(10 minutes) After you finish reading, open up to the final pages (284-5). Spend time minutes writing about them, considering:
Why do you think Sacco ends the book this way? What does this ending suggest about the conflict?
*last reading of the semester! Next week will have no assignments (unless you are presenting - see Syllabus for schedule) - presentations on Monday and Friday and a last lesson on Grammar on Wednesday*
Wednesday, April 18
Read Palestine, chapter 4 (40 minutes)
Read through the attached Style handout (see above and available on bcourses). I will bring a printed copy for all of you on Wednesday. (15 minutes) -- no need to make the annotations at the end of the worksheet, as we will do this in class on Wednesday.
Monday, April 16
Read Palestine, chapter 3 (40 minutes)
(10 minutes) After you finish reading, write down a claim about this text. It does not have to be as specific as a thesis statement, but it should be a claim that could be supported by passages from the text, and could be argued against (i.e. it should be controversial).
Post your claim to our class discussion (we will do an activity with these claims on Monday).
Example: "Sacco's clear bias makes his journalism unreliable."
**Please note that if you are doing a Final Project for Additional Labor - either the Creative Art Encounter or the Image + Text Critical Paper - portions of that project are due on April 27 - so get started! :)**
Friday, April 13 (make sure you're doing the assignment for the correct day of class)
Finish reading the handout (handed out in class) on revising sentences (15 minutes)
Look over Paper 2 Draft 2 - find at least three and up to five sentences that you could revise based on the criteria for revision in the handout.
Either on a blank piece of paper or your computer, write your sentences. Next to each sentence, briefly note in parentheses the problem with the sentence. Leave a few lines after each sentence (enough space to revise it - we will do this in class on Friday). Bring your sentences and the handout to class on Friday (that means if you write your sentences on your computer, you will need to print them out).
Read Palestine, chapter 2 (40 minutes)
After you read, spend 10 minutes writing about the following questions (10 minutes):
1) How would you describe the narrator's relation to the patients in the hospital scene? His tone? What does this suggest about his relationship to the conflict?
2) On page 41, the narrative takes the form of newspaper columns. What effect does this have on you as a reader? What does that suggest about Sacco's choice to write this book in the form of a graphic novel, rather than as plain journalism?
Wednesday, April 11
Read Palestine, chapter 1 (40 minutes)
(15 minutes) As you will notice when you read, this graphic novel has a very different format and layout than Fun Home. After you finish, choose 1 panel/page with an especially interesting layout to you. Spend at least ten minutes writing your responses to the following questions in your notebook:
Describe the layout of the text and the perspective of the image. What effect does this have on you as a reader? on the meaning of the text? on the character of the narrator?
Bring your thoughts to class.
Monday, April 9
Read Fun Home, chapter 7 (and chapter 6 if you did not read it yet - my apologies for misprinting the homework assignment) (40 minutes).
No additional thinking or free-writing because I know you are hard at work finishing Paper 2 Draft 2!
Wednesday, April 4
Read Fun Home, chapters 4 + 5 (60 minutes)
In these chapters, Bechdel reflects extensively on her diary entries. Spend ten minutes reflecting on the diary entry passages, writing about the following questions: (10 mins)
Describe Alison's annotations in her diary. Why do you think she begins making these annotations? What other themes, scenes, or ideas from the text does this remind you of? What does it suggest about the written word?
Write up a paragraph about your findings and post it to our class discussion (5 minutes)
Monday, April 2
Read Fun Home, chapters 3 + 4 (60 mins)
As you read, there are two things I'd like you to keep in your mind to think about:
What do you make of the way that Alison discovers for herself and reveals to the reader that she is lesbian? How does she define this part of her identity?
At this point in the text, we start moving around in time a lot. How would you characterize this movement, and what do you make of it?
Write down a few notes about your thoughts, so that you have points to discuss even if you read this way early in the break! (5 min)
Other things you might be doing for this class over the break:
Continuing to work on Paper 1 Draft 2 (due 4/9)
Working on the optional Additional Labor of Paper 1 Revision Plan + Revision (due 4/2)
Sharing outside feedback (another optional Additional Labor item) with a friend.
Looking over the Final Project descriptions (to be posted over Spring Break) and seeing whether you might be interested in doing one of those or the Final Presentation instead.
Reading will be heavy when we return from break (2 chapters of Bechdel due Monday and Wednesday). Read ahead if you anticipate it being hard to keep up.
Have a wonderful and relaxing well-deserved break!
Wednesday, March 21
Read Fun Home, chapter 2 (40 mins)
In this chapter, we get a series of new kinds of panel illustrations: novels, maps, photographs, letters. As you read, mark these moments, and make notes in the margins about their effect. Why, for instance, does Bechdel devote whole panels to pages of text? Why show an aerial map view of the neighborhood?
This is all in the hopes in getting us to a central theme of this particular book, and all the books we've read so far as a class: what is the relationship between image, text, and testimony/witnessing?
Monday, March 19
Read Fun Home, chapter 1 (40 mins)
Read the following excerpts from Understanding Comics (available on bcourses under "Files - Readings"): (40 mins)
pages 66-74 (pages refer to the actual page numbers at the bottom of each page, not the pages of the pdf)
pages 94-103
pages 118-126
**As you read, jot down and describe key terms in your notebook. Bring this to class on Monday.
Wednesday, March 14
The last day of Sebald at last! Read pages 271-296. (60 mins)
As you will notice when you read, this section mostly consists of a long description of silkworms and their history. As you read, star moments that describe why and how society chooses to cultivate silkworms.
After you finish reading, flip back to page 275, which describes the silkworm itself. The silkworm is a creature characterized by productivity. Spend seven minutes looking through your starred passages and thinking about the following questions: (7 min)
Is the productivity of the silkworm any different than the productivity of its human counterparts? How? What larger themes of the book does the silkworm incident recall to you?
Bring one of your close-reading passages (passage and close-reading paragraph) from Step 2 of Paper 2 to class!
Monday, March 12
Read Sebald, p. 211-2 (from "I do not think Mrs Ashbury" to "my memory"), p. 235-6 (from "From a distance" to end of section), p. 241-268 (60 mins)
As you read, consider this question, and star relevant passages:
In this section, we get a series of stories about people making things: sewing, dioramas, writing. What does Sebald suggest about these acts of creation? What drives their creators to make them, and what is their value?
After you finish reading, look back over these passages, and jot down a few thoughts in your notebook.
Friday, March 9 NO CLASS TODAY as I have to be out of town for a conference. However, you do have an assignment! I was going to give you reading, but I have decided that it is more important for you to work on paper 2 (since the first installment is due to me one week from today). Remember to check back here for Monday's assignment as well (it will be posted by noon on Friday 3/9).
I would like you to commit to at least 90 minutes of labor toward Paper 2 by Friday at 1pm (the end of our usually scheduled class). If it will help you, feel free to use our room during our usual class time as a space to work! (90 mins)
note: if you are planning on writing on Sebald, I encourage you to read at least one additional section. I also encourage you to come to office hours to talk with me about your topic - I might be able to point you to other relevant passages that we did not read in class.
Monday, March 5
Read Sebald, p. 169-90 (45-60 min.)
Annotate as you read, starring any passages that seem important or confusing to you.
When you finish reading, choose one passage that helped you understand something about the text. Write for seven minutes about what it helped you understand (7 min).
Choose one passage that was confusing to you. Write for seven minutes about why it was confusing. (7 min).
For both of these passages, pay careful attention to formal features - syntax, clauses, particular metaphors or images it uses, etc.
Bring your passages and thoughts on them to class on Monday.
FRIDAY, March 2 *make sure you are doing the homework for the correct day*
Read Sebald p. 75-99 (45-60 min.)
As you read, pay special attention to shifts in perspective (the lens through which we observe characters, events, and happenings). Star each shift in perspective and describe the shift in the margins.
After you finish reading, jot down thoughts about the following questions (15 min):
What kind(s) of perspectives do we get in this chapter? Does the narrator use a different kind of perspective for different kinds of events? How so? What does the text suggest about why the narrator uses perspective this way?
Wednesday, February 28 Welcome to our first... Writing Wednesday! Today (and a bit on Friday) we will be focusing on paragraph structure - ways to scaffold paragraphs and ways to clearly orient your reader to your main point. We will return to Sebald on Friday, but for tomorrow, I'd like you to read a few pages from Eric Hayot's Elements of Academic Style (attached above and available on our class bcourses). This book is high level, designed for graduate students and academics, but I think it makes some excellent points about paragraph structure. Don't worry if you can't follow along with all the language of the examples, just try to get the gist of what Hayot is suggesting.
Read Hayot, “Uneven U,” p. 59-65, 68-9, 73 (30 minutes) - the page numbers refer to the actual page numbers on the center top of each page, not the page numbers of the pdf. Stop on page 65 after the sentence "You can see the rough shape..." Resume on 68 at "I have been calling..." until "In other words you would have..." Resume on 70 at "Let's look at one more..." to end of chapter.
This reading is very short, but very dense. I have allotted 30 minutes so that you give yourself enough time to really understand what Hayot is talking about. Don’t just skim the text, but read and reread his examples, following along with them, until you really get what he means.
Write in your notebook the 5 levels that Hayot describes on page 60. (15 minutes)
You should not just copy out what he says, but use your own words to describe what each level means, providing examples if you need. Bring this to class on Wednesday
Bring in a printed copy of Paper 1 Draft 3 to class on Wednesday. This can be the copy that I have written comments on.
Monday, February 26
Read pages 51-71 of Rings of Saturn slowly and carefully, making notes as you go. As you read, make a list of important themes to track and jot down notes about what the text is suggesting about them so far (45-60 min).
Look over all the images in this section, and briefly describe the different kinds of images we see. What do they have in common? What’s different about them? Are different images doing different kinds of work, or do they all operate in a similar way? Why do you think Sebald includes images at all? (15 min)
FRIDAY, February 23
Read pages 1-26 of Rings of Saturn (45-60 min.)
Read these pages slowly. I have decided to excerpt the book so that we can have more manageable and engaged reading – i.e. reading less pages with more attention rather than vice versa. As you go, make notes in the margins, writing questions as they occur to you, and noting themes.
Free-write about the experience of reading (20 min.)
Do a ten-minute free-write just describing the experience of what it is like to enter this book. What about it is confusing or surprising? What about it is engaging or interesting? Does it feel like any books that you have read before? Why or why not? What seem like some of the prominent formal characteristics? What do you think the rest of this book will be about?
Write up a paragraph about your free-write and post it to our class discussion.
Wednesday, February 21
Read Rankine, pages 139-161 (45 min)
After you finish reading, do a ten minute free-write addressing the following questions: (10 min)
What is one insight you have about this text?
What remains confusing to you about the text? What questions do you still have?
Now, read over your free-write and (on a blank piece of paper) craft a question that you would like to discuss with the class (15 min)
Your question should address a specific instance that also brings up a larger theme of the text.
Your question should not be easily answered with “yes” or “no”
Your question should be a question you are genuinely curious about and want to discuss with the class.
Begin your question with a specific moment in the text, as in my example:
On page 151, Rankine finally mentions the word “citizen”: “Yes, and this is how you are a citizen: Come on. Let it go. Move on.” This line brings me back to the very first discussion that we had about this book: whether the speaker is passive, or advocating passivity, the need to just “Move on.” Is that what the speaker is advocating by the end of the book? If not, what does she advocate instead? Is this book written as a way to let go and move on?
Finally, make a list of at least three passages (in addition to the passage quoted) that might offer evidence that would help address your question (15 min)
Bring your question and passage list to class on Wednesday.
Friday, February 16
Carefully read over the “Weak Thesis Statements” Handout (10 min)
Does your thesis fall into any of these categories? Even if not, which category do you feel you are most likely to fall into?
Choose the category your thesis either falls into or the category that you are most likely to fall into. On one side of the notecard from class, write an example of that kind of weak thesis statement. On the other side, write the type of thesis statement it is and a revision (15 min).
Read Rankine, p. 115-135 (40 min)
As you read, google any references you are not familiar with (Mark Duggan, the 2006 World Cup).
Think about the World Cup section (15 min)
In your notebook, describe how this section is written, including any significant formal characteristics. Why do you think Rankine uses this form? What does it suggest to you?
(Don't forget Paper 1 Draft 3 is due in hard copy in class and uploaded to bcourses)
Wednesday, February 14
A slight shift for Wednesday's class. We will take a day off of reading Rankine, and will instead do some peer workshopping in preparation for your papers.
Your labor assignment is to bring in two paragraphs for peer workshopping: 1) your working introductory paragraph (with last sentence - few sentences as your thesis); 2) one body paragraph from your paper.
Remember that your introductory paragraph should introduce a problem/question/tension in the poem, and your thesis (or question) should attempt to provide a specific, argumentative answer.
Your body paragraph should shore up all its evidence with quotation from the text and then analysis of that quotation.
please bring three printed copies of your paragraphs to class
Monday, February 12
Read Rankine, p. 82-113 (45-60 min)
Create A, B, and C Theses (20 min)
Using the Thesis Workshop handout (see attachment under "Home" if you missed class), write an A, B, and C level thesis based on your own Paper 1 Draft 2. You don't need to be wedded to these theses, and this doesn't mean that you need to have already written Paper 1 Draft 3. I simply want you to try it out. Bring all three versions to class.
Friday, February 9
Read Rankine, p. 56-81 (45 min)
Working with Metaphor (20 min)
You'll notice when you read this section that the tone has changed immensely - what was very concrete and particular has now become much more abstract, using lots of poetic language.
I'd like you to pick one metaphor or simile in the passages we've read for today (remember: metaphor = "my love is a rose," simile = "my love is like a rose") - basically you can use any phrase that compares something to something else. Write it down in your notebook.
Then, write for 5 minutes about what your metaphor suggests, and how it relates to broader themes or questions from the book. Post a paragraph describing your metaphor on our class discussion.
Here's an example:
"Memory is a tough place." (64) . For memory to be a place suggests that it is something physical, real, and material. This theme has persisted from the very opening passage of the book, which describes "a past stacked among your pillows," again, a past made material and personal. We can hear "tough" in the sense of simply difficult, but we can also hear it in the physical sense of a "tough," immobile, resistant place. The toughness seems to suggest both resistance on the part of the person remembering and the difficulty and pain inherent to remembering. Memory being a "place" means that it is not only physical, but is also locatable in the world. But it may not be quite as material as I've suggested - Rankine doesn't write that memory is "tough as a nail," but "a tough place," implying that it is a place one can choose to go. One can choose to leave, but the place remains where it was.
Wednesday, February 7
Read Rankine p. 20-55 (45 min)
Read through my Paper 1 Draft 2 Example (15 min) - we will use this for an in-class thesis workshop
Spend some time working on Paper 1 Draft 2 (due Friday)
Monday, February 5 We are leaving the world of Blake for something that seems quite different, but bringing all of our close-reading skills along! In some ways, the Rankine will be much easier to understand, given the fact that it's contemporary. But it is also very dense poetry that needs close attention.
Read pages 1-19 (50-60 min)
Technically, you could probably read these pages very quickly. But I don't want you to just skim them, I want you to really try to understand everything they're doing - that means reading and rereading and rereading and annotating.
As you read, think about the role of the images. What do they add to the text? What questions do they introduce for you?
Close-Reading (20-30 min)
Choose one passage that you think would be particularly fruitful for annotation. Do a close-reading of the passage, including your thoughts on perspective, metaphor or simile, language, nouns/verbs/adjectives, images, and anything else you notice.
What is one major theme of the text that this passage brings up? How does this passage describe that theme?
Write down two questions that emerge from your close-reading and bring them into class on Monday. Try to make your questions specific and actual questions you have about the text. Avoid any questions that could be answered with a quick google search, or questions about the author's biography.
Begin working on Paper 1 Draft 2 if so inclined!
Friday, February 2
Read and Annotate "The Lamb" (Innocence), "The Tyger" (Experience), and "London" (Experience) (30 min)
Look at the corresponding plates and jot down notes (15 min)
Make a list of all the formal differences between "The Lamb" and "The Tyger." (10 min)
For 5 minutes, free-write on the question: How are the differences between "The Lamb" and "The Tyger" emblematic of the overarching differences between Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience? (if you don't think these poems are emblematic of the differences, say why)
Don't forget to finish Paper 1 Draft 1 to bring in on Friday! (Instructions under "Projects" tab)
Wednesday, January 31
Read and Annotate "The Introduction," "Earth's Answer," "The Chimney Sweeper," "The Human Abstract" (all from experience) (30-40 min)
Look at the corresponding plates and jot down notes (15 min)
Think through and jot down responses to the following questions: (30 min.)
For "The Introduction" and "Earth's Answer" - how is the opening of Songs of Experience different from that of Innocence? Describe as fully as possible what the effect of those differences are.
For "The Chimney Sweeper" and "The Human Abstract" - these poems have companion poems in Innocence. Write down all the formal differences you can think of - perspective, imagery, speaker, word choice. How do these formal differences change the meaning/focus of each set of poems? What do these formal changes suggest about differences between Innocence and Experience?
Monday, January 29
Read at least 2x and Annotate "The Chimney Sweeper" [the one from Innocence], "The Divine Image," and "On Another's Sorrow" (30 min)
(annotate: write down your summary, jot down descriptive notes about the speaker, imagery, language, line-breaks, rhyme and structure - you should do this for every poem we read, but from now on I'll just say "annotate")
Look at the corresponding plates and jot down notes about what the images display/add to your reading (15 min)
Now that we've spent a bit more time in Songs of Innocence (we'll move to Experience on Wednesday), think a bit about what characterizes them. Free-write for 10 minutes about similarities across the Songs of Innocence - what seem to be some of the major themes or interests of these poems? What seem to be the dominant formal features? Do any poems seem like they don't quite fit with the others - and why? Post a paragraph summary of your response to our class discussion.
Begin working on your first paper if you feel so inclined!
Friday, January 26 It's hard to imagine a more striking contrast than the one between the extremely complicated, dense Riley poem that we just read and William Blake's Songs of Innocence. Part of our intent in reading the two side by side is to see how we can make sense of complexity and how we can give new meaning to simplicity, just like Riley transforms pop art and pop songs into something full of meaning. As you read Blake, even with the simplicity of the language, try to keep in the back of your head anything that jumps out to you or seems strange to you.
FIRST PRINT and then Read Blake's "Introduction" [from Innocence] and "The Little Black Boy" (20 min)
Read each poem through twice, as we've been practicing. Jot down a summary to the side of the poem. Then, jot down descriptive notes about the speaker, imagery, language, line-breaks, rhyme, and structure.
Look at the images of Blake's illuminated books (20 min)*
Take a look at the frontispiece and the title page of Songs of Innocence. What stands out to you in these images? What do they suggest about the meaning of innocence in this context?
Take a look at the illuminated page of the "Introduction" and "The Little Black Boy" - how do these images accord with the meaning of the poem? Do they introduce any new meaning or ambiguity?
Finally, take a look at the front page of the joint Songs of Innocence and Experience, published in 1794, after the initial publication of Songs of Innocence alone in 1789. Which person do you think represents innocence, and which represents experience? Why?
*note: click "Enlargement" in order to see the image in more detail
Wednesday, January 24: Image vs. Text
Read Riley’s “Lure 1963” (15 min)
Read the poem through once
Read it again. Attempt to summarize the poem.
Close-Reading (20 min)
Go through all the steps of your close reading handout. Jot down in the margins your observations about the speaker, imagery, language, line-breaks, rhyme, structure, and chronology.
Analysis (15 min)
Take a look at the painting on which Riley is performing an ekphrasis, “Lure 1963”
For 10 minutes, free-write on the following questions, shoring up your points with your close-reading data as much as possible. Remember that free writing means writing without stopping, without editing yourself. You should time yourself so that you know when to stop writing.
What is the relationship between the painting and Riley’s poem? Does her poem reflect the painting? Does it introduce any new elements?
If you were to try to use Riley’s poem to think about the relationship between visual art and poetry, what would you say? Does the poem “think” in a different way than the painting? What does the written word make possible that’s not possible in the image, and vice versa?
(This is hard, given how abstract the poem is, but try): With your close-reading in mind, thinking through any tensions or questions that emerged, what do you think this poem is about? What is one of its central themes or concerns?
Post to the Class Discussion Tab of our website (under More... add your paragraph as a comment) (5 min)
Type up one paragraph outlining the most interesting insight(s) that emerged from your free-write. As much as possible, connect your insight(s) directly to the formal features (speaker, imagery, language, etc.) that you identified in your close reading.
p.s. this poem is really hard, so don't feel bad if you feel like you don't "get it"! I wanted us to begin by reading a variety of poems, the very simple (Williams) and the very complex (Auden/Riley). The advantage of the Riley is that, like an image, it forces us to describe rather than summarize, because it doesn't give us a clear narrative. And describing is what we are teaching ourselves to do...
Monday, January 22: Reading Texts Reading Images
Background (5 min):
Look at Bruegel’s Landscape with the Fall of Icarus. Can you spot Icarus falling in the bottom right? How important does Icarus seem to this painting? If you’re not familiar with the Icarus myth, read about it here.
Initial Reading (20 min):
Read Williams’ “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” and Auden’s “Musee des Beaux Arts” through once.
Read each poem again. For each poem, write a one sentence summary of what the poem says. Jot down anything in the poem that you find interesting, surprising, confusing, or that otherwise jumps out at you.
Close-Reading Description (40 min):
Now, pick one of the poems. Go through all of the steps on the close-reading handout – first, define any words you don’t know in the poem. Then, write down your answers to all of the descriptive questions on the close-reading handout. You don’t need to work on the analysis section yet (final part of handout), but you can try it if you feel so inclined. Bring your answers to class!
Friday, January 19: Learning How to Slow Down
As you do this assignment (and for all subsequent assignments), write down your responses in your notebook. Don’t forget to record this in your labor journal!
Step 1 - create your Labor Log
Go to drive.google.com
Create a new, blank excel spreadsheet - name it "Labor Log - Your Name"
Slowly read the (printed, hard copy!) excerpt from T.J. Clark’s Sight of Death (just pages 15-18). As you read, locate Clark’s observations in the painting by zooming in on the part of the painting he describes.
Ask yourself and jot down in your notebook: What kinds of things does Clark notice? How does he discover “one main ‘theme’ or concern of the scene”?
Step 3 (30 min.)
Now, return to the Poussin painting. Zoom in on some part of the painting that Clark does not describe.
Using Clark as your model, describe what you see in that part of the painting as fully as possible.
Then, zoom out. Ask yourself: How is this zoomed-in portion of the painting “in conversation” with the rest of the painting?
To what extent does it parallel other parts of the painting? To what extent does it seem to contrast with other parts of the painting?
(Harder, but try): What “theme” or concern of the painting does your description introduce? Frame this concern in the form of a question.