English 2235 Schedule - Spring 2007

Anoka-Ramsey Community College -- Coon Rapids Campus
English 2235: American Literature Since 1865
Spring 2007 / Section 1

Tentative Schedule #3

American Literature 1945-Present (Volume E)

W 4/11 -- Gwendolyn Brooks: Introduction (2778-2779); kitchenette building (2779); the mother (2780); a song in the front yard (2780-2781); The White Troops Had Their Orders But the Negroes Looked Like Men (2781); We Real Cool (2782); The Bean Eaters (2782); The Blackstone Rangers (2786-2788)

How does Brooks' poetry change in topics/themes and approach/tone from her early to her later poetry?
How is "Bronzeville" both a setting and a character in Brooks' poetry?
How does Brooks distinguish between children and adults in her poetry?

F 4/13-- Allen Ginsberg: Introduction (2863-2865); Howl (2865-2872); A Supermarket in California (2872-2873)

What is the "main idea" in each of the three sections in Howl?
How do the three different sections work together to form one coherent poem?
If you've read anything of Walt Whitman, how does Whitman "appear" in Ginsberg's poetry?

M 4/16 -- Sylvia Plath: Introduction (2967-2968); Morning Song (2968-2969); Lady Lazarus (2969-2971); Daddy (2972-2974); The Applicant (2978)

What seems to be Plath's attitude toward men in her poetry?
How does Plath use Jewish people and the Holocaust in her poetry?
Where does Plath explicitly or implicitly mention suicide in her poetry?

W 4/18 -- Ed-Bok Lee: Real Karaoke People, sections I and II (9-56) -- also read the acknowledgements and biography -- see also his website at http://www.edboklee.com

What are your favorite poems in sections I and II?
What are the unifying topics/themes in each section?
How do you imagine these poems might be "performed" before an audience?

F 4/20 -- No Class: English Division Retreat (all day)

M 4/23 -- Ed-Bok Lee: Real Karaoke People, sections III and IV (57-99)

Is section III a short story or a prose poem?
What is the theme of section III?
What are the unifying topics/themes in section IV?

W 4/25 -- Presentations by Ed-Bok Lee at 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. in B 235 -- Attendance is Required at the 11:00 a.m. Presentation -- Extra Credit for attending the 12:00 p.m. presentation (more details later)

F 4/27 -- Discussion of Ed-Bok Lee and His Book / Assign Essay #2

M 4/30 -- David Mamet: Introduction (2508-2509); Glengarry Glen Ross, Act One (2509-2523)

Act One is comprised of three scenes, and each scene features a conversation between two characters. How are the scenes similar to and different from each other?
How does the dialogue in each scene reveal each character? (Make a list of characteristics for each character.)
How does each scene illustrate the "Practical Sales Maxim: Always Be Closing"?

W 5/2 -- David Mamet: Glengarry Glen Ross, Act Two (2523-2542)

Act Two is one long scene but are there actually several shorter scenes "embedded" within the long one? If so, what are these shorter scenes?
Who is responsible for stealing the contracts? When and where do you find this out?
Based on how this play ends, what "theme" or "message" do you think Mamet is going for?

F 5/4 -- Kurt Vonnegut: Introduction (2181-2183); Fates Worse Than Death (2183-2190)

What do you find funny, ironic, and irreverent about this selection?
How does the selection change or progress from beginning to end? In other words, how does Vonnegut "work through" or "think through" this topic?
This selection was published in 1982: does it still apply today?

M 5/7 -- DUE: ESSAY #2 -- Ursula K. Le Guin: Introduction (2225-2226); Schrodinger's Cat (2226-2232); She Unnames Them (2232-2233)

In what ways is the first selection about "uncertainty"?
In what ways is the second selection about "power"?
How is each selection about story telling, about language and the use of language?

W 5/9 -- Toni Morrison: Introduction (2252-2253); Recitatif (2253-2266)

The two main characters are Twyla and Roberta: which one is white, and which one is black? How do you know?
Who is Maggie, and why do Twyla and Roberta continue to talk about her throughout the story?
What is the "theme" or "message" of this story?

F 5/11 -- Louise Erdrich: Introduction (2561-2562); Fleur (2562-2571)

Characterize the narrator of this story: who is she? what kind of person is she? how do you feel about her?
What actually happens in this story? What seems realistic, and what seems supernatural?
Where does Fleur's "power" come from?

W 5/16 -- EXAM #3 / Final Exam Period / 11:50 a.m. - 1:50 p.m. / H 121