Monday, November 25, 2019

Bloodchild Qs

1) Monsters are created through the imagination of humans, and reflect our fears about the world around us. For example, one of the things that inspired Butler when writing Bloodchild was the botfly, an insect that lays its eggs inside a human host body. However, her monsters (the Tlics) can also represent certain aspects of the human body that we are afraid of. What are those elements? 

2) What particular categories or type of real world human relationships in particular might Butler be exploring in this story? What is the essential tension in those relationships? Make sure to list at least three.

3) Why do you think Butler focuses on male pregnancy in particular for her story? What does this reversal tell us about the cultural conditions and challenges for pregnant women in our world, historically and presently?

4) Who are the aliens in the story, and why? 

Monday, November 18, 2019

Presentation Dates

Please note that the day on which you present is the day your project is due. Before the beginning of class, you need to submit your project to Moodle. Upload one file for the entire project, so make sure to put it all in one document. Pdf preferred; docx or doc is acceptable (just make sure to check the formatting).

12:00 Class

Monday, Dec 2

Mark
Ashley
Jayson
Victor
Dane
Akuti
Alex
Mena

Wednesday, Dec 4

Shengyi
Emily
Dhiraj
Gisselle
Raymond
Kyle
Matthew 

3:00 Class

Monday, Dec 2

Maddie
Andrew
Sam
Anthony
Inez
Mark M
Alyssa
Josh

Wednesday, Dec 4

Lucia
Jonathan
Mark S
Veiva
Patrick
Misi
Jeanette

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Final Project Workshop

For this workshop/peer review please follow the same guidelines as prior workshops: focus on one person at a time. Read through the proposal and then begin answering the following questions in order to best help/support them. Please answer the questions in complete sentences, with specific suggestions for improvement.

Please note that there are two different sets of questions, depending on whether the person is rewriting a fairy tale, or creating a monster. Use the appropriate set of questions and answers for your partner.

Fairy Tale Questions


1) Is the cultural problem, social issue, or real life situation that the fairy tale was inspired by a tangible, specific issue that can be traced to an event or series of events in our world today? Is there any way this problem or issue can be more specific/narrow? For example, if the social issue is "social media," that is not specific enough. Instead it could be something like "online trolling or bullying" or "body image pressure for girls on sites like Instagram" or "the influence of Russian hackers on Facebook on the election of Donald Trump."

2) Does the writer have strong research into their cultural problem or issue that inspired their fairy tale, and/or the fairy tale itself? What are some other angles they might research? Give at least one suggestion.

3) Does the fairy tale itself seem to mesh well with the social issue and cultural values the writer wants to focus on? Does the tale type seem to logically mesh with these issues?

4) How can the cultural values themselves be more precise? What specific culture or sub-culture do they reflect? (People, place) Ex. upper middle class, Ivy League college students; Mexican immigrants facing discrimination in the wake of Trumps' election

5) Is the writer altering aspects of the fairy tale in interesting ways, in order to reflect this current cultural moment? Look at the setting, the character's job/life situation, etc. Suggest a few ideas for making the story even more contemporary, in ways that align with the cultural problem and focus of the narrative.

6) What is the role of magic in the story? Will there be magic, or will the tale be totally realist? If so, what aspects of our real world does the magic reflect? Ex. the role of money; the need for a miracle to get out of poverty, etc.

7) Does the writer have a clear sense of the tale type? Are they missing any key elements of it?

Monster Questions

1) What cultural problem, social issue, or real life situation was the monster inspired by? Is this a tangible, specific issue that can be traced to an event or series of events in our world today? Is there any way this problem or issue can be more specific/narrow? For example, if the social issue is "social media," that is not specific enough. Instead it could be something like "online trolling or bullying of children" or "body image pressure for girls on sites like Instagram" or "the influence of Russian hackers on Facebook on the election of Donald Trump."

2) Does the writer have strong research into their cultural problem or issue that inspired their monster? What are some other angles they might research? Give at least one suggestion.

3)  What are the cultural fears/desires the monster embodies? How can these be more precisely stated? How can they be better tied to the cultural problem? For example, if the cultural desire is "fame," and the cultural problem is "social media," then the cultural desire can be stated as "desire for social media fame."

4) Are there more fears or desires that connect to the ones stated, that the writer should think about? And if they only stated a fear, what is the corresponding desire? (And vice versa). For example, the desire for social media fame directly connects to the fear of being alone and unloved. It also can connect to a fear of fame as well, for example being cyberstalked and judged and criticized.

5) How can the monster's body more precisely reflect the cultural fears/desires? What about it's skills and attributes? How can the writer be more creative in considering how to "embody" these problems? For example, is this a monster created out of revenge? Ex. Ocean coral that is angry at its death due to acidification, who has grown sharp knife-like razors to cut swimmers. Is it a monster created out of the results of a problem? Ex. a monster that is the result of garbage in the coean, which is a giant patchwork of various types of garbage.

6) How can the monster's living situation/home better reflect the cultural problem it represents? Remember "monsters exist at the margins of the world, both conceptually/geographically" (Cohen).

7) Is the creative component the best possible choice for reflecting this monster, or would another option make more sense, given the cultural problem and cultural fears/desires the monster embodies? What are some problems the writer might run into with their choice of creative component, and how can they overcome these? Ex. using video editing equipment may require some youtube tutorials

Citing Dialogue

Here is how you should format the dialogue for your stories.

Citing Monster Theory

For your final essay, please make sure to properly cite Monster Theory, by Jeffrey Jerome Cohen. Here is the information: In the parenthetical citation, simply use his last name (Cohen). You do not need to include the page numbers, since you don't have those. For the Works Cited page, here is the info to plug in:

Cohen, Jeffrey Jerome. Monster Theory. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 1996.

Lastly, please note that the works cited page citation above is not formatted with the proper indentation (I can't do that in blogger), so make sure you indent the second line.
1) What creates the monsters in the novel from a scientific standpoint? What about from a superstitious standpoint? How do these two systems intersect, and what do they have to tell us about how monsters are created? 
2) What is the significance of the title? Would the meaning have changed if the book was called "I Am a Legend"? How does Robert Neville become a legend? 
3) Why does the new society in the book decide to kill Robert Neville? What does their decision to kill him reflect about their new society?
4) Robert Neville sees himself as superior to the new society's methods and motives and morals. Is he really? He also sees Ruth as a coldhearted messenger, particularly when she points out some things about himself he would rather not see. Is she really coldhearted? (Look at the final few pages of the novel). 
5) How might we connect the significance of the ending of the novel to Robert Neville's identity as a white male in the 1950s, pre-Civil Rights era?

Monday, November 11, 2019

Pairs Questions II for I Am Legend

1) Describe the vampire-zombies, looking at each and every aspect of their physicality. What do each of their attributes represent, in terms of cultural fears and desires?

2) How does Robert Neville treat women vampires, and women more generally?(This will become important in relationship to the ending of the novel).

3) What happens to the dog? What does this encounter tell us about who Robert Neville is, and what his existential situation is?

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Writing Titles: Exercise

It's important to remember that your essay needs a strong title. 


There is a general formula you can follow to create solid academic paper titles, as well as some general guidelines about titles that should give you some clues as to how to craft yours.

Rule 1: Your title should essentially be your thesis statement, albeit condensed to its most essential parts. In other words, your title should give your reader a clue as to what the main purpose of your paper is.

Example:

Yours, Mine, or Ours? Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, and the Ownership of Fairy Tales

Rule 2: If you are writing about a work of literature (or art, or a film, or a scientific phenomenon, or anything really) you should include the name of that work of literature in the title, and most of the time the author as well.

Example:

Poisoned Apples and Mean Mirrors: Reconsidering the Wicked Stepmother in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

Rule 3: This rule goes after Rule 2 for a reason. While it is necessary to include the thing you are focusing your paper on, you should not let that thing alone be your title. The reasons for this should be obvious: if you call your paper "Cinderella" you are basically saying that it is, in fact, Cinderella. It is not. What about Cinderella are you trying to say? The answer to that question should be your title.

Example:

Upward Mobility and the American Dream in Gary Marshall's Pretty Woman

*Remember, Pretty Woman is a Cinderella story

Rule 4: When considering how to "sum up" your paper in your title, try and think of several words or a brief phrase encapsulate the main idea of the paper. You will combine this phrase with your subject (in this case, the fairy tale and it's author).

Example: From Naive Girl to Ferocious Wolf: Little Red as Feminist Hero in Once Upon a Time

For additional support on title creation, I recommend this Wiki How, which is actually pretty solid and helpful. Just don't read the bad title suggestions in the comments.

Now, rewrite the title for your first or second essay, using this formula.

Design a Vampire-Zombie for Today

In order to practice constructing imaginative and critically designed monsters that embody specific cultural fears and desires, we are going to design a vampire/zombie for today.

This exercise is intended to help us work on connecting specific cultural fears and desires to a physical, monstrous embodiment. Creativity with physicality, environment, goals, and prey is the goal here. We don't want to slip into cliches or boring metaphors, but rather to think about how we can make our vampire/zombie truly a unique representation of the present moment.

Something we know about our vampire/zombie:

It is a Whittier College student, so we will want to consider the unique stresses, anxieties, and desires of Whittier College students.

Categories to design:

-Cultural fears/desires it represents

-Prey

-Environment (where it lives and what it's environment looks like, when it wakes and sleeps, etc.)

-Physicality (face, body, skills)

-Attitude/goals

Each of these should uniquely demonstrate the cultural fears/desires the student vampire/zombie represents.

Final Project Proposal

For you final project proposal, which is due next Thursday for workshop, you must write a two page proposal that answers the following questions. Make sure to use complete sentences, and to present your proposal in a clean, neat manner. This should not be rushed through or you will receive a zero.

Please remember that you are choosing one of the following options (fairy tale or monster); you should not answer both prompts.

Make sure to print and bring two copies!

Fairy Tale Project Proposal

What is the fairy tale you will re-write? State its primary title or titles. EX. Beauty and the Beast

What is the earliest iteration of this fairy tale? (Culture, time, place) EX. The Story of Grandmother, oral folk tale, medieval Europe

What is the essential tale type to the story? Remember, the tale type is the basic plot structure that remains the same in most re-tellings.

What changes do you plan to make to the fairy tale, to update it for today? Or, alternately, which cultural problems or issues do you plan to apply to the tale type? Why do they fit the tale type?

What inspired you in particular to write a story that deals with these cultural issues? Where did you "find" them? (i.e. news article, library research, etc). *Please note that you must not "guess" at what the issues are; they must reflect some real world cultural problem, condition, or set of beliefs held by a group of people.

Where will your story be set, and how will the setting reflect these cultural issues?

What will happen in your story (the plot), in order to best reflect these cultural issues while staying true to the tale type?

Which other aspects of the tale type do you see connecting to your story? What is their relationship?

Ex. Famine in Hansel and Gretel will connect to the high cost of living in NYC, absent parents will be overworked just as the parents in the older version were starved so could not care for their children, the witch who lures the children will be an online catfisher.

What changes will you make to the characters to best reflect these updated cultural values or issues?

Include as well a bibliography with three outside sources you plan to use for your analytical essay. These must be library-based research about either the fairy tale itself, or the cultural values/problems your fairy tale analyzes.

Monster Project Proposal

What cultural fears and desires does your monster represent? These should be as specific as possible, and you must connect them to a particular time and place. The "problem" that your monster reflects should be as specific as student loan debt in the US or pollution in the rivers of the Midwest; it should not be something vague and unrefined like "fear of the unknown" or "fear of death." Look for a real world problem--news articles are a good place to start--that is happening in our world today and use that as a jumping off point.

What is the time and place your monster represents? This should be as specific as Whittier, CA in 2018. (Please note your time must be contemporary).

How does your monster's physical body represent the cultural fears/desires? Be as specific as possible, and discuss multiple elements of its body.

How does the monster's powers (skills) represent the cultural fears/desires?

How does the monster's habitat (home) represent the cultural fears/desires?

What inspired you to focus on these cultural fears and desires? Where did you "find" them? (i.e. news article, library research, etc). *Please note that you must not "guess" at what the cultural fears and desires are; they must reflect some real world cultural problem or condition such as the imminent threat of a twitter-induced nuclear war, or the death of the polar bears due to the arctic ice melting.

What form will your creative component take? How does this form best reflect the cultural fears and desires your monster embodies?

Were you inspired by any other monsters when creating yours? If so, which ones and why?

Include as well an annotated bibliography with three outside sources you plan to use for your analytical essay. These must be library-based research about the cultural fears/desires your monster represents. Discuss how you will utilize each in your paper.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Pairs Questions

1) This novel is considered to be a precursor to many zombie films. What is zombie like about the monsters?  

What aspects of human nature might zombies represent more generally? 

2) What other monsters have we encountered that remind you of these vampire/zombies?

3) How might our understanding of the monsters shift if the POV of the novel was not Neville's?

4) What kind of person is Robert Neville? How does his personality and identity possibly affect our view of the monsters in the novel?
 
5) What is the relationship between beliefs/perception and monsters?  Please re-read page 17 and then respond.
 
Fear is probably the key word in Matheson’s work, and the defining affective feature of horror fiction. It is a striking fact of human anxiety that the things we fear are non-randomly distributed: humans acquire fear not just of any old thing, but of things dangerous in our evolutionary past. That does not mean that we are born pre-programmed with a completely inflexible fear system. Like so many other human capacities (such as language), the innate fear system depends on interaction with the environment for its development and optimal functioning."

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Notes Allowance

For your in-class essay, you may have one page of notes, double-sided. These notes may be quotations from the book Frankenstein, and brief ideas, may not consist of elaborate ideas or analysis or arguments. You may type or hand write them, and you will turn them in with your essay. Please note that you may not share notes or use another person's notes.You will also not be allowed to use your book during the exam.

What should you cull quotes on?

I recommend culling quotes on the female companion for the monster. That is the only clue I can give you, but it's a big one!

Good luck.


In-Class Essay: Aim and Organization


AIM:
To successfully prove a clear, specific thesis. The thesis should, obviously, address the prompt given in class. Following directions here, as always, is crucial to receiving a passing grade.

ORGANIZATION:
An in-class essay is organized into five paragraphs. The first paragraph is the introduction, then comes three body paragraphs, then a concluding paragraph. No more—no less!

You will want to make a brief outline before you write your essay.* Make sure the body paragraphs appear in a logical order, not simply the order they came to your mind in. Build on the information as you go.

Introductory Paragraph: Make sure not to take too much time writing in introduction. This paragraph should be about five sentences long (give or take a sentence or two). Provide a clearly arguable, well-qualified, thesis.

Body Paragraph One: Don’t forget to provide clear examples to back up your argument, as well as a topic sentence at the beginning of the paragraph.

Body Paragraph Two: Don’t forget to provide clear examples to back up your argument, as well as a topic sentence at the beginning of the paragraph. And remember, Body Paragraph Two should follow Body Paragraph One in terms of building logically upon it.

Body Paragraph Three: Don’t forget to provide clear examples to back up your argument, as well a topic sentence as the beginning of the paragraph. And remember, Body Paragraph Three should follow Body Paragraph Two in terms of building logically upon it.

Concluding Paragraph: Re-state your thesis. Summarize what has been successfully argued in the essay. End with a thoughtful and strong statement. This paragraph, like your introductory paragraph, need not be longer than five sentences, but should also not be shorter.

Grammar and formatting: Make sure to check your grammar and spelling as you go along. There is a bit more room for error in an in-class essay, but your essay must be readable and legible (so make sure your handwriting is clear). Double-check your essay for errors before you turn it in. You may choose to double-space or single space an in-class essay (depending on what your teacher requests).

*You will be required to turn in your brief outline with your essay for your this class. See “Sample Outline” below for details.

SAMPLE OUTLINE FOR IN-CLASS ESSAY

Par. 1: THESIS: Write out thesis statement here.
Par. 2: TOPIC SENTENCE/MAIN IDEA: Write out topic sentence/main idea for Paragraph 1 here.
Par. 3: TOPIC SENTENCE/MAIN IDEA: Write out topic sentence/main idea for Paragraph 2 here.
Par. 4: TOPIC SENTENCE/MAIN IDEA: Write out topic sentence/main idea for Paragraph 3 here.
Par. 5: CONCLUSION: Final thought to leave reader with.

*Remember, this is just a sample outline—yours can differ slightly. Also, you obviously will want to fully develop your intro, body paragraphs, and conclusion—so while you are providing the main idea of these paragraphs here in the outline, you will flesh them out with evidence/support in your actual essay.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

What is a "Murder Weapon" Example?

When supporting your ideas in a paper, when arguing a claim of any sort, you need to back up your claim with strong examples to support your claim.

Now, when you are writing about literature in particular, you need to support your claim with examples from the book in question. If you are writing about something else, then you may need examples from outside research or other sources. But in any and all cases, you need examples to prove your points. (And you need to support your examples with analysis, explaining to your reader how they fit your point).

How do you go about selecting the *best* examples? When there are many to choose from, it can be easy to be lazy and just pick the first example you see. However, not all examples are created equal.

I like to use an analogy to explain how to find the best evidence for your claim. Similarly to doing library-based research, it takes some time and effort--you cannot simply pick the first example that you see when you flip the book open. However, in the long run, choosing the best example will save you time, because it will do more work for you than if you picked a weaker example.

The analogy: The Murder Weapon

Say you are a prosecuting attorney for an infamous murder trial. You have three pieces of evidence with which to make your case against the murderer, but you are only permitted to share one piece in the courtroom.

Here are your three pieces of evidence:

The murder weapon itself, a gun that still have a finger attached to it from the person who shot the victim -- their finger just ripped off when they shot the gun.

A glove that fell on the ground with fingerprints from the murderer on it.

A cat, who witnessed it all.

Which piece of evidence should you use to win your case?

Debate Structure

Hi everyone, here is the order of events for the debate. If you have any questions about these, please email me and ask.

Note: You will need to turn in your group's paper with your three main arguments, your examples for those arguments, your three anticipated arguments that the other side may hold, your rebuttals to those arguments and your examples to support your rebuttals. It should be typed and double spaced, and should have each of the group members names at the top. Please use complete sentences.

Note: Each person on your team will need to speak at one point during the debate. Feel free to divide this up however you like, provided each person shares at least one full argument or one full rebuttal.


Debate Order
Side 1 presents its three main arguments, with examples - 5 minutes
Side 2 presents its three main arguments, with examples - 5 minutes
Teams have 3 minutes to prepare rebuttals
Side 1 presents its rebuttal to Side 2's arguments - 3 minutes or less *may not present new facts
Side 2 presents its rebuttal to Side 1's arguments - 3 minutes or less *may not present new facts
Teams have 3 minutes to prepare rebuttals
Side 1 final rebuttal and closing argument - 3 minutes or less *may not present new facts
Side 2 final rebuttal and closing argument - 3 minutes or less *may not present new facts

Winning team gets ten participation points extra! And there will be a food prize.

Also, please read through these logical fallacies to make sure you aren't committing any in your argument. They are *really* common, especially in politics!

The Jury will base their decision on the following:

1) Arguments
Are they logical? Are they the strongest arguments for the team's perspective?

2) Rebuttals
Did they successfully address the other team's POV?

3) Teamwork
Did they work together well as a team?

4) Use of Examples
Are they "murder weapon" examples?

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Rough Draft Workshop

DIRECTIONS: Please answer in complete sentences and take time and care in responding, as you will be graded on your answers. You do not need to write down the questions. You should address all questions within a given section. Give the notes to the Paper Author when finished. They will hand it in to me next week at the beginning of class on the day your final paper is due, and you will both get credit for the assignment.

Important: please do not spend your time during workshop correcting grammar. If you note a problem with grammar, you can spend any extra time at the end of workshop (if you have it) correcting grammar. Otherwise, please just let them know they have an issue, and they can correct it later.

1) Is the essay's thesis clear? Point out any areas where it could be clearer. Is it arguable? (It should not simply be a statement of facts). Is it well-qualified (specific)? Even if the thesis seems to be specific enough, suggest a way for the writer to make it even more specific and narrow (i.e. do they list the topics they plan to discuss in the body paragraphs in as precise a language as possible?).

2) Does the writer incorporate research from three scholarly sources into the essay? Do the sources seem to be strong and relevant for the thesis at hand? Do not ask the writer to tell you about them, but judge them based solely on what is in the paper. Write what you know about the sources below and give any suggestions for what you need to know more about. Also please note if they seem to be forcing irrelevant sources onto their paper.

3) Does the writer incorporate plenty of examples from their fairy tale and the outside sources examples in the essay? They should! Are those examples on topic and support their thesis?

4) Does the writer provide convincing, sufficient analysis for each and every one of their examples? Remember, analysis is as important than the quote itself. Make suggestions for improvement below, and be specific. The analysis should of course connect back to the thesis.

5) Is the paper organized? Do the main topics of the body paragraphs seem to build logically upon one another? Give at least one suggestion for improvement.

6) What are some ways in which the author might expand their ideas further? Are there any logical connections they could be making that are missing from the essay? Is their critical thinking going deep enough, or are they staying at a surface level with their interpretations of the text? Give suggestions for at least two places in the essay where they can go deeper.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Rough Draft Rubric

For your rough draft workshop on Wednesday, in order to receive a full score, you must do the following:

1) Precisely follow the Rough Draft Guidelines Template provided in the top sidebar of the blog

2) Your rough draft must be at minimum three full pages, typed and double-spaced

3) You must include an additional Works Cited page as a fourth page, which lists your four outside resources (fairy tale version, and three library sources)

4) You must integrate examples from the sources into your rough draft as the template dictates

5) You must print and bring two *hard* copies to class -- no computer copies allowed without prior approval by me

The paper does not need to be perfectly polished and it is expected that you will continue working on it after the workshop. However, if you fail to follow the guidelines above, you will not receive a full score for the paper.

Brief Thesis Statement Workshop

Ten minute exercise.

Exchange papers with a peer.

Read their thesis statement aloud to yourself. Are there any clunky words, or areas that you fumble over? If so, circle them.

Note any areas where the language could be more specific and clear. Did they forget any important details, such as the title of the fairy tale version they are writing about, or the author?

Is their thesis statement arguable? Are they making a claim? If it's just a statement of facts, then that is a problem.

What questions do you have after reading the thesis? Write them down.

Rewrite the thesis in your own words. Hand the paper back to the author.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

H&G

Like Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel has two tale types. The second tale type is My Mother She Slew Me, My Father He Ate Me, which Alissa Nutting re-wrote as The Brother and the Bird. As strange as this tale may seem, dealing with the taboo topic of cannibalism, what real life terrors and problems might this fairy tale also be dealing with?

“Evil stepmothers” are a common trope in fairy tales—from Hansel and Gretel to Cinderella. Fathers, on the other hand, often fade into the background. Do you believe the father in Brother and the Bird and Hansel and Gretel is innocent? Why or why not?

If Grimm’s Hansel and Gretel were to be told from the witches’ perspective, how might the story be different? And, most importantly, how might our interpretation of the story’s meaning change?

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Thesis Statements

A thesis statement should be specific, clear, and clearly arguable.

For this paper you will want to make sure your thesis statement explains what specifically your fairy tale represents about its time period/culture.

Make sure to add qualifying language into your thesis, in order to make it as specific as possible. If you focus in on the phrase ''sort of,'' then you have picked up the qualifying language. Qualifying language is when a writer or speaker uses words that make a statement less or more certain.

For example:

Alissa Nutting's Brother and the Bird, a US revisionist tale of The Grimm's The Juniper Tree, deals with the contemporary issue of religious fantacism. Connections can be drawn between the mother in the story and modern-day religious fundamentalists who violently indoctrinate their children with their religious views.

 Another example:

Angela Carter's The Company of Wolves is a contemporary feminist revisionist version of Little Red Riding Hood which presents an empowered Little Red who is a street smart, sexually empowered, and fearless agent of her own destiny. This is in contrast to Grimm's and Perrault's weak and vulnerable, victimized Little Red.

*Bring a sample thesis statement for your paper to next class. Make sure you print it out! And whatever you do, do not copy my thesis statements.


Wednesday, September 18, 2019

LRRH Pairs Questions In-Class

1) What does the wolf represent in each of the LRRH stories you read for today? At first glance, it may seem he represents the same thing every time, but there are differences. Pay attention and look closely and see what you come up with. Please use your book.

2) If you were to rewrite LRRH for today, where would it take place and why? Choose a place that is dangerous in a modern way (but not a "bad neighborhood, please"). Consider settings in our world that are dangerous. What challenge would Little Red face? How would she come through it? Who would the wolf be, and what end would the wolf face?

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

In-Class Assignments Grading Rubric

Overall score rubric

Check +: Excellent job. You went above and beyond the expectations for the assignment. Your analysis is tight, your thoughts original or complex in some significant way. Your examples are killer. You put your heart and mind into this.

Check: Good work. You completed the assignment to its specifications.  Your thinking is mostly logical, and you provide some examples from the reading to support your ideas. You may not have gone above and beyond, but you really did a fine job.

Check -: The work is somehow incomplete. Either you did not answer the question appropriately, you misunderstood it, or you did not do the pre-work (reading) required to answer it correctly.

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Beauty and the Beast Close Reading Exercise

  1.  What are some of the key aspects of the tale type that you see in both versions of B&B that you read for today? Remember, these are elements that are present in each version, even if they change form (such as Cinderella’s shoe becoming an iPhone). 
  2.  What is the role of Beauty's self-sacrifice in DeBeamont’s version of the tale? Does Carter challenge or change this theme in her version of the story? If so, how so? 
  3.  Discuss the role of fathers in both stories. How are they portrayed?  Do you note any interesting differences between the way deBeamont portrays Beauty’s father and the way Carter does? 
  4. Analyze the ending of Angela Carter's The Tiger's Bride. If Angela Carter is re-writing Beauty and the Beast from a feminist perspective, why do you think she chooses the ending that she does? What does the Beast's transformation symbolize? What about Beauty's transformation?

Monday, September 2, 2019

Welcome!

Welcome to INTD 100: Monsters and Fairytales. This blog is for the M/W class only. Please see the sidebar above for the syllabus and course schedule. If you have friends in my Tu/Th classes, please note that they are on a different schedule and use a different blog. DO NOT look at their blog or ask them for due dates/assignments, because they are not on the same schedule as you. Thanks!