Thursday, September 27, 2007

Your presentations were impressive today at the library. Brava! Continue reading. I believe I asked you to read to chapter 6. Don't forget those logs. I will bring samples of logs on Monday for those who need them.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

We are meeting in the library today an tomorrow. If you missed the first part of the research question session, you cannot make it up, but you can listen tomorrow when your classmates make their presentations. I will put copies of Steve Gerstle's handouts in the bin outside my door. The hip hop program I mentioned is on BET, not HBO. Students called me last night to tell me it was on. I'm sure it will repeat after the segment tonight. Check BETs schedule. If you want to write something about the panels and issues discussed, you can have extra credit.

In Holler (the book) we are up to chapter 5. Keep up those logs. Over the weekend read Chapter 6. We'll spend next week discussing themes and topics as we prepare essay questions and practice developing introductory paragraphs and conclusions.

I have still not read all of the essays. Don't worry I will get to them before the weekend. Thanks for your patience.
Cyber Assignment 1
In class Tuesday, Sept. 25, we read the lyrics to Tupac's song: "Holler If Ya Hear Me" aloud. We even chose parts with the entire class acting as the chorus, coming in where Public Enemy would on the album, while Luchita was the voice of Tupac, strong and hard and powerful. It was fun!

The assignment is to respond in 250 words minimally to the following: Look at one of the 4 poems written in A Rose Grew From Concrete pp. 11, 13, 15, or 17 and compare and contrast the themes discussed in the song, "Holler If You Hear Me."
The assignment is due today. Paste it here.

Are students prepared for the essay, I suggested they list themes for the poems and themes found in the lyrics, then see where the two overlap before developing the thesis.

I have pasted the lyrics below along. Go to YouTube.


Aww yeah, uhh, uhh
Holla if ya hear me, yeah!

[Verse One]
Here we go, turn it up, let's start
From block to block we snatchin hearts and jackin marks
And the punk police can't fade me, and maybe
We can have peace someday G
But right now I got my mind set up
Lookin down the barrel of my nine, get up
Cause it's time to make the payback fat
To my brothers on the block better stay strapped, black
And accept no substitutes
I bring truth to the youth tear the roof off the whole school
Oh no, I won't turn the other cheek
In case ya can't see us while we burn the other week
Now we got him in a smash, blast
How long will it last 'til the po' gettin mo' cash
Until then, raise up!
Tell my young black males, blaze up!
Life's a mess don't stress, test
I'm givin but be thankful that you're livin, blessed
Much love to my brothers in the pen
See ya when I free ya if not when they shove me in
Once again it's an all out scrap
Keep your hands on ya gat, and now ya boys watch ya back
Cause in the alleys out in Cali I'ma tell ya
Mess with the best and the vest couldn't help ya
Scream, if ya feel me; see it clearly?
You're too near me -

[Chorus]
[2Pac] Holla if ya hear me!
"Hard!" .. "Tellin you to hear it, the rebel" - P.E.
"Tellin you to hear it.."
[2Pac] Holla if ya hear me!
"Hard!" .. "Tellin you to hear it, the rebel" - P.E.
"Tellin you to hear it.."
[2Pac] Holla if ya hear me!
"Hard!" .. "Tellin you to hear it, the rebel" - P.E.
"Tellin you to hear it.."

[Verse Two]
Pump ya fists like this
Holla if ya hear me - PUMP PUMP if you're pissed
To the sell-outs, livin it up
One way or another you'll be givin it up, huh
I guess cause I'm black born
I'm supposed to say peace, sing songs, and get capped on
But it's time for a new plan, BAM!
I'll be swingin like a one man, clan
Here we go, turn it up, don't stop
To my homies on the block gettin dropped by cops
I'm still around for ya
Keepin my sound underground for ya
And I'ma throw a change up
Quayle, like you never brought my name up
Now my homies in the backstreets, the blackstreets
They fell me when they rollin in they fat jeeps
This ain't just a rap song, a black song
Tellin all my brothers, get they strap on
And look for me in the struggle
Hustlin 'til other brothers bubble -

[Chorus]
[2Pac] Holla if ya hear me!
"Tellin you to hear it, the rebel" - P.E.
"Tellin you to hear it.."
[2Pac] Holla if ya hear me!
"Hard!" .. "Tellin you to hear it, the rebel" - P.E.
"Tellin you to hear it.."
[2Pac] Holla if ya hear me!
"Hard!" .. "Tellin you to hear it, the rebel" - P.E.
"Tellin you to hear it.."
[2Pac] Holla if ya hear me!
"Hard!" .. "Tellin you to hear it, the rebel" - P.E.
"Tellin you to hear it.."
[2Pac] Holla if ya hear me!

[Verse Three]
Will I quit, will I quit?
They claim that I'm violent, but still I keep
representin, never give up, on a good thing
Wouldn't stop it if we could it's a hood thing
And now I'm like a major threat
Cause I remind you of the things you were made to forget
Bring the noise, to all my boyz
Know the real from the bustas and the decoys
And if ya hustle like a real G
Pump ya fists if ya feel me, holla if ya hear me
Learn to survive in the nine-tre'
I make rhyme pay, others make crime pay
Whatever it takes to live and stand
Cause nobody else'll give a damn
So we live like caged beasts
Waitin for the day to let the rage free
Still me, till they kill me
I love it when they fear me -

[Chorus]
[2Pac] Holla if ya hear me!
"Tellin you to hear it, the rebel" - P.E.
"Tellin you to hear it.."
[2Pac] Holla if ya hear me!
"Hard!" .. "Tellin you to hear it, the rebel" - P.E.
"Tellin you to hear it.."
[2Pac] Holla if ya hear me!
"Hard!" .. "Tellin you to hear it, the rebel" - P.E.
"Tellin you to hear it.."
[2Pac] Holla if ya hear me!
"Hard!" .. "Tellin you to hear it, the rebel" - P.E.
"Tellin you to hear it.."

[2Pac] You're too near me, to see it clearly

[repeat 4x]
[2Pac] Holla if ya hear me!
"Hard!" .. "Tellin you to hear it, the rebel" - P.E.
"Tellin you to hear it.."

[repeat 2X]
"Hard!" .. "Tellin you to hear it, the rebel" - P.E.
"Tellin you to hear it.."

"Hard!" .. "The rebel"
"Hard!" .. "The rebel"

[repeat 12X to fade]
[2Pac] Holla if ya hear me!
"Hard!" .. "The rebel"

Friday, September 21, 2007

"Changes" by Tupac Shakur

[1]
Come on come on
I see no changes wake up in the morning and I ask myself
is life worth living should I blast myself?
I'm tired of bein' poor & even worse I'm black
my stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch
Cops give a damn about a negro
pull the trigger kill a nigga he's a hero
Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares
one less hungry mouth on the welfare
First ship 'em dope & let 'em deal the brothers
give 'em guns step back watch 'em kill each other
It's time to fight back that's what Huey said
2 shots in the dark now Huey's dead
I got love for my brother but we can never go nowhere
unless we share with each other
We gotta start makin' changes
learn to see me as a brother instead of 2 distant strangers
and that's how it's supposed to be
How can the Devil take a brother if he's close to me?
I'd love to go back to when we played as kids
but things changed, and that's the way it is

[Bridge w/ changing ad libs]
Come on come on
That's just the way it is
Things'll never be the same
That's just the way it is
aww yeah
[Repeat]

[2]
I see no changes all I see is racist faces
misplaced hate makes disgrace to races
We under I wonder what it takes to make this
one better place, let's erase the wasted
Take the evil out the people they'll be acting right
'cause both black and white is smokin' crack tonight
and only time we chill is when we kill each other
it takes skill to be real, time to heal each other
And although it seems heaven sent
We ain't ready, to see a black President, uhh
It ain't a secret don't conceal the fact
the penitentiary's packed, and it's filled with blacks
But some things will never change
try to show another way but you stayin' in the dope game
Now tell me what's a mother to do
bein' real don't appeal to the brother in you
You gotta operate the easy way
"I made a G today" But you made it in a sleazy way
sellin' crack to the kid. " I gotta get paid,"
Well hey, well that's the way it is

[Bridge]

[Talking:]
We gotta make a change...
It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes.
Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live
and let's change the way we treat each other.
You see the old way wasn't working so it's on us to do
what we gotta do, to survive.

[3]
And still I see no changes can't a brother get a little peace
It's war on the streets & the war in the Middle East
Instead of war on poverty they got a war on drugs
so the police can bother me
And I ain't never did a crime I ain't have to do
But now I'm back with the facts givin' it back to you
Don't let 'em jack you up, back you up,
crack you up and pimp smack you up
You gotta learn to hold ya own
they get jealous when they see ya with ya mobile phone
But tell the cops they can't touch this
I don't trust this when they try to rush I bust this
That's the sound of my tool you say it ain't cool
my mama didn't raise no fool
And as long as I stay black I gotta stay strapped
& I never get to lay back
'Cause I always got to worry 'bout the pay backs
some punk that I roughed up way back
comin' back after all these years
rat-tat-tat-tat-tat that's the way it is uhh

[Bridge 'til fade]


[Thanks to naughty_devil43@hotmail.com, josh_don@hotmail.com, xgusis@yaho.co.uk, Cri for correcting these lyrics]

[www.azlyrics.com]
Thursday in the English 1A the intention was to share our essays and get feedback, instead Howard and Al shared poetry and we talked about their work within the context of representations of manhood in hip hop through Byron Hurt's lens: misogyny, homophobia, media and violence. Howard had a performance later that evening in Oakland; he told us he'd bring in work to share and let us know about future events we might want to attend.

For our freewrite we listened to Tupac's "Changes," and reflected on the lyrics from the perspective of Tupac as he might respond today to Byron Hurt after watching Hurt's film. I have provided a link to the lyrics here.

The essay on masculinity as reflected in hip hop culture through the lens of misogyny, homophobia, violence, or media, is due by Sunday, Sept. 23, 12 noon. Send it to me at professorwandasposse@gmail.com. Please include your Initial Planning Sheet. Paste and attach it. Include the course title and meeting time.

I will be hosting a study session on Monday mornings 9:10 to 10:50 beginning Sept. 24. Bring your questions.

We are up to Chapter 3 in Holler. Continue with your logs, both vocabulary and analysis of the writing. We will be discussing the text more this coming week.

The show at Slims was cancelled, so there goes our field trip. Remember I asked about the group, "Dead Presidents"(sp)? Well, on Hard Knock Radio, I heard yesterday that they will be performing on Sept. 30 at the Mezzanine in San Francisco. No, this is not a recommendation or a new field trip notice, although I do like the group's writing. (I don't like the venue.)

There is a program on HBO early next week on the history of hip hop. If anyone watches it and writes about it, you can get extra credit. Also, if you can tape it for the class, please do so and I can reimburse you the tape or DVD or CD.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Today in class we finished watching Hip Hop Beyond Beats and Rhymes. Afterwards students used the Initial Planning sheet to plan their essays. Some students shared their fast drafts. Homework was to bring in another draft tomorrow for peer review. We looked at the director's stated purpose, what motivated him to make the film in the first place, and what conclusions he reached as a result of this query.

Was he surprised at what he found, were you?

You can watch the film at http://grabbavid.com/hip+hop+beyond+beats+and+rhymes.

We will discuss the parts of an essay in more detail focusing on the introduction and conclusion. The final draft is due via email by Friday at 12 noon. You can send it to me at professorwandasposse@gmail.com.

Students will then be invited to post their essays on the blog.
Field Trip No. 1 for Sabir’s classes Fall 2007
Friday, Sept. 28, 2007 @Slim's 333 11th St, San Francisco, CA, 94103-4313,(415) 255-0333, http://www.slims-sf.com/

For our first trip of the semester we will attend a concert with Supernatural, who is a master at freestyling. The concert details follow. I am going to see if I can get a discount on the price, so don’t get your tickets yet. I’ll let you know Wednesday/Thursday. What I need you to do is let me know if you can attend. You are encouraged, but not required to attend; however, seeing the artists perform will certainly inform our comments about artists whose work is this genre. Email me at professorwandasposse@gmail.com.

The assignment will be to write a short essay, 250-500 about freestyle, the art of rap using the concert as an example to illustrate your points. This will be a descriptive essay.

In preparation we will look at freestyling and also at the biographies of the artists on the bill. If anyone has any prior knowledge of the artists, please bring in material to share. Let me know in advance if you need technology. We will do this next week beginning Monday. I am not on campus on Fridays.

The Magnificents featuring Rahzel, MC Supernatural and DJ JS1
Showtime: 9:00 PM (Doors: 8:00 PM)
Ticket price: $16/$18

Tickets available on-line at: slimstickets.com, Tickets.com
All Ages 6 and Over

The undisputed “Godfather of Noyze” has re-defined the beat box. A self-defined “vocal percussionist,” Rahzel has perfectly mastered this quintessential hip hop art form and has emerged as a true virtuoso. To hear him is to be converted.

Supernatural has been on the scene for more than 15 years, earning worldwide props for his high profile battles and freestyle showmanship. Constantly blowing audiences away with his on-stage magnetism, he was featured on the Word of Mouth tour alongside Dilated Peoples, Jurassic 5, & the Beat Junkies, and also toured with Linkin Park on the Projekt Revolution Tour. Respected as one of the most gifted emcees in the game, Supernatural has etched a special place in hip-hip history for his undeniable freestyle skills. He tackles a number of topics with an electrifying delivery and deft wordplay; from battle narratives, social commentaries, to industry issues, Supernatural shines from start to finish
We watched Byron's Hurt's film: "Hip Hop Beyond Beats and Rhymes." We will finish the film today. The assignment follows. Final draft due date is Thursday, Sept. 20. Students can post the final drafts of their essays here by Friday, Sept. 21, 12 noon.

Hip Hop Beyond Beats and Rhymes
Directed by Byron Hurt

From http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/hiphop/

Filmmaker Byron Hurt, a life-long hip-hop fan, was watching rap music videos on BET when he realized that each video was nearly identical. Guys in fancy cars threw money at the camera while scantily clad women danced in the background. As he discovered how stereotypical rap videos had become, Hurt, a former college quarterback turned activist, decided to make a film about the gender politics of hip-hop, the music and the culture that he grew up with. “The more I grew and the more I learned about sexism and violence and homophobia, the more those lyrics became unacceptable to me,” he says. “And I began to become more conflicted about the music that I loved.” The result is HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes, a riveting documentary that tackles issues of masculinity, sexism, violence and homophobia in today’s hip-hop culture.

Sparking dialogue on hip-hop and its declarations on gender, HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes provides thoughtful insight from intelligent, divergent voices including rap artists, industry executives, rap fans and social critics from inside and outside the hip-hop generation. The film includes interviews with famous rappers such as Mos Def, Fat Joe, Chuck D and Jadakiss and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons; along with commentary from Michael Eric Dyson, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Kevin Powell and Sarah Jones and interviews with young women at Spelman College, a historically black school and one of the nation’s leading liberal arts institutions.

The film also explores such pressing issues as women and violence in rap music, representations of manhood in hip-hop culture, what today’s rap lyrics reveal to their listeners and homoeroticism in hip-hop. A “loving critique” from a self-proclaimed “hip-hop head,” HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes discloses the complex intersection of culture, commerce and gender through on-the-street interviews with aspiring rappers and fans at hip-hop events throughout the country.

Hip-hop has been accused of glorifying violence, misogyny and homophobia, and at the same time has been lauded for its ability to simply “tell it like it is.” Such controversial debates over forms of expression can rarely be boiled down to a simple case of wrong versus right. Instead, they are complex and multi-layered and must take into account the larger cultural context.

HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes goes beyond polarizing arguments to explore hip-hop’s most contested issues. How do limited perceptions of masculinity play into a culture of violence? What roles do misogyny and homophobia have in hip-hop culture—as well as in wider mainstream cultures? And are the media and music industries really to blame?

Assignment
At this link, in 250-500 words, explore one of the issues raised: masculinity, misogyny, homophobia, or media literacy. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/hiphop/issues.htm.

The first draft of this typed essay is due today for a peer review. A second draft is due Wednesday, the final draft is to be posted here by 12 noon Friday, Sept. 21.

Bring in Diana Hacker's Rules for Writers so we can talk about peer reviews. Each essay should be minimally 4 paragraphs. Use examples from the film and other sources, such as music lyrics and artists to support your claims. Use standard English as the primary language. When necessary to use the vernacular or specialized language, quote someone. Writers can also clarify any terms which might not be readily understood. This essay audience is a scholarly one, not your peers.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Asking questions to develop thesis sentences 09/14/07

Often writing students are stymied when asked to write a thesis statement which is the single most important aspect of the writing process. It guides the entire process since every aspect of the composition is tied to it: topic sentences, proofs, introductory remarks, and the essay’s conclusion. When I learned of topical invention as a strategy I was drawn to it, perhaps for the dialectic aspect, the questioning. I like asking questions, particularly good questions. I don’t even care if I don’t know the answer because in the spirit of the essay, the journey is what’s important not necessarily having a conclusion that puts a bow on the problem. There can still be problems when we conclude; however, the essay helps us design the search most effectively. Often students look to have a research question when beginning the writing process. The thesis is often the flip side of this: make a guess. Answer your own question. Often this isn’t easy until one knows something about the topic, after the initial research.

If the planning stages of the essay writing process ask: What is your topic? What is your purpose for writing about this topic? And what question do you want your essay to answer? Then the thesis is one’s angle on this topic.

What do you hope to prove? If we are looking at mother son relationships, and Tupac and Afeni are our case study or example then a question one could ask is: What are the effects of addiction on the relationship between a parent and her child, when the parent is an addict?

The answer from what we know so far could be: Although Tupac Shakur’s love and affection towards his mother Afeni Shakur is unquestioned, as a child and even an adult it took him a long while to completely trust her because of the suffering her chemical dependency had on the lives of him and his sister for most of their lives.

Since this is a class where we look at art, then how is this volatile relationship between mother and child explored artistically in Tupac’s poetry and music?

If we look at Dear Mama, then we could point to the dualities and the split evident in Tupac’s relationship with his mother in line like “queen and dope fiend,” or in lines where he forgives her, also when he speaks about her honesty and her presence, even if it was flawed, perhaps it’s better to have a flawed parent than none at all? His forgiveness is also evident in the letter Dyson mentions he wrote his mother when she had a year clean. He didn’t completely trust her, but Tupac, the adult, was willing to love her even if he was skeptical.

Addiction is a mare on one’s credibility, and one’s ability to parent yet, Tupac in Dear Mama says, he holds no one above his mama.

Hope this helps. Let’s look for examples in Tupac’s creative work, as Dyson has, for examples to support our claims. You could take a poem from Concrete or a song or even a film Tupac stars in—what types of characters does he play, to reflect on a theme raised in Holler.

Another example: When a parent makes mistakes like Afeni Shakur’s regarding the lives of her two children, it is often hard for said parent to correct or repair the damage, yet she did.

Can you find evidence of her recovery’s effect on the lives of her children, specifically Tupac in his music or poetry? Tupac’s problems were no isolated ones, if you know of other artists or writers who had to live through similar dilemmas you could bring their work in as other examples to support your claim.

What follows are my notes on a strategy one can use to develop thesis sentences. After choosing a topic the writer then asks a variety of questions about it to develop sentences, declarative sentences that respond to the questions posed below: What is it or what was it? What caused it or what did it cause? What is it like or unlike? What does an authority say about it?

In the reverse, one can scan published writing and ask the same question to get examples of sentences that answer these questions.

As in most invention exercises, one can start with a clustering or mapping or listing freewrite before developing sentences.

Let’s say once again the topic is Tupac Shakur’s relationship to his mother. An example of a definition would be “Afeni says Tupac’s birth signified a new stage in her life” (30). Another is when she says, “’I had never been able to carry a child past three month of pregnancy, but in the midst of [the incarceration and trial], this child stayed” (30).

A consequence is when Afeni’s male co-defendants skipped town, she had to “get a court order so that I could have egg and a glass of milk every morning” (30).

Another consequence/definition is Dyson’s sentence: The Panther 21 had fired off a missive to the Oakland headquarters accusing the West Coast branch of ‘tripping out, pseudo-machoism, arrogance, myrmidonism, dogmatism, regionalism, regimentation, and fear” (30).

Sometimes one can see a consequential relationship between sentences even though in form, they are more definition.

The homework was to look at the themes in Chapter 3 and develop thesis sentences around one theme. Try to use the topical invention strategies for this exercise.

Now here are my notes:

Topical Invention Strategies – notes * 050300 Sabir


“Invention” is a term that describes the processes writers use to generate topics or subjects to write about. There are many ways to do this: brainstorming, clustering, listing, outlines and a heuristic or questioning strategy where writers probe their “topics” as a means to further develop the subject. Four common topics or “mental places” writers would go philosophically to find argument are definition, analogy, consequence, and testimony.

Definition: “The topic of definition involves the creation of a thesis by taking a fact or idea and expanding on it by precisely identifying its nature. The subject can be referred to its class, or genus, and the argument made that whatever is true of the genus is true of the species: “A single-payer national health plan is a socialist policy – and should therefore be classed with other socialist policies.” Another form of definition is “the argument from the word” – the use of dictionary or etymological meanings to define things or ideas” (143).

“Definition always answers the question, “What is/was it?” asked in a variety of contexts. The subject can be defined in its immediate context, a larger context, in different settings, in space, in time, or in a moral continuum” (144).

Analogy: “The topic of analogy is concerned with discovering resemblances or differences between two or more things, proceeding from known to unknown. It should be noted that no analogy is perfect and that all deal in probabilities. Nonetheless, analogy is a useful tool fore investigating comparisons and contrasts: “the first week of college is like the first week of boot camp.” Another type of analogical reasoning is the argument from contraries, or negative analogy: “The marijuana laws are unlike Prohibition.” Although analogy is often thought of only as a figure of speech, it is an important demonstration as well” (143).

“Analogy always answers the question “what is it like or unlike?” and the topic of the analogy usually answers the question by explaining a lesser known element in the context of a better known element. Because of its explanatory nature, at least one side of the analogical topic statement is often historical or general” (144).

Consequence: “The topic of consequence investigates phenomena in a cause-to-effect or effect-to-cause pattern. The best use of consequence is in the prediction of probabilities from patterns that have previously occurred: “Inability to prevent clan warfare led to the failure of the United Nations peacekeeping effort in Somalia.” The topic of consequence is prone to two fallacies. The first is the fallacy of post hoc, ergo propter hoc,” after this, therefore because of this.” Just because one element precedes another element does not mean that the former is the cause of the latter. An extreme example of this fallacy might be “the first human-powered flight led to the failure of the United Nations peacekeeping effort in Somalia.” The second fallacy, a priori, claims but does not demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship between two phenomena” (145).

“Consequence always answers the question, “What caused/causes/will cause it?” or “What did it cause/is it causing/will it cause?” It is not a topic to be taken lightly because, even in a thesis statement, it demands that the writer trace the chains of consequence to the end. Consequence can be either explanatory or predictive” (145).

Testimony: “The topic of testimony relies on appeals to an authority, some external source of argumentation. For example, the authority could be an expert opinion, statistics, or the law. This topic is not as useful today as it once may have been: our controversial age produced so many authorities whose views are in conflict with one another that all too often they cancel one another out, and celebrities often give paid – and therefore untrustworthy – testimony in the form of advertising. Still, testimony can be a good starting place for an argument, especially when students have a familiarity with, and an understanding of, the source of the testimony” (145).

“Testimony always answers the question “What does an authority say about it?” Authorities can range from experts and statistics to eyewitnesses and accepted wisdom” (145).



* Notes: Chapter 7, “Classical Topical Invention (142 – 146).” The St. Martin’s Guide to Teaching Writing, Third Edition by Robert Connors, Cheryl Glenn.

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Today is the 11th anniversary of Tupac's murder. Tonight at Suite 181, 181 Eddy Street in San Francisco. There is a great speech by Tupac to the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement. This is a really powerful speech.
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=15116190&blogID=309550976.

Visit http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.5679/title.bay-area-to-honor-tupac for information about what's planned.

Also this weekend, Too Short is performing in West Oakland at the deFremery Park, 18th and Adeline Streets, in Oakland. It's mentioned in the Too Short article I gave you. If you missed it, visit www.eastbayexpress.com.

We listened to Words of Wisdom and had a really enlightened conversation about the themes elucidated in the work. A student in my earlier English 1B class read aloud the poem Liberty Needs Glasses (135), from Rose, a poem that shares similar themes as Wisdom. You might want to look at it.

Al and Zareth shared. They were strikingly similar in their references to historic absence of heroes in their histories, just those, as Tupac said, who "turned the other cheek." I disagree here. MLK Jr. has been unfairly propagandized.

The "peacemaker" is quite radical if one looks at his speeches just before he was killed, for instance, the Vietnam War, and the speech he presented to the striking garbage men in Detroit. Also, Malcolm X and King were not foes. In fact, Malcolm X went to Georgia to support King, but King was in prison, but he spoke at an event hosted by Mrs. Coretta Scott King.
See http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/speechesFrame.htm

But as we have said, Tupac was a young man evolving. He speaks to this in the speech he gives at the Malcolm X Grassroots event.

What else? Oh, homework is to finish Chapter 2 and list some of the reoccurring themes. Identify minimally 5 arguments, and develop 5 thesis sentences of your own. We will take each others thesis sentences and develop an introductory paragrapb from one of them. We will read Chapter 3 and maybe 4 next week. We will also develop a few questions to explore in our first official essays.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Today we listened to Dear Mama. Zareth kindly brought the music and played the song on her computer. We then read the lyrics aloud from a handout and responded to it in a freewrite. Al and Chantha shared. Al's freewrite was particularly moving. Both students are great writers.

We then reviewed the definition of thesis sentence or statement and answered aloud the questions on pages 9 and 10 in the handout from Writing with a Thesis. A thesis is restricted, unified, and specific. A thesis is not: the title of an article, an announcement, or the entire essay. A thesis is the controlling idea of the essay. It is the stand you take on a topic. It is the claim the essay seeks to prove.

Homework was to continue reading the handout up to page 21 and answer all the questions. Additionally, students were to read Chapter 2, pages 47-58. Continue with your logs, which are short entries for each chapter which look at key themes, especially the reoccurring ones. In the logs students can also pose any questions they might have about the text which can be brought out in class discussion. List vocabulary words here, plus their definitions.

You can also ask me questions in the comment section of the blog and I will respond to you.

There is a great article in the Oakland Tribune about Kanye West and 50 Cent by Jim Harrington. Check it out, the writing is excellent. The writer models his research skills well. Note where he sites his sources and the smooth way he incorporates them into the material.

Monday, September 10, 2007

English 1A Fall 2007

Greetings students!


We've been meeting now for over a month and it's about time I got this conversation blog going so we can be in touch with one another in ways the classroom setting doesn't allow. Here, I will recap assignments given in class, as well as, post assignments exclusive to the Internet, which you will post then respond to each other by certain due dates. You can also ask questions about assignments here. I will be reading the blog comments at least once, maybe twice a day, so it is a good place to contact me along with the email address: professorwandasposse@gmail.com.

Why don't you send me an email now and say hi, so I can create a group for English 1A Fall 2007 so I can do an email blast when necessary. If you don't have an email account, gmail.com is a great place to sign on or yahoo.com or hotmail.com. These servers are all free and you can retrieve your mail while at the college or any public library. I would suggest using your name as your address so friends and I know who you are more readily.

I will also post announcements for weekend activities, just in case you have a little time, plus other campus activities.

We have also finished our American Culture archives. I plan to post photos here of the presenters for that session and for the one on Hip Hop culture.

Homework for Monday, Sept. 9 was to read the East Bay Express Article on Too Short, Career Counselor. Visit http://www.eastbayexpress.com/2007-09-05/news/too-hort-career-counselor/. Students were to respond to the argument posed here: Will Too Short make a good career counselor, in 250 words.

Students were also to identify 5 arguments and their support. I believe I told students they could write in the book. I gave an example. Dyson's style of writing is pretty easy to scan. He puts his argument at the top the paragraph, most often as the topic sentence then uses the supporting sentences to flush out the claim.

We had fun listing all the slang terms students had identified for homework.


Lecture topics this week:


Sabir: Talking Points Sept. 10-15

1. What is a thesis? It’s role in the essay drama. How to develop a thesis or invention strategies: topical invention, three-part thesis, other ideas (Hacker, Skwire and other sources)

Review sentence types (Hacker)

2. What is an essay? (Hacker and other sources)

Review types of essays. The role of planning. Why is documentation important. (Handout)

3. What is the difference between grammar and mechanics. Why is grammar important?

4. Audience. The role of peer support.

5. The writer’s voice is a blueprint.

6. Tools for the writer. (Skwire)

7. Summary, annotation, and other ways to engage the text, like highlighting or tabs, in other words: Digestion, discourse and other culinary forms (Handouts: How to Mark a Book)


Syllabus for Fall 2007


English 1A, Fall 2007 College of Alameda
Professor Wanda Sabir Course code A0490
Class Meetings: August 22-Dec. 21 Room B203 11-12 MTWTh
No classes: 9/3; 10/24; 11/12; 11/22-25 Final Exam Week: M-F, Dec. 17-21


Syllabus for English 1A: College Composition and Reading

English 1A is the first transferable college writing course. Don’t get nervous, hopefully you took English 201 and passed with a B or better. Perhaps you’re fresh out of high school, did okay on the placement exam and voila wound up here. Maybe you’re returning to college after a significant hiatus and aren’t confident in your writing, yet once again passed that placement exam, which, if you recall, tested grammar not writing. Keep your receipt and notice the dates, so you can get a full refund if you cut your losses and drop by Tuesday, November 20. So my joke wasn’t funny? Hang in there and you’ll do fine in the class if you:

1. Know what an essay is
2. Have written one before
3. Are ready to do commit yourself to the task of writing

Plan to have a challenging, yet intellectually stimulating 18 weeks, which I hope you begin by setting goals for yourself. Make a schedule and join or create a study group. Writing is a social activity, especially the type of writing you’ll be doing here. We always consider our audience, have purpose or reason to write, and use research to substantiate our claims, even those we are considered experts in.

I believe we’re supposed to write about 8000 words or so at this level course. This includes drafts. What this amounts to is time at home writing, time in the library researching, reading documents to increase your facility with the ideas or themes your are contemplating, before you once again sit at your desk writing, revising, and writing some more.

Writing is a lonely process. No one can write for you. The social aspect comes into play once you are finished and you have an opportunity to share.

I thought it might be interesting to look at the life of one of rap’s more well-known artists, Tupac Amaru Shakur (25), who died before we had a chance to know the fullness of his genius. We’ll be reading a memoir about his mother Afeni Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary by Jasmine Guy; Holler if You Hear Me by Michael Eric Dyson, Ph.D., The Rose that Grew from Concrete by Tupac Shakur, Elements of Style (any edition), Rules for Writers (recommended), a college dictionary (American Heritage (recommended).

The questions and analysis will come out of the discussions and listening parties as we look for themes in the work and try to reconstruct the artist’s life through his songs which were quite autobiographical. Tupac loved his mother, but he was angry with her too. We will describe this relationship and how mother and son were able to mend it. Forgiveness is preached, however, it takes a certain kind of personality to actually let by-gones be by-gones. Tupac personified “thug life.” He had old ladies tattooing his TL on their arms. What is a thug and why did Tupac celebrate it?

Keep a reading log. Discussion groups will meet each week. Students will also keep a reading log/journal/notes with key ideas outlined for each discussion section, along with vocabulary and key arguments listed, along with primary writing strategies employed: description, process analysis, narration, argument, cause and effect, compare and contrast, definition, problem solving.

Research Project
Your research project will entail finding a social entrepreneur who has been active in his or her community for at least 20 years and have documented resources you can draw from: books, essays, articles, films.

The paper will be about 10 pages. This will include a works cited page and bibliography. Students will make 5-10 minute presentations of these papers the day of the final. The paper will be due about two-three weeks prior to the presentation. We’ll discuss this task further later on.

New Heroes
Visit PBS.org “The New Heroes,” to read about social entrepreneurs. (I’ll show you a few episodes from the series.) Too often people feel helpless or hopeless when there is a lot you can do as an individual as soon as you realize the answer lies inside of you.


Other textbooks
A writer is only as good as the material he or she reads. Models are often a great way to practice a style of writing. There are plenty of excellent models in the literature chosen. We will decide on one other book together or students will have the opportunity to choose their own book after consulting with the instructor.

We will write short essays that reflect themes and ideas discussed that week. Some of these essays will be written in class. The research essay will be an argument. There will be a midterm and a final.

Jot down briefly what your goals are this semester. List them in order of importance.

1.



2.



3.



4.



5.


First assignment: Draft due Monday, August 27
Bring in an object that represents hip hop culture. Be prepared to share and write about your object or someone else’s.

Second Assignment: Due Thursday, August 30
Bring in an object that reflects America, American values, its people, landscape, or history.

Grading
Weekly essays: 15 percent
Daily journals: 15 percent
Midterm: 10 percent
Final: 15 percent
Research Essay/Presentation: 20 percent
Portfolio: 15 percent
Peer Reviews from Lab teachers: 10 percent
Participation: 5 percent

Each book will have collected writings or essays. The essays which take their themes from the books are practice essays, and are about a fourth of your grade, your midterm and final are another fourth and your portfolio is the final fourth. (Save all of your work.) You can average the grades to see how to weigh the various components. Participation is included in the daily exercises and homework portion of the grade, so if your attendance is exemplary, yet you say nothing the entire 18 weeks, you loose percentage points.

You will also need to plan to spend time weekly in the Writing Lab (L-234-235, 748-2132). It is a great place to get one-on-on assistance on your essays, from brainstorming and planning the essays, to critique on the essay for clarity, organization, clearly stated thesis, evidence of support, logical conclusions, and grammatical problems for referrals to other ancillary materials to build strong writing muscles such as SkillsBank, the Bedford Handbook on-line, Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers on-line, Townsend Press, and other such computer and cyber-based resources. Call for hours. There is also an Open Lab for checking e-mail, and a Math Lab. All academic labs are located in the Learning Resource Center (LRC) or library.

Students need a student ID to use the labs and to check out books. The IDs are free and you can take the photo in the F-Building, Student Services.

Have a tutor of teacher sign off on your essays before you turn them in; if you have a “R,” which means revision necessary for a grade or “NC” which means “no credit,” you have to go to the lab and revise the essay with a tutor or teacher before you return both the graded original and the revision (with signature) to me. Revise does not mean “rewrite,” it means to “see again.”

When getting assistance on an essay, the teacher or tutor is not an editor, so have questions prepared for them to make best use of the 15-20 minute session in the Lab. For more specific assistance sign up for one-on-one tutoring, another free service. For those of you on other campuses, you can get assistance at the Merritt Colleges’ Writing Center, as well as Laney’s.

All essay assignments you receive comments on have to be revised prior to resubmission; included with the revision is a student narrative to me regarding your understanding of what needed to be done; a student can prepare this as a part of the Lab visit, especially if said student is unclear over what steps to take.

Students can also visit me in office hours for assistance; again, prepare your questions in advance to best make use of the time. Do not leave class without understanding the comments on a paper. I don’t mind reading them to you.

English language fluency in writing and reading; a certain comfort and ease with the language; confidence and skillful application of literary skills associated with academic writing. Familiarity if not mastery of the rhetorical styles used in argumentation, exposition and narration will be addressed in this class and is a key student learning outcome (SLO).

We will be evaluating what we know and how we came to know what we know, a field called epistemology or the study of knowledge. Granted, the perspective is western culture which eliminates the values of the majority populations, so-called underdeveloped or undeveloped countries or cultures. Let us not fall into typical superiority traps. Try to maintain a mental elasticity and a willingness to let go of concepts which not only limit your growth as an intelligent being, but put you at a distinct disadvantage as a species.

This is a highly charged and potentially revolutionary process - critical thinking. The process of evaluating all that you swallowed without chewing up to now is possibly even dangerous. This is one of the problems with bigotry; it’s easier to go with tradition than toss it, and create a new, more just, alternative protocol.

Grades, Portfolio
We will be honest with one another. Grades are not necessarily an honest response to work; grades do not take into consideration the effort or time spent, only whether or not students can demonstrate mastery of a skill - in this case: essay writing. Grades are an approximation, arbitrary at best, no matter how many safeguards one tries to put in place to avoid such ambiguity. Suffice it to say, your portfolio will illustrate your competence. It will represent your progress, your success or failure this summer session in meeting your goal.

Office Hours
I’d like to wish everyone good luck. I am available for consultation on Monday and Wednesday mornings 9-11 a.m,, and by appointment in L-236. Tuesdays and Thursdays are my long days, 8-3 with one hour lunch, 12-1. Let me know the day before, if possible, when you’d like to meet with me. My office number is (510) 748-2131, e-mail professorwandasposse@gmail.com.

I don’t check my e-mail on weekends so I’d advise you to exchange phone numbers with classmates (2), so if you have a concern, it can be addressed more expediently. Again study groups are recommended, especially for those students finding the readings difficult; don’t forget, you can also discuss the readings as a group in the Lab with a teacher or tutor acting as facilitator. Keep a vocabulary log for the semester and an error chart (taken from comments on essay assignments). List the words you need to look up in the dictionary, also list where you first encountered them: page, book and definition, also use the word in a sentence. You will turn this in with your portfolio.

Students are expected to complete their work on time. If you need more time on an assignment, discuss this with me in advance, if possible to keep full credit. You loose credit each day an assignment is late and certain assignments, such as in-class essays cannot be made up. All assignments prepared outside of class are to be typed, 12-pt. font, double-spaced lines, indentations on paragraphs, 1-inch margins around the written work (see Hacker: The Writing Process; Document Design.)

Cheating
Plagiarism is ethically abhorrent, and if any student tries to take credit for work authored by another person the result will be a failed grade on the assignment and possibly a failed grade in the course if this is attempted again. This is a graded course.

Homework
If you do not identify the assignment, I cannot grade it. If you do not return the original assignment you revised, I cannot compare what changed. If you accidentally toss out or lose the original assignment, you get a zero on the assignment to be revised. I will not look at revisions without the original attached - no exceptions.

All assignments completed away from class should be typed. Use blue or black ink when writing responses in class. You can annotate your books in pencil.

Textbooks Recap:
The Rose that Grew from Concrete. Tupac Amaru Shakur. Pocket Books. 1999. ISBN: 0-671-02844-2

Afeni Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary. Jasmine Guy. 2004. Atria Books. ISBN: 0-7434-7054-0

Holler If You Hear Me. Michael Eric Dyson. Basic Civitas Books. 2001. ISBN: 0-465-01756-8 (or latest edition)

Rules For Writers. Fourth or Fifth edition. Diana Hacker. Bedford/St. Martins.

Elements of Style (any edition)

Suggested Reading
Research and Documentation in the Electronic Age. Diana Hacker. 4th Edition. ISBN: 10: 0-312-44339-0

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip Hop Generation. Jeff Chang. Picador. 2005. ISBN: 0-312-42579-1

Know What I Mean? Reflections on Hip Hop. Michael Eric Dyson. Basic Civitias Books. 2007. ISBN: 0-465-017716-9

Students also need a dictionary. I recommend: The American Heritage Dictionary. Fourth Edition.

Along with a dictionary, the prepared student needs pens with blue or black ink, along with a pencil for annotating texts, paper, a stapler or paper clips, floppy disks, a notebook, three hole punch, a folder for work-in-progress, and a divided binder to keep materials together.

Also stay abreast of the news. Buy a daily paper. Listen to alternative radio:
KPFA 94.1 FM (Hardknock), KQED 88.5, KALW 91.7. Visit news websites: AllAfrica.com, Al Jazeera, CNN.com, AlterNet.org, DemocracyNow.org, FlashPoints.org, CBS 60Minutes.

Index Cards Week 2 August 27-August 31 (I have cards for you to fill-out in class)
Please list your contact information: Name, Address, phone number e-mail address, best time to call.

What strengths do you bring to the class? What do you hope to obtain from the course – any particular exit skills? What do I need to know about you to help you meet your goals?