1960s

5/8: We looked at pop art examples today and came up with a list of features of pop art. You'll find the list and some examples below.

5/7: Discussion about the importance of models as a way for people on the outside to see themselves in a new light. See the powerpoint below as a window into T.V. and its function as a model.

5/6: In small groups today, talk about what you read. What surprised you about the Kitty Genovese story and WHY? What does the story tell us about the 1960s: about the way the times viewed women and violence against women, about the society’s strengths, about its fears, about the news industry, about the power of storytelling? Come up with 3 points that you find important enough to share with us as a group.

Tonight, read the excerpt from “What Really Happened to Kitty Genovese” by Nicholas Lemann (attached below as "Genovese excerpt"). On the front of the notecard: react to what you read, particularly in light of the discussion today. Fill this side of the notecard. Also read Alice Walker’s “The Civil Rights Movement: What Good Was It?” This is a piece that also speaks to dissent in the 1960s In the piece, Walker takes on the criticisms she hears in the 1960 society at large of the Civil Rights Movement: pay attention to the criticisms and her arguments against them. Essentially the piece divides into three sections: the first is the criticism of White Liberals who are abandoning the movement, the middle is the critique of blacks (personified by her mother) and their mixed feelings about the movement’s goals and the final section focuses on the agitators for “real change” (personified by hippies). In each section, underline key arguments from the dissenters AND Walker’s arguments against them (in favor of the movement). We’ll use the mark-ups in class for discussion and as the springboard for the back of the notecard (save that).

5/4: Great discussion today about what we know/understand now about "Where is the Voice Coming From?" Those of you in class today, finish the notecard (front and back) by reflecting about what you understand now about the ending of the story and about what you think Welty might mean by the title (whose voice? Why can't it be identified? Why odes it matter in the story?) Try as many ideas on for size as you can. Bring this to class with you on Wednesday.

Homework: Read the reporting about Kitty Genovese's murder and public reaction (attached as 3 scanned pages below).This happened in 1964, a time of great upheaval. Be thinking, as you read, about what the essay suggests about the state of American culture, about law and order, about society’s reaction to women (and violence against women), etc. In your blue books, summarize what you read and react using some of the questions above. Write at least a page. I will ask you to pull out your best ideas in class on Wed.

4/30: We worked to analyze the story today in groups.

4/29: Read “Where is the Voice Coming From?” by Eudora Welty. Keep in mind all that we’ve used to set this up – Rockwell’s The Problem We All Live With and Southern Justice, Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman, Medgar Evers’ work and his fight for equal access, etc. Mark up the text as you read – pay attention to setting, to the narrator’s character, his motivations, his relationship with his wife, his view of the world, the community and the pressures, Welty’s use of language, of imagery, form, her title, etc. After you’ve finished, on the front of the notecard: react to the story – what strikes you, what are you thinking about, what confuses you, insights you have, etc. On the back: go back over the story and your mark-ups and look at the list above – bullet ideas that you think are important to understanding some of the elements of the story in the list. Fill both sides of the card.

4/28: See Rockwell's Murder in Mississippi attached below. In your blue book, describe what you see, then react to what you see (write for 5 minutes). We talked some about the true story that inspired the painting. You can get that background here. We watched this news report about Medgar Evers as background for the story we'll read tomorrow.

4/15: We read and discussed Grace Paley's "Wants" (attached below along with some discussion questions. I gave a mini-assessment: share with me some of your insights about the story (guide me through them by exhaling, using specific examples from the text). Make at least 2-3 strong connections between "Wants" and the work we have done since Monday (41/3) about women's issues in the 1960s.

4/14: We discussed the excerpt from The Feminine Mystique or from "I Felt the World Passing Me By" by Herma Snider. We also watched an extended clip from PBS' The Makers about The Feminine Mystique and its impact. You can watch here (please watch at least from 5:00 - 14:00).

4/13: Window Washer: Take a few minutes to just take in the Sept 17, 1960 cover. Then, in your blue book, describe what you see. Read over what you wrote and look again – which character has your sympathy and WHY (what in the way the cover is constructed draws you to that character)? Now, divide the page into two columns. Label the first column “window washer” and the second “secretary.” Do some word association about what you see in each column (strive for 5 words for each).

Read through the "Want Ads" from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Pay attention to what you see - how these are set up, what sorts of jobs are on offer, with what sorts of skills, benefits, etc. Talk together in groups of 4 then share with us your best observations.

Read the excerpt from The Feminine Mystique or from "I Felt the World Passing Me By" by Hermia Snider. Mark it up, looking for ideas that connect to what we have been talking about this morning. Bullet your best ideas on the back for discussion tomorrow.

4/9: Read the excerpt from Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. As you read, please keep in mind that this book was published in 1962 (portions had been serialized in the New Yorker before its publication). Mark up ideas that you find interesting, (especially given what we talked about, the quote and the Bill Moyers piece). After you’ve finished reading, please react in your blue book. First, write about what struck you in the piece, what you found compelling and important, especially given what we know now about environmentalism. Then, THINK about how Carson shapes the story – her use of fable as a way in, the kinds of evidence she cites, the arguments she makes. How do these demonstrate a moving on from the 1950s into a new kind of world view? How is her voice different from that of a “scientist” and why does that matter (how does it help)?