Your assignment for this weekend is to write your own modest proposal in the style of Swift’s . . . erm, “Modest Proposal.” I want sarcasm; I want irony; I want scathing, acerbic wit. I do not want BS. Think about your topic. It can be whatever you like; I know you all hate it when I say that, but this should be a personal reflection.

Requirements:
500 word minimum, 750 word maximum.
Typed, double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman, 1 inch margins, header, and a really good title.
No obscenities or profanity (we will be sharing them in class).
Have fun. Really. Do it.

As always, post your questions for the good of the community.

Also, if you would like to know your current grade in the class, please let me know. We have around 16 days in class (by my shaky count) before the end of this semester. Email me, don’t jump me en masse in class. (Careful, poet.)

Also also, I have regained contact with my friend from the local elementary school. I will pick up your pen pal letters this Wednesday, which means we will begin writing the Monday after next (the 22nd). This will be extra credit, but not much. This is more in the vein of “let’s do our part to help the littluns of our community.”

Edit (Also also also): Somehow I forgot about the test tomorrow. Your proposals will be due Tuesday in place of the article analysis. Some of your grades are suffering because you aren’t turning in your analyses, so if you fall into this category you may turn in one (or more) on Tuesday to replace missed assignments. This assignment is worth 50 points. If you did not turn in the 9 questions over “Letter . . .” (also worth 50 points), do so.

Here are the links to the articles for each group:

• Hamm, Doakes, Brown, Wilburn: Doc 1
• Prieto, Beatty, Brewer, Little: Doc 2
• Sparks, Owen, Burrows, Von Moses: Doc 3
• Dickens, Bryant, Kay: Doc 4

If your name is not listed, please choose an article.

Answer these questions over “LfBJ” by tomorrow:

1. What are King’s reasons for being in Birmingham?

2. How does King answer to the charge of being an outsider?

3. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.” What does this mean for individuals who have ignored the issues of Birmingham? What does this mean today for each of us living in the United States?

4. What are the four basic steps of nonviolent direct action? For each of the steps state the example in Birmingham. Can you think of another example of nonviolent protest which followed these steps?

5. Look over paragraphs 7-9. Why did King and others decide to delay their actions?

6. In paragraph 10, what does King mean by “constructive, nonviolent tension” and how does he define its goal?

7. Paragraph 13 is one of King’s most well-known statements. Choose an historical example which illustrates the point that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

8. Choose three injustices from paragraph 14 to compare to the Bill of Rights and/or the UDHR.

9. In paragraphs 15-17, King describes two types of law. How does he define each? Can you give other examples of unjust laws today?

We will be continuing our discussion of Civil Disobedience and nonviolent protest tomorrow, using the current situation in Burma (Union of Myanmar). Check the article listing on this site for a few I’ve looked over, or check out the Burma Newsladder for more stories.

Choose an article from one of these sources to discuss tomorrow. If your article is persuasive in intent, analyze the rhetoric:

• What is the intended argument?
• How is it presented?
• Give examples.
• Write a reaction of its effectiveness.

If your article is informative, focus on the events.

• Why are there protests?
• What are the protesters trying to change/accomplish?
• How are the protests undertaken?
• Give examples.
• Are the measures being taken by the protesters effective?
• How could/should they be protesting?

Also, answer the two questions from the board. Correct me if I’m wrong:

• When/where was “Letter from Birmingham Jail” first published? What was the impact?
• Who objected to the question of whether the leaders of Project C should ask people to give up their lives for the cause?

We will begin the Civil Rights Unit on Monday. This weekend, research your assigned role (and read over the handouts) for the role play exercise. Consider the following:

• Why did the group (and your person specifically) choose to act the way they did?
• Was the project successful?
  • If not, how could it have been?
  • If so, why?
• Print any important material on your person to share with the class.

Begin reading Thoreau’s “On Civil Disobedience.” Print it out, and begin annotating as we have been doing with King’s letter. Keep in mind the following:

• Why did Thoreau write this piece?
• What is “civil disobedience”?
• Who is his intended audience?
• What are his main points?

  And, as always,

• Highlight his uses of ethos, pathos, and logos
• Mark any T-DIDLS passages that you recognize

Here is an excellent resource on King. It is an interactive timeline of his life. It includes speeches (audio and text; listen to the audio sections to help you understand what made him such an inspiring speaker) and a few of his writings. Another, from the same group, is an encyclopedia of his life and the events surrounding the movement.

If you were unable to annotate your copy of “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” please do so tonight. On a similar topic, here is an opinion piece on the “Jena Six” by Steve Coll, published in The New Yorker.

Missed an article recently? Here’s your chance to make it up:
For extra credit (10 pts), contrast the style (T-DIDLS) of the above article and this one by Richard G. Jones from The New York Times. Keep in mind the objective of each (to persuade and to inform) and their context.

You have one week. You may use these articles for discussion or extra credit, not both.