Eh 200 Summer 2010 Class Nine

Class 9:

Housekeeping

Review: (Suggested: 5-10 Minutes)

Last time, we started thinking about “cultural references,” and how they appear in your life and in stories.

So, we started to talk about Cultural References in this way:

A cultural reference is like an extra FRAME the narrator gives to the reader to HELP him or her INTERPRET the specific details that relate to all of the concepts we have considered this semester: class, income, play, work, setting, plot, tone, ect…

So, to begin to understand these stories and these references, we need to be willing to look beyond ourselves, and take the culture we are encountering seriously.

This is going to require us to do at least TWO important things.

1)     Stop thinking about all other cultures as just being “different” from your own.  One of the things you should be seeing now is that, even in this room, there are MANY different cultures represented. Your culture is special because it is unique – but NOT necessarily because it is shared or understood by many other people.

“Their culture” is as complicated as “your culture.”

2)     Stop thinking about all history as “back then.” There is no “back then.” There are other times and places with specific cultures that are different from each other, as different from each other “then” as they are “now.”

Your job, particularly as a professional, is to be aware that people come from distinct cultures and historical backgrounds – and are not simply representatives from “somewhere else.”

3)     Yes, these are difficult ideas.  But you must be willing to FIGHT for them. Just like it is hard to keep a distinction between class and income, you need to become culturally aware – because if you are not you are essentially trapped by your own limited experience, which is only going to get you so far in a business environment. Why might this be the case?

Let’s begin today with an in-class writing on “Maggie.”

In-class Writing: (Suggested: 10 Minutes)

Create four sections on a piece of paper, one for class, setting, income, ect. In these boxes, I want you to include the cultural references you came across that you think relate to these frames.  Be sure to include the page numbers.

Group Discussion: (Suggested: 10 Minutes)

In your groups, I want you to share your findings, and then I want you to come up with a statement in response to the following questions. You will be sharing this with the class as a presentation:

What are some of the specific questions that three of the cultural references you have identified raise about the worlds of work and play as they might be represented in “Maggie: A Girl of The Streets.” If you think there is enough evidence in the  story to answer these questions, go ahead and try to do so. Otherwise, simply raise the question and provide an explanation for why you think the question is a reasonable one to ask.

Group Presentations: (Suggested: 10 Minutes)

Class Conversation: (Suggested: 10 Minutes)

Cultural References beyond “Maggie.”

Break

Shifting gears for a bit now, I want to ask you a question that is related to one I asked you yesterday.

In-class writing: (Suggested: 10 Minutes)

How has your culture shaped your expectations of the world of work? What have your models of “work” been in your life? Are you satisfied with these expectations? What would your ideal world of work be? Is it related to this model? Use specific examples.

Group Discussion: (Suggested: 10 minutes)

Share your responses, then come up with a list of specific cultural references that represent work for the various members of your group. Provide explanations of why this is the case.

Group Presentation: (Suggested: 10 minutes)

Class Discussion: (Suggested: 5-10 minutes)

In-class Journal/or class conversation: (Suggested: 10 minutes)

How is it that people get jobs that they do not like? What is your understanding of this? Use core class concepts to express, or frame, your ideas.

Précis Work

Argument Work

Read and Annotate “Maggie A Girl of the Streets” to Page 262.

Return to the two-page draft you have written. Come up with an outline for it.  You will be turning in the outline and the paper tomorrow. You do not need to revise the current draft, but if you can see ways for it to be improved after you make the outline, you should make the effort to correct it.

For today, you needed to read and annotate the first 20 pages of Stephen Crane’s “Maggie: A Girl of The Streets”