Diaries to an English professor
Subtitle: pain and growth in the classroom
By: Jeffrey Berman.
Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press
Published: 1994
Place of publication: Amherst
Language: eng
Number of pages: 299
Subjects: English language -- Rhetoric -- Study and teaching -- Psychological aspects.; Creative writing (Higher education) -- Psychological aspects.; Literature -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Psychological aspects.; Diaries -- Authorship -- Psychological aspects.; Books and reading -- Psychological aspects.; Psychoanalysis and literature.; Rhetoric and psychology.
Description: Diaries to an English Professor is a poignant study of the journals that students have written in Jeffrey Berman's college class on literature and psychoanalysis over the course of fifteen years. Introspective and ungraded, the diaries offer a unique glimpse into the personal world of students' lives. Again and again, they turn to similar struggles, including eating disorders, divorce, sexual activity, suicide, and interactions with others.

The power of the book lies in the students' voices: articulate, honest, often eloquent.

Berman's thesis is that by writing weekly diaries and hearing a few of these entries read anonymously to the class, students are often able to experience breakthroughs in aspects of their own lives they rarely discuss. Contrary to the fears expressed by a number of educators, the author demonstrates how, with proper safeguards, the classroom can be an appropriate opportunity for personal as well as intellectual growth and self-discovery.
Notes: Includes index.