Journal #15 "Border Patrol State"

What did you find yourself agreeing or disagreeing with? Write a 300-word message to Ms. Silko responding to her essay, "Border Patrol State." Share personal experiences or factual evidence to support your points. (You can find her essay here: http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tw/09-26-96/cover.htm)

http://www.chicagohumanities.org/Genres/Literature/2010-Leslie-Marmon-Silko-The-Turquoise-Ledge.aspx

Journal #14 on "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien

If you were a soldier in Lieutenant Jimmy Cross’s unit, what would you
carry? Why? Write about 300 words.

http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/WritingVietnam/obrienpreface.html

Bonus Blog #3

Sui Sin Far, Onoto Watanna, and Mary Antin all write about their “double consciousness” -- as defined by W.E.B. DuBois -- as immigrants to the United States. What similarities and differences do you see in their stories? Write about 300 words, citing at least one specific passage from one of the texts. Share your thoughts -- don't summarize. Postings that summarize and don't show original thoughts will receive an automatic 1 or 2 for a grade. Due Nov. 15 by 11:59 PM.

Journal #13 on Zitkala-Sa (Gertrude Bonnin)

Zitkala-Sa's writings are about her life on the reservation and then in the white man's world. Explore in 200-300 words how her story is (or is not) one of the American Dream coming true. Use a specific sentence from the text to prove your point and quote it in your posting. ANALYZE the text; don't summarize.

Images of Zitkala-Sa
http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/zitkalasaimages.html

Nov. 3 readings and blog prompt

We'll continue our discussion of IMPERIALISM by focusing on Hawaii. These links are also posted on the Webliography on our class site.

First, look at this web site on Queen Lili'uokalani's imprisionment. Read the portion about the Overthrow.
< http://www.iolanipalace.org/index.php/history/queens-imprisonment.html >

Second, read portions of HAWAII'S STORY BY HAWAII'S QUEEN (1898)
< http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/liliuokalani/hawaii/hawaii.html >
Read the chapters: CHAPTER I "A SKETCH OF MY CHILDHOOD" to CHAPTER IV "MY MARRIED LIFE"; and CHAPTER LIV: "MY LITERARY OCCUPATION" to CHAPTER LVII "HAWAIIAN AUTONOMY." Read the last chapter closely.

Last, watch The Pinky Show < http://www.pinkyshow.org/videos/part-3-hawaii-vs-us-imperialism >
Part 3: Hawaii vs. U.S. Imperialism. It is about 25 minutes.

Then for your blog, choose ONE sentence from Hawai`i's Story by Hawai`i's Queen that you would classify as your favorite. Post the sentence on your blog and then EXPLICATE why it is your favorite in 2-3 sentences. You should analyze the language rather than its meaning. Talk about it critically and avoid warm fuzzy expressions like "it really makes me appreciate how great my life is" and so forth.

Blogs that are primarily summary will automatically receive a 1 or 2 score. *If you are responding to a classmate, don't just agree with them -- engage in a dialogue. Raise a question or disagree. Take a risk!

Bonus Blog #2

Write 300-500 words about IMPERIALISM. What has shocked, surprised, or distressed you? What was weird or strange? Reflect on anything about readings on IMPERIALISM (for Nov. 1 & 3), showing how your thoughts changed or expanded. Due by Nov. 8, 11:59 PM. Share your thoughts -- don't summarize. Postings that summarize and don't show original thoughts will receive an automatic 1 or 2 for a grade.

Blog 11

After reading Pauline Hopkins' “As the Lord Lives, He Is One of Our Mother’s Children” (242+) and Claude McKay's poems (704-709) write a 300-word blog to explore a perplexing question of your choice.*If you are responding to a classmate, don't just agree with them -- engage in a dialogue. Raise a question or disagree. Take a risk!

Journal #10: The Aha! Moment

Read Frances EW Harper's poem, "Learning to Read" and Charles W. Chesnutt's short story, "The Wife of his Youth" (both posted in the Webliography). Then, in the white hot fever of inspiration, you record your own process of coming to a significant insight, realization, or understanding of the texts. Get it all down and record the moment of enlightenment in 300-400 words.

Journal #9: The Contemporary Connection

Read the Introduction to Vol. 2 (1-29) about the years 1865-1914. What contemporary connection do you see between today and the years 1865-1914? Is it in politics, entertainment, sports, or education? Explain the contemporary example and its connection to an issue or idea in the assigned reading. *If you are responding to a classmate, don't just agree with them -- engage in a dialogue. Raise a question or disagree. Take a risk! Write 300-400 words.

Journal #8: The Civil War

After reading from volume 1 of The Bedford Anthology -- American Contexts (1354-56); Brown (1356-58); Davis (1359-62); Lincoln (1374-75); Garnet (1375-78); Chesnut (1379-81); Bryant (1382-83); Piatt (1383-85) -- answer ONE of the following questions with a quote (or two) to support your point. This should be a reflective analysis, not a summary that tells us what you liked or did not like. Check for spelling errors. Failure to follow these directions will reduce your grade.

Option 1: Choose ONLY two texts that seem to be in conversation with each other (they could agree or disagree). Analyze and discuss their competing visions of the American Dream. Whose is the most persuasive? How likely would 19th-century readers be persuaded by such writers/speakers? How would geography determine that audience's receptiveness to the writers'/speakers' claims?

Option 2: Choose two texts to compare and contrast for strange, intriguing, or preposterous ideas. Imagine you are a 19th-century reader (Southerner or Northerner, free or enslaved) and respond accordingly. Adopt a persona that allows you to engage with the two texts.

Post your response BEFORE class on October 6, 2011. If you decide to respond to a classmate, that response must be posted on your own blog as "Journal #8 Response to _____."

Journal #7: Abolitionist Poetry

After reading the two poems by Francis Harper (1230-33) and the two by John Greenleaf Whittier (1220-24), skim over chapter 5 in Gardner's _Writing about Literature_. Choose one of the elements of poetry (speaker, listener, imagery, sound and sense) to analyze in one of the poems.

All the poems are narrative (they tell a story) but they also are advocating social reform, specifically the abolition of slavery. In your journal analyze how one element of poetry persuades the audience to action. Write 200-300 words, citing specific evidence from the poem itself

BONUS Blog on Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

Answer the following question by presenting an argument with concrete evidence to support your points. (Using ideas from class discussion also is a good idea)

Read chapter 10 of Incidents closely. What kind of language does the narrator use to describe her dilemma and her actions? Discuss why such language may have been chosen and how it may have worked on her intended audience.

Post your response by Sept. 28 to get a possible 3 bonus points for your blogging grade.

Slave Children of New Orleans

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.11128/
You can find an article about these children posted on Doc Sharing.

Journal #6 Due Sept. 22

After reading Jacobs' Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (763-791) and Child's, “The Quadroons” (http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/abolitn/abfilmcat.html) answer ONE of the following questions about social context (you may write about a single major or minor character in your posting). Remember to use specific examples from the texts to support your points: 1. Class: How does membership in a social class affect the characters' choices and their successes or failures? How does class affect the way characters view-- or are viewed by-- others? What do economic struggles reveal about power relationships in the society being depicted? 2. Race and culture: How are characters portrayed as being caught between cultures? Are any characters engaged in a conflict with society because of their races or ethnic backgrounds? 3. Gender: How are the characters' choices restricted because of gender? What are the power relationships between the sexes, and do these change during the course of the story? Do any characters resist the gender roles society has assigned to them? Do other characters choose to conform to those roles?
Post your journal before class on Sept. 22, 2011

Harriet Jacobs
http://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/jacobs/support18.html

Journal #5: The Theme

For Thursday, Sept. 15, please read Apess, bio and "An Indian's Looking Glass for the White Man" (639-45); "The American Muse: Poetry at Midcentury" (1202-03); and the Bio on Lydia Sigourney and her poem, "Indian Names" (1203-05).

In your journal, trace a single theme across these texts. You may discuss past readings as well, but must include Apess and Sigourney in your posting. Write 300-400 words.

Journal #4 -- The Explication

Use your journal entry to explain or describe an element of fiction (See ch 4 in Gardner's Writing about Literature)-- plot, character, point of view, setting, theme, symbol, and style in the story, "The Tenth of January" by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. For example. you could identify a symbol and explain its potential meanings; explain a figure of speech and its significance in the tale; note the presence of irony and how it shapes your reading; try to distinguish the narrator and point of view of the selection and how that affects the text. Give a specific example from the text and write 200-300 words. Post on your blog before class on Sept. 13. (You can find the story here: http://www.horrormasters.com/Text/a1730.pdf)

Bio on Phelps: http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/auth/phelps.htm

Journal #3 on Irving's "The Wife"

Choose one of the following two questions to guide your blog: 1. What does Irving's short story, "The Wife," say about American values regarding marriage, women, and economics? OR 2. How does this story answer William Ellery Channing's call for American authors to "take a place [...] among the lights of the world" (477)?

Journal #2-- Reader Response

Use the readings (Introduction v. 1 p. 311-3333) as a basis for your own musings, anecdotes, or personal reflections. In other words, allow your mind to make connections between what you read, past readings or class discussions, and your own experiences and sense of things. Write 200-300 words before class time on Sept. 1, 2011.

Instructions for Blog/Reading Journals

Blog/Reading Journals: 15%.
15 entries, 12 of your own, and three responses to classmates. These entries are less formal writing that should show you not only read the assigned reading, but were able to make significant connections between the text and other texts (such as previous readings, current events, or personal experiences). This is a space to do some deep thinking about the text or ask more questions about it, that will help you prepare for class discussions, quizzes, and exams. It is also a space to show off your skills in writing in “New Media.” The design of your blog will be important, though your focus should be on content. You can make your blog through sites such as Blogger. You will need to subscribe to or "follow" our class blog as well since that is where the online journal/blog prompts will be posted. Details about the blog postings and grading criteria will be posted on the class blog and class site.
Style
Blogs are less formal than essays; they are a forum for reflecting on readings, free-writing and pre-writing, and discussing topics from class that particularly interest you. While I will not be strictly evaluating your grammar/spelling/punctuation in the blog, keep in mind that it is a blog for English class and not an entirely personal blog. It gives me a sense of how you write and who you are as a reader/writer, so avoid internet abbreviations that you might use on an instant messaging program (LOL, BRB, BTW, LMAO, IMHO, etc.), writing in all lowercase or without punctuation, profanity, and anything else that could be construed as disrespectful to our class community. Your blog entries will be graded, and though I don’t anticipate a problem with this, I reserve the right to lower your grade based on inappropriate content in your blog.
While I will be a primary reader of your blog, keep in mind that it is a public forum, accessible to anyone who has access to the internet, so do not post anything that you would not share with the classroom and the internet community. Furthermore, feel free to read your peers’ blogs at any time to get a sense of their ideas on the topic at hand.

Grading
Score of 3
Provides specific textual examples and fully answer’s the “prompt” posted online. Posting should focus on articulating the nature of the literary text’s connection to the course’s guiding questions about the American Dream, the reason the Dream needs reforming, and the place of individuals in American society and their place in the American dream. Focus may also include any significant issue that student deems worthy of critical analysis (if your analysis is too brief, consider analyzing two connections or more). In other words, student makes connections to global ideas & literary themes rather than content summary, and student keeps in mind his/her academic audience. Attention is paid to clarity and piece lacks significant grammatical errors.

Score of 2
Provides an example and makes reference to a specific connection to the course’s guiding questions but doesn’t endeavor to fully work out and explain the concept(s) as reflected within the texts. Attention is paid to clarity and grammar, but there are noticeable errors.

Score of 1
Student gives a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” review of the text without going into any in-depth analysis. Post is written as if student were in a hurry, without any forethought as to content, organization, or proofreading.

Score of 0
Student fails to create a post.

Setting up your blog
Go to www.blogger.com, and follow the on-screen directions for setting up a free blog. You will need a separate blog that is focused on reflecting about your reading. Feel free to provide a link to your other blog if you would like to share that with your classmates as well. Keep in mind that I will post your blog address on the course website, so other class members will have access to your responses. You can restrict general public access, however, under “Settings” by marking “no” for the question “Add your blog to our listings?”
Here are a few requirements for your blog:
Please take some time to personalize your blog. This is a way for both me and your classmates to get to know you, so feel free to include a photo, links to other sites you enjoy, etc.
Please make sure that your name (first/preferred name and last initial) is clear on your blog. For web safety, there is no need to include your full name.

Prompt for Journal/Blog Posting #1

For Thursday's class, please post on your blog a response that is built upon our class discussion and your small group work. Use the following questions to guide your response: How have your definition and ideas of American identity been challenged? Have they changed? If they have, articulate why and how. If they haven't, defend why your definition and ideas are still applicable. Write a journal entry/blog posting of 200-300 words describing your process of understanding or how your thoughts changed (or didn't change) and share your new/improved/same definition. Post on your blog BEFORE class time and be ready to share in our class discussion.

Happy Fall Semester 2011

This is the blog for our Literature class: Writing for Social Reform in the USA,
Colonial Times to the Present. Make sure you subscribe ASAP.

English 20503: Books

Here are the books we will be using for the class:
The Bedford Anthology of American Literature, Volume One: Beginnings to 1865 and Volume Two: 1865 to Present, Ed. Susan Belasco & Linck Johnson, ISBN 9780312482992& 0312412088
Uncle Tom's Cabin (play version) by George Aiken from the novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe ISBN: 1409915727
Writing About Literature: A Portable Guide by Janet E. Gardner, ISBN 0312474997

You can find very inexpensive used copies of these book online, especially at Amazon.com. If you both both volumes of The Bedford Anthology new it is $93 at Amazon.com. But they have used copies for as little at $5 each.

Course Description

English 20503 Major American Writers, sections 56 and 65

The Literature of Social Change in the USA

When Harriet Beecher Stowe first met President Abraham Lincoln, he is reported to have said, “So you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war!'” And while it open to debate that Stowe did start the American Civil War, her novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin was tremendously important in promoting the abolitionist cause and ending slavery in the United States.

Even before Stowe, American writers were advocating social change for their own lives, the lives of Native Americans, immigrants, children, and promoting issues such as education, civil liberties, equal pay for equal work, suffrage, marriage reform, and freedom from gender discrimination. This course will examine different literary genres (essays, poems, novels, short stories, and visual texts) to examine how Americans have advocated for social change from Colonial times to the present.