Date of Award

Spring 2014

Degree Name

Honors Bachelor of Arts

Department

English

Sponsor

Dr. Martha Cheng

Abstract

Classic novels add value to the high school English classroom, but high school students struggle to bridge the gap created by the hundreds of years of cultural differences, difficult vocabulary, and uncomfortable format present in these classic texts. This gap can be bridged by building students schema through new tools such as transmedia web series. One example of a new transmedia web series that could be helpful in a classroom is the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, a reimagining of Pride and Prejudice through YouTube video blogs and other social media sites. Transmedia web series, like the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, allow students to engage with the most effective form of multimedia learning, with material that is in a medium they are comfortable with spoken in a vocabulary they are used to hearing, in the modern world they have grown up in. An exploration of schema and multimedia theory as well as four case studies involving different experiences with the Lizzie Bennet Diaries alongside a lesson plan and other classroom preparation tools lay the groundwork for future classroom study of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries alongside Pride and Prejudice in a high school English classroom.

Rights Holder

Annamarie Carlson

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