Teachin' Books
A podcast all about the ways people teach, learn, and work with literature -- aaaand all sorts of other cultural bits and bobs, like video games, theatrical performances, Dungeons and Dragons, and more! Host Jessica McDonald talks about teachin' books in undergraduate classrooms, and she interviews folks to learn more about what cool work is happening in other other teaching and learning contexts.
Teachin' Books
1.11 Jes Baker's Landwhale
January sucks and I am here to talk about why! :D If you need a more positive tagline than that, I can't help you.
In this episode, I talk about teachin' Jes Baker's memoir Landwhale: On Turning Insults into Nicknames, Why Body Image is Hard, and How Diets Can Kiss My Ass. Topics of interest include: memoir, rhetorical appeals (logos, ethos, pathos), "health" and "wellness" (heavy scare quotes), body politics, and fat activism. Plus, I talk about a self-reflection assignment I use when I teach this text.
- Order Landwhale from your local bookstore. In Saskatoon, I like Turning the Tide and McNally Robinson.
- Check out the Witch, Please episode I refer to at the beginning of the episode, as well as the Secret Feminist Agenda episode I use in my assignment. Both podcasts are developed and hosted (for SFA) or co-hosted (for WP, with Marcelle Kosman) by fantastic podcaster Hannah McGregor and you should listen to them.
- Read more about the rhetorical appeals: Logos, Pathos, and Ethos.
- Here's more about the ACCUTE panel on Pandemic & Institution: Mental Health/Invisible Disability and more about Andrew McEwan's work beyond that panel. You should also read his piece "Beyond 'Wellness': How Bell Let's Talk Limits Our Understanding of Mental Illness."
- Follow Jaris Swidrovich on Twitter or Instagram.
The podcast music is by Dyalla Swain, whose work you can find here. The podcast graphics are by @muskrathands.
Email me at teachinbookspod@gmail.com or follow the podcast on Twitter and Instagram @TeachinBooksPod. I post extra content, like audiograms and behind-the-scenes stuff, on both accounts, more frequently on Insta, so follow me there for more teachin' books fun!
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**The transcript for this episode is available here.**
