Police & FBI agents in Minneapolis have raided several RNC protest mobilizing sites, in a move that seems deeply unconstitutional.
Minneapolis police raids
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Why we need to NOT build new prisons
This NY Times article, on a proposed prison closing in Pontiac, Illinois, hits on just how hard it is to shift away from reliance on prisons. In towns where prisons supply a big enough proportion of jobs, the entire town's working class is ruined if the state closes one. In other words, once you have built prison infrastructure, you find yourself in a catch-22: fuck over the working class by closing it, or keep fucking over those deep in poverty by keeping it open (and thus maintaining a demand for "supply").
There's no good solution here. But there is an even stronger imperative to actively resist the building of any new prisons. For more information, or to get involved, visit the Prison Moratorium Project (California is one of the biggest fronts on this issue right now.)
There's no good solution here. But there is an even stronger imperative to actively resist the building of any new prisons. For more information, or to get involved, visit the Prison Moratorium Project (California is one of the biggest fronts on this issue right now.)
Friday, August 22, 2008
8G:1 Syllabus!
Wish I knew how to transfer my formatting & font sizes in here, but oh well. Here's the syllabus for my first class.
Interpretation of Literature
8G:1 Section 38
Fall 2008
MWF 11:30-12:20
in 202 EPB
Adam Roberts, Instructor
Adam-Roberts@uiowa.edu
In this course we will aim to develop ways of reading that can help us better understand, and question, our relation to the world. We will begin by considering where we stand, personally, as readers: what influences how we read? How can we look to challenge, or extend, that position? From there we will seek to develop critical reading practices and to explore the many ways in which language can operate, drawing from various genres and styles (from poetry to short stories to popular media). Finally, we will engage with the “real-world” contexts of these sources, asking (of both the historical and the contemporary): to what is this responding? What kind of intervention does it—or might it—make?
Students will themselves respond both analytically and creatively; writing assignments will range from formal academic papers to informal reading journals. As members of a supportive learning community, everyone is expected to participate energetically in discussions and come to class prepared and with an open mind.
Course requirements: regular class participation, a response journal, two formal essays, and a final exam. The University expects a three-hour course to require at least 6 hours a week of outside preparation. Expect to put in approximately 4 hours of reading and 2 hours of writing each week for this class.
Course Objectives:
-To build fluency reading, talking about, and writing about literature
-To learn to see ourselves as readers; to read slowly and closely, and to enjoy reading in this way
-To recognize the influence of our own backgrounds, beliefs, and assumptions on the way we read/look at the world
-To question these ways of seeing, and to explore other perspectives/ways of looking
Books:
Literature: A Portable Anthology, eds. Gardner, et al, St. Martin's Press
Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five, Laurel / Dell
Anne Carson, Autobiography of Red, Random House (available at Prairie Lights)
Moleskine Journal (available at Prairie Lights) or other spiral bound notebook
THE RESPONSE JOURNAL
What is the response journal?
This is the most exciting part of the class. The response journal is your place to engage with the readings in whatever way you find meaningful. That can mean personally (how does this relate to my life? what does it mean to me?), speculatively (by asking questions of the text), analytically (by making some sort of argument), or creatively (with poetry, a drawing, etc.). I will often give you a specific prompt to respond to, but you are always free to write on something you find more interesting.
Why?
The response journal will help you relate course readings to one another. It will also help you engage with these readings on your own terms. It’s very rare to have the chance to write informally for an academic class, and my belief is that this can be an important part of making literature truly relevant to our lives.
How often will we write in our response journal?
You should have one entry for each class (in other words, three per week).
How long do our responses have to be?
A paragraph is fine; a list of a few questions is fine; a poem is fine. Don’t spend more than 25 minutes on an entry unless you feel like it.
How will the reading journal be incorporated into class?
Each day we will begin class with 5-10 students sharing from their response journals. Everyone is responsible for stimulating discussions. If this kind of thing makes you nervous, please come talk to me during the first week and I will help you come up with a good solution.
Wait, so what’s actually going to fly?
Any response is acceptable…so long as it displays effort and thinking. Engaging in the PROCESS of learning is more important than any finished product here. Is there something you’re struggling with? Something you don’t understand? Work through it in the response journal.
Okay, I am totally nervous about this response journal thing now.
Try not to be. I can’t stress this enough—you are not being evaluated on how “good” your response journal is, only the depth of the connection you form with it. Have fun, be honest, ask questions. You’ll be fine.
GRADING POLICIES
Paper 1 (due 9/26)= 20%
Paper 2 (due 10/31)= 25%
Final Exam = 15%
Response Journal = 25%
Class Participation/Attendance = 15%
• A work is excellent. It notably exceeds minimum expectations. It is original, thoughtful, and well–developed.
• B work is good. It exceeds minimum expectations. It is thoughtful but not particularly nuanced. It is organized logically and has few errors.
• C work is average. It meets minimum expectations. It offers some insight, is reasonably clear, but lacks the overall consistency and depth of B-level work.
• D work does not meet most expectations, but it is developed enough to earn some credit. It may have noticeable organizational problems or offer little more than summary.
• F work is either so incomplete that it does not deserve full credit, or it does not resemble the particular assignment. Errors may be so distracting that they detract from content.
Papers:
Late papers/assignments will be marked down a half-grade for each day that they are late. If you would like an extension on a paper due to legitimate extenuating circumstances, I am open to that, but you must let me know at least 24 hours before the deadline.
Response Journal:
I will collect your response journal three times over the course of the semester. You will receive full credit for all complete entries, and zero credit for any missing entries. Credits will be added up at the end of the semester and averaged into your final grade. I will give you a heads-up of how you are doing mid-way through the semester. Everyone should aim to get the full 25% here; all you have to do is make sure to engage & put something thoughtful down every time you sit down to read.
Class Participation/Attendance:
While it is true that not everyone likes to speak in class, you must be actively engaged with classroom discussion. If you are not speaking, you should be actively listening, taking notes, etc. If you are speaking, you should be contributing thoughtfully and constructively, as well as trying to include others in the discussion.
Showing up to class is extraordinarily important. We are building a community of learners, which takes everyone getting to know each other, and a good deal of consistency from week to week. If you do not show up consistently to class, you will receive a zero for your participation/attendance grade, and it will most likely endanger your chances of passing the class.
THE FINE PRINT
1. Plagiarism: DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. At all. Period. Please read the guidelines carefully, and ask me any questions, if you are worried about a specific paper, before you hand it in. (Remember, I grant extensions if you come to me at least 24 hours before a deadline. Come talk to me!) If you plagiarize on an assignment, you will receive a zero for that assignment. It also means that you and I must have a painfully embarrassing and awkward conversation, and afterwards, I have to do lots of paperwork that labels you as a “problem” student for the rest of your college career. Plagiarism guidelines can be found here: http://www.english.uiowa.edu/gel/resources/PlagiarismPolicy.pdf
2. Additional Contacts: 1) General Education Literature Director: Brooks Landon, brooks-landon@uiowa.edu, 376 EPB, 335-0641, HOME: 338-8233 2) General Education Literature Program Associates office phone: 335-0484, 64 EPB
3. Grade concerns and complaints: Arrange a time to talk with me in person, during my office hours (i.e not by email). From the university: “Students should always first bring such concerns to their instructor. If no satisfactory resolution is gained from discussing the problem with the instructor, students should contact one of the following Program Associates in 64 EPB responsible for grade complaints: Victoria Sprow, Carolyn Hall, LeDon Sweeney.”
4. Students with special needs: Please come and speak to me during my office hours if you have a disability that may require seating modifications, testing accommodations, or accommodations of other class requirements, so that appropriate arrangements may be made. It is the responsibility of students with disabilities to register with the Office of Student Disability Services (3101 Burge Hall, 335-1462) and to present a Student Academic Accommodation Request (the SAAR form) to the instructor when discussing specific requests for accommodation. See the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences requirements at http://www.clas.uiowa.edu/faculty/teaching/classroom_p&p/disabilities.shtml
5. Controlling policies for students from other colleges: This course is given by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. This means that class policies on matters such as requirements, grading, and sanctions for academic dishonesty are governed by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Students wishing to add or drop this course after the official deadline must receive the approval of the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Details of the University policy of cross enrollments may be found at http://www.uiowa.edu/~provost/deos/crossenroll.doc
6. Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment is reprehensible and will not be tolerated by the University. It subverts the mission of the University and threatens the well-being of students, faculty, and staff. Visit the sexual harassment awareness site at http://www.sexualharassment.uiowa.edu/ for definitions, assistance, and the full University policy.
7. Tornado: The University of Iowa Operations Manual section 16.14 outlines appropriate responses to a tornado or to a similar crisis. If a tornado or other severe weather is indicated by the UI outdoor warning system, members of the class should seek shelter in rooms and corridors in the innermost part of a building at the lowest level, staying clear of windows, corridors with windows, or large free-standing expanses such as auditoriums and cafeterias. The class will resume, if possible, after the UI outdoor warning system announces that the severe weather threat has ended.
8. Writing Center: The Writing Center is an important resource that can help many students. For more information about the hours and offerings of the Writing Center go to its website at http://www.uiowa.edu/~writingc/
SYLLABUS
Subject to change. Note: Readings & assignments listed on a date should be completed by the beginning of class on that date. Page numbers refer to Literature: A Portable Anthology unless otherwise noted.
Unit One: Laying the Frameworks
WEEK 1: Introductions
8/25: Introductions. Course Themes. Goals.
8/27: Buy a reading journal and bring it to class. Response Journal: Timeline of “Reading” Preferences. Share reading timelines.
8/29: Share reading timelines (cont.)
WEEK 2: Laying the Frameworks: Reader, Text, World
9/1: No class (holiday)
9/3: In class: Practicing reader/text/world in analysis. Sherman Alexie, Postcards to Columbus (p. 714), Joy Harjo, She Had Some Horses (p. 675)
Response Journal: bring in at least three thoughtful questions about the text.
9/5: Reader/text/world cont. Response journal: practice text/world analysis. One paragraph.
WEEK 3: Poetry (1): The Romantics
9/8: Wordsworth: Lines (p. 423-427), Preface to Lyrical Ballads (ICON)
9/10: Shelley: Ozymandias, Ode to the West Wind (438-441)
9/12: Whitman: Song of Myself (467-478)
WEEK 4: Poetry (2): “Modern” American Poetry
9/15: Whitman: Crossing Brooklyn Ferry (ICON)
9/17: Dickinson: all poems (488-490)
9/19: Whitman and Dickinson (cont.) RESPONSE JOURNALS COLLECTED (1).
WEEK 5 : A play. Writing the first paper.
9/22: Oedipus Rex (719-762). No response journal; work on paper.
9/24: Oedipus (cont.), questions about papers. No reading journal; work on paper.
9/26: PAPER 1 DUE. Receive response journal (1).
Unit Two: Forms of Protest
WEEK 6: Writing War (1): Slaughter-House Five
9/29: Vonnegut, Slaughter-House Five: Chapter 1 (p. 1-22).
10/1: Chapters 2-3 (p. 23-71)
10/3: Chapter 4 (p. 72-86)
WEEK 7: Writing War (2): Slaughter-House Five (cont.)
10/6: Chapter 5 (p. 87-135)
10/8: Chapters 6-7 (p. 136-161)
10/10: Chapters 8-10 (p. 162-215)
WEEK 8: Poetry (3): American Poetry in the 50’s and 60’s
10/13: Allen Ginsberg (ICON)
10/15: Robert Creeley (ICON)
10/17: Robert Creeley (cont.)
WEEK 9: Writing War (3)
10/20: James Baldwin, Sonny’s Blues (p. 220-247)
10/22: Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried (332-346)
10/24: Yusef Komunyakaa (657-658)
WEEK 10: “Quiet Protest”: Minimalism in Poetry & Music
10/27: Paul Celan (ICON). RESPONSE JOURNALS COLLECTED AT END OF CLASS (2). No response journal, work on paper.
10/29: Inger Christensen (ICON). No response journal, work on paper.
10/31: PAPER 2 DUE. Response journals returned.
Unit Three: (Un)Tying It All Together
(or, Working for Something Else)
WEEK 11: An Election Week Special: Literature and Politics
11/3: In-class discussion on presidential election. Response journal: Use your time outside of class to think about who you’re going to vote for…and to go out and vote!
11/5: In class response journaling and discussion: reflections on the election; what’s ahead.
11/7: TBD
WEEK 12: Autobiography of Red (1)
11/10: Anne Carson, Autobiography of Red: Introductions, Appendices, Chapters I-V (p. 1-36)
11/12: Chapters VI-XXIV (p. 36-75)
11/14: Autobiography of Red discussion, cont.
WEEK 13: Autobiography of Red (2)
11/17: Chapters XXV-XXXII (p. 76-107)
11/19: Chapters XXXIII-XLVII (p. 107-146)
11/21: Autobiography of Red discussion, cont.
WEEK 14: Analyzing Contemporary Popular Media
12/1: TBD
12/3: TBD
12/5: TBD
Week 15: Response Journal Reflections/Exam Prep
12/8: TBD
12/10: TBD
12/12: TBD
Interpretation of Literature
8G:1 Section 38
Fall 2008
MWF 11:30-12:20
in 202 EPB
Adam Roberts, Instructor
Adam-Roberts@uiowa.edu
In this course we will aim to develop ways of reading that can help us better understand, and question, our relation to the world. We will begin by considering where we stand, personally, as readers: what influences how we read? How can we look to challenge, or extend, that position? From there we will seek to develop critical reading practices and to explore the many ways in which language can operate, drawing from various genres and styles (from poetry to short stories to popular media). Finally, we will engage with the “real-world” contexts of these sources, asking (of both the historical and the contemporary): to what is this responding? What kind of intervention does it—or might it—make?
Students will themselves respond both analytically and creatively; writing assignments will range from formal academic papers to informal reading journals. As members of a supportive learning community, everyone is expected to participate energetically in discussions and come to class prepared and with an open mind.
Course requirements: regular class participation, a response journal, two formal essays, and a final exam. The University expects a three-hour course to require at least 6 hours a week of outside preparation. Expect to put in approximately 4 hours of reading and 2 hours of writing each week for this class.
Course Objectives:
-To build fluency reading, talking about, and writing about literature
-To learn to see ourselves as readers; to read slowly and closely, and to enjoy reading in this way
-To recognize the influence of our own backgrounds, beliefs, and assumptions on the way we read/look at the world
-To question these ways of seeing, and to explore other perspectives/ways of looking
Books:
Literature: A Portable Anthology, eds. Gardner, et al, St. Martin's Press
Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five, Laurel / Dell
Anne Carson, Autobiography of Red, Random House (available at Prairie Lights)
Moleskine Journal (available at Prairie Lights) or other spiral bound notebook
THE RESPONSE JOURNAL
What is the response journal?
This is the most exciting part of the class. The response journal is your place to engage with the readings in whatever way you find meaningful. That can mean personally (how does this relate to my life? what does it mean to me?), speculatively (by asking questions of the text), analytically (by making some sort of argument), or creatively (with poetry, a drawing, etc.). I will often give you a specific prompt to respond to, but you are always free to write on something you find more interesting.
Why?
The response journal will help you relate course readings to one another. It will also help you engage with these readings on your own terms. It’s very rare to have the chance to write informally for an academic class, and my belief is that this can be an important part of making literature truly relevant to our lives.
How often will we write in our response journal?
You should have one entry for each class (in other words, three per week).
How long do our responses have to be?
A paragraph is fine; a list of a few questions is fine; a poem is fine. Don’t spend more than 25 minutes on an entry unless you feel like it.
How will the reading journal be incorporated into class?
Each day we will begin class with 5-10 students sharing from their response journals. Everyone is responsible for stimulating discussions. If this kind of thing makes you nervous, please come talk to me during the first week and I will help you come up with a good solution.
Wait, so what’s actually going to fly?
Any response is acceptable…so long as it displays effort and thinking. Engaging in the PROCESS of learning is more important than any finished product here. Is there something you’re struggling with? Something you don’t understand? Work through it in the response journal.
Okay, I am totally nervous about this response journal thing now.
Try not to be. I can’t stress this enough—you are not being evaluated on how “good” your response journal is, only the depth of the connection you form with it. Have fun, be honest, ask questions. You’ll be fine.
GRADING POLICIES
Paper 1 (due 9/26)= 20%
Paper 2 (due 10/31)= 25%
Final Exam = 15%
Response Journal = 25%
Class Participation/Attendance = 15%
• A work is excellent. It notably exceeds minimum expectations. It is original, thoughtful, and well–developed.
• B work is good. It exceeds minimum expectations. It is thoughtful but not particularly nuanced. It is organized logically and has few errors.
• C work is average. It meets minimum expectations. It offers some insight, is reasonably clear, but lacks the overall consistency and depth of B-level work.
• D work does not meet most expectations, but it is developed enough to earn some credit. It may have noticeable organizational problems or offer little more than summary.
• F work is either so incomplete that it does not deserve full credit, or it does not resemble the particular assignment. Errors may be so distracting that they detract from content.
Papers:
Late papers/assignments will be marked down a half-grade for each day that they are late. If you would like an extension on a paper due to legitimate extenuating circumstances, I am open to that, but you must let me know at least 24 hours before the deadline.
Response Journal:
I will collect your response journal three times over the course of the semester. You will receive full credit for all complete entries, and zero credit for any missing entries. Credits will be added up at the end of the semester and averaged into your final grade. I will give you a heads-up of how you are doing mid-way through the semester. Everyone should aim to get the full 25% here; all you have to do is make sure to engage & put something thoughtful down every time you sit down to read.
Class Participation/Attendance:
While it is true that not everyone likes to speak in class, you must be actively engaged with classroom discussion. If you are not speaking, you should be actively listening, taking notes, etc. If you are speaking, you should be contributing thoughtfully and constructively, as well as trying to include others in the discussion.
Showing up to class is extraordinarily important. We are building a community of learners, which takes everyone getting to know each other, and a good deal of consistency from week to week. If you do not show up consistently to class, you will receive a zero for your participation/attendance grade, and it will most likely endanger your chances of passing the class.
THE FINE PRINT
1. Plagiarism: DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. At all. Period. Please read the guidelines carefully, and ask me any questions, if you are worried about a specific paper, before you hand it in. (Remember, I grant extensions if you come to me at least 24 hours before a deadline. Come talk to me!) If you plagiarize on an assignment, you will receive a zero for that assignment. It also means that you and I must have a painfully embarrassing and awkward conversation, and afterwards, I have to do lots of paperwork that labels you as a “problem” student for the rest of your college career. Plagiarism guidelines can be found here: http://www.english.uiowa.edu/gel/resources/PlagiarismPolicy.pdf
2. Additional Contacts: 1) General Education Literature Director: Brooks Landon, brooks-landon@uiowa.edu, 376 EPB, 335-0641, HOME: 338-8233 2) General Education Literature Program Associates office phone: 335-0484, 64 EPB
3. Grade concerns and complaints: Arrange a time to talk with me in person, during my office hours (i.e not by email). From the university: “Students should always first bring such concerns to their instructor. If no satisfactory resolution is gained from discussing the problem with the instructor, students should contact one of the following Program Associates in 64 EPB responsible for grade complaints: Victoria Sprow, Carolyn Hall, LeDon Sweeney.”
4. Students with special needs: Please come and speak to me during my office hours if you have a disability that may require seating modifications, testing accommodations, or accommodations of other class requirements, so that appropriate arrangements may be made. It is the responsibility of students with disabilities to register with the Office of Student Disability Services (3101 Burge Hall, 335-1462) and to present a Student Academic Accommodation Request (the SAAR form) to the instructor when discussing specific requests for accommodation. See the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences requirements at http://www.clas.uiowa.edu/faculty/teaching/classroom_p&p/disabilities.shtml
5. Controlling policies for students from other colleges: This course is given by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. This means that class policies on matters such as requirements, grading, and sanctions for academic dishonesty are governed by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Students wishing to add or drop this course after the official deadline must receive the approval of the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Details of the University policy of cross enrollments may be found at http://www.uiowa.edu/~provost/deos/crossenroll.doc
6. Sexual Harassment: Sexual harassment is reprehensible and will not be tolerated by the University. It subverts the mission of the University and threatens the well-being of students, faculty, and staff. Visit the sexual harassment awareness site at http://www.sexualharassment.uiowa.edu/ for definitions, assistance, and the full University policy.
7. Tornado: The University of Iowa Operations Manual section 16.14 outlines appropriate responses to a tornado or to a similar crisis. If a tornado or other severe weather is indicated by the UI outdoor warning system, members of the class should seek shelter in rooms and corridors in the innermost part of a building at the lowest level, staying clear of windows, corridors with windows, or large free-standing expanses such as auditoriums and cafeterias. The class will resume, if possible, after the UI outdoor warning system announces that the severe weather threat has ended.
8. Writing Center: The Writing Center is an important resource that can help many students. For more information about the hours and offerings of the Writing Center go to its website at http://www.uiowa.edu/~writingc/
SYLLABUS
Subject to change. Note: Readings & assignments listed on a date should be completed by the beginning of class on that date. Page numbers refer to Literature: A Portable Anthology unless otherwise noted.
Unit One: Laying the Frameworks
WEEK 1: Introductions
8/25: Introductions. Course Themes. Goals.
8/27: Buy a reading journal and bring it to class. Response Journal: Timeline of “Reading” Preferences. Share reading timelines.
8/29: Share reading timelines (cont.)
WEEK 2: Laying the Frameworks: Reader, Text, World
9/1: No class (holiday)
9/3: In class: Practicing reader/text/world in analysis. Sherman Alexie, Postcards to Columbus (p. 714), Joy Harjo, She Had Some Horses (p. 675)
Response Journal: bring in at least three thoughtful questions about the text.
9/5: Reader/text/world cont. Response journal: practice text/world analysis. One paragraph.
WEEK 3: Poetry (1): The Romantics
9/8: Wordsworth: Lines (p. 423-427), Preface to Lyrical Ballads (ICON)
9/10: Shelley: Ozymandias, Ode to the West Wind (438-441)
9/12: Whitman: Song of Myself (467-478)
WEEK 4: Poetry (2): “Modern” American Poetry
9/15: Whitman: Crossing Brooklyn Ferry (ICON)
9/17: Dickinson: all poems (488-490)
9/19: Whitman and Dickinson (cont.) RESPONSE JOURNALS COLLECTED (1).
WEEK 5 : A play. Writing the first paper.
9/22: Oedipus Rex (719-762). No response journal; work on paper.
9/24: Oedipus (cont.), questions about papers. No reading journal; work on paper.
9/26: PAPER 1 DUE. Receive response journal (1).
Unit Two: Forms of Protest
WEEK 6: Writing War (1): Slaughter-House Five
9/29: Vonnegut, Slaughter-House Five: Chapter 1 (p. 1-22).
10/1: Chapters 2-3 (p. 23-71)
10/3: Chapter 4 (p. 72-86)
WEEK 7: Writing War (2): Slaughter-House Five (cont.)
10/6: Chapter 5 (p. 87-135)
10/8: Chapters 6-7 (p. 136-161)
10/10: Chapters 8-10 (p. 162-215)
WEEK 8: Poetry (3): American Poetry in the 50’s and 60’s
10/13: Allen Ginsberg (ICON)
10/15: Robert Creeley (ICON)
10/17: Robert Creeley (cont.)
WEEK 9: Writing War (3)
10/20: James Baldwin, Sonny’s Blues (p. 220-247)
10/22: Tim O’Brien, The Things They Carried (332-346)
10/24: Yusef Komunyakaa (657-658)
WEEK 10: “Quiet Protest”: Minimalism in Poetry & Music
10/27: Paul Celan (ICON). RESPONSE JOURNALS COLLECTED AT END OF CLASS (2). No response journal, work on paper.
10/29: Inger Christensen (ICON). No response journal, work on paper.
10/31: PAPER 2 DUE. Response journals returned.
Unit Three: (Un)Tying It All Together
(or, Working for Something Else)
WEEK 11: An Election Week Special: Literature and Politics
11/3: In-class discussion on presidential election. Response journal: Use your time outside of class to think about who you’re going to vote for…and to go out and vote!
11/5: In class response journaling and discussion: reflections on the election; what’s ahead.
11/7: TBD
WEEK 12: Autobiography of Red (1)
11/10: Anne Carson, Autobiography of Red: Introductions, Appendices, Chapters I-V (p. 1-36)
11/12: Chapters VI-XXIV (p. 36-75)
11/14: Autobiography of Red discussion, cont.
WEEK 13: Autobiography of Red (2)
11/17: Chapters XXV-XXXII (p. 76-107)
11/19: Chapters XXXIII-XLVII (p. 107-146)
11/21: Autobiography of Red discussion, cont.
WEEK 14: Analyzing Contemporary Popular Media
12/1: TBD
12/3: TBD
12/5: TBD
Week 15: Response Journal Reflections/Exam Prep
12/8: TBD
12/10: TBD
12/12: TBD
Monday, August 11, 2008
Dirty Projectors - Rise Above
Quirky, hypnotic, energetic, and (at times) beautiful....I really like this record. David Longstreth, the principal creative force behind the Projectors, sings, alternating (as is his thing) between warbling vibrattos and careening screeches. This can be, I admit, a bit of an acquired taste, but it's also kind of a cool game: unstable vocal leaps, as they get close to something beautiful, splinter into pieces...then, when they do splinter, they're mutated in turn (by gorgeous vocal accompaniments) into harmonies that seem exponentially more full...as if they could only get there by bursting ugly first. It's great, and what drives everything is the truly inventive rhythm on this album-- weird jangly guitar runs, drumming that alternates subtle and relentless.
In the bits and pieces I've heard of the Dirty Projectors, I've always been drawn in by the wonderful precision of their messiness-- songs that begin to emerge, duck elsewhere, lose themselves, find something (different) again. It can be exhausting listening, but I always find the uneven spits of beauty well worth (and probably caused by) the effort in between.
From the reception of Rise Above, people seem to be relieved at the kinder balance; many of the songs are not only stylistically tight, but downright catchy. The album is conceptually tight, too-- a near-complete remaking of Black Flag's Damaged (1981).There's a shared spirit of resistance here, although Longstreth obviously takes it well into his own direction. What's so interesting about the project is that in contrast to Damaged, Rise Above's urgency comes less from anger than from, I think, creativity. That this urgency might actually be a response, albeit two decades removed, to the same source-- i.e. authority in its dehumanizing forms--is what gives the creative peaks of this album their own, peculiar, power.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Iowa City!
I'm here...and Iowa City is pretty great. Some of my favorite spots so far:
The Workshop starts in 2 weeks!
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