Personal Statement Workshop & Resource

Our lunchtime workshop on writing the personal statement will be next Monday, November 7. In the meantime, here is a resource from Ms. Dirkes:

writingACollegeAdmissionEssay

November 1

[HW UPDATE: I originally published today's post with HW assignment on RSS-- by the time I caught the mistake some of our sharper colleagues had already done the work (kudos!). They won't have HW the day I assign it. But it's not due tomorrow.]

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Connected" by Stereo MCs; "The Mothership Connection" by George Clinton]

We are "connected" to each other in all sorts of ways: biologically, geographically, emotionally-- and, increasingly, technologically. Describe the networks you belong to both (both online and offline) and explain how technology strengthens or weakens your ties to others in the network.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Lecture 2.0 (if you missed it you can see the prezi here; we got as far as the "automate your search" slide)

HW:
1. Read Roy Christopher's post on Digital Natives and prepare three questions or comments for tomorrow's talk.
2. Go to netvibes.com and get started.
2. Think about the challenges you faced in writing the Hamlet essay and prepare three questions for this week's writer's conference.

October 31

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Excitable Boy" by Warren Zevon; "What's He Building in There" by Tom Waits; "Monster Mash" by Bobby 'Boris' Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers]

As you listen to today's tunes reflect on how authors use irony, allusion, symbolism, and even humor to help an audience suspend disbelief long enough to get scared out of our minds! How does Shakespeare use these tools in Hamlet, and to what effect?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Discuss essay/ hero prompt
3. Vocab

HW:
1. Find your next literature analysis book (if you haven't already) and bring it with you to class tomorrow (Tuesday 11/1).
2. Define the term "meme" and explain why the concept is important in online communication. Comment to this post with your answer.

Vocabulary: Fall List #10

abortive
bruit
contumelious
dictum
ensconce
iconoclastic
in medias res
internecine
maladroit
maudlin
modulate
portentous
prescience
quid pro quo
salubrious
saturnalian
touchstone
traumatic
vitiate
waggish

Wednesday's Event

If you haven't already, please download/print the on-campus activity form for our video conference on Wednesday. Please be sure to get it signed, and bring it to class Monday or Tuesday.

If you haven't already been to Roy Christopher's site please have a look; of special importance are his ideas about Digital Natives and the way your generation is using technology to tell stories and think in different ways. Imagine if Hamlet expressed himself through transmedia remixes and mash-ups; how would this change his "performative utterances" and "self-overhearing"? How would he and his circumstances have been different? If some of these terms are new or unfamiliar don't worry, we'll be discussing them on Monday. In the meantime, consider the following monster mash-up (can you spot the allusion to Macbeth?) produced by Cody Kiniry, Savannah Lyon & Nicole Montoya.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

The Legend: October 2011

The October issue of the Legend is out and here it is. Some of our own and Mr. Garcia are responsible--kudos! Keep up the good work. And check out the editor's very chic photo, a couple of paragraphs below his "moaning and groaning" about me.

RHS Legend October 2011

Hamlet Essay

Using what you've learned about Hamlet the character and Hamlet the play, evaluate the impact of performative utterance on Hamlet and your own sense of self. How does the way Hamlet speaks constitute action in itself? How does it impact the characters and the plot? How does this compare with your own "self-overhearing"? How does the way you reflect on your experience create a sense of memory, expectation, and real-world results? Use the text, your reading/lecture notes, the experience of memorizing the "To be, or not to be" soliloquy, de Boer's paper (and Bloom's/Austin's theoretical frameworks), and the many online and offline discussions we've had.

Please comment to this post with any questions or ideas about the topic or ways to write about it. Please bring a hard copy (typed or handwritten) to class on Monday (10/31).