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? 

For Tuesday (after Spring Break!): Maus, Chapters 4-6

 No questions for the Break, but do keep reading the first part of Maus, which consists of Chapter 4 "The Noose Tightens" (in case you didn't finish it for last time), Chapter 5 "Mouse Holes" and Chapter 6 "Mouse Trap." We'll have an in-class writing over this when you get back to class, so bring your book, since you might want to use it!

Here are some ideas you might consider as you read:

* How does Spiegelman try to offer proof of his father's experience throughout these chapters? Why does he want us to know that this book isn't fiction, but an actual history of an actual man?

* What qualities and philosophies help Vladek survive during their time in the Jewish ghetto? Does Speigelman make his father seem occasionally too smart/capable in the book? Does he emerge as a typical 'hero'?

* Similarly, why does his mother take a back seat in his story? Why do we see so little of her in the comic? 

* Why do so many people seem to turn on one another in ghetto? How does Vladek, to a lesser degree, also have to betray his own family?

* One of the most startling passages of the comic is the inclusion of an earlier Spiegelman comic, Prisoner of the Hell Planet, which features some of the main characters of the comic in human form. It's also drawn completely differently and has a much more violent, scary tone than the comic itself. Why do you think he includes this in the book? Do you think it's necessary? (it's one of the main reasons the book is banned from school districts today)

* Why does Artie call his father a "murderer" in the final pages of the book? Though he's not being literal here, is there any truth to this accusation? 

Enjoy the break! 

For Thursday: Speigelman, Maus, Chapters 1 to 4

I introduced Maus and some of the controversy surrounding it in class on Tuesday, and now want you to experience it for yourself. So read Chapters 1 "The Sheik" to Chapter 4 "The Noose Tightens" for Tuesday's class. Here are a few questions to get you thinking about the book before class...

Answer two of the following:

Q1: We discussed the metaphor of mice and cats in class on Tuesday, where Spiegelman said he was inspired by the Nazi's comments that Jews were "rats" and "vermin." But besides the metaphor, why do you think the comic is drawn not only in black and white, but in such a rough, cartoony style? Would it have been more effective if it were in color and more realistic-looking? Does the style somehow aid the metaphor?

Q2: Why does Artie have such trouble relating to his father in these early chapters? What seems to be their biggest conflict or argument? Is this a generational issue, or does it have something to do with Vladek's war experience, do you think?

Q3: Why do you think Artie shows us the early days of Vladek's romance with Anja? Does this make Vladek look like a sympathetic character? Do you think Vladek would have approved of this characterization (since he tells Artie at one point not to record some of his stories, such as the one with Lucia)?

Q4: According to these chapters, why didn't the Jews of Poland and elsewhere resist the gradual cruelties and dominance of the Nazi regime? In other words, why did so few of them fight back? You might consider how Anja refuses even to send her children away to safety, even though at this point the 'noose' is tightening around them. 

Remember, Paper #2 is due Thursday @ 5:00 (see post below)

If you missed class on Tuesday, just remember that Paper #2 is due on Thursday, so we won't have class. Instead, make sure to get something to me (as finished as possible, as good as you can in the time) by around 5pm. A little late is okay, just not very late. 

I gave everyone the handout below to remind you about incorporating quotes and doing proper citations. Keep this handy in case you forget how to do it! 

Come back on TUESDAY, and we'll do a Writing Workshop to give you ideas about the next book and some other ideas about writing in general.

MLA Citation for Paper #2

When citing a poem in your paper, be sure to introduce the poem and the poet, and the cite the page number from your book. Always give enough context so that we know where the lines come from, and always explain why the lines are significant to you (what they mean or explain).

For example:

In Tina Chang’s Poem, “Story of Girls,” she describes an incident where her brothers held her down for an hour while devising various cruel ways to torture her. But when she thinks back to that incident today, she remarks, “Oftentimes it’s the quiet cousin I think about” (60). This is important because…

And when using Humans of New York, be sure to introduce the book and the image itself through description, and cite the page number. Try to avoid saying, “on page 232, there’s that picture of the old man who says…” Be more descriptive so we can see the picture as clearly as you can.

WORKS CITED

In general, include the author, the name of the poem (if you’re using poetry), the title of the book, and the publication information (which you can find on the inside cover).

Chang, Tina. “Story of Girls.” American Journal: Fifty Poems for Our Time. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2018.

Stanton, Brandon. Humans of New York: Stories. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2015. 

For Tuesday: American Journal, Last Poems!

Here are a few more poems to read to give you ideas for Paper #2, and to read/enjoy in general. Again, you can read ANY of the poems in the book, but these are ones that I hope to discuss in class, and I feel are a little easier to get into than the rest. But they're just suggestions--read more if you like!

POEMS: Trethewey, Elegy (83-84); Young, Crowning (86-87); Ewing, Requiem for Fifth Period and the Things That Went On Then (90-93); Phillips, Mercy (96-97) Sacfidi, For the Last American Buffalo (pp.107)

Answer TWO of the following:

Q1: What theme do you see connecting some or all of these poems? The chapter is entitled "One Singing Thing," which comes from the poem on page 107. What do you think that means? 

Q2: Two of the poems, "Elegy" and "Mercy" are about remembering one's parents now that the children have become parents themselves. What regrets does each poet seem to have now that they're grown up, and see their parents differently now? What might one or both of them have done differently?

Q3: Many of the poems in this section are about children as well. What are the poets trying to show us about children and childhood in this poems, esp. one like "Requiem for Fifth Period"? What do we miss (or misunderstand) about childhood now that we're adults? What do we forget?

Q4: In the last poem, "For the Last American Buffalo," the poet says, at the end, that the world doesn't care whether we live or die. Nevertheless, he says, "Tell is you do and why" (107). What do you think he means by this? Why should we tell the world--or anyone--that we "do and why"? 

Paper #2: The America We Don’t See (due March 2)

Paper #2: The America We Don’t See

INTRO: For this paper, another ‘conversation’ paper, I want you to consider how poetry and pictures can help us see the normal, everyday world in a different light. We get up, get dressed, and go to work or school and think “same thing, different day.” But every day could be wildly different based on how we see it, and even the most normal experience could hold incredible tragedy and power…for you, or for the other people around you.

PROMPT: Use the poems in this book to start a conversation about something that most people don’t see or think about on a daily basis, but is actually very common. It could be violence, death, mental health, divorce/break-ups, war, isolation, personal safety, etc. etc. Why don’t we talk about this more often, or how do we talk about it in ways that aren’t helpful or useful? Why is it easy to avoid talking about it? What is the danger of not talking about it? Make sure we understand “why this matters,” and more importantly, why YOU think it matters.

CONVERSATION REQUIREMENTS

·      Use 2-3 poems to develop this conversation, quoting from them and showing how the poems help us ‘see’ this conversation more clearly.

·      Use 1-2 stories from Humans of New York that you think also shed a light on this conversation, either from the stories themselves, or even just the pictures. How could one of the images become a metaphor for this topic?

·      OPTIONAL: you can also use outside sources on the topic to help you discuss this issue, though you don’t have to. It might add to your conversation, but you’re only required to use the 2 books in class.

·      Be sure to introduce every poem and HONY story with context: the poet/title, or the person in the story. Cite page numbers for quotations.

·      A Works Cited page that lists both books in class. For example…

·      Purupra, Lia. “Proximities.” American Journal: Fifty Poems for Our Time. Minnealpolis: Graywolf Press, 2018.

 DUE THURSDAY, MARCH 2^nd BY 5PM [no class that day]

For Thursday: American Journal: Layli Long Soldier, "38"

NOTE: If you want to learn more about the historical events the poem talks about, click on this link: https://blog.nativehope.org/the-untold-story-living-the-dakota-38-memorial

There's only ONE poem to read for next time, but a longer one. It tells a story (sort of), and is about history, but is also full of personal insights and metaphors. It's a fascinating poem about a little-known event in our nation's history that was understandably not included in many history textbooks until relatively recently. 

Answer TWO of the questions below:

Q1: In this poem, Layli Long Soldier writes that "Here, the sentence will be respected," and "Everything is in the language we use." Why is she being so careful with her language and in defining so many words/terms? Why does she want us to understand the "how" and "why" of language?

Q2: If you could hear her read this poem, what do you think her TONE would be? In other words, how would she read this poem? What message is she trying to convey by the way she is writing? Is it sad? Bitter? Sarcastic? Ironic? How can you tell?

Q3: What do you think she means by the statement, "Real" poems do not "really" require words? Why is this sentence italicized and given quotations? Is her poem not a "real" poem? And if not, what would a "real" poem be?

Q4: She calls the Ride of the Dakota 38 a memorial that is more important than a plaque or an object because it is also an act. How could a poem also be an act, rather than an object? How does poems, like rides, act? 

For Tuesday: American Journal, poems from Part III: "Words Tangled in Debris"

For Tuesday, we won't have any questions, but we WILL have an in-class writing response over one of the poems below. So be sure to read the following...

* Who's Who (53-55)

* Minimum Wage (56)

* Proximities (57-58)

* Story of Girls (59-60)

* Fourth Grade Autobiography (61)

* The Long Deployment (64)

* From Personal Effects (65-66)

* We Lived Happily During the War (67)

Here are some tricks to reading poems, as we've discussed in class: 

1. Remember, some poems have a kind of story or plot, but most don't. You have to figure out what the situation/context is based on the metaphors. So look for an intersting metaphor and try to figure out why the poem puts 'this' in terms of 'that.' 

2. Also try to figure out who's talking, and who they're talking to. Most poems create a character, and understanding who this character is helps you understand the poem.

3. Think about the Title. What is is referring to? A line in the poem? Is it another metaphor? Does it make sense after you read the poem? Would it help you re-read the poem with that in mind? 

4. Look for repetition as well. Repeated words or phrases are often clues to what the poem is about, or how we can understand #2. 

5. Read it OUT LOUD. You will hear things you won't see on the page. You'll hear the music, the rhythm, and the mood of the piece. The way a poem sounds is often the key to what it's about. 

Good luck, and see you next week! 

For Thursday: American Journal, Poems: see below

NOTE: I suspect some people still don't have all their books. If you for some reason don't have this book, or the bookstore doesn't have it, or for ANY reason. please let me know and I can get you copies of the poems. It's better to have the book, but I don't want you to give up simply because you don't have the book. So let me know.

For Thursday's class, read the following poems (you can read more if you want, but I chose the ones that I think are the most interesting and the easiest to read without too much background):

* Szybist, Girls Overheard While Assembling a Puzzle (25-26)

* Wheeler, "From the Split" (pp.35-36)

* Diaz, "My Brother at 3 am" (pp.42-43)

* Rasmussen, "Reverse Suicide" (p.44)

* Wright, "Charlottesville Nocturne" (p.45)

* Limon, "Downhearted" (p.46)

* Wiman, "After the Diagnosis" (p.48-49)

Answer TWO of the following after reading (and I encourage to re-read these short poems, because you'll understand more the more you read them):

Q1: Which poem seems the most like a story we might find in Humans of New York? Why is this? What kind of 'story' is it trying to tell (and does it remind you of a person/photo you saw in the book?)

Q2: Which poem has the most unusual structure? In other words, which poem isn't like any other poem you've read before? Why do you think the poet writes the poem like this? What does it help us see or experience to read it like this?

Q3: In Ada Limon's poem, "Downhearted," she's trying to explore the metaphor of being "down-hearted," which uses the idea we discussed in class of "down" being a metaphor for bad, out of control, unconscious, etc. How does she try to make us understand the emotion in other ways in this poem? To her, what does "downhearted" mean? (NOTE: Ada Limon is the current Poet Laureate of the United States, which means she's basically the ambassador of poetry!). 

Q4: Most of the poems in this selection (except the first one, about the puzzle) are from Part II of the book, which is entitled, "Something Shines Out From Every Darkness." What do you think that sentence is trying to say? How can something shine out from darkness? And how might this help explain or illustrate one of the poems in this section? 

For Tuesday: American Journal: read the poems below

On Thursday, we discussed what makes reading poetry different than reading normal writing (prose), and why poetry actually mimics much closer the way we think and experience the world. 

For example, most of the common statements we say every day are full of hidden metaphors that we forget are actually poetry. Examples are:

* I woke up this morning (you don't wake "up"--up is a direction; it suggests that you rise out of unsconsciousness)

* I can't get over him (you don't get "over" people--you simply have trouble forgetting them. "Over" is a metaphor similar to "up"). 

* I wish you would stop wasting my time! (you can't "waste" time, or spend time, or borrow time, or save time; time isn't money, though we think about it as if it is. It makes more sense to us, since money is abstract otherwise). 

Poetry tries to use our everyday metaphors in new, exciting ways to make them sound like poetry again. It also tries to take normal experiences such as going to the store, brushing your teeth, or looking at a sunset and frame them as completely new and unique experiences. Poetry makes us look at the world for the first time, much the way we did as children. 

So for Tuesday's class, I want you to read the following poems from American Journal and answer TWO of the questions below:

THE POEMS

* Girmay, "Second Estrangement" (we read this in class, but it's worth reading again--or for the first time, if you weren't there)

* De La Paz, "In Defense of Small Towns"

* Brown, " 'N'em"

* Voight, "The Field Trip"

* Jackson, "Mighty Pawns"

QUESTIONS (answer any TWO):

Q1: Remembering that metaphors substitute one thing in terms of another, discuss an interesting or unique metaphor from one of the poems. What does it make you see about the idea or object that you wouldn't otherwise see? Remember the painting we saw in class, where a glass could be a storm, etc. How might this poem change our associations with commonplace objects? 

Q2: These poems are all about everyday experiences from childhood and daily life: living in a small town, going on a field trip, getting lost, etc. These aren't typically the subjects of poetry for most people. So what makes these poems 'poetic'? How do they change our experience or understanding of these very normal subjects? 

Q3: Discuss a line in one of the poems that simply doesn't make sense to you. Why does it seem so difficult? Is it a series of words you don't know? A strange sentence construction? A confusing image or metaphor? A line that seems out of place? Why do you think the poet wrote it like this?

Q4: What poem could you especially relate to based on your own experience, memories, childhood, or ideas? Is there a poem that seemed to be taken from your own life? Why is this? Discuss a line or important image that you can specifically understand or relate to.  

Updates for the Class: See below

Since the university doesn't open until 10:00 on Thursday, we can't have class at our normal time at 9:30. So class will still be canceled for Thursday. So here's the schedule and changes for next week:

1. We WILL have class on Tuesday. So please come back on Tuesday, and the last questions for Humans of New York will be due on Tuesday instead. If you haven't done them yet, then you still have the entire weekend to complete them. 

2. I'll push the Paper #1 assignment to THURSDAY, the 9th by 5pm. It WILL NOT be due on Tuesday, since we need to have class before it's due. 

3. We WILL have class on Thursday as well, since I don't want to cancel yet another class after missing an entire week. But you won't have any work due. I simply want to introduce the next unit of the class, as well as our next book. So please come on Thursday as well. 

4. Let me know if you have any questions about the Paper #1 assignment, and I'll be happy to help you. I will be in my office from 10-11 tomorrow, as well as from 1-3. Or you can e-mail me at any time. 

See you next week! 

For Tuesday: Humans of New York, last questions

NOTE: Be sure to see the Paper #1 assignment two posts down if you missed class on Thursday, as several of you did! 

Answer two of the following...

Q1: Find one picture that you feel represents who you are right now. It doesn't have to look like you or even be the same sex/age as you, but how do they somehow embody your own identity at this moment in time? It could be their style, clothing, attitude, or what they're communicating in the caption.

Q2: Find one picture that you feel represents who you most hope to be 5-10 years from now. Again, it can be a different age/sex than you, but what about them seems to represent an identity you hope to attain or realize in the future. Why is this? How might this person underline the connotation of "success" or "happiness" or even "being an adult" for you? 

Q3: If you had to choose ONE of these images to be on the cover of the book, which one would you choose? Would it be more because of the picture itself, or the story it tells? Why might it best represent all that Humans of New York offers to the reader?

Q4: Which person or which person's story in the book would make a good movie or TV show? Even with only a small story, why might it hold an entire story behind it? What kind of show/movie do you think it would be? 

NOTE: Class Resumes on Thursday (tomorrow): see below

 Two quick things to remember:

1. We'll resume Tuesday's class tomorrow, on Thursday. See the post 2 posts down about the in-class writing and some ideas we might discuss in class.

2. Also, I posted the Paper #1 assignment which I planned to assign on Tuesday. Since we're doing it a day later, I pushed the due date back as well. So you'll still have the same amount of time to write it.

See you tomorrow hopefully! 

Paper #1: The Human Conversation, due Thursday, Feb.9th (revised date)

English 1213

Paper #1: Human Conversations

INTRO: For your first paper, I want you to focus on the idea of writing a ‘conversation,’ which means a paper that brings in other voices than your own. Instead of writing a paper that says “I think this, and I think that, and I also think this,” I want you to introduce other people’s ideas and thoughts, and explain why they’re significant before you weigh in with your own ideas. Good writing is always writing that responds to a conversation and shows us why things matter. If you find yourself unable to explain the importance of a topic or idea, you’ve simply left out too much of the conversation. How to find the conversation? Find who else is talking about it, and let them discuss it.

PROMPT: Find THREE people in the book who share the same basic conversation. This could be a conversation about education, having a family, losing a job, finding happiness, losing hope, falling in love, etc. They don’t all have to talk about it the same way, or even agree with each other, but it should be clear from your paper that they’re each talking about the same basic thing. Introduce each person by briefly describing them and then quote something significant of what they bring to the conversation. Explain how each one adds or seems to respond to the other, and what we learn from hearing these three people share their discussions with the audience.

OUTLINE: Your INTRODUCTION should open “in the middle” (we’ll discuss that in class) with one of the ‘humans’ in the book, using their story or picture to introduce the topic. The rest of the paper should be their discussions and your responses to them (what makes them significant, why they’re important/interesting, etc.). Your CONCLUSION should explain why this, to you, is one of the most important conversations we can have as human beings. What do you, personally, learn from this conversation that others can benefit from?

INTRODUCING A SOURCE (an example):

On page 213 of Humans of New York, we see an intense-looking young man staring at the camera with blue eyes and a blue-green hoodie. It’s clearly winter in the photo, as we see snow in the background and barren trees. The man is photographed in the act of talking to the photographer, and tells him that “You have to network and create opportunities, but I’m not really good at that because I get nervous and overly quiet in social situations” (Stanton). This is important because…

REQUIREMENTS:

·       Use three people from the book in your discussion

·       Be sure to briefly describe each person and QUOTE from their stories (you don’t have to quote the entire story, esp. if it’s long)

·       Cite all quotations according to MLA format (author and/or page number)

·       The paper should have a clear Introduction, Discussion, and Conclusion

·       Be sure to include a Works Cited entry with our book

·       Due Thursday, February 9 [We WILL have class on this day, but there won't be any other work due] 

Tuesday class cancelled for weather: see post below

 I went ahead and cancelled class on Tuesday since many people have to commute and the roads could be iffy. So we'll pick up on Tuesday's reading/in-class writing on Thursday. See the post below this one for details. 

See you on Thursday! 

For THURSDAY (rescheduled): Humans of New York, pp.150-250 (roughly)

I've given you a big range of pages to read for next time, but again, you don't have to read this book exactly like a book. Feel free to read the entire range of pages, or skip around, or just find 10-15 pictures that you really connect with. There's no right way to read this book.

I won't give you questions this time, since we'll do an in-class writing once we come to class on Tuesday. However, here are some things to think about/look for as you read:

IDEAS TO CONSIDER AS YOU READ (don't answer these): 

* What are some of the recurring conversations that keep coming up with the "humans" in the book? For example, bad parents/childhood abuse, divorce, loneliness, etc. 

* Think about some of the differences between what younger people say vs. older people. Is it simply age and experience that changes their perspective? Or something else?

* Are there certain kinds of people Stanton is attracted to? Is there a 'type' that shows up more often than others?

* Is there anyone you particularly identify with? Someone you feel like represents who you are at this moment?

* What are some recurring regrets that people have in these stories? 

* Do you think these are 'big city' stories, or could they happen even here in Ada? To people here also feel this way, do you think? 

For Thursday: Humans of New York, pp.1-150

Be sure to buy the book so you can answer these questions for Thursday. If the bookstore is still out by Wednesday, let me know and I might be able to give you an alternative (but I won't know unless you reach out). Read the first 150 pages or so, and then answer TWO of the questions below. Bring these questions to class on Thursday if you can, but they're not technically due until 5pm on Thursday. 

Then answer TWO of the questions below:

Q1: Whose aesthetic in these pictures immediately grabs you or interests you? What do you think makes it so striking or unique? Does the story add to this aesthetic or change it in any way? 

Q2: What seems to most interest Stanton as a photographer or as a fellow human? What kinds of people is he most drawn to, or what aspect of people does he like to focus on? Give a specific example. 

Q3: If you didn't know anything about New York, what impression might you walk away with after reading many of these pictures and captions? What might Stanton want you to think about the "humans" of New York?

Q4: Somewhat related to Q1, which story changes the picture the most for you? Why is this? Would the picture be as powerful or meaningful without the story--or vice versa? 

For Next Week: Humans of New York

 Remember to check the bookstore next week if you still don't have the books for class, since they promise to have all the books re-stocked no later than Wednesday. On Tuesday, we'll do some in-class writing about several of the images in the book, as a way to get us started reading/thinking about it. Then for Thursday's class, I'll assign some reading and questions, so again, be sure you have the book. I'll discuss the questions in class on Tuesday, and post them on this blog soon afterwards. 

Let me know if you have any questions in class or by e-mail at jgrasso@ecok.edu.