Writing Across Cultures

For the first 15-20 minutes of class, please complete your scene from Sato Makoto (see absurdist & epic theater style characteristics from the last post) or complete your scene from last Thursday's class's prompts with Los Vendidos . Write at least a page or two of your scene. At 7:50, let's watch and take some notes for our Japanese Literature Unit: The History of Japan Shinto Buddhism: School of Life Crash Course: Bunraku & Kabuki By far, however, haiku  (a one-breath poem that served as the opening stanza of a renga--more on that later) is the most familiar style of Japanese poetry, mainly because of this guy: Matsuo Basho.  Let's read some of his poems and the inspiration in nature that he observed that created them. Basho collected his poetry in his "journal" entitled "The Narrow Road to Oku"--as he traveled for 150 days to visit the grave of his mother. Let's read a couple excerpts from the book. Then, let's write so...

Today, we'll finish our reading of  My Beatles  by  Satoh Makoto . Prompt: 1. select a pop cultural icon: ex. The Beatles, The Who, the Supremes, Scooby Doo & the gang, John Wayne, Madea, The Teletubbies, Magic Johnson, Kim Kardashian, J.K. Rowling, Pablo Picasso, Ansel Adams, Van Gogh, Michael Jackson, Spider-Man, etc. Think of your favorite authors, favorite actors, favorite musicians, favorite artists, favorite dancers, favorite singers, favorite celebrities, etc. The icon should be familiar with generations from you to your grandparents. What is the image or idea the pop culture icon represents? Make a short list of possibilities. Allow this character to represent this idea. Use this character to suggest your theme. 2. Research and pick a human tragedy. In My Beatles , for example, the playwright Makoto uses a well known societal tragedy, the rape and death of a young Japanese girl by a Korean boy as the basis for his characters, but also as a reminder t...

Let's take a look at the short plays  Los Vendidos  by  Luis Valdez  (we will cover more Central and South American culture in a while) and  My Beatles  by  Satoh Makoto . Use either play form for a scene of your own (perhaps joining your thoughts from today about Asia or your own identity/culture...); Please sign up for roles so I don't have to beg you to participate. When we finish reading these plays, we will begin our examination of Asian culture with Japan. Haiku , as you probably know, is a short, closed form of poetry originating in Japan. It is traditionally a poem about nature (and our relationship to nature), as opposed to  senryu  which is a poem form specifically about human nature. In American translation of the poem, the form should be fewer than 17 syllables (often 10 words or fewer), and haiku avoids metaphor, personification, or other such poetic devices. Instead, two ideas are balanced in harmony through juxtaposition....

This morning: What is your experience with Asian culture? Do you know the difference between Japanese culture and Chinese or Korean or Vietnamese culture? Can you point out Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia or Thailand on a map? What do you know about these cultures? What is your interaction with them? Can you name famous Asians? If so, who? If not, why not? Respond to these questions in an essay or list or poem or scene, etc. If you know very little about these cultures, consider this writing prompt: an apology letter to more than 1/2 the world's population. "I'm sorry that..." and confess your thoughts. American Born Chinese Please watch the following videos and respond in writing: The Struggles of Being Asian American Growing Up Asian    Crazy Rich Asians (trailer, 2018)           How might you use these videos as examples/models for your own video or writing projects? Discussion (from Shmoop): What's the deal with the structure of ...

Reminder: Your portfolios are due today! Remember there should be a reflection, a piece on gender, a piece on race and the draft of your Margaret Atwood  Wilderness Tips  story. Race Presentations: How do we solve the problem of Race in our culture? This morning we will conclude our presentations on Race, completing the unit of study. Today, our last two groups will present: Mariangelis & Andrea; and James & Justice. As before, our presentations will follow this pattern:   Presentation of the project After the presentation, the class (those not presenting at the moment) will be expected to ask  clarifying questions  of the presentation. Presenters should repeat or clarify as necessary.  "What I heard the presenters say..."; "I don't understand your point about..."; "What do you mean by..."; "I have a question about..."; "Could you repeat the part about..." The group will also  actively listen  and  rest...

Please take period 1 to put the finishing touches on your presentations. Presentations are graded on participation. The goal of our presentations is critical thinking. Our presentations will follow a pattern.  After the presentation, the class (those not presenting at the moment) will be expected to ask  clarifying questions  of the presentation. Presenters should repeat or clarify as necessary.  "What I heard the presenters say..."; "I don't understand your point about..."; "What do you mean by..."; "I have a question about..."; "Could you repeat the part about..." The group will also  actively listen  and  restate or summarize main points  or ideas that have been presented. Interpretive questions can also be asked. "I heard the presenters say..."; "What I'm hearing is..."; "What I think this means..."; "Am I getting this right?"; "This reminds me of..."; ...

Please take period 1 to put the finishing touches on your presentations. Presentations are graded on participation .The goal of our presentations is critical thinking. Our presentations will follow a pattern.  After the presentation, the class (those not presenting at the moment) will be expected to ask  clarifying questions  of the presentation. Presenters should repeat or clarify as necessary.  "What I heard the presenters say..."; "A question this raises for me is..."; "I don't understand your point about..."; "What do you mean by..."; "I have a question about..."  The group will then  actively listen  and  restate or summarize main points  or ideas that have been presented.  "I heard the presenters say..."; "What I'm hearing is..."; "What I think this means..."; "Am I getting this right?"; "This reminds me of..."; "This makes me think of..."  ...

In class, use your time to prepare your presentation projects to solve racism. By the end of class, I'll ask for a volunteer group or two to present Monday. Sign up for a day to present. Things to Remember About a Presentation: This project should be based on facts. Find some statistics, facts, or evidence to support your ideas--even game shows need facts to explain questions or concerns.  Use the internet for good. Research the status quo of the problem and research if your idea has actually been tried before and what the result may have been! Beliefs and philosophies may or may not be 'true'. Personal opinion may or may not be 'true' for everyone or in large groups--that's why you need to research a bit. Find out what others have said or done--how will you build upon successes and remove obstacles? Peel the "onion" of your problem: what are your assumptions about race? What are your assumptions about the problems or solutions to the problem? ...

Race Presentation Project: Refer to the handouts on Fanon, Gilroy, Anderson, Lincoln, Garvey, Galton, Malcolm X, MLK, Jr., TaNehisi Coates, TedX talks, articles/videos, etc. and other sources to support your presentation ideas.  How to go about this... As with anything that requires critical thinking, you want to brainstorm your ideas first. Work with your group to exhaust all the possible questions (see post from last class!) on the issue. Write down the most important issues surrounding race relations in America.  [Again, you can use the articles, op-ed docs, videos, etc. as places to start...what do these speakers/writers say could help?] Narrow down your focus by choosing a single path forward. Which idea do you favor? Take that one and start examining what would be involved in enacting this policy. Yes, there are a variety of ways to attempt to solve this problem, but you will focus on one of them--not all. This will help you fo...