This semester, I taught a class called The Case of the Consulting Detective: Cultural Legacies of Sherlock Holmes. In the course, students read stories and novels from Doyle’s original work as well as adaptations like Laurie King’s The Beekeeper’s Apprentice.  They submitted textual analysis with peer-reviewed sources, led discussions, and...

    In an earlier post, I mentioned that I was planning a class podcast for the first time. As I continue planning the course and the assignments, my own inexperience has led me to the following decisions.     1.Early in the semester, I’ll ask students to find a podcast they love and a podcast they dislike. In class, we’ll listen...

Good teachers are always prowling about for ways to better communicate their material. Since I try hard to be a good teacher, I constantly revise my course syllabi, assignments, and lesson plans. On occasion, I’ve gotten up in the middle of the night to write down an idea I had about a course. During the semester that I teach a class, I also keep an open...

In the spring, I am teaching a class on the cultural legacy of Sherlock Holmes and plan to have students use digital tools and methods in their work with all things Holmesian. I plan to have students create a bi-monthly podcast to work through and present what they’re learning. The course will focus on the cultural values of the Victorian period and the...