1. Make sure your paper is in order:
- check the MLA format of your paper (use your book or OWL Purdue resources to check your format)
- make sure you cite your information correctly
- check for grammar, spelling, and capitalization errors
2. Make sure your letter is in order:
- Your letter should be typed and should be addressed to me
- The question your letter should address is: "If you had 100 dollars, how would you divide this money between you and your group mates from your project."
- Please give a rationale for your decision and make sure that it follows a proper business letter format.
- Check for spelling, punctuation, and grammar errors in your letter.
3. Make sure your folder is in order:
- Letter
- Final Draft
- Works Cited (at least 4 sources)
- Rough Draft
- Outline
- Quizzes (4)
- Alt: your articles with highlights
4. 5 Extra Credit:
- If you would like extra credit, be prepared to stay the whole class time. We will be viewing "Brick" and the run-time for this movie is roughly 2 hours. Afterwards, we will have an informal discussion about the film and how it can be used in this class. I will only award points if you stay the whole time.
Click Here to Read More..
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Shakespeare and Romance
From the Wikipedia Page on Shakespeare Romance:
"The category of Shakespearean romance arise from a hesitation among critics to categorize them as comedies (though all but Cymbeline, which was listed among the tragedies, were considered so by John Heminges and Henry Condell when they edited the First Folio), because they bear similarities with medieval romance literature and are different from comedies in many ways. Shakespeare's romances share the following features:
* A redemptive plotline with a happy ending involving the re-uniting of long-separated family members;
* Magic and other fantastical elements;
* A deus ex machina, often manifesting as a Roman god (such as Jupiter in Cymbeline or Diana in Pericles);
* A mixture of "civilized" and "pastoral" scenes (such as the gentry and the island residents in The Tempest);
* "...and the poetry is a return to the lyrical style of the early plays, though more mellow and profound.""
Most of the Romance plays, while not "Romantic" in the modern sense, have surreal settings and plotlines dealing with magic or unorthodox lifestyles. Romance plays are also the main point of contention for those who believe that Shakespeare wasn't a "real" person, because they aren't written like the tragedies or comedies in the past.
HOMEWORK:
WRITE a rough draft of your paper for next class Click Here to Read More..
"The category of Shakespearean romance arise from a hesitation among critics to categorize them as comedies (though all but Cymbeline, which was listed among the tragedies, were considered so by John Heminges and Henry Condell when they edited the First Folio), because they bear similarities with medieval romance literature and are different from comedies in many ways. Shakespeare's romances share the following features:
* A redemptive plotline with a happy ending involving the re-uniting of long-separated family members;
* Magic and other fantastical elements;
* A deus ex machina, often manifesting as a Roman god (such as Jupiter in Cymbeline or Diana in Pericles);
* A mixture of "civilized" and "pastoral" scenes (such as the gentry and the island residents in The Tempest);
* "...and the poetry is a return to the lyrical style of the early plays, though more mellow and profound.""
Most of the Romance plays, while not "Romantic" in the modern sense, have surreal settings and plotlines dealing with magic or unorthodox lifestyles. Romance plays are also the main point of contention for those who believe that Shakespeare wasn't a "real" person, because they aren't written like the tragedies or comedies in the past.
HOMEWORK:
WRITE a rough draft of your paper for next class Click Here to Read More..
Monday, August 3, 2009
Signs, Symbols, and History (UPDATE WITH HOMEWORK)
From the Wikipeida Page on Shakespeare's "History Plays":
"Shakespeare was living under the reign of Elizabeth I, the last monarch of the house of Tudor, and his history plays are often regarded as Tudor propaganda because they show the dangers of civil war and celebrate the founders of the Tudor dynasty. In particular, Richard III depicts the last member of the rival house of York as an evil monster ("that bottled spider, that foul bunchback'd toad"), a depiction disputed by many modern historians, while portraying his usurper, Henry VII in glowing terms. Political bias is also clear in Henry VIII, which ends with an effusive celebration of the birth of Elizabeth. However, Shakespeare's celebration of Tudor order is less important in these plays than the spectacular decline of the medieval world. Moreover, some of Shakespeare's histories -- and notably Richard III - point out that this medieval world came to its end when opportunism and machiavelism infiltrated its politics. By nostalgically evoking the late Middle Ages, these plays described the political and social evolution that had led to the actual methods of Tudor rule, so that it is possible to consider history plays as a biased criticism of their own country."
Consider this in the context of the two television show's we're discussing today. Both shows are politically minded, but both also appear to be taking place in far off places with science fiction twists. I place these alongside history because Science Fiction is one of the best way to convey events of today through the context of ray guns and space ships. The original Star Trek was very evocative of its time, showing a hopeful idealism of space based on Kennedy's proclamation that we will send a man to the moon. The X-Files was a very conspiracy-filled show that commented on the US Government as a large institution that only cares about the rich and powerful, while keeping the true innovations in science and supernatural secret.
Battlestar Galactica and Kings are both commentaries on today, by evoking familiar signs and symbols that we recognize in recent history to illicit an emotional and intellectual response today. Consider the following clips:
The key part of our class today will be looking at how we can understand the symbols, signs, and relationships between the events happening in the shows and the events that have happened in the past. This is where an understanding of clothing, set design, and camera positioning really play a part in understanding the subtext of the story.
HOMEWORK:
1. Don't think I forgot about the "Left Field Cinema" articles. I will be quizzing you on your reading of Left Field Cinema for Wednesday class, as well as checking your outlines. Read the essays before you write your outline.
2. Look up the entries for Multiple Personality Disorder and Color Meaning (Symbol and Psychology) in Wikipedia.
3. Look up the images of United States of Tara and Pushing Daises in Google Images. What do you notice? What are some of the visual characteristics of both shows? Click Here to Read More..
"Shakespeare was living under the reign of Elizabeth I, the last monarch of the house of Tudor, and his history plays are often regarded as Tudor propaganda because they show the dangers of civil war and celebrate the founders of the Tudor dynasty. In particular, Richard III depicts the last member of the rival house of York as an evil monster ("that bottled spider, that foul bunchback'd toad"), a depiction disputed by many modern historians, while portraying his usurper, Henry VII in glowing terms. Political bias is also clear in Henry VIII, which ends with an effusive celebration of the birth of Elizabeth. However, Shakespeare's celebration of Tudor order is less important in these plays than the spectacular decline of the medieval world. Moreover, some of Shakespeare's histories -- and notably Richard III - point out that this medieval world came to its end when opportunism and machiavelism infiltrated its politics. By nostalgically evoking the late Middle Ages, these plays described the political and social evolution that had led to the actual methods of Tudor rule, so that it is possible to consider history plays as a biased criticism of their own country."
Consider this in the context of the two television show's we're discussing today. Both shows are politically minded, but both also appear to be taking place in far off places with science fiction twists. I place these alongside history because Science Fiction is one of the best way to convey events of today through the context of ray guns and space ships. The original Star Trek was very evocative of its time, showing a hopeful idealism of space based on Kennedy's proclamation that we will send a man to the moon. The X-Files was a very conspiracy-filled show that commented on the US Government as a large institution that only cares about the rich and powerful, while keeping the true innovations in science and supernatural secret.
Battlestar Galactica and Kings are both commentaries on today, by evoking familiar signs and symbols that we recognize in recent history to illicit an emotional and intellectual response today. Consider the following clips:
The key part of our class today will be looking at how we can understand the symbols, signs, and relationships between the events happening in the shows and the events that have happened in the past. This is where an understanding of clothing, set design, and camera positioning really play a part in understanding the subtext of the story.
HOMEWORK:
1. Don't think I forgot about the "Left Field Cinema" articles. I will be quizzing you on your reading of Left Field Cinema for Wednesday class, as well as checking your outlines. Read the essays before you write your outline.
2. Look up the entries for Multiple Personality Disorder and Color Meaning (Symbol and Psychology) in Wikipedia.
3. Look up the images of United States of Tara and Pushing Daises in Google Images. What do you notice? What are some of the visual characteristics of both shows? Click Here to Read More..
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