HERB - citing, ahem, newage materials in handouts...

RAISYA@aol.com RAISYA at aol.com
Mon May 8 17:27:01 PDT 2000


Jadwiga,

I agree with Iasmin about using an annotated bibliography. When teaching 
gardening, for example, I include two groups of books, one of historical 
sources, and one with the best "how-to" books on gardening I know.  Often 
people need to start with the modern books to make sense of the period 
sources.  There are also other considerations, such as the distillation 
problem.  I may love Thomas Hill's 16th century gardening book, but people 
living in this area are going to have a lot more success relying on Warm 
Climate Gardening as an introduction.  Although opinions can differ wildly, 
as a judge, I like the same kind of annotated bibliography with 
herbal/gardening projects.  If you relied significantly on a modern source to 
work out the period instructions or for a substitution, the book should be 
included.

An idea for making the class somewhat "hands-on" (sorry if you've already 
thought of this):  Involve the senses!  In this case, bring in bottles of the 
oils and waters you've made as well as some dried herbs, then having a 
sniffing session.  I've brought plants for people to smell and taste, cut 
open an "eastern watermelon" in class, and passed around Fava bean seeds for 
people to handle.

Good luck with the class!  Any chance of us seeing the handout when it's done?

Raisya
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