6/1: Please read the two Amy Hempel stories: "Why I'm Here" and "Breathing Jesus."
5/28: Read "Shiloh" for Monday and complete the worksheet. The final project sheet is attached (Vietnam + assessment).
5/26-28: We watched The Day the Sixties Died to better understand the aftermath of the war. You can watch it here
5/21: Please read Larry Heinemann’s oral history interview and James Dannenberg’s opinion piece about taking a student deferment. For each piece, underline ideas , opinions and recollections that strike you as important. Then, respond to each piece (fill one side of the notecard for Heinemann’s interview and the other side for Dannenberg’s essay). THINK about how each man sees the war, his role in it (or in its time), how America responded to it and what that says about American culture. We’ll continue to look at the aftermath of the war as we discuss the Vietnam Memorial tomorrow and look at some poetry. I will ask you to pull together all of these ideas in some sort of assessment on Vietnam.
Here's the My Lai episode from American Experience. It is worth watching.
5/18: We continued the discussion about Kent State by listening to Neil Young's protest song, looking at the Kent State Memorial by Bruno Ast and looking and talking about the recent Urban Outfitters Kent State shirt. Then, we talked some about My Lai.
FOR TUESDAY: read “Nature of the Beast” by Tim O’Brien. As you read, mark up the text for images that explore the pain, brutality and fear that O’Brien talked about (and the disregard for duty, which continues to offend him). On the back of the notecard (from the weekend): reflect on O’Brien’s short story, on its style, on the images, on the pain, brutality, and fear and how he is able to communicate those things in the story. Make connections to what you read in the excerpt from his essay. Fill the card.
5/14: IN CLASS: We looked at John Filo's photograph in the aftermath of Kent state (below) and at George Segal's sculpture memorializing Kent State. You can find a picture of the sculpture here. Look at it and reflect on the back of the Kent State note page (homework that was due on Thursday) about what you see (and about the title - you can find biblical background here ). Then, listen to the reaction of Kent State officials and George Segal's intention. for homework (DUE ON MONDAY) :Read the excerpt from an essay Tim O’Brien wrote in 1994 called “The Vietnam in Me.” In this excerpt from the essay, O’Brien writes about the massacre at My Lai and the subsequent trials and effect of the massacre. On the front of the card: make a list of ideas he presents, facts about My Lai, his own commentary, etc. Strive for at least 10 bullets.
FOR TUESDAY: read “Nature of the Beast” by Tim O’Brien. As you read, mark up the text for images that explore the pain, brutality and fear that O’Brien talked about (and the disregard for duty, which continues to offend him). On the back of the notecard: reflect on O’Brien’s short story, on its style, on the images, on the pain, brutality, and fear and how he is able to communicate those things in the story. Make connections to what you read in the excerpt from his essay. Fill the card.
5/13: Please watch the short film about the incident at Kent State on May 4,1970. On YouTube, search for “Kent State May4.flv” If You cannot access the video, I have also posted an article “What Really Happened at Kent State” on the “1970s “ page of the website. On a piece of notebook paper, bullet note about what happened, then after you are done watching, please write a reflection about what happened. What strikes you, what surprises you, how does this event fit with what you know, with the reading, discussing and watching we've done about protest, about American culture, etc. Fill the page.
Please also read the letters on the highlighted page of the packet I gave you in class. Read all letters that start on your page. You are reading these to look for evidence that Ms Magazine provided a model for women in the 1970s, and for what issues resonate today. All of the letters are from teenagers in the 1970s.
In class (required): Choose one of the paintings marked AA below. Write down the title and the artist’s name. Use our list of pop art traits to find what is similar (make a list using traits and example from the art). Then, THINK about what is different . Write about what’s different and how those differences might connect to the ideas we’ve been talking about with protest groups (need to models, the desire for identity, recognition and place in American culture, etc.) On the back: how does this art (pop and the Black Arts Movement) fit into the 1960s as we’ve been talking about them? How does this art challenge, critique, mirror the tone of the times, push forward the times, represent the times, etc.? Use specifics to help you and fill the back of the card.
5/12: We’re going to move from the 1960s into the 1970s by looking at the development of the women’s movement and the Vietnam protest movement. Today, we’ll start with the growing pains of the women’s movement in the late 1960s into the 1970s. We’ll start by watching an extended excerpt from The Makers. I’ve chosen clips that will allow us to see and think about the importance of models and of media in the movement, of protest and also think about the growing pains that happen when a movement develops. It will also give you a chance to see and hear from some key women in the movement – Kathrine Switzer, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Rita Mae Brown and Gloria Steinem. You’ll also be introduced to some important ideas and slogans: Women’s Liberation, Lavender Menace, Ms.
Tonight, read both Bella Abzug’s “A New Kind of Southern Strategy” and Gloria Steinem’s testimony in front of congress. As you read, THINK about what you saw in the clip from The Makers today about the struggles and the goals of the women’s movement as it moves into the 1970s. THINK, too, about what we’ve talked about in terms of the importance of models. On the front of the notecard: make connections between what Abzug and Steinem are calling for and the movement as presented in the film. What are the main points of protest, where do both women use models, what unites them and what, if anything, divides them? On the back of the notecard: write down 5 quotes form the two pieces (at least 2 from each) that you particularly like/are interested in/ want to talk about, etc. Identify the writer and the page number.
You can watch The Makers here (we watched the first 5 minutes - through the Marathon, then skipped to the beauty pageant and the introduction of Women's Liberation at 32:35. Then we watched through to the end).