Your homework for tonight is to come up with a short list of books you'd like to read for class.
Tomorrow we will decide whether we want to read different books in groups or one novel as a class. If we read together, we will have weekly reading quizzes as we did with About a Boy last semester. If we read in groups, we will work from the Discussion Leader, Connection, and Scrivener worksheets as we did at the end last semester. We'll discuss this in class tomorrow.
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I'm not sure why it has taken me this long to come up with this. I've added a section in the right column entitled "What We're Up To." It is a brief synopsis of what you should be working on for the
next class. I will provide the details of all assignments in posts as usual, but this is a good filter for what you need to have done before we meet again.
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Just a reminder.
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Here is the reading/quiz schedule for War of the Worlds
By Monday 28th: through chapter 12
By Thursday 31st: to Book II
By Monday 4th: finish Book II and Epilogue
Read at your own pace, but be ready for the quizzes on these dates.
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We will be finishing Dracula by February 4th. Read at your own pace (finish early if you want), but finish chapter 15 by Monday 28, chapter 20 by Thursday 31, and the rest of the book by the 4th. We will have a reading quiz on each of the days mentioned, so be sure you have read at least the recommended number of chapters.
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Quick edit. After much discussion and deliberation, we will not be turning in the visual projects on Friday. I am granting a continuance across the board, with one requirement:
You must bring your project to school on Friday. It does not need to be finished, but I want to see your progress.
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We will be working on the visual aspect of our MGRP visuals tomorrow. Please remember to bring your sources to class, as we will be turning in a rough outline/project proposal at the end of class. This outline should contain the following:
- A description of media to be used (computer animation, pen and ink, collage, photography, etc.)
- A description of content to be included in the work (metaphor, color, design elements, text, sketch of panels if creating a comic strip)
- A list of sources to be referenced in the work (these are the books/papers you should bring to class tomorrow)
We will be spending a lot of time on this project, so spend time thinking about what you would like to say with your piece (message), then determine how you should deliver it (medium). If you have any questions, or would like to run an idea by the class, post a comment below.
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Today we discussed possible topics for our next essays. Here's what we came up with:
1st Hour Dracula—after exploring various symbols in Stoker's novel (vampires, the stake, blood, the transfusions, lightness and darkness, etc), we came up with several topics from the book, which are listed below:
- Fear of the unknown
- Fear of death
- Good versus evil
- Holy versus unholy
- Purity versus corruption
We also explored the vampire metaphor (life/health/soul/purity/blood-sucking) in modern culture and society. For the essay, each student will be writing a short fictional piece implementing the vampire metaphor and one or more of the topics listed above. We will be workshopping these in class tomorrow, and they are due Monday the 14th. The papers should be at least two typed pages, double-spaced, 12 pt font, header, etc.
3rd Hour War of the Worlds—as with Dracula, we explored various symbols in the novel (aliens, the alien technology, the curate, the hero), then pulled several topics from the work:
- Foreign versus domestic
- Adversity
- Humanity/inhumanity
- War
- Interaction between opposing cultures
Students will write a short analysis of "Book I" from Wells's novel, discussing one of the topics above and supplementing their argument with quotations from the text.
4th Hour War of the Worlds—Using an "invasion" metaphor, students will write a short fiction piece using one or more of the topics above from War of the Worlds. The perimeters of the paper are the same as those for the Dracula piece above.
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Today in class we continued yesterday's discussion of tone in a few examples from Thompson, Ware, Miller, and Eisner, then moved to Imagery in graphic works.
If you were absent today, please see me tomorrow so I can catch you up, as we completed an assignment worth 20 points in class.
Homework: 1st hour, read chapter 15 of Dracula
2nd hour, read chapters 17-Book II Ch 1 of War of the Worlds
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Today we went over a few terms specific to graphic works with this handout, which I found on TeachingComics.org (cite your sources...):
(Click the image to expand.) The most important terms in this handout are those surrounding the sample panel, but dropping "recto" or "verso" into conversation is always good for a strange look.
Then, we went through a super-neat slide show of graphics and images, discussing the tone and diction of each. If you were absent, I can email the images to you. We looked at examples of Chris Ware's bleak and often depressing style, noting the simple lines and use of subdued color. In a frame from Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, we noticed the use of irony in the frame's idyllic tone and imagery. From many frames from Craig Thompson's Blankets we noted the dark, oppressive, shameful, and sometimes fearful tone of the images depicting a boy's movement from childhood to adolescence.
Tomorrow we will continue using McCloud's "five choices" in our analyses. We will look at the imagery and literary devices employed in a few passages from graphic novels, and discuss the symbols and archetypes in superhero comics.
If any of you have a "Quick Start Guide" that came with an electronic device (one depicting the installation of the device in pictures), bring it to class. We will be discussing Frame and Flow next week, and the guides are good illustrations of these.
Homework: 1st hour, read chapter 14 of Dracula
2nd and 3rd hours, read chapters 15-16 of War of the Worlds
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This week we will begin a section on graphic analysis. Basically, this means that we will be looking at works (mostly outstanding graphic novels, some shorter comics and comix, some advertisements, and possibly a short video) as we do with literature—think T-DIDLS but with Sandman or Jimmy Corrigan.
So, we began today with an overview of "why we are doing this." Always my favorite way to begin, as it ensures that our vital time isn't wasted. My reasoning is this (please feel free to add another reason in the comments section):
- We are literally surrounded, daily, by images. Whether it is the cartoon on our Count Chocula in the morning, the pictures we take on vacation, television we watch, instructional videos we watch in psychology or chemistry, movies or television we use to avoid our homework, or webpages we obsess over. (I'm sure this is one; right? Um, guys?)
- Because we are surrounded, we become used to these visual messages in our lives, but we rarely think about them. When is the last time you went to a movie by your favorite director (unless it's Michael Bay; he doesn't count) and were able to come out with a good explanation of why it was good, or why it wasn't (beyond "It seemed real")?
- Because the little illustrations that came with your MP3 player manual are really helpful, but would you know how to create one yourself?
- Because we can apply what we have learned about literature to graphic pieces. If you still aren't comfortable discussing tone, diction, detail, imagery, language or syntax in a written piece, perhaps it will click as we move through the visuals.
And,
- Because graphic novels are finally becoming worth reading in the classroom. Really, what's more fun than that?
We then discussed Scott McCloud's terminology for understanding comics (found in his aptly titled work, Understanding Comics), and discussed how these terms can be applied to anything visual. (What's the tone of your MySpace or Facebook page? How do you know?) Here are his terms alongside our own:
| Moment | Diction |
| Image | Imagery |
| Frame | Detail |
| Word | Language |
| Flow | Syntax |
Your homework for tonight:
1st hour: Read chapter 13 of Dracula
3rd and 4th hour: Read chapters 13 and 14 of War of the Worlds
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Hey guys and girls,
Hope your breaks are going well. If you have any last minute questions about your essays, please shoot me an email. The requirements, in case you've forgotten, are as follows:
- Header (on the left) with your name, my name, the class name, and the date you are going to turn it in
- Five pages in length with page numbers in the header on the right (Your last name #)
- Double-spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman
- Works cited page (Here is an example of how this page should be formatted. If you have questions about individual citations, check the links at the bottom of the OWL page, then email me if you can't find what you need there.)
- Brilliance and insight
- If you have not turned in an outline, please do so. I can't give you full credit, as it was due on Friday, but we can work something out.
That's it! Enjoy the rest of your break, I'll see you all on Monday.
[Edit: A few of you were confused about the due date, so just as a reminder, your completed papers are due Monday, January 7.]
[Edit Edit: As always, I am happy to look over your essays for content and style before they are due. Send me an email with your essay attached and I'll make some suggestions. (It would be a good idea to send it before Sunday night, though.]
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