminable. The hour grows late, you must depart. And you do depart, with the discussion still vigorously in progress.
--Kenneth Burke, The Philosophy of Literary Form

I tell students in the introductory class that the course is their first five minutes in the room. At that point, I'm the host, showing them around and pointing out who people are and giving them the gist of the conversations. I have them read the theorists in order to give them a taste of the conversation, but I tell them that they may need to stay at the party awhile before they really start to understand what people are talking about.

[plaxman]

Elsie--
Sounds like a great way to introduce the topic, but where does one go from there?  When you teach certain theoretical perspectives, do you lecture on the essay and then hand it out for the students to read on their own, or is the reading due for class on the day that you plan to discuss the author/theory?   

[elsie]

I use two books. One book is an anthology of readings and the other book provides background on theories. I assign them to read the background book before they read in the anthology.

In my lectures, which are usually following the readings, I use a lot of pop culture to elucidate the readings. Today's example was Aristotle's Poetics. They read background material last week. They read Aristotle for today. And then during today's lecture I showed them a particular episode of the anime Fullmetal Alchemist which follows the classic structure of a tragedy and had them identify, in an in-class writing, the reversal, the recognition and the scene of suffering.  I really rely on the in-class actitivities to get them applying the ideas to a specific text.