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Read and annotate the poem “Dinosaurs in the Hood” by Danez Smith and the excerpt from the book-length poem “Citizen” by Claudia Rankine (both are in your email). Select a section from either reading to analyze in relation to gentrification. How are these writers making an intervention onto what Sarah Schulman calls “gentrification of the mind”? (We can loosely define this as the way gentrification homogenizes and flattens a community even in its ability to imagine difference, diversity, and new ideas.)

In your response to this post, write a 300-word analysis on how either of these writers tries to combat a “gentrification of the mind”. This is a rhetorical analysis (so be sure to mention audience, intention, and genre) but also a textual analysis, so be sure to reference details from the text you select.

Part I: After reading Michael Greenberg’s “Tenants Under Seige” article, Anzaldua’s “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” and Belmihoub and Corcoran’s short essay “Translingualism,” write a 250-word blog post that considers literacy in relation to the Housing Crisis. What messages in the latter two essays (Anzaldua, Belmihoub, Corcoran) do you think would be helpful to the problems outlined in the first (Greenberg)? In other words, how does literacy–the knowledge of and ability to use a particular kind of language–pertain to this crisis? You may decide to write on how problems of literacy perpetuate the crisis or, on the other hand, how a focus on literacy might lead to solutions.

Part II: Find an article published in the last week that relates to gentrification and bring it to class.

The next crisis that we will investigate is gentrification, particularly what has been called “The New York City Housing Crisis.” While we are somewhat leaving HIV/AIDS behind, the readings for this week will cover the overlap between the “aftermath” of AIDS and the development of gentrified neighborhoods.

I’ve emailed you the reading, which is 35 pages. In your response to this post, write about any one detail in Sarah Schulman’s discussion of gentrification that captured your imagination and explain why.

Whether on devices or printed, bring this reading to class on Tuesday, as we will be doing in-class activities with it.

Hi all,

Your final draft is due midnight on Sunday. Email it to me as a PDF attachment. Here are key requirements:

• It must include a cover letter! This cover letter should be completely different than your last one but could comment on areas of improvement that were mentioned. You should reflect on your revision process.
• Size 12 font, double spaced, 1″ margins, page numbers, a title and appropriate MLA format with your name, my name, the class, and the date
•  PROOFREAD. Press the Spellcheck button but also read your paper, aloud to yourself ideally, to make sure sentences and punctuation are solid. Tutors at the Writing Center can also be of great help in this regard.
• MLA style citations (see syllabus for style guides or search on Google), and remember that if you’re in doubt you should just cite

Remember to email me with any questions that come up. I can’t read whole drafts but I can respond to questions about specific comments that I made on your papers. Looking forward to reading them!

Hello everyone! Please turn in your assignment by posting it as a comment in response to this post. First click on the header “Me” to open the full post. Then press the “comment” button below to add your writing.

Since I have added you as a “Contributor,” your comments will not be public to the rest of the class until I press “Publish,” which I will not be doing for this assignment. If anything goes wrong, please email me to let me know and email me your written work as well. Looking forward to reading your writing!

Hello everyone! Please turn in your assignment below as a comment in response to this post. Since I have added you all as “Contributors” to the blog, this means that what you post doesn’t go public to the rest of the course until I press “Publish,” which I won’t be doing for this assignment. Looking forward to reading what you write!

Here are the three short readings listed on the syllabus, condensed into one convenient PDF: Reading #1