New final paper procedures:
Final papers/projects for LTEL155B (San Francisco) must be turned on THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, BETWEEN 4-7PM, in KRESGE 321. (Alternatives to this date, room, or procedure must be worked out with and approved by your TA via email or in person.)
If you have made special arrangements with me, please verify that I've received your paper after you send it - I will send confirmation notes by email.
Thanks again for your work this quarter. Good luck with your projects!
sc
Dec 6, 2008
Dec 1, 2008
December in SF
Merry December, gang. It's section season!
Section will meet this Thursday.
7:30pm, Oakes Acad 102.
(No responses due this week)
Since your final papers are due a week from Tuesday, let's use the meeting to
1.) do some solid workshopping of drafts, arguments, theses, creative works, etc.
2.) swap interests, approaches, obsessions related to San Francisco and the quarter's themes.
There are a few of you who are nearing the final stages of your projects. It would be great if you folks could prepare a brief discussion/performance/reading/etc. of your work.
In that spirit, please bring one or more of the following to the meeting and be prepared to talk about what you're working on:
+ Draft
+ Thesis and outline
+ Lists of passages
+ Creative works
+ Statements of poetics
Thanks, and see you soon. Hope you had an excellent few days off.
sc
Section will meet this Thursday.
7:30pm, Oakes Acad 102.
(No responses due this week)
Since your final papers are due a week from Tuesday, let's use the meeting to
1.) do some solid workshopping of drafts, arguments, theses, creative works, etc.
2.) swap interests, approaches, obsessions related to San Francisco and the quarter's themes.
There are a few of you who are nearing the final stages of your projects. It would be great if you folks could prepare a brief discussion/performance/reading/etc. of your work.
In that spirit, please bring one or more of the following to the meeting and be prepared to talk about what you're working on:
+ Draft
+ Thesis and outline
+ Lists of passages
+ Creative works
+ Statements of poetics
Thanks, and see you soon. Hope you had an excellent few days off.
sc
Nov 24, 2008
"Taking Over"
A play in NY just opened, tackling issues of gentrification in Brooklyn. Another example of creative intervention...
Nov 20, 2008
Tripping in the hollows - writing and section updates
Thanks for your patience with the topics, folks...I do hope you've been enjoying shenanigans with Wittman Ah Sing, with the anti-hollowness energies of Solnit.
*Update on section: we will meet in the flesh the week we get back from the holiday.*
**Proposals: I will continue to comment on proposals over the next few days, but if you have immediate questions, send me an email.**
You can take till next Wed., 11/26 for this next post on Solnit and/or Kingston.
Write a response on at least one of the following topics:
+ Identify a perplexing passage, chapter, or character in Tripmaster Monkey and do a close reading to try and get at the tensions within. The idea behind this topic is to find a way to navigate the polymorphic, meandering currents of the text. Does this style have anything in common with other texts we've read? How does style function here, and what purpose does it serve?
+ How does one describe Wittman Ah Sing?
+ Find a side reference in Kingston or Solnit and draw out its significance in the work. Can you find other details to deepen the connection? Post links or secondary sources to your blog. Your selection could be a passing literary or cultural reference in Tripmaster Monkey, for example, or a social/artistic movement mentioned in Solnit.
+ What sorts of visions of San Francisco do Kingston and/or Solnit present? What do they perceive to be the current state of San Francisco, and what is to be done next? (Note: easy-out answers like, "Kingston imagines an SF without racism" or "Solnit imagines an SF without consumer greed" will be sacked.)
+ Connect a key component of Solnit's discussion in Hollow City with one or more scenes, interactions, characters, etc. in Tripmaster Monkey. Does Solnit's reading of present day San Francisco connect with Kingston's novel written thirty years prior?
*Update on section: we will meet in the flesh the week we get back from the holiday.*
**Proposals: I will continue to comment on proposals over the next few days, but if you have immediate questions, send me an email.**
You can take till next Wed., 11/26 for this next post on Solnit and/or Kingston.
Write a response on at least one of the following topics:
+ Identify a perplexing passage, chapter, or character in Tripmaster Monkey and do a close reading to try and get at the tensions within. The idea behind this topic is to find a way to navigate the polymorphic, meandering currents of the text. Does this style have anything in common with other texts we've read? How does style function here, and what purpose does it serve?
+ How does one describe Wittman Ah Sing?
+ Find a side reference in Kingston or Solnit and draw out its significance in the work. Can you find other details to deepen the connection? Post links or secondary sources to your blog. Your selection could be a passing literary or cultural reference in Tripmaster Monkey, for example, or a social/artistic movement mentioned in Solnit.
+ What sorts of visions of San Francisco do Kingston and/or Solnit present? What do they perceive to be the current state of San Francisco, and what is to be done next? (Note: easy-out answers like, "Kingston imagines an SF without racism" or "Solnit imagines an SF without consumer greed" will be sacked.)
+ Connect a key component of Solnit's discussion in Hollow City with one or more scenes, interactions, characters, etc. in Tripmaster Monkey. Does Solnit's reading of present day San Francisco connect with Kingston's novel written thirty years prior?
Nov 18, 2008
"hollow city" riffs
I've never been to the Fly Bar, but they do have a pretty glamorous web site, complete with images and a blurb on the "vibe"...
Saint John Coltrane Church used to be down the street, now it's here.
What other exorcisms to perform?
Saint John Coltrane Church used to be down the street, now it's here.
What other exorcisms to perform?
Nov 17, 2008
Proposals due Tues.
Reminder: write ups/proposals for final projects are due Tuesday. PLEASE ANSWER THE "PROMPT QUESTIONS" (at the bottom of the handout below) and post on your blog.
To reiterate, I don't expect you to have everything mapped out in your proposal, but you should have a pretty clear idea of directions you will head in. The areas that are less clear will be good places to focus your energies.
As always, feel free to come talk to me about ideas or questions. sc
To reiterate, I don't expect you to have everything mapped out in your proposal, but you should have a pretty clear idea of directions you will head in. The areas that are less clear will be good places to focus your energies.
As always, feel free to come talk to me about ideas or questions. sc
Nov 10, 2008
Dharma Bummin
This week's writing piece: Dharma Bums
Explore one/more of the following questions:
+ What IS a Dharma Bum? How does it relate to the Beats/beatitude? Point out illustrative passages.
+ Does Dharma Bums offer cultural critique, and how does it do so, as compared to other SF works we've encountered?
+ Reflect on the Japhy Ryder and Ray Smith characters. What are their central characteristics? How do they compare/contrast with one another as SF/counter-cultural figures?
+ Comment on the mixing of spiritual traditions in the novel: is there a particular spiritual practice being championed? What does it look like for Japhy? for Ray?
+ What other thematic connections do you see here, with the other SF texts we've read?
"It was a great new feeling to be able to jump from rock to rock..." (ch 12)
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