Writing Across Cultures

Portugal & Espana: Hola! Today we will cross the great straight of Gibraltar to Europe's main continent. Let's start with a little literature, poetry, and then move to some information and cultural research. Sign up for a Spanish Cultural Topic from the list handed to you in class. You should prepare and design a newsletter, brochure, menu, storyboard, pamphlet, flyer, report, CD cover, etc. that encompasses your cultural field. It should effectively or clearly define the cultural phenomenon. YOU should be able to explain its history and discuss its cultural relevance in a 1-2 minute oral presentation. Extras are encouraged (such as a cued-up short film clip, a single track song, a guitar, a dance, a plate of empanadas) but not required. Don't just pass out a muffin and say, "well, they have muffins in Spain." That would not be appropriate. Your presentation/project is due Monday, Feb. 7.  Check out this website for your project reports and research. ...

Today we will conduct our Stranger discussion. Your portfolios are due either today or Monday. Please note that portfolios will not be accepted AFTER Monday. Please use the weekend to complete writing work, if needed. These assignments are due today: --Please turn in your Babel homework (1-2 page response involving ethics (see below)) --Please turn in your The Stranger character list homework and the questions about Camus (blog): past due.

We will conclude our viewing of Babel. After our discussion, please use the time remaining to respond to the film concerning ethics (1-2 page response). This will be due Friday. Please sign up for a discussion leader position if you have not yet done one for The Stranger . NOTE: Portfolio due 1st date: Jan. 21 and/or second date: Jan 24. No late portfolios will be collected after Jan 24. Do not ask me to print materials--this is your responsibility. I will not see you on Monday, Jan. 24, so please do not forget to bring in your materials if you do not bring them in Friday.

Today, we will watch Babel . Please watch one of the four plot lines carefully, and note the ethical issue inherent in each storyline. HOMEWORK: Please prepare your portfolios. These are due Friday Jan. 21. There will be a quiz on the Stranger on Friday as well. Please complete this book by then.

Today, after our work with ethics, please watch the film Babel. We will be watching this film for a while. See handout for more details and assignments. Your portfolio is due on the 24 of January.

Ethics (moral philosophy) is the study of distinguishing right from wrong and good from bad. --What does it mean to say that something is right or good? --What makes right actions right? --How can disputes about moral questions be resolved? It is the task of ethics to answer such questions. Types: 1. Practical ethics (What should I do?) 2. Theoretical ethics (Are these standards really right or are they all just arbitrary?) 3. Philosophical ethics is often called normative ethics. A. Normative ethics searches for norms using authoritative standards (rules) of what ought to be: –The speed limit is 55. If everyone goes 60, is it wrong to adhere to 55? –Murder is considered wrong. If one kills for one’s country, is this a wrongful act? B. Among the questions of normative ethics are: What makes right actions right? How can we tell what is right? Why should I be moral? Types of Normative Ethics: C. Hedonism : the view that in the end it only matters if it is pleas...

After our writing prompts, we will be spending time in the lab. Today in the lab, please take a look at the links for Albert Camus and work on your portfolio. Please use the links to take notes on the following questions (homework). You may use this information to help you answer your homework (due Monday ): Existentialism Albert Camus 1. Jot down a few notes about Camus' life and biography. Answer: who was he, why is he important to Western Civilization. 2. In your own words explain Camus' view on Absurdity . 3. In your own words explain Camus' view on Solidarity . 4. Who was Sisyphus and how might this myth be a good example of absurdity? 5. In your own words explain Existentialism . 6. What are some basic principals, movements or themes of existentialism? On-going question: 7. How might The Stranger be considered an example of existentialism? What is Camus' point about the meaning of our lives? Choose a quote from Albert Camus and use this somehow i...

Here we are at the end of our unit. At the beginning, I had you write a letter explaining what you knew about the Middle East. Let's take a moment to "rewrite" that letter, explaining to the Middle East (as a person--go ahead and use your apostrophe) how misinformed you were. What have you learned spending time studying this unit? Oh. And Arabian horses . Can't forget about these. Need an idea? How about an Arabian Horse story...? HOMEWORK: Please continue working on your portfolio. We will be using the lab next class (2nd period).

 After our quiz please get into groups to discuss the novel The Kite Runner . Author: Khaled Hosseini Born in 1965 in Kabul, Afghanistan, Hosseini uses his own personal history and knowledge of Afghanistan as part of the fictional events in the novel. As a child, Hosseini was preoccupied with "kite running" just like Amir is in the novel. There are various other similarities throughout the novel. Hosseini’s father was a diplomat with the Afghan Foreign Ministry, and his mother taught Farsi and history at a local high school for girls. In 1970 the Foreign Ministry sent his father to Iran. While the family only spent a few years there, Hosseini taught a Hazara man, who worked as a cook for the family, how to read and write. Khaled Hosseini was already reading Persian poetry as well as American novels, and he began writing his own short stories. The family returned to Kabul in 1973, the year Mohammad Daoud Khan overthrew his cousin, Zahir Shah, the Afghan King, in a co...