Taking this with the 522 class, and the many ECL classes before it, I would say that I have learned a lot this semester. Namely, working on close-reading and critical thinking as a class was a much easier, but anxiety-inducing time than having to learn to close-read yourself, as it has given us the opportunity to hear the different ways others have approached literature and their interpretations.

I like to think of close-reading as a form of psychoanalysis, but for media. Why do you think the professor wants us to analyze a passage from a text from The Little Mermaid or The Deep? Why does she want us to close-read The Water Will Carry Us Home and Sirenomelia, even though they aren’t “texts”? Why explicate? We see the author’s creation (the manifest content), and we try to find its hidden, often larger meaning (latent content) through dissections and interpretations. We have been practicing it throughout the semester, and it has been shaping how we think about the world.

In the context of this class, we’ve learned that mermaids are so much more than just beautiful women with fish tails. They have historical significance (dating back to medieval times) and reflect our relationship with nature. Mermaid literature places us in Her eyes, allowing us to experience man’s impact and penetration through Her perspective, raise environmental/ecological awareness, and promote ecocritical thinking. Through Her, the Ocean is History, the Ocean is an archive, and the Ocean is our mother.

I am looking forward to apply what I’ve learned in this course for the next semester, where we dissect the literature of AI and how it is affecting the world in the age of AI (ECL 510B).