Blog Post: Due for Class 7/21

In an organized and well supported paragraph, address each of the following questions. As always, use evidence from the text to support your point.

What is the power of learning in "Damn White Girl" by Karla Garcia and "Learning to Read" by Malcolm X? How is learning different from education?

You are also responsible for bringing in a detailed brainstorm of your final exam topic. This should include the personal experience you will write about as well as the sociological issue it represents. Think about the research sources you will use to support the sociological aspect of your paper.

Blog Post: Due for Class Tuesday 7/19

What literary devices does Nancy Mairs use in her essay "On Being Cripple" to effectively convey the issues that arise around disability? In your paragraph, reference and analyze at least three examples of literary devices from the text.

(Use your Literary Terms Handout to review literary devices)

Blog Post: Due for Class Thursday 7/7

Because your outlines are also due on Thursday, this blog post is shorter. In one strong paragraph, answer this question:

How do the challenges discussed in Anzaldúa's essay tie in to the issues discussed in Baldwin's? Use specific examples from the text to support your points.

Blog Post: Due for Class Tuesday 7/5

In a thoughtful, focused paragraph of approximately 200 words, engage a specific passage or set of passages in the assigned reading for the day. Choose one of the following questions to answer:

1) How does the thesis of Sean Joe's piece relate to the idea of the the sociological imagination? Point to a specific excerpt from the text to support your argument.

2) How does the social construction of what is beautiful or "cute" affect the characters in The Bluest Eye? Point to a specific example from the text to support your argument, and include an analysis of Morrison's use of literary devices to convey this effect. (Use your Literary Terms sheet at the beginning of your reader.)

3) What is the connection between the Toni Morrison excerpts and the Sean Joe piece? What common theme do you see? Explain the connection using specific examples to support your point.

Origins of the Other: Individual Meetings

Sign Up Sheet (All meetings held at NGS center)

6/29

3:20 – 3:35 Matt Hernandez (you need to reschedule)

3:35 – 3:50 __________________________________________

3:50 – 4:05 __________________________________________

6/30

3:20 – 3:35 __________________________________________

3:35 – 3:50 Ryan Chung

3:50 – 4:05 Ellis Tran

7/1

3:20 – 3:35 Osmar Mazariegos

3:35 – 3:50 Ivan Shaw

3:50 – 4:05 Marcia Mata

7/5

3:20 – 3:35 Monica Cardenas

3:35 – 3:50 Yaqueline Rodas

3:50 – 4:05 __________________________________________

7/6

3:20 – 3:35 Angela Ho

3:35 – 3:50 Elvira Correa

3:50 – 4:05 __________________________________________

7/7

3:20 – 3:35 Valeria Ramirez

3:35 – 3:50 Giovani Camara

3:50 – 4:05 __________________________________________

7/8

3:20 – 3:35 Selena Hernandez

3:35 – 3:50 __________________________________________

3:50 – 4:05 __________________________________________

7/11

3:20 – 3:35 Eric Zepeda

3:35 – 3:50 __________________________________________

3:50 – 4:05 __________________________________________

7/12

3:20 – 3:35 Johnny Xu

3:35 – 3:50 Ellis Tran

3:50 – 4:05 __________________________________________

7/13

3:20 – 3:35 Yoel Iskindir

3:35 – 3:50 Mario Diaz

3:50 – 4:05 __________________________________________

First Blog Post: Due for class Wednesday 6/29

Please post your first blog post as a comment here. Post your comment before midnight on Tuesday night so that your classmates and I can read it over before class.

In a thoughtful, focused paragraph of approximately 200 words, engage a specific passage or set of passages in the assigned reading for the day. You may either choose one of the readings, or draw a connection between both. Using your passage as point of entry, formulate a question for class discussion. As you craft your paragraph, use the following format:

1. Identify a particular passage or set of passages that you find especially rich, provocative and critical to the core argument of the text(s) at hand. Clearly identify your passage, and use page numbers.

2. In 3-5 sentences, offer a brief critical paraphrase of the passage(s) you’ve selected, quoting key phrases to anchor and support your paraphrase.

3. In 2-3 sentences, pose a question or comment that explicitly draws out the implications of the passage, makes connections to other course readings, or otherwise opens the text up for further, focused discussion. If you choose to pose a question rather than a comment, then be sure to provide your own answer to your question.

Literary Terms Handout

Literary Terms

Allegory – A story in which a second meaning is to be read beneath the surface

Alliteration – the repetition of one or more initial consonants in a group of words or lines in a poem

Allusion - A reference to a person, place, or event meant to create an effect or enhance the meaning of an idea

Ambiguity – A vagueness of meaning; a conscious lack of clarity meant to evoke multiple meanings and interpretation

Analogy – A comparison that points out similarities between two dissimilar things

Antagonist - A character or force in a work of literature that, by opposing the protagonist, produces tension or conflict

Antithesis – A rhetorical opposition or contrast of ideas by means of a grammatical arrangement of words, clauses, or sentences

Apostrophe – A locution (word, phrase or expression) that addresses a person or personified thing not present.

Archetype - An abstract or ideal conception of a type; a perfectly typical example; an original model or form

Assonance – The repetition of two or more vowel sounds in a group of words or lines of a poem

Cacophony – Grating, inharmonious sounds

Connotation – The suggested or implied meaning of a word or phrase; Contrast with denotation

Denotation – The dictionary definition of a word: Contrast with connotation

Diction - The choice of words in oral and written discourse

Euphemism – A mild or less negative usage for a harsh or blunt term; pass away is a euphemism for die

Expository essay - The expository essay is a genre of essay that investigates an idea, evaluates evidence, expounds on (gives detail on) the idea, and sets forth an argument concerning that idea in a clear and concise manner. This can be accomplished through comparison and contrast, definition, example, the analysis of cause and effect, etc.

Figurative language – In contrast to literal language, figurative language implies meanings. Figures of speech include metaphors, similes, and personification, among many others.

First-person narrative – A narrative told by a character involved in the story, using first-person pronouns such as I and we

Foreshadowing – Providing hints of things to come in a story or play

Genre – A term used to describe literary forms, such as novel, play and essay

Hyperbole – Overstatement; gross exaggeration for rhetorical effect

Imagery – The mental pictures created by a piece of writing

Irony – A mode of expression in which the intended meaning is the opposite of what is stated, often implying ridicule or light sarcasm; a state of affairs or events that is the reverse of what might have been expected

Metaphor – A figure of speech that compares unlike objects without using like or as

Mood – The emotional tone in a work of literature

Motif – A phrase, idea or event that through repetition serves to unify or convey a theme in a work of literature

Narrative – A form of verse or prose that tells a story

Omniscient narrator - A narrator with unlimited awareness, understanding, and insight of characters, setting, background, and all other elements of the story

Onomatopoeia – The use of words whose sounds suggest their meaning

Oxymoron – A term consisting of contradictory elements juxtaposed to create a paradoxical effect

Paradox – A statement that seems self-contradictory but is nevertheless true

Paraphrase – A restatement of a text or passages, usually in a simpler, more concise form

Personification – A figure of speech in which a non-human entity, such as an object or animal, is given human characteristics

Plot – The interrelationship among the events in a story; the plot line is the pattern of events, including exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution

Point of view – The relation in which a narrator or speaker stands to the story or subject matter of a poem. A story told in the first person has an internal point of view; an observer uses an external point of view

Protagonist – The main character in a work of literature

Rhetoric – The language of a work and its style; words, often highly emotional, used to convince or sway the audience

Rhetorical stance – Language the conveys a speaker’s attitude or opinion with regard to a particular subject

Satire – A literary style used to poke fun at, attack or ridicule an idea, vice, or foible, often for the purpose of inducing change

Setting – The total environment for the action in a novel or play. It includes time, place, historical milieu, and social, political, and even spiritual circumstances.

Simile – A figurative comparison using the words like or as

Stream of consciousness – A style of writing in which the author tries to reproduce the random flow of thoughts in the human mind

Style – The manner in which an author uses and arranges words, shapes ideas, forms sentences, and creates a structure to convey ideas

Subtext – The implied meaning that underlies the main meaning of a work of literature

Symbolism – The use of one object to evoke ideas and associations not literally part of the original object

Syntax – The organization of language into meaningful structure; every sentence has a particular syntax, or pattern of words

Theme – The main idea or meaning; often an abstract idea upon which a work of literature is built

Tone – The author’s attitude toward the subject being written about. The tone is the characteristic emotion that pervades a work or part of a work – the spirit or quality that is the work’s emotional essence

Voice – The real or assumed personality used by a writer or speaker.