For Monday Nov. 17

Dear Students,

After successfully working through Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream,
please view, then complete the following to contribute to the activities and in-class discussion that we will conduct on Monday:

Some responses/interpretations of the play I thought you might find helpful or interesting:

"What the Puck?"

Text and Illustration, A Midsummer Night's Dream

Manga Shakespeare

Kate Brown, Illustrator Scroll to Midsummer Night's Dream and view panels

Animaniac Shakespeare??

Composer Felix Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night Dream Can you hear the mischievous fairies?

In your blogs, please choose one of the following pairs/groups to write about:

Theseus/Hippolyta
Titania/Oberon
Oberon/Puck
Hermia/Lysander
Helena/Demetriuss
The "Rude Mechanicals"

Using specific lines, speeches, and passages, describe the complicated interactions between these characters. Consider the language that the pair/group employs. Post passages along with your interpretive ideas in your blog by Sunday. Feel free to post any other pictures, links, or videos you may have encountered regarding the play as well.

Visit each other's blogs and begin a conversation with your peers through positive feedback and comments.

Looking forward to reading your posts!

Midsummer Night's Dream for Weds. Nov. 12

Click on the link in this blog to access the full text of Shakespeare's play:

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Read Act 1 and Act II for discussion on Weds. In addition, please watch the BBC version. You can access this version through WMU's video and film archive here:

http://www.wmich.edu/library/film/

You may need to set up an account or type in your Bronco ID and password to access this site.

Once on this page, click Theatre in Video

From here you can click on the link for the "complete works of Shakespeare as produced by the BBC and other theatrical companies." You can scroll down from here to find A Midsummer Night's Dream.

I find it particularly helpful when working through Shakespeare's plays to be able to listen to professional actors say the lines. I generally follow along with the words in the text and take notes in my book or my notebook as the play progresses. You should set aside at least 2-3 hours to watch/read the play.

Below is a link created by Dr. Debora B Schwartz at California Polytechnic State University:

A Midsummer Night's Dream Study Guide

She has created a comprehensive, hyper-linked study guide on this page. For Weds. pay particular attention to her links on language. Review prose, blank verse, and rhyme. Consider as you read, the way in which Shakespeare's language is employed.

Read through the study questions in this guide. These will likely become talking points as we progress in our reading and discussion of this play.

For Weds, make sure you have completely read and viewed Acts I and II. Come prepared with a good grasp of the characters and their role (so far) in the play.

It may be worth mentioning as well, that there is a recent "Hollywood" version of this play available in your local video stores. You may choose to watch any version of the play you like.

Happy reading!

Paper #2 Workshop

Today you will be doing two readings of two of your classmates' papers. Instructions for how to participate in the workshop follow:

First Reading:
For most papers, (and with literature as well), I have found that it is important to do two or more readings of the text in order to become as familiar with the text as possible.

In your first reading:

* Read the paper for knowledge and understanding (comprehension).

* Gloss over the text. Text-glossing is underlining, hi-lighting, circling, or making comments in the margins. These may be points that you revisit in your second read.

* If necessary, add small edits (though editing grammar is not the main focus of the workshop experience)

In your second reading you will be responding in writing to the paper by recording the following. Copy the text below, paste it into a word document, and begin to write your comments there.

Workshop Response Form:

1. How does the writer lead you in to their idea? Does it work? Why/why not?

2. What is the thesis or main focus of the paper? Is it clear, narrow, and focused?

3. List the main points or panels the writer uses for support.

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*




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Do these points work to defend or demonstrate the focus of the paper? Clarify.

How is outside research (scholarly books or journals) used in this paper? Are the passages balanced with the author's writing and point of view?

4. How does the paper conclude? Is it effective? Why/why not?

5. Do you understand the close reading that the writer is using in his/her paper? Are you able to visualize the information/passages/panels he or she is writing about?
Give an example why or why not.

6. What was the strongest section of this paper? Why?

7. What was the weakest section of this paper? How might it be addressed?

8. (Last part!) Write a personal response (about 1/2 to 1 page double spaced) for the writer. This response should help the writer consider how you responded to the paper along with the personal connections you were able to make with the writing. Use "I" statements to write this portion of the paper. Some possible sentence starters follow:

"I was reminded of...."
"I connected with your idea on...."
"I enjoyed....."
"I struggled with...."
"I did not understand...."
"I needed more....."
"I lol'ed when...." :)

9. Sign your name on the workshop response form.

When you have finished your peer-review of two other papers, return to your own papers and the comments you see there. Read carefully through the ideas suggested by your two readers.
Finally, attach a "revision plan statement" with your papers to be handed in to me. This statement should include your response to your peers' reading of your paper and your plans/strategies for revision of this paper before its appearance in your portfolio.

Once these two segments are completed: 2 peer reviews, 1 Revision statement,
THEN you may hand in your paper to me for a grade.

Be sure you review the Portfolio Expectations posted in my blog. This will give you a good idea of how you will be graded at the end of the semester.

Looking forward to engaging in your ideas!

Finding Scholarly Research 101

No matter which paper option you choose for your Research paper, both require the addition of scholarly research. While the internet offers a wide variety of sources, and if used well, can be a rich resource for literary criticism, I expect that you will find articles on your topics that have been published in academic or literary journals.

Let's go over how to find this information. First, go to the WMU library homepage. Next, click the "Articles" tab and type in a search. This search will take you to Proquest, and there are many ways to navigate this arena for appropriate, academic work. You can seek scholarly articles specifically. You can search for full-text articles only and you can ask for a ready-made citation. You can also email these articles to yourself.

Browse this search function and send a few sources to yourself to read more closely at home.

Help Answering the Question, "What are you looking for?"

In an effort to help you better visualize the creative project option and get a sense of what others have done in a similar fashion, I've come up with two styles of "projects" that relate fairly closely to what "I am looking for"--before you take that too much to heart and before you think that I want your project to look exactly like one of the projects linked below and freak out,

REMEMBER that these are just examples to get your brain moving.

In part, "what I am looking for" is a lot like what we call a "Multigenre Paper"--what this means in simple terms, is a paper that is written using a variety of creative sources. Rather than writing a traditional 5-paragraph essay, students who write multigenre essays incorporate music lyrics, recipes, epigraphs, comics, short stories, plays, pictures, interviews, journals, dialogue, etc....into their papers to create a unified whole or "theme" on a particular subject.

Check out these example below to see what these papers looks like:

Multigenre papers
I like the Dracula and "Black and White Colored Glasses" ones myself

As you glance through these projects, you should note how each "paper" is focused on a particular theme. The writers of these projects use a variety of media to think around this topic. In this sense, the reader is left to make some interpretations about the text. While we are not directly confronted with a bold, in-your-face style thesis as readers, we are asked to consider how all of the pieces fit together in order to determine how the story is being told.

Your projects may look similar to this--the only addition I see is that you will be writing it online, therefore you have the opportunity to create sections that focus on hyperlinks of music, video, etc. You are creating a type of "digital multigenre paper" in this project.

If you want to take this project a step further, you might consider how your story can be told through digital storytelling.

Some of you have expressed creating a type of video or film that would include narration of your themes and "cuts" of literature, video clips, music, photography, etc.

This is an example of a digital story that discusses the problem of advertising.
Here is another digital story that examines the problem of heroes in society today.

In both stories, you will notice that there is a clear and distinct focus around a particular theme. The writer's narration propels the viewer through the story, guiding them to the heart of their message. The stories include graphs, maps, photographs, text, advertisements, etc.
While there is not a "written thesis" persay, it is clear that a well-developed thesis guides these projects. The visuals unify and clarify the themes the creator presents.

Furthermore, All projects include CITATIONS! You will need to create a list of citations to show where your information came from. This demonstrates academic integrity.

I hope these examples help to clarify some of your questions regarding "what this project should look like."

Again, there are many ways to do this project. None of them are wrong as long as they have a clear focus, point to a variety of media that explores this focus, and give your viewers/readers a better understanding of the focus.

I wish you well on your creative journeys!

Paper #2 Research--Requirements, Options, and Guidelines

For Paper #2, your research paper, you will be allowed to choose between the following:

A) A Traditional Research Paper (similar to what we've written so far with the addition of scholarly criticism and outside research)

OR

B) A Multigenre Research Project (a non-traditional, hyper-linked research paper, posted on your blog)

Both papers, require a specific thesis constructed around any of the texts or themes we have discussed in our class. Both choices also require you to incorporate outside, scholarly articles and research to lend credence to the arguments expressed in your thesis. And finally, each paper must include internal citations and a Works Cited page in MLA format.

Paper A: The Traditional Paper

would consider a theme or text from the literature we've read, for example, systems of privilege in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye or war and conflict in Persepolis, and discover through both the literature and outside research, how this theme is presented. It would have a clear, direct thesis that guides the reader through the theme/idea being explored in the paper. It would make use of several passages/panels as support and consider the ways we have been taught about how to talk about both traditional literature and graphic texts (literary theory and graphic theory, ie: McCloud). Finally, it would balance personal insight and assertions with support from scholarly critics who investigate the same text.

Paper B: The Contemporary Project

would be a creative mash-up or montage of a theme/text we have considered in class. It would incorporate critical discussion and pertinent outside research on your text/topic, however, it might also include a variety of other mediums that "play" to the theme you choose to explore in your paper. For example. Perhaps the topic of your paper is "9/11" or "The War in Iraq"--in this paper, you would show how the literature we have studied in class addresses the theme of conflict, but you would also expand your interpretation to include contemporary media such as music, mp3's, movies, youtube debates, cartoons, poetry, fox news reports, political commentary, documentary, wikis, podcasts, websites, and on and on.

Together these media should all unite to present a variety of positions or a type of logical debate. The debate that happens in your paper becomes the argument or thesis that you put forward for your "readers." Because this project extends beyond "paper", it would be acceptable for you to publish this on your blog. This type of publication would allow you to use hyperlinks to all of the media you discover that helps you to present or address your topic.

In a project on "9/11" for example, a writer might wish to discover the attitudes and prejudice that arose after this event. An argumentative thesis for this type of "paper" might read: "The events of 9/11 sparked a windfall of prejudices against middle-eastern and Muslim Americans. As Americans, it is our responsibility to fight this prejudice through thoughtful analysis of the media that perpetuates these careless beliefs."

The writer of this paper must write an introduction that presents his/her position on this idea and then, through a variety of "literatures" demonstrate how these attitudes prevailed. The writer might link readers to popular mp3's that address the events of 9/11 or prejudice in song lyrics. The writer might hyperlink interviews with Michael Moore regarding his controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. The writer could include conflicting points of view, arguments or debates demonstrated on Youtube through clips of Fox News and the like. To include a graphic novel, the writer might refer to Spiegelman's In the Shadow of No Towers or The 9/11 Report. The writer might also consider where or how the theme of prejudice or war has traditionally been represented in classical literature (you are allowed to choose any literature that you see fit, not simply the selections we have read in class). The writer would also investigate scholarly articles and research that support his/her point of view, and weave these perspectives into the narrative language of their paper. As readers of these papers, we engage in multimodal ways. We hear interviews, see pictures, interpret gestures and attitudes. We read poetry, biography, opinion columns, youtube videos, maps, graphs, movie clips, etc...the possibilities are limitless.

The choice is yours! Feel free to ask any questions you may have, and have fun creating your final paper/project.

For Monday Oct. 27

"Look Down Fair Moon"

From Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman

Look down, fair moon, and bathe this scene;
Pour softly down night’s nimbus floods, on faces ghastly, swollen, purple;
On the dead, on their backs, with their arms toss’d wide,
Pour down your unstinted nimbus, sacred moon.

Persepolis is a novel deeply embedded in the cultural history of the Iranian Revolution.
To understand the novel in its historical context, click on the links above for further information.

In addition, please read through the poetry posted here. Begin to consider how conflict shapes identity and disturbs the human spirit. How do the words of these poets resonate with Satrapi's story? How do they speak to the contemporary conflicts evident in our country and in our world today?

Poems about War

Stephen Crane, "War is Kind"
e. e. cummings, "next to of course god america i"
Yehuda Amichai, "Memorial Day for the War Dead"
Pablo Neruda, "I Explain a Few Things"
Hayden Carruth, "On Being Asked to Write a Poem Against the War in Vietnam"

Please post a response to any aspect of these readings in your blog.