YOUR MIDTERM PAPERS

I was asked if you "needed a bibliography." If ANY of you had come to get the handout I said you needed to get from me today, you would know the answer. (Thank you, Justin) Ya'll better jump on it.

WATCH FIGHT CLUB

Don't forget or you're dead!!!

Before watching Fight Club, answer these questions about your personal beliefs:

1. What is the meaning of life?
2. What is our purpose?
3. Do you think we were created by God?
4. Do you believe we evolved from primates?
5. Do you believe we are reincarnations of people from the past?
6. Do you believe in fate or destiny?
7. How do your beliefs affect your thoughts and actions?
8. What if you believed life had no meaning, or that we are here as a consequence of circumstances beyond our control? How would this belief affect you?


After you watch Fight Club, I want you to think about how the protagonist would answer these questions. In addition, bring in a bulleted plot summary. (Maybe pause the movie every 15-20 minutes to write down some notes on the plot so you can discuss it properly)

TRIP tomorrow

Remember, we are going to Kingsborough tomorrow. It is a mandatory trip for JUNIORS and counts as 3 class hours. If you have not yet brought a permission slip, you can still bring it tomorrow. We also have class tomorrow afternoon. make sure you have read Chapter 35. Existentialism is difficult but fascinating!

I'm an...

old lady. I'm having a difficult time cutting and pasting the worksheets I want you to have. I don't know why because I've been able to do it before. I didn't forget about you guys. I probably will have to give it all out on Monday. Sorry!!

don't forget!!!

1) We are being observed by the College Now people on Monday.

Be there prepared to talk about Maus/Night!!!!!!!

2) Your permission slips! seriously, people.

3)I'm grading blogs tomorrow all day. Be warned.

LINKS

HI.
Sorry.

I might be the worst teacher ever.

Ok, here's what I'm finding out. Some of you are folloing me, but did not send me your link so I CANNOT follow you. Here is the list of all of the links I am following. If your link is NOT here, please POST it as a comment to THIS BLOG. ASAP.

K? Thanks.

And follow your classmates. ALL OF THEM.

http://www.animerocksbsss.blogspot.com/
http://www.elizabethreyesbsss.blogspot.com/
http://www.maxlopezbsss.blogspot.com/
http://www.jessicacuacuasbsss.blogspot.com/
http://www.blogofdreamsbsss.blogspot.com/
http://www.miragebsss.blogspot.com/
http://anthony-falletta.blogspot.com/
http://claudiavilardobsss.blogspot.com/
http://historyofpaintingsbsss.blogspot.com/
http://petranellebsss.blogspot.com/
http://collegenowhumanitiesbsss.blogspot.com/
http://nickygusler.blogspot.com/
http://rabije1bsss.blogspot.com/
http://vladydaddy23bsss.blogspot.com/

Class Tomorrow

I am sad to see that many of you have not yet fulfilled your task of setting up a blog, following me and/or writing your first blog post.

We have class tomorrow from 2:20-5PM.
Please be prepared. As it is already, the blog project is starting off as a failure and I am disappointed.

Assignments due Mon Feb 28

1. Outline of Ch32

2. Outline of Ch33

3.1 blog posting

4. your hyperlink emailed to me at missseltzer@gmail.com

5. Kafka's "Metamorphosis" - read the entire novella and write a 1 page reaction.

Assignments due Mon Feb 28

1. Outline of Ch32

2. Outline of Ch33

3.1 blog posting

4. your hyperlink emailed to me at missseltzer@gmail.com

5. Kafka's "Metamorphosis" - read the entire novella and write a 1 page reaction.

Blog Project

College Now

Humanities 1

Blog Semester Project

What is a Blog?

A blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), audio (podcasting), which are part of a wider network of social media. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog)

Why should we blog?

In terms of Humanities, blogging is our contribution to the 21^st century. It is our soapbox, so to speak. In a blog, you have the ability to make your opinions public to the world. It is a writing tool which enables us all to become active participants in the documentation of our society as we see it.

What should YOU blog?

• Descriptions, analysis and reactions to anything new and noteworthy you experience in terms of humanities:
• Movies
• Music
• Literature
• Art
• Drama
• Television

• Descriptions and analysis of current news events, laws, issues and policies that you feel strongly about:
• War in Iraq/Middle East Conflict/Egypt
• Our president’s effectiveness
• Gay Marriage/Don’t ask don’t tell repeal/Itgetsbetterproject
• NYC public Schools/Government funding
• Economic hardship
• Social issues – sex, drugs, abortion, racism, bullying…

These are only suggestions. You may blog about anything else that you think concerns humanities and our goal in this course. The only thing you are not permitted to blog about is your day-to day life. This is not your diary. Please do not divulge personal details about your social life, as this is a school project. We will all be reading your blog.

How to create your blog

1. Go to www.blogger.com
2. Click “Create a Blog”
3. Fill out the appropriate information. Where it says “Display Name” please use your first AND last REAL name.
4. You may entitle your blog anything you would like, and you may also chose any website address that you like, as long as it ENDS in BSSS.

(www.whatever nameyoupickBSSS.blogspot.com)

You may also choose any template you wish to use.

5. Bring your web address to class, so that all of your classmates can sign up to follow your blog.
6. Once you are signed in and can view your blog, visit http://missseltzer2011bsss.blogspot.com/ and click “follow this blog.”
7. Start Blogging!!

Requirements

• You are required to write ONE blog per week, and comment on TWO of your classmates’ blogs per week. Blogs AND comments should be no shorter than one-two paragraphs. You will be graded weekly on both pieces of the assignment.
• You are required to write grammatically sound text. “IM” language and emoticons are not appropriate. The Blog site does have spell-check and I expect you to use it.
• You are required to check my blog regularly, as I will be posting class reminders, messages and notices.

Poetry Review

Poetry is a literary form characterized by a strong sense of rhythm and meter and an emphasis on the interaction between sound and sense. Poetry is highly ‘compressed’ writing, often using figurative language which allows the reader to ‘unpack’ the poem's meaning for itself. This leads to people interpreting poems differently in different times and places, which is part of the fascination of the medium. Poetry does not have to follow the strict grammatical rules of prose (ordinary written language) – although the writer may choose to do so – and often uses richer language to appeal to the reader's senses and intellect. The use of comparative language and elevated or uncommon word choice or diction contributes to poetry's ability to make a familiar world seem strange and new again.

Rhythm and meter are the building blocks of poetry.

Rhythm is the pattern of sound created by the varying length and emphasis given to different syllables. The rise and fall (the beat) of spoken language is called its cadence.

Meter is the rhythmic pattern created in a line of verse. There are four basic kinds of meter:

*Accentual (strong-stress) meter: The number of stressed syllables in a line is fixed, but the number of total syllables is not.

Syllabic meter: The number of total syllables in a line is fixed, but the number of stressed syllables is not. This kind of meter is relatively rare in English poetry.

*Accentual-syllabic meter: Both the number of stressed syllables and the number of total syllables is fixed. Accentual-syllabic meter has been the most common kind of meter in English poetry.

Quantitative meter: The duration of sound of each syllable, rather than its stress, determines the meter. Quantitative meter is common in Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, and Arabic but not in English.

Free verse: Verse that does not conform to any fixed meter or rhyme scheme. Free verse is not, however, loose or unrestricted: its rules of composition are as strict and difficult as traditional verse, for they rely on less evident rhythmic patterns to give the poem shape.

Poetry generally is divided into lines of verse. A grouping of lines, equivalent to a paragraph in prose, is called a stanza. On the printed page, line breaks normally are used to separate stanzas from one another.

One common way of creating a sense of musicality between lines of verse is to make them rhyme.

End rhyme: A rhyme that comes at the end of a line of verse. Most rhyming poetry uses end rhymes.

Internal rhyme: A rhyme between two or more words within a single line of verse

Perfect rhyme: An exact match of sounds in a rhyme.

Slant rhyme: An imperfect rhyme, also called oblique rhyme or off rhyme, in which the sounds are similar but not exactly the same, as between “port” and “heart.” Modern poets often use slant rhyme as a subtler alternative to perfect rhyme.

Rhyme Schemes

Rhymes do not always occur between two successive lines of verse. Here are some of the most common rhyme schemes.

Couplet: Two successive rhymed lines that are equal in length.

Quatrain: A four-line stanza. The most common form of English verse, the quatrain has many variants. One of the most important is the heroic quatrain, written in iambic pentameter with an ABAB rhyme scheme.

Tercet: A grouping of three lines, often bearing a single rhyme.

Punctuation: Like syllable stresses and rhyme, punctuation marks influence the musicality of a line of poetry.

When there is a break at the end of a line denoted by a comma, period, semicolon, or other punctuation mark, that line is end-stopped.

In enjambment, a sentence or clause runs onto the next line without a break. Enjambment creates a sense of suspense or excitement and gives added emphasis to the word at the end of the line.

Repetition: Words, sounds, phrases, lines, or elements of syntax may repeat within a poem. Sometimes, repetition can enhance an element of meaning, but at other times it can dilute or dissipate meaning.

Refrain: A phrase or group of lines that is repeated at significant moments within a poem, usually at the end of a stanza.

Alliteration is the repetition especially of consonant sounds in words occurring in close proximity.

Assonance involves the repetition of similar vowel sounds in syllables ending with different consonant sounds, as in "roof," "tooth," and "shoot."

Consonance is the repetition of final consonant sounds with differing preceding vowel sounds: "peel," "pale," and "pole,"

Onomatopoeia is where the sounds of words suggest their meaning, such as in the words "buzz," "crackle," and "sizzle."

Euphony is where the words sound pleasant and harmonious, as in the second line of Shakespeare's sonnet, "[Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?]": "Thou art more lovely and more temperate."

Cacophony is the opposite, where the sound is harsher and more discordant and less agreeable.

Later poetry, particularly that of modernism, became more fluid and less constrained by traditional rules of structure and grammar. This means that a work need not follow a strict metrical pattern or rhyme in order to be a poem. In such ‘free’ verse, poetry becomes something reliant more upon imagery and emotive language, and odd and unexpected line breaks (enjambment), than upon alliteration, numbers of syllables, or rhymes. These poems are often said to be written in ‘open form’, while more traditional poems are said to be written in ‘fixed’ or ‘closed’ form. Rhythmic prose which is poetical in terms of its imagery and figures of speech is sometimes called ‘prose poetry’; this too is a term associated with modernism.

Syllabus

Kingsborough Community College
The City University of New York

HUM 1: Modern Humanities: Arts & Ideas - 3 credits

Mondays: 2:30-5:00pm Room 404 Course Instructor: Ms. Seltzer MissSeltzer@gmail.com

College Now Description: This course introduces students to outstanding literature, art, film and music from the beginning of the 20th century to the present. By exploring the way these subjects are related, students develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of modern American culture and the individuals who influenced the humanities.

Explanation: The Humanities give students a chance to find a cultural identity. The study of art, music, literature, theater, dance, film and other creative cultural endeavors in an interrelated historical context can lead to the discovery of the meaning in life

Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, students will have:

1. become acquainted with the human tradition as expressed in its literature, philosophy, and the arts;

2. become familiar with seminal modern ideas and theories as expressed through literature, philosophy, and the arts;

3. examine underlying assumptions about and ways of seeing literature, philosophy, and the arts;

4. think critically about the humanities by looking outward at the world and formulating thoughtful and informed ideas about it; and

5. understand themselves as persons whose identities are shaped through participation in a wider community and longer history.

Textbook: Gloria K. Fiero: The Humanistic Tradition, Vol. 6, McGraw-Hill, 2003.

Methods of Evaluation:

• Midterm Paper (20%)
• Final Paper (20%)
• Final Exam (20%)
• Blog (20%)
• Class attendance/homework/participation in activities (20%)

You are expected to attend every class for the full time. Any lateness or early departures will be added together. Any missed classes above 2 full sessions MUST be made up in order to earn credit for the course.

Topical Course Outline:

1. Chapter 32

What is Humanities?

Robert Frost: Selected Poems

Early Twentieth Century Art: Cubism/Futurism/Fauvism

2. Chapter 33

The Human Psyche/Sigmund Freud

“The Metamorphosis” Franz Kafka

e.e.cummings: Selected Poems

Expressionism/ Surrealism

Movie: Frida

3. Chapter 34

The Great Depression WWII

Elie Weisel: Night

Art Spigelman: Maus I&II

4. Chapter 35

Existentialism

Jackson Pollack: Selected Artwork

Dylan Thomas: Selected Poems

Frank Lloyd Wright/ Trip to Guggenheim Museum

5. Chapter 36

Harlem Renaissance

Civil Rights Movement Feminism

Langston Hughes: Selected Poems

Maya Angelou: Selected Poems

Gwendolyn Brooks: Selected Poems

Film: History of Jazz

6. Chapter 37

Postmodernism

Globalism

Ethnic Identity

Film: The Godfather

7. Chapter 38

Pop Art/Advertising/Visual Arts

Hip Hop

“Def Poetry Jam” Russel Simmons