Self-Reliance Redux

There's an amusing article in the New York Times about the "Foul Reign" of Emersonian individualism. I posted a link in that section of the Blog. Check it out. Who knows? It might help you exam essay prep!

Final Exam Essay Sheet

The above is on the Blog, under Essential Documents. Read it carefully, and begin thinking about how you want to approach the prompt. We'll spend some class time in days to come in preparation.

Troy and WIllie

As we get farther in Death of a Salesman, you will understand the reason for this assignment. For now, know that you will be writing a "missing scene" from "between the plays" that will allow you to explore some of your own ideas about the texts. The assignment is listed in full under Essential Documents. As we begin watching the second play in class, and as you read it, be thinking about the prompt and what you will do with it.

Fences Reflections

These questions and (required) responses will serve as part of a continuing discussion when we move into our next play, Death of a Salesman. Pick ONE of these and post your response on the Blog. Be sure to indicate briefly at the onset which of the reflections you are doing so as to allow your classmates the opportunity to respond to you. If one of these seems to have been thoroughly covered during our Chalk Talk on Monday, then obviously you may want to choose another topic. The follow-up discussions will take place after Thanksgiving break. To that end, the more thought/detail you put into this now, the better record we'll have of our thinking now and the easier it will be to recall as we move forward.

1. What pattern repeats itself among generations? How are the sins and virtues of one generation played out in the next?

2. To what extent is Troy wrong about how American society has changed in his lifetime? To what extent is he right?

3. In what ways does Troy work towards the “American Dream”? What is Troy’s dream?

Can't Figure Out What to Do?

Hey, all. There are two things to write for tomorrow. The first is the required blog entry below (or wherever it is on your screen). About half of you are there already. The other is The Awakening essay prompt, asking for two pages of "audition drafting" on a topic of your choosing. There are three listed in the posting in Essential Documents, and if the Blog writing turned up something else for you, or if you simply have an original topic you'd like to pursue, then there are more options. For the original ones, please run your idea by me. I don't want you to waste your time on a direction that doesn't work with the goals of the assessment. Those, simply put, are that you write an analysis of the novel which features a close reading of text at key moments. No "I" this time. You are making a persuasive argument about some aspect of the novel which is born out in specific text.

Required Blog Entry Time!

Better late than never, I say. Here is a rather loose prompt, intentionally so because I'd like there to be a variety of facets available to comment on, so that there can not only be dialogue on one specific point, but other possible directions to go, so that later bloggers don't feel it's all been said already. Here it is:

Based the Miss Representation assembly, the COD event you all attended on the Islamic veil in France, and of course on The Awakening, what would you say is Edna's veil? What is it that has "covered her" throughout her life until now? How does she become aware of it? Who helps her perceive that she is in fact "veiled"? (We talked about WHEN—about moments her awakening unfolds. This is asking WHY and HOW does she awaken, and from what?) Comment, respond to each other's comments (by reading the whole blog) and offer any analysis or commentary on the discoveries and claims made during the conversation. By class on Tuesday, please.

Watch This Space

The reading for today, Desiree's Baby, will serve as a seque from Chopin into our next unit, and we'll talk about the story in class Tuesday. The homework for Tuesday, somewhat loose on the blog, will be loose just a little longer. I want to wait for the Conference on Democracy session we're about to see to land before I finalize two aspects of your work for next class. One, there will be a REQUIRED blog posting, the first in a while. Secondly, there will be a prompts, or a selection of prompts for your upcoming essay on The Awakening. My idea is that you will post to the blog, then take the time you have left to do an "audition draft"/vomit draft of ideas you have about one of the prompts offered. No structure necessary there: you're just gathering ideas. I should have the Blog and the Prompts up during lunch today. Have a great weekend.

ADR Homework for Oct 19

There is no homework this weekend. Please bring The Awakening to class on Wednesday as we'll continue discussion and move into your next major writing prompt. Also note that we will be attending The Conference on Democracy session during E Block on Friday, so come straight to the theater that day. Happy weekend all!

Howl—The Movie (Required)

Hey all. As indicated in the title, I'd like to hear from all of you on this one.

Toward the end of the film, James Franco as Allen Ginsberg says, "The poem [Howl] is misinterpreted as a promotion of homosexuality. Actually, it's more of a promotion of frankness about any subject. . . . When a few people are frank about homosexuality in public, it breaks the ice, and then people are free to be frank about anything." How does this statement sound in the context of your recent readings—Emerson and Thoreau? And is this statement consistent with other aspects of American culture, as you understand it?

Thursday Update

For those of you who were there for the full period, this is redundant. If you left early, or if for some reason you need a capsule of our last class, here it is:

We began the "triangular nexus" inquiry, to the extent that we read Crevecoeur's letter, "what is an American" and talked about it. At the time, I had not set the "share" feature correctly and you all could not see the document. It is now posted under "Essential Documents" so that you can (re)read it.

The date of that letter is difficult to determine exactly. Crevecoeur wrote a series of essays including this one starting in 1769 when he operated a farm in New York state. These were eventually published in 1782, bringing the author some fame and celebrity.

We did NOT yet get to look at either PBS clip on YouTube, or get into Whitman. We did however establish Emerson's thirst fot "An American Poet" which is doubtless influenced in some ways by the definition of "American" Crevecoeur put forward. The identification of Walt Whitman as that poet, and an investigation of why, is our next step in our next class (after we do a little peer editing).

Thursday Class Notes

Hi all,

A number of you will be leaving before class ends or will miss the whole day. So I've put links to the two PBS clips on YouTube we will see in class, as well as links to the full text of Leaves of Grass (Whew!), an excerpt from Emerson's essay, The Poet (and a link to the full text) and an excerpt from Crevecoeur's letter in which he defines an American. The triangular nexus of Emerson, Whitman and Crevecoeur is where we'll be by the end of the day today. So if you miss it, the resources are all here for you. We'll be back with more Whitman on Monday. But your homework is to craft the finished first draft of your essay for which the formal topic is also posted here.

Don't forget the option to blog about our Outside experience. Just one so far (Thanks, Callan!)

Outside

Here is an optional invitation to respond to the out-of-the-classroom exercise today. If you have a comment in general, please post what's on you mind. I am wondering specifically how "Nature" seemed to you out there, and in particular what your experience of solitude and quiet was. What came up in connection to Thoreau?

Further Thoughts on Emerson's Ideas

Today we reached a point in the conversation when we might have asked, "would Emerson want us to follow his philosophy (if we can call it that)?" What if someone were to refuse or refute his ideas? What might be his reaction? What evidence do you draw on for your thoughts on this question?

Beyond that, how can we reconcile Emerson's emphasis in this essay on self reliance with the idea of a transcendent "spiritual principle" we gain through intuition rather than experience, and with the benign influence of Nature which he emphasizes many times elsewhere? Is one "selfish" by being self-reliant?

Reactions and Ideas: Emerson's "Nature" and "Discipline"

You've read just a little Emerson, true. But he has a way of inciting reaction. What are some of yours? I'm more interested in your philosophical response than I am in your emotional response. So not "I liked it/don't like it" but rather, "this resonated for me/I don't understand what Emerson means by_______/or I disagree with Emerson on one point." You get it. It's okay to express confusion, certainly.

Please remember to log in so you are recognizable. If your access username is just a scramble of numbers, simply say, "Jim here:" and proceed.

Also remember to read what has been posted previously. Ideally your ideas connect with a context, even as they are uniquely yours.

Welcome Dreamers!

Greetings!

This Blog will be your access to syllabi, essential documents, links and other course material. Check it often. Sometimes i will invite discussion of a topic that has come up in class. Other times I will require you to post a response to a specific question. When you post, make sure your identity is apparent to others using the Blog. If your account with Google (or whatever) reduces you to a series of letters and numbers, then announce yourself by saying, "This is Jim." Or whatever. The point is to be public and to stand behind your words, whatever they may be.
I'm excited to see what we will do together this semester!