below you will find three items:
1. Reading Packet #2, due to be read by class on Tuesday, July 23
2. Out of class essay assignment #1, distributed in class today
3. Instructions regarding the Viewer's Journal, distributed in class today
PACKET 2
***"How the Drug War Hurts Everybody"
http://www.salon.com/2012/04/12/how_the_drug_war_hurts_everyone/
***"Tackling America's Drug Addiction"
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127937271
(this is actually an audio--a 4 minute and 50 second interview that was recorded on National Public Radio in June of 2010.)
***"Confessions of a Mom (and a Former Teen Pothead)"
http://www.npr.org/blogs/tellmemore/2010/10/19/130677774/confessions-from-a-mom-and-former-teen-pot-head
*******************************************************************************
English 20, Sections 3 and 4
Summer, 2013
Catherine Fraga, Instructor
Out of Class Essay Assignment #1—200
points possible—VOICES AGAINST CONFORMITY
• Assigned: Wednesday, July 17
• Rough Draft Due (OPTIONAL),
typed & double spaced, no later than Tuesday, July 23
• Final Draft Due: Thursday,
July 25, typed & double spaced
***Note that you have eight (8) days
to research and write this essay.
Let’s take a closer look at the issue
of conformity/non-conformity.
The most interesting, focused and
articulate essays I receive from students are ones where students select their
own specific topic and are genuinely intrigued by the topic.
For this essay, you will research and
write about one person who is/was considered a non-conformist in his/her field
of interest. Consider the possibility that the person deemed a non-conformist
may not, in your opinion, actually BE a non-conformist. So your essay could
support or disprove the label given by the majority of society.
This topic allows for a wealth of
flexibility and choice.
Your focus ideally will be on a
person working in an area (and perhaps a time period in history) that you are
most interested in: photography; art; literature; politics; film; computers;
music; fashion; science; mathematics; education; or ???
To get a better idea of some
possibilities, and for purpose of illustration, let’s look at some examples of topics within in the time period of
the 1950s in America.
Premise: Many in the 1950s worked
diligently for the comfort and conformity displayed on such TV shows as “Father
Knows Best” and “Leave it to Beaver.” But regardless of the affluence of the
new American middle class, there was still poverty, racism and alienation in
America rarely depicted on TV.
Dozens of people rejected societal
norms through their artwork, creativity and lifestyle. They used words, art,
film and music to rebel against the cookie-cutter mentality of the established
power structure and mass-marketed culture.
Many writers during this time period
(referred to as the Beat Generation) adamantly refused to submit to the
conformity of the 1950s. (these writers included Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg,
Diane Di Prima, Sloan Wilson, J.D. Salinger, William Burroughs, and others)
Likewise, many artists during this
time period adamantly refused to submit to the conformity of the 1950s. (these
artists included Willem De Kooning, Hans Hoffman, Mark Rothko, Jackson Pollock,
Clement Greenberg, and others)
Also, according to an Internet
article on Conformity in U.S. History: “While the 1950s silver screen lit up
mostly with the typical Hollywood fare of Westerns and romances, a handful of
films shocked audiences by uncovering the dark side of America’s youth.”
Many filmmakers of this time period
adamantly refused to submit to the conformity of the 1950s. (these films
include The Wild One; Blackboard Jungle; Rebel without a Cause,
etc)
No matter what non conformist you
select to research, your essay must contain the following:
· your working definition of a non-conformist (in order to frame and
set up your argument)
· a brief history
of the country’s mood during this time period;
· background
and details about the non-conformist you will focus on, in particular, those
that help support your premise;
· how his/her
work challenged the status quo;
· the impact
of his/her work on others in the same field and on society;
· and the repercussions
and influence felt today or what you predict WILL be the repercussions in the
future.
Your essay will be both informative
and analytical: your thesis will “prove” the person’s influence, or not, on
people’s lives, then and now.
Things to Consider:
This is NOT an essay in which you
write an in depth analysis of the literature, film, music, fashion, etc. of the
time period you are focused on. To do that, you would need to carefully read,
view, or listen to the work or material at great length.
Instead, you are conducting research
to discover the mood of the country and the status quo during a particular time
period——why and how a person’s work was considered non conformist—and how their
work influenced those living then…and now. Of course, do not feel as if you
must select a person NOT living now in the 21st century. That
certainly is an option.
Your thesis might read something like
this:
Although 1950s America appeared to be
almost unrealistically content, many visual artists at this time, particularly
Jackson Pollack, successfully combated the blissful charade by using innovative
methods and themes in his work.
A BRIEF LIST OF TOPIC
SUGGESTIONS:
Mahatma
Ghandi
George
Carlin
Martin Luther King,
Jr.
John
Cassavetes
Eminem
Yves St.
Laurent
Georgia
O’Keefe
Abby Hoffman
Galileo
Galilei
John Lennon
Emma
Goldman
David Mamet
Janis
Joplin
Jim Morrison
Johnny
Cash
Ralph Nader
Steve
Jobs
Joan of Arc
Nelson
Mandela
Che Guevara
Karl
Marx
Bill Gates
Dr. Jack
Kevorkian
James
Dean
Quentin
Crisp
Henry David Thoreau
Ayn
Rand
Elvis
Presley
Carl
Jung
Carl Sagan
Alexandr Solzhenitsyn
****************************************************************************
English 20, Summer 2013, C. Fraga
If one is able to write an in depth
character analysis, one will be able to write ANY kind of analysis.
Observing character and
determining/analyzing why someone acts, thinks, speaks, reacts, feels, and
responds the way one does is both intriguing and also the most challenging of
tasks.
Viewer Journal Assignment
For your Out of Class Essay #3, you will be writing a very in-depth analysis
of ONE of the characters from Breaking
Bad, Season 1.
(This is NOT the official
assignment for the essay. You will receive that on the day indicated on the
syllabus.)
However, when you do eventually
submit Out of Class Essay #3 you will
ALSO be submitting a Viewer’s Journal as well. If you do not submit the Journal,
20 points will be deducted from your score on the essay. And remember, you will
not be able to revise this essay.
What is a Viewer’s Journal?
Simply, as you watch each episode
of Season 1, you will jot down notes. There are no specific guidelines for WHAT
you will write.
Record what you believe is
significant or may end up being significant. Some of your entries might read a
lot like recaps of the episode. That is fine.
As you view each episode, begin to think
about what character you would like to write about for essay 3. More than one
character may intrigue you, so you may be jotting down observations and details
about more than one character.
This journal is strictly for YOU and for your use and reference when
planning and preparing to write essay 3. I will not be reading through them.
There is no requirement for length or content. These notes can be typed or
handwritten or be barely readable. Obviously, though, they should be at least
readable to YOU. J
When you submit essay 3, you will attach these journal entries
to the back of the essay.
It must be clear to me that you
have SEVEN distinct entries, one for each episode. Each entry must be titled by
the name of the episode.
Example:
Episode 2: “Cat’s in the Bag”
As you view each episode, and
observe the main characters, here are some questions to guide your note taking.
• What does this character do (and
not do) and why?
• What do others think about your
character? And how do you know?
• What motivates your character to
do what he/she does?
• What influences this character to
do what he/she does?
• What was your first impression of
this character and does it change as you view new episodes? Why or why not? In
which ways?
• What are this character’s goals,
dreams, desires, needs? How do you know?
• Do you like this character? Why
or why not?
• Is this character a believable
one, a genuine one? Why or why not?
No comments:
Post a Comment