Final Exam Response: The Clan of College (due May 4th!)

If you missed our LAST CLASS on Thursday, then you missed two things: (a) an in-class writing on the theme of our final response paper, and (b) the response paper itself! Luckily, I'm posting (b) below. This is due NO LATER THAN THURSDAY, MAY 4th BY 5pm! I can't accept late papers since I have to get final grades in that weekend, so please be careful! This is your final assignment, worth 10 pts. out of 100, so it's a letter grade. It will push you one way or another in the class, so not doing such a simple assignment would be disastrous. Read it carefully and e-mail it to me anytime between next week and the 4th. Good luck! 

Final Exam Response: The Clan of College

 “The catch, or the double-blind, about the whole thing is this: If it isn’t pulling from tradition, how is it Indigenous? And if it is stuck in tradition, how can it be relevant to other Indigenous people living now, how can it be modern?” (Orange, There There)

PROMPT: For your final response exam, I want you to write a short reflection on what it takes to switch from ‘pretending’ to be a college student to really being one. Just as Orvil feels like he’s only a “pretendian,” do you think many students feel like they’re just “faking it until they make it” in college? Since college is so full of traditions, expectations, and aspirations, is it difficult to find your way here? What ultimately separates a college drop-out from a college graduate? Is it a state of mind? A way of thinking or behaving? Or something else? In other words, what does it mean to belong to the ‘tribe’ of college students? How do you feel like you belong and are not merely playing dress-up?

REQUIREMENTS: There There is all about the search for identity in a world of tradition, stereotypes, and confusion. So find AT LEAST ONE passage in the book that helps you talk about your experience in college over the past year. How might you share the same search for identity and belonging as many characters in the book? Find a passage you can connect to and you can explain to your readers (and please, don’t use the passage I quoted above—find your own).

Write more than a paragraph: give me AT LEAST A FEW PAGES (double spaced) that really talks about your experience and history while in college (either at ECU, or at other institutions if you’ve transferred from elsewhere). This is worth 10 points, and should be a very easy reflection since it’s totally about you, and you only need one passage from the book to connect to. So make it honest, interesting, and insightful. I want to give you as many points as possible on your way out of the class!

For Tuesday: Start Reading There There...

As I explained in class on Thursday, I want you to read There There at your own pace, as much as you can by the end of the semester. But I won't give you any questions or reading assignments, It's totally up to you if you want to finish the book, read most of it, half of it, etc. The Final Exam will use this book as a source, so be sure to at least read some of it, since that will help you respond to the conversation. 

Instead of questions, I'm going to give you the Final Exam assignment on Tuesday, and we'll do some in-class writing based on some ideas in the book to get you started. We talked a bit on Thursday about definitions of the term "Indian," and how difficult it might be to define yourself when everyone in the world has their own idea of who 'you' are. This is especially true for Native Americans, as their racial identity has been used and appropriated as team mascots, TV and movie villains, and even to sell tobacco. If the entire world uses you as a caricature and a stereotype, why might it be difficult to discover or own your own identity? The book talks a bit about the difficulties of being native in the 21st century, as well as the historical legacy that we read about in poems such as "38" earlier this semester.

So start reading, see what you think of the book (which I think is really good) and we'll talk more on Tuesday! 

Two Things: No Class Tomorrow and...

Sadly, I have to cancel class tomorrow (the 11th) because I need to take my wife to the city for a procedure which will require her to be sedated. So when she wakes up, she can't drive home. As much as I hate to cancel two classes in a row, in this case, I have no choice.

So, come back to class on THURSDAY, and we'll pick up where we left off. No reading yet, but I'll introduce the next book and we'll do some in-class writing to prepare for it.

The Scissortail assignment can be due on THURSDAY as well, instead of Tuesday. It's not worth a lot of points, but the 5 points can be the difference between letter grades, so don't ignore it. Unless, of course, you didn't attend the festival, in which case I can't help you...

See you on Thursday! 

Scissortail Creative Writing Festival Questions

English 1213

Scissortail Paper: Worth 5 pts!

Starting on Thursday, ECU hosts the Scissortail Creative Writing festival, which features dozens of writers from all around the country who come to Ada to read their works. Each session is about an hour long, and will feature anywhere from 2 to 4 writers, each one reading for about 15-20 minutes. There are also 3 special sessions on Thursday and Friday night, as well as Saturday afternoon: these are our ‘featured’ writers, who get an entire hour to read from some of their latest works. You can find the entire schedule at: ecuscissortail.blogspot.com

PROMPT: I want you to attend AT LEAST ONE session at the festival and write about it following the template below. In case you’re too busy to attend the festival, I’m canceling class so you can at least attend the 9:30 Thursday session. However, you don’t have to attend this session; you can attend any session throughout the 3 days, or go to several sessions and choose to write about your favorite one. Make sure to attend the entire session, otherwise you’ll have trouble answering the questions below.

Answer ALL FOUR QUESTIONS for the session you attend, and give some thought/detail to your answers. You won’t get full credit if you give a one-sentence response or it sounds like you didn’t actually attend the session. Just give your honest response and explain why you felt/answered this way.

Q1: Which of the authors interested you the most and why? Was it a specific poem or story? The way they read and presented their work? Did it remind you of something else?

Q2: Did you feel the writers in this session worked well together? Were they all very similar, or were they all very different? Why do you think they were chosen to read together? How did one reader help you appreciate another one? Did they build up to a climax? Or was the first one the best?

Q3: What makes hearing a writer read their works a different experience than simply reading them yourself? Which writer was particularly effective at doing this? Do you think hearing it helped you appreciate or understand a work that you might not have otherwise? Or would it have been easier simply to read it? What is the biggest advantage (or maybe, the biggest disadvantage) to hearing a work read aloud?

Q4: In general, how did the audience react to these authors/works? Did certain works get more response than others--and if so, why do you think so? Did people laugh? Were they completely silent? Did they applaud? Make appreciative noises? Did people seem to 'get' these writers, or did some leave them scratching their heads? How could you tell? 

These questions can either be e-mailed to me, or turned in during class no later than NEXT TUESDAY, April 12^th. Hope to see you at the Festival! 

For Tuesday: Maus II, Chapters 3-5 (the rest of the book, basically!)

Try to finish Maus for Tuesday, though if you don’t, we’ll still discuss it on Thursday, so no worries. The questions below cover the rest of the book, read as much as you can—it goes pretty quickly. Also, don’t forget about the Paper #3 assignment in the post below, due April 6^th!

Answer two of the following:

Q1: Chapters Three and Four use photographs throughout, not just drawings of photographs, but also real ones, such as the one of Vladek at the end. How do these photographs add a unique layer to the story? What do they show us that no amount of fictional storytelling could manage? 

Q2: In Chapter Three, Vladek hassles Artie to take home a used box of cereal. When Artie refuses, Vladek responds, "I cannot forget it...ever since Hitler I don't like to throw out even a crumb." How much should we blame the Holocaust for the 'present' Vladek, who is often insulting, intolerant, and even racist (the scene with the hitchhiker)? Does Artie believe the Holocaust made him this way? Should we?

Q3: When Maus was first published, the New York Times put it on their bestseller list for fiction, which Spiegelman strongly objected to. He claimed it was "non-fiction," even though the editor told him, "when you show me a six-foot mouse, then I'll call it non-fiction." Based on your reading of the book, what category do you feel best represents this book: fiction? Non-fiction? History? Something else? Or should it just be called a "comic book"? 

Q4: What do you make of the interesting passage in Chapter Three, where a soldier shoots a prisoner for walking too slowly, and Vladek says, "And now I thought: how amazing it is that a human being reacts the same like his neighbor's dog." This not only destroys the animal metaphor (since the American soldiers are portrayed as dogs), but it also makes an interesting connection between men and animals. What might this say about the true danger of the Holocaust and of Nazi ideology? What makes people become dogs (or other animals)? What keeps us 'human'? 

Paper #3: Teaching History or Censoring Trauma, due April 6th

English 1213

Paper #3: Teaching History, or Censoring Trauma?

CONTEXT: A recent article in the Daily Maverick states that a Tennessee school board removed Maus from its district “because of its unnecessary use of profanity and nudity and its depiction of violence and suicide,” which the panel found was “simply too adult-oriented for use in our schools...We do not diminish the value of ‘Maus’ as an impactful and meaningful piece of literature, nor do we dispute the importance of teaching our children the historical and moral lessons and realities of the Holocaust…[but] administrators would look for other works that are suitable in a “more age-appropriate fashion.”” (Gorman).

PROMPT: For this assignment, imagine that you’re the State Superintendent of Public Education for Oklahoma, and you’ve been asked to set policy for the teaching of Maus in middle and high schools in the state. RESPOND to the decision above (and to other criticisms of the book) by examining whether you ultimately agree with this decision, and think the book isn’t age appropriate, or whether you think the book needs to remain a part of the English/History curriculum. In writing this response, consider carefully what the book is trying to do, and the importance of teaching history to students who have no connection to the Holocaust and/or WW2. On the other hand, listen carefully to the objections of the Tennessee school board and other sources who have problems with the book: what are their chief objections? Are they sound and/or legitimate?

REMEMBER: This is a Conversation Paper. You can’t just say “I agree with the decision because of X, Y, and Z.” You MUST bring in other voices into this paper so that we see the full range of discussion about this topic. You will need at least 4 sources to give you enough context to respond to and to support your own decision. Consider that if you say “we’re keeping the book in,” someone will ask you, “but why? It’s such a terrible book!” You’ll need to other sources to back you up. Conversely, if you say, “we have to ban the book in our schools,” someone will say, “how dare you resort to censorship—that’s what the Nazis did!” The better you can support your decision with sources and evidence, the more persuasive/authoritative it will sound.

SOURCES: At least 4, and they should be of the following variety…

• Passages from Maus to support your ideas: QUOTE and even describe the images—don’t just say “it shows some really violent imagery.”
• Articles about the Maus controversy in Tennessee and elsewhere
• Interviews with the author
• Articles/websites about book censorship
• Articles/websites about teaching history and/or the Holocaust
• Articles/website about teaching difficult subjects to students
• Aritcles/websites about comics/graphic novels in the classroom

REQUIREMENTS: No page limit, but you must write a reasonable Conversation Paper that responds to sources with your own ideas. Due THURSDAY, APRIL 6^th by 5PM

For Thursday: Maus II, Chapters 1 "Mauschwiz" and 2 "Auschwitz: Time Flies"

Read the next TWO chapters of Maus, which are technically the first two chapters of Book II (but they might be labelled chapters 7-8 in your book). I'll also give out the Paper #3 assignment in class on Thursday, but it won't be due for weeks yet, so don't get too worried!

Answer two of the following:

Q1: Where do we see Artie wrestling with the ethics of writing a comic book about his father's life (and the Holocaust) in Chapters 1 & 2? What is he most worried about? Are his fears justified, or is it merely another form of guilt for not appreciating his father? 

Q2: What do you think Vladek most wants to communicate to Artie, or to the reader, in his story of the Holocaust? While he's obviously trying to make himself the hero (sort of), what else does he want people to understand about the reality of making it through Auschwitz? 

Q3: One of the most touching passages of these chapters occurs early in Chapter One, when Vladek gets new shoes and a belt for his friend, Mandelbaum. Why is this such an important passage in the book? What does it show us about the very 'human' element of the inhuman Holocaust?

Q4: Even though Spiegelman uses simplistic animal metaphors for the different people in his story, how does he attempt to humanize even the 'villains' in his story? What does he reveal about the nature of the various Germans and Poles who ran Auschwitz? If this is a book about the nature of evil, what might surprise us about the people who commit evil deeds?