Thursday, December 4, 2008
WEEK 10: (optional) final project thesis paragraphs and/or questions
This is optional but if you have questions, or are feeling proud of your theisis paragrpah, or are feeling just downright community minded and kind, please post your paper's initial paragraph here--anytime you are ready to do so.
I'll check in on the blog and try to comment when comments are asked for or seem needed.
I'll check in on the blog and try to comment when comments are asked for or seem needed.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Week 9: VACATION
Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, you don't need to post on your personal blogs or on the community blog this week. And you don't need to leave any responses.
Those of you who have been falling behind, though, it's a good time to catch up.
Those of you who have been falling behind, though, it's a good time to catch up.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Week 8: Comparative Reading
Find a passage that is pretty far away from the one that you read last week--maybe not even on the same topic and tell what is the same and different between it and the one that you read last week.
Ex. Brechin looks at a tall building and started reading about underground mines.
Rosa looks at the Golden Gate Bridge and started reading about the little fire symbol on Girl Scout pins.
Brittany compares subway tunnel sex in Howl to 1950's bedroom decor.
What should happen when you start asserting those violent comparisons is that a whole field of implications should start to pop up. You may want to start with by thinking: if these two things are connected, then what else is also connected...
The comparison can also help you to read for the choices that the writer of your primary passage didn't make.
Ex. Does gay sex have to be underground or is that undergroundess in Ginsberg's poem a specific reflection of the ways in which sexuality was repressed in the bedroom and an explicit connection with a political movement?
Does Ginsberg's turn to the somewhat machinic subway metahpor also make an important connection between women being forced out of the WWII industrial factories in order to give jobs back to men? Does it say something about mechanical relationships to sex?
What else could happen if we make wild connections?
Try to also have some fun with this.
Ex. Brechin looks at a tall building and started reading about underground mines.
Rosa looks at the Golden Gate Bridge and started reading about the little fire symbol on Girl Scout pins.
Brittany compares subway tunnel sex in Howl to 1950's bedroom decor.
What should happen when you start asserting those violent comparisons is that a whole field of implications should start to pop up. You may want to start with by thinking: if these two things are connected, then what else is also connected...
The comparison can also help you to read for the choices that the writer of your primary passage didn't make.
Ex. Does gay sex have to be underground or is that undergroundess in Ginsberg's poem a specific reflection of the ways in which sexuality was repressed in the bedroom and an explicit connection with a political movement?
Does Ginsberg's turn to the somewhat machinic subway metahpor also make an important connection between women being forced out of the WWII industrial factories in order to give jobs back to men? Does it say something about mechanical relationships to sex?
What else could happen if we make wild connections?
Try to also have some fun with this.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Week 7: Close Reading For Your Project
By Sunday at Midnight
Please post a *critical* close reading of one passage from one of your sources.
i.e. don't just look at what the text says, but also what it doesn't say, and how it says what it says.
(This could be a historical or literary source the same kind of literary reading is needed).
Think about the tone of the passage, and the metaphors that it uses to make it's point and how these give force to whatever the passage is referring to.
(It's often helpful to compare your passage with some other text in order to see some of the alternative metaphors that could have been used and to draw out the specific meaning of the one that you are looking at.)
Note this assigment works for Creative Projects as well. Just think about the stylistic treatment of a theme that you are working with and think about some of the choices that were made.
Please post a *critical* close reading of one passage from one of your sources.
i.e. don't just look at what the text says, but also what it doesn't say, and how it says what it says.
(This could be a historical or literary source the same kind of literary reading is needed).
Think about the tone of the passage, and the metaphors that it uses to make it's point and how these give force to whatever the passage is referring to.
(It's often helpful to compare your passage with some other text in order to see some of the alternative metaphors that could have been used and to draw out the specific meaning of the one that you are looking at.)
Note this assigment works for Creative Projects as well. Just think about the stylistic treatment of a theme that you are working with and think about some of the choices that were made.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Week 6: Comments on One Anothers' Project Proposals
By Wednesday 8 am please add something to one of your colleagues proposals (and as usual post a comment on someoone else's blog).
Your contribution might be telling a historical fact that you know that seems related to someone else's project, or pointing out the aspect of the proposal that you found most interesting. Or telling an idea that it made you think about. Or suggesting a perspective on that project that you think might help.
Also, be on the look out for possible group projects, or places to share research, or even just organize car pools to the city. For example, I know that there are at least two people working on Alcatraz, two people working with the idea of tours, and several people doing creative projects. Your names are all there on the e-mail list that I’ve been using to send announcements around and there’s the world of blogs…but let me know if you need help with further introductions…
Your contribution might be telling a historical fact that you know that seems related to someone else's project, or pointing out the aspect of the proposal that you found most interesting. Or telling an idea that it made you think about. Or suggesting a perspective on that project that you think might help.
Also, be on the look out for possible group projects, or places to share research, or even just organize car pools to the city. For example, I know that there are at least two people working on Alcatraz, two people working with the idea of tours, and several people doing creative projects. Your names are all there on the e-mail list that I’ve been using to send announcements around and there’s the world of blogs…but let me know if you need help with further introductions…
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Week 6: Final Project Postings
So, back to the regular schedule. By Sunday at Midnight
Please post your one page summary of your final project here. Try to make your description of your project as specific as possible. (Most of the ones that I've seen so far have been too big for a ten page paper).
And post on your own blog--anything that shows me that you've done the week's readings--as your project gets going you would be wise to work to bend that response towards something that helps you with yoru final project.
Please post your one page summary of your final project here. Try to make your description of your project as specific as possible. (Most of the ones that I've seen so far have been too big for a ten page paper).
And post on your own blog--anything that shows me that you've done the week's readings--as your project gets going you would be wise to work to bend that response towards something that helps you with yoru final project.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Essay Topics: Questions, Answers and Thoughts
This week you are just responsible for making one post. Please ask a quesiton or answer someone's question or post a thought--do it by Monday at Midnight please.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Midterm/Section Reminder
Yet another reminder:
REQUIRED SECTION THIS WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 29 8-9 am in Kresge 323.
THE MIDTERM WILL BE NOVEMBER 4th. Bring blue books.
REQUIRED SECTION THIS WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 29 8-9 am in Kresge 323.
THE MIDTERM WILL BE NOVEMBER 4th. Bring blue books.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Week 4: Brechin/Snyder Metaphor Expansion
DUE BY SUNDAY AT MIDNIGHT
In "Water Mains and Bloodlines" Brechin is drawing on the metahpor of dynasty.
Look at the last paragraph on p. 115-116: "Whatever his means..."
Identify at last three techinques that Brechin uses to build on the metaphor.
(I.e. how does he make his definition of what is related to dynasty convincing, and how does he explain its relevance to us).
Look back at the posts from last week and see if you can expand on a metaphor that has been made (on purpose or accidentally) by yourself or others.
***
EXAMPLE:
Lilja's commentary on Ryan's blog is a good example of identifying an implicit metahpor:
"Lilja said...
Ryan/Cemeteries Underfoot
I was quite surprised by the discoveries that you made in your research. The library built upon the site of a cemetery is a fascinating metaphor for imperialism as well as capitalism because it is a city founded (literally) upon the deaths of thousands of people and at the expense of many lower class citizens (which I can only assume were the people buried in that cemetery). The fact that there is specifically a library on top of the cemetery also brings to my mind an image of words on top of bones, and knowledge on top of death. To the imperialists, knowledge was power...."
The next step: What other facts would the identification of a metahpor like this ask you to look for? Try looking for one fact that seems unrelated (except via metaphor) and tell us the results.
[Note how the metahpor prompts Lilja to look for the fact about who is buried in the cemetary. It might also prompt one to look at the rhetoric used around building the library...as well as around the quite controversial builidng of the new one...]
OR
Look at the metahpor being constructed in Gary Snyder's "Smokey the Bear Sutra" (Snyder 25). Explain one current event using only terms and logics that can be found in the Smokey Bear Sutra.
In "Water Mains and Bloodlines" Brechin is drawing on the metahpor of dynasty.
Look at the last paragraph on p. 115-116: "Whatever his means..."
Identify at last three techinques that Brechin uses to build on the metaphor.
(I.e. how does he make his definition of what is related to dynasty convincing, and how does he explain its relevance to us).
Look back at the posts from last week and see if you can expand on a metaphor that has been made (on purpose or accidentally) by yourself or others.
***
EXAMPLE:
Lilja's commentary on Ryan's blog is a good example of identifying an implicit metahpor:
"Lilja said...
Ryan/Cemeteries Underfoot
I was quite surprised by the discoveries that you made in your research. The library built upon the site of a cemetery is a fascinating metaphor for imperialism as well as capitalism because it is a city founded (literally) upon the deaths of thousands of people and at the expense of many lower class citizens (which I can only assume were the people buried in that cemetery). The fact that there is specifically a library on top of the cemetery also brings to my mind an image of words on top of bones, and knowledge on top of death. To the imperialists, knowledge was power...."
The next step: What other facts would the identification of a metahpor like this ask you to look for? Try looking for one fact that seems unrelated (except via metaphor) and tell us the results.
[Note how the metahpor prompts Lilja to look for the fact about who is buried in the cemetary. It might also prompt one to look at the rhetoric used around building the library...as well as around the quite controversial builidng of the new one...]
OR
Look at the metahpor being constructed in Gary Snyder's "Smokey the Bear Sutra" (Snyder 25). Explain one current event using only terms and logics that can be found in the Smokey Bear Sutra.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Week 3: Responses to classmates' work on Monuments as Masks Brechin/Brautigan
Due by Wednesday at 8am.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
WEEK 3: ASSIGMENT: Monuments as Masks Brechin/Brautigan
Due by Sunday at Midnight
1) Take a picture of, or link to a monument in San Francisco or Santa Cruz. Use Brechin or your own research to explain what this monument masks.
[Technical note: You may have to post the picture on your own blog and/or just paste in a link for us to see. Unfortunately I'm not seeing how to post a picture in the comments section. You can also refer us to a picture in any of the books that are assigned for the course]
OR
2) Take a look at "Witness for Trout Fishing in America Peace" (Brautigan 98-99) and explain what would Brechin have to say about this particular piece of Brautigan's work? It may help to start by identifying specific pieces of history that Brautigan is rewriting.
1) Take a picture of, or link to a monument in San Francisco or Santa Cruz. Use Brechin or your own research to explain what this monument masks.
[Technical note: You may have to post the picture on your own blog and/or just paste in a link for us to see. Unfortunately I'm not seeing how to post a picture in the comments section. You can also refer us to a picture in any of the books that are assigned for the course]
OR
2) Take a look at "Witness for Trout Fishing in America Peace" (Brautigan 98-99) and explain what would Brechin have to say about this particular piece of Brautigan's work? It may help to start by identifying specific pieces of history that Brautigan is rewriting.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
A couple examples of good blog post
Here are a couple of examples to model if you're unsure about how to engage with the texts. There were a lot of great postings, but these two looked especially helpful for demonstrative purposes:
Stacy’s post excellently takes a moment in Ferlinghetti that initially looks difficult and contradictory opens up that difficulty into an interesting theory. See her comments about the lines “ speaker of the poem represents America or not.
http://developingsanfran.blogspot.com/2008/10/ferlighettiginsberg-response.html
Lisa’s post provides a good example of describing a real world experience of San Francisco in detail, relating this experience to a poem, and describing complexities in her own feelings in relation to both.
http://lisamichellem.blogspot.com/
Stacy’s post excellently takes a moment in Ferlinghetti that initially looks difficult and contradictory opens up that difficulty into an interesting theory. See her comments about the lines “ speaker of the poem represents America or not.
http://developingsanfran.blogspot.com/2008/10/ferlighettiginsberg-response.html
Lisa’s post provides a good example of describing a real world experience of San Francisco in detail, relating this experience to a poem, and describing complexities in her own feelings in relation to both.
http://lisamichellem.blogspot.com/
WEEK 2: RESPONSES TO YOUR CLASSMATES' COMMENTS ON ANGEL-HEADED HIPSTERS
Please respond here to your classmates comments.
These responses are due by Wednesday at 8am.
These responses are due by Wednesday at 8am.
Friday, October 10, 2008
WEEK 2's ASSIGMENT: Angel Headed Hipsters
Assignment Week 2 (Due by Sunday at Midnight)
Are Ginsberg and Ferlinghetti and Williams Carlos Williams describing the same people when they speak of
1) “angel headed hipsters,” (Ginsberg Howl 9)
2) “one with burlap feet” (Ferlinghetti 73 “I saw one of them”)
and
3) he who “shared among the teeth and excrement of this life"” (Williams Carlos William Introduction to Howl 7).
Why or why not?
To answer the question you may have to consider whether: Social conditions are different when each of the men are writing or whether the differences are due to personal/class/generational/stylistic/geographical or other differences that might cause differences in perspective amongst these three men. Or maybe you'll take the position that there are more similarities than there are differences.
OR
Take a look around the streets of Santa Cruz. Where are the best minds of your generation today? Write a description of some of these minds using a parallel syntax similar to the one found in Howl.
Are Ginsberg and Ferlinghetti and Williams Carlos Williams describing the same people when they speak of
1) “angel headed hipsters,” (Ginsberg Howl 9)
2) “one with burlap feet” (Ferlinghetti 73 “I saw one of them”)
and
3) he who “shared among the teeth and excrement of this life"” (Williams Carlos William Introduction to Howl 7).
Why or why not?
To answer the question you may have to consider whether: Social conditions are different when each of the men are writing or whether the differences are due to personal/class/generational/stylistic/geographical or other differences that might cause differences in perspective amongst these three men. Or maybe you'll take the position that there are more similarities than there are differences.
OR
Take a look around the streets of Santa Cruz. Where are the best minds of your generation today? Write a description of some of these minds using a parallel syntax similar to the one found in Howl.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Week 1: Community Responses
Hello everyone,
Please write the name of the person that you're responding to and a rough idea of the topic that you're responding to as the first line of your response post. Then use the body of the post to write out your comment.
Ex. Jill Flanders/The Flaneur
Jill helped me understand the flaneur in this line of her post: "xxxx." Her interpretation of xxx, make me think of xxx. I disareed with her about xxx, however.
This is meant to simulate the kind of conversation that we would have in discussion--so please try to think of your responses as pieces in larger conversations that will continue over the course of the quarter.
Healthy debates are always good, although keep the disagreements civil as you would in a face to face converation please.
Please write the name of the person that you're responding to and a rough idea of the topic that you're responding to as the first line of your response post. Then use the body of the post to write out your comment.
Ex. Jill Flanders/The Flaneur
Jill helped me understand the flaneur in this line of her post: "xxxx." Her interpretation of xxx, make me think of xxx. I disareed with her about xxx, however.
This is meant to simulate the kind of conversation that we would have in discussion--so please try to think of your responses as pieces in larger conversations that will continue over the course of the quarter.
Healthy debates are always good, although keep the disagreements civil as you would in a face to face converation please.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Week 1 Ferlinghetti
Look again at the "Dog" in Ferlinghetti's San Francisco Poems and think again about the question that came up in lecture around Ferlinghetti's "innocence" (40).
Are the last lines of "Dog" sincere, innocent, sarcastic, all of the above? Something else?
Is the dog a hero or villain or ordinary guy? What is Ferlinghetti's stance towards Victorola Records (if he has one)? Do you ever feel yourself falling into the position of being an advertisement as perhaps, this dog does? With what tone would you propose to approach such a situation?
Is there anything that you see differently in the world after reading this poem and thinking about Ferlinghetti's stance?
* There's no right answer here.*
Your response can be analytical, experiential or created, although you need to be able explain what you did and how you arrived at that from the poem if you give yourself an experiential or creative assignment. The same goes for analytical responses.
Are the last lines of "Dog" sincere, innocent, sarcastic, all of the above? Something else?
Is the dog a hero or villain or ordinary guy? What is Ferlinghetti's stance towards Victorola Records (if he has one)? Do you ever feel yourself falling into the position of being an advertisement as perhaps, this dog does? With what tone would you propose to approach such a situation?
Is there anything that you see differently in the world after reading this poem and thinking about Ferlinghetti's stance?
* There's no right answer here.*
Your response can be analytical, experiential or created, although you need to be able explain what you did and how you arrived at that from the poem if you give yourself an experiential or creative assignment. The same goes for analytical responses.
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