E.C. - Seniors - Female Comedians

My choice - Jessica Williams!

Let's take the opportunity to introduce each other to our some of favorite female comics or even some female comics that we've recently discovered!  But we should be academic in our endeavors; I would like us to identify the comic's style, topic of discussion, sense of humor, and appeal.  What draws you to this comedian?  Be aware of each other's choices and try not to repeat a comedian twice.

Work for the Week of November 25th - Seniors

Monday November 25th
Minutes: Humira
Reading HW: Today, we'll have the chance to speak with comedian Maysoon Zayid.  Watch some of her standup and TV appearances. 
HW: Please come up with 5 UNIQUE, informed questions about what it takes to be a female comedian.  Ms. Zayid will be taking YOUR questions so let's make the most of this experience.

Tuesday November 26th
Minutes: Bianca
Reading HW: Read and print attached excerpt from Tina Fey's "Bossypants" for class!
HW: How does Fey characterize fe/male comedians?  What point does she try to make through her work about gender and comedy?

Wednesday November 27th
Minutes: Miranda
Reading HW:
HW:

Enjoy your Thanksgiving!
I am not assigning you any work for the Thanksgiving break.
Get the rest that you need.

Monday December 2nd
Minutes: Crystal Liu
Reading HW:
HW:

Work for the Week of November 25th - Juniors

Monday November 25th
Minutes: Sean, Eric
Reading HW: N/A
HW: See extra credit.

Tuesday November 26th
Minutes: Jonathan, Brian L.
Reading HW:  "The Pit and the Pendulum"
HW: Scan the story for Gothic characteristics.  This story reminds me of the first Saw film.

Wednesday November 27th
Minutes: Joey, Aden
Reading HW:
HW:

Enjoy your Thanksgiving!
I am not assigning you any work for the Thanksgiving break.
Get the rest that you need.

Monday December 2nd
Minutes: Albert, Tashfiq
Reading HW:
HW:

Work for the Week of November 25th - Freshmen

Monday November 25th
Minutes: Claire, Anthony
Reading HW: Finish Book II
HW: Check out the extra credit for this week!

Tuesday November 26th
Minutes: N/A
Reading HW: Read Book III Ch. 1-2
HW: How does physical pain affect Winston's views?  Please find three quotes to support your argument.

Wednesday November 27th
Minutes: Jessica, Karen C.
Reading HW: Is Long-Term Solitary Confinement Torture?
HW: How is our prison system comparable to the torture tactics of 1984?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Monday December 2nd
Minutes: Kelly, Andrew
Reading HW:

E.C. - Juniors - Uncanny Images

Let's create a library of uncanny images!  Post a link to an uncanny image and please explain why you find this particular image to be uncanny.  Explain what is both familiar and unfamiliar about your image.

E.C. Freshmen - Colleges Are Spying On You!

Please read the following NYTimes Business Day article "They Loved Your GPA, Then They Saw Your Tweets".  Engage the article in a discussion about its argument and the role of social media in your life.  Is it fair for colleges to consider one's Facebook page or Twitter account as complements to a college application?  Is this an invasion of privacy or should we be more careful what we post on the internet?  If this is certainly a growing trend, could colleges gain access to our multiple screen names and avatars?  Would you like an admissions counselor trolling through your Reddit up posts?  

Consider this surveillance in conjunction with our text 1984. Does this kind of monitoring connect with the authoritarian government of Oceania?  Provide a quoet to show a connection.

Engage the article by referring to specific quotes, read each other's posts, and refer to one another in your responses.  Feel free to bring in outside resources (links provide of course) and let's discuss!

Work for the Week of Nov. 18th - Seniors

Monday November 18th
Minutes: Marvin
Reading HW: Read this New Yorker piece!
HW: Quote for rumination paper is due.

Tuesday November 19th
Minutes:
Reading HW: Finish this New Yorker piece!
HW: What is the history of the Cesarean?  Why was it once considered criminal?  How did modern obstetrics standardize childbirth?  What is the Apgar score?  As the article asks, is medicine (particular obstetrics) a craft or an industry?

Wednesday November 20th
Minutes: Alvin
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Women's Wednesday!  Bring in a topical article about women's issues!  Type up a page explaining your interest/rationale in selecting such an article

Thursday November 21st
Minutes:
Reading HW: Why Women Aren't Funny by Christopher Hitchens
HW: Identify how Hitch arrives at such a radical conclusion.  Why does Hitch believe women aren't funny?  Explore this topic in your own life.  Do you know funnier men or women?  Are men more commonly funny than women?  Do you follow any comedians?  Are they male or female?  Ask your friends/family, who is funnier, men or women?  Let's discuss!

Friday November 22nd
Minutes:
Reading HW: Research female comedians who broke the barrier.
HW:  Bring in a bio of a female comedian who paved the way for modern female comedians.  Find an iconoclast and research her biography, the struggles she faced, and the impact she has left on the comedy world.  Bring your research into class.

Here's a link to the video we watched today!

Monday November 25th
Minutes:
Reading HW: Today, we'll have the chance to speak with comedian Maysoon Zayid.  Watch some of her standup and TV appearances.
HW: Please come up with 5 UNIQUE, informed questions about what it takes to be a female comedian.  Ms. Zayid will be taking YOUR questions so let's make the most of this experience.

Work for the Week of Nov. 18th - Juniors

Monday November 18th
Minutes: Sam, Kim
Reading HW:
HW: Final draft for draft day.

Tuesday November 19th
Minutes: Christina, William
Reading HW: Print for class - Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven"
HW: Poe's work is often considered to be "spooky" or "creepy".  Please identify five examples (annotate your printout) in this work that you find spooky/creepy.

Wednesday November 20th
Minutes: N/A, David
Reading HW: "The Masque of Red Death"
HW: Paper due today.  Annotate story.  Find 6 gothic elements.

Thursday November 21st
Minutes: Austin, Theo
Reading HW: "The Cask of Amontillado"
HW: Identify this story as a cautionary tale.  ALSO, please research "Carnival"

Friday November 22nd
Minutes: Mahir,
Reading HW: "The Black Cat"
HW: Identify 6 gothic elements within this story. 

Monday November 25th
Minutes: Sean, Eric
Reading HW: N/A
HW: N/A
Check out our extra credit!

Work for the Week of Nov. 18th - Freshmen

Monday November 18th
Minutes: Maddie, Jessy
Reading HW: Finish part one of 1984
HW: Final draft due.

Tuesday November 19th
Minutes: Ming, Leo
Reading HW: Research Pat Tillman.  Read Book II Ch. 1-2
HW: Thinking question (How does his death connect with 1984's depiction of Ogilvy?)

Wednesday November 20th
Minutes: Liting, Caroline
Reading HW: "The Good Cook"
HW: How does modern day N. Korea relate to Oceania?  Note five particular details within your reading and establish a connection to 1984.

Thursday November 21st
Minutes: Jason, Matthew
Reading HW: Read through Book II Ch. V
HW: How do Julia and Winston utilize sexuality as a tool against authority?  How can sexuality be used as a tool against authority in our society?

Friday November 22nd
Minutes: N/A, Sam S.
Reading HW: N/A
HW: N/A

Monday November 25th
Minutes: Claire, Anthony
Reading HW: Book II VI-VIII
HW: N/A

E.C. Juniors - They Loved Your GPA, Then They Saw Your Tweets

Please read the following NYTimes Business Day article "They Loved Your GPA, Then They Saw Your Tweets".  Engage the article in a discussion about its argument and the role of social media in your life.  Is it fair for colleges to consider one's Facebook page or Twitter account as complements to a college application?  Is this an invasion of privacy or should we be more careful what we post on the internet?  If this is certainly a growing trend, could colleges gain access to our multiple screen names and avatars?  Would you like an admissions counselor trolling through your Reddit up posts?  Engage the article by referring to specific quotes, read each other's posts, and refer to one another in your responses.  Feel free to bring in outside resources (links provide of course) and let's discuss!

E.C. - Seniors - Anti - Rape Clothing

Please visit AR Wear's indiegogo website and do a little bit of research.  Find out what exactly this product is and how it works.  After doing so, visit Feministing.org's criticism of this product.  Be sure to read the comments in response to the post.

Do you think AR Wear is a good idea?  Would you feel more safe wearing this clothing?  What problems does this kind of clothing present?   Is a woman who doesn't wear AR Wear "asking for it"?  Be sure to engage not only the source material and some of its critique (and praise) but be sure to read each other's comments and openly debate the use/need for this kind of product in our world.

E.C. - Freshmen - Do Schools Kill Creativity?

In response to "Harrison Bergeron", our class asked if our society marginalizes our individuality for the sake of "equality".  Well, let's explore a familar realm and decide if we are somehow taught to limit our creativity to achieve uniformity.

Please watch the following TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson entitled "Do Schools Kill Creativity?"  Here is a transcript for the speech.

Your job is to assess Robinson's argument.  You have spent a massive portion of your life in school and so you are perfectly capable of weighing in on Robinson's ideas using your own experience as evidence.  How does Robinson establish his point?  Have you ever attend a class that stifled your sense of creativity?  How do academic institution teach young people to become servile, complacent automatons?  Or is your experience different?  When have you been encouraged to express your creative, individualistic side?  Do you feel as if you are free to explore your interests?

Let's not only analyze Robinson's ideas, but each others.  Read your fellow commenters' words and chime in.  Add a link to a releveant article and we'll respond.  Get started!

Work for the Week of Nov 12th - Freshmen

Tuesday Nov. 11th
VETERAN'S DAY - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday Nov. 12th
Minutes: Kelly, Xin Yi
Reading HW: Ch. 1-2 1984
HW: Identify unknown terms.  We'll discuss these terms in class.

Wednesday Nov. 13th
Minutes: Ming, Sam
Reading HW: Ch. 3-4 1984
HW: N/A

Thursday Nov. 14th
Minutes: Lucy, Kaitlin
Reading HW: Ch. 4-5 1984
HW: How can manipulating a language be used as a form of control?  Think about it!

Friday Nov. 15th
Minutes: Charles, Hannah
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Workshopping day!

Monday Nov. 18th
Minutes: Maddie, Jessy

Reading HW: Finish book one.
HW: Perfect Paragraph and a thesis paper due.

Work for the Week of Nov. 12th - Seniors

Monday Nov. 11th
VETERAN'S DAY - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday Nov. 12th
Minutes: Aron
Reading HW: Handmaid's Tale 255
HW: Has Moira fallen farther?  Is she more broken? Is it better to know what’s going on, for real? Does knowledge lead to hope? Does Offred sell out?

Wednesday Nov. 13th
Minutes: Jesse
Reading HW: Slow Poison packet.
HW: Is wearing a veil a form of disempowerment?  Is a burka a form of disempowerment?  Why do women wear veils/burkas?

Thursday Nov. 14th
Minutes:
Reading HW: Handmaid's Tale 295
HW: Please select a quote from your rumination assignment.

Friday Nov. 15th
Minutes: Kaitlyn
Reading HW: Historical Notes
HW: Mine for quotes for your latest assignment!

Monday Nov. 18th
Minutes: Marvin

Reading HW: Read this New Yorker piece.  It's long!
HW: Have a quote for your rumination paper or face the consequences!

Work for the Week of Nov. 12th - Juniors

Monday Nov. 11th
VETERAN'S DAY - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday Nov. 12th
Minutes: Kenny, Corrin
Reading HW: Read to Ch. 36
HW: Review your writing assignment for this book.

Wednesday Nov. 13th
Minutes: Marco, Erik
Reading HW: Read to Ch. 40
HW: Review your writing assignment for this book.

Thursday Nov. 14th
Minutes: Paul, Mcvvina
Reading HW: Finish the book.
HW: Review your writing assignment for this book.

Friday Nov. 15th
Minutes: Aaron, Noah
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Draft Day!

Monday Nov. 18th
Minutes: Sam, Kim

Reading HW:
HW: Draft Day!

Work for the Week of Nov. 4th - Juniors

Monday Nov. 4th
Minutes: Nathaniel, N/A
Reading HW: Huck pg. 90
HW:

Tuesday Nov. 5th
ELECTION DAY - NO SCHOOL

Wednesday Nov. 6th
Minutes: Patrick M., Jarek
Reading HW: Read to Ch. 21
HW: The Grangerfords and Sheperdsons hypocritical peoples.  Show how their values often contradict their actions.  Write up a single page exposition using quotations to support how each family can be viewed as hypocritical.  How might Twain be satirizing the Civil War through these two families?

Thursday Nov. 7th
Minutes: Victor, Patrick L.
Reading HW:  N.A.
HW: Consider the comments on your rewrites and let's schedule a meet up.

Friday Nov. 8th
Minutes: Adam A., Douglas
Reading HW: Read to Ch. 26
HW:

Monday Nov. 11th
VETERAN'S DAY - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday Nov. 12th
Minutes: Kenny, Corrin
Reading HW:  Read to Ch. 30
HW:

Work for the Week of Nov 4th - Seniors

Monday Nov. 4th
Minutes: Gurleen
Reading HW: Read to pg. 140 in Handmaid's Tale
HW: (Thinking question) What is character foil?

Tuesday Nov. 5th
ELECTION DAY - NO SCHOOL

Wednesday Nov. 6th
Minutes: Crystal Lau
Reading HW: Read Feminism packet. (sorry no Women's Wednesday today).
HW: Before reading the packet, answer the following question.  Are you a feminist?  Why or why not?  After reading the packet, I'd like you to reflect upon how this reading differs from your/your friends'/your peers'/your parents' perceptions of feminism.

Thursday Nov. 7th
Minutes: ?
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Survey five people, friends, family members or classmates.  What is each's definition of feminism?  Are they feminists?  Why or why not?  Show the interviewee a strong definition of feminism from your previous night's reading and gauge his/her reaction.

Friday Nov. 8th
Minutes: Alex
Reading HW: Read to pg. 188
HW: Review the ceremony scene on pg. 91? and compare the power dynamics from that scene to Offred's current relationship with her commander.

Monday Nov. 11th
VETERAN'S DAY - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday Nov. 12th
Minutes:
Reading HW: Read to pg. 255
HW: Who is better off?  Moira or Offred?

Work for the Week of Nov 4th - Freshmen

Monday Nov. 4th
Minutes: Bayle, N/A
Reading HW: Review the Purdue OWL's explanation of your selected punctuation mark.
HW: Mark that paper up!  Highlight, underline, and circle central ideas that help you best understand the nature of this punctuation mark.

Tuesday Nov. 5th
ELECTION DAY - NO SCHOOL

Wednesday Nov. 6th
Minutes: Courtney, Nancy
Reading HW: Read this successful punctuation assignment for some inspiration.
HW: Latest draft of your punctuation assignment (assignment found here).

Thursday Nov. 7th
Minutes: N/A, Pazit
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Final draft of punctuation assignment due.

Friday Nov. 8th
Minutes: Daniel S., Tasnia
Reading HW:  Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron and MLK's "I Have a Dream Speech"
HW: How does each author present equality?  What is the intended absurdity of Vonnegut's work?  What message is Vonnegut perhaps attempting to depict?

Monday Nov. 11th
VETERAN'S DAY - NO SCHOOL

Tuesday Nov. 12th
Minutes: Kelly, Xin Yi
Reading HW: Ch. 1-2 1984
HW: What are some unfamiliar terms being used in this book?  What do you think each term may mean?  We'll try to understand these terms in class.