Supplemental Reading

and Fair Use

Supplemental Reading

In 1101, you may supplement your composition essay reader with either a few essays or a nonfiction book (such as the Convocation Book), the latter being subject to Coordinator approval.

 

In 1102, you may supplement your literature reader with one literary book, either a novel, a play, a book of poetry by a single author, a book of short stories by a single author, or a book of creative nonfiction.

 

Here are some questions to ask as you select a supplemental book.

• Is the work good enough to serve as the only literary book that many of the students might read, discuss, and write about in college?
• Is the work appropriate for a general education class composed of freshman?
  • Or would it be a better fit for a special topics class or an upper-division class for literature majors?
• Does the work have enough literary layers and topics to sustain class discussion for approximately two weeks?
  • Or is it too long to adequately discuss in class?

Here's how to examine potential textbooks and place a textbook order.

Fair Use

When you supplement copyrighted material in your courses, you should follow both the Fair Use Doctrine as well as the TEACH Act.

 

The GCSU Library has a copyright and fair use guide with illustrative scenarios; and the USG Board of Regents provides a Fair Use checklist. The University of Alaska provides a TEACH Act checklist.

 

In practice, a good rule of thumb (but only a rule of thumb—contact the Teaching Fellows Coordinator, the Library, or the University Lawyer if you have questions) is to use only 1-2 chapters/essays or less than 10% of the book, whichever is smaller, and place the copyrighted material on your password-protected GeorgiaVIEW class portal.