<— Previous assignments Back to this week’s assignments —>
HOMEWORK FOR OUR NEXT MEETING:
Over the weekend I’d like you to finish the novel. I understand this is a longer reading, but if you’ve been heavily invested in the book, it’s hard to put it down at this point. Begin on page 171 and read all the way to 209.
week 16
green/white 1 december 7, DECEMBER 8
Today we’ll alternate between individual reflection and large-group discussion with respect to big-picture questions about the whole of Achebe’s novel. A particular focus will be on the novel’s title: Do things fall apart because of the younger generation’s betrayal of tradition, or do things fall apart because the older generation refuses to accept the inevitability of change? What does the novel think is true?
In the second half of class you will work on your single story project.
HOMEWORK FOR OUR NEXT MEETING:
Please read Aldous Huxley’s “Words and Behavior” in the unit packet, pages 34-8. THINK: In his essay, Huxley warns against the manipulation of language—both by political leaders and by ordinary citizens—to justify war. To what extent do you think his observations are true today? What is the connection to the danger of the single story?
FLEX WEDNESDAY december 9
I’d also like for you, before our second class this week, to read Sherman Alexie’s short story “Indian Education”, yet another example of a single story. It’s also found in the unit packet, pages 42-47. What are some differences in the ways each of the two stories, Things Fall Apart and “Indian Education”, go about challenging their respective single story?
green/white 2 december 10, 11
Today we’ll look closely at both the Huxley essay I asked you to read and Sherman Alexie’s “Indian Education”.
HOMEWORK FOR OUR NEXT MEETING:
Finish your single story project!
___________________________________________________________________________________
week 15
green/white 1 november 30, DECEMBER 1
Today we’ll begin by having the great end-of-the-fall-semester-freshman-year-and-what’s-NOT-an-appropriate-way-of-handling-it talk. As we get closer to the spring semester, let’s talk about resetting and learning from your experiences this past fall.
Then we’ll get caught up with our discussion of Things Fall Apart. The main focus will be on chapters 11-13. I’ll ask one student to take us to a passage to begin the discussion.
Then we’ll look at a few sample video essays from my previous students. What questions do you still have about the project? I’ll give you some time in class today to work on the project.
HOMEWORK FOR OUR NEXT MEETING:
Please read chapters 14-16 in Things Fall Apart, pages 129-147. What does Nwoye begin to find so attractive about Christianity?
FLEX WEDNESDAY december 2
Continue reading Things Fall Apart, chapters 17-19, pages 148-167.
green/white 2 december 3, 4
Today we’ll continue our discussion of the novel. I’ll then give you a little time to work on your final project.
Here is a link to an iMovie tutorial for a video essay.
HOMEWORK FOR OUR NEXT MEETING:
Over the weekend I’d like you to finish the novel. I understand this is a longer reading, but if you’ve been heavily invested in the book, it’s hard to put it down at this point. Begin on page 171 and read all the way to 209.
what's due?
December 7/8 - “Sonny’s Blues” Essay Revision
December 14/15 - The Single Story Video Essay
STUDYING achebe
Annenberg Media’s Introduction to World Literature - TFA
ONGOING Extra Credit
Required reading can at times feel like drudgery. And while it's important to do the reading I set for the class, I fully recognize that you'd rather have a say in what it is we read. Unfortunately the freshman curriculum has little student choice built in, so your ongoing extra credit gives you the opportunity to read an outside text in your own time at some point during the semester. I'm very happy to reward you with additional course credit if you take it upon yourself to read a text outside of class and meet with me to discuss it. A few things:
(1) This must be a text you've never read before.
(2) It should be imaginative and of recognized literary merit. The text must be approved beforehand.
(3) The amount of credit awarded is variable depending on the chosen text and how our follow up conversation goes.
(4) While you may read as much as you'd like, I will only award extra credit once per semester.
OUR VIRTUAL CLASSROOM CODE
Each time we’d have a regularly scheduled class, you’ll follow this link and enter code:
640-291-5956
enjoying literature
“In the realm of narrative psychology, a person’s life story is not a Wikipedia biography of the facts and events of a life, but rather the way a person integrates those facts and events internally—picks them apart and weaves them back together to make meaning. This narrative becomes a form of identity, in which the things someone chooses to include in the story, and the way she tells it, can both reflect and shape who she is. A life story doesn’t just say what happened, it says why it was important, what it means for who the person is, for who they’ll become, and for what happens next.”
