Author: Erica Richardson

List of All Smaller Assignments due by May 16 11:59pm

List of assignments

(or why you should come to class and finish missing work)

  • Participation grade: 20% of the total grade (attendance, comments, one trip reflection)
  • Blog Posts (6) worth 25%
  • Welcome to the Week (1) 10%
  • Paper or podcast  #1 (and separate self assessment)  20%
  • Paper or podcast # 2 (and separate self assessment)  25%

Total number of  Blog posts: 8

Reflection on a field trip (note; the top versions of this post featuring images, critical reflection connecting experience back may earn $100 Student Award). PLEASE USE CATEGORY “CLASS TRIP REFLECTION BLOG POST”

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Blog posts Assignments  (3 from each half of the semester):

Total 6 post minimum 

Each has different directions listed on the “Course Schedule.” 

 If you are making up work, your best bet for credit is to post it, not email. Email is the last resort. 

  1. Casting characters for The Jungle
  2. Cultural and historical resources for The Jungle
  3. Literary Devices in The Souls of Black Folk
  4. Annotating 3 lines from “Howl”
  5. Reflecting on and connecting to No-No Boy
  6. Climate Change and Art (in relation to Silent Spring)

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Welcome to the Week Post.  Total 1 post

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Comment replis to Welcome to the Week (comment reply) Total approx 15-16 Comments (remember there are 19 students and 16 available posts. Everyone’s work warrants a response)

  1. Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle Part I Comment
  2. Welcome to the Week Video/Blog Post Week three Upton Sinclair the Jungle Chapters 5-10; 15-20
  3. Welcome to the Week” Week Four The Jungle posts (1 comment per post) Focus on the Jungle chapters 21-22 & 26-31
  4. “Welcome to the Week” Week Five on The Souls of Black Folk
  5. Six “Welcome to the Week” on Blue Eye’d Black Boy or Claude McKay Poems
  6. Instructor “Welcome to the Week Week 8 on Allen Ginsberg’s Howl”
  7. Instructor “Welcome to the Week Blog Post Week Ten focus on James Baldwin’s Letter to my Nephew (1962) (2 comments for 2 peer posts)
  8. “Welcome to the Week” focus on Joy Harjo’s Poetry Week (2 comments on 2 peer posts)
  9. “Welcome to the Week” focus on Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) (3 comments for 3 peer posts)
  10. “Welcome to the Week” focus on Stonewall riots and Contemporary Trans issues in the poetry of Raquel Salas Rivera (3)

Rubric and Directions for Paper or Podcast #2 Due May 22

Critical Analysis Essay OR Podcast with Rationale

Due May 22 11:59 pm to Blackbaord (and to this class Blog if you have a Podcast)

Below is the rubric for Critical Analysis Essay # 2 or a 15-20 min Podcast with rationale paper.

Part I: Critical Analysis Paper

Format

  • Design their own prompt OR argument/focus based on annotation assignments, blog posts, and “Welcome to the Week” videos/posts STUDENTS WILL HAVE A 10 MIN CONFERENCE WITH THE PROFESSOR LAST TWO CLASSES AND ON ZOOM DURING READING PERIOD (This is an update. I may need to schedule a time during the reading period if we run out during class)
  • a critical analysis essay of 1500-2000 words or 5 1/2 to 8 pages double-spaced with
  • 3 credible resources, a works cited page featuring MLA or Chicago style bibliography.

Content

  • a persuasive argument that provides further insight into patterns, problems, or unique aspects of the text(s) using
  • literary interpretation and analysis (e.g., close reading of quoted text. The text and the resources are your evidence)
  • at least 3 academic and or credible resources to provide historical and cultural context and works cited page
  • clear writing (grammatical correctness; integrated quotations)
  • and cohesive structure (structure paragraphs and include transition sentences as needed to create flow and to make it clear how each part of the essay supports and develops the overall argument).

Self-Assessment Questions

When you self-assess consider if the following items are in your essay and how well you accomplished the task (a sentence or two for each item listed below):

  1. [Argument] Is the argument clearly stated in the beginning of the essay? Does the essay explain or show how the argument is persuasive?
  1. [Context and background] Do the essay include the name of authors, titles, and dates of publication? Does the essay include short contextualizing summaries so that readers know what the assigned reading discussed is generally about and where selected passages and quotations emerge in the larger text (e.g., in the beginning, middle or end)?
  1. [Context and literary interpretation/analysis] Are there quotations from the text? Are the quotations well selected for critical analysis (close reading), and are the quotations integrated into sentences?
  1. [Using resources and research] Are there quotations or ideas applied from research (e.g., the three resources) to help provide context and definitions or establish your analytical approach? Are resources cited in the essay and featured in the works cited?
  1. [Structure and Argument Development] Are there signpost sentences or transitions that let the reader know the relationship between paragraphs and ideas? Does the essay have moments that explain how smaller claims or ideas, or analyses connect back to the larger argument?
  1. [Conclusion] Does the paper have a conclusion that reiterates to readers what the essay has shown or demonstrated? Does the conclusion explain why the ideas or argument is useful or significant?
  1. [Structure and Grammatical correctness] If one reads through the essay aloud, does the structure of sentences make sense? Are their typos and words missing? If so, to what extent do these errors hinder reader understanding? Is this essay written for an intelligent audience that might be familiar with text and ideas but wants to learn more?

 

Part II: Podcast Expectations

  • 2-4 people
  • 15-20 mins max
  • Posted to the Class blog with a 250-word minimum description of the podcast and its major critical and literary points; a works cited page MLA style; the category “Blog Post with Podcast”
  • Students should submit the link to the podcast to Blackboard as a word document with a hyper link along with the rationale paper
  • Students submit self-assessments separate assignment to Blackboard
  • Reading aloud of passages and selections from assigned readings
  • At least 2 key points (they can contrast or there can be room for debate, especially if members of your group come to different conclusions)
  • A conclusion that reflects on the initial question, the overall discussion and how we might extend the content or points brought up in the podcast to other literary works or contemporary situations.
  • Tech-wise you are encouraged to include some background sound, especially for transitions, but it is not required.

Rationale Paper (to be completed by individuals) 2 ½ to 3 pages double-spaced or 550-700 words

  • What is the podcast about?
  • What question(s) does it consider, and what ideas about the texts are made overall?)
  • What role or tasks did you take? What were your intellectual contributions? Be sure to elaborate on anything you may not have had the time to fully discuss in the podcast but find critical to your thinking and reflection.
  • Quotations or textual material discussed
  • What would you like to improve or consider should you do this assignment again?
  • Why does having a conversation about the text(s) that might be shared with a larger public matter? (In other words, why are the podcast and your voices important?)

https://blog.tcea.org/simple-process-template-student-podcasting/

Self-Assessment Objectives for Podcast

Based on the quality of the material chosen, the script and conversation, and the tech, what grade do you think the podcast has earned?

What are a few things the podcast did well? Things that need improvement. (Specificity and your reasoning are appreciated)

Writing Resources

How to integrate a quotation:

https://www.ursinus.edu/live/files/1160-integrating-quotespdf

How to cite Chicago style:

https://libguides.murdoch.edu.au/Chicago/text

How to Cite MLA:

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_in_text_citations_the_basics.html

Tips for Writing about Literature:

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/index.html

CUNY 1969 Protests in Class Discussion

Cover of Digital copy of “Seek Matters,” a literary zine created by SEEK (Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge) CUNY Students, Spring 1969

Objective:

Compose a blog post discussing Cuny 1969 Archival documents. Prize: Participation points added to replace a missing “Welcome to the Week” comment reply. Judges automatically get extra credit. 

Your blog post is a minimum of 6 sentences ( approx 250 words) in response to the few questions listed below:

  1. “What are the conditions that create collaborative or collective writing?”

2. “What are the qualities or characteristics of collective and collaborative writing?”

3. “To what extent can we read or engage collective writing as literature? What are the benefits of such an exercise? The limitations?”

Each group will respond to these questions with short answers (e.g. 2-3 sentences for each one) after reviewing provided documents linked below (in addition to homework that includes James Baldwin’s Letter to My Nephew” and review the Cuny 1969 Project:

Checklist for Blog post:

  1. An original title reflecting the focus of your post or what your group found most interesting
  2. Content that answers 3 questions about reading the Cuny 1969 archives
  3. ONE quote and or image from one of the documents
  4. Category “Collaborative Writing and Cuny 1969 In Class Blog Post”
  5. First and last names of ALL group members

Roles for groups (2-4 people in each group):

1-2 Scribes taking notes as you discuss

1 person to post the blog

2+ people to share with class/ student judges

Time management Approx 25-30 mins

5 mins to ask peers initial responses to questions

10 mins to read through the material (take notes while you read)

10 mins for composition and posting blog

2-3 mins for each group to share with judges (“Welcome to the Week” presenters for James Baldwin and Cuny 1969; Amara, Natalia, and Carty)

 

Directions for Judges:

  1. Go to the hallway or other space to look through materials and consider what you value or what your expectations are for Blog posts. I will visit with you and discuss your thoughts and discussion of material based on your deeper engagement.
  2. Compose a brief set of values you have and why (200 words) and email it to me to include with your final “winning selections for an in-class blog post on Cuny 1969.” You can only choose ONE group.

Directions for Reflection on Class Trip Blog Post

Blog Reflection Directions

After the trip, if you attend OR do the virtual visit, write a blog post or create a blog post including your reflection on the trip. Blog posts should be

  1. At least 200 words ( half a page single spaced almost one page double-spaced) o
  2. Should include at least 1 image with a caption
  3. OR
  4. A short video (3 mins or so) reflecting on the trip (can be recorded while on trip)
  5. Please use the category “Class Trip Reflection Blog Post” for full credit.

NOTE: you are encouraged to record yourself responding to materials while on the trip so that you can create a Youtube video and post your response more immediately. The professor also accepts twitter feeds and insta-reels capturing your experience as long as you post a blog with a couple of sentences describing your reflection and include a link. An example of a video “hot take” reflection is featured here:

Class Trip to the Tenement Museum

Visual Reflection on The Tenement Museum class trip March 17, 2023

Photos of layout for Tenement museum (the original historical buildings on Orchard street in the Lower East Side)

 

Baruch College Students in Eng 3025 American Lit 1865 to present looking at a display case of materials found in stars of a tenement building.

 

Journal on sewing found in an apartment featured in the display case at The Tenement Museum in the previous image. The first line reads: “Most women [ missing word] sew. Most women must sew whether they like it or not.”
We got to learn more about the significance of space, people, and their stories as the tour continued to the Levine family apartment (pictured below in three images, one of the students and tour guide, one of the places for dressmaking under a clock, and a baby or toddler’s bed). The Levines were a Jewish dress-making family that lived in the apartment in 1902. A total of 7 people lived there (roughly the size of our tour group. The space was small, but reflecting on this got us thinking about the kind of intimacies people must have had living so close in the apartments and in the neighborhood.

I was especially intrigued to learn how Jewish mothers and wives in May 1902 protested the rise in the cost of Kosher meat, and despite the denigrating articles in The New York Times about the protest, which referred to the protest as a “riot,” these mothers were able to influence the cost of meat to provide their families with food AND to maintain their cultural and religious practices. This connects to our reading of The Jungle, demonstrating the push and pull between big corporations or businesses and the people who buy goods. To learn more about the protest, check out this article from the Jewish Women’s Archive. One woman apparently assaulted an officer by slapping him in the face with a piece of liver, according to our tour guide at the Tenement Museum.