Faculty Spotlight | Dr. John Halbrooks
Dogs, Prince, & Newsletters: The Unexpected Ways One Humanities Professor is Reframing Academic Writing
Through his innovative teaching methods, Professor John Halbrooks, Associate Professor of English with a focus on Medieval and Renaissance Literature, is making a lasting impact on his students and the academic community at large. You might have heard about his students’ collaborative project on the role of place in Dickens' Our Mutual Friend, which he shared at the South Alabama Conference on Teaching and Learning in 2022. Today, we would like to spotlight Dr. Halbrooks’ newest course design initiative: writing newsletters.
Dr. Halbrooks is shaking up the traditional classroom dynamic with his inventive newsletter assignment for graduate students. This assignment, which challenges students to write for multiple audiences and engage with each other in a semi-public space, aims to bridge the gap between academia and the real world. Halbrooks emphasizes that this assignment fosters a deeper understanding of the relevance of their studies beyond the confines of the classroom. "I want students to discover that what we study is not confined to some cloistered, esoteric realm," Halbrooks explains, "but that people in the so-called 'real world' will be interested in it if we present it in an approachable way.” Using Substack, an online publication platform, students craft newsletters on course-related themes and then interact with each other’s newsletters. Substack allows writers to easily add pictures, videos, and sound clips, bringing a more contemporary feel to academic writing. While feedback on the assignment is still forthcoming, early indications suggest that students are thoroughly enjoying the experience.
The genesis of this assignment came from Halbrooks’ experience writing his own ‘newsletters’ (some might call these articles or blogs, but we’re intentionally choosing the term ‘newsletter.’) This year, Dr. Halbrooks began crafting musically-driven accounts of medieval and renaissance literature in his Personal Canon Formation newsletter on Substack. This newsletter provides the reader insights into Halbrooks’ childhood and musical taste (I love the ones about the Beatles!), but also engages the reader into book challenges, most recently the Beowulf challenge, and occasionally highlights his graduate students’ posts. His post from February 14, 2024 guides the reader to feel the rhythm of tenth century Icelandic poetry through the more familiar Purple Rain. This unique musical connection brings these classical pieces to life! You can learn more about Dr. Halbrooks’ newsletter assignment (and likely his personal newsletter) at the South Alabama Conference on Teaching and Learning in May 2024.
When he’s not designing meaningful assignments that “instill a love of reading and intellectual inquiry,” Dr. Halbrooks can be found taking care of “too many dogs.” He might have one for you, if you’re looking for a new pet!
Faculty Spotlight is brought to you by a partnership between the Innovation in Learning Center and Faculty Senate. Please follow this link to nominate an exceptional faculty member.