FINAL   JOURNAL   ASSIGNMENTS: Due April 17

Journal #4: Choose one of the following topics to address in at least a page and a half.

1) Discuss the themes of Martin Espada's poetry. Which poems and lines did you relate to most? How does he speak for you or people you know?

2) What impacted you most about the film Mi Familia?     Explain.

Journal #5: Where in your life have you experienced or witnessed racism?

TUESDAY, MARCH   20 in class and at home:

Latino Issues and Bi-Culturalism: WEB RESEARCH and TEXT READING

After doing this research,  your homework assignment is to read the following in your textbook:

Martin Espada’s poetry (ALL of it)

Carolyn Forche’s “The Colonel, ” “The Memory of Elena,” and “The Visitor”

Pat Mora’s “Elena” and

Aurora Levins Morales, “Puertoricanness” and  “Child of the Americas”

Maria Mazzioti Gillan”s “Public School No. 18: Patterson, New Jersey”

1.         Go to the web and look up “migrant farm workers.”  Then go to the web site of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers and read.

2.       Look up the documentary Harvest of Shame.  Then go to YouTube to see pieces of it.  Why was it important?

3.        Find details about the life and work of the poet Martin Espada.

4.       Find out something about Carolyn Forche’s work in Central America.

5.        Research the Mothers of the Plaza De Mayo (Madres de Plaza de Mayo):

6.       In three sentences, explain the events in the poem “The Colonel” (p. 543)

7.       Give a synopsis of “Tony Went to the Bodega but Didn’t Buy Anything” (p. 664-665)

8.       Who is Federico, what happened to him, why is it political ?(p.662)

9.        Read Pat Mora’s “Elena”  (p. 658) and explain what the speaker feels.

10.    Read Aurora Levin Morales’  “Child of the Americas”  and  Pat Mora’s “Legal Alien”  (656)  explain their relevance .

11.    Read Public School No, 18 (644) and explain the child and the woman’s attitude.

JOURNALS   DUE   NEXT   THURS:

1) Baraka

2) Chinaman's Chance

3)  Joy Luck Club: Select one of the character you identify with and explain why.

Tuesday, MNarch 6

JOY LUCK CLUB DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. How does culture affect the mothers' interaction with their daughters and the shaping of their self-concepts?

2. In what ways are the daughters like their mothers? (or, in the language of family systems, "In what ways are the patterns of one generation repeated by the next generation?")

3. What impact does culture have on the conflict management styles exhibited in the movie?

4. How does Waverly's boyfriend's lack of knowledge about Chinese rules lead to his intercultural incompetence at dinner?

  http://www.oup.com/us/companion.websites

5.  While growing up in China, these women heard many stories from their elders—stories which served to provide guidelines for living—however superstitious those guidelines may have been. What methods do American parents generally use to impart wisdom and to teach their children about the world? Do you think that these methods are more effective than storytelling?

6. Each of the women in the novel has faced difficulties in marriage. What are the differences in the sort of choices that have been available to each generation? What are the similarities?

7. In most families, there is a pull between the elders, who want to honor the past, and the subsequent generations, who are more concerned with the possibilities of the present. Do you agree?

8.  What lessons have the mothers learned from their daughters?

   What lessons have the daughters learned from their mothers?

(http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/samepage/2007/jlcdiscussion.html)

9.  How do mythology and spirituality play out in this film?

THURSDAY, FEB> =23

Journal 2

Select three points (or quotations) from Eric Lui's "A Chinaman's Chance" and respond to them, using your experience and observation to further the discussion.   This should be as usual 1.5 pages minimum, typed.

TUES. FEB   21

Shaw /LIT 2480

Discussion Questions for "Lost Sister" by Cathy Song

PART I

1)  Look at the poem in some of the same terms in which you'd view a story.  What is the setting (or settings)?  What is the plot?   Who is the speaker?   What is the conflict?

2)  Jade is given special significance.  What is the symbolism of Jade according to the poem? 

3)  Find other  images of nature in the poem.  Where do those images exist?  In what country?  In what way is nature a significant part of the speaker's culture?

4)  What are the cultural images tied to the Chinese in the American setting of the poem?  What do these mean?  Explain the references to Chinese laundry, restaurants,  firecrackers, and Mah Jongg and nosey landlords?

5)   The speaker contrasts two lifestyles, one in China and one in the United States.  Point out some elements of those contrasts.

6)        What is the reference to foot binding?  What  was the purpose of binding women's feet? In what other cultures are women maimed or deformed for a particular standard of beauty?  Do you think we do this in any way in the United States?

PART II

What characteristics of  Joseph Campbell’s elements of mythology and/or fairy tales do you see in this poem?

Theme:                                                                  Example (line)

1.

2.

3.

4.

Fill in all the details of this outline to prepare for your essay on Tuesday.

Thesis: (a simple statement that covers the main purpose t of your paper with or without the supporting points. )

I. First element:

A. (example)

B.

C.

II.   Second element

A.

B.

C.

III.   Third element

A.

B,

C,

Thursday, 2/2 Discussion   Questions

1)     Select five fairy tale elements and list how the film uses these.

2)     Select four mythological elements and list how the film uses those

3)     Where did you see ritual as Joseph Campbell explains it in the fim?

4)     What symbolism did you see in this film?

....................................................................................................................................................................................

:

Shaw /LIT 2480

Discussion Questions for "Lost Sister" by Cathy Song

PART I

1)  Look at the poem in some of the same terms in which you'd view a story.  What is the setting (or settings)?  What is the plot?   Who is the speaker?   What is the conflict?

2)  Jade is given special significance.  What is the symbolism of Jade according to the poem? 

3)  Find other  images of nature in the poem.  Where do those images exist?  In what country?  In what way is nature a significant part of the speaker's culture?

4)  What are the cultural images tied to the Chinese in the American setting of the poem?  What do these mean?  Explain the references to Chinese laundry, restaurants,  firecrackers, and Mah Jongg and nosey landlords?

5)   The speaker contrasts two lifestyles, one in China and one in the United States.  Point out some elements of those contrasts.

6)        What is the reference to foot binding?  What  was the purpose of binding women's feet? In what other cultures are women maimed or deformed for a particular standard of beauty?  Do you think we do this in any way in the United States?

PART II

What characteristics of  Joseph Campbell’s elements of mythology and/or fairy tales do you see in this poem?

Theme:                                                                

  Examples (line)

1.

2.

3.

4.

After watching the Wizard of Oz, make a list of the fairy tale characteristics you learned about on Tuesday and show exactly how they are embodied in this film.     You should have multiple examples for most of them. Bring this to class on Tuesday,