Writing Across Cultures

Jaymee's father has made a film. If you attend we'll give you extra credit: You are cordially invited to a film screening of " What WE Think About Hip-Hop ."   The 45 minute documentary film will be shown  Friday, December 11th at 7:00pm .   There will be an interactive discussion with you  on the influence of Hip Hop.   Please join us at  The Baobab Cultural Center , which is located at 728 University Avenue.  A $5.00 donation to the Cultural Center is suggested.  Hope to see you there Yo! Go see the film, engage in an active discussion, then write a quick 1-2 paragraph response (or use the experience to write your own essay for the portfolio about hip-hop and culture or any theme brought up from the film.

Okonkwo (Oh-kawnkwoh): our protagonist; he has a tragic flaw... Umoufia (Ooh-mooh-fyah): the name of Okonkwo's village; our setting Unoka (OO-no-kah): Okonkwo’s father, a lazy and indebted, but happy man Nwoye: (Nuwoh-yeh): Okonkwo’s oldest son, age 12 at the book’s beginning; eldest boys inherit their father's lands/goods, etc. Ikemefuna (Ee-keh-meh-foo-nah): A boy of fourteen given to the village by a neighboring village to avoid war Ekwefi (Eh-kweh-fee): Okonkwo’s second wife Ezinma (Eh-zeen-mah): Daughter of Ekwefi and Okonkwo Ojiubo (Oh-jee-ooh-boh): Okonkwo’s third wife Obierika ((oh-bee-air-ee-kah): Okonkwo’s best friend in Umoufia. The father of Maduka (son) and Ekuwke (daughter) Chielo (Chee-eh-loh): A village widow who is also the priestess of Agbala Agbala (Ah-bah-lah): The Oracle of the Hills and Caves. She influences all aspects of life in the village Mr. Brown: The first white Christian missionary in Umoufia Mr. Kiaga (Kee-ah-gah): The native interp...

This morning during period 1 go to this website:  The Art of Manliness 1. Read 1 article  per heading  (note headings are at the top of the webpage: (a man's life, dress & grooming, health & sports, manly skills, & how-to holiday)). That means, let's do the math..., we read 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 articles. 2. For each article, please take down the following notes: Who wrote the article? What is the name of the article? What is a short summary of the MAIN POINTS of the article? What is your gut reaction to the information in the article? What are you THINKING? 3. Be prepared to discuss with the class what you found and what profound thoughts you thunked during period 2. When you have completed reading 5 articles, please move on to #4 below. Prepare for our discussion period 2. 4. Examine HONOR in the first seven chapters of  Things Fall Apart ( pages 3-62 ) .  Start off by watching this short film first . Find out what defines male honor. ...

Today, we'll start with a donut, a sad good-bye, and a few articles we meant to give you before but didn't. After writing a creative response to these essays, let's move forward into our next topic: masculinity. What does it mean to feel like a man? Let's find out!  There is no better way for us to do this than the following: 1. Go to the lab by way of the library. Pick up our next book Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. This is our next major novel for this course. 2. To start, let's answer: What does it mean to feel like a man? Let's find out! Watch this video and then remember its key ideas by writing them down . Want to feel like a real student? Become a real student by studying. 3. Done? Good. Learned stuff? Good. Now: Go to this website: The Art of Manliness 3. Read 1 article per heading (note headings are at the top of the webpage: (a man's life, dress & grooming, health & sports, manly skills, & how-to holiday)). That ...

Lab Task: Read this short article:  http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20130801-too-grimm-for-children Then check out these websites:  http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/grimmtales.html German:  The Brother's Grimm Danish:  Hans Christian Andersen French:  Charles Perrault  Choose a fairy tale that you want to work with (consider your favorites--or be unique and consider one that is not as well known) Write a narrative or prose poem or a story or scene or an essay in which you explore gender and fairy tale themes. HOMEWORK: Please read  9 Parts of Desire  by Heather Raffo. 

Notes about the types of feminists: "In my heart, I think a woman has two choices: either she's a feminist or a masochist." —Gloria Steinem "The day will come when men will recognize woman as his peer, not only at the fireside, but in councils of the nation. Then, and not until then, will there be the perfect comradeship, the ideal union between the sexes that shall result in the highest development of the race." —Susan B. Anthony "In passing, also, I would like to say that the first time Adam had a chance he laid the blame on a woman." —Nancy Astor (British Politician) Feminism The theory that men and women should be equal politically, economically and socially. Notice that this theory does not subscribe to differences between men and women or similarities between men and women, nor does it refer to excluding men or only furthering women's causes. Most other branches of feminism do. Why you believe in feminism and what you...

After our discussion, let's discuss a little archetype. Brainstorm your favorite fairy tales. Which fairy tales were your favorite (or are your favorite)? Why do you like this/these stories? The Archetypal Fairy Tale • Stories, often told to children, to entertain, instruct or teach • Often used to illustrate the problems that children and young people face as they become adults --What might be some of these typical problems? • The characters in fairy tales represent part of our own “psyche” or inner self Common themes in fairy tales include: • Metamorphosis • Transformation • Imprisonment • Love • Good versus evil (overcoming obstacles) • Death or transition • Illusion or misunderstanding • Rules or authority There are often boy and girl fairy tales. These differ in plot. • Boy fairy tale plots focus on exploration, discovery, and include a climax which separates the boy from his childhood. Usually by the end, the boy has grown into a m...