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About This Course

Our Class Process

First of all, let me begin by saying "Welcome to our Literary Conversation!" Beyond the expected utterances such as "I am confused,"  I hope you will muster the courage to ask both simple and difficult  unanswerable questions that will stump us all. Such questions will lead us all to whisper the phrase, We are confused, which leads us further into the great mystery of ourselves and our relationship with this tiny, short LIFE. Asking questions will be rewarded. When you encourage a classmate by asking, "Can you give us an example of what you are thinking?"  That will be rewarded because generosity and thoughtfulness are often noted and appreciated. When we are in a heated discussion about the "angry tone" of Jamaica Kincaid which is directed at her reader, and you ask, "Why is she so angry?"----that will be rewarded because bringing up a question that others are surely thinking, and your voicing of that universal question will connect us. Speaking of connection, please be assured that I will be with you through every part of this "Ethnic Literature" journey. This is indeed a subject area for which I have a deep respect and passion. The good news is that both of us want you to earn an "A."  However, that potential reality is totally in your control. Prioritizing this class will help you with that goal.        

 

 

Evocative Narratives and Complex Analysis

The texts you will be reading this semester present varying human themes of belonging, trauma, forgiveness, steely determination, in-depth community observations and insights that you may discover inform your own experiences. Additionally, the narratives are beautiful language displays-- some simple, some complex, but all compelling. The first contact we have with a book is usually its cover and beyond that the opening lines of the first chapter.... Consider the following opening lines. I challenge you to play a "matching game."  Looking at your book's covers, or the covers displayed in the image gallery below, which of the following opening lines belong to which book?  1) The air stretched tight, quiet and cold over the vast land. 2) If you go to Antigua as a tourist, this is what you'll see. 3) Princeton in the summer smelled of nothing, and although Ifemelu liked the tranquil greenness of the many trees, the clean streets and stately homes, the delicately overpriced shops, and the quiet abiding air of earned grace, it was this, the lack of smell, that most appealed to her, perhaps because the other American cities she knew well had all smelled distinctly. 4) Before the crimson rays of dawn touched the treetops, before the cry of the cock, the bark of a dog, or the bray of a donkey pierced through the heavy darkness, or the voice of Sheikh Hamzawi, echoed in the silence with the first call to prayer, the big wooden door opened slowly, creaking, with the rusty sound of an ancient water-wheel.  5) I began what I am today at the age of twelve, on a frigid overcast day in the winter of 1975. 

A Word About Learning

A Word About Learning

A word about learning ---Learning is not a spectator sport. Fundamentally, the responsibility to learn is yours and yours alone. For learning to happen in any course, you must take an active role in the process. For our class, you are expected to come to class prepared and ready to learn, which requires you to read and study the assigned reading before you come to class. Being prepared for class enables you to construct a knowledge base on which subsequent learning rests. During our class, we don’t cover content, which means I talk less to encourage you to talk more about what you are learning. 

Regarding Attendance and Participation--VERY IMPORTANT

Our class process is heavily dependent on your preparedness and your presence. When I am in class, you need to be in class. When we are working with a class-time in an online format, you need to be participating in that format as well. 

You will be engaging in learning tasks that require you show through speaking and writing, your grasp of the material and how it connects to your previous knowledge or experiences. Your in-class performance on these tasks will be evaluated through your response to questions that directly pertain to our discussions. They will also be evaluated through your honest answer to the following question, "Have you read the text up to the point that was due today?"  A self-assessment handout will be distributed at the end of the week beginning week two. 

This in-class opportunity is centered on your voice and experience. It is intended to help us continually shape our classroom process so that it is relevant, reflective and refreshing in the context of your learning this semester.

The CIQ consists of five questions which ask you to write down some details about events that happened in class this week. It purpose is NOT to determine what you did or didn’t like about the class. Instead the CIQ invites you to focus on specific, concrete happenings that were significant to you. A copy will be returned to you the following class period.

Critical Incident Questionnaire.pdf

 

 

 

Writing Together

 

Writing Together

Writing together. Often when we meet, we will be writing together--okay, there may be a day or two where we just don't feel like it, but most of the time, I hope we feel like it. The purpose of writing together will be to provide "models of writing" that you can emulate (copy or replicate in some way). So, we may choose to write about which literary devices a particular author uses and to what end. Following a discussion, we may choose to "write up" observations about a character in one of our texts. Or we may choose to write several versions of a thesis together. Another possibility is just to write up examples of "transitions" or just write-up some brainstorming about one of our texts. The writing that we produce together will be sent to you via email after our class. It is totally up to you what you do with it. No permission is needed to use any of the information that we may write together. Use any of it or none of it. Use it as a reference only if you wish.

Engaging in Inquiry

 

So, I think you get the point by now that the main process that we will be engaging is "INQUIRY"---the practice of asking questions. Primo Levi, a Jewish-Italian physicist and Holocaust Survivor tell us that “Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions.”  Because our class is essentially a conversation, we need to honor the voices coming from our text, and coming from ourselves. To this end, I am asking you to consider the following, "What does an ideal conversational space look like? Do we deserve to completely focus on the ideas presented without disruption for a time-frame of 45 minutes? In this culture of distraction that claims our time, can we even do it? Is there value in coming together and listening to one another? Why or why not?  Does silence play a part in our conversational space? If so, what role does it play? Sherry Turkle says in her book, Alone Together, Face-to-face interaction teaches "skills of negotiation, of reading each other's emotion, of having to face the complexity of confrontation, dealing with complex emotion." She goes on to say, "Face-to-face conversation is the most humanizing thing we do. It's how we participate in empathy" (NPR Interview)

The Reading Load

 

Our reading load is reasonable if you break it down into "pages and days." So, for example a reading timeline for the first text we will read, Two Old Women by Velma Wallis (127 pages) would be about 32 pages per day for four days if you only read Monday-Thursday (leaving Friday out).  From that point, you can further break this down hourly. So, in the morning before noon, you may read 12 pages, and then at night you may read the other 20 pages on that Monday-Thursday schedule. The third book we will be reading is Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, and it is a little longer (371). Still the same strategy applies--break it down to a daily page number commitment to insure you will finish the book within the time-frame set in the syllabus. At the beginning of class, you may be asked to write about the text (one of those 10 point in-class assignments)

EthnicStudiesSyllabus2019fnl2 (1).pdf

So it is best to be prepared to insure you are on the path to earning that "A" that you desire. Those who read will be rewarded, and those who don't are going to struggle with passing the course. Please invest in your learning and engage with the course material! 

Close Reading Interpretive Tool

In this course, we will be using the Critical Reading Interpretive Tool (CRIT). It is a systematic approach to literary analysis that has six steps:

1) Paraphrase  2) Observe  3) Contextualize  4) Analyze  5) Argue 6) Reflect

This tool is particularly useful when you use it with smaller amounts of narrative within a particular text...a paragraph or a chapter, rather than the entire text you are reading. Following is a link to my PowerPoint which includes a description of CRIT. 

EthnicLiteratureTwo Old WomenPP.pptx

We will be practicing this skill in class. You will be expected to demonstrate a solid grasp of this approach to literary analysis on both the mid-term and the final exams. Mastering this skill will serve you well in any career field you choose to pursue.

Additionally, you may wish to review the following resource describing the Critical Reading Interpretive Tool and the Close Reading Process:

The CRIT VIDEO!

 

Blog

The "Tone" of Jamaica Kincaid

Posted By Winona Wynn PhD
Tue, Feb 5 2019 at 3:04 PM

When we think about tone in Jamaica Kincaid's work, A Small Place, our thoughts do not immediately occupy a space of warmth and comfort. Consider the opening sentence, "If you go to Antigua as a tourist this is what you will see."

 

The tone seems to be more commanding than inviting. There does not seem to be room for our own observations, instead we are told what we will see.

 

The next lines of the text do not describe the beautiful imagery or the notable sites of this exotic Caribbean Island, but instead directs our attention to the naming of an airport. 

 

So then, tone in literary works sets a mood and helps us know how to interpret the writing and also how to relate to it. Are we drawn in as a reader, or are we distanced by the overall tone of the work? Do we feel welcome in this narrative or do we feel distanced, possibly like a guilty intruder?

 

Remember that any emotion humans experience can be an example of tone in literature. Let's think of a list of emotions...humorous, sad, solemn, intimate, distant, arrogant, sentimental, blaming, serious....

 

The author creates tone by using other literary devices to help us feel humorous, sad, sentimental, intimate, serious, etc. Diction (word choice) can be a powerful literary device that determines tone. Imagery is another.

 

Jamaica's first sentence could have read like this, "When you come to visit Antigua, you will enter our small airport and feel a comforting warm breeze." This version still uses the pronoun "You," but softens it and makes it more inviting by adding the descriptor of "a comforting warm breeze." 

 

When you observe any passage in A Small Place, consider how the author uses literary devices together to create the tone (or feeling) you are experiencing.

 

In contrast to Two Old Women, Jamaica Kincaid's narrative does not have tangible, distinctly present characters or a story-line. How did this change make you feel? What kind of emotion are you experiencing as the narrative goes forward?

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Handouts

Ungrouped

 

Kay Bonetti of the Kirkus Review interviews Jamaica Kincaid, and explores some themes of her writing. At the end of the interview you will find a short "biographical sketch" of Jamaica Kincaid. Author interviews often offer insights into narrative references, directions, voice, and the overall purpose of  the narrative--the main points the author hopes we discover and consider.

(.doc, 42K)
Download Jamaica Kincaid Hates Happy Endings (Interview)

 

This essay is written in a playful tone by a teacher of literature who covers a whole lot of information about literary techniques and strategies!  I recommend you skim the essay and familiarize yourself with some of the terminology he presents. Some of the literary works may not be familiar (each professor has his/her particular tastes in what to teach), but still the literary references presented are clear and may be useful for you.

"Professors read, and think, symbolically. Everything is a symbol of something, it seems, until proven otherwise. We ask, Is this a metaphor? Is that an analogy? What does the thing over there signify?

A related phenomenon in professorial reading is pattern recognition. Most professional students of literature learn to take in the foreground detail while seeing the patterns that the detail reveals. Like the symbolic imagination, this is a function of being able to distance oneself from the story, to look beyond the purely affective level of plot, drama, characters. Experience has proved to them that life and books fall into similar patterns. Nor is this skill exclusive to English professors. Good mechanics, the kind who used to fix cars before computerized diagnostics, use pattern recognition to diagnose engine troubles: if this and this are happening, then check that. Literature is full of patterns, and your reading experience will be much more rewarding when you can step back from the work, even while you’re reading it, and look for those patterns."

(.pdf, 701K)
Download How to Read Literature Like a Professor

Bookmarks

Close Reading (Literary Analysis)

 

In this handout from Harvard College Writing Center, there are several steps listed that will help you develop the skill of "close reading."  The first and most important is "Read with a pencil in hand and annotate the text."  Why annotate instead of highlight with a marker or underline? When you write down a response or put a question mark next to a section of text, you are actively engaging with the ideas presented. If you write in the margin--"I don't agree" then you know that this idea is not one that you readily accept. If you put a question mark in the margin, then you acknowledge the idea presented by the author is either questionable to you (as in you may not believe it) or that you do not understand the concept and need to explore it more thoroughly. Another method of highlighting is to create your own system of symbols you will place in the margin. For example, the question mark may indicate doubt about the validity of the concept whereas if you put a "plus" symbol after the question mark, it may indicate a lack of understanding and your need to explore the concept further. Annotation is active engagement with the text.

When you underline a passage--you are working with your thinking at the moment and depending upon your memory to recount at a later time why you have underlined that passage. The reason for your "underlining" may be lost. You may have underlined an entire paragraph--but why?  Did it contain a main point, a questionable claim?  An unclear passage you were trying to unpack?  At a later date, the underlined passage my represent a blur of "importance" without any reasonable indicators ---like a question mark or a word or two in the margins to give you a clue as to why it was important. More helpful strategies to develop your "close reading" skills are presented throughout this handout.

Visit The Close Reading Method

 

This video clearly explains the method, purpose and benefit of annotation. Although it was created for teachers (middle and high school), the presenter does an excellent job of breaking down what it means to "annotate a text."  This particular skill will serve you in your academic career and any career you pursue in the real world. 

As mentioned in the video, you can organize your annotations into summaries, paraphrases, or general notes to help you better understand each text and its possibilities. These writings will provide an evidentiary trail of your thinking, a collective "map" of your thinking that will lead to success on the writing portion of both of your exams in this course.

Visit Purposeful Annotation of Your Text

 

This University of Minnesota link will guide you through various strategies for reading literature. Even though we will be taking a stance of "close reading" (discussed in another "bookmark" on this page), there will be times when you will need to read quickly and skim portions of the book you are assigned. Techniques of "speed reading" will be useful for you to develop. Please take time to peruse this link---skim it if you must!

Visit Developing your Reading Habit!

Ungrouped

 

This interview will yield insights about the life of Jamaica Kincaid and the history of the "perpetual paradise" that was her home, the island of Antigua. Listen closely to enjoy the full impact of her acerbic wit through her critiques of English Colonization and through her own personal observations and experiences. She also offers us a glimpse of the "writing life" through which she models courage, compassion, and critique of our shared world.

Visit Jamaica Kincaid Interview

 

“We don’t have, like, soccer, baseball or basketball,” said Ahmad Roshazai, a translator at a medical clinic near Bagram who was flying kites on the hill with two of his brothers. He had cuts on his fingers from handling the bladelike fighting string. “We don’t have any good places for that,” he said. “No green places.”

He added: “This is the only game we have every Friday. That’s it.”

The inveterate kite fighters speak of their craft as part science and part art. The key to excellence depends on a combination of factors, both empirical and ineffable: the flexibility and balance of the kites’ bamboo frames, the strength of the glue binding the tissue paper skin, the quality of the string, the evenness of the spool and, of course, the skill of the fliers and their ability to adjust to the vicissitudes of the wind."

As in our class assigned novel, the "Kite Runners" are children who cannot afford kites of their own to do "battle" in the sky. They chase wayward kites that have been defeated and then retrieve them, either to return them or keep them as their own. 

What kinds of comparisons to this sport do you see to sports in our community? What does this "kite flying" signify? How does this sport create a sense of belonging or exclusion? Why would this sport be banned by the Taliban?

Visit Kite Flyers of Afghanistan

 

The title of this TED TALK is "The Danger of a Single Story."  In it the Nigerian author, Chimimanda Adiche, whose book we are reading, talks about perceptions gained from her childhood reading explorations, and how she rarely came upon a character in a book whose  life experiences mirrored her own. It is a great example of how we innocently assume that the specifics of many of our human experiences are universal. An interesting talk by the author of AMERICANAH. You may get some ideas about your assignments by listening to her speak her truth.

Visit Chimimanda Adiche "TED TALK"

The University of North Carolina offers worksheets on every conceivable writing topic. They are easy to read and follow, provide clear examples, and are trustworthy. Please access this site to resolve any writing questions you may have. This is a favorite resource of mine that was welcomed by my WSU students during my teaching years there. Our Heritage Writing Center also suggests the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue. That is also an excellent resource to utilize! Heritage also offers 24 hour tutorial assistance through Smarthinking. Please consult with the Writing or Tutorial Center at Heritage for more information on that resource.

Visit Writing Help Handouts