Teaching the Renaissance in Pham van Dong University, Quang Ngai City

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The Renaissance! How delicious! A treat to revisit this literary period, one of my favorites. How I love that period of literature -- and how I wonder how someone whose native language is not English might begin to appreciate this era. The textbook that these students who are in-service English teachers teaching in elementary and secondary schools in small rural towns is quite dense with a lot of information about historical and scientific discoveries, the poetry of Boccaccio and Petrarch, the Middle Ages, and Shakespeare and Elizabethan drama to introduce them to the Renaissance and English literature. I found myself running to wikipedia to get more information -- but relied on their textbook to create a small powerpoint presentation summarizing the highlights of the text. A refreshing challenge. I love thinking about the Renaissance, a time of evolution, transformation, discovery, enlightenment. I am 'co-teaching' these classes but really just supporting the professor -- such a precious opportunity to return to study of literature.

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