EUROPE:
Albert Camus: "The Myth of Sisyphus" -
Anna Akhmatova: "Lot's Wife" -
Seamus Heaney: "Midterm Break" -
Frank O'Connor: "First Confession"-
AFRICA:
Nelson Mandela: “Inaugural Address” -
Gabriel Okara: “You Laughed and Laughed and Laughed” -
Nadine Gordimer: “Country Lovers” -
Bessie Head: “The Prisoner who Wore Glasses” -
Naguib Mahfouz: “The Answer is No” and Naguib Mahfouz: “Nobel Lecture” -
LATIN AMERICA:
Pablo Neruda: “The United Fruit Co.” -
Gabriel Garcia Marquez: “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” -
Octavio Paz: “The Street” -
ASIA:
Kahlil Gibran: “On Children” from The Prophet -
Kunwar Narayan: “Preparations of War” and Pak Mogwol: “Footprints” -
Ma Jian: “The Abandoner” -
Haruki Murakami: “The Elephant Vanishes” - or - "Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey" -
Prepare a 1/2 hour lesson which will help us to understand the point of view of the author at the time of writing, as well as relate the reading to events in the present day.
Design a 3-minute reading quiz for me to administer. We'll decide together on the platform.
Give us five minutes of historical context: who wrote it? where? when? in what political/social situation? To what issues did this author devote his/her career?
Lead us in an activity that gets us all out of our chairs and thinking about the most important theme(s) of the literature.
Email me a link to a current events article about something that:
relates to the themes, the deep ideas, in the literature
and took place in the country where the author is from.
During your lesson, summarize the article for us, and make the connection clear.
Write a paper about two or more of the pieces of literature that YOU DID NOT PRESENT.
What different perspectives do at least two of these authors take towards the same subject? What do their perspectives show us about events taking place in the world today?
In your paper, quote both from the literature and from at least one current periodical. Cite your sources accurately and appropriately.
Your paper should be multi-paragraphed. In your introduction, be sure to give the titles and authors of both pieces of writing, as well as a brief description of the event you are focusing on.
Your body paragraphs should clearly describe the perspective of each of the authors. How does reading each piece give us insight into the event happening today?
Your conclusion should help us understand the literature from a larger social or philosophical or historical perspective.
Create a piece of art (2D, 3D, literary, video, electronic, or otherwise... you choose the medium) about two or more of the pieces of literature that YOU DID NOT PRESENT.
Consider a theme that two of these authors seem to comment on. What do you have to say about it? How do your feelings about the subject intersect with current events?
In your piece of art, you might represent aspects of the literature itself, or you might depart entirely. But you should be clear about what is on your mind as you are creating the artwork.
In at least 250 words, write an analysis of your art. What were you trying to express? How does it relate to each of the pieces of literature you were thinking about? How did the current event inspire you?