You may read the full essay here. A few pertinent paragraphs: “…Remember that 45 percent of Generation Z respondents this year told pollsters that they believe that a high school diploma will be enough to ensure financial security. The reality, though, is that in the decade ahead, opportunities for those without a postsecondary credential are…
This is a brief abstract of the paper that I will present at the annual conference of the Midwest Popular Culture Conference in Chicago. My interest throughout my academic career has been on morality: how can we live in the least violent manner, that is, how can ‘we’ be hospitable to those on the margins?…
ENGL ENGL-123-2 INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE T TH 12:30 PMENGL ENGL-320-1 PRINCIPLES OF LITERARY STUDY T TH 9:30 AMENGL ENGL-385-1 TOPICS: COMICS AND WEBCOMICS MWF 11:00 AM My comics course will include, most likely, the following comics and graphic novels. Many more will be added at a later moment. Contact me if you are interested Asterios…
There’s an intriguing story about cell phones and how they are influencing humans in today’s NYT. A few paragraphs from a story in the Times: “The smartphone brought about a planetary rewiring of human interaction. As smartphones became common, they transformed peer relationships, family relationships and the texture of daily life for everyone — even those…
Coming in the fall: My new PIO 101 course at Marietta College But what is a superhero and why do folks go full gaga over caped crusaders today in the age of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? This course traces the origin of the superhero in the cheap comics designed for pre-pubescent boys, wrestles with why…
From the AAUP; here’s a description of the larger issues facing education in this country: “Daniel Greenstein writes in the fall 2019 issue of Daedalus that we may be on a track toward a dramatic bifurcation in the US higher education system, with students at wealthy, selective institutions enjoying personal, face-to-face learning experiences and the rest of…
Greetings! For an animated introduction to our spring 2020 course offerings, please click here (go head, click it!): Email Todd (tcomer@defiance.edu) or Steve (sengel@defiance.edu) for more information. ENGL 123 Media Writing MWF, 11:00 am An introduction to the process of writing for the media. Students will learn to report, write, and edit stories for print and…
This one credit course will include Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and A Wizard of Earthsea. Topics covered will include: good and evil, magic, power, pride, sin, and the nature of fantasy and science fiction literature. Meets on Wednesdays at 3:00 pm beginning on October 21.
In an attempt to have my students learn about the rhetorical triangle (audience, writer, issue), I have them create memes (which are attuned, hopefully, to their audience). Here are a few from class today.
“I wanted to be loved because I was great; A big man. I’m nothing. Look at the glory around us; trees, birds. I lived in shame. I dishonored it all, and didn’t notice the glory. I’m a foolish man.”
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[What follows is a guest column I wrote for The Crescent News (Defiance, OH). It was published on Jan. 18, 2016.] While many celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr., his complexity has been largely erased from our memories. He has been sentimentalized to such an extent that the radical nature of his message has been lost. Even…
Dr. TODD A. COMER 