[Hardy-l] RE: Teaching Hardy

[Beth Sutton-Ramspeck]

Many thanks to JoAnna for several very useful suggestions.  And thanks to Betty for informing me that Hardy-l exists and for welcoming me to the community.

Yes, I'm very lucky to have an entire Hardy course, which, yes, will mainly serve English majors, though there are sure to be a few minors and interested visitors.   Less fortunately, it's not a whole semester but a whole quarter--not fifteen weeks but ten, which makes for a pretty tight schedule.  Since many of our campus's students are non-traditional, juggling families and jobs, I doubt I can teach more than four novels and a few poems.  It's not quite the luxury it seems at first blush.

That leads to one of my first questions.  I've successfully taught Tess, Jude, and The Mayor in the past and am inclined to teach them in this course, but I'm less sure about the fourth novel.  At present, I'm leaning towards  either Far From the Madding Crowd or Return of the Native, but I'd be interested in advice on this decision.  Also, are there any editions you particularly recommend--or would warn me away from?   I like editions with, at the very least, helpful notes--but not the kind that give away the plot!

Thank you.
Beth

Beth Sutton-Ramspeck
Associate Professor of English
The Ohio State University at Lima
Lima, OH 45804
sutton-ramspeck.1 at osu.edu
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