I passed out a number of articles in class today, most pertaining to religion in schools. If you snagged one, read over it. Our goal in this section is to gain a solid understanding of this issue. By the end, we should all have a solid understanding of the nuances of this issue, the rationale behind many sides of the argument, and a much clearer view of our own opinions. Simply, in a few weeks we all should be able to hold an intelligent conversation about religion’s place in the public school system.

As with all of our discussions, we are not striving for consensus ((Remember “groupthink” from psychology? If not, ask your teacher.)), nor are we looking to establish a two-sided, pro/con debate; this is a complex issue ((Overview from ReligiousTolerance.org)) ((Overview from Pew Forum)), and I expect each of you to do enough research so you can thoughtfully contribute to our discussions. This means some independent study: confine your article analyses ((Here’s a non-argumentative article about headscarves in Belgium schools. While our focus will be on the American system, this is a very recent addition to the debate.)) to this subject, talk with family members, religious leaders, teachers, and such about their thoughts, read up on important court cases ((Scopes Trial)) ((Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District)), etc.

We will continue our discussion of rhetorical devices, logical arguments and fallacies, and appeals throughout this session.

If you come across any resources, please post them below or print them out. Bring all information to class; share the wealth!

You can catch up on your reading here.

Our main goal with this play is to gain a better understanding of Shakespearean language, snag a few allusions, and take an in-depth look into the motivations of each character. The first two are happy side-effects of the last. There are two questions we should keep in mind as we watch:

1. At what point does Hamlet’s sanity become questionable?

2. Why doesn’t Hamlet kill Claudius right away?

Of course, as with all questions worth asking, our initial attempts will raise more questions than answers, and will become more complex as we look deeper into the story. This is a good thing.

We’ll have a quick quiz tomorrow over the action so far. This will do several things for us:

• Help me see how you are understanding the story as individuals.
• Help you organize your thoughts about the play so far (you may use your notes; this quiz could be a good resource for you when you begin writing—a very rough draft of sorts).
• Help me check on how your writing is progressing. (Hint: it will not be fill-in-the-blank.)
• Help you decide whether the in-class discussions are sufficient for you to understand the play. You may decide to track down a copy to study from on your own (we have a few in the classroom, or you can use the link at the top of this post) if you have trouble answering the questions.

If you are before “L” in the alphabet, we’ll be discussing your article analyses in class on Tuesday. “M” to the end will be on Thursday. If you have any questions, or need help finding an article, check out my previous post then send an email. On Monday we’ll continue our discussion of the article we read on Friday.

If you want to get a jump on the weekend reading, head to Jonathan Lethem’s article at Harper’s.com. We’ll discuss it Monday, pulling from The Pirate’s Dilemma and your own experiences in writing/creating art/stealing music/plagiarism.

P.S. Be sure to check out his "Works Cited" at the bottom.

To the individual journeying into the underbelly of the world’s stories:

How is the search coming? I have been unable to consume anything without coming across various incarnations of the Trickster or Damsel; I found myself watching an odd mixture of Princess, Anti-hero, and Warrior yesterday (rhymes with Muffy the Mampire Slayer). They seem to be everywhere.

They’re even in my dreams.

I wonder if you haven’t found yourself in a similar situation? If so, perhaps writing them down, getting them out of your head would be the best course of action. They can’t surround you if they’re trapped on the page—right?

We should meet tomorrow and trade advice. Perhaps there is some essential understanding we can gain from one another. I have around 25 on my page so far, but they just keep coming. I keep my list in the freezer; it’s safer that way.

To tell you the truth, I’m a bit apprehensive of Thursday. You and your co-conspirators will be parading your archetypes for all to see, all drawn up and…listy.  There should be hundreds all together.

Best of luck in your search,

Stallings

P.S. Keep in touch.

JS