AP Literature 2010 - 2011

Volume 3: Jane Eyre

2011-04-06T07:41:00.003-04:00

Attention to Detail! by Noriko Ambe 2008

Cut on catalogues of "Attention to Detail - Curated by Chuck Close" at Flag Art Foundation 12 1/4 (H) x 14 1/2 (W) x 11 1/2 (D) inches 31(H) x 36.8(W) x 29.2(D)cm

Flag Art Foundation collection

In full disclosure: I did not come up with these topics, but I do like them. I would cite or reference this, but I don’t know from where it came.

Choose one of the following three blog posts

Topic A

At the opening of Ch. 28, Jane leaves Thornfeild and returns to Nature. What is the significance of this? What do you note about the ways in which “Nature” is described here: are Jane’s attitudes towards Nature essentially pagan, or are they leavened with Christianity? How does this help us consider the treatment of “Nature” within the novel as a whole?

Topic B

After being taken in by the Rivers’ in Ch. 29, Jane meets St. John Rivers. How does Jane see him? Look particularly at the para. “Mr. St. John sitting as still as one. . . and again in Ch. 30 at her response to his sermon “It began calm. . .”. In what ways is St. John represented as being opposite to Rochester (consider Jane’s thoughts in Ch. 31 “Meantime, let me ask myself one question. . .”) What values or point of view do you feel are associated with him? What is significant about the way that Jane responds to him?

Topic C

Just as Jane has significant dialogues with Rochester, so she converses with St. John. What is significant about these conversations, especially in terms of the light they throw on the novel’s treatment of “values”? Look at chapter 31 “Very well; I hope you feel the content. . .” and at the end of Chapter 32 “Again the surprised expression crossed his face. . .”. Also look at Chapter 34 “I have no medium. . .” and the last five pages of this chapter “God and nature intended you for a missionary’s wife. . .”. How does the novel present Jane’s dilemma as to whether or not to accept Rivers’ proposal, and how is it resolved, especially in the last few pages of chapter 35?

Each post should be a minimum of 1000 words. I'm much more interested in the depth and specificity of your answers (analyzing how the text works) than generalities. Click here for passage explication handout. You should use some of these strategies. Also, you will be graded on the APE Rubric.

These are due by class on Monday, April 25th, 2011.

Finally, I would like you to do a passage explication on Volume 3. Choose any passage (half-page to a page), write your own Question 2 prompt, and a respond to it. Also due on Monday, April 25th, 2011.

Volume 2: Jane Eyre blog posts

2011-04-06T07:30:00.004-04:00

Attention to Detail! by Noriko Ambe

2008
Cut on catalogues of "Attention to Detail - Curated by Chuck Close" at Flag Art Foundation
12 1/4 (H) x 14 1/2 (W) x 11 1/2 (D) inches
31(H) x 36.8(W) x 29.2(D)cm

Flag Art Foundation collection.

In full disclosure: I did not come up with these topics, but I do like them. I would cite or reference this, but I don’t know from where it came.

Topics for Thursday. April 14th, 2011:

Topic A: In Chapter 10, Jane provides a summary of her feelings and mental state at this point. What is the significance of this passage as a description of Jane’s inner state, and how does it match what we have learned of Jane’s character? What is the significance of her going to the top of the building to make this self-assessment? Is it significant that, almost directly after making this plea, her wish is granted? Does it not seem as though events seem almost to be caused or precipitated by her subjective feelings?

In an equivalent passage, the opening paragraphs of Chapter 12 (the famous “stiller doom” passage) Jane again craves excitement, and very shortly afterward it happens when she encounters Rochester for the first time. What does this passage say about Jane and her ‘self’? Does it confirm her as a ‘Romantic’ character? What is the significance of her ‘Feminist’ sentiments (and it might be worth noting that, in Mary Wollstencraft, there was a close affinity between Feminism and the Romantic movement)? Are both passages further examples of Jane’s sense of frustration at feeling ‘imprisoned’, and how accurately does this tally with Rochester’s assessment of Jane in Chapter 19?

Topic B: In Chapter 12, Jane first encounters Rochester. What significance do you find in the way that he is introduced, the background, use of imagery, etc.? In what ways is he established as a ‘Byronic’ hero from the start?

At two key points, in Chapter 13 and Chapter 27, Rochester and Jane have a discussion, culminating in the moment of choice for Jane. What do you think is revealed by these exchanges? How relevant is it here to bring in ideas of Rochester as the Byronic hero who must be educated?

Half of you will partake in a SRD on one of the Topics. The other half of you will make an extended blog post (1,000 words) addressing the other topic. *see note at bottom of post

Topics for Friday, April 15th, 2011:

Topic C: In Chapter 13, Jane shows Rochester her paintings. What do these tell you? What significance do you find in the imagery and description of these? Does the novel give any clues as to the source of these paintings?

What are we to make of Jane’s responses to the reality of Blanche Ingram? Look at the end of Chapter 16 and then at Chapter 17 “Genius is said to be self-conscious…”. You might also look at Chapter 18: “I have told you, reader, that I had learnt to love Mr. Rochester…”. What do these passages tell us about Jane? What are we to make of Jane’s point of view as the victim? What are the effects of the change of tense in the second extract? Do you detect any elements of masochism or self- martyring in these passages?

Topic D: What do you think is the significance of the retelling of dreams by both Jane and Rochester? What do they show? Look at Chapter 25: “No, no, sir: besides the delicacy and richness of the fabric…”, “I dreamt another dream, sir…”, at Chapter 27: “That night I never thought to sleep…”, or at the final paragraph of Chapter 15.

What strikes you about the use of the ‘Gothic’ passages in these chapters, particularly in Chapter 15, “I tried again to sleep…’”) and the beginning of Chapter 20.

Finally, what do you notice about the use of imagery and symbolism in these chapters? You might look at the lightning episode at the end of Chapter 23.

Half of you will partake in a SRD on one of the Topics. The other half of you will make an extended blog post (1,000 words) addressing the other topic. *see note at bottom of post

* I'm much more interested in the depth and specificity of your answers (analyzing how the text works) than generalities. Click here for passage explication handout. You should use some of these strategies. Also, you will be graded on the APE Rubric.

Post here and please remember to put an extra space between paragraphs for easier reading. I want you all to be able to read these posts.

Volume 1: Jane Eyre

2011-04-06T07:21:00.003-04:00

You should be able to discuss any and all items with references to text. I recommend using post-it notes to mark your text and jot down reminders. We will not be able to cover all of this in class if your conversation probes text with appropriate depth, insight, and analysis.

For this text, I am most interested in looking at whole passages with depth and examine HOW Charlotte Brontë develops ideas through her writing.

You can obviously reference things not on this list—these are obvious things in the novel, but I would be happy to hear about things you would like to comment on, especially if they garner intellectual thought.

Monday, April 11th, 2011.
• In class: SRD, Volume 1, Preface & Chapters 1-9 (p.1-91)
• Homework Due: Prep for SRD, chapter questions.
Chapter 1
• Analyze how each character is described – Jane, Mrs. Reed, John, Georgiana, Eliza.
• Analyze the exchange between John and Jane when John attacks Jane for her ‘imprudence’ at the end of the chapter. Examine this scene on as many literary levels as possible—character analysis, symbols, allusions, significance to plot, etc.
Chapter 2
• Analyze how each character is described – Bessie, Abbot.
• Examine the “Red Room” on as many literary levels as possible. A close reading of passage here would be helpful.
Chapter 3
• Analyze how each character is described – Mr. Lloyd.
• What is the most important paragraph in this chapter from the narrator? Why?
Chapter 4
• Analyze how each character is described – Mr. Brocklehurst.
• Examine the exchange he has with Jane. Examine this scene on as many literary levels as possible.
• Examine the following symbols throughout the novel so far. Locate and trace the evolution of these symbols from chapter 1 through 4: Books, The Color Red, Bird Imagery, Nature (as it represents Jane’s mind). Continue to examine any of these symbols as they appear throughout the novel.
Chapter 5
• Analyze how each character is described – Miss Temple?
• Analyze the significance of “Let your light shine so before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.”—St. Matt. V. 16.
Chapter 6
• Analyze how each character is described – Miss Scatcherd, Helen Burns.
Chapter 7
• Analyze how each character is described – Julia Severn, Mr. Brocklehurst.
Chapter 8
• Analyze how each character is described – Miss Temple.
Chapter 9
• Analyze how each character is described – Mary Ann Wilson.
• Analyze the significance of “Her grave is in Brocklebridge Churchyard: for fifteen years after her death it was only covered by a grassy mound; but now a gray marble tablet marks the spot, inscribed with her name, and the word ‘Resurgam’.”

Wed., April 13^th, 2011

In class: SRD, Volume 1, Chapters 10-15 (p. 91-156)
Homework Due: Prep for SRD, chapters 10 – 15, terms listed below.

What is Romanticism? What is a Romantic Character?
What is a Byronic Hero?
What is Gothic? What is a Gothic novel?

Hamlet Video critique for Act 3, Scene 1

2011-03-09T14:55:00.003-05:00

Please follow all directions. Ask a question about anything that you do not understand in the comment stream by Friday and I will respond. After Friday, you are on your own (collectively.)

You have until Monday, March 14th, 2011 @ 2:00 p.m. to complete this assignment. Late assignments will lose a letter grade a day. You should make a comment on this post with a link to your essay on your online portfolio. Feel free to embed video on your website.

It is worth 100 points in 'Quizzes and Open Response' and will be graded with the Literary Analysis Scoring Guide .

You can either write about Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" soliloquy, or the "Get thee to a nunnery" exchange between Hamlet and Ophelia. You have four versions of each section from which to choose in the Act 3 google doc, but you can certainly write about a different version that I did not provide.

Objective: Watch the versions from either Hamlet's "To be, or not to be" soliloquy, or the "Get thee to a nunnery" exchange between Hamlet and Ophelia in Act 3, Scene 1 and argue which of the three videos is the best video interpretation of the text.

Your critique of the video must be based on your knowledge and understanding of the passage, so you must provide textual evidence from Hamlet as well as provide descriptions of the video. I can't watch the video and read your essay at the same time, so you need to make me see what you see with your words. It will also help you to take notes on the video while you watch it. Pay attention to what you captures your attention. Notice what you notice!

Pay attention to:

delivery of the lines
imagery the setting / scenery
the portrayal of the actor[s]
lighting & camera effects
sound effects or music
a million other things . . .

You should use the same structure as a poem explication with the addition of your critique of the video. Paper must be MLA formatted, including how to cite line numbers from a play: (pages 198-199 of easyWriter)!

Finally, you only have space in this essay to write about one video--please do not waste any words writing about why the other videos are not as good.

Here's a sample from last year with my comments on how it could have been improved.

Poetry in Translation Assignment

2010-12-03T11:02:00.005-05:00

Please make sure you run a poem by me as soon as possible, and then sign up for a critique slot (below). I have plenty of poems from plenty of different languages in my room. You can also check out eXchanges, the University of Iowa's online journal of literary translation, which has a good selection. And, if you are interested in reading more of my translations, they published three poems here--if you follow to the bottom, there is also a link to my "meta-cognitive".

Poetry in Translation Dec. 2010

Sign Up for you schedule in google docs (& it should show up here):

Independent Reading Book Cycle 3:

2010-12-03T10:40:00.001-05:00

Suggested independent reading books that are particularly good for Question 3 (Cycle 3):

Donna Tartt’s The Secret History
John Steinbeck East of Eden
Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
Toni Morrison’s Beloved
Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude
Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Junot Díaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

You will need to pass your book with me. I would like you to read a work of fiction that has a bit of an “epic” scope—one that is of great “literary” value that will be of particularly good use on Question 3. I have included some suggestions of books that I love that fit this category, but feel free to pick one of your own. Take note of the length of the above texts though.

For this assignment, you can either produce 100 post-it notes, or complete a Reader’s Notebook (12 extended D.J.s). In either case, I would like you to include commentary which draws from the reading strategies from the “WAYS TO ANALYZE FICTION” handout (you can find it in google docs.) You will turn in your book (with post-its) or Reader’s Notebook on January 3^rd and answer a question 3 prompt in class.

Poetry Out Loud Overview & Scoring Guides

2010-12-01T14:24:00.005-05:00

Here is the overview that everyone at MHS will be getting:

"Poetry Out Loud is the national poetry recitation contest; Malden High has sent students to the state finals for all but one year that the contest has existed. Last year, we committed to having every student in the school take part in the contest."

The basic process:

Student select poems from the Poetry Out Loud collections (in print and online) to study, memorize and perform.
Teachers support students’ selection, study, and performance.
Each class holds a class contest by the end of December. We will have our contest on December 16th, 2010.
Class winners will compete in the period contest in January.
Period winners will compete in the school contest shortly after the period contest. Period winners will need to select a second poem
The school winner will compete in the state semi-finals in early March.

And here are the Scoring Guides that we were given:

Malden High School's Poetry Out Loud Analytic Rubric

Alice Notely’s “I the People”

2010-11-30T11:04:00.002-05:00

You have an explication of Alice Notely’s “I the People” due. It should adhere to MLA formatting guidelines and be posted on your blog by Dec. 20^th @ noon.

Please consult the following post: “democracy at 10th & A (PoemTalk #25)”—and make use of the background info and the audio clip. But when it comes to the explication, I am only interested in how the poem works to create meaning. For this style of paper, disregard anything that can not be proved with what the text provides.

You will be graded on the APE rubric and it will count in the Quizzes and Open-Response category.

Robert Duncan’s “Often I am Permitted”

2010-11-30T10:29:00.005-05:00

Painting by Jess (Burgess F. Collins, Robert Duncan's life-long lover): The Enamord Mage, Translation #6, 1965 (the head is Robert Duncan's)

You have an explication of Robert Duncan’s “Often I am Permitted” (scroll to bottom) due. It should adhere to MLA formatting guidelines and be posted on your blog by Dec. 13^th @ noon.

Please consult the following post: “the made place (PoemTalk #27)”—and make use of the background info and the audio clip. But when it comes to the explication, I am only interested in how the poem works to create meaning. For this style of paper, disregard anything that can not be proved with what the text provides.

You will be graded on the APE rubric and it will count in the Quizzes and Open-Response category.

This is a collage (paste-up) from Jess. If you want to see more of his art, go here: Narkissos: The Influential Collage Art of Jess Collins

Robin Blaser lecture, "Where's hell?" (June 19, 1999)

2010-11-30T09:56:00.005-05:00

Robin Blaser lecture, "Where's hell?" (June 19, 1999) 65:58

"A Robin Blaser lecture titled Where's hell? Blaser reads and discusses portions of his Great companion piece on Dante Alighieri, a poetic commentary on Dante's ideas and use of language. Blaser discusses the works and ideas of other writers including James Joyce, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Ezra Pound." (Click here for source in the Naropa Archives.)

The text of this is later printed as "Great Companion: Dante Alighiere" in his book The Holy Forest. You can read it here.

This is will be scored as a homework assignment and be graded on the Malden High School Open Response Rubric. Due Tuesday, December 7th @ noon. Since this is a discussion and your voice is important to the communal dialogue, late posts will lose 10 points a day. Budget your time accordingly, especially if you need the school computers to complete assignment.

Listen to the lecture and take notes. Write down what you think might be interesting, important, etc. There may be things to which you do not "get" the reference or allusion and there may be things that spur your own thoughts. Write them down. Pay attention to your mind and document it.
Prompt A: Post your reaction to something specific and thought provoking in the beginning, middle, and end of the Blaser lecture (though this is not a minimum, your post should be at least a few hundred words.) Feel free to ask questions in this section as well, since everyone will be reading these posts.
Prompt B: You should also respond by elaborating on another comment in the stream (about the same length--a few hundred words as a minimum.)

This assignment is mostly to get your philosophic and literary minds in working. Keep this in mind when you post. I hope you enjoy this lecture as much as I do.

And here's a clip of him reading some poetry if you are interested:

Style Assignment: Short Stories

2010-11-22T07:10:00.004-05:00

If you would rather write an extended (5 - 7 pages) analysis on either: Laura Chester's "True or Untrue, Grit" or Lavanya Sankaran's "The Red Carpet", then you may do so. You are also welcome two or three of these choices and I will grade you on which one is the best.

Assignments are to be posted on your online portfolio (as a pdf.) by class-time, 11.29.10.

STYLE Assignment Hemingway Faulkner Rewrites

Agenda for week of 10.25.10

2010-10-22T07:25:00.003-04:00

Note the slight change in the projected schedule. (We are moving things ahead one day.)
Also, don't forget to keep on top of your reading group blogging.

10.25.10. Day 4: We will finish discussing A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen.
10.26-27.10. I am being professionally developed. You will still meet as a class and are to use the time for book club, catching up on reading, or developing an on-line portfolio of all your work. (Details to Be Announced Monday.)
10.28.10. Day 1: Long Block. Before Lunch is TBD, but will involve some sort of look at writing and how to revise. After lunch you will respond to a Question 3 prompt on A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen.
10.29.10. Day 7: SRD Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran SRD on Parts 1 & 2

Agenda for week of 10.18.10

2010-10-14T21:23:00.004-04:00

Thanks for the great week of Student Run Discussions on the first two Parts of Reading Lolita in Tehran. I really enjoyed listening and taking notes. I keep returning to this idea of the imagination being so crucial to empathy--many of you have addressed this in various ways throughout the discussion.

Anyway, here's the video we watched in class (as prelude to the SRDs) in case you wanted to return to it for any reason; I've watched it three times and have gotten something from it each time.

The Schedule for the week of 10.18.10:

Monday 10.18.10, Late-entry, the schedule is 7,1,2,3. No class.
Tuesday 10.19.10, Day 1 (Long Block). Before lunch you can have time in your independent reading groups, just to make sure your posting schedule is organized and shared with me. After class, we will begin the first of three classes on Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, so please make sure you have read it (at least once) before class and can access moments in the text at will. What we are doing over the next three days is my surprise. . .
Wednesday 10.20.10, Day 7. Class on Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.
Thursday 10.21.10, Day 6. Class on Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House.
Friday 10.22.10, Day 5 , No Class, but your first (of three) book club posts will be due by midnight. Details coming soon.

Amiri Baraka

2010-10-08T09:00:00.000-04:00

Image: Jean-Michel Basquiat’s "untitled (skull)," 1984

You have an explication of Amiri Baraka’s "Kenyatta Listening to Mozart" due by class time on Wednesday, October 13^th. It should be typed and adhere to MLA formatting guidelines.

Provided below are a couple helpful links to help you gain some entrance points into the poem—please make use of them. But when it comes to the explication, I am only interested in how the poem works to create meaning. For this style of paper, disregard anything that can not be proved with what the text provides.

You will be graded on the APE rubric and it will count in the Major Projects category. If you would like feedback on your other explications, come and see me today (Friday) or Tuesday and I will give you feedback.

choice and style (PoemTalk #20)

Amiri Baraka

Agenda for Week of 10.11.10

2010-10-07T16:02:00.000-04:00

image: Rupert Garcia

10.11.10: Columbus Day: No School

10.12.10: Day 5: No Class.

10.13.10: "Get Ahead Day": Long Block: Explication on Blog on Amiri Baraka "Kenyatta Listening to Mozart". Details in post above. SRD Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran SRD on Parts 1 & 2

10.14.10: Day 3: SRD Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran SRD on Parts 1 & 2

10.15.10: Day 2: SRD Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran SRD on Parts 1 & 2

Next Week:
Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House needs to be read by 10.19.10 for SRD s
You should also be doing your Independent Reading.

Agenda for week of 10.4.10

2010-10-04T10:34:00.000-04:00

Image: Mahoning 1956, by Franz Kline Oil and paper collage on canvas, 203.2 x 254 cm —Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Purchase, with funds from the Friends of the Whitney Museum of American Art. © 2009 The Franz Kline Estate/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

10.4.10 Day 3: Guidance Visit.

10.5.10 Day 2: In class: Monthly Agenda, Poetry Explication handout, & Robert Creeley’s “I Know a Man”

10.6.10 Day 1: Long Block: Due: Explication of Charles Olson’s “Maximus to Gloucester, Letter 27 [withheld]” MLA formatting required. You will be graded on the APE rubric and it will count in the Major Assessments category. In class we will look at Eavan Boland’s “It’s A Woman’s World” & Erica Funkhouser’s “The Accident.”

10.7.10 Day 7: Question 1: In class explication of poem [TBD]. You will be graded on the APE rubric and it will count in the Quizzes and Open Response category.

10.8.10 Day 6: Independent Reading Project due. In class: 2nd cycle book club rotation set up. Agenda for next week set up.

Resources & The Independent Reading Project

2010-09-27T21:23:00.001-04:00

Cy Twombly "Untitled (Say Goodbye, Catullus, to the Shores of Asia Minor)" 1994 Oil, acrylic, crayon, oil stick, pencil, and coloured pencil on canvas.

Please don’t take these links as the only places to look on “the inter-nets”, but if you are at a loss for where to begin or just need some places to get your brain moving, then feel free to check out the following sites.

Helpful Resources:

First, your Malden Library Card gives you access to the Boston Public Library database. One of my main objectives is to get you to use this site. So, if you have not been exposed to how to use this resource, visit your local librarian (who happens to be phenomenal at her job!)

For audio files and poetry-related stuff:
PennSound: Center for Programs in Contemporary Writing
Naropa Poetics Audio Archives
You can also check out any news organization (and a million other places) for audio files.

For audio / video avant-garde poetry and art:
UbuWeb

For interesting Video Lectures & Talks:
T.E.D talks

And for Poetry:
The Poetry Foundation

There’s a million other places that I think would be interesting—but I’m trying not to overwhelm you. You could get lost in any of these sites for a few years.

Scoring Guide for Annotated Bibliography Independent Reading Project

Due Friday October 8th, in class.

Agenda for week of 9.27.10

2010-09-24T13:06:00.000-04:00

Joe Brainard's "Untitled" Collage 1975

Note--you should really try and finish your independent reading book by the middle of the week if you want to leave yourself enough time to do the assignment with the attention it requires--details to be given on Wednesday.

9.27.10 Day 1, In class, we will watch "Polis is This; Charles Olson and the Persistence of Place" by Henry Ferrini and prepare ourselves for the SRD on Tuesday - Wednesday.

9.28.10 Day 7, SRD on Charles Olson. Click here for details.

9.29.10 Day 6, SRD on Charles Olson continued. (Please note the schedule change.)

9.30.10 Day 5: No class.

10.1.10 Day 4, Olson blog due. Independent Reading & College Essay workshop time.

Next week:

Independent reading Project will be due Monday, Oct 4th. We will move on to a new unit after this.

Charles Olson (online) reader and links

2010-09-23T13:21:00.000-04:00

Please read / watch / listen to all of the following items for the SRD on Tuesday, September 28th. Note: Some of these things may require you to read more than once, mark up / take notes, etc. so that you can have something specific, probing, and sophisticated to say in class.

Charles Olson reads "Maximus to Gloucester, Letter 27 [withheld]"

Print and read all of the following for class discussion:

"Maximus to Gloucester, Letter 27 [withheld]"

Maximus, to himself

I, Maximus of Gloucester, to You

The Songs of Maximus: Song 1

The Songs of Maximus: Song 2

Maximus, to Gloucester: Letter 2

The Poetry Foundation’s Biography

Projective Verse (1950)

Also, listen to the following talk called

back to geography (PoemTalk #34)

Finally, you have 48 hours (from the end of Tuesday's class) to make a comment in the comment stream that continues the class discussion:

recommended minimum: 700 words

Post your reaction to something specific and thought provoking from a classmate's comment in the SRD and elaborate on how it could be used to further explicate the poetry of Charles Olson--please be specific and original--this is not the place to be restating ideas, but furthering them . . .

This post will be graded on the Malden High Open Response Rubric and counted as a homework grade. Because of the nature of the assignment, late credit will not be granted.

Ted Berrigan & links for "Red Shift"

2010-09-22T19:46:00.000-04:00

the text of "Red Shift" by Ted Berrigan

The Ted Berrigan Page on PennSound

the audio of "Red Shift" by Ted Berrigan

Red Shift on Wikipedia

The Mamas & The Papas: California Dreamin'

"Portrait of Ted Berrigan" as done by me.

and another....

College Essay Scoring Guide

2010-09-21T13:29:00.003-04:00

Mirage 1989
oil on linen
16 x 20 inches
Estate no. E1232
Jay Defeo

50 points--Grammar, mechanics, typos, spelling, & usage. Remember, this is your only impression to show yourself through language. No matter the content of your essay, careless mistakes make you seem--well, careless. And you do not want the college admissions team to think you are apathetic. I expect you to make sure the essay is flawless. I would be happy to suggest how to phrase things better, but I should not be spending my time fixing your careless typos and spelling errors (and I won't).

50 points--Writer demonstrates control of sentence structure, grammar, and usage.
40 points--Errors do not interfere with communication. There are few errors relative to length.
30 points--Errors interfere with communication.

50 points--Insight and creativity, readability, and is your essay compelling? A note to remember your audience here and the purpose of your essay: All writers do this on some level--we consistently look at audience and purpose when we analyze writing. If you are using this to apply to college, keep in mind that the admissions officers are looking for intelligent and motivated students who will be successful at their school. Your essay should:

Be personal (instead of general)
Be concrete (instead of abstract--can you make your reader "see" your world?)
Include anecdote (instead of summary--this is not a resume)
Include a hook or lead
Have sophisticated and / or subtle organization
Show a sophisticated or subtle mastery of language
AND AVOID CLICHE!

In order for me to work on your essay, you also need to write me a letter:

Describe yourself: where are you from, where have you lived, languages, cultures, etc. “Surface level stuff.”
Describe yourself as a reader.
Describe yourself as a writer.
Describe yourself as a student.
Describe yourself as a friend.
Describe yourself as a thinker.
What else should I have asked you to describe and why?
What you were trying to do in your college essay.

PLEASE PRINT THIS PAGE OUT AND ATTACH TO THE BACK OF YOUR ESSAY SO I CAN WRITE COMMENTS. WHEN YOU PRINT, MAKE SURE YOU ONLY PRINT THIS PAGE.

College Essay Prompts

2010-09-21T13:17:00.000-04:00

image: Jay DeFeo The Veronica, 1957; painting; oil on canvas, 132 in. x 42 3/8 in. (335.28 cm x 107.63 cm); Collection SFMOMA, Gift of Irving Blum; © Estate of Jay DeFeo / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

The prompts provided are often a starting point—it’s not really about which prompt you choose to answer, but HOW you use the topic to write an essay.

Remember Borges, “people tend to prefer the personal to the general, the concrete to the abstract”. You will notice that the questions are vague, repetitive, and general. You could almost adapt any good essay to fit a prompt.

Anyway, here are the common application prompts:

Personal Essay: "Please write an essay (250 words minimum) on a topic of your choice or on one of the options listed below, and attach it to your application before submission. Please indicate your topic by checking the appropriate box. This personal essay helps us become acquainted with you as a person and student, apart from courses, grades, test scores, and other objective data. It will also demonstrate your ability to organize your thoughts and express yourself."

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence. Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.
A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
Topic of your choice.

Image of Jay Defeo working on an early draft of "The Rose."

Agenda for week of 9.20.10

2010-09-20T07:29:00.000-04:00

Image is Three Studies for a Self-Portrait (1976) by Francis Bacon (the 20th century painter, not the Renaissance thinker.)

9.20.10, Day 6: In class: Workshop of draft of “Heart of Darkness found poem”.

9.21.10, Day 5: No Class due to rotation.

9.22.10, Day 4: “Heart of Darkness found poem” & meta due. In class: Introduction to College Essay

9.23.10, Day 3: In Class: Lecture on Ted Berrigan’s Red Shift

9.24.10, Day 2: In class: College Essay workshop and / or Independent Reading Research Day.

By Friday at the latest, you should have selected (and made some progress in reading) your independent reading book. Please see me for consultation if you want or need suggestions. When you have selected your book, please post the author and title of the book in the comment stream (for posterity) and link to a description of the book online.

Found Poetry Assignment for Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

2010-09-15T21:38:00.002-04:00

Found Poetry Assignment for Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad 2010

O Modernism

2010-09-15T21:35:00.000-04:00

An excerpt from Ezra Pound's "Sestina: Altaforte," read by the poet. It is written in the personae of the troubadour warlord Bertrans de Born.

A Hypertext version of T.S. Eliots "The Hollow Men"

"IF I TOLD HIM; A Completed Portrait of Picasso" by Gertrude Stein

photo of Stein in front of Picasso's portrait of her

Click this link to hear Dr. Steven Zucker Dr. Beth Harris talk about Picasso's portrait of Stein

"Should We Read Heart of Darkness"?

2010-09-14T11:32:00.000-04:00

"Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? is one of Paul Gauguin's most famous paintings. Gauguin inscribed the original French title in the upper left corner: D'où Venons Nous / Que Sommes Nous / Où Allons Nous". . . read more on Wikipedia. This is a painting from a series that was mentioned in the Achebe essay.

I took the title of this blog post from J. Hillis Miller's essay in your book on pages 463 - 474. I certainly recommend reading this for more intellectual fodder. You may, if you wish, reference this essay instead of the class discussion.

Blog Assignment:

Part A: due by class time Thursday 9.16.10

recommended length: 500 words

Post your reaction to something specific and thought provoking from class discussion (any of the three days) and elaborate on how it could be used to further your own analysis of Heart of Darkness.

Part B: due by class time Friday 9.17.10

recommended length: 500 words

Post your reaction to something specific and thought provoking from a classmate's comment (Part A) and elaborate on how it could be used to further your own analysis of Heart of Darkness.

Both assignments will be graded separately on the Malden High Open Response Rubric and counted as a homework grade. Because of the nature of the assignment, a letter grade will be lost for every day it is late.

Agenda for week of 9.13.10

2010-09-08T08:52:00.000-04:00

more Swoon, image found at The Brooklyn Museum

The first three days of class will be devoted to your Student Run Discussions of the following essays. I am interested in Heart of Darkness only in the sense of these essays, which vary widely in ways, or lenses, in how to approach this piece of literature.

When you are prepping for this discussion, please have moments in the text (either the essays or the novel) which we can look at closely; and please look for the complexity and subtlety of the arguments presented in the essays--you can certainly agree and disagree with points made, but be careful not to read the essays as too simplistic. Hopefully the essays will be good fodder for discussions and future use.

9.13.10: Day 4. SRD on Chinua Achebe’s “An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness”, pps. 336 -349.
9.14.10: Day 3. SRD on Andrew Michael Roberts’ “Masculinity, Modernity, and Homosexual Desire”, pps. 455 - 462.
9.15.10: Day 2. SRD on Lissa Schneider’s “Iconography and the Feminine Ideal” pps. 474 - 483.

9.16.10: Day 1, Long Block. Blog due by class time. Details to be announced, but it will involve an elaboration on the the previous class discussions, so take notes. In class I will introduce the “Heart of Darkness Found Poem Assignment” and we will look at some Modernist Poetry--probably “Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot / (Fighting in the captain's tower / While calypso singers laugh at them / And fishermen hold flowers.”--that’s a Bob Dylan reference if you didn’t know. Anyway, I digress.)
9.17.10: Day 7. Class on Universal Theme and Independent reading set-up.

Overall Objective for the week: There will be a strong emphasis on developing philosophical ideas (about the human condition), as well as making themes more complex and variable for analysis.

Essential Question: Why do we, as human beings, write?

The week of 9.20.10 will be devoted to the “Heart of Darkness Found Poem Assignment” & “the college essay”.

Post-first class & citing my sources. . .

2010-09-02T13:12:00.003-04:00

Here's the poem we listened to in class today:

"Having a Coke With You" by Frank O'Hara

Anyway, thank you. Have a great weekend. I'm looking forward too getting started & as promised, here is where I got the idea for the opening activity:

"The Wilderness Downtown": an interactive film by Chris Milk (You need to watch this is google chrome for it to work.)

Welcome . . . Your First Assignment

2010-08-31T15:06:00.000-04:00

poster for the first New York solo exhibition by SWOON in 2005

I am very excited for this year--but I'll leave my gushing for our face-to-face meeting . . .

I'd like to get a bunch of this bookkeeping stuff out of the way; it's mostly following directions, but will make life easier once it is all set up.

1. Email me your email address to ryanseangallagher AT gmail DOT com (asap). Create a professional email if you need one. (I am very google-centric, so it helps to have a google account for blogger, google docs, and google calendar.) Once you do this I will be able to:

send you an invite to my google calendar for the class
set up your snapgrades account

2. Log in to your blogger account. Go to the Dashboard. Change your Display Name to your first name and last initial--or some nickname that is obvious. (If you need help, please come by and I will show you how to do this.) When you are done, make a comment in this post--a brief hello is fine.

Also not a bad idea to have email alerts sent to you when I post on the blog, as I use it often, or become a "follower".

Summer Work:

Reader's notebook: you can turn it in today (9.2.10) for full credit, or you can turn it in on Tuesday 9.7.10 for a deduction of 5 points (out of 100).

This is a completion grade. It will be scored in the Reader's Notebook section of your grades.

Blog Posts: Ms. Clapp is scoring and giving me the results. Posts appearing after today (9.2.10) will not be scored.

This is a completion grade. It will be scored in the Homework section of your grades.

You will also have a Question 3. style, open-response prompt on Tuesday (9.7.10) in-class.

This will be scored on the APE rubric, which you will see often this year.
It will appear in the Quizzes and Open-Responses section of your grades.
If you would like to look at some examples of this style of writing and practice scoring, here's a link. You will find tons of past exams and actual student responses with actual scores and explanations--(you will soon see that I am a firm believer in your independence with this aspect of the course.)

Okay, that was a lot of information. . . let's see how this goes!

AP Syllabus 2010 - 2011

2010-08-31T14:55:00.000-04:00

Gallagher AP Syllabus 2010 - 2011

Senior Portfolio 2010, yo

2010-05-18T13:42:00.000-04:00

Senior Portfolio 2010

Homework for Monday 5.3.10

2010-04-29T11:58:00.004-04:00

Please read through this packet:

AP Binder packet # 1

Though we do not meet as a class, I would like you to post 10 different introductions by Monday @ noon. List the prompt year, followed by your introduction. You must use five different books.

At this point, this is really to 'prep' you for the exam--you should really try and put yourself in the exam mindset when completing this assignment.

(You may include as many introductions as possible in each post.)

Agenda for week of 4.26.10

2010-04-26T15:16:00.005-04:00

Joan Mitchell's "Ladybug" (1957). Image found in The New York Times archive February 12, 2006.

4.26.10: Monday, Day 6: SRD on Jane Eyre, volumes 2 and 3. All blog posts due.
4.27.10: Tuesday, Day 5: SRD on Nina Schwartz's "No Place Like Home: The Logic of the Supplement in Jane Eyre." pgs. 549-564.
4.28.10: Wednesday, Day 4 (Long Block): SRD on Elsie Michie's "White Chimpanzees and Oriental Despots: Racial Stereotyping and Edward Rochester." pgs. 584-597.
4.29.10: Thursday, Day 3: Putting it all together, test prep for Question 3 style prompt.
4.30.10: Friday, Day 2: In-class Question 3 style prompt on Jane Eyre.

Final Jane Eyre Blog Posts

2010-04-15T07:37:00.003-04:00

Before you scroll down, there may be some spoilers in the blog prompts. So you may want to wait until you finish each Volume before you look at them.

This last blog post will first ask you to read others blog posts and will be graded for completion and effort.

Make three separate posts in this comment stream: "quote" from your someone else's post from Volume 2 and / or Volume 3. Explain what about her post was compelling and interesting, and then elaborate on what else it made you think of. Repeat this three times.
Make two separate posts on what you would like to discuss in class on Monday and explain why. Your topic also needs to include a specific moment in the text.

Each of these separate posts should be 200- 300 words in length.

Volume 3: Jane Eyre

2010-04-15T07:30:00.003-04:00

Attention to Detail! by Noriko Ambe
2008

Cut on catalogues of "Attention to Detail - Curated by Chuck Close" at Flag Art Foundation 12 1/4 (H) x 14 1/2 (W) x 11 1/2 (D) inches 31(H) x 36.8(W) x 29.2(D)cm

Flag Art Foundation collection

In full disclosure: I did not come up with these topics, but I do like them. I would cite or reference this, but I don’t know from where it came.

Choose one of the following three blog posts

Group A

At the opening of Ch. 28, Jane leaves Thornfeild and returns to Nature. What is the significance of this? What do you note about the ways in which “Nature” is described here: are Jane’s attitudes towards Nature essentially pagan, or are they leavened with Christianity? How does this help us consider the treatment of “Nature” within the novel as a whole?

Group B

After being taken in by the Rivers’ in Ch. 29, Jane meets St. John Rivers. How does Jane see him? Look particularly at the para. “Mr. St. John sitting as still as one. . . and again in Ch. 30 at her response to his sermon “It began calm. . .”. In what ways is St. John represented as being opposite to Rochester (consider Jane’s thoughts in Ch. 31 “Meantime, let me ask myself one question. . .”) What values or point of view do you feel are associated with him? What is significant about the way that Jane responds to him?

Group C

Just as Jane has significant dialogues with Rochester, so she converses with St. John. What is significant about these conversations, especially in terms of the light they throw on the novel’s treatment of “values”? Look at chapter 31 “Very well; I hope you feel the content. . .” and at the end of Chapter 32 “Again the surprised expression crossed his face. . .”. Also look at Chapter 34 “I have no medium. . .” and the last five pages of this chapter “God and nature intended you for a missionary’s wife. . .”. How does the novel present Jane’s dilemma as to whether or not to accept Rivers’ proposal, and how is it resolved, especially in the last few pages of chapter 35?

Each post should be about 750-100 words. I'm much more interested in the depth and specificity of your answers (analyzing how the text works) than generalities. Click here for passage explication handout. You should use some of these strategies. Also, you will be graded on the APE Rubric.

Post here and please remember to put an extra space between paragraphs for easier reading.

Volume 2: Jane Eyre blog posts

2010-04-15T07:07:00.015-04:00

Attention to Detail! by Noriko Ambe

2008
Cut on catalogues of "Attention to Detail - Curated by Chuck Close" at Flag Art Foundation
12 1/4 (H) x 14 1/2 (W) x 11 1/2 (D) inches
31(H) x 36.8(W) x 29.2(D)cm

Flag Art Foundation collection

In full disclosure: I did not come up with these topics, but I do like them. I would cite or reference this, but I don’t know from where it came.

Choose one of the following four blog posts

Group A: In Chapter 10, Jane provides a summary of her feelings and mental state at this point. What is the significance of this passage as a description of Jane’s inner state, and how does it match what we have learned of Jane’s character? What is the significance of her going to the top of the building to make this self-assessment? Is it significant that, almost directly after making this plea, her wish is granted? Does it not seem as though events seem almost to be caused or precipitated by her subjective feelings?

Group B: In Chapter 12, Jane first encounters Rochester. What significance do you find in the way that he is introduced, the background, use of imagery, etc.? In what ways is he established as a ‘Byronic’ hero from the start?

Group C: In Chapter 13, Jane shows Rochester her paintings. What do these tell you? What significance do you find in the imagery and description of these? Does the novel give any clues as to the source of these paintings?

Group D: What do you think is the significance of the retelling of dreams by both Jane and Rochester? What do they show? Look at Chapter 25: “No, no, sir: besides the delicacy and richness of the fabric…”, “I dreamt another dream, sir…”, at Chapter 27: “That night I never thought to sleep…”, or at the final paragraph of Chapter 15.

What strikes you about the use of the ‘Gothic’ passages in these chapters, particularly in Chapter 15, “I tried again to sleep…’”) and the beginning of Chapter 20.

Finally, what do you notice about the use of imagery and symbolism in these chapters? You might look at the lightning episode at the end of Chapter 23.

Each post should be about 750-100 words. I'm much more interested in the depth and specificity of your answers (analyzing how the text works) than generalities. Click here for passage explication handout. You should use some of these strategies. Also, you will be graded on the APE Rubric.

Post here and please remember to put an extra space between paragraphs for easier reading.

Volume 1: Jane Eyre discussion questions

2010-04-07T07:08:00.001-04:00

Volume 1: Jane Eyre

You can obviously reference things not on this list—these are obvious things in the novel, but I would be happy to hear about things you would like to comment on, especially if they garner intellectual thought.

Monday, April 12^th, 2010. Late Entry, Long Block:

In class: SLD, Volume 1, Preface & Chapters 1-9 (p.1-91)
Homework Due: Prep for SLD, chapter questions.

Chapter 1

Analyze how each character is described – Jane, Mrs. Reed, John, Georgiana, Eliza.
Analyze the exchange between John and Jane when John attacks Jane for her ‘imprudence’ at the end of the chapter. Examine this scene on as many literary levels as possible—character analysis, symbols, allusions, significance to plot, etc.

Chapter 2

Analyze how each character is described – Bessie, Abbot.
Examine the “Red Room” on as many literary levels as possible. A close reading of passage here would be helpful.

Chapter 3

Analyze how each character is described – Mr. Lloyd.
What is the most important paragraph in this chapter from the narrator? Why?

Chapter 4

Analyze how each character is described – Mr. Brocklehurst.
Examine the exchange he has with Jane. Examine this scene on as many literary levels as possible.
Examine the following symbols throughout the novel so far. Locate and trace the evolution of these symbols from chapter 1 through 4: Books, The Color Red, Bird Imagery, Nature (as it represents Jane’s mind). Continue to examine any of these symbols as they appear throughout the novel.

Chapter 5

Analyze how each character is described – Miss Temple?
Analyze the significance of “Let your light shine so before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.”—St. Matt. V. 16.

Chapter 6

Analyze how each character is described – Miss Scatcherd, Helen Burns.

Chapter 7

Analyze how each character is described – Julia Severn, Mr. Brocklehurst.

Chapter 8

Analyze how each character is described – Miss Temple.

Chapter 9

Analyze how each character is described – Mary Ann Wilson.
Analyze the significance of “Her grave is in Brocklebridge Churchyard: for fifteen years after her death it was only covered by a grassy mound; but now a gray marble tablet marks the spot, inscribed with her name, and the word ‘Resurgam’.”

Tuesday, April 13^th, 2010 – Wednesday, April 14^th, 2010. Day 3 & Day 2:

In class: SLD, Volume 1, Chapters 10-15 (p. 91-156)
Homework Due: Prep for SLD, chapters 10 – 15, terms listed below.

What is Romanticism? What is a Romantic Character?
What is a Byronic Hero?
What is Gothic? What is a Gothic novel?

Agenda 4.12.10 - 4.16.10

2010-04-07T07:02:00.002-04:00

4.12.10. Monday late entry, long block: SRD Jane Eyre Volume I (p. 1-91)
4.13.10. Tuesday: SRD Jane Eyre Volume I (p. 91-134)
4.14.10. Wednesday: SRD Jane Eyre Volume I (p. 134-156) 4.15.10. Thursday: no class 4.16.10. Friday: Art Research Paper due.

Agenda for 4.5.10 - 4.9.10

2010-04-07T06:48:00.004-04:00

4.5.10. Monday: Poetry Research Paper Analysis Rewrites due. Hamlet Notebook Due. 4.6.10. Tuesday: No class.
4.7.10, Wednesday: Annotated Bibliographies due for Art Research Paper—25 sources (max of 5 from internet, unless you were given permission for a different variation.)
4.8.10. Thursday: continue to work on research and / or read Jane Eyre. Nothing due in class.
4.9.10. Friday: 70 research cards, 2 page biography & thesis, outline due.

3rd Quarter ends at 2:15. on Friday April 9th, 2010.

Agenda for 3.26.10 - 4.5.10

2010-03-25T11:08:00.001-04:00

Hello all, good discussion today.

Friday, March 26^th: SRD on Act 5.
Monday, March 29^th: Post you thesis paragraph on the blog—I would like you all to see each thesis and the feedback given: Click here or link. Also, video critique # 2 is due in class, proper MLA formatting. Click here for link. (Look at Stephany’s paper (and my comments) posted on the blog. We will tie up loose ends in class in Hamlet.
Tuesday, March 30: SRD on Ross C Murfin’s “Feminist Criticism and Hamlet” & Elaine Showalter’s “Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism.” (Essay emailed as pdf—please print in my room or at home.)
Wednesday, March 31^st: SRD on Ross C Murfin’s “Psychoanalytic Criticism and Hamlet” & Janet Adelman’s “’Man and Wife Is One Flesh’: Hamlet and the Confrontation with the Maternal Body.” .” (Essay emailed as pdf—please print in my room or at home.)
Thursday, April 1: Tie up loose ends in discussion. Hamlet Reader’s Notebook due.
Friday, April 2^nd: No School
Monday, April 5^th: Annotated Bibliography Due—25 sources (max of 5 from internet, unless you were given permission for a different variation.) You will also need 70 research cards.

Stephany's Hamlet Video Critique Act 3 Scene 1

2010-03-25T11:01:00.002-04:00

Stephany Jean Hamlet Video Critique Act 3 Scene 1

Hamlet video critique for Act 5 Scene 1

2010-03-25T10:31:00.001-04:00

You have until Monday, March 29th 2010 by class to complete this assignment.

It is worth 100 points in 'Quizzes and Open Response' and will be graded with the APE Rubric.

Objective: Watch the four versions from Act 5 Scene 1 and argue which of the videos is the best interpretation of the scene. Your critique of the video must be based on your knowledge and understanding of the text, so you must provide textual evidence from Hamlet as well as provide descriptions of the video. I can't watch the video and read your essay at the same time, so you need to make me see what you see with your words. It will also help you to take notes on the video while you watch it. Pay attention to what you captures your attention. Notice what you notice!
Click here for link to all three videos.

Pay attention to:

delivery of the lines
imagery the setting / scenery
the portrayal of the actor
lighting & camera effects
sound effects or music

You should use the same structure as a poem explication with the addition of your critique of the video. It should be about 1,200 - 1,500 words. Paper must be MLA formatted (pages 198-199 of easyWriter)!
Finally, you only have space in this essay to write about one video--please do not waste any words writing about why the other two videos are not as good.

Act 5 Scene 1

2010-03-24T07:03:00.005-04:00

Kevin Kline as Hamlet, New York Shakespeare Festival (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1990)

Laurence Olivier as Hamlet, 1948. Directed by Laurence Olivier

Mel Gibson as Hamlet, 1990. Directed by Franco Zeffirelli

Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet, 1996. Directed by Kenneth Branagh

Act 4 Scene 4

2010-03-24T07:00:00.004-04:00

Developing a Thesis

2010-03-23T11:20:00.005-04:00

Julie Mehretu
Stadia II, 2004

ink and acrylic on canvas

At some point during your research, preferably sooner than later (but after you feel comfortable with your subject), you want to develop a thesis so that you can focus your research. Otherwise, you are wasting valuable time.

It may help to start with a group of paintings that share a common thread—the dates they were crafted, titles, subject matter, they may be a part of a series, or you may find a interesting thread on your own.

Your thesis must tie the work together (what is in common) as well as argue a theory about the significance of the work. Your research should help prove your thesis.

When developing a thesis, think of big questions: How do these paintings explain a perception of the universe? How is the artist’s own life or philosophy portrayed in the paintings? How does the artist ask her audience to view the paintings (or the universe)?

Hamlet video critique for Act 3: Scene 1

2010-03-18T06:57:00.003-04:00

You have until Monday, March 22nd 2010 @ 2:00 p.m. to complete this assignment.
It is worth 100 points in 'Quizzes and Open Response' and will be graded with the APE Rubric.

Objective: Watch the three versions from Hamlet's soliloquy from Act 3 Scene 1 and argue which of the three videos is the best video interpretation of Hamlet's state of mind. Your critique of the video must be based on your knowledge and understanding of the passage, so you must provide textual evidence from Hamlet as well as provide descriptions of the video. I can't watch the video and read your essay at the same time, so you need to make me see what you see with your words. It will also help you to take notes on the video while you watch it. Pay attention to what you captures your attention. Notice what you notice!

Click here for link to all three videos.

Pay attention to:

delivery of the lines
imagery the setting / scenery
the portrayal of the actor
lighting & camera effects
sound effects or music

Finally, you only have space in this essay to write about one video--please do not waste any words writing about why the other two videos are not as good.

Agenda and notes for 3.17.10

2010-03-17T11:59:00.002-04:00

Hello all.

The last AP prep session is this Saturday at the high school. I've emailed you the agenda.

Homework due:

3.18.10: prepare for SRD on Act 3: Scene 1
3.19.10: read Act 3: Scene 2, work on Reader's Notebooks
3.22.10: no class, video critique (formal MLA formatting) due by 3:00 p.m. Assignment coming soon.
3.23.10: 15 citation cards, 40 research cards

Finally, you are all signed up for the AP Lit. exam. If you would like to take the AP Language exam, as we discussed in class today, please make a post by Friday morning in this comment stream that says: "I would like to take the AP Language exam, please order one for me."

Act 3 Scene 1: "To be or not to be" soliloquy

2010-03-16T21:38:00.006-04:00

Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet

Laurence Olivier as Hamlet

Alexander Fodor's Hamlet

Hamlet Act 3 Scene 1

2010-03-16T21:37:00.002-04:00

Hamlet Act 2 Scene 2

2010-03-16T21:26:00.001-04:00

Hamlet - David Tenant Act 1 Scene 4

2010-03-16T11:05:00.003-04:00

Hamlet - an introduction by Kenneth Branagh

2010-03-09T18:49:00.001-05:00

Hamlet Act 1 Scene 5 (Ghost speaks)

2010-03-09T18:28:00.003-05:00

(Alexander Fodor) 2007

Hamlet Act 1 Scenes 4-5

2010-03-09T18:23:00.002-05:00

Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996)

Hamlet Act 1: Scene 3 (Ophelia, Laertes & Polonius)

2010-03-09T18:19:00.002-05:00

Michael Almereyda's Hamlet (2000) with Julia Stiles, Liev Schreiber & Bill Murray.

Hamlet Act 1 Scene 2 (Soliloquy)

2010-03-09T18:13:00.003-05:00

From the Hamlet movie directed by Kenneth Branagh in 1996, this is Hamlet's 1st soliloquy.

Artist Research Paper Week One

2010-03-08T14:59:00.004-05:00

Week 1

Tuesday & Wednesday, March 9th & 10th, 2010:

Overview: You will be choosing one artist, either from the following list or a contemporary artist of equal historic merit--(he or she must have adequate primary and secondary source material from which to research). The research you gather will help you prove your thesis about specific pieces of art (1-5). Choose an artist whose work you like, and even more importantly, who you think makes an interesting statement through his or her artwork that you think you can explain for about 10 pages.

Here are two model papers from previous years:

Vik Muniz
Wangechi Mutu

You should read these papers to understand where this process is going.

Step 1: I have set up hyperlinks for more than 60 artists. Spend the next hour or so choosing an artist that you would like to focus for the next few weeks. (You will want to have a back-up choice or two for various reasons.) I know a bit about each of these artists and have an idea of what you will face if you choose to research any of them. I’ll be around to answer questions. Enjoy.

Noriko Ambe
Francis Bacon
Banksy
Jean Michel Basquiat
Romare Bearden
Wallace Berman
Norbert Bisky
Joe Brainard
Chuck Close
Jess (Collins) (Just as easy to do an image search.)

Joseph Cornell
Jay DeFeo
Willem De Kooning (Image search has more variety of his work.)
Jorge de la Vega
Jim Dine
Aaron Douglas
Marcel Duchamp (Just as easy to do an image search.)
Max Ernst (Just as easy to do an image search.)
Shepard Fairey
Tony Fitzpatrick

Lucien Freud
Arshile Gorky (Image search has more variety of his work.)
Tim Hawkinson
David Hockney
Hans Hofmann
Damien Hurst (Image search has more variety of his work.)
Jasper Johns (Image search has more variety of his work.)
Wolfgang Kals
Alex Katz
Anselm Kiefer

Edward Kienholz
Franz Kline (Just as easy to do an image search.)
Lee Krasner (Just as easy to do an image search.)
Sol Lewitt
Roy Lichtenstien (Just as easy to do an image search.)
Julie Mehretu
Joan Mitchell (Easier to do an image search.)
Robert Motherwell (Easier to do an image search.)
Vik Muniz
Wangechi Mutu

Takashi Murakami
Alice Neel
Caleb Neelon
Damian Ortega
Erik Parker
Yana Payusova
Raymond Pettibon
Tom Phillips
Robert Rauschenberg (Just as easy to do an image search.)
Gerhard Richter

Larry Rivers
James Siena
Amy Sillman
Shinique Smith
Frank Stella (Just as easy to do an image search.) He was born in Malden!
Yves Tanguy (Just as easy to do an image search.)
Mickalene Thomas
Cy Twombly (Easier to do an image search.)
Raissa Venables
Kara Walker

Phoebe Washburn
Lee Waisler
Trevor Winkfield

White Cube also has a good list of contemporary artists.
So does this PBS site.

I chose these artists because they should be easy enough to find research on but have not been written on endlessly. If you have an artist in mind, I’d be happy to add him or her to the list.

Homework:
Step 2: Due Thursday, March 11th 2010: Choose an artist. First come, first serve.
Step 3: Due Monday, March 15th, 2010: email me 1,000 word description of a piece of art.

You will be graded on your ability to write 1,000 words. Late posts will lose a letter grade a day.
Choose 1 – 2 paintings and try to describe them to the best of your ability. “Paint a replica of the image with your own words.” Can you make your reader “see” what you are seeing.
This is an important step in the process of writing this research paper for a few reasons:

First, you will need this descriptive writing in your essay to aid your analysis.
Second, you will learn things about the piece of art by forcing yourself to stare at it with the attention needed to describe it.
Last, what you see may be different from what others do, not just the abstract work, but what are your eyes drawn to first? You will never be able to get this moment back--what your eyes noticed when you were first drawn to the painting / or piece of art. You will need this writing when you start to compile your formal research paper.

Hamlet Packet

2010-03-08T14:30:00.000-05:00

AP Schedule for Hamlet

AP Calendar of Events

2010-03-08T14:18:00.001-05:00

AP Day Rotation- Monthly Calendars 09-10 0000000000000000000000000

Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot Blog Post on Act 2

2010-03-04T07:31:00.001-05:00

This is a 20 point homework assignment.

Prompt A: Post your reaction to something specific and thought provoking (for literary analysis) in Act 2 (though this is not a minimum, your post should be at least a couple hundred words.) Feel free to ask questions in this section as well, since everyone will be reading these posts. There should be no repeats in ideas or topics--you will not get credit if you post something that has been covered already.
Prompt B: You should also respond by elaborating on another comment in the stream (about the same length--a couple hundred words as a minimum.)

You will be graded on the Malden High School Open Response Rubric.

Prompt A due by noon Monday March 8th.
Prompt B due by noon Monday March 8th.

Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot Blog Post on Act 1

2010-03-04T07:24:00.002-05:00

This is a 20 point homework assignment.

Prompt A: Post your reaction to something specific and thought provoking (for literary analysis) in Act 1 (though this is not a minimum, your post should be at least a couple hundred words.) Feel free to ask questions in this section as well, since everyone will be reading these posts. There should be no repeats in ideas or topics--you will not get credit if you post something that has been covered already.
Prompt B: You should also respond by elaborating on another comment in the stream (about the same length--a couple hundred words as a minimum.)

You will be graded on the Malden High School Open Response Rubric.

Prompt A due by class time Friday March 5th.
Prompt B due by midnight Friday March 5th.

Select one of the following

2010-01-25T07:27:00.003-05:00

Independent Reading books tonight by commenting on this post:

The Secret History By Donna Tartt
East of Eden By John Steinbeck
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay By Michael Chabon
Beloved By Toni Morrison
One Hundred Years of Solitude By Gabriel García Márquez
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles By Haruki Murakami

Books will have to be completed by February 22nd.

There will be an AP style Question 3 prompt on that day and you will either need to complete 50 note cards or 12 D.J.s based on the "Ways to Analyze Fiction" handout.

Student work on page 45 of of A HUMUMENT by Tom Phillips

2010-01-22T13:20:00.003-05:00

For Sandy’s essay:

Overall I thought Sandy did well in her essay to present an interesting, unique, and apt thesis and wrote about it throughout the essay. I was interested with how she ran the argument to the end and concluded. I also think she noticed some interesting and specific things in relation to the use of language within the poem.

I think, as I noted on the first page but then stopped, that her argument could be greatly improved with some work on stylistic phrasing. As the essay moves on, I think there are sentences and phrases that could be cut without affecting the overall meaning of the essay.

Objective:
1. Find one sentence that could be cut from the essay (or edit a group of sentences to make your point) and explain why it is extraneous or ‘gets in the way’ of the more pertinent argument in the paragraph. By doing so, you will actually be complimenting Sandy on what she did well and why she does not need the sentence you are cutting. No repeats and nothing from the first two paragraphs please!

2. Include any compliments by cutting and pasting from her essay to show what you liked and why.

Click link below: (this one won't embed for some reason.)
Sandy Joseph page 45 of Phillips’ A Humument with meta

Make sure you label your comments for when you post in the comment stream by Monday, January 5th by class. You will be graded on the MHS Open Response rubric as a homework grade.

Student work on page 249 of A HUMUMENT by Tom Phillips

2010-01-20T15:54:00.006-05:00

For Hillary’s essay:

I only included the 2nd and 3rd paragraphs for Hillary’s essay on page 249 of A Humument by Tom Phillips. I thought these two paragraphs were particularly well done in terms of offering analysis for specific moments in the piece.

Objective:
1. Based on what you are reading in her essay (and what you see in the image, write the introduction to this essay for Hillary.)
2. Then explain what you would focus on to end the essay. (You don’t have to write the essay, just informally write what you would focus on to end the essay—a couple more body paragraphs and a conclusion.)

The 2nd and 3rd Paragraphs for Hillary Du's Essay on Page 249 of Phillip's a Humument
Make sure you label your comments for when you post in the comment stream by Monday, January 5th by class. You will be graded on the MHS Open Response rubric as a homework grade.

Student work on Laura Chester's "True or Untrue, Grit" from RANCH WEIRDO

2010-01-20T13:01:00.011-05:00

For Kellie & Olivia’s papers:

I am not going to include commentary and compliments here, since I did throughout the papers, but here are the assignments:

I think what Kellie’s paper is missing (besides another revision of things noted throughout) is another layer of analysis (a paragraph or two) that transitions away from tone. I would like to hear from you all about what you would do and why it would fit. (You don’t have to write the essay, just informally write what you would focus on.)

I would like all of you, after reading Olivia’s paper, to come back to her intro and write the end of her intro: write what you think 2-5 sentences would help introduce the themes, ideas, and techniques addressed in her paper.

Olivia Kahn on Laura Chester's 'True or Untrue, Grit' With Commentary

Kellie Leonce on Laura Chester's 'True or Untrue, Grit' With Commentary

Make sure you label your comments for when you post in the comment stream by Monday, January 5th by class. You will be graded on the MHS Open Response rubric as a homework grade.

Tom Phillips: Explicating A Humument (Final Step)

2010-01-06T15:32:00.003-05:00

The same basic premise applies for explicating a visual image as it does a poem, especially in your thesis. You are actually doing both in this essay. You are trying to explain how the artist creates meaning. Since there are words in the image, you must also analyze them. Use the same techniques you would for poetry.

On page_ _ _ of Tom Phillips' A Humument, Phillips [active verb] that_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ by [technique and effect]_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

Make sure you take yourself through the whole process of this assignment. There is a reason for each step. And please read the model essays I provided you.

Due Wednesday, January 13th, 2010.
You should have at least 3 pages worth of writing, Times New Roman, 12pt. font, double-spaced.

Tom Phillips: Writing About an Image OPTIC (Step 2)

2010-01-06T15:27:00.002-05:00

OPTIC. I find Walter Pauk’s theory quite useful when writing about an image.[1] The AP Art History Course also uses this Acronym as a successful approach to writing about visual art. I have adapted it here with further commentary and explanation in light of your specific goals.

The point of the first two steps is pure description. What does your eye notice first? Then what? Think space, color, dimension, etc...Notice what you notice. You are doing this so that explicating will be easier and better. Pick and image that you can describe with words.

Overview: Conduct an Overview of the visual or graphic. I recommend an extensive brainstorming process here.
Parts: Key in on the Parts of the visual by noting any elements or details that seem important. The old cliché goes “a picture is worth a thousand words”, which translates to about three pages. I think this is a good rule of thumb, but by no means a fixed rule. Describe what you see. Where do your eyes go to first? Then what? Follow the natural progress of where your eyes go. Give as much detail as possible.
Title: Explain the Title (if one is present) and its relation to the piece of art. Even an “untitled piece” may tell you about the artist’s aesthetic.
Interrelationships: Use the title, or your theory, and the parts of the visual as your clues to detect and specify the Interrelationships in the graphic. In other words, this is where you develop your thesis about the image and connect ideas.
Conclusion: Draw a Conclusion about the piece as a whole.

If you go through this process, you will have plenty of writing to cull from to start explicating the piece.

NO POST NEEDED HERE.

But here are two model papers from previous year: Meg6 and Kevin Ta5

[1] Pauk, Walter. How to Study in College. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997, 271.

Tom Phillips: Explicating A Humument (Step 1)

2010-01-06T15:24:00.001-05:00

You will be explicating a page from Tom Phillips' A Humument. Click the link and visit this fascinating website--you could spend days in the world he creates. There are links on the site that introduce the work and give Tom Phillips' biography. There are essays on the work and plenty of stuff to read up on. All of it will be great background knowledge. None of it will end up in your essay.

When you've found the page IN THE GALLERY you are going to explicate, post the page number in this comment section of this post to claim it. SORRY, NO REPEATS AND IT IS ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE BASIS.
Also, I would like you to hyperlink your title to the image you pick. Below is a mini-lesson on how to do this.

Kevin Ta 5 said...
Alright, here’s my quick mini lesson on how to hyperlink in comment boxes. Say you want to make a link like this. All you have to do is type the following into the comment box:

<"a href=http://www.google.com">"this"<"/a">

and get rid of the quotation marks. When you publish it, it will look like:

this

Replace the URL (making sure you have the http:// part) and the “this” and it’s as simple as that.

Remember that the Preview button is your friend. Hope that helps.

Agenda for Weeks of 1.4.10 & 1.11.10

2010-01-03T19:12:00.007-05:00

image: Oyster Bar, Counter, NY (c) 2008
photo / photo-collage by Raissa Venables.

Hello all. Hope you are all well-rested and ready to go for next week.

Here's the schedule of events that will take us to the end of the quarter:

1.4.10: in-class work on Question 3 with your Indie reading Notes for book #2, in groups. Turn in notes.
1.5.10: Poem practice, "It's a Woman's World" Eavan Boland.
1.6.10: TBD, something poetry related, also explain assignments due for next week.
1.7.10: (long block) Begin Poetry Research Project, introduce
1.8.10: Poetry Out Loud class competitions, meet in the cafe to support Sandy!

1.11.10: no class, work on Independent Reading book # 3 and Poetry assignments due Wednesday.
1.12.10: no class, work on Independent Reading book # 3 and Poetry assignments due Wednesday.
1.13.10: Homework assignments: explication on Tom Phillips, assignment TBD & something else blog related, assignment TBD. In class: Poetry madness, TBD.
1.14.10: In class: Poetry madness, TBD.
1.15.10: In class: Poetry madness, TBD.

Midterm: Wednesday 1.20.10

1.22.10: (Friday) Last day of quarter: 50 post-its due in 3rd independent reading book. Question 3 on either of the last two indie reading titles.

When we return for 3rd quarter, we will focus primarily on completing your first research paper before February break. You will also have an independent reading assignment for February.

After February break: Hamlet, 2nd Research Paper & Jane Eyre (three of my favorite things) with a healthy dose of lit. crit.

Notes on some of the essays on "The Red Carpet"

2009-12-16T14:24:00.002-05:00

Notes on Red Carpet Essays

Agenda for weeks of 12.7.09 - 12.14.09

2009-12-04T13:45:00.004-05:00

Wangechi Mutu is a Kenyan-born artist based in New York. Her art can be found, among other places, at Saachi Gallery.

Upcoming:Week of 12.7.09:

Focus: Tone, Style, and Diction
The amount of reading & writing this week is light, so I expect you can make some good headway in your independent reading groups.

12.7.09: Due: 2 column notes on “Tone and Style” (pgs. 154 – 158). In class, we will read Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” & discuss.

12.8.09: Read and prepare for SRD on Hemingway’s “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”.

12.9.09: Read and take notes on Faulkner’s “Barn Burning”. In class I will give two assignments: “The Hemingway / Faulkner Debates” & “Rewriting Hemingway or Faulkner”

12.10.09: Present: “The Hemingway / Faulkner Debates”.

12.11.09: Read & take notes on Flannery O’Connor’s “Good Country People”

Week of 12.14.09:

Focus: Irony & Putting it all together.

12.14.09: Class does not meet.

12.15.09: “Rewriting Hemingway or Faulkner” with meta due. Read and prepare for SRD on Borges’ “The Gospel According to Mark”.

12.16.09: In class essay on TBD. You will not know which story until you arrive in class. Turn in Reader’s Notebook for Short Story Unit.

12.17.09: Paper due on Laura Chester’s “Story TBD”.

12.18.09: Set up Poetry Aloud contest.

Week of 12.21.09:

Poetry Aloud contest
Indie Group Reading assignment # 2 due. Groups are.
Nabokov’s *Lolita*
Dick’s *Scanner Darkly*
Plath’s *Bell Jar*
Austen’s *Pride and Prejudice*

Agenda for weeks of 11.23.09 & 11.30.09

2009-11-22T09:51:00.006-05:00

Avinash Veeraraghavan
Total Internal Recall
Print component

Digital print on Arches textured paper
3.5' x 4.6'
2008

Found at GALLERYSKE

Week of 11.23.09:
Topic / Objective: Characterization--"SWBAT explain how an author develops characterization to illuminate theme."

11.23.09: In-class, open-book essay on either “A Rose for Miss Emily” or “Miss Brill.” You can use your textbook, which can have post-it notes, to answer the prompt: "Explain how the author uses point of view to help illuminate theme. . ." This will be graded on the APE rubric and will be in the 'Quizzes and Open Response section' of your grade. As you are writing, I will give you a grade on your Reader's Notebook, so make sure you have it in class.

11.24.09: Due: 2 column notes on “Characterization” (pgs. 67 – 69) as well as all four stories in the section (pgs 70 – 109), SLD on “The Red Carpet” by Lavanya Sankaran.

This is one of those moments where you will have had to budget your time to do effectively. In full disclosure, we will only be covering "Characterization" and "The Red Carpet" in class, but if you did not complete the whole reading assignment (with 2 column notes), you will want to over break and make sure you are more aware of your long-term reading assignments, as you are responsible for everything that is assigned.

11.25.09: No class, due to rotation.

Thanksgiving Day Break.

1st book club cycle should be complete. (Blogs)

Week of 11.30.09:
Topic / Objective: Setting--"SWBAT explain how an author uses setting to illuminate theme."

11.30.09: Due: Paper on “The Red Carpet” by Lavanya Sankaran (4-5 papes typed). In class we will begin Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour”. We will read aloud, so you will not have had to have read it before class. It is in your textbook.

12.1.09: Due: 2 column notes on “Setting” (pgs. 110 – 112) as well as all four stories in the section (pgs 113 - 153). In class, Kate Chopin’s “Desiree’s Baby”.

12.2.09: In class, Kate Chopin’s “Desiree’s Baby” continued.

12. 3.09: No class, due to rotation.

12.4.09: In class essay, TBD (on setting).

Women and The Middle East

2009-11-10T08:18:00.004-05:00

Here's your schedule that you came up with:

November 16: 1st section of book and posts due by midnight.
November 21: 2nd section of the book and posts due by midnight.
November 28: 3rd and final section of book and blog posts due by midnight.

This is a 100 point homework assignment.

You need to make 9 posts in total. (Your book should be broken up into three sections, and for each section you should post three times.)
Please title your posts Post 1-3, Parts A, B, C etc.

Part A: Post your reaction to something specific and thought provoking in the book (though this is not a minimum, each post should be around 400-500 words.) Feel free to ask questions in this section as well, since everyone will be reading these posts.
Part B: You should also respond by elaborating on another comment in the stream (about the same length--).
Part C: You should continue to respond by elaborating on another comment in the stream (about the same length--).

You will be graded on the Malden High School Open Response Rubric.

The above prompts are vague because it is up to you as a group to start to develop your own focus. You can feel free to bring in outside research etc, just make sure you cite or give a link to your sources—but I’m most interested in your “philosophical” discussions about specifics in the books and your ability to discuss the writer’s technique and how he or she affects meaning.

Here’s a links to a solid discussion from two years ago: Madame Bovary. The requirements were a bit vague for the postings and there is a variety of effort and insight in these posts, but on the whole I thought it was quite nice to read.

Monsters in Literature

2009-11-10T08:15:00.004-05:00

The schedule you came up with for posting:

November 16: 1st section of book and posts due by midnight.
November 20: 2nd section of the book and postsdue by midnight.
November 25: 3rd and final section of book and blog posts due by midnight.

This is a 100 point homework assignment.

You need to make 9 posts in total. (Your book should be broken up into three sections, and for each section you should post three times.)
Please title your posts Post 1-3, Parts A, B, C etc.

Part B: You should also respond by elaborating on another comment in the stream (about the same length--).

Part C: You should continue to respond by elaborating on another comment in the stream (about the same length--).

You will be graded on the

Malden High School Open Response Rubric.

Insanity Group # 2

2009-11-10T08:12:00.003-05:00

Here's the schedule you came up with:

11/16 First Section Blog Posts Due pg.1-106 by midnight
11/21 Second Section Blog Posts Due pg.106-224 by midnight
11/25 Last Section Blog Post Due pg.224-331 by midnight
11/30 Fall of the House of Usher Blog Post Due

This is a 100 point homework assignment.

You need to make 9 posts in total. (Your book should be broken up into three sections, and for each section you should post three times.)
Please title your posts Post 1-3, Parts A, B, C etc.

Part B: You should also respond by elaborating on another comment in the stream (about the same length--).

Part C: You should continue to respond by elaborating on another comment in the stream (about the same length--).

You will be graded on the

Malden High School Open Response Rubric.

Insanity Group # 1

2009-11-10T08:06:00.004-05:00

Here's the reading schedule you all came up with:

posts on pages 3-148 due by midnight 11.15.09 (I extended so you could get work done and in on time for this one).
posts on pages 149-320 due by midnight 11.20.09.
posts on pages 320 -468 due by midnight 11.25.09 (I will extend this if needed if you let me know in advance.)

This is a 100 point homework assignment.

You need to make 9 posts in total. (Your book should be broken up into three sections, and for each section you should post three times.)

Please title your posts Post 1-3, Parts A, B, C etc.

Part B: You should also respond by elaborating on another comment in the stream (about the same length--).
Part C: You should continue to respond by elaborating on another comment in the stream (about the same length--).

You will be graded on the

Malden High School Open Response Rubric.

Agenda for week of 11.9.09 & 11.16.09

2009-11-10T07:24:00.002-05:00

Week of 11.9.09

11.9.09: Due: explication on Pico Iyer’s “In Praise of the Humble Comma”. In class, we will finalize small group reading projects for the next two books. They are due asap.
11.10.09: No class due to rotation.
11.11.09: No school, Veterans Day.
11.12.09: In class, look at Ted Berrigan’s “Red Shift”
11.13.09: In class, thesis writing, Ted Berrigan’s “Red Shift” continued.
If the classes on the 12th and / or 13th are shortened or lost due to Assemblies etc, we will shelve this lesson.

Week of 11.16.09:
Focus: Point of View

11.16.09: No class, due to rotation.
11.17.09: Due: 2 column notes (same format as How To Read Literature Like a College Professor summer notes) on “Fiction”, “Reading a Story”, & “Fable and Tale” (pgs 1 – 5), then “Plot” & “The Short Story” (pgs 9 – 12). As well as “Point of View” (pgs 19 – 25)—we can discuss anything you want or don’t understand at the beginning of class, but the purpose is for you to know all of the terms mentioned and be able to use them when discussing or writing about literature. If at any point I feel as if you need it (for whatever reason), I reserve the right to give you a quiz on the terms.
Also due: Read William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Miss Emily”—post it note text and be able to discuss text both in terms of how point of view helps illuminate the work as a whole.
11.18.09: Due: Read Katherine Mansfield’s “Miss Brill”—post it note text and be able to discuss text both in terms of how point of view helps illuminate the work as a whole. SLD.
11.19..09: In class: We will either work more with the stories or on multiple choice strategies, depending on what I feel like you need.
11.20.09: No class, due to rotation.

For a preview of the rest of the quarter, look in the comment stream.

Reading Lolita in Tehran, Part IV “Austen”

2009-10-26T11:55:00.003-04:00

This is a 100 point assignment in the ‘Participation’ section of your of your grades.

You will be graded on the Malden High School Open Response Rubric.
You need to make 2 posts in total. There is a Part A and a Part B to each post you make.
Both posts are due by Friday, Oct. 30th @ 11:59 p.m., though you should make your first post as soon as possible. Keep in mind others depend on your comments to continue with their own.

Please label your posts.

Part A: Post your reaction to something specific and thought provoking in the book (though this is not a minimum, your post should be at least a few hundred words.) Feel free to ask questions in this section as well, since everyone will be reading these posts.

Part B: You should also respond by elaborating on another comment in the stream (about the same length--a couple hundred words as a minimum.)

The above prompts are vague because it is up to you as a group to start to develop your own focus. You can feel free to bring in outside research etc, just make sure you cite or give a link to your sources—but I’m most interested in your “philosophical” discussions about specifics in the book and your ability to discuss the writer’s technique and how she affects meaning.

Image of Nafisi from The New York Times article, which also covers her new memoir Things I’ve Been Silent About. Feel free to use as fodder for discussion topics.

Reading Lolita in Tehran, Part III “James”

2009-10-26T11:50:00.003-04:00

This is a 100 point assignment in the ‘Participation’ section of your of your grades.

You will be graded on the Malden High School Open Response Rubric.
You need to make 2 posts in total. There is a Part A and a Part B to each post you make.
Both posts are due by Wednesday, Oct. 28th @ 11:59 p.m., though you should make your first post as soon as possible. Keep in mind others depend on your comments to continue with their own.

Please label your posts.

Part B: You should also respond by elaborating on another comment in the stream (about the same length--a couple hundred words as a minimum.)

The above prompts are vague because it is up to you as a group to start to develop your own focus. You can feel free to bring in outside research etc, just make sure you cite or give a link to your sources—but I’m most interested in your “philosophical” discussions about specifics in the book and your ability to discuss the writer’s technique and how she affects meaning.

Image: "Two Orientalist paintings: Sir Frank Dicksee's Leila and William Clarke Wontner's Safie, One of the Three Ladies of Baghdad; Three colonial picture postcards of young Algerian women--staged, produced and bought by French colonial officers; The original picture from which the cover of Reading Lolita in Tehran was cropped." (Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM 1996) Click this link for image in context & source of info.) An interesting perspective from a non-American source. Feel free to use as fodder for discussion if you want.

Agenda for 10. 22 - 30. 09 (end of First Quarter)

2009-10-21T14:34:00.002-04:00

10.22.09: Work on Question 3 style prompts: crafting a subtle and sophisticated thesis; rubric calibration with sample essays. Work with A Doll’s House to prepare for Question 3 style prompt.
10.23.09: continued. Turn in 3rd draft of college essay.

10.26.09: Long block. Reading A Doll’s House in Tehran assignment due. In-class Question 3 style essay on A Doll’s House: Collect Reader’s Notebooks.
10.27.09: Plan 2nd quarter book clubs.
10.28.09: continued. Post blog entries on Reading Lolita in Tehran, Part III by midnight.
10.29.09: no class.
10.30.09: Class TBA (starring Mr. Weir). Post blog entries on Reading Lolita in Tehran, Part IV by midnight.

Quarter ends.

READING A DOLL’S HOUSE IN TEHRAN assignment

2009-10-21T13:37:00.004-04:00

100 points. Major assignments & papers
due: Monday, class time

In “Part II: Gatsby” in READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN, Nafisi puts Gatsby on trial in her class. In past years teaching Ibsen’s A DOLL’S HOUSE, I have had my students put Nora on trial for her decision at the end of the play. This year, I’m synthesizing some of my previous assignments.

Objective: You are to write a chapter as if you were Azar Nafisi and have decided to put Nora on trial instead of Gatsby. You will be graded on your ability to

successfully capture the tone and style of Nafisi[1]
accurately portray characters from Nafisi’s memoir by how they could be expected to react to Nora (or any other characters from A Doll’s House.)
present an insightful & sophisticated character analysis of Nora from A Doll’s House
50 points: all areas demonstrate an exceptional level of mastery
45 points: all but one are demonstrates an exceptional level of mastery
40 points: one of the areas demonstrates an exceptional level of mastery
35 points: all areas show good quality and effort; demonstrates progression towards mastery. Papers with mistakes in grammar and mechanics (which do not interfere with meaning) can not be scored higher than 35.
30 points: demonstrates some progression towards mastery. Papers with mistakes in grammar and mechanics (which interfere with meaning) can not be scored higher than 30.
Less than 30 points: demonstrates a lack of understanding or effort with assignment.

If you quote anything directly from Nafisi, please italicize. Use Times New Roman, 12pt font, double-spaced, 2-3 pages. If you do not follow these format guidelines, I will not accept paper.

Your meta will be in a different format this time, though still graded on the APE rubric.

You are to use the ‘comment function’ on Word to highlight what you are doing with the choices you are making, instead in an essay form.

[1] (which includes, but is not limited to: how author presents dialogue, appropriate word choice, symbols, punctuation tendencies, etc.)

AP Literature 2010 - 2011

Volume 3: Jane Eyre

Volume 2: Jane Eyre blog posts

Volume 1: Jane Eyre

Hamlet Video critique for Act 3, Scene 1

Poetry in Translation Assignment

Independent Reading Book Cycle 3:

Poetry Out Loud Overview & Scoring Guides

Alice Notely’s “I the People”

Robert Duncan’s “Often I am Permitted”

Robin Blaser lecture, "Where's hell?" (June 19, 1999)

Style Assignment: Short Stories

Agenda for week of 10.25.10

Agenda for week of 10.18.10

Amiri Baraka

Agenda for Week of 10.11.10

Agenda for week of 10.4.10

Resources & The Independent Reading Project

Agenda for week of 9.27.10

Charles Olson (online) reader and links

Ted Berrigan & links for "Red Shift"

College Essay Scoring Guide

College Essay Prompts

Agenda for week of 9.20.10

Found Poetry Assignment for *Heart of Darkness* by Joseph Conrad

O Modernism

"Should We Read *Heart of Darkness*"?

Agenda for week of 9.13.10

Post-first class & citing my sources. . .

Welcome . . . Your First Assignment

AP Syllabus 2010 - 2011

Senior Portfolio 2010, yo

Homework for Monday 5.3.10

Agenda for week of 4.26.10

Final Jane Eyre Blog Posts

Volume 3: Jane Eyre

Volume 2: Jane Eyre blog posts

Volume 1: Jane Eyre discussion questions

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Agenda 4.12.10 - 4.16.10

Agenda for 4.5.10 - 4.9.10

Agenda for 3.26.10 - 4.5.10

Stephany's Hamlet Video Critique Act 3 Scene 1

Hamlet video critique for Act 5 Scene 1

Act 5 Scene 1

Act 4 Scene 4

Developing a Thesis

Hamlet video critique for Act 3: Scene 1

Agenda and notes for 3.17.10

Act 3 Scene 1: "To be or not to be" soliloquy

Hamlet Act 3 Scene 1

Hamlet Act 2 Scene 2

Hamlet - David Tenant Act 1 Scene 4

Hamlet - an introduction by Kenneth Branagh

Hamlet Act 1 Scene 5 (Ghost speaks)

Hamlet Act 1 Scenes 4-5

Hamlet Act 1: Scene 3 (Ophelia, Laertes & Polonius)

Hamlet Act 1 Scene 2 (Soliloquy)

Artist Research Paper Week One

Hamlet Packet

AP Calendar of Events

Samuel Beckett's *Waiting For Godot* Blog Post on Act 2

Samuel Beckett's *Waiting For Godot* Blog Post on Act 1

Select one of the following

Student work on page 45 of of A HUMUMENT by Tom Phillips

Student work on page 249 of A HUMUMENT by Tom Phillips

Student work on Laura Chester's "True or Untrue, Grit" from RANCH WEIRDO

Tom Phillips: Explicating A Humument (Final Step)

Tom Phillips: Writing About an Image OPTIC (Step 2)

Tom Phillips: Explicating *A Humument* (Step 1)

Agenda for Weeks of 1.4.10 & 1.11.10

Notes on some of the essays on "The Red Carpet"

Agenda for weeks of 12.7.09 - 12.14.09

Agenda for weeks of 11.23.09 & 11.30.09

Found Poetry Assignment for Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

"Should We Read Heart of Darkness"?

Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot Blog Post on Act 2

Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot Blog Post on Act 1

Tom Phillips: Explicating A Humument (Step 1)