Peer Review

Literature, the Humanities, and Humanity

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Feb 18, 2019 by English

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

This free ebook intends to show the value of reading and studying literature. After an introductory chapter that offers advice on how to read (and teach) literature, the book consists of a series of chapters that examine individual literary works ranging from The Iliad to Charles Dickens’ Bleak House.

Type of Material:

Open (Access) Textbook

Recommended Uses:

supplemental textbook to either a traditional literature anthology or to assigned individual novels

Technical Requirements:

Available as PDF, ePub and iTunes

Identify Major Learning Goals:

Readers will

understand the value of reading and studying literature
recognize how to read for pleasure as well as for study
recognize themes classic literary works which still speak to contemporary readers

Target Student Population:

College Lower Division, College Upper Division

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

college level reading skills in English

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: The text contains introductions and overviews for to The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Aeneid, Asrophel and Stella, Shakespeare, "The Rape of the Lock," Joseph Andrews, Jane Austen, Bleak House, and Middlemarch as well as an introduction chapter laying out the author's philosophy of reading in the humanities.
Concerns:: Readers unfamiliar with basic literary conventions may have difficulty understanding the chapters.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

Individual chapters could be assigned to accompany readings of the primary texts discussed in the essays.

Chapters are not detailed but target the core of the literary works from its cradle to its maturity.

Concerns:

This text does not contain any primary texts so additional readings would need to accompany this; however, as this is an OER, it could be provided at no cost to students.

Users sers without general knowledge of traditional Western culture may encounter some difficulty in absorbing the gist of the literary works on this website.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

It is avaiable to read fully online or to dowload as a .pdf, epub, or via iTunes. All links appear to work and a hyperlinked table of contents is provided.

Online readers have the option of increasing font size easily via a clickable link on every page.

Since the text is under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license, instructors are free to share and adapt any portions of the text as long as their newly produced product is released under the same licensing guidelines.

Concerns:

no visual interest for readers. long sections of black and white text may prove difficult for some readers

Other Issues and Comments:: The website users do not have to sign up to be able to access the content of the website. They can directly access it at any time.
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