Response Paper #4
Poems by Ha Jin (course site)
OPTION ONE: Pick one of the poems and rewrite it—make your own poem by writing between the lines of Ha Jin’s poem.
OPTION TWO: Pick one of Ha Jin’s poem and perform a close reading of it—this means thinking about what every single word might mean.
DUE: Thursday, October 27 (1-2 pages typed)
Response Paper #3
Pratt, “Arts of the Contact Zone” (course site)
King, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” (80 Readings, p. 245)
OPTION 1:
What is a letter? Why do you write letters? What does a letter, as a written form, enable an author to incorporate or accomplish that other genres of writing do not?
For this response, I would like for you to write a letter. This letter should be persuasive and should respond to one particular question that King imagines his reader might ask. For example, “Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches, and so forth? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” (248)
Make sure that your letter has ample evidence to prove your answers. Make sure that your letter is addressed to someone and that you sign your name.
OPTION 2:
Mary Louise Pratt defines a “contact zone” as “social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power.” For this response, begin by considering whether “contact zones” are positive or negative. Do you see any “contact zones” at play in King’s letter? If so, pick one and analyze it. What is the “contact zone”? What situations does it cause? What reactions does it spark?
DUE: Thursday, October 20 (1-2 pages typed)
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Reading Response to Foer (posts due 9/20 and 9/22 before class)
A reading response can be any number of things–think of it as a way to share the ideas and associations you have while reading (or rereading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close). Try to use at least one image per post, and at least one link.
More formally, reader response is a school of literary criticism that believes that the reader or audiences is entitled to make a judgement, claim, or evaluation of what a text is doing. So, you’re all swag scholars and critics–take this book on!
Response Paper #2
Emerson, “Self-Reliance” (course site)
OPTION 1:
How would you define what Emerson refers to as “Self-Reliance?”
Select your favorite passage from the text and do a “close reading” of it. This means that you need to think carefully about what each word Emerson uses is doing. Think about the style of his writing and how he “develops and shapes” his ideas. Remember, you need to quote Emerson, analyze his words—do not just summarize and repeat what he says in the text.
OPTION 2:
What does it mean to be “self-reliant” today? Is Emerson’s theory useful for us in 2011? If so, how or why? If not, how might you revise his definition of what “self-reliance” means?
DUE: Tuesday, September 13, 1 page typed
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Response Paper #1
Barthes, “To The Seminar” (course site)
Didion, “On Keeping a Notebook” (80 Readings, p. 2)
Safire, “The Perfect Paragraph” (80 Readings, p. 36)
Vonnegut, “How to Write with Style” (80 Readings, p. 39)
OPTION 1:
Using the readings we’ve done thus far, answer the following question: WHY WRITE? Do you agree with one of these authors more than the others when it comes to the ritual of writing? How so? Explain in detail and employ anecdotes that illuminate your own writing process.
OPTION 2:
Didion writes, “Why did I write it down? In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember?” (3)
Do you think that Barthes writes “in order to remember”? If so, what about “To the Seminar” makes you think this? If not, why not? How might Didion describe Barthes motive behind writing this particular piece?
DUE: Tuesday, September 6, 1 page typed
