. . . ‘an men / Gang [na] agley.

I’ve uploaded several journal articles to the folder in Google Docs. Read over a few ((You’ll be using several in your analysis, so any work you do tonight can go towards that.)) —during class tomorrow you will choose one to present later in the week.

Here is the plan (with dates!).

Tonight:

1. Wrap up your reading of Maus.
2. Skim through the articles in the Docs folder, choosing a few that look interesting (for your group’s discussion and your own research).
3. If you’ve already finished Maus, begin work on your analysis by reading one or two of the articles and working on your hypothesis.

Tomorrow (Wednesday 23rd):

1. Read and discuss the articles you skimmed (or read) last night.
2. Choose one article to read thoroughly and present to the class. You may run your presentation as you wish, but your goal should be to help your audience understand the article (they will have read it the night before) and the place of the argument in the context of our discussion of the work. You will need to cover the following:
   1. The author’s thesis
   2. Clarification and examples of any major points
   3. Examples of the author’s argument in areas of the text not explicitly mentioned in the article (I will have a copy of Maus that you can project, if you wish)
   4. Questions and comments for class discussion.
3. Write a synopsis (individually) of the article to be turned in the day you present.
4. At the end of the hour I will let you know which group will be presenting on Thursday.

Thursday 24th–Wednesday 30th:

1. If your group is presenting, you will have the full period. You may wish to divide the major points in the article among the members of your group, then come together for comments and discussion, but it is up to you.
2. If you are not presenting, read the article the night before and come to class with a copy. Be prepared to ask questions about the work (for clarification) and comment if necessary (in support or rebuttal).
3. All should take notes with the development of your thesis in mind, asking questions of the class if you are having difficulty with its formulation or support.
4. In the evenings you should be reading the article to be presented the next day (or skimming it if you’ve already read it) and working on the outline of your analysis. Let me know when you have finished the outline (shared through the Docs); I’ll give you feedback before you begin your rough draft.

Thursday 31st:

1. Come to class with a rough draft and works cited for your own analysis. (Google docs is fine.)
2. You will have all hour to work on it in the lab; if you finish, you should trade with another for editing and support.

Friday 1st:

1. We will discuss the analyses and reflect on the process, planning for further investigation of the medium in the weeks to come.

Whew.

That may have been overly specific, but I hope it clears up any questions you may have about our process. Let me know if you have any further questions.

[A copy of this is also in the communal folder in Google Docs.]

Are full of passionate intensity. ((Full text.))

So. Okonkwo’s story is reduced to a “reasonable paragraph.” It is a tough story, but perhaps a few questions remain:

• In what way did Okonkwo (by the standards of his society, by his own standards, by the standards of the colonizers) bring about his own fall?
• In what way was he driven to it by events outside his control?
• Can you imagine a way he could have prevented it and maintained his standard of living?
• (Tough question:) What do you think of his final decision?
• We discussed several similar situations in class today. What can this fictional account of historical events tell us about the interactions between societies?
• In what ways are societies like an individual? How does this concept of “identity” play out at the national scale?

More questions to come, I’m sure. Please add your own (or any answers) in class or in the comments below.

We will wrap up our discussion of this novel officially tomorrow, but will continue to come back to it throughout the year. Our next work is Oedipus, which we will follow with The Stranger.

Your midterm paper will follow the same writing process we used your junior year (compilation of patterns and ideas from your journals, organization into outlines, peer review, presentation, rough drafts, peer review and one-on one with me, final drafts. You will be required to pull from multiple works (those read in class and others you discover on your own; check the syllabus for ideas) in presenting your ideas on the development of identity. Keep this in mind as you continue to read and journal. We’ll discuss the patterns you are finding during class discussions and when I check your journals.

Here’s the plan we worked out in class today. Tuesday will give us a chance to take more time in discussing the articles on Monday, or provide me with more time to explain concepts and such. All of this is subject to change with prior notice.

Here’s a copy of the “Formatting Your Paper” handout I mentioned in class. If you notice anything that is misleading or incorrect, let me know.

Just a reminder based on what we discussed in class today:

You have until tomorrow to get in those long-overdue assignments and such.

Quick answer to that one.

So, we discussed allusions in class today. I was happy to see the broad range that you guys came up with. Maybe we ought to come up with a way to catalogue them all? We’ll talk about that tomorrow.

If you didn’t have anything to contribute, don’t worry too much. There will be plenty of time to make up the points, but do keep your eyes open. One of the goals for this semester is for us to see how deeply these stories have impacted everything that came after. Use your journals, and if you can grab a picture or bring in a file or web address, that would be great.

We’ll be discussing the end of Book V tomorrow. Make sure your journals are up to date!