E.C. - Seniors - AR Wear and Hollaback

We left our class wondering, what are we to do in the face of street harassment and violence against women?  And so I put the question to you ladies and gentlemen.  Should we be proactive in our society, prevent such abuses from happening, or are we to be reactive and look for solutions to combat such attacks?

I'd like you to explore the Hollaback! website as well as the AR-Wear video and discuss the function of each tool.  Are these means effective?  How do these tools help or hinder the fight for safety of our citizens?  Be bold, ask questions, make declarations, introduce links to valid sources, and most important, respond to one another in your comments.  Let's have a respectful debate about this.

AR-Wear Video
Hollaback!

Work for the Week of February 24th - Seniors

Monday February 24th
Minutes: Christine C.
Reading HW: Complete the first part of the HW below, then  watch the Bechdel Test.
HW: Name ten movies that you love.  After watching the video, determine if these videos pass the Bechdel test.  Consider the implications of the Bechdel Test and how such consumption of media can affect our perceptions of gender.

Also, here's a great AVClub article about popular occupations for female characters in Romantic Comedies.

Tuesday February 25th
Minutes: Josephine
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Draft Day!  Please have a completed draft of you image analysis assignment.

Wednesday February 26th
Minutes: Julie C.
Reading HW: Please watch "Tropes vs Women Damsel in Distress pt. 1",
HW: What does Sarkeesian propose about the roles of women in various video games?  Are you a gamer?  How does the gaming community treat women?  How can we explain this vitriol?

Also, we will be exploring the following website in class.  It reveals some gamers' reactions to female players.  BE ADVISED, THIS WEBSITE DOES CONTAIN GRAPHIC SEXUALIZED LANGUAGE.

Thursday February 27th
Minutes: Ashley L.
Reading HW:
HW: Image Analysis Due.

Friday February 28th
Minutes: Malik
Reading HW: Begin Handmaid's Tale.  Read through chapter six.
HW:

Monday March 3rd
Minutes: John W.
Reading HW: Handmaid's Tale.  Read through chapter twelve.
HW:

Work for the Week of February 24th - Juniors

Monday February 24th
Minutes: Weihou, Lan La
Reading HW: Finish Death of a Salesman
HW: N/A

Tuesday February 25th
Minutes: Emily, Jacky C.
Reading HW: Please read Eudora Welty's short story "Death of a Travelling Salesman"
HW: Find five common traits between this short story and Death of a Salesman.  How did this short story influence Arthur Miller?

Wednesday February 26th
Minutes: Tina N., Kenny
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Suppose the following situation to be true.  Only 10 people can pass my class.  How would you ensure that you passed?  What would you do?

Thursday February 27th
Minutes: Fish, Mohammad
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Based upon our viewing of Glengarry, Glen Ross, what would you do if you were a worker at this real estate agency?  How would you cope with this level of competition?

Friday February 28th
Minutes: Dionis, Yusuf
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Draft Day!

Monday March 3rd
Minutes:
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Paper due.

Work for the Week of February 24th - Freshmen

Monday February 24th
Minutes: Rozi, Gianluca
Reading HW: N/A
HW: N/A

Tuesday February 25th
Minutes: Courtney, Jaime
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Draft Day!  Please have a completed draft of your rumination paper

Wednesday February 26th
Minutes: Jessy, Cassandra
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Rumination paper due.

Thursday February 27th
Minutes: Daniel S., Anthony
Reading HW: Read "Bike Ride With Older Boys" and "A Birthday Candle"
HW: What common theme do these pieces share?  What choices does each author make to establish this theme?  Be sure to print up these poems and make some strong observations about each poem.

Friday February 28th
Minutes: Eileen, Alex
Reading HW: "The Sky Was" by e.e. Cummings
HW: Print up this poem.  Why does Cummings utilize such a weird structure?  How are we meant to read this piece?  What choices does he make and why?

Monday March 3rd
Minutes Andrew
Reading HW: "My Boyfriend Came Back From the War"
HW: Is this a poem?  What conventions does this piece seem to break?  To what effect?  What observations can you make about this piece?

E.C., Create a shape poem based upon an animal.  Print and bring in for Monday.

E.C. - Seniors - The Disney Question

In response to our discussion in class today, I'd like us to continue to explore if Disney films, perhaps, teach children subliminal lessons about gender.  I've attached a video I was going to show in class about Beauty and the Beast and encourage you to introduce videos and images to our discussion as a means of further exploring this topic.

Be sure to read your fellow students' comments before posting and engage one another in debate.  Let's be professional, let's not be personal, and let's try to see what kind of impact these films might have.

Also, I'd like to ask, is it possible that we defend Disney films because of its role in our childhood (for some of us) as high nostalgia?

I await your responses and will chime in as the discussion progresses.

Video Link (watch up to 3:43)
Another Video Link (some college student project but there's some interesting ideas in it)

Work for the Week of February 10th, 2014 - Seniors

Monday February 10th
Minutes: Bilal
Reading HW:
HW: Over the weekend, I'd like you to visit Toys R Us (preferably) or a local toy store.  How are toys marketed towards young men and women?  Also, bring in a childhood toy of yours if available.

Tuesday February 11th
Minutes: Cindy C.
Reading HW: N/A
HW: What's your favorite Disney movie?  What lessons does this movie teach little boys and little girls about gender?  We'll be discussing Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Snow White, and Cinderella in class.

Wednesday February 12th
Minutes: Ruihan
Reading HW: N/A
HW: Submit 3 advertisements from current magazines (can be images you find online): one inspiring, one
disturbing, one with a man and woman in it together.  Please submit online images in the comments section of this blog, I will use these images for a slideshow.  We are beginning our image analysis assignment.  Image analysis will be due February Wednesday 26th

Thursday February 13th
Minutes: Karen L.
Reading HW: Reading packet.
HW: Work on your draft.

Friday February 14th
Minutes: Jacky L.
Reading HW:
HW: Draft of image analysis.

February Break! Monday February 17th - Sunday February 23rd.

Monday February 21st
Minutes: Christine C.
Reading HW: Complete the first part of the HW below, then  watch the Bechdel Test.
HW: Name ten movies that you love.  After watching the video, determine if these videos pass the Bechdel test.  Consider the implications of the Bechdel Test and how such consumption of media can affect our perceptions of gender.

Also, here's a great AVClub article about popular occupations for female characters in Romantic Comedies.

Work for the Week of February 10th, 2014 - Juniors

HERE'S A LINK TO YOUR DEATH OF A SALESMAN PAPER

Monday February 10th
Minutes: Wilson, Farzana
Reading HW: Read to page 53 and stop when Biff starts talking.
HW: How has your view of your parent/s changed as you've become older?  Did you deify your parents?  Do you consider to do so?  What has changed?  How do you see your parents as regular people?

Tuesday February 11th
Minutes: Harrison, Patrick
Reading HW: Finish Act One
HW: How would you characterize Linda?  How does Miller write his female character?  Do you pity her?  Empathize with her?  Chastise her?  Please use evidence to support your point.

Wednesday February 12th
Minutes: Abrar, Han
Reading HW: Research potential schools you might want to attend.
HW: Please prepare questions for the college office advisers who will be visiting out class today.

Thursday February 13th
Minutes: Dimitri, Brian
Reading HW: Read to page 87.
HW: Due Friday, respond to the following prompt: Miller believes that the American Dream is dead.  Is this statement true or false?  Perhaps this statement is somewhat misguided?  Using evidence from the text, respond to this statement.

Friday February 14th
Minutes: Darren, Tashfiq
Reading HW: Read to page 116.
HW: Respond to the following prompt: Miller believes that the American Dream is dead.  Is this statement true or false?  Perhaps this statement is somewhat misguided?  Using evidence from the text, respond to this statement.

February Break! Monday February 17th - Sunday February 23rd.

Monday February 21st
Minutes: Weihou, Lan La
Reading HW: Finish Death of a Salesman
HW: N/A

Work for the Week of February 10th, 2014 - Freshmen

HERE IS A COPY OF ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST FOR REWRITES.

Monday February 10th
Minutes: N/A, Hannah
Reading HW: Read to page 99.  And read the following PDF about writing.
HW: N/A

Tuesday February 11th
Minutes: Felix, Claudia
Reading HW:
HW: Please write a paragraph or two explaining some major issues in your writing and what particular changes you would make to your OFOTCN paper to improve it.  DO NOT SIMPLY REGURGITATE MY COMMENTS.  Expand on my comments and introduce your own ideas.  Affix this paragraph to your original OFOTCN paper.  ALSO, Bring in a folder that you will keep in class.

Wednesday February 12th
Minutes: Maddie, Alex
Reading HW: Read to page 140
HW: N/A

Thursday February 13th
Minutes: Jason, Charles
Reading HW:  Read to page 179.
HW: Begin draft for rumination assignment due February 25th.

Friday February 14th
Minutes: Tasnia, Pazit
Reading HW: Finish the novel.
HW: Continue working on rumination paper.

February Break! Monday February 17th - Sunday February 23rd.

Monday February 24th
Minutes: Rozi, Gianluca
Reading HW: N/A
HW: N/A

Homework - The Week of February 4th, 2014

Freshmen
due Thursday February 6th
HW: Read to page 32.
Find 5 metaphors and explain their definition as an expression and then explain them literally.  This will help us udnerstand how our protagonist sees metaphors as lies as discussed on pages 14-15.

Example: "Beating a dead horse" figuratively means to continue an argument that has ended or come to a close.  Literally, to beat a dead horse is to take a stick and to hit a horse corpse with a club over and over again.

due Friday February 7th
HW: Read to page 62.

due Monday February 10th
HW: Read to page 99.  And read the following PDF about writing.



Juniors
due Thursday February 6th
Read to page 27 of Death of a Salesman.  Please annotate 5 references to competition by indicating the page number, a short three/four word excerpt of your quote, and a short explanation of the quotes connection to our theme of competition.

due Friday February 7th
HW: Students should identify which character they identify with the most and why.  Students should find a moment in our reading, focusing on a particular quote, that reflects how and why they empathize with Willy or Biff or Happy or Bernard or any of our other characters.

due Monday February 10th
HW: Read to page 53 and stop when Biff starts talking.
How has your view of your parent/s changed as you've become older?  Did you deify your parents?  Do you consider to do so?  What has changed?  How do you see your parents as regular people?

Seniors
due Thursday February 6th
HW: Find two print advertisements related to gender.  Bring them into class.  Be prepared to discuss what message these images convey to a male/female audience.

due Friday February 7th
HW: Please read the following articles about gender in advertising:
-What's Wrong With Cinderella?
-Girls Say No to Photoshop
-Middle School Girls Gone Wild
-Sexy Little Girls

After reading these articles, select ONE, print it, and annotate it highlighting points of interest.

IF you are having trouble accessing these files via dropbox, please email me and let me know, I'll send them to you directly.

due Monday February 10th
Over the weekend, I'd like you to visit Toys R Us (preferably) or a local toy store.  How are toys marketed towards young men and women?  Also, bring in a childhood toy of yours if available.

Welcome!

Welcome juniors and seniors!  Take a moment to explore some of my blog's past posts for some idea of how this blog works.  Mostly, this webpage will function as a kind of dashboard for our class, listing homework assignments, minutes, and pertinent links to documents and videos.

Juniors - Remember, for tomorrow Wednesday 2/5/13, you will write 6-8 sentences defining the term "competition" through an American lens.