Day 160: On Academics and Netflix

Day 160: September 2,2020
Global Cases: 26, 170, 753; Deaths: 866, 621
Egypt Cases: 99, 280; Deaths: 5, 461

Brooke Comer, Instructor at the Department of Rhetoric and Composition

When the Spring semester of 2020 segued into virtual teaching and learning, I wasn’t entirely concerned about that – after all, I had already been introduced to the students and knew them quite well, and I knew how to handle the switch. It’s the Summer semester that had me concerned.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I LOVE teaching. I enjoy working with my students.

However, I was initially concerned about getting 17 students through RHET4360, Writing for Publication, in 6 weeks – a challenging course even in a 14-week in-person semester, a concern complicated by the fact that all our communications and dealings would be 100% virtual, even though I have always been a firm believer that students are more eager to learn in Summer semesters.

Luckily, I had nothing to worry about – thanks to the 17 amazing students, those six weeks were a joy for me to teach.

Everyone, with the exception of one student, seemed interested in the theme of my Writing for Publication class – Netflix.

I make it a point to have my students engage in discourse they are wholeheartedly invested in – and given the COVID-19 climate, I thought this would be an opportunity to engage deeply in the Netflix shows/TV shows/movies they are interested in the most.

Overall, I am excited for this upcoming semester, during which I will be teaching Research Writing (RHET1020), also utilizing the idea of encouraging students to tackle and challenge themes and ideas from their favorite Netflix series and TV shows.

For The Caravan‘s previous diary entries in Arabic and English go to our COVID-19 Special Coverage page.

I will also be teaching Freshman Writing (RHET1010) under the Filming Differences theme, which was originally developed by a dear colleague of mine, Dr. Doris Jones.

I am intrigued by the way Netflix pioneered the game and opened up the world by offering a myriad of titles from around the world, and partnered with Google to access our thoughts and dreams in order to produce a selection of original programming we are guaranteed to consume.