Monday, September 28, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The Roaring Twenties!
The next novel we plan to read takes a step backwards in time... to the 1920's! Here's your chance to learn more about them.
Wikipedia is never the place to go for sources used in research papers, but it's a great place to go to get ideas and quick information to lead you in the right direction!
Soon you will begin research on the time period so now is your time to get to know it and understand it. Go to the Roaring Twenties wikipedia page to look into the topics that you find most interesting!
Be sure to comment on your thoughts and findings!
What do you find interesting? Why?
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Watch the newest adaptation Sunday on BET!
A Raisin in the Sun (2008)
Sunday, April 26th at 3:30pm on BET
See the 2008 adaptation, starring Sean "Diddy" Combs, Audra McDonald, Sean Patick Thomas, John Stamos, and many more!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
A Forgotten Contribution
Nine months before Rosa Parks made history, a young African-American girl was physically forced off a bus and into custody after making the same stand for her rights. There are a number of things that kept her case from reaching the nation, but her efforts led to great historical efforts. Take a moment to read about her story:
Here are a few questions to explore:
- Why do we never hear about Claudette Colvin?
- What was her dream? Where did it come from? Did it come true?
- How do we feel about history and how it's written?
- Who are some other heroes who helped pave the way for the accomplishments Civil Rights movement (some that may not always be recognized)?
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
We Shall Overcome!
In the past few days we have been exploring the concept of the American Dream within prominent pieces of poetry. We've heard from voices like Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman, but now it's time to look at the true stories of the Civil Rights Movement that will lead us into our next work, "A Raisin in the Sun."
HISTORIC PLACES OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
A look into the rich history of our country's adjustment from the late 1800's into the1950's, this website allows for us to read the stories that precede and follow those of the characters we will be reading about soon. I would like for you to start off by reading the Introduction before proceeding to the Itinerary Map. From here, I would like you to read over a few of the locations to read about them and the people who were influenced by the area.
After you finish reading, reflect on how the stories connect with our discussions about the American Dream. How is it defined by these stories? What kinds of conflicts are faced in reference to the dream? etc... Give clear examples from the site to make your claims.
When you finish, go ahead and start working on your Graduation Project Proposal. Save the file to your H:/ drive and begin filling it out. If you have any questions, please let me know and I will attend to them. Remember to save and possibly even send it to yourself via email at the end of the class period.
HISTORIC PLACES OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
A look into the rich history of our country's adjustment from the late 1800's into the1950's, this website allows for us to read the stories that precede and follow those of the characters we will be reading about soon. I would like for you to start off by reading the Introduction before proceeding to the Itinerary Map. From here, I would like you to read over a few of the locations to read about them and the people who were influenced by the area.
After you finish reading, reflect on how the stories connect with our discussions about the American Dream. How is it defined by these stories? What kinds of conflicts are faced in reference to the dream? etc... Give clear examples from the site to make your claims.
When you finish, go ahead and start working on your Graduation Project Proposal. Save the file to your H:/ drive and begin filling it out. If you have any questions, please let me know and I will attend to them. Remember to save and possibly even send it to yourself via email at the end of the class period.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Generation Y --Are you ready?
In the upcoming pieces we will be reading within class, we will also be exploring the concept of the American Dream and how it relates to you.
Here is an interesting article about the positive and negative assumptions of Generation Y (those born within 1978-1995) and how this writer believes they will handle the years to come.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20090323/cm_csm/ylibby23
Tell me what your thoughts are on Generation Y and your beliefs as to what they will bring to such an unsure future that lies ahead of us all. Please note that you all are a part of Generation Y, so be sure to look at this from the group as a whole, but also in how it relates to you and what you intend on accomplishing in your future.
When you are finished with that, begin working on finding your own topics for your blog.
---> Post about a particular topic that you find interesting. How do you do this? Look up that topic and find a site (preferably an article) that presents it and try to capture your reader's attention. Make your readers invested into the main ideas and make them want to read the article themselves, even though you will also be giving them a thorough explanation (2-3 paragraphs, including your thoughts). In other words, write enough so that they don't have to read it but write with such enthusiasm to make them want to read it.
Here is an interesting article about the positive and negative assumptions of Generation Y (those born within 1978-1995) and how this writer believes they will handle the years to come.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20090323/cm_csm/ylibby23
Tell me what your thoughts are on Generation Y and your beliefs as to what they will bring to such an unsure future that lies ahead of us all. Please note that you all are a part of Generation Y, so be sure to look at this from the group as a whole, but also in how it relates to you and what you intend on accomplishing in your future.
When you are finished with that, begin working on finding your own topics for your blog.
---> Post about a particular topic that you find interesting. How do you do this? Look up that topic and find a site (preferably an article) that presents it and try to capture your reader's attention. Make your readers invested into the main ideas and make them want to read the article themselves, even though you will also be giving them a thorough explanation (2-3 paragraphs, including your thoughts). In other words, write enough so that they don't have to read it but write with such enthusiasm to make them want to read it.
- Sites to consider during this: Newsweek, CNN, NY Times, YahooNews, etc...
Friday, March 13, 2009
Hysteria in Salem--Could it Happen to You?
The above video comes from the Discover network as Part V of their series that attempted to unravel the hysteria that gripped Salem village in 1692.
After you watch the video (the action really starts at around 1:55), be sure to post answers in detail to the following questions:
--Why is it easy to get swept away by the feelings of a crowd?
--There were at least two people who didn't feel any "psychic activity" at the site, but they all agreed something weird or strange was happening in the house? Why?
--What are the character traits that enable people to stay apart from the crowd?
--Do you consider yourself a person who believes in ghosts, witches or voodoo, aliens, or anything else that could be considered eccentric or strange? If so, why do you have these beliefs? If not, why do you not have these beliefs?
--How much of a role do you think this "crowd hysteria" played in the Salem witch hunts?
ZOMG!!! It's the Bomb!! Everyone DUCK AND COVER!!!
Watch the following video and then answer the questions that follow in detail:
Consider:
--There are many examples in this film a modern day audience might find naive or amusing. What are they?
--WHY do we consider these things funny and/or awkward?
--Underneath this film is a very real fear of the atom bomb and annihilation. Where do we see evidence of this fear throughout the film?
--How does the fear evident in this film link to the fear of Communism in the 1950's?
--How is the hysterical fear this film addresses analogous to the fear in 1692 Salem? In what ways is it different?
Consider:
--There are many examples in this film a modern day audience might find naive or amusing. What are they?
--WHY do we consider these things funny and/or awkward?
--Underneath this film is a very real fear of the atom bomb and annihilation. Where do we see evidence of this fear throughout the film?
--How does the fear evident in this film link to the fear of Communism in the 1950's?
--How is the hysterical fear this film addresses analogous to the fear in 1692 Salem? In what ways is it different?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
McCarthy Hearings vs. Salem Witch Trials
Accusations, suspicions, anxiety, confessions, scandal...
These are simple ideas that we have familiarized ourselves with upon reading "The Crucible" and the events that took place in Salem, MA. As you may already know, this is not the only time that "witch hunts" were witnessed in American history.
In the 1950's, a scandal arises when Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin releases a statement that he had a list of names of individuals within the U.S. Department of State who were active members and spies of the Communist Party. He accused numbers of people from the Truman administration, the U.S. Army, and other important members in government of being involved in Communist activity, sending the nation into a panic. Soon celebrities were pulled in with the Hollywood blacklist, causing. Eventually, McCarthy's popularity and support began to fade, as the evidence to support his wild accusations was inadequate.
Throughout the many hearings on this case, people in question were often interrogated with loaded questions and encouraged to release more names. Here is a piece of a transcript from the hearing of Stanley Berinsky, a man suspended from the Army Signal Corps after it had become apparent that his mother had once been a member of the communist party:
The CHAIRMAN. Let’s get this straight. I know it is unusual to appear before a
committee. So many witnesses get nervous. You just got through telling us you did
not know she was a Communist; now you tell us she resigned from the Communist
party? As of when?
Mr. BERINSKY. I didn’t know this until the security suspension came up at Fort
Monmouth.
The CHAIRMAN. When was that?
Mr. BERINSKY. That was in 1952.
The CHAIRMAN. Then did your mother come over and tell you she had resigned?
Mr. BERINSKY. I told her what happened. At that time she told me she had been
out for several years.
The CHAIRMAN. . . . Well, did you ever ask her if she was a Communist?
Mr. BERINSKY. No, sir. . . .
The CHAIRMAN. When you went to see her, weren’t you curious? If somebody told
me my mother was a Communist, I’d get on the phone and say, ‘‘Mother is this
true’’? . . .
Did she tell you why she resigned?
Mr. BERINSKY. If seems to me she probably did it because I held a government
job and she didn’t want to jeopardize my position.
The CHAIRMAN. In other words, it wasn’t because she felt differently about the
Communist party, but because she didn’t want to jeopardize your position?
Mr. BERINSKY. Probably.
The CHAIRMAN. Was she still a Communist at heart in 1952?
Mr. BERINSKY. Well, I don’t know how you define that.
The CHAIRMAN. Do you think she was a Communist, using your own definition
of communism?
Mr. BERINSKY. I guess my own definition is one who is a member of the party.
No.
The CHAIRMAN. Let’s say one who was a member and dropped out and is still
loyal to the party. Taking that as a definition, would you say she is still a Communist?
Mr. BERINSKY. Do you mean in an active sense?
The CHAIRMAN. Loyal in her mind.
Mr. BERINSKY. That is hard to say.
The CHAIRMAN. Is she still living?
Mr. BERINSKY. Yes.
It comes at no surprise that Arthur Miller, a man caught up in the scandal himself, decided to write "The Crucible," using the Salem witch trials an effective metaphor for the hearings he and so many others endured.
These are simple ideas that we have familiarized ourselves with upon reading "The Crucible" and the events that took place in Salem, MA. As you may already know, this is not the only time that "witch hunts" were witnessed in American history.
In the 1950's, a scandal arises when Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin releases a statement that he had a list of names of individuals within the U.S. Department of State who were active members and spies of the Communist Party. He accused numbers of people from the Truman administration, the U.S. Army, and other important members in government of being involved in Communist activity, sending the nation into a panic. Soon celebrities were pulled in with the Hollywood blacklist, causing. Eventually, McCarthy's popularity and support began to fade, as the evidence to support his wild accusations was inadequate.
Throughout the many hearings on this case, people in question were often interrogated with loaded questions and encouraged to release more names. Here is a piece of a transcript from the hearing of Stanley Berinsky, a man suspended from the Army Signal Corps after it had become apparent that his mother had once been a member of the communist party:
The CHAIRMAN. Let’s get this straight. I know it is unusual to appear before a
committee. So many witnesses get nervous. You just got through telling us you did
not know she was a Communist; now you tell us she resigned from the Communist
party? As of when?
Mr. BERINSKY. I didn’t know this until the security suspension came up at Fort
Monmouth.
The CHAIRMAN. When was that?
Mr. BERINSKY. That was in 1952.
The CHAIRMAN. Then did your mother come over and tell you she had resigned?
Mr. BERINSKY. I told her what happened. At that time she told me she had been
out for several years.
The CHAIRMAN. . . . Well, did you ever ask her if she was a Communist?
Mr. BERINSKY. No, sir. . . .
The CHAIRMAN. When you went to see her, weren’t you curious? If somebody told
me my mother was a Communist, I’d get on the phone and say, ‘‘Mother is this
true’’? . . .
Did she tell you why she resigned?
Mr. BERINSKY. If seems to me she probably did it because I held a government
job and she didn’t want to jeopardize my position.
The CHAIRMAN. In other words, it wasn’t because she felt differently about the
Communist party, but because she didn’t want to jeopardize your position?
Mr. BERINSKY. Probably.
The CHAIRMAN. Was she still a Communist at heart in 1952?
Mr. BERINSKY. Well, I don’t know how you define that.
The CHAIRMAN. Do you think she was a Communist, using your own definition
of communism?
Mr. BERINSKY. I guess my own definition is one who is a member of the party.
No.
The CHAIRMAN. Let’s say one who was a member and dropped out and is still
loyal to the party. Taking that as a definition, would you say she is still a Communist?
Mr. BERINSKY. Do you mean in an active sense?
The CHAIRMAN. Loyal in her mind.
Mr. BERINSKY. That is hard to say.
The CHAIRMAN. Is she still living?
Mr. BERINSKY. Yes.
It comes at no surprise that Arthur Miller, a man caught up in the scandal himself, decided to write "The Crucible," using the Salem witch trials an effective metaphor for the hearings he and so many others endured.
- Explain in detail what you know about the McCarthy Hearings and how they relate to the Crucible.
- Explore a little more on your own: http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/McCarthy_Transcripts.htm
From home: I encourage you to watch some of the McCarthy hearings you can find online on sites (like YouTube) at your own convenience.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
In a time of hysteria, would you survive?
Take a walk through 1692 Salem, MA. Follow the links, making your own decisions as you go along and find out... Will you come out alive?
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/salem/
Questions to explore:
- Describe why answering their questions truthfully could be a death wish.
- How did you do?
- How did this exercise make you feel about the Salem Witch Trials?
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