Decade Project; Gender Studies Intro; Fun Home
Period 1: Decade project preparation.
Please take the research you have done on your chosen decade and complete your research. Using a padlet, prezi, or other presentation software of your choice that we can view in class, prepare to present your decade to the class Thursday. Your presentation will only be sharing your work with the class (you will not need to walk us through your presentation--or read it to us. We should be able to figure it out by viewing the Prezi or Padlet. See below for an example.
In your project, hit the highlights of popular culture, fads, fashion, music style, leisure activities & games, high/low culture, movies, technology, and major political or social events for your decade. Here's an example of popular culture for the 1700's as a model (hint: view the videos and read the text!):
Write a story draft set in your decade (or chose someone else's decade if that intrigues you...) Use what you have learned to inspire your story. Connect your character's main conflict to popular culture in some way.
For example, using the padlet above, I might create a protagonist who is a young coming-of-age lady who hopes to marry a brilliant, but poor musician. In order to help pay for her dowry, he bets on a horse race, loses more money, and in desperation agrees to a boxing match with high stakes behind the local coffee shop. When the young lady hears what her betrothed has done, she takes his place in the ring and wins the women's champion cup.
Period 2:
On our way down to the classroom, please stop at the library to pick up Alison Bechdel's graphic novel Fun Home.
Articles:
Gender/Feminism/Queer Studies: View the following links/videos and explain what the Bechdal test is (what are its rules, for example) and why it might be important when examining pop culture, media, or literature?
Please take the research you have done on your chosen decade and complete your research. Using a padlet, prezi, or other presentation software of your choice that we can view in class, prepare to present your decade to the class Thursday. Your presentation will only be sharing your work with the class (you will not need to walk us through your presentation--or read it to us. We should be able to figure it out by viewing the Prezi or Padlet. See below for an example.
In your project, hit the highlights of popular culture, fads, fashion, music style, leisure activities & games, high/low culture, movies, technology, and major political or social events for your decade. Here's an example of popular culture for the 1700's as a model (hint: view the videos and read the text!):
- Padlet
Write a story draft set in your decade (or chose someone else's decade if that intrigues you...) Use what you have learned to inspire your story. Connect your character's main conflict to popular culture in some way.
For example, using the padlet above, I might create a protagonist who is a young coming-of-age lady who hopes to marry a brilliant, but poor musician. In order to help pay for her dowry, he bets on a horse race, loses more money, and in desperation agrees to a boxing match with high stakes behind the local coffee shop. When the young lady hears what her betrothed has done, she takes his place in the ring and wins the women's champion cup.
Period 2:
On our way down to the classroom, please stop at the library to pick up Alison Bechdel's graphic novel Fun Home.
Articles:
- "The Problem With the Internet" by Steven Johnson
- "The Last Days of a Famous Mime" by Peter Carey (Australian writer)
- "Snap, Crackle, Plot" by Roy Rivenburg
- "Pop Star Poetics" by David Browne
- "Grave" by Justin Chin
- Notes on gender criticism
Writing prompt:
Write the last days of a ________. Pick a character type or occupation that you've never read about (or one you wouldn't want to be) and write the last week, day, or hour of that character's life. Use your chronological time to create short "chapters" for your story, as Carey did in his short story. If you prefer you might "write the first years/weeks/days/hours/minutes, etc. of _________.
Gender/Feminism/Queer Studies: View the following links/videos and explain what the Bechdal test is (what are its rules, for example) and why it might be important when examining pop culture, media, or literature?
- The Bechdel Test
- Analyzing the Bechdel Test in 21st Century Narratives
- The Bechdel Test vs. The Mako Mori Test
- Female Characters in Games (video game writing) & Race in Games
- LGBT Cartoon Character Analysis (video)
HOMEWORK: 1. Prepare your decade presentation for the class. 2. Begin reading Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. Aim to finish the book by next week (Tuesday) 3. Watch something on the media (t.v., music videos, video games, a film, read a short story or novel, walk through a store in the mall, read a fashion magazine, eat at a restaurant chain, etc.) and write a short article (300-500 words for example) on gender, race, or sexual orientation using the Bechdel test or any of the video or text material linked above. Write the article. Turn it in before Spring Break.
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