Heroes and Villains
Due Date	Assignment
Monday, Feb 6th	Read Act One, Scene 2 of A Raisin in the Sun.  Continue to do research in preparation for your oral presentation. Come in with a clear, typed-up thesis for your oral presentation.
Friday, Feb 3rd	Read Act One, Scene One of A Raisin in the Sun, pages 22-53 Bring in a typed-up version of your specific research question.
Thursday, Feb 2nd	Bring in a list of sources for your Disney research project.
Tuesday, Jan 31st	Make sure your poems are ready to perform!
Thursday, Jan. 26	Bring in a binder with 6 dividers to serve as your HUM portfolio. Memorize your poem.
Wednesday, Jan. 25	"English-to-English Translation": Having distilled your Poetry Out Loud poem down to its incident, revelation, and consequence, use this story-skeleton (incident, revelation, consequence) to tell the story of your poem differently. This is a creative writing assignment -- use it as such.
Tuesday, Jan. 24th	Pick up a poem to memorize and perform from http://poetryoutloud.org/poems-and-performance/find-poems
Monday, Jan 23rd	Bring in sources/a list of sources/interview questions (what we discussed in our meeting), to begin working on your oral presentation.
Friday, Jan. 20th	Use your thought-map to hone in on a specific research question that looks at power and privilege in Disney/the media.
Wednesday, Jan. 18th	Finish your free-write after seeing MLK's "I Have a Dream Speech."
Tuesday, Jan. 17th	Re-read Peggy McIntosh's "Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" (linked two entries below). After our conversation on identity, power and privilege, write a response entitled "Unpacking My Own Invisible Knapsack," where you discuss the aspects of your identity that give you privilege. Follow Peggy McIntosh's format, where you list specific advantages that your privileges grant you: What are you able to do that other people aren't, and why? Is it due to your race, your gender, your nationality, etc?
Thursday, Jan. 12th	Write a one-paragraph proposal for you research project/oral presentation on Disney and the media. What specific questions do you hope to explore? Why?
Wednesday, Jan. 11the	Read "Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh (linked here).
Monday, Jan. 9th	Write a 2 page response paper after having seen "Mickey Mouse Monopoly." Use the following as guiding questions: What did you learn about the way Disney and the media industry functions from this film?   What shocked you or disturbed you? After seeing the film, what questions are you left asking? What would you like to research in more depth?
Thursday, Jan. 5th	Create your own Identity Logo.
Wednesday, Dec. 21st	Prepare for your debate on censorship in the media. Come up with clear arguments for (Isaac, Alejandro, Kendra, Tara, Madi, Greg) or against (Max, Twyla, Luke, Emily, Kenny, Kat) censorship and support those arguments with specific examples.
Tuesday, Dec. 20th	Read these two articles arguing for and against censorship in the media: http://www.cushycms.com/temporary_uploads/171629/Why Media Literacy Education Is Preferable to Censorship.docx http://www.cushycms.com/temporary_uploads/171629/The Case for Censorship.docx
Monday, Dec. 19th	Write a one to two page reflection after having watched Disney's Hercules, using your observations from the film. What stereotypes about race, gender and class can you see at work in the film? What assumptions about beauty, love, masculinity, and femininity are upheld? Use specific examples.
Friday, Dec. 16th	Make as many observations as you can about DIsney's Hercules.
Wednesday, Dec. 7th	Memorize your lines for your 7-minute plays.
Monday, Nov. 21st	Continue to work on your 7-minute plays.
Wednesday, Nov. 16th	Write down how the 8 Golden Keys are present in your emerging scenario for your tragedy, comedy, or satire.
Wednesday, Nov. 9th	1) Read the following excerpt from Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience": "Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once? Men generally...think that they ought to wait until they have persuaded the majority to alter them. They think that, if they should resist, the remedy would be worse than the evil. But it is the fault of the government itself that the remedy is worse than the evil. It makes it worse. Why is it not more apt to anticipate and provide for reform?....If the injustice...is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine. "What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn. As for adopting the ways which the state has provided for remedying the evil, I know not of such ways. They take too much time, and man's life will be gone....A man has not everything to do, but something; and because he cannot do everything it is not necessary that he should do something wrong....any man more right than his neighbors constitutes a majority of one already." -Henry David Thoreau 2) Answer the following question with full sentences and in paragraph form: Do you believe it is ever right, as a matter of conscience, to deliberately break a law you regard as unjust? For example, at one time in US history it was against the law to harbor a fugitive slave. Would you have broken that law? Why or why not?
Monday, Nov. 7th	Finish reading Antigone. Note down how all 8 of the golden keys (Thought, Character Committed to Action, Relationship, Urgency, High Stakes, Time, Space, Conflict) show up in the play.
Thursday, Nov. 3rd	1) Make a story arc for the dialogue you've been writing. 2) Write down the incident, the revelation, and the consequence in your dialogue.
Wednesday, Nov. 2nd.	Read through page 214 in Antigone.
Tuesday, Nov. 1st	Read through page 195 in Antigone.
Friday, Oct. 28th	Read and take notes on the following introduction to theater in Ancient Greece: http://anarchon.tripod.com/indexGREEKTH.html
Wednesday, Oct. 26th	Based on the observations you made during our walk today, make some inferences about how the landscape we walked through has changed over the course of history. What are some specific observations you made about the landscape? How do these  observations clue you into how the landscape has changed?
Monday, Oct. 24th	Write a 2 page double-spaced reflection on your experience at the MFA. Reflect on the observations you made during the field trip. What  did you notice about how the Museum presents and designs its exhibits? How did these choices affect your experience of the art/artifacts? How did the Museum's architecture, lighting, organization, etc. influence the kind of story that was being told about Ancient Greece?
Friday, Oct. 21st	Field trip tomorrow!! Remember to pack a cold lunch and/or bring money to buy lunch at the MFA cafeteria. Revise your "Quiver" essay.
Wednesday, October 19th	Revise your Personal Creation Myths.
Tuesday, October 18th	Come up with 3-5 moments from your creation myth that you want to sketch for your greek pottery project.
Friday, October 14th	Tomorrow we will be having an in-class content assessment. It will take most of the class period. For this "quest," you will be asked to respond to the following prompts, relating to our conversations over the past few days. You should prepare this evening by reviewing and re-familiarizing with the concepts. Define the terms "subjective" and "objective" in language that you understand and would use. What is subjective knowledge? What is objective knowledge? Be prepared to give examples and explain the significance of each.  You will be given a couple of descriptions of a historical event, and you will be asked to analyze how each uses subjective and objective knowledge.
Thursday, October 13th	Have a Socratic dialogue with one of your family members, in which you refine a statement that you genuinely believe in. Record how your statement changes over the course of your dialogue. For example, I might say: "Everyone should respect their mother," and then the person with whom I was having a Socratic dialogue might ask me: "What about children that have been neglected or abused by their mothers?" and then I might say: "We live in a world where many mothers don't have the kind of support they need to take good care of their children." and then (s)he might say: "But does that mean their children should respect them?" and then I might say: "We should strive to live in a world where everyone can respect their mother." which is a more nuanced statement than my original statement.
Wednesday, October 12th	Finish your "heroification freewrite", where you tell the story of someone in your life as if you were making them into a hero in history.
Tuesday, October 11th	Read the handout, which includes the chapters, "Handicapped by History" and "1493".
Thursday, October 6th	Write ten ways in which the Greeks affected your life. Use full sentences and make the connection clear.
Tuesday, Oct. 4th	Listen to This American Life's "The Edge of Sanity". Play the entire episode; it should take you about an hour. http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/52/edge-of-sanity
Monday, Oct. 3rd	Write your "Quiver" essay in response to the question "Is Atalanta a hero or a villain?" using the thesis that you've honed and revised in class. Click on this link to look at the specific expectations for this assignment. Your essay should be typed, double-spaced, and should have an introduction and a conclusion and at least 2 or 3 supporting paragraphs.
Friday, Sept. 30th	Revise your Personal Creation Myth.
Wednesday, Sept. 28th	After our analysis of Sadie's thesis and essay today in class, edit your thesis to make sure it is as clear and detailed as possible; remember, it should serve as a "roadmap" for how you organize your essay. Once you have a clear thesis, outline how you will organize your essay based on that thesis. Your outline should include your thesis and topic sentences for each paragraph in your essay. You should have at least 2 or 3 topic sentences. Example outline from Sadie's essay: Thesis: By incorporating morality and the underdog story, Disney's version of Mulan changes the original meaning of the "Ballad of Mulan" from a story about a warrior to a story about an inept young woman turned brave soldier. Paragraph 1 Topic Sentence: By turning the "Ballad of Mulan" into a story with a moral, Disney is creating a more accessible feel-good story for their viewers. Paragraph 2 Topic Sentence: In order to create a prime underdog story, Disney incorporated obstacles for Mulan to face and defeat.
Tuesday, Sept. 27th	Craft a detailed thesis in response to the question "Is Atalanta a hero or a villain?"
Monday, Sept. 26th	Finish reading Quiver.
Thursday, Sept. 22nd	Read through the end of "Part One" in Quiver.
Wednesday, Sept. 21st	Read Chapters 1-3 (through pg. 22) in Quiver.
Tuesday, Sept. 20th	Bring in an example of "objective" writing (e.g. a newspaper article, a page from a textbook, a page from a religious text, etc.). From it, pick six sentences (the simpler the better). Write those sentences on a separate piece of paper, identify the subject, the verb, and the object (if there is an object) in each of those sentences, and decide whether the verb is functioning as a transitive or intransitive verb. Remember a transitive verb has an object, and an intransitive verb does not. Example:   Misha   abuses   us      by giving us grammar homework. (subject) (verb) (object) The verb is transitive.
Monday, Sept. 19th	Rewrite a myth that we've read from the perspective of a minor character. You can write it in poetic or narrative form.
Thursday, Sept. 15th	Identify three clear patterns from the myths we've read, other than the ones we started listing in class today (e.g. being punished for curiosity, "don't try and change your fate," gods cheating on their wives, etc.). Write down specific examples from the texts (either "Heroes, Gods, and Monsters," or the myths from the Sami, Hebrew, Aztec, and Persian traditions) that support the pattern you've identified. You should have a minimum of three examples for each pattern, and you should back them up with evidence from the text.
Monday, Sept. 12th	Finish, re-write if you wish, and type up your Personal Creation Myth. Bring it with you to class on Monday.
Friday, Sept. 8th	Re-Read  "What is Myth?" by Karen Armstrong "A myth, therefore, is true because it is effective, not because it gives us factual information. If, however, it does not give us new insight into the deeper meaning of life, it has failed. If it works, that is, if it forces us to change our minds and hearts, gives us new hope, and compels us to live more fully, it is a valid myth."  Think of a story (a movie you've seen, a book you've read, a song you've listened to, etc.) that is not factually true, but which either moved you in someway, taught you something new, or changed your mind about something. Write a paragraph describing how this moved you, how it changed you, or what you learned about yourself/the world from it?
Wednesday, Sept. 7th	Come to the first day of school with your summer readings and writings completed :-)