Survey for Approaches to Teaching Franklin's Autobiography
Edited by Carla Mulford and Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock
This survey is designed to gather information about instructors' methods and materials for teaching Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography for the purpose of developing a new volume on the work in the MLA series Approaches to Teaching World Literature. Respondents are invited to answer the questions related to their teaching below. They are also encouraged to submit a proposal for a contribution to the volume, either by responding to question 17 or by mailing a proposal to the editors (see addresses listed in the next paragraph). Survey responses are due by 15 February 2010, after which date the survey will no longer be available online. All respondents will be acknowledged in the published volume.
Please answer the questions on the form below and click Submit when you are finished. Your responses will go directly to the volume's editors. The editors welcome supplemental materials such as course descriptions, syllabi, assignments, and bibliographies. You may upload them (see the end of the form); send them by surface mail to Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, Department of English, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859; or e-mail them to Jeffrey.Weinstock@cmich.edu and cjm5@psu.edu. You may also forward queries or comments to the editors at those addresses. Thank you for helping in the development of this important project.
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1. Please describe the course(s) in which you teach Franklin's Autobiography. Please indicate course title and type (survey, special topic, graduate seminar, undergraduate seminar, etc.), as well as how much time you devote to Franklin.
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2. Do you teach the entire work or portions? If the latter, what portions do you find particularly appropriate (or inappropriate) for undergraduates and why?
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3. Which text or edition of the Autobiography do you use? What are the reasons behind this selection rather than some other?
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4. Do you teach the text together with or in relation to other works by Franklin? If so, which ones?
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5. Do you teach the text as part of a unit or paired with other primary texts? If so, please describe the unit or pairings.
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6. Do you stress a particular critical or theoretical approach in teaching the Autobiography? If so, please describe which approach you use, which texts or essays from this perspective you present to students, and how you apply such perspectives in the classroom.
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7. What secondary sources have you found most helpful in teaching the Autobiography? What secondary sources do you assign as part of your syllabus or recommend as optional reading for students?
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8. What do you find are the primary challenges of teaching the Autobiography and what strategies do you use to overcome these challenges?
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9. What specific themes do you emphasize in teaching the Autobiography?
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10. What aspects of the Autobiography do your students find most engaging or stimulating?
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11. How do you present Franklin's historical and literary context?
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12. What audiovisual, digital, or Web-based materials, if any, have you found useful for teaching the Autobiography? How do you use them?
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13. Do you use online discussion groups, e-mail discussion lists, communal blogs, wikis, or other interactive electronic forums in your teaching of Franklin? If so, please explain how you use these forums.
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14. What kinds of assignments do you ask students to complete and how do these assignments fit in with your larger goals for the course? Please describe the assignments (or include copies).
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15. How, if at all, has your teaching of Franklin and the Autobiography been affected by their representation and reception in popular culture and the academy?
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16. What specific types of information or approaches would you like to see addressed in a volume on teaching Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography? What concerns or issues would you particularly like to see addressed by the volume?
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17. If you would like to propose an essay for this volume, please submit a one- to two-page abstract in which you describe your approach to the topic and explain its potential benefit for students and instructors alike. You may use the Browse button(s) below to upload your abstract as well as to forward any supplemental materials, such as syllabi. Alternatively, you may send your abstract directly to the editors by surface mail or e-mail. Please also submit a brief curriculum vitae.
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To send supplemental materials with this form, click the button below and select a file or files from your hard drive.
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