February 2009 Listing

You've heard me say that when I ask for your reaction to a reading, I'm not interested in reading a summary of the content. What else is there to talk about?

Tone and form are two of many things we might look at in a literary passage. (I also want to spend some time talking briefly about common themes in American lit, which we didn't get to last time.)

We will also work in groups of four on a close reading assignment.

Comment on 2-4 peer blog entries for each assigned reading. Also, print out and bring a half-page reflection on each author. (Submit it as you come in.) Reflections are due every week that we have assigned readings.

Intro, Chapters 1-3

Read all poems in handout from last week's class. There's a separate slot for you to post your reaction to "After Apple Picking."

Use this slot to post your reactions to at least one of the other short poems that you looked at in groups.

A close reading is a careful, thorough, sustained examination of the words that make up a text.

A close reading uses short quotations (a few words or only one word) inside sentences that make an argument about the work itself (rather than an argument about your reactions, incidents in the author's life, or whether things today are different from or similar to the society depicted in the story).

In a close reading, a literary work is not so much a window to look through, nor is it a mirror to reflect yourself. Instead, you look closely at the language the author chose, in order to analyze what the author has accomplished.

Note: Close reading is always re-reading.

Chapters 1-4

Groups for next week's exercise will be assigned.

For Foster, and Fitzgerald, post a separate entry on your SHU weblog, to include a brief quotation and a position statement. (Details explained in class 01/26.)

1. Groups of four
2. Choose a text (1-2 pages of prose from the 2nd half of The Great Gatsby)
3. Read (and re-read, paying close attention to the actual words)
4. Identify a theme (gender, nature, race, power, love, forgiveness, time, etc.)
   
5. Search your chosen passage for additional or closely related references to that them
6. Take a stand
1. Non-obvious
   
2. Debatable
3. About the Work Itself
   (not about life in general, human nature in general, your personal opinions about the subject, real people or events that relate loosely to the literary work, or or events that took place during the time the work was written; not about any subject that you could have written about without ever having read the work)
7. Defend your position. (In class on Feb 2, we will workshop how to do this.)
   

Foster; Fitzgerald. (Comment on 2-4 peer blog entries, and bring a half-page printed reflection to class.)

Your opportunity to get a quick assessment of your class participation mark so far.

Portfolio 1 is due March 2. A full description and the evaluation criteria are available on the assignment page.

Ch 5; one of 6, 7, 8, or 9; Ch 10

Finish

While I won't keep posting reminders, pleae continue to post your online agenda items.

Foster; Machinal

Interlude (p. 82); Ch 12; one of 11, 13, or 14

A student asks, via e-mail:

I was wondering if you'd like the Machinal blogs in Act/Episode format or not, because I am sure you don't want the whole play in one entry.

Update, 18 Feb:

Here's a link to the handout that I first mentioned in class Feb 2: Close Reading

1. Groups (as determined in class, Feb 17; Ex 2 is done in groups of four and due in class Feb 23, Ex 3 is done groups of two and due online on Friday, but otherwise the assignment is identical)
   
2. Choose a text (1-2 pages of prose from Chapters 1-12 of The Grapes of Wrath)
3. Read (and re-read, paying close attention to the actual words)
4. Identify a theme (gender, nature, race, power, love, forgiveness, time, etc.)
5. Search your chosen passage for additional or closely related references to that theme
6. Take a stand
1. Non-obvious
2. Debatable
3. About the Work Itself
   (not about life in general, human nature in general, your personal opinions about the subject, real people or events that relate loosely to the literary work, or characters as if they are real people who are trapped within a literary work, or or events that took place during the time the work was written; not about any subject that you could have written about without ever having read the work)
   
7. Defend your position.

Your goal for this exercise is not to come up with the "correct" answer, but rather to demonstrate that you can perform a close reading.

Remember that I grade on a four-point scale, so a 15 out of 20 is a B (which to me means "very good," "overall solid work with areas of excellence," "exceeds some expectations and meets all the rest")

Monday night, during class, I will quickly assess all the Ex 2 submissions. 

I won't be able to give a numerical grade on the spot, and can't really promise one until the following Monday, but on Feb 23 I will sort the Ex 2 submissions according to

• PASS (none of your group members will need to do Ex 3 -- you are ready to start on Paper 1.)
• REVISE (I'll give you quick feedback in class, and encourage you to seek out more detailed feedback should you desire it; each group member will submit a separate revision, due online Friday. If your individual revision is successful, you won't need to do Ex 3 at all -- you are ready to start on Paper 1.)
• CONSULT (this means I haven't yet seen evidence that you can do a close reading, so I'd like to meet with you for one-on-one instruction. At that meeting, we will discuss a tailor-made Ex 3 assignment that will not only help you develop this skill, but also help you make progress on Paper 1.)

Foster; Steinbeck

Ch 18-20; Interlude (p. 185)

Ch 1-12

(Moved from Feb 20)