DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Weekly Blackboard Commentaries

 

The low-stakes online writing consisted of weekly critical responses or commentaries to the readings of at least 250 words. Students were asked to consider these commentaries to be contributions to an open forum in which they could reflect on, analyze, and formulate ideas, as well as articulate questions, prior to class discussion. The commentaries were to be written carefully, with attention to mechanics, grammar, diction, and coherence. Students were further encouraged to read their peers’ responses and comment on them.

 

They were due the day before this once-weekly class at midnight and were graded based on the criterion of “thoughtful completion.” Over the course of the semester, students wrote ten Blackboard commentaries. The prompt for our 4/7 class on Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun (1959) was as follows:

 

Please write about your impressions of Hansberry's 1959 play. What connections (or disconnections) do you see between this Civil Rights Era work and the earlier writing of Washington and Du Bois? How should we approach this text in our upcoming class?  What do you want to talk about?

 

For our previous class meeting, we had read excerpts from W. E. B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk (1903) and Booker T. Washington’s Up from Slavery (1901).

 

4/7 Commentary: Student #1:

 

A Raisin, Washington, and Du Bois

 

In Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, the issues that face black people seem to be the same ones that Washington confronts. These are the issues of how to integrate into the ‘white’ society, and what that means. This issue was at the heart of the argument between Washington and Du Bois. Washington felt that integration had to be strategic, and gradual, and Du Bois felt that it had to be more overt and obvious. I feel as though the play suggests that a gradual approach is better. This is shown through the fact that the Younger’s move into the white neighborhood is seen as a gradual change, but one that is still going to make an impact.

 

What we can see is that the ideas that Du Bois would be happy with are present in the different views of George and Asagai. As George is seen as a fully assimilated black man, complete with an education, he is also seen as a sell-out. He doesn’t want to be associated with his culture, and feels that his aspirations to whiteness, means that he needs to leave his blackness behind. Asagai is the complete opposite of George, and embodies blackness, and helps Beneatha reconnect with her African culture that she feels that she lost. DuBois would be Asagai because he felt that black people needed to present themselves, and be obvious about their blackness. Du Bois would say that Washington is George because he was basically calling him a sell-out, although I don’t really agree with that. I think that there can be a middle ground between the ideologies of Asagai and George. I think it’s wrong to criminalize the upwardly mobile black man, and show that the culturally aware black guy is better. It makes American born black men feel inferior to this because they are essentially cut off from their ancestry because of slavery. There is a sense of natal alienation where they don’t really belong to the African culture. Although they descended from it, they will not know what tribe they come from, or their language. Therefore, if they want to form a new identity for themselves which is a blend of their African selves, and their American selves, that should be seen as acceptable, and not selling out.

 

4/7 Commentary: Student #2:

 

Washington, Du Bois, and Raisin in the Sun

 

One line by Mama reminds me of Karl Marx’s ideas: “So now it’s life. Money is life. Once upon a time freedom used to be life---now it’s money. I guess the world really do change” (Hansberry 74). Her rambling points to some of Marx’s ideas, to me at least. According to her, humans are akin to money hungry robots. All we do is strive for money; this search consumes us.

 

 I also saw some Beloved similarities,  when Mama says “When the world gets ugly enough—a woman will do anything for her family. The part that’s already living”. Sethe in Beloved kills her baby girl for fear that her daughter will live as a slave. For her, it was the bravest thing she could do, her ultimate act of love. Though Ruth does not go through with the abortion, she certainly contemplated it. She did not want to raise a child being that the family was in a dire financial situation.

 

Hey Baldwin, looks like you got some inspiration for Sonny’s Blues.

 

It’s interesting how much art can “mirror” reality. I definitely saw a little bit of Washington when Mama says, “We ain’t no business people, Ruth. We just plain working folks” (Hansberry 42). I can see this generational rift between Mama and Walter. Mama does not understand the state of the world Walter lives. She thinks it’s the same world she grew up in. Like Washington she seemingly accepts blacks partaking in a subservient role because she and her late husband had to do that in order to survive. While Ruth works as a maid for a rich white family (Washington would be so proud), Beneatha may represent Du Bois’ ideas. By attending college, she’s trying to fly her way into the talented tenth. I sense a little Lorraine Hansberry in Beneatha. She’s not concerned with manual labor and/or trade but her dream in life is to become a doctor (at first)—to become educated. It all comes back to dreams, doesn’t it?

 

 Here’s a more explicit disconnection to Washington: “He always said a man’s hands was made to make things, or to turn the earth with--not to drive anybody’s car for ‘em—or--- carry they slop jars” (Hansberry). Mama (and Hansberry) reveal they do not take a liking towards Washington. I really don’t understand Mama’s reasoning. During those times a black man was almost always working for somebody (no matter the profession). Wasn’t manual labor what Washington cared so much about? To me, Washington and Mama are on the same page: they are all about that subservience. Someone needs to get Mama a dictionary, no shade though.  I like her though, she’s the pillar of support and strength in the family #strongblackwoman.

 

 

Paper 1 Review Essay

 

The Review Essay was the first high-stakes writing assignment in ENG 308. Here is the assignment sheet students received on the day I introduced the review essay in class:

 

ENG 308: Paper 1 – Review Essay Overview and Proposal

 

In the review essay, you will choose a poem, short story, novel, film, play, exhibition, album, or other “cultural production” related to our study of American literature up to February 25. Themes that connect our coursework and your review text may include but are not limited to American identities, immigration, American arrivals, the Revolutionary War, borders, and multilingualism. The review text may be contemporary or old, yet I recommend that you choose a contemporary text about which the jury is still out.  If you choose an older text, I’ll ask you to write a re-evaluation of that text from the standpoint of the present. However, my only hard and fast requirement is that the materials we’ve studied together will allow you to shed led light on the text under review in a way that would not have been possible before the start of the semester. That is to say, there should be an organic link between the themes we’ve been thinking and writing about and the text you’re evaluating as a critic.

 

This writing project will involve several phases. The first task is to propose a text for review. With the exception of those choosing to review Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun at the Harlem Repertory Theater, everyone in the class must review a different text. Selection is on a first-come, first-serve basis, so if you want to stake out a claim to a given text (e.g., a popular film), post on the Blackboard “Proposals for Review Essay” blog ASAP. The proposal is due on Blackboard on February 23.

 

Once your text is approved by the instructor, you will (re)read, visit, watch it, etc., and proceed to write a three-page rough draft of your review. This rough draft will be read and commented on by a small group of peer editors. Based on your assessment of their feedback, you will write a second draft, which will be submitted to the instructor. The instructor will provide you with additional feedback, which you will use to generate a final review essay. This review essay will then be posted on an online forum,* where it will become part of the exchange of ideas, and submitted for a grade. As mentioned above, the proposal is due on Blackboard on February 23. The first draft will be due about two weeks hence and the final project will be completed no later than the last week of March. Firm deadlines will be established as the projects move forward.

 

As we progress through the different phases of this project, further details will be provided on how to write a compelling review essay, how digital writing intended for the general public differs from the traditional student essay, and how to be an effective editor of other people’s work.

 

* Examples of online fora include amazon.com, imdb.com, goodreads.com, an undergraduate journal of writing, a cultural blog, the campus newspaper, a web zine, among many others. Nota bene: the online review does not have to be posted under your real name.

 

When students signed into Blackboard to post their proposals, they received the following specific instructions about how to propose a text for their review essay:

 

Proposals for Review Essays

 

1. What text (short story, novel, film, play, exhibition, album, artwork, etc.) do you want to review? Make sure that you're the first person to propose this text.

 

2. How will you gain access to the text and will you be able to do so in a timely manner (e.g., museum visit, Netflix, LC library, etc.)? 

 

3. How does it relate to our study of American literature up to February 25? Put otherwise, how will what we've studied help you explore and evaluate the review text in  fresh and interesting ways? Be specific about what texts and ideas are relevant.

 

4. What difficulties, if any, do you anticipate in reviewing this text?

 

5. Do you have any indication now where you would like to publish your review?

 

I wrote back to students after they posted their proposals, either approving the project or asking them to revise and resubmit their proposal.

 

Student #1 Proposal:

              

    1. I will be reviewing the new novel Charmed Particles by Chrissy Kolaya recently published Nov.2015
    2. I will be ordering it from amazon, I haven't read it yet, but heard about it and intended to read it anyway (i heard it was well done)
    3. I believe that the story being set in a modern American prairie town will allow for several enlightening perspectives regarding the Indian family that comes to live there and their attempt to assimilate into American culture. This will link nicely with the idea of new arrivals and the displacement that was a major theme of early American life. I can also look at the idea of Americanization to see if and how it plays a role in this text. The second theme that I think will emerge will be the idea of the fight for expanding the frontier, as this book has to deal with the argument regarding the proposed building of the Superconducting Super Collider (SCC)-an underground particle accelerator. There was public opposition because of the suburban setting(I imagine)and also because there was so much that was not known, just as the frontier was initially regarded as no man's land in early America because of fear of the unknown.
    4. Difficulties I anticipate are that although I have an idea of what themes I may be able to connect to what we have learned, I won't actually know until I read the book and know for sure what can be connected, although based on the synopsis, I am confident about my themes for now.
    5. Maybe Goodreads

 My response to Student #1:

 

Dear Student #1,

 

You seem to have found the perfect text for our class and your identity as an English/Physics major: it's described as taking place in "a city anchored between two opposing forces, a living history museum devoted to the American frontier and a laboratory for experiments in high-energy particle physics." Can't wait to read what you have to say about it!!

 

JBM

 

APPROVED

 

Student #2 Proposal:

 

Coming to America

 

I will gain access to this text by watching it on Netflix, I have a monthly subscription. I have double checked Netflix, and it is available for streaming.

 

It relates to our study of American literature because we have encountered texts where they have mentioned stereotypes of the “other”. So far, mostly Native Americans have been seen as the other. I think Eddie Murphy’s character is the other, because he is coming to a country where to be African is seen as being different. It’s not his native country, and it will be interesting to critique this film rather than just watching it for entertainment. Murphy’s character is a king from a country from Africa and is unfamiliar with American culture, he comes from royalty, but here in America, he is a “nobody”. It will also be interesting to pay attention to the way his character is depicted in regards to the stereotypes of what an African is like. Since, the director of this film is European- American, so for sure, we will see some of his views of what an African is like. It relates to the texts we have been reading because most of the writers were of (white) European descent, who harbored some ideas of what civilized (white Europeans) and uncivilized people (Native Indians) looked like. I am interested in observing how Black Americans react to Murphy’s character, and how White Americans react to him in regards to their stereotypes. A question I am interested in answering is: how will we see stereotypes relate to the theory of self-fulfilling prophecy?

 

The difficulties I anticipate would be that, my bias toward the film will get in the way of me properly critiquing it. Since it is a film that is loved in my family, I grew up watching it as well, I think it will be a challenge to separate my biases.

 

I have one idea for where I could publish the review.  [Sentence deleted to preserve subject’s anonymity.]

 

My response to Student #2:

 

Hi Student #2, 

 

I'm really excited to see what you come up with in your analysis, especially since you will be revisiting a film that you watched with pleasure in your family circle and now will be making an object of your critique (which doesn't mean you can't still enjoy the film; it's important for us to be serious critics while retaining our sense of humor!).

 

Writing as a critic from the vantage of 2016, there are so many interesting directions you can go with this film and its phantasmagoric representation of the African Prince who comes to America to marry. I haven't seen Coming to America in many years but I remember how the Eddie Murphy character dissembles as a "lowly" McDonalds employee with a strong work ethic in order to win the hand of the boss's daughter. This plot twist follows all sorts of quintessentially American upward mobility scripts that place the value on humility, diligence, and hard work.

 

"Othering" is a  powerful theoretical lens for thinking about the portrayal of certain characters. You may want to consider the "othering" of African American male actors in the '80s too (viz. Samuel L. Jackson's cameo as a robber in the film and the recent #Oscarssowhite controversy. That could make a nice aside in your piece). And don't hesitate to include other people's voices in your review to increase your range. When I'm writing about a text, I like to poll the people around me.

 

JBM  

 

APPROVED


The next step in the scaffolded Review Essay assignment was the rough draft and an interim blog post (omitted here), whose purpose was to make sure students got started and didn’t leave the rough draft until the last minute. Here is the rough draft assignment sheet the students received in class:

 

Review Essay: The Rough Draft

 

Based on our class discussion, the writing  guides posted on Blackboard, and your study of published reviews, write a 750 to 1000-word review essay on the text proposed by you and approved by the instructor. Cite your sources using MLA format and include a Works Cited section. Please scrupulously follow college guidelines regarding plagiarism.

 

Due Dates:

 

March 4 before the end of the day: A 125-word blog post providing an update on the status of your review project is due on Blackboard.

March 11 before the end of the day: The rough draft is due on Blackboard. Post it in your peer-editing group.

 

The students’ rough drafts were posted to their four-member peer editing groups on Blackboard. On March 17, we dedicated one hour of class time for these groups to meet, for students to discuss their projects, and for them to start writing up a formal peer review. The Peer Review Procedure I provided students can be viewed hereDue to consent restrictions in this study, I cannot share the essays Students #1 and #2 reviewed or the feedback they received from their peers. On the other hand, I can share Student #1's and Student #2's rough drafts: 

 

Student #1Rough Draft of Review Essay

Student #2Rough Draft of Review Essay

 

During the peer-review class session, I distributed the assignment sheet below, which explains the final steps for the Review Essay project:

  

Peer Editing & Final Draft of Review Essay

 

Your role in this assignment has been like that of a freelance writer. You began the process by pitching the text you wanted to review (“the proposal”), are seeing your review through several drafts in concert with your peers who function as assistant editors (“the rough draft” and “peer editing”), and will submit the finished draft to me for final editing (“the final draft”) and prior to digital publication. My role throughout, from the proposal onwards, has been similar to that of an editor-in-chief.

 

Peer Editorial Work (You = Assistant Editor)

You begin this process in class. At home, finish editing and writing feedback on your peer’s review essay. Type up your comments in a Word document, email them to your peer, and submit to Blackboard for a grade by Friday, March 18 at midnight. It is very important that you keep to this deadline because if you don’t, you’re holding up your peer’s own revision process. Peer editing counts as 5% of your course grade so do a bang-up job.

 

Final Draft of Review Essay

Based on your editorial work with peers, revise the rough draft of your review. Note that you may continue exchanging ideas and giving and receiving feedback with your peer editor after March 18. You are also welcome to visit the ACE Center.

 

On or before Friday, April 1 by midnight, submit the final draft of your review essay on Blackboard as a Word document. In your file, indicate where you intend to publish your review. I will edit your review and return it to you as quickly as I can but withholding the grade. After incorporating some (or all) of my suggested changes, you should post your review online using your name, your initials, or a pseudonym (this is your decision and will have no effect on your grade). Once you share the URL for your review on the Blackboard Blog, I will post your final grade for the project.

 

What if I want more feedback before submitting my final draft? Get feedback from another student, at the ACE Center, or schedule a face-to-face conference with me in office hours on March 22, 24, 29, or 31. (If you work during those hours, email me to find another time to meet.) Alternatively, consider volunteering to have your paper workshopped in class. We’ll spend ten minutes together as a group at the start of class to help diagnose what works and what could be improved in your review essay. Please email me if interested.

 

As explained above, my role in helping students finalize this assignment and ready their review essays for digital publication was akin to that of an editor-in-chief. However, I did not only copyedit their work. I also made comments and suggestions for improvement. After receiving peer feedback and before submitting the “final” draft of the essay, both Students #1 and #2 took advantage of my offer and met with me in office hours, so that their revision schedule was as follows:

 

Submitted Rough Draft -> Peer Review -> Writing Conference with me -> Submitted Final Draft -> My Feedback -> Published Draft

 

Below you will find the students’ “Final” Draft of the Review Essay with my feedback and the Published Draft of the Review Essay:

 

Student #1 Final Draft of Review Essay with my comments

Student #1 Published Review Essay

 

Student #2 Final Draft of Review Essay with my comments

Student #2 Published Review Essay

 

 

Paper 2 New York Literary History Project

 

The second major writing assignment in this course involved a literary history project rooted in New York City or its environs. Students identified and researched a New York site that has a bearing on American literature and examined how its present relates to our literary past. They took photographs, interviewed people, performed library research, and made short videos, among other activities. The paper they wrote for the New York Literary History Project was expanded into and resulted in a final multimodal essay published on the course website. During our final exam meeting, students gave a short class presentation.

 

Similar to the Review Essay assignment, the New York Literary History Project was scaffolded and progressed through a number of steps:

 

    1. The student proposed a physical site in the New York area and a literary text with a strong, organic connection to it.
    2. I approved this proposal or asked the student to revise and resubmit it.
    3. The student submitted a series of three blog posts, one about her visit to the site, one about her literary text, and one with her bibliography in correct MLA format (fingers crossed) while researching and preparing to write the rough draft.
    4. The student submitted the rough draft of her essay.
    5. The rough draft underwent an in-class peer review.
    6. The student revised the rough draft and submitted the essay to me for a grade.
    7. I graded the student’s essay, providing extensive feedback to help her revise the essay once more for online publication (and a new grade as part of the final exam).
    8. The student revised her essay and added multimodal features (hyperlinks, video, pictures, etc.) for the final exam.
    9. I uploaded the revised multimodal essay to the course website, and the student received a grade for the final exam based on this published version, which she also presented during our final exam meeting.

In lieu of documenting each of these steps individually, I provide below the assignment sheets and the students’ final published multimodal essays:

 

Paper 2 - NYC Literary History Project Overview and Proposal

Paper 2 – NYC Literary History Project Research & Blog Posts

Paper 2 – NYC Literary History Project Peer Editing, Final Draft, & Final Exam

 

Student #1 Final Multimodal Essay

Student #2 Final Multimodal Essay

 

 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.