The Eight Stages of Genocide and the Holocaust

For this post, you will need to log into ABC-CLIO Genocide on the Blake Database. The user name and password is: blake blake. You will be directed to the site Modern Genocides. Here make sure to select "Show All" in the bottom right hand corner.

Next select a genocide. Read the one page article, taking notes on your own paper. Using your notes, create a post in which you:

1. Give the name and dates of your selected genocide.
2. Give the cause of the event.
3. Give the consequences.
4. Share one other aspect of the event that you feel is important for the rest of your class to know. 

You will turn in your notes for a separate grade!

Indifference

“The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.”   
                                                       ~Elie Wiesel

Read the article (see link below) "38 Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police" by Martin Gansberg. 

www2.selu.edu/Academics/Faculty/scraig/gansberg.html

After reading, respond to both the article and the quotation above by Elie Wiesel. Be ready to use this article in the discussion next Monday.

Evil: Where Does It Come From?

After listening to the TedTalk on evil and where it comes from:
1. share one idea you learned,
2. ask one question you have,
3. and define what a hero means to you.

What do you want to change about the world?

Martine Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X gave their lives to change the world. They could not go on with things the same old way and not do something about it. Their efforts have made a lasting impact on the world we live in -- while certainly not perfect, the world is better because of their ideas and their sacrifices.

What do you want to change about the world and why?

Week Two: Answer second question!

I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes
I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then. Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed— I, too, am America. The post for this week: This poem speaks of the American Dream and what it means to us and to those who have come before us. What is your understanding of the American Dream? The post for next week: Read the poem by Langston Hughes, one many of you may be familiar with, and comment in your post about its message. Discuss the relationship between the poem's message and either King or Malcolm X's message as well.

The American Dream...THIS POST IS FOR TWO WEEKS!

I, Too, Sing America by Langston Hughes
I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I'll be at the table When company comes. Nobody'll dare Say to me, "Eat in the kitchen," Then. Besides, They'll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed— I, too, am America. The post for this week: This poem speaks of the American Dream and what it means to us and to those who have come before us. What is your understanding of the American Dream? The post for next week: Read the poem by Langston Hughes, one many of you may be familiar with, and comment in your post about its message. Discuss the relationship between the poem's message and either King or Malcolm X's message as well.

The Power of Words

http://www.ted.com/talks/anna_deavere_smith_s_american_character.html

You are in for a treat! 

Before we begin to look at rhetoric, the language of persuasion, let's look at the power of words simply - from the voice of everyday people.  Anne Deveare Smith takes on three Americans and their words and gives us a glimpse at some funny, poignant, and disturbing elements of life and our human nature.

Take the time to listen to all three vignettes. Speak to one in your post, sharing with your classmates what stood out to you, what you learned about human nature, and what you learned about the power of simple words themselves.

Taming of the Shrew and Gender Equality: The Argument

Our play has some very interesting (and sometimes disturbing) things to say about relationships between men and women, the power dynamic between the two, and the
need for men in Shakespeare's day to make a woman "submit."

Think about those same power dynamics at play today. 

Do you think social media, entertainment, and music work to diminish the power and sense of agency in women or do they work to empower women?

Please use a specific example to support your response.

Adversity

As we conclude our study of the Greek hero Odysseus, I am reminded of a woman who faced adversity through no fault of her own, Aimee Mullins. The spirit of her story reminds me that there are so many heroes we meet in life who can provide both inspiration and challenge.

After watching the video, list your take-aways: What is it that sticks with you about this woman? What does it ask you to consider about your own circumstances?

ANSWER BOTH OF THE ABOVE QUESTIONS!


https://www.ted.com/talks/aimee_mullins_the_opportunity_of_adversity

Penelope's Side of the Story

We hear a lot about Odysseus's escapades but little about poor Penelope. For this post, imagine you are Penelope and writing on your papyrus scroll. Odysseus has just come home and made himself known to you and the suitors. What a day!

Now write your diary entry....keep it short, no more than five lines -- but make them count!

Odysseus descends into Hades

Odysseus must visit the Underworld or Hades before he can return home. In Hades he is visited by men and women from his past, dead relatives, arch enemies, and dear friends. They each have a message for him.

For this blog, imagine that you too have made that trip to the Underworld. Name three people you would like to see. They can be personal to you or names that we would all recognize. After each person's name tell WHY you want to see them: what questions would you ask them?  What would you want to share with them?  What do you need to hear from them?

Odysseus and his Battles

Odysseus fights physical battles, slaying the Cyclops was one such battle we read about this week. It is easy to get caught up in the theatrics of the epic: monsters and seductresses, strange lands and customs. 

For a moment, let's think about some ideas or concepts might be running underneath these fantastic creatures and events. Why is Odysseus going through such things? What are the psychological and spiritual elements of both reckoning and potential growth?

Oh Those Epithets....

Homer uses the epithet to identify the characters of the Odyssey by their specific traits or attributes. Athena is often called for example "grey-eyed Athena" and Odysseus, "lion-hearted Odysseus." 

For this post select three people in your family and create epithets for them.

In my family I have:
Kemper, man of gentle voice and spirit
Fiery-fisted Rush
Ella, giggling woman of compassion
Tullah, woman of wisdom and strength

Now it's your turn. Be creative!

Connecting to Persepolis

After watching the film Persepolis, think about the ways in which you can relate to Sarjani, the main character.

Identify one aspect of her story that you can relate to. Summarize her experience in no more than two sentences, and write three sentences that explain how it relates to your own life.

Responsibility?

I once had a teacher tell me that I was responsible for everything that happened to me.

I quickly challenged her. I asked: Do you mean to say I am responsible for my father's alcoholism? And she said flatly, 'Yes."  Immediately I was infuriated. I, in no way, had caused or promoted his struggle with alcohol. I knew that to be a fact just like I knew my own name.

She then explained herself. Here is what she said in paraphrase:

You have the ability, the opportunity to respond to every situation that happens in your life. It is the "response" in "responsiblility. Literally a response ability. Taking that on as a truth gives you power. Not taking responsibility, takes all your power away.

H'mmm....what do you think? (This is a tough one.) Talk about a situation in which you did or could have in hindsight taken on my teacher's view of responsibility.

"Eleven" Analysis: Symbols

We've just finished writing personal narratives, sharing experiences from our lives that carry weight and have meaning. Now we are transitioning to analysis writing, using Sandra Cisneros's essay "Eleven" as the text. 

There is a symbol in the passage. What is the symbol? What does it represent?

Everyone has a story...the six-word memoir

Once asked to write a full story in six words, legend has it that Ernest Hemingway responded:

"For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn."

Here are some others from Smith Magazine's collection:
Dave Eggers....."Fifteen years since last professional haircut."
Stephen Colbert....."Well, I thought it was funny."
A man dumped by his girlfriend...."I still make coffee for two."

In the spirit of profound brevity, write a six-word memoir of your life 

Don't steal from your classmates! Don't be glib or cliche.  

How can you best sum up your experiences in just six words?

Furiously Happy!

This post is simple.  Take a minute to think about five things that you are grateful for. Things that make you happy. They can be as "little" as oatmeal in the morning (I love oatmeal) or as big as you want -- my big is yoga (I love yoga) and all the freedom it brings to my body and heart.

Before you list your five things you must read the person's post that precedes your our own and give them some affirmation that you saw their list. Next list your five things. Check back to see what your classmates have said about your list!

Welcome!

Read the following excerpt from Zora Neale Hurston's essay "How It Feels to Be Colored Me" (1928).

"But in the main, I feel like a brown bag of miscellany propped against a wall. Against a wall in company with other bags, white, red and yellow. Pour out the contents, and there is discovered a jumble of small things priceless and worthless. A first-water diamond, an empty spool, bits of broken glass, lengths of string, a key to a door long since crumbled away, a rusty knife-blade, old shoes saved for a road that never was and never will be, a nail bent under the weight of things too heavy for any nail, a dried flower or two still a little fragrant. In your hand is the brown bag. On the ground before you is the jumble it held--so much like the jumble in the bags, could they be emptied, that all might be dumped in a single heap and the bags refilled without altering the content of any greatly. A bit of colored glass more or less would not matter. Perhaps that is how the Great Stuffer of Bags filled them in the first place--who knows?"



So much is going on in this short passage. She speaks of race, of finding one's identity, of "the Great Stuffer of Bags" - the Creator and the cosmos.

In your post create a metaphor that describes what you feel like.

Give at least three different tangible items that help us understand who you are and where you find yourself physically, spiritually, and emotionally at this point in your life.