Acting in Hamlet

Think about the role of acting: Hamlet acting mad in an attempt to trick Claudius; player re-enacting the king's death to get at the truth; meanwhile, we have actors performing this entire play on stage. Explore the irony of how acting - pretending to be something you're not - can uncover truths.

Act II

Find lines in Act II that reveal Hamlet's psychological state. They may be lines spoken by Hamlet, or by others. Consider how the character's perspective might shape the way s/he sees Hamlet's (or his own) psychological state. What meaning do you make of his psychological state?

Bilingualism in Things Fall Apart

Why does Achebe choose to write his novel in English but still include words or phrases of Igbo? What purpose might this serve and/or what effect does it have on you as a reader? Why does he sometimes define the word in the text and sometimes require readers to look in the glossary in the back of the book to see the translation? How does this inclusion of multiple languages compare to the Russian and English used in Vaclav & Lena or Spanish and English in "How to Tame a Wild Tongue?"

Is Okonkwo's death honorable?

Meursault's Final Struggle

Write about Meursault's philosophical struggle in the final chapter of The Stranger. What is he grappling with? What is he trying to understand? What conclusions does he come to? Post to the class blog. 

The Stranger: Part II, Chapter 1

1.     Are there any other “crimes” with which Meursault is charged, besides murder? If so, what are they?

2.     Is he mentally insane? Does/should he qualify for an insanity plea?

3.     On the surface he seems very different from “normal” society; is that difference authentic? Does he seem to be more of an “outsider” than he really is or does his atypical nature run even deeper than it appears to on the surface?

4.     What is the significance of the magistrate’s question about Meursault’s pausing between gunshots, and the significance of Meursault’s refusal to answer?

5.     Why does the magistrate become so upset about Meursault’s atheism? 

Vaclav & Lena

Post a written response (about 250 words) to the blog on your initial reactions to Vaclav & Lena. Topics could include but are not limited to the influence of the reader's culture on his/her reading of the text, remarkable elements of writing style, or the role of language diversity in the text. 

Why Afghan Women Risk Death to Write Poetry

Consider one of the following questions in response to the article published in The New York Times Magazine:
1.Consider the symbolism of a poet phoning her poem to a friend rather than writing it down.

2. Why DO these women risk death? What is the potential gain? Do you think it is worth it?

3. What is the relationship between writing and marriage?

4. Is the women's writing a sign of their optimism, their hope for the future, or a sign of their acceptance of their fate to be punished and killed for their transgression?

Sojourner Truth

Read Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" speech (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/sojtruth-woman.asp) and consider how Truth uses language to construct a particular gender identity. Then read her poem "On Woman's Dress" (http://allpoetry.com/poem/8611359-On_Womans_Dress-by-Sojourner_Truth) and consider the same question, along with how it compares to the extemporaneous speech given approximately 10 years earlier.

Nicholas Kristof on Veterans

Hi folks:

Here are the links I told you about in class. I've also emailed them to you and posted them on the portal. Sharing them here will give you the space to post a response, if you are so inclined. The links include Nicholas Kristof's article in Sunday's The New York Times, his blog, on which he shares additional background information about his research, and a short documentary film on Ryan Yurchison's service and death. It is a disturbing story, and the video especially can be difficult to watch, but it is a story worth paying attention to and very relevant to George Carlin's work on the language of Shell Shock/Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.

Is this what is at stake when we discuss the language we use to refer to, and thereby to understand, PTSD? 

Nicholas Kristof's NYTimes article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/opinion/sunday/kristof-a-veterans-death-the-nations-shame.html?_r=1

Kristof's blog, "On the Ground:"
http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/14/failing-our-military-veterans/

"Good Night Ryan:"
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/opinion/good-night-ryan.html?_r=1&ref=sunday

Show Me presentations

Share the link to your show me presentations below.

Endangered Languages

An expert quoted in the article "said that more than half the languages had no written form and were 'vulnerable to loss and being forgotten.'" What is the signficance of a language being lost in writing VS. speaking? Is it more important to try and preserve one type over another? 

Honesty in Writing

Of all the different types of writing, speaking, and communication you use, which allows you to be the most honest or the most yourself?

Tower of Babel

What does language variation do to - and for - us? Are we to understand the division of language in the story of the Tower of Babel as a form of punishment? A challenge? Or something more positive?