Tuesday, August 17, 2010

The Unwanted by Kien Nguyen 200 POINTS TOTAL
Take home exam, due tomorrow, August 18th, typed and double spaced. Responses must be in essay format but do not require a formal introduction paragraph.

Short essay questions, worth 50 points each:

1. Which scene in the book affected you most deeply? Explain how it affected you and why.

2. Select one of the characters and make assertions (at least two) about their character/personality/sensibility. Support your assertions using specific details from the text. Be specific and thorough. There is no need to directly quote or indicate page number. You can simply paraphrase.

3. Do the same thing as #2 above, focusing on a different character in the memoir.

4. Select one of the many themes about home that we have read about and/or discussed this semester (losing home, returning home, the myth of home, leaving home, finding home, etc.) and explain how it applies to this memoir specifically. You may INSTEAD focus on another theme of your choice besides for the home theme, as we discussed in class today.

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EXTRA CREDIT (OPTIONAL) Worth 2 points each
Who spoke these words?

1. “Madam, is it fine with you that the children keep the dog? I am sorry for not asking you first, but I do want to leave them something to remember me by before I go.”

2. “And you….each time you told me that I am your only sister, in my heart, I truly wanted to believe you, but I won’t anymore. It always ends up hurting too much. Today, your son beat mine to within an inch of death. I am terminating this relationship, sister. From this point on, we are just two unfortunate families sharing a well and a shithouse.”

3. “Let me ask you then, does it bother you that I am from the north?”

4. “You can sell the necklace…But can I keep the jade? It’s the only thing left for us to remember Loan.”

Thursday, August 12th

Happy weekend to all of you. Enjoy and be safe.
See you Tuesday...
we will do some concentrated work/discussion regarding THE UNWANTED.

Wednesday, August 4th

Good evening, I apologize for posting this assignment so late into the day.
Please read the following for Essay Packet #3, due to be read by tomorrow's class.

"How Arizona became ground zero for immigration reform" by Daniel B. Wood
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/0803/How-Arizona-became-ground-zero-for-immigration-reform


"America's struggle with slavery reverberates in Arizona's Immigration Controversy"
http://freedomcenter.org/freedom-forum/index.php/?p=2919

Also, thank you for those who shared kind words of hope for my mother. She is doing well after suffering her third stroke in two years.

Later that same day...Monday, August 2nd

New Assignment...NOT on course outline.
Due on Wednesday, August 4th.
Please bring in a typed response to the following:
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORD "IMMIGRATION'?
(You can write your response in list form...bulleted items...prose...etc.)
Very important: DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME ANYWHERE ON THIS ASSIGNMENT.

MONDAY, August 2, 2010

Greetings, here is the link to the Essay 2 packet, due to be read by Wednesday this week.
It is an interesting piece from Esquire magazine regarding the homeless.

"Down & Out in Fresno and San Francisco" by Colby Buzzel
http://www.esquire.com/features/down-and-out-0709

Midnight on Wednesday evening, July 28th

The following two essays comprise Essay Packet #1. These two essays are due to be read by Tuesday, August 3.
A question and comment for each essay is also due on Tuesday.

"Are we Worthy of Our Kitchens?"
http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/are-we-worthy-of-our-kitchens

"The Magic of the Family Meal"
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200760,00.html

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

Below is a copy of out of class essay assignment #2, assigned today in class.

English 20, Sections 3
Summer 2010
Course Theme: The Significance of Home
Instructor: C. Fraga

Out of Class Essay Assignment #2
• Assigned: Tuesday, July 27
• Rough Draft (optional): If you wish to submit a rough draft, it must be submitted no later than Tuesday, August 3.
• Due: Thursday, August 5
• Essay must follow MLA format exactly.
• Essay must be typed and double spaced.
• Essay must have a minimum of five sources on the Works Cited page. You are welcome to use the Internet for sources, but at least one of your sources cannot be found on the Internet (for example, use a book, view a film or documentary, conduct an interview, etc.)

Essay Prompt:

• For this essay, you will first select a group of people from another culture, religion and/or country OR a particular time period in a group of people’s lives that you are genuinely interested in finding out more about.
• You will then conduct research in order to discover and then write about at least three significant ways in which persons from this culture/country/religion (or someone in a particular situation) must adapt to home, whether it is a new home, a changed home, etc.
• You will then begin by writing a thesis that is assertive and debatable.


For example, imagine that you selected the adaptation of the Hmong once they arrive in the US. After conducting some research, you decide to present information on male and female roles in marriage, religious practices and diet as the three areas of adjustment you feel are most significant and would make the most interesting reading.

Your thesis might read something like the following:

Hundreds of Hmong people immigrate to the United States every year and face many difficult challenges, particularly in the areas of religious practices, changes in diet and male/female roles within a marriage.

• I highly encourage you to consider your academic major or an area of personal interest when selecting the three areas or issues. For example, if your major is early childhood education, you may find it particularly enjoyable to pursue the acclimation of young immigrant children; if you are an economics major you might want to explore employment struggles/strengths of new immigrants

• Likewise, when selecting an overall topic, I encourage you to consider your academic major or an area of personal interest. Some topics that students have explored in the past or topics that have been suggested during a class brainstorming session are:

1. transition from having a home to being homeless
2. transition from serving in the military in combat (or not) and then returning to civilian life.
3. transition from being single to being married
4. transition from being married to being divorced
5. transition from living at home to living away from home
6. transition from being incarcerated to being released
7. transition from being in a long term relationship to losing one’s partner to death
8. transition from having children living at home to experiencing an ‘empty nest’



(An essay that asks students to address a topic such as this one would be difficult to complete in less than five pages, approximately.)

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

Tomorrow we will view a documentary film, "Daughter from Danang." Below is a brief synopsis of the film as well as discussion questions. After viewing the film tomorrow, we will discuss the questions and prepare for the in-class essay on Thursday.

SUMMARY OF FILM:
This documentary often upsets the viewers’ expectations of happily-ever-afters. It is a riveting emotional drama of longing for home, grappling with identity issues, and witnessing the personal legacy of war.
To all outward appearances, Heidi is the proverbial “all-American girl”, hailing from small town Pulaski, Tenn. But her birth name was Mai Thi Hiep. Born in Danang, Vietnam in 1968, she’s the mixed-race daughter of an American serviceman and a Vietnamese woman. Fearing for her daughter’s safety at the war’s end, Hiep’s mother sent her to the U.S. on “Operation Babylift”, a Ford administration plan to relocate orphans and mixed-race children to the U.S. for adoption before they fell victim to a frighteningly uncertain future in Vietnam after the Americans pulled out.
Mother and daughter would know nothing about each other for 22 years.
Now, as if by a miracle, they are reunited in Danang. But what seems like the cure for a happy ending is anything but. Heidi and her Vietnamese relatives find themselves caught in a confusing clash of cultures and at the mercy of conflicting emotions that will change their lives and their definition of home forever. Through intimate and sometimes excruciating moments, Daughter from Danang profoundly shows how wide the chasms of cultural difference and how deep the wounds of war can run--even within one family.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS---THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

1. One reviewer describes the film as a “gut-wrenching examination of the way cultural differences and emotional expectations collide.” Would you agree this is an accurate description? Why or why not? Explain specifically.

2. Were there parts of the film that made you feel uncomfortable? If so, what were those parts and can you articulate why they made you feel uncomfortable?

3. Heidi acutely feels that she has been rejected by two mothers: her birth mother who gave her up and her Tennessee mother, whose cold, untouching demeanor drove a wedge between them. How does this fact impact Heidi and what she ultimately experiences when she returns to Vietnam?

4. The film is considered a very powerful one by many other small filmmakers as well as many reviewers. In your opinion, what makes this an effective or ineffective film?

5. What preconceived ideas about home are proven inaccurate after viewing the film?

6. In an interview with the filmmakers, they admit that when they decided to film Heidi’s return to Vietnam, they assumed that the reunion would be a healing story, a kind of full circle coming home. The war in Vietnam was long over and they felt they could create a film that would ease the collective pain that is still connected to the war. Instead, what they did discover?

7. Some viewers have condemned Heidi for representing an aspect of American culture that they believe is selfish and individualized. What do you think and feel about Heidi’s reaction for the family’s request for money?

Monday, July 19, 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYyR-Uj72bA

Above is a link to a two minute and 39 second video featuring Chitra Divakaruni, author of the prose poem, "Leaving Yuba City." Please view it before class tomorrow.

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

Good evening...
I am posting a copy of the out of class essay assignment #1 that I assigned last Thursday.
Stay cool in this amazing valley heat!
And.......... for those of you who are reading this, if you write down the name of the current poet laureate of the United States along with three facts about this person, along with your name, and submit it to me on Tuesday, the 20th, you will receive 5 extra points on the score of your NEXT quiz in class, quiz #3. :-)



English 20 Summer 2010…………………………………………….Instructor: C. Fraga

ASSIGNMENT: OUT OF CLASS ESSAY #1
• Assigned: Thursday, July 15
• Rough Draft due, typed & dbl. spaced (optional): no later than Wednesday, July 21
• Due: Tuesday, July 27

Please select one of the prompts below and write an interesting, informative, well
supported analysis response.
Requirements:
• Must be typed and double-spaced and have a title.
• Must follow MLA format and documentation exactly.
• Must use a minimum of five outside sources. These will, of course, be listed on your Works Cited page.
Since the purpose of this course is to strengthen your exploratory, expository and analytical writing with an emphasis on utilizing research and reading skills…AND because the theme for this course is the significance of home…I offer you a selection of three different essay prompts that each require you to carefully and deeply examine the theme of home in a particular genre. It is my intention that you will be drawn to one of the three enough so that you are motivated and even excited to conduct your research and write the essay.

Prompt #1:
For this essay you will research the theme of home as it is found in children’s picture books. After perusing several picture books, you will select a minimum of six to discuss, analyze and review for their success (or failure) in presenting the theme of home, through both words and illustrations. In your analysis, be sure to consider the intended audience.

Prompt #2:
For this essay you will research the theme of home as it is found in song lyrics. After perusing and studying many song lyrics, you will select a minimum of six songs to discuss, analyze and review for their success (or failure) in presenting the theme of home.
In your analysis, be sure to consider the intended audience.

Songs/Lyrics you may NOT analyze (please)! ☺:
“Home” (Chris Daughtry)
“Sweet Home Alabama” (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
“Home” (Michael Buble)
“Can’t Take me Home” (Pink)

Prompt #3:
For this essay you will research the theme of home as it is found in three different films (OR at least three episodes from a television series). You will discuss, analyze and review each film (or episode) for its success (or failure) in presenting the theme of home. In your analysis, be sure to consider the intended audience.
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IN ORDER TO ADDRESS ANY OF THESE THREE PROMPTS FULLY AND ADEQUATELY, YOUR ESSAY SHOULD BE AT LEAST 5 PAGES IN LENGTH (approximately)

Phrases you may NOT use in your title or anywhere in your essay:

There’s no place like home.
Home sweet home.
Home is where the heart is.
Home means different things to different people.

Thursday, July 15th

Hello!
Poetry Packet #3 consists of two prose poems.

"Flies" by Donald Hall
(if you google the above just as it is written, you will find the complete poem in the second posting.)

"Leaving Yuba City" by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
(I will provide a copy of this for you in class on Thursday, the 15th of July)

Wednesday, July 14th

POETRY READING PACKET #2 (four poems)

“Taking my Son to School” by Eamon Grennan
(do a google search of the above poem exactly as it is written above. The first posting will be a commencement speech give by Mr. Grennan. Open this and you will see the poem right at the beginning of the speech. Focus only on the poem, not the speech)
************************************************************************************
"One Home”
By William Stafford
Mine was a Midwest home—you can keep your world.
Plain black hats rode the thoughts that made our code.
We sang hymns in the house; the roof was near God.

The light bulb that hung in the pantry made a wan light,
but we could read by it the names of preserves—
outside, the buffalo grass, and the wind in the night.

A wildcat sprang at Grandpa on the Fourth of July
when he was cutting plum bushes for fuel,
before Indians pulled the West over the edge of the sky.

To anyone who looked at us we said, “My friend”;
liking the cut of a thought, we could say “Hello.”
(But plain black hats rode the thoughts that made our code.)

The sun was over our town; it was like a blade.
Kicking cottonwood leaves we ran toward storms.
Wherever we looked the land would hold us up.

*************************************************************

“Where Children Live”
by Naomi Shihab Nye

Homes where children live exude a pleasant rumpledness,
like a bed made by a child, or a yard littered with balloons.
To be a child again one would need to shed details
till the heart found itself dressed in the coat with a hood.
Now the heart has taken on gloves and mufflers,
the heart never goes outside to find something to do.
And the house takes on a new face, dignified.
No lost shoes blooming under bushes.
No chipped trucks in the drive.
Grown-ups like swings, leafy plants, slow-motion back and forth.
While the yard of a child is strewn with the corpses
of bottle-rockets and whistles,
anything whizzing and spectacular, brilliantly short-lived.
Trees in children's yards speak in clearer tongues.
Ants have more hope. Squirrels dance as well as hide.
The fence has a reason to be there, so children can go in and out.
Even when the children are at school, the yards glow
with the leftovers of their affection,
the roots of the tiniest grasses curl toward one another
like secret smiles.

**********************************************************************
“To a Daughter Leaving Home”
by Linda Pastan
(please google the poem and you will find it on PoemHunter.com)

First Day of Class, July 13th, 6 pm

Hello! I have just heard from a student that she could not access the David Whyte poem, "Arrivals."
If you are having trouble, just go to Google and type in:
"Arrivals" David Whyte

The first posting that is listed is the poem. Click and read!

If anyone has trouble after trying that (I just checked and it really does work!) email me, please!

ALSO! Below are copies of three handouts you received in class today:
1. Reading Packet #1 (3 poems)
2. Unacceptable Errors
3. Oral presentation

****************************************************************************************************************************
English 20, Summer 2010
READING PACKET #1—THREE POEMS

What Came to Me

I took the last
dusty piece of china
out of the barrel.
It was your gravy boat,
with a hard, brown
drop of gravy still
on the porcelain lip.
I grieved for you then
as I never had before.

(Jane Kenyon)


Coming Home at Twilight in Late Summer

We turned into the drive,
and gravel flew up from the tires
like sparks from a fire. So much
to be done—the unpacking, the mail
and papers…the grass needed mowing…
we climbed stiffly out of the car.
The shut-off engine ticked as it cooled.

And then we noticed the pear tree,
the limbs so heavy with fruit
they nearly touched the ground.
we went out to the meadow; our steps
made black holes in the grass;
and we each took a pear,
and ate, and were grateful.

(Jane Kenyon)

Arrivals
(find this poem by David Whyte by accessing the link below)
http://www.davidwhyte.com/english_arrivals.html
********************************************************************************************************************************
UNACCEPTABLE ERRORS


In English 20, students should already be very proficient in word usage. We do not have time for grammar lessons. (I will, however, provide short ‘mini’ lessons when I feel they are warranted.) The following errors that are commonly made on student papers are considered unacceptable.
1. Any assigned homework submitted with an unacceptable error receives no credit.
2. For out of class essays, each unacceptable error takes ten points off your final earned grade. You may correct unacceptable errors and receive the points back if you choose to revise. In class essays that have unacceptable errors CAN always be corrected to earn back the points lost.

1. there – place Put it over there.
2. their – possessive pronoun That is their car.
3. they’re – contraction of they are They’re going with us.
4. your – possessive pronoun Your dinner is ready.
5. you’re – contraction of you are You’re not ready.
6. it’s – contraction of it is It’s a sunny day.
7. its – possessive pronoun The dog wagged its tail.
8. a lot – always two words I liked it a lot.
9. to – a preposition or part of an
infinitive I like to proofread my essays carefully.
10. too – an intensifier, or also That is too much. I will go too.
11. two – a number Give me two folders.
12. In today’s society Instead use “Today” or “In America” or “Now” etc
13. right(s)/write(s)/rite(s) rights are a set of beliefs or values in which a person feels entitled: His rights were read to him before he was arrested for stalking Dave Matthews. Writes is a verb indicating action taken with a pen, pencil or computers to convey a message: Michelle writes love letters to Dave Matthews in her sleep. Rites are a series of steps or events which lead an individual from one phase in life to the next, or a series of traditions that should be followed: The initiate began his rite of passage ceremony at the age of thirteen.
***********************************************************************
An accumulation of the following errors can affect your grade, but not one error, ten points down. The number depends on how serious the error is, and how often you make it. Some do not slow up the reader as much as others.

• Misuse of the word “you”. You must actually mean the reader when you use the word “you”.

• Avoid use of contractions in formal expository writing. (can’t, shouldn’t, didn’t, etc.)

• Agreement of subject and verb. Both must be either singular or plural.

• Fragmented sentences, comma splices and run-ons. Be sure to proofread your papers carefully before turning them in.

You will not pass English 20 if you cannot write an intelligent sentence in correct English.

*******************************************************************************************************************************
English 20—Section 3
Summer 2010
Instructor: Catherine Fraga

Oral Presentation Assignment

The Significance of Home
Assigned: First day of course

Due: The last day of course, August 19th

For this assignment, please select an article, observation, photograph, painting, collage, film, song, poem, essay or anything else that offers some message or reflection on the theme of home. It could have a personal meaning for you, but it does not have to.
After you have selected your “item,” write a minimum of one page about the item. Include a brief description of the item and a detailed explanation of why you chose this item; include a thoughtful commentary. Proofread carefully for unacceptable errors as well as other proofreading mistakes.
On the day of presentations, please do not read your essay to the class, but simply summarize the main points aloud to the class. The presentation usually takes only a few moments. You will submit a copy of the essay only to me.
As the semester progresses, you may get ideas for your presentation from our readings, the films we will be viewing, or from class discussions.
Remember that you will not received this short essay back nor will you receive any credit for the assignment if there are ANY unacceptable errors present.
Please do not take this assignment lightly. It is worth 100 points.

July 5th, 2010--Monday evening

Greetings. Those of you who are reading this blog already, all FIVE OF YOU!--hope your 4th of July holiday weekend was spectacular! I am posting the Grade Roster that I mention in the course outline. You will also receive a hard copy on the first day of class next week. Have a most lovely week.

ENGLISH 20, SECTION 3
SUMMER 2010
PROF. FRAGA

GRADE ROSTER—1515 pts. possible

QUIZZES—25 points each—125 points total (most likely unannounced)
#1_____#2_____#3_____#4_____#5_____

IN CLASS JOURNAL WRITING-50 points each—200 points total
#1_____#2_____#3_____#4_____

IN CLASS ESSAYS—100 points each—200 points total
#1_____#2_____

OUT OF CLASS ESSAYS—200 points each—400 points total
#1_____#2_____

QUESTION & COMMENT HOMEWORK—30 points each—90 points total
#1_____#2_____#3_____

TAKE HOME TEST ON THE UNWANTED—200 points total
______

GROUP WORK—50 points each—200 points total
#1_____#2_____#3_____#4_____

FINAL/ORAL PRESENTATION & BRIEF ONE PAGE PAPER—100 pts. total
_____

How to assess your final grade earned: Divide the points you earn by 1515 to find the percentage.
Then see chart below.

100-95=A Example: 1309 pts. earned=86.4 %=B+
94-90=A- Example: 1400 pts. earned=92.4%=A-
89-85=B+ Example: 1237 pts. earned=81.6=B
84-80=B
79-75=B-
74-70=C
69-65=C-
64-60=D
59-0=F

29 of June 2010

I have a sense that perhaps the majority of you do not check your Sac State email. I sent a note about this blog earlier this month and so far have only two followers...:-) Below is the course outline for those of you who are following me...you will receive a hard copy on the first day and all the explanations you need.





English 20, Section 3
Summer 2010

July 13 – August 19; TWR 1:00-3:20 pm – Calaveras 135
Instructor: Catherine Fraga
Email: sacto1954@yahoo.com
Office hours: (Calaveras 149) TWR, noon-12:50 pm OR BY APPT.

COURSE DESCRIPTION (FROM CSUS CATALOG): ADVANCED WRITING THAT BUILDS UPON THE CRITICAL THINKING, READING, AND WRITING PROCESSES INTRODUCED IN ENGL 1A AND ENGL 2. EMPHASIZES RHETORICAL AWARENESS BY EXPLORING READING AND WRITING WITHIN DIVERSE ACADEMIC CONTEXTS WITH A FOCUS ON THE SITUATIONAL NATURE OF THE STANDARDS, VALUES, HABITS, CONVENTIONS, AND PRODUCTS OF COMPOSITION. STUDENTS WILL RESEARCH AND ANALYZE DIFFERENT DISCIPLINARY GENRES, PURPOSES, AND AUDIENCES WITH THE GOALS OF UNDERSTANDING HOW TO APPROPRIATELY SHAPE THEIR WRITING FOR DIFFERENT READERS AND DEMONSTRATING THIS UNDERSTANDING THROUGH VARIOUS WRITTEN PRODUCTS. NOTE: WRITING REQUIREMENT: A MINIMUM OF 5,000 WORDS. PREREQUISITE: COMPLETION OF ENGL 1A OR ENGL 2 OR EQUIVALENT WITH A C- OR BETTER; SOPHOMORE STANDING (MUST HAVE COMPLETED 30 UNITS PRIOR TO REGISTRATION). UNITS: 3.0.

Required Texts & Materials:

The Unwanted (a memoir)
By Kien Nguyen

Karma and other Stories
By Rishi Reddi

• Two blue (or green) books.
• Lined notebook paper with a clean, straight edge.
• Stapler.
• Access to a computer. Important information will be posted on the course blog:
English20Summer2010.blogspot.com. In addition, many of the readings will be items found on the Internet.

Recommended Text:
Any writing handbook that, at a minimum, offers information on MLA research documentation.

Newly updated MLA format is available free online at:
http://library.csus.edu/guides/rogenmoserd/general/mla.html

Classroom Policies:

1. Attendance is especially important during this summer school course, which meets a total of only 18 days. Classroom discussions prepare students for all writing assignments, and your fellow students and I need your input in order to make this class more complete and enjoyable.

2. YOU MUST TYPE AND DOUBLE SPACE ALL OUT OF CLASS WORK

3. In all fairness to other students, out of class essay assignments and homework must be handed in on time. I do not accept late work. Period. In-Class Journals cannot be made up; you must be present AND ON TIME in order to complete the Journal in class.

4. You’re responsible for finding out what you missed if you are absent. I will provide you with a class roster for your convenience. If you miss class, ALWAYS ASSUME YOU HAVE MISSED SOMETHING IMPORTANT.

5. My policy on EXTRA CREDIT is…I do not believe in extra credit. In short, “real” life outside the university does not operate on the extra credit option. You earn the grade you receive. It really is a fairness issue.

6. ABOUT REVISIONS: you have the option to revise one or both of your two out of class essays. If you choose to revise, you must submit the revision with the original within one week of receiving the graded essay back. No exceptions. An essay with unacceptable errors might be an essay you choose to revise.

A note on classroom etiquette:
If you feel you cannot survive each class session without the use of your cell phone, iPod, or laptop computer, please do not enroll in this class. (I own all three of these devices, and value each of them, but I do not plan on using them during my classroom time with you. Simply, it is the highest degree of rudeness and disrespect.) If I see you busy texting, etc. I will not hesitate to ask you to leave until you finish your crucial business. (IF THERE IS A COMPELLING REASON THAT YOU MUST KEEP YOUR PHONE ON VIBRATE FOR AN EMERGENCY PHONE CALL THAT MAY OCCUR DURING CLASS HOURS, PLEASE INFORM ME BEORE CLASS.) We only meet 18 days. I plan to give you my full attention for those 2 hours and 20 minutes and I expect the same from all my students.

HOW YOUR GRADE IS EARNED:
See attached grade roster. Do not discard any assignments that are graded and returned to you until the semester is over.

Theme: The Significance of Home

• We will consider home as our course-long theme. The significance of home – as a place of beginnings, as a starting point, as a place of comfort, regret, anguish, joy, personal growth, and loss – fuels a meaningful, intriguing collection of themes. Home is a base from which all of us emerge.

• Most of us have pre-conceived notions of home as a place of love, comfort, security. For millions of children, however, these definitions do not fit their reality of home as a place to escape: escape from cycles of poverty, mistrust, abuse.

• The course will explore not only home as a safety net, but also the illusions we have of home perpetuated by Madison Avenue advertising agencies.

• What are our expectations of home? Again, does our “real” home live up to the expectations society has created? How do different cultural values and priorities play a role in determining what home should and should not be? Attempting to answer these questions is the task I have set for us during this semester.

• What does it mean to leave home for the first time? What does it mean to be rootless, without a home?

• Finally, how can we reconnect to the earth as home, knowing full well that the lives we have created for ourselves impact the finite planet all of us call home?

• We view at two films which explore the theme of home. These films will allow us to observe and witness concepts we have read about and discussed. Most films can be interpreted in a multitude of ways.


Class Schedule:

(Please note: This schedule is subject to change at a moment’s notice. Please bring this schedule and your textbooks and appropriate handouts to every class session.)

Each time a reading assignment is given, you are expected to arrive to class having read the assignment, whether or not there is a question and comment (Q/C) assignment due. If it is an assignment from the Internet, please bring a hard copy to class on the day it is assigned to have been read.

NOT EVERY ACTIVITY IS LISTED ON THIS CLASS SCHEDULE. It is not unusual to have a quick quiz over reading material. There will be no prior announcement for these quizzes.

If there is a “Q/C” after the assignment, you are to bring a minimum of one question (optional) and one substantial comment (mandatory; commentary must be a minimum of 8 sentences in length), typed and double-spaced, due on the day the reading is due, ON EACH INDIVIDUAL READING ASSIGNED FOR THAT DAY. For example, if you are assigned two poems to read, you will write a commentary on each of the two poems, for a total of two commentaries.
If homework is submitted in an incorrect format and/or if it has an unacceptable error, it will receive no points and cannot be made up.

Tuesday, July 13
• Introduction to the Course
• Course Outline (handout)
• Unacceptable Errors (handout)
• Question & Comment homework explained (handout)
• Oral presentation assigned (handout)
• Discussion: How to Read and Evaluate Poetry
• Reading Packet of Poetry #1 distributed

Wednesday, July 14
• Read Reading Packet #1 (Q & C #1 due)
• Group Exercise #1 in class
• In-Class Journal #1
• Reading Packet of Poetry #2 distributed

Thursday, July 15
• Out-of-class Essay #1 assigned in class
• Read Reading Packet of Poetry #2
• Distribute Reading Packet of Poetry #3

Tuesday, July 20
• Read Reading Packet of Poetry #3
• In-Class Journal #2
• Group Exercise #2

Wednesday, July 21
• View film in class
• Discuss film and prepare for In-Class Essay 1 on Thursday

Thursday, July 22
• In Class Essay #1 (bring blue or green book to class)
• Discussion: How to Read and Evaluate Short Fiction

Tuesday, July 27
• Out of Class Essay #1 due today
• Out of Class Essay #2 assigned today
• Group Exercise #3 in class today
• Read “Justice Shiva Ram Murthy” and “Lakshmi and the Librarian”
(in Karma)

Wednesday, July 28
• In-class Journal #3
• Read “The Validity of Love” and “Bangles” (in Karma) (Q & C #2 due)

Thursday, July 29
• In-Class Journal #4
• Read “Karma” and “Devadasi” (in Karma)
• Discussion: How to Read and Evaluate an Essay

Tuesday, August 3
• Read Essay Packet #1 (Q & C due)
• Group Exercise #4 in class

Wednesday, August 4
• Read Essay Packet #2
• In-Class Journal #4

Thursday, August 5
• Out of class Essay #2 due today
• Read Essay Packet #3
• If you have not already, you should begin reading The Unwanted after class today. You will note that beginning next week, we will be discussing the memoir in class. Pages due to be read are indicated for each day.

Tuesday, August 10
• For today, you will have read from the beginning through pg. 136 in The Unwanted

Wednesday, August 11
• Read pgs. 139-176 in The Unwanted
• View film in class

Thursday, August 12
• Read pgs. 177-216 in The Unwanted
• In class Essay #2 on film viewed yesterday (remember blue/green book)

Tuesday, August 17
• Read pgs. 217-end of book. (The Unwanted)
• Concluding discussion of book in preparation for take home test.
• Take home test on The Unwanted distributed

Wednesday, August 18
Take home test on The Unwanted due today

Thursday, August 19
• Last day of class; grade roster check; oral presentations
************************************************************************

Thursday evening, June 24th, 2010

Hello,

I wanted to give you a heads up on the textbooks we will be reading this summer.
Both are paperback and very inexpensive. If you wish to get the lowest price possible, I am informing you of the
titles so you can perhaps obtain them used from Amazon.com or another Internet source.

THE UNWANTED: A MEMOIR OF CHILDHOOD
By Kien Nguyen
(this book is 14.95 new)

KARMA AND OTHER STORIES
By Rishi Reddi
(this book is 12.95 new)

Both books can be purchased at the Sac State Bookstore and there could be some used copies available there; you might want to check as soon as possible.

See you soon.