Class Agenda 10.27

1. Go over essay one
2. Look at blog assignment for this week
3. Caesar's Column partner work: identify group you want to be part of, enter it, select key passage for discussion
4. Blog Roll
5. Looking at the novel as a whole: how does this intersect with issues we considered for essay 1 and for the previous riot readings? How does this connect with The Destruction of Gotham?

Blog #5

Connect two different passages from Caesar's Column to one of the themes we discussed in class. Discuss what the passages mean individually, and then how the passages relate to one another. Conclude by stating a claim about the theme overall.

Essay assignment two

Due Date:

Peer Review: 

Assignment Goal: Create a thesis-driven essay that explains the significance of a thematic pattern you find operating in both novels we've read so far.

Assignment Description: Look to the novels and re-read the key passages and your notes. Go back to class discussion. Find a theme, or two closely related themes, operating in both novels. Create an essay that explores the meaning of this theme using evidence from the novels.

Your thesis will very likely contain a set of ideas, or one big idea, that you see standing behind the theme(s). For example, someone might be able to see how the ideas of 'mushroom civilization' from the Destruction of Gotham also appear in Caesar's Column. Then you might begin to argue in your thesis that both writers locate the origins of social violence in urban blight, or neighborhoods of poverty. In this thesis, urban blight would be your key term. You would then identify moments from both texts that support this reading, while using critical thinking in each support paragraph to elaborate or contest elements of the theme (that is, you can 'extend' the thinking of the author to make historical connections, or inter-textual connections, but you could also 'take issue' with elements of the theme to note limitations or contradictions in its logic).

Please see our class discussions and notes for reference, and use your blogs and discussions to 'test' your ideas.

Passages for Group Discussion and Writing Activity from Caesar's Column

To the public (4)

man is a drug (17)

dead men's bones (29)

the demands of science (33)

where virtue breaks (38)

volcanic explosions (50)

public school system (53)

caste bigotry (54)

desperate to pull down the temple (55)

Close-reading and Critical Thinking Breakdown

Breaking down literary interpretation into steps

Purpose: Producing ‘Critical Thinking’ in a college-level paragraph comes naturally for some, but can cause anxiety for others. It’s a good idea for everyone to feel confident about how to ‘unpack’ (or ‘close-read’) a passage from a literary text. Let’s review the steps we practiced last week. The following steps work for discussion, but it’s even more important we begin to write sentences that correspond to them. Note: the Basic Examples below are just ‘templates,’ or models. Feel free use your own language to accomplish the same step.

Step one: Identify a word or phrase in the text we find interesting, exciting, revealing, or worth contemplating.

Activity: In a sentence, draw the reader’s attention to the phase using direct quotes and MLA citation.

Basic Example: One important moment in the text occurs when _____ writes, “_______” (author’s last name [space] page number).

Step two: Discuss the word or phrase by explaining to your reader what it literally means in the text. This may require you to paraphrase the basic idea about the word or phrase.

Activity: In a sentence or two, paraphrase the basic idea behind the word or phrase, as if a reader might now anything about its meaning.

Basic Example: In this passage, ______ is trying to say ______. [And/Or] In this passage, the idea of “_____” stands out because __________. [You may want simply call attention the language itself here, and attempt simply to define it.]

Step three: Discuss the passage in the larger context of novel’s action, plot, and character.

Activity: In a sentence or two, explain how the idea of “____” is supposed to function at that particular point in the story. Why do you think the idea of “___” comes up at the moment? What does it reveal about that moment in the novel’s action? What perspective does it give us on the larger story of the novel, or on the character in question? How does the idea or language ‘mark’ this as a special moment in the story?

Basic Example: This passage is important to the novel’s plot because ____. This passage is important because it reveals ________ about [character, plot, action, point of view]. This passage is instructive because it shows ___________.

Step four: Discuss the ‘deeper’ meaning or ultimate significance of the passage.

Activity: In as many sentences as necessary, explain why this passage is meaningful. You may want to continue expanding on an idea raised in steps 1-3. You may want to connect the passage to an overall ‘thematic pattern’ in the novel. You may, too, want to explain how the passage fits into previous and on-going class themes and discussions, such as ‘moral authority,’ ‘violence,’ or ‘class conflict.’ You may also connect the passage to your own ‘big ideas.’ This is a chance to ‘play’ intellectually and have fun with thinking.

Basic Example: This passage is ultimately significant because ______. The idea of “____” matters because it reveals _______ about how and why American violence occurred at this time in history. The notion of “______” connects to ____, and shows us that ______. The author is trying to convey the importance of “____” to show readers that _____.

Class Agenda 10.20

1. Class Announcements: Guest in class, be yourself.
2. Caesar's Column Writing Activity.
3. Essay Assignment Two
4. Merging your blogs and notes into supporting paragraphs/thesis for Essay Assignment Two
5. Reading Habits/Skills/Reflections

Note: Observer in class Monday

Hi all - there will be an observer in class Monday. Please try to arrive on time. Otherwise, be yourselves!