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Course Orientation

Course orientation

This course will provide you with a breadth of literary works, other artwork, and intellectual concepts formed in the twentieth century. Although a great deal of the literature that is studied and highlighted from the twentieth century is that of American authors, this course attempts to also share quite a bit of work from international authors of the time. The attempt to portray a broader picture of literature and literary contexts of the time through the incorporation of international artists and their works does present challenges, as there was more freedom to publish in America, compared to many countries, at that time and because it is easier to gain open access to materials published in America..

Each week you are presented with a lot of choices, so please read the instructions thoroughly and ask if you have any questions.

You are encouraged and at times required to use the literary terms provided each week to help you analyze the literature. Use the glossary of literary terms, as well as the internet, to help you gain a deeper understanding of the meaning of the literary terms and their role in analyzing literature.

Each week you are provided the biographies of all artists. Reading the biographies can help you to understand the literature as their work, especially the themes presented in the literature, are often discussed in the biographies. In addition, your midterm will focus on the lives of three major influencers of the time (at least one writer) who we study during the course. The biographies can help you to learn about who you are interested in studying more about.

The week 10 paper will focus on identity so as you read and view the works in each week you will want to think about how the works help us understand identity.

The entire course is a preparation for the final exam as in the final exam you will discuss how you have grown from analyzing the literature, learning about the authors' lives and using the literary terminology to form your analysis.

Weeks 1 &2 Modernism

 

 

 

* Help from Kelly highlighted in yellow  -- Thank you!!!!!! Green=done :) - Reminder: focusing on work produced in the 20th century

Design help from Tina

Modernism Ideas

Weeks 1 & 2

 

Week 1

Turn of the Century

The end of the 19th century into the 20th century was a time of great societal change, which influenced how public artists and intellectuals began to view and portray the world. The major shifts in society lead to the modernist, and later, the postmodernist, mindset reflected in 20th-century literature, art, and intellectual contexts. The major shifts in society lead to the modernist, and later the postmodernist, mindset reflected in 20th-century literature, art, and intellectual contexts.

A few significant influencers of this time were Walt Whitman, Henri de Toulouse Lau-Trec, Sigmund Freud and Richard Strauss. By reading through, viewing and listening to their works and thoughts, a snapshot of how 20th Century literature and modern identities began to form.

In addition, an understanding of the technological advances, and rise and fall of prosperity that occurred in the early part of the century, such as in the United States of America, provides a foundation of understanding for the mixed feelings about the new industrialized era expressed by artists.

Objectives:

  1. Demonstrate the knowledge of the how the selected 20th works express the significance of their time (historical, social, and/or political contexts).
  2. Demonstrate the ability to incorporate literary terms in your analysis of the works
  3.  Explain the relationships between "Song of Myself" and two other modernist works.
  4. Define and employ terms associated with each discipline studied to respond to and analyze literary works.

To Do List:

  • Read Walt Whitman's Biography, a section of "Song of Myself" in addition to reading/viewing two additional works provided that connect to Modernism
  • Discussion Board: Introduction Post
  • Write a response journal in MLA format

 

Literary terms: simile and metaphor, paradox, rhythm, and free verse style, modernism, postmodernism, Freudian criticism,  Oedipus Complex, psychological criticism, Industrial Revolution, industrialization,

Assignments:

Discussion Board: Introduction Post

Journal (a minimum of 750 words): After reading through Walt Whitman's Biography and the section of "Song of Myself" in addition to two of the segments below, respond to the following prompts:

  • Choose one of the literary terms listed above and  discuss its significance in relation to "Song of Myself."
  • What connections (make at least two) exist between Whitman's work and the two other modernist portrayals that you read/view?
  • Based on your reading and viewing, what is significant about this time and these works?

You must write in proper paragraph form. Your journal must be in MLA format and you must quote or paraphrase and properly cite each segment at least once. You do not need a Works Cited page.

 

Literature

Walt Whitman

Biography

"Song of Myself" - full poem

Required Reading: Here is a link to the full text of "Song of Myself." It has 52 powerful stanzas, but you only need to read the first 17. Hopefully, you will be caught up in the sheer magnificence of it and want to read the whole thing - but that's up to you. In addition, read Whitman's Biography.

Click on the title to link to the web page.

Required  Reading and Viewing: Read through/view two of the segments below.

1. Psychology

Sigmund Freud

Biography

Freud's Theories

 

2. Art

Henri  de Toulouse Lau-Trec: Biography and links to his artwork

Additional Biography of Henri  de Toulouse Lau-Trec:

Video: Toulouse Lautrec and the Moulin Rouge

3. Music

Richard Strauss

Video: Strauss and Modernism

Video: Full Biography Strauss

 

4. Portrayal of the early Twentieth Century in the United States of America

Video: American in Color, 1920’s  (48 minutes)

 

Announce this assignment:

Research Paper - Due Week 10

This assignment is designed to allow you to explore one or two readings reading from the course in more depth or research and learn about a new piece (you need to seek my approval) of literature from the modern or postmodern period. We will be reading a variety of pieces from a variety of authors. Throughout the term, we will be asking essentially the same question: "How does his modern piece of literature help us understand identity?" You should choose one piece or two pieces of literature from this term or chose a new piece and explore that question with the help of at least three secondary sources.  I recommend that you try to use sources from the JWU Library database system, especially the database, Literature Resource Center. The paper should be a full 4 double-spaced pages with proper in-text citations and a Works Cited page formatted according to current MLA guidelines. Be sure to carefully credit your sources.


Week 2

As the Twentieth Century Artists continued to collaborate and support each other in their shifting from the artwork of their time, unique art forms came from many talented artists and icons, including Ezra Pound, Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Samuel Becket, Claude Debussy and the rise of absurdism and cubism. As you read through the biographies of these artists, read, listen to and view their works, pay particular attention to how they continue to challenge the form and the design of their craft and what socio-political aspects of society they are responding to and/or challenging.

Objectives:

  • Demonstrate an understanding of absurdism, realism and one additional literary term from the week's list
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the socio-political topics portrayed in this week's Modernist works
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the connections between the modernist thinkers, based on the biographies of their lives and their works

To Do List:

  • Read through/view two of the literature pieces and the biographies of the artists related to the literature that you read/view.
  • Read the definitions of Surrealism and Absurdism
  • Read/View/Listen to two artists' work and their biographies in the Art and music sections (below).
  • Discussion Board: socio-political topics
  • Write a response journal in MLA format

 

Literary terms: absurdism, allegory, free association, imagery, illusion, realism, socio-political, stream of consciousness, symbolism

Assignments:

Reading Viewing:

1. Read through/view two of the literature pieces and the biographies of the artists related to the literature that you read/view.

2. Read the definitions of Surrealism and Absurdism

3. Read/View/Listen to two artists' work and their biographies in the Art and music sections (below).

Discussion Board: Based on what you have read, watched and listened to this week, discuss two socio-political topics that these artists are responding to from the twentieth century. Quote at least one piece of literature and directly refer to one of the artworks listed below. Be original in your thoughts. Do not simply retell information from the additional sources.

Journal:

Based on what you have read, watched and listened to this week, respond to the following prompts (a minimum of 750 words:

  • Discuss the terms absurdism, realism and one additional literary term from this week's list. Quote/cite at least three of the artists' works, based on your own ideas - not a repeat of ideas from the supplementary sources.
  • In regards to all of the literary, artistic and psychological aspects presented in weeks one and two of this course, what connections do you find between them and/or common themes presented? Quote/cite at least three pieces of literature (two must be from this week) three of the other works (two must be from this week), based on your own ideas - not a repeat of ideas from the supplementary sources.

You must write in proper paragraph form. Your journal must be in MLA format and you must quote or paraphrase and properly cite each segment at least once. You do not need a Works Cited page.

1. Literature

a. Ezra Pound: Read the biographical information and read/ or listen to Canto I.

Biography of Ezra Pound

Read or listen to Canto I

 

b. Gertrude Stein: Read the biographical information and one of her poems.

Biography of Gertrude Stein and three of her poems

c. James Joyce: Read the biographical information and Section I of Ulysses.

           Biography

Ulysses (Section I)

 

d. Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Read the biographical information and Sections I & II from Notes from the Underground.

           Biography

Notes from the Underground   (Sections I & II)

 

e. Samuel Becket (theatre):  Read the biographical information and read or watch the play End Game.

Biography of Samuel-Beckett, including some explanation of the play End Game

Text to the play End Game

Video of the play End Game

 

3. Art

a. Surrealism & Absurdism   (Have Tina make something to make these definitions - "pop".

Surrealism Definition -

1. MoMA Learning 

Absurdism Definition - get a less deep definition

Among the most famous ideas associated with existentialism is that of 'absurdity'. Human existence might be described as 'absurd' in one of the following senses. First, many existentialists argued that nature as a whole has no design, no reason for existing. Although the natural world can apparently be understood by physical science or metaphysics, this might be better thought of as 'description' than either understanding or explanation. Thus, the achievements of the natural sciences also empty nature of value and meaning. Unlike a created cosmos, for example, we cannot expect the scientifically described cosmos to answer our questions concerning value or meaning. Moreover, such description comes at the cost of a profound falsification of nature: namely, the positing of ideal entities such as 'laws of nature', or the conflation of all reality under a single model of being. Human beings can and should become profoundly aware of this lack of reason and the impossibility of an immanent understanding of it. Camus, for example, argues that the basic scene of human existence is its confrontation with this mute irrationality.  A second meaning of the absurd is this: my freedom will not only be undetermined by knowledge or reason but from the point of view of the latter my freedom will even appear absurd. Absurdity is thus closely related to the theme of 'being on its own', which we discussed above under the heading of anxiety. Even if I choose to follow a law that I have given myself, my choice of law will appear absurd, and likewise will my continuously reaffirmed choice to follow it. Third, human existence as action is doomed to always destroy itself. A free action, once done, is no longer free; it has become an aspect of the world, a thing. The absurdity of human existence then seems to lie in the fact that in becoming myself (a free existence) I must be what I am not (a thing).  If I do not face up to this absurdity, and choose to be or pretend to be thing-like, I exist inauthentically (the terms in this formulation are Sartre's). ---From the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

2. VIsual Artists

Salvador Dali: Read the biographical information, view his artwork and watch one of the brief films below.

Biography of Salvador Dali

Artwork by Dali at the MET or MoMA -  search for works by Dali (if you are looking for specific works, let me know)

Video about Dali's famous work "Persistence of Memory"

Video about Dali's famous work "Metamorphosis of Narcissus"

René Magritte: Read the biographical information and view her artwork.

Biography of René Magritte:

Important Art by Rene Magritte

Michael Cheval: View Cheval's work, read the descriptions and view the short film where he discusses his work and absurdism.

6 Michael Ceval artworks explained by the artist

Michael Cheval: Absurdist Painter (short documentary)

 

Dana Schutz: Read the biographical information and read the article below.

Biography of Dana Schutz

"Why Dana Schutz Painted Emmett TillThe New Yorker

 

3. Music

Claude Debussy: Read the biographical information and watch the 3-minute video about Debussy's  work.

Biography

Video: Debussy's Piano and Modernism (3 minutes)

 

 

 

 

Week 3

Week 3

During weeks three and four you will read literature and watch films from twentieth-century artists who focused on the themes of race and identity in their works. During week three you choose from a list of writers and films discuss what influenced you to give your attention to these works. In addition, you will ask questions of the works in an attempt to gain a deeper understanding. Lastly, you will connect the themes that you highlight from the works to contemporary issues.

 

Objectives:

  • Analyze the interdisciplinary themes of race and identity.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the social and historical context which influenced the twentieth-century writers.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of how literature reflects the past and transcends themes into the present day.

To Do List:

  • Read: Poetry and biographies from 5 poets
  • Watch one full-length movie from the list provided
  • Discussion Board: Initial Draw, Societal Commentary, and Initial Reactions
  • Write: Letter to the artists

 

Glossary Terms: postcolonial criticism, postcolonialism, style, tone, voice, metaphors, plot

Assignments:

Discussion Board:

After reading the literature and biographies of three writers and viewing of one film, please thoroughly respond to the following prompts:

  • What inspired you to chose particular artists & their work?
  • What commentary on society were the artists making?
  • What elements of each were most powerful/shocking/emotional and why?

Be sure to quote/cite each work at least once. You need to provide authentic ideas – you cannot present the ideas of others.

Letter to the artists

Writer letters to at least three artists from this week’s reading and viewing (discuss 3 pieces of literature or two pieces of literature and one film). 

  • Tell them what you learned from their works
  • Ask them questions about their work – such as the deeper meaning of some elements or questions about any aspects that you did not understand (style, tone, voice, metaphors, plot choices …)
  • Tell them the relevance of their work in relation to current issues in society.
    • This should be in paragraph form – at least two paragraphs for each artist
    • You need to quote/cite each artist’s work at least once in each paragraph
    • You need to provide authentic ideas – you cannot present the ideas of others
    • You do not need to format the page in letter form
    • Always, be sure that your writing is free of spelling and sentence structure errors
    • You do not need a Works Cited page

Reading:

Maya Angelou:

Biography of Maya Angelou

"Still I Rise"

James Berry:

Biography of James Berry

This is the poetry that we do have by this author - Caribbean Proverb Poems I | Caribbean Proverb Poems 2 | Detention and Departure | Bush Cousin | New World Colonial Child | On an Afternoon Train from Purley to Victoria | In-a Brixtan Markit | Thinkin Loud-Loud | Confession | Lucy's Letter | Departure and Arrival | Cancel=order of Blues | An Echo After Freedom Bid | Ongoing Encounter | Speech for Alternative Creation | New Reading Like Rebellion | It's Me Man | Sections from: Stories by Bodyparts | Order of Change | Dear-Dear

Sandra Cisneros:

Sandra Cisnero's Biography

Short stories - "Dirt"  | "Puro Amor"

Nadine Gordimer

Biography 1 | Biography 2 | Biography 3

Essay - "Living in the Interregnum" | "My New South African Identity"

Short story - "Safe Houses" | "Homage"

More...

Dorothy Hewett

Biography 1 | Biography 2 | Interview

Poems - "Christmas Eve in Queensland" | "Nullarbor Tea Party," "Digging It In," "To the Literary Ladies"

 

Mazisi-Kunene:

Biography of Mazisi-Kunene

Poem: "Return to the Birds of Exile"

Poem: "They Also are Children of the Earth"

Viewing:

Watch one film listed below. All of these films are streamed online and the cost, if you need to pay to watch the film, is only $2.99.

 The Color Purple

Synopsis

Review: Norment, Lynn. "The Color Purple." Ebony, vol. 41, no. 4, Feb. 1986, pp. 146-155.

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner 

Synopsis

Review: "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner." Ebony, vol. 23, no. 3, Jan. 1968, p. 56. 

Gandhi 

Synopsis

Review: Canby, Vincent. "Movie Review - Ghandi." NY Times, Dec. 8, 1982.

A Dry White Season - 

Synopsis

Review: Anderson, Pat. "Film Reviews." Films in Review, vol. 41, no. 1/2, Jan/Feb90, p. 46.

Do the Right Thing

Synopsis

Review: Simon, John. "My Thing, Right or Wrong." National Review, vol. 41, no. 14, 04 Aug. 1989, pp. 45-50.

Dances With Wolves 

Synopsis

Review: Grenier, R. "Indian Love Call." Commentary, vol. 91, no. 3, Mar. 1991, p. 46.

The Killing Fields

Synopsis

Review: Kauffmann, Stanleu. "Stanley Kauffmann on Films." New Republic, vol. 191, no. 21, 26 Nov. 1984, pp. 24-26.

Red River

Synopsis

Review: Crowther, Bosley. "The Screen in Review: 'Red River' Horse Opera with Montgomery Clift and John Wayne, Opens at Capitol.NY Times, Oct. 1, 1948.

Schindler's List 

Synopsis

Review: Schickel, Richard and Georgia Harbison. "Heart of Darkness." Time, vol. 142, no. 25, 13 Dec. 1993, p. 74.

Week 4

Week 4

During week 4 you will continue to look at literature and film through the lens of race and ethnicity. You will analyze the works by using the literary terms provided in the weekly glossary and the literary glossary provided. You will design a presentation that reflects your understanding of the terminology and how it connects to the film that you chose to view.

Objectives:

  • Analyze and define the interdisciplinary themes of race and identity.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of critical analysis through the use of literary terms.

To Do List:

  • Read the literature and biographies of four writers
  • Watch one film
  • Discussion Board: The most important line
  • Brief presentation: Using literary language

Glossary terms: character, climax, conflict, historical criticism, new historicism, racism, realism

Assignments:

Discussion Board: After reading through the literature this week, chose the most important line in each piece and explain each line's significance. Support your analysis by explaining the literary significance using at least two terms from the literary glossary (syllabus and course info section of the course) This is based on your analysis/opinion. For example, why does this line stand out amongst the rest in the piece of literature and what does the line express?

Brief Presentation: After watching one film this week, design a presentation that discusses this week's glossary terms. Make sure that you use a software that allows you to use voiceover on each slide to present your analysis. Be sure to discuss at least four of the glossary terms. The purpose of this assignment is to show that you are able to analyze art using the literary terminology (a film is a script before it is a movie).

 In total, your presentation can be a minimum of 4 slides and maximum of 6 slides. Please have it be a minimum of 5 minutes in time and a maximum of 10 minutes in time.

Read the presentation resources before designing your presentation.

Designing Professional PowerPoint Presentations

Slide Title Guidelines

Designing Slides

Use PowerPoint Visuals, Not Bullets

Read all the biographies and literature listed below.

Olive Senior:

Biography of Olive Senior

"Meditation on Yellow"

Langston Hughes:

Biography of Langston Hughes

"Theme for English B"

Garrette Hongo:

Garrette Hongo's Biography

Poems: "Coral Road" and "A Child's Arc"  

Richard Blanco:

Richard Blanco's Biography

Poem: "America"

Watch one film listed below (a different film than what you watched in week 3). All of these films are streamed online and the cost, if you need to pay to watch the film is only $2.99.

 The Color Purple

Dances With Wolves

Do the Right Thing

A Dry White Season

Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner

Gandhi

The Killing Fields

Red River

Schindler's List

Week 5 - Midterm

Week 5: Midterm Exam

You will spend week five developing a presentation that expresses a culmination of learning of three artists and an ability to critically analyze their work.  

Objectives:

  • Demonstrate the knowledge of the work of selected 20th-century writers, artists, musicians, and/or psychologists and key facts of their lives.

To do list:

  • Complete the midterm exam presentation.

 

Mid-Term Presentation

Design a presentation that introduces us to the life and works of three major influencers (at least two writers) discussed in this course. Include the following information (10 - 15 slides) (15 - 20 minutes):

  • Engaging Introduction
  • Biographical Information
  • Artist’s Motivation/Influence
  • Style
  • Main themes presented in their work
  • Engaging conclusion
  • Works Cited page in MLA format
  • Also provide the script in a Word Document, organized by slide.

Review the presentation resources provided to help you create a dynamic presentation.

Designing Professional PowerPoint Presentations

Slide Title Guidelines

Designing Slides

Use PowerPoint Visuals, Not Bullets

You must upload the presentation into VoiceThread and present via the video feature. Please read the VoiceThread Instructions for Students.docx . You must make sure that you make your presentation open for viewing.

Week 6

The Twentieth Century was wrought with war, and artists of the time expressed the many elements of those wars that they lived through.  This week you will have the opportunity to read about writers and their literature about war and watch videos that reflect significant moments from World War I and World War II.

Reading, Viewing and Note taking: In preparation for this week's discussion board and assignment, read and take notes on four different author's and their poems and watch the videos for either World War I or World War II.

Literary terms: biographical criticism, framed narrative, literary voice, narrator, point of view, tone

Objectives:

  • To learn about and analyze the way war was portrayed in twentieth-century literature.
  • To analyze the interdisciplinary themes of war through the use of literary terms.
  • To learn about the lives of the authors and analyze the literature based on their history.

To do list:

Read the biographies of four writers and one poem from each of the writers listed.

Watch at least two brief videos: one about World War I and one about World War II

Discussion Board: Describing the narrator

Assignment: Digital Monolog

 

Assignments:

Discussion Board: After reading through the author's biographies and their poems, discuss the characteristics and viewpoints of two different narrators from two different poems. Tell us about each narrator, in how you envision them based on the lines of poetry. Choose three aspects of each narrator to discuss. Example aspects include age, stature, personality, interests, hobbies, fears, passions, social economic status, beliefs ...

Visual Assignment: Create a digital monolog - a visual narrative which expresses the literary connection between two works of poetry from this week and World War I or World War II. The poems do not need to have been written during the times of these wars or about these wars. The goal is to make a connection with how and if the written word can appropriately portray war and to identify if some works can be viewed as universal and timeless. Use the literary terms to help you form your analysis.

A minimum of 10 slides (including an introduction and conclusion slide) and a maximum of 15 slides

Be sure to use a software that allows voice overs. Please present a voiceover on the slides to explain the content.

Have minimal text on each slide. Use images to visually support what the audience will hear.

 

Literature:

W.B. Yeats:

 

William Butler Yeats Biography

Easter 1916

Yosano Akiko:

Yosano Akiko's Biography

"I Beg You Brother: Do Not Die!"

 

Rupert Brooke:

Rupert Brooke's Biography

The Soldier"

 

Wilfred Owen:

Wilfred Owen's Biography

"Dulce et Decorum Est"

 

Isaac Rosenberg:

Isaac Rosenberg's Biography

Read one of these three of Rosenberg’s poems:

 

    W.H. Auden:

   W.H. Auden's Biography

    “September 1, 1939

 

     Sylvia Plath:

    Sylvia Plath's Biography

Listen to a Reading of: "Thin People" by Sylvia Plath about the time and battle of World War II – read by Plath in 1962

 

Videos:

World War I

3-minute video about World War I

World War I: The War that Failed to End Wars

World War I

World War I: The War in Europe

 

World War II

Battles between U.S.A. and Japan

Brief Video: U.S. Assault on Okinawa

Brief Video: Japanese Assault on USS Bunker Hill

Brief Video: Images of the first atomic bomb ever dropped

 

Announce this assignment:

Research Paper Reminder - Due Week 10

This assignment is designed to allow you to explore one or two readings reading from the course in more depth or research and learn about a new piece (you need to seek my approval) of literature from the modern or postmodern period. We have been reading a variety of pieces from a variety of authors. Throughout the term, we will be asking essentially the same question: "How does this modern piece of literature help us understand identity?" You should choose one piece or two pieces of literature from this term or chose a new piece and explore that question with the help of at least three secondary sources.  I recommend that you try to use sources from the JWU Library database system, especially the database, Literature Resource Center. The paper should be a full 4 double-spaced pages with proper in-text citations and a Works Cited page formatted according to current MLA guidelines. Be sure to carefully credit your sources.

Week 7

Nationalism

During week seven you will explore more deeply about what it means to be a part of a nation, moving beyond war and into notions of "cold war" in addition to notions of what it means to be a citizen or to have emigrated from a foreign land. You will have the opportunity to read poetry, view poster art, film and read critical analysis of works from this time.

 

To do:

  • Read two of the four poems and poets' biographies presented.
  • Watch one of the full-length films and one of the short films provided.
  • View the visual art provided: propaganda art, read about the philosophy of Marxism or one piece of critical analysis
  • Discussion Board: Your notion of Nationalism
  • Presentation: 5 terms, 5 slides

 

Objectives:

  • Analyze and define the interdisciplinary theme of nationalism
  • Demonstrate an understanding of critical analysis through the use of literary terms.
  • Demonstrate the knowledge of various works of selected 20th century writers and artists.

Literary terms: biographical criticism, communism, framed narrative, literary voice, Imperialism, metaphor, manifesto, nationalism, narrator, point of view, political oppression, Marxism, Marxist criticism

 

Assignments:

 

Discussion Board:

Based on what you have read and viewed, in your own words describe nationalism. Refer to all of the works that you read viewed to explain how you derived your definition of nationalism. Which piece from this week did you find to impact you the most and why?

Presentation: 5 slides, 5 terms

Please design a presentation with voiceover and discuss five of the many literary terms listed in this week's folder. Please use a different work for each term. So you will analyze five of the sources provided this week and explain five different terms in relation to the works (two of the works must be works of literature). Please have your script in the notes section of the presentation or include it as a separate document.

 

Assignment:

Read two of the four poems and poets' biographies presented.

Literature:

Rudyard Kipling:

Rudyard Kipling's Biography

Poem: White Man's Burden

 

Naomi Shihab Nye:

Biography

Poem: "The Orange, The fig and The Whisper of Grapes"

 

Shang-Qin:

Shang-Qin Biography.

Poem: "Electric Lock"

 

Denise-Levertov:

Denise-Levertov Biography

Poem: “Making Peace”

 

Ilya Kaminsky:

Ilya Kaminsky's Biography:

 Interview with Ilya Kaminsky and poem "We live Happily During War"

 

 

 

View the visual art provided: propaganda art, read about the philosophy of Marxism or one piece of critical analysis

Visual Art:

Communist Propaganda  Posters

Anti-Communist Propaganda Video

 

Philosophy:

Karl Marx:

Karl Marx's pamphlet "The Communist Manifesto" influenced the way many nations ruled in the Twentieth Century

Biographical information of Karl Marx and the publication of "The Communist Manifesto"

Article: "Karl Marx, Yesterday and Today" published in The New Yorker

Excerpt from "The Communist Manifesto"

 

Critical Analysis:

License to kill or license to thrill? The James Bond movies and twentieth-century propaganda films

Listen to or read - Historical Context: Popular Culture and Cold War

Brief Article: The Conscription of the Arts during the Cold War

 

Brief Films:

Brief Film: Space War

The battle to get the first spaceship on the moon.

 

Brief Film: The Red Scare

The fear-mongering of communism in America, including the charges pressed against the NAACP and artists.

 

Watch one of the full-length films

Full-Length Film: Billion Dollar Brain

Originally a novel by Len Deighton (1966), this film depicts the story of an unnamed secret agent who stumbled upon a plot to cause a nuclear-war and tries to stop it.

Full-Length Film: The Battle of Algiers

This film has been noted as one of the most influential political films in history. The film reconstructs the events that occurred in the capital city of Algeria between 1954 and 1957 and their struggle for independence from the French.

Week 8

Gender and Sexual Identity

During weeks 8 and 9 how artists begin to emerge in the modern and postmodern era to examine the notion of gender and sexuality. We will seek to understand the challenges of these artists, how these works and issues of gender and sexuality have helped shape modernism and postmodernism. These artists often struggled to have their voices heard, and that position gives us an important perspective on modern life.  There is so much more literature by female writers on the topics of gender and sexuality from the twentieth century and it is challenging to find representing from male voices, though the male voice is presented. Although many artists were gender nonconformists, openly transgender writers of the twentieth century were not available as open access resources. 

To do:

  • Watch brief video on the philosophy of gender
  • Read three poets and their biographies
  • Begin reading Chapter One of Orlando or "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (due in week 9)
  • View Frida Kahlo's Artwork
  • Discussion: Impact
  • Assignment: Motivation 

 

Objectives:

  • Analyze the interdisciplinary themes of race, gender, human rights, sexuality and their intersections in twentieth century literature, art and philosophy.
  • Demonstrate the knowledge of the work of selected 20th century literature, art, and philosophy and what motivates these intellectuals to publicly share their work.
  • Demonstrate the understanding of literary terms through the use of terms to analyze literature, art and philosophy.

 

Literary terms: feminism, feminist criticism, gender criticism, biographical criticism, feminism, ennui, personification, connotation, deconstructionism, irony, open form, symbol, framed narrative, allusion

Discussion Board: After reading and viewing the various work(s) this week, please discuss which work you find more impactful and why.  Please refer to/cite the works) at least three times.

Assignment:

Please write a two page paper in proper MLA format that responds to the prompt below. Your paper needs a thorough introduction and conclusion and you must discuss the work of 3 poets, Judith Butler and Frida Kahlo, in addition to three of the literary terms. Please properly cite the works, though you do not need a Works Cited page.

After reading the biographies of each intellectual presented this week in alignment with the work that you view and read, discuss the motivation for the creation and sharing of this work. More specifically, why does Judith Butler dissect the notion of gender and share her thoughts, why does Frida Kahlo paint what she paints and why do these writers write about these topics and in the style that they write?

Philosophy:

Judith Butler

Biography of Judith Butler

Famous Gender Philosopher Judith Butler unpacks the notion of gender in this 3-minute clip.

 

Poems:

Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde's Biography

Ishrat Afreen –

Biography of Ishrat Afreen

LIBERATION

Emily Dickinson

 - biographical information

Read and/or listen to 3 of Emily Dickinson's poems, including "My life had stood a loaded gun".

 - poems

Adrienne Rich

Adrienne Rich's Biography

"Diving into the Wreck"

Frank Bidart

Frank Bidart's Biography

"Queer"

 

Longer readings:

Virginia Woolf

 - biographical information (link)

 

Begin reading Chapter One of  Orlando (due in week 10)

 

 

T.S. Eliot:

T.S. Eliot's Biography

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Critical Analysis this work in regards to gender

 

 

Art:

Frida Khalo

Frida Kahlo changed gender stereotypes in how she dressed and portrayed herself in her artwork.

Frida Khalo's Biography

Frida Kahlo's Artwork

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 9

Gender and Sexual Identity

 

During week nine you will continue to explore the notions of gender and sexuality through poetry, play writing and philosophy.

 

To do:

 

  • Finish reading Chapter One of Orlando or "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock"
  • Read or listen to Three Women or read The Toilet 
  • Watch Judith Butler's brief video
  • Read the works of two poets and their biographies.
  • Assignment: Connecting Themes (Due Thursday of this week)
  • Discussion: Posting your work

 

 

 

Objectives:

  • Analyze the interdisciplinary themes of race, gender, human rights, sexuality and their intersections.
  • Demonstrate the knowledge of the historical, social, and/or political contexts and literary works and explain the relationships between those contexts and literary works studied in class.
  • Demonstrate the ability to use literary terms to compare and contrast the themes, style and affect of literature on the reader.

 

Literary terms: feminism, feminist criticism, gender criticism, biographical criticism, feminism, ennui, personification, connotation, deconstructionism, irony, open form, symbol, framed narrative, allusion

 

Assignment: Due Thursday of this week by 11:59 pm EST.

In either a presentation (6 - 8 slides with voice over,  6 - 10 minutes) or in a 2.5  page paper in MLA format, respond to the prompt below. You must discuss three author's from this week and three from another week. You cannot reuse any work that you have previously submitted.

 

Connect the themes presented in the literature provided this week to another theme discussed in this course and the literature that promotes that theme. How do the themes overlap? How do the themes differ? How do the works and themes of the works challenge each other or make each theme more complex - challenge the readers to see and feel the experiences that the writers are trying to portray? Does the style of the writing impact the reader in any way?

 

Discussion: By Thursday at 11:59 pm EST, also post your paper or presentation for your peers to read/view in the Discussion Board. Read two of your peer's work. Be sure that all students' work are viewed/read. Chose works that no one has commented on, unless all works have received feedback. Share how your peers' work connect with your notions, differ from your notions and/or expand your notions of the themes and works discussed.

Philosophy

Judith Butler discusses how discourse impacts homosexuality

Poetry:

 

Gwendolyn Brooks

Gwendolyn Brooks Biography

"Song in the Front Yard"

 

 

Amiri Baraka

Bio of Amiri Baraka

"An Agony. As Now."

 

Kazuko Shiraishi

 Kazuko Shiraishi's Biography

"I Have Never Been Anything Like Pink"

 

David Lehman

David Lehman's Biography

"When a Woman Loves a Man"

Anne Sexton

Anne Sexton' biography

"Her Kind"

Adrienne Rich

Adrienne Rich's Biography

"Diving into the Wreck"

 

Plays:

 

Sylvia Plath

 - biographical information

- "Three Women" (link to read)

- "Three Women" (link to hear)

 

Background and synopsis of the play The Toilet

Kelly, can you get access to this play?

 

Week 10

 

To do list:

  • Complete and Submit Research paper
  • Complete Course Evaluations.

Objectives:

  • Demonstrate the knowledge of the historical, social, and/or political contexts and literary works and explain the relationship of identity in at least one literary work from the twentieth century.
  • Demonstrate the ability to research and used academic sources (published critical analysis) to support your ideas of how identify is shaped in at least one literary work from the twentieth century.

Copy over the week 10 Literary Research paper on Identity assignment & grading rubric.

Week 11 Final Exam

Copy all of week 11, from ILS 2010 RES 40997  including the linked documents

Final Grading Rubric

  • Clear connection to/analysis of the literature (40)
  • Thoroughness of information presented/response to the prompts (40)
  • Sentence structure, word choice, grammar and spelling (20)

Scrap

Grading Categories:

Discussion Board: 25

Assignments: 45

Midterm Project: 15

Final Exam: 15

 

 

 

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:      

 

Upon satisfactory completion of this course, a student should have the ability to:

 

  1. Demonstrate the knowledge of the work of selected 20th century writers, artists, musicians, and/or philosophers and key facts of their lives.
  2. Demonstrate the knowledge of the historical, social, and/or political contexts and literary works and explain the relationships between those contexts and literary works studied in class.
  3. Define and employ terms associated with each discipline studied to respond to and analyze literary works.
  4. Research major concepts, trends and movements in modern literature.
  5. Analyze the interdisciplinary themes of race, ethnicity, gender, human rights, and/or war.

 

 

b. Cubism - definition

Picasso - bio and artwork?

Delaunay - bio and artwork?

Braque - bio and artwork?

Notes for Developer

From TC's summer 2017 ILS 2010 course RES 40997

Copy "Glossary of Literary terms" section week one and put it in the syllabus and course info section

Copy Discussion Board Guidelines link on left - under syllabus and course info

Export Discussion Board Grading Rubric and use for the DB's in this course

Add in resources for MLA format as a link on the left

Copy Week 11 over

 

Grade Center:

Grading Categories:

Discussion Board: 20

Assignments: 40

Research Paper:  10 (Week 10)

Midterm Project: 15

Final Exam: 15