Wednesday 2/5

Today in class we did the following:
1. Lit Terms Project Gallery Walk
2. Group commentary work/Ch. 5 and 6 group questions
Homework:
READ EYES 7-8 (finish group paragraph if not already complete)

Tuesday

1. Review paragraphs
2. Ch. 3 and 4 discussion
3. Groups:
-Code passage
-Create thesis statement
Homework:
Read Ch. 5 and 6, finish project

MONDAYYYYYYYYYY

Today in class we:
1. Talked about Jody, Sapphire, Jezebelle
2. Discussed Ch. 1 and 2
3. Introduced Journal 2
-Handout: assignment and passage
-Handout: example outline
-Handout: example paragraph

Homework:
1. Journal 2
2. Read Ch. 3 and 4
3. 3-D Projects for Wednesday!!!!!!!!!

Glitter.

1/31 FRIDAY

Happy Friday.

1. Eyezzzzz p. 1
2. Shermannnnnn
3. Check out le novel.

(Oh yeah, you turned in the techniques today too. Yay).

Homework:
1. Read Ch. 1 and 2
2. Journal 1:  Identify two important choices Hurston makes in the first two chapters; these choices should be literary techniques. Then, for each choice, find examples (what), explain how Hurston treats the technique (how) and the effect of the technique. Your journal entry should NOT be in the form of a thesis but rather a FEW exploratory paragraphs. This assignment is meant to show your thought process, not necessarily be a summative assessment of your understanding of the text. That being said, to receive credit, you must show thoughtful, insightful work (and include examples from the text).
I would like the journal to be typed if possible.
3. 3-DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD Projects due Wednesday. 

THURRRRRRRRSDAY

Today in class we did the following:
1. Thesis
2. Harlem Renaissance/Stereotype Discussions
3. "White Man"
4. FX 4 LIFE!!!!!
Homework:
1. Definitions and examples for tomorrow.
2. Read the article that follows this post and answer the questions.
3. 3-D Projects due Wednesday

“America’s Racial Double Standard”

Following the NFC Championship game last weekend, Richard Sherman gave an interview to Erin Andrews.  He yelled to millions watching in their living rooms about being the best and shutting down opposing receiver Michael Crabtree.  However, following his interview, he somehow morphed from a football player who had just reached the pinnacle of sports achievement into a racial stereotype.

Suddenly he was “classless,” a “thug” from Compton, and any manner of other negative terms that one can substitute for the N-word.  Sherman was no longer human, but a racist caricature.

Black people exist in a “damned if we do, damned if we don’t” space within American conversation.  If a black person does something that’s seen as negative, that negative behavior is used as yet another example of how “we” are.  Negative behavior, so it goes, is just inherent in “us.”

On the flip side, if a black person achieves something positive, the positive achievement is often dismissed as either undeserved or the result of an innate gift the achiever can’t take credit for.  Many people believe President Obama only got into Harvard because of affirmative action, and just as many believe he was only elected into office (twice, no less) because he is black.  In sports, the success of white athletes is most often attributed to “smarts” and “hard work,” but the success of black athletes is often attributed to “natural ability” or “God-given” talent.

In 1999, when Brandi Chastain whipped off her shirt to celebrate the U.S. Women’s World Cup win, photos of her celebration landed her on the covers of Newsweek, Sports Illustrated and Time magazine.  She described her spontaneous action as “momentary insanity … the greatest moment of my career, and I lost control.” However, when the black men of the 2000 Olympics gold medal 4×100 team removed their shirts in celebration, they were called a “disgrace.” And Serena Williams was harshly criticized for doing a popular L.A. dance when she won her Olympic gold medal (and, as Gawker’s Cord Jefferson notes, called a “thug” when she argued with an ump).

When Ryan Lochte represents the U.S. on the international stage wearing grillz, it’s a fashion statement — all anyone wonders is “can he pull it off?”  However, Trayvon Martin is called a “thug” for wearing the exact same thing (google “Trayvon Martin grillz thug” and the same for Ryan Lochte).

And Richard Sherman, the high school salutatorian who graduated from Stanford with a 3.9 GPA, has now been reduced to an uneducated unsportsmanlike “thug” in the American lexicon for giving a passionate interview that some people didn’t like. Black hockey player Ray Emery was subjected to similar dismissiveness.  When he was involved with a fight with fellow goalie Braden Holtby, he was widely called a “thug,” a moniker never attributed to any of the dozens of white players who fight at nearly every hockey game.  And white players who break the hearts of opposing team’s fans with game-winning plays never get the kind of vitriol that was directed at Joel Ward for scoring the winning goal in a playoff game.

…

Simply recognizing that black people are viewed and treated differently from whites in America is not “playing the race card” (which is insulting to suggest, by the way).  It’s simply recognizing that, though we’ve made strides in this country, we still have work to do when it comes to breaking down barriers in people’s hearts and minds. When white fathers don’t cringe when their daughters bring home black men, when a young black kid wearing grillz is called fashionable before he’s called a “thug” and when Richard Sherman can yell about being the greatest, just as Ric Flair yelled for 30 years, then maybe we can begin thinking about that elusive “post-racial” society.  But, for now, I hope Richard Sherman is able to back up those words in a few weeks … with a Super Bowl ring in hand.

Beanie Barnes is a former collegiate athlete, socio-political commentator and entertainment industry professional. She holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Nebraska and an MBA from Yale University.

1.     What aspects of Barnes’ arguments do you agree with? What aspects of her argument do you disagree with?

  

2.     Compare Barnes’ interpretation of stereotypes of African Americans in the 21^st Century with the stereotypes we discussed in class. What has changed since the 1920s? What hasn’t?

3.     Which school of thought would Barnes fall under had she been writing during the Harlem Renaissance (art as art, art as propaganda, back to Africa)?

WEDNESDAY!!!!!!!!!!

Today in class we:
1. Analyzed "America" and found too many examples of literary devices.
2. Introduced the what-how-effect form.
3. Harlem Renaissance introduction

Homework:
1. Write a new thesis for "America"
2. Lit Terms:
a. Terms/Definitions due Friday 1/31
b. 3-D Project due Weds 2/5
c. QUIZZZZZZZZZ on Friday 2/7

Through the use of concealed metaphor, combined with terse diction, Gary Miranda expresses the human desire to hide from the harsh realities of life and conveys that people cannot turn to "magic" for answers-- we must discover them for ourselves.

McKay's use juxtaposition and paradox creates a bittersweet tone about the nature of American society and a young person's life; he implies that the destruction of an oppressive society is inevitable.

Tuesday 1/28

Today in class we did the following:
1. Name things
2. Intro lit terms assignment
3. "America"
Homework:
1. Syllabus
2. Lit Terms Assignment
Terms due Friday (1/31); 3-D due Wednesday 2/5; Quiz on Friday 2/7