tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32999748.post5796923388943694778..comments2024-03-04T01:47:18.750-05:00Comments on Lemurian Congress: Development DevelopmentAdam Thorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05634565262440008573noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32999748.post-51467099884253500542007-03-30T08:35:00.000-04:002007-03-30T08:35:00.000-04:00...only worth it for Ann-Margaret, in my books!...only worth it for Ann-Margaret, in my books!Adam Thorntonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05634565262440008573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32999748.post-87685475011300926882007-03-29T15:58:00.000-04:002007-03-29T15:58:00.000-04:00I am certain it was. ;)And I never use the word "p...I am certain it was. ;)<BR/><BR/>And I never use the word "pedagogy" unless threatened with having to watch the Collected Films of Elvis Presley (which is, my imp assures me, the punishment that has been prepared for me in the nether regions).Eric Littlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02556454801310628473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32999748.post-1698625786832577742007-03-29T08:54:00.000-04:002007-03-29T08:54:00.000-04:00Those are very manipulative notices, though I love...Those are very manipulative notices, though I love that they contain the word "pedagogical."<BR/><BR/>Even though I wasn't an English major, I got the weird opportunity to take a 600-level master's course called "The Hyperthyroid Novel." It was entirely an excuse for the professor to teach two books he's always wanted to teach: "Gravity's Rainbow" and "Miss Macintosh My Darling." EVERYBODY in the class used the word "pedagogy" in every sentence, making me feel like a real ninny.<BR/><BR/>But I got my revenge: instead of doing my final paper/presentation on "Pynchon's Pedagogy" or something like that, I did it on "Behaviourism in Gravity's Rainbow," so therefore got to throw in lots of terms ("operant conditioning") from MY discipline that THEY didn't understand. It was a coup.<BR/><BR/>It was a good paper.Adam Thorntonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05634565262440008573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32999748.post-43258954075825372842007-03-28T11:05:00.000-04:002007-03-28T11:05:00.000-04:00It's a bad thing in that the publishers try to mak...It's a bad thing in that the publishers try to make professors feel guilty about the price of textbooks. Here's the notice printed on a free copy of "Keys for Writers," right above the large white caption, INSTRUCTOR'S COPY:<BR/><BR/>"This work was provided free of charge to an instructor solely for evaluation and/or pedagogical purposes. Sale, resale, or further dissemination of this work will contribute to higher costs of textbooks for students and is prohibited."<BR/><BR/>Professors sell the unsolicited desk copies they receive--no one wants to return all the books they don't even ask for, since many times they are sent in those horrid shrink-wrap packages that require a machete to open, so you'd have to hunt up a box, seal it, take it to the post office, and I've got enough work to do--like looking up interesting word origins.<BR/><BR/>Which is why I say I have never sold a desk copy I have asked for.<BR/><BR/>In English nowadays, the big push is for handbooks and writing manuals, which one would think do not require new editions (I can't think of one major grammatical or mechanical rule that has changed during my lifetime)--what causes the new editions are different theories of teaching writing, and new formats for citing research, particularly on the Internet.<BR/><BR/>And when I teach modern fiction, the prices go up, because Pynchon is still in copyright, and Dickens isn't.Eric Littlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02556454801310628473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32999748.post-71380102947810345562007-03-28T09:14:00.000-04:002007-03-28T09:14:00.000-04:00In University, most of my courses were in either t...In University, most of my courses were in either the social sciences or English literature. I paid through the nose for my social science texts, but the English lit professors seemed able to avoid the expensive editions (not to mention that if you need to read "Tale of Two Cities," you probably don't have to buy a new copy).<BR/><BR/>Particularly odious textbook practice: releasing a new edition every three years with rearranged chapters and pagination, so students can't buy used copies without struggling to reconcile the new page numbering.<BR/><BR/>This must also be annoying for professors.<BR/><BR/>You get free desk copies of new textbooks? That's bad?Adam Thorntonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05634565262440008573noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32999748.post-15168200329679487232007-03-27T21:01:00.000-04:002007-03-27T21:01:00.000-04:00And from what I've heard, $75 (either Canadian or ...And from what I've heard, $75 (either Canadian or American) is relatively inexpensive when it comes to computer textbooks.<BR/><BR/>I used an academic anthology of science-fiction stories for my class one year, but when I saw what they were charging (around $65), I chose a trade paperback for $15.00 and told the students that was cheap--and it had a better good stuff/stinker ratio as well.<BR/><BR/>The mark-up on textbooks is ridiculous, as is the practice of flooding teachers with desk copies they don't ask for. I've never sold a copy of a text I have specifically asked a publisher for. <BR/><BR/>The China aspect is new to me, though.Eric Littlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02556454801310628473noreply@blogger.com