Archives for September 2014

HW12: CLARIFICATION

September 15, 2014 By

Hello seniors! The homework post below in italics (posted over the weekend) communicates a mixed message. My apologies. Your forum response is due:

12C: Tuesday by midnight
12G: Wednesday by midnight

This is the posting with the contradicting due dates, so ignore it:

Due 9/16 (9/17 for 12G): Forum Response Be sure you post your response in the appropriate class forum in the appropriate thread. DO NOT START YOUR OWN THREAD! :) REMEMBER: Your responses are due by midnight. So, for 12C, you should post your response no later than Tuesday night at midnight (Wednesday at midnight for 12G).

HW10 due 9/16: A Rose for Emily

September 15, 2014 By

1. Read and annotate Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily.  (For those of you who do not know, you can click on the title and it will download the short story. Pretty cool…)

2. Research and take notes on William Faulkner.  Again, document only that which would be helpful in informing your reading of his literature. This should go in your notes section.

3. We will pick up with a closing discussion of Oates’ short story focusing on your reading responses and THEME.

4. Remember, 5 words should be added to your vocab section by the end of this week.

5. When checking the website, I strongly encourage you to go straight to your Sophomore English Tab.

HW12 due 9/15 (9/16 for 12G): The Encounter with Nothingness

September 12, 2014 By

*We begin The Stranger next weekend! Please buy your own copy if you can.*

1.  Read and annotate William Barrett’s The Encounter with Nothingness (Second reading in the packet). Be sure to read all three parts (the third part being Science and Finitude). Barrett’s reading will give us just a nugget of context before we move ahead. Remember, you must annotate all readings for this class! Failure to do so will result in a zero!  You will learn how to provide some focus to your annotations.  Ultimately, focused annotating prepares you for your reading responses, formal essays, and class discussions.  To annotate is to supply with critical or explanatory notes:

  • identifying lines that resonate with you, confuse you, or make you want to know more
  • asking questions of general thematic/philosophical value
  • tracking the development of a theme that may connect to one or more of the philosophical readings or other fiction.

2. Due 9/16 (9/17 for 12G): Existentialism is a Humanism–Jean Paul Sartre is often the first name to come to mind when one considers Existentialism. His brand of atheistic existentialism so dominates the existential landscape that one forgets that the “first existentialist” Kierkegaard was indeed a theist. Nevertheless, Sartre’s essay most clearly defines the existential mindset. It becomes a fundamental piece of this course’s foundation.   Additionally, his essay establishes some of the tenets of existentialism that are universally applicable.  Read and ANNOTATE! Be sure you are able to discuss the four reproaches of existentialism and his defense against those reproaches.

3. Due 9/16 (9/17 for 12G): Forum Response Be sure you post your response in the appropriate class forum in the appropriate thread. DO NOT START YOUR OWN THREAD! 🙂 REMEMBER: Your responses are due by midnight. So, for 12C, you should post your response no later than Tuesday night at midnight (Wednesday at midnight for 12G). Also, all responses should be printed out including proper class heading. Each response should be numbered and titled. So, this one should look like: #3: Existentialism is a Humanism.

HW10 due 9/15: Where are You Going… Forum Response

September 11, 2014 By

1. Research and take notes on Joyce Carol Oates.  These notes should be written in the notes section of your binder.  As you are researching Oates, consider what details are important to understanding/appreciating her writing.  Note those details.
2. Read and annotate Joyce Carol Oates’ “Where are you Going, Where have you Been?” Review the annotating expectations in the course syllabus. Focus your annotations on thematic observations.
3. Forum Response–Post your response in the appropriate class forum in the pre-created thread. DO NOT START YOUR OWN THREAD! 🙂 Must be posted by midnight Sunday night.

HW12 due 9/12: Man’s Search for Meaning In-Class Essay

September 11, 2014 By

What is Viktor Frankl’s view of the human condition?

Ultimately your objective for this essay is to craft a thesis reflecting Frankl’s view of the human condition. TONIGHT, you can write out the thesis for this essay.

The following are major players in his argument:

  1. Frankl titles Part II of his text “Logotherapy in a Nutshell.”  Scholars suggest his thesis here can be reduced to the Freidrich Nietzsche quote (Remember, Frankl himself cites it on numerous occasions):

“He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.”

  1. Inner life/value and spiritual freedom
  2. Discovering meaning in life in three different ways:
  • By creating a work or doing a deed
  • By experiencing something or encountering someone (Love)
  • By the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering

Your essay should demonstrate control/understanding of both Part I and Part II of the text. This essay is unlike English essays of the past!  Your thesis is actually what you believe to be Frankl’s argument. There should be no critical discussion!

Be sure to bring in your copy of Man’s Search for Meaning and your notes!

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