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October 17th Class Review and Homework

Class, I hope you enjoyed our visit with Forressa Harrison today, as well as your exposure to Spoken Word poetry. Here's a little history of Spoken Word poetry: Amercian Poet Marc Smith is credited with starting the poetry slam in Novemeber of 1984. In 1990, the first National Poetry Slam took place in Fort Mason, San Francisco. So, this is an American literary movement, much in line with some of our other movements around the same time, like hiphop and rap. Notice the similarities with the way Spoken Word is constructed. Spoken word relies on a heavy use of rhythm, improvisation, word play, and slang. Spoken Word is writing that is meant to be read aloud and performed. 

Next, we spent some time reviewing the War of 1812, some of Jefferson's idiosyncracies, and a very important court case: Marbury vs. Madison. I have a separate post on this with your assignment that is due in two weeks, on Halloween. But this topic of the effects of a powerful judicial review continues to dominate our news today. In fact, I came home today and saw this headline: Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Travel Ban. But this wasn't the only headline discussing the Constitutionality of our branches in power. Here's another headline questioning the purpose and restrictions of the Executive Branch. That's the President's position, if you need a refresher. Check these links out. We will discuss them in class. It is imperative that you understand the roles outlined in our Constitution and recognize the issues that are still under review today. These are two of the articles of our Constitution popping up in a modern debate on the headline news. I didn't even need to search for them. Although, I'm sure we could easily do a quick search and find some kind of debate concerning our Legislative branch. Just look up "filibusters."

As for our literature, you are assigned the Emerson's "Blight" in your OBAP. However, please also read Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Young Goodman Brown." What similarities do you see with Hawthorne's story and The Crucible? What symbols do you see? What is the THEME? I'd like you to write an INTRODUCTORY paragraph, as if you were writing an essay on "Young Goodman Brown." This must include a thesis statement.


Your Assignment:
Using the four elements discussed today (autobiographical information, bridge, summary, and thesis), write an introductory paragraph of your own. Choose a different theme from the story we read and follow the pattern. Don’t worry; you don’t have to write the entire essay. You just need to write this one introductory paragraph.
If you are having difficulty, refer to the sample essay. 

 For your history, I'm going to simplify it because I want you to focus on your essay. So, each of you will research the cotton gin and the rise of the Northern Industry before the Civil War. I will introduce you to our next literary movement next week: Trancendentalism.  

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