Projects by Department | Proposal Guidelines | LTLC Homepage
This is a Report on the completion of my hypertext program for English 256, Multicultural U. S. Fiction Since 1950. In this course we read fiction by American Indian, African American, Chicano/a, and Asian American writers, as well as Ronald Takaki's A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America.. While I will continue to add materials, especially new websites and historical materials, it is ready to use.
The Multicultural U. S. Fiction Web explains and illustrates the basic concepts of culture in general, U. S. Fiction since World War II in particular, and reading narrative. It focuses on U. S. fiction since the 1960's--when American Indian, African American, Latina/o, Asian, and women writers struggled to find ways to tell their important stories in voices that had been silenced by the dominant culture. It links definitions, cultural concepts and information, history and historical documents, narrative theory, ways to read narrative, narrative conventions of minority cultures, and websites. Supplementing the reading of novels and history, it is designed to be read in the logical order of the course and, making full use of its hypertextual structure, to be surfed according to individual student interest.
Report:
This is a Report on the completion of my hypertext program for
English 256, Multicultural U. S. Fiction Since 1950. While I will
continue to add materials, especially new websites and historical
materials, it is ready to use.
The best description of my project is provided on the homepage:
http://acunix.wheatonma.edu/rpearce/MultiC/Index.html
The project is being, and will continue to be, evaluated in the
following order:
1. I have already sent it to a web designer ( the language departments'
Mellon Fellow Jenni Lund), an alumnae graduate student at Tufts
(Danielle Mule), and a recent colleague who taught the course
last year (Michael Manson). I have followed Jenni's and Danielle's
suggestions. Michael Manson only had time for a brief look but
will continue reviewing it. See Jenni Lund's and Danielle Mule's
responses below.
2. I am about to send it to colleagues I meet regularly at professional
meeetings, who are established scholars and teachers of U. S.
Fiction, cultural studies, and narrative, and also to a professional
web designer.
3. The next step will be to send it to scholars I know less well.
4. I will ask students in English 256b for their comments and
evaluation during and at the end of the semester.
Comments so far:
JENNI
LUND:
I love your page! I can't wait to curl up with my mouse some evening
and really enjoy it. Maybe many evenings....
I like the grid and the suggestion to return to the local home
page while navigating. I didn't get lost, although the branching
is - -I think -- 3 or 4 levels deep. The only small suggestions
I would make, for your consideration, is to have the "terminal
nodes" and the major pages be just slightly different....
maybe slightly less bright background for the end-nodes of the
tree, or maybe slightly smaller title box... something to cue
the reader that they should go back to the mainstream when they
are done.
Of course, on the other hand, I can appreciate the consistency
between all your pages, because that makes the pages all candidates
to point to, without further explanation or ado. So filter my
ideas through your major vision.
Also, had you considered adding pictures? To narrow the column
for easy reading, as much as to add "eye candy.
Thanks for letting me know it was out there. I'm going to enjoy
it!
[I narrowed the column and made the pages less bright.]
DANIELLE
MULE:
This looks great. The only thing that comes to mind is that some
additional explication of double consciousness might prove useful.
The site is easy to browse through and certainly seems to hit
on the important basic areas and problems of cultural, historical,
and narrative "definitions"--you provide just enough
information to inform and fuel students' understanding, and it's
up to them to figure out how they fit into the class and the bigger
picture as subjects as well as readers--wow! Seems like you're
setting up a pretty sophisticated class here. [I've added to the
file on double consciousness.]
Last updated
on 1/26/99; 3:46:20 PM
Send questions about this page to: Dick
Pearce
or contact Wheaton
College.