Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Happy Ancestor Day
Today we had our second excursion to the library for our Information Literacy workshops. The last session is in November. I hope the information was useful and will help you develop good research strategies to find a social entrepreneur for the essay due in a month.

Homework was to keep watching the videos and respond in a three paragraph essay. I believe I gave you two essays on censorship. Read them in advance so we can talk about it. We were supposed to work on the research guide tomorrow. If we don't get to it then, we'll look at it on Monday, November 5.

Keep reading Jasmine Guy and read the next section of Elements of Style, "Principles of Composition,"(15-33) for Monday, November 5 also. Read "A Few Matters of Form," 34-38 for Tuesday, November 13. Read "Words and Expressions Commonly Misused," 39-65 for November 15. We'll finish the book that Monday,November 19 with "An Approach to Style."

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Students received many handouts today. We started class responding to the assignment pertaining to the Frontline Focus: Social Entrepreneur videos students watched yesterday. Some students didn't read the assignment correctly and watched three videos at one sitting. The assignment was to watch three over a week and respond to each one in a minimally 3 paragraph essay to the questions I asked.

Tomorrow we meet downstairs with Steve Gerstle. Bring the research essay assignment sheet. We went over due dates in class today. We also discussed the range and flexibility of the assignment. Some students asked about whether they could profile a person in another country. Zareth actually lived in the community where the person is she wants to profile, so this would be okay. Another student in another class asked about an artist who is an entrepreneur, not necessarily a social entrepreneur. I said this would be okay if the writer talked about the difference between the two types of entrepreneurs. Howard asked about a minister who might not have a lot written about him. I told him he didn't have to have a lot; a broadcast piece: radio and/or TV, plus one news article would work. He could then interview the person and maybe someone connected to the organization like a client.

There should be minimally three response essays to the videos blogged.
I didn't mention that you will be presenting these papers.

We talked about the importance at this level course for information literacy and the importance of students learning how to manage information responsively as scholars.
This is the objective and goal of this course. The writing is important as it relates to scholarship--information literacy. How you handle the information you use to prove your point, to substantiate your claims. If a student cannot, at the end of the semester produce a clear and concise works cited page MLA format and a bibliography, plus manage sources cited in-text, such student will not pass the course, no matter how well the rest of the compositions are.

If you have any questions about this ask me. I am at your service. I want you to pass the course, so ask me when you are unclear. The librarians and the Writing Center staff how lots of handouts and there are exercises on line at www.dianahacker.com/rules and at Bedford Handbook (in the Writing Center.)

Monday, October 29, 2007

Homework: Read the first couple of chapters in Evolution of a Revolutionary for Tuesday, October 30. Don't forget your logs. We will meet again in the lab for discussion and more research for a topic.

Bring any questions. Don't forget we have an appointment with Steve Gerstle, librarian, October 31. Meet at the reference desk if you don't see him.
Research Tools

Visit http://alameda.peralta.edu/projects/20013/EnglishSabirpathfinder.doc

http://alameda.peralta.edu/projects/20013/EvalWebWksht.doc for the assignment: Evaluating a web page.

Other resources
http://alameda.peralta.edu/Projects/20013/researchsteps.pdf

http://alameda.peralta.edu/projects/20013/researchquestion.ppt#256,1

Social Entrepreneur Essay Assignment
Handout: The Social Entrepreneur Essay research worksheet is a way to define what a social entrepreneur is compared to a philanthropist.

See a librarian at the reference desk to help you define your search and identify the SE you'd like to profile in your 5-10 page essay.

I created this assignment after seeing the program New Heroes on http://www.pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/. I wanted students to realize the power they possess to be the change in their communities they want to see, that one person can make a difference.

Use the library worksheet to define the terms: social, society, entrepreneur, "social entrepreneur", philanthropist and philanthropy. Be clear about the difference between a philanthropist and a social entrepreneur. Also define: hero, local, selfless, selfish, community, help, support, supporter. care, independence, money, wealth.

The question you want to ask after you have identified a person or two:
What motivated this person to want to change something in society? How did this person get the community's support for the project? What did the community gain? What did the social entrepreneur gain?

The person has to be alive. Try to find someone local, who is living in the San Francisco Bay Area or in California. The person has to have been doing this work for 10-20 years. You need to locate 6-10 sources on your subject to form a bibliography; you don't have to cite 10 sources. The sources can be published or broadcast interviews, books, articles, and films or you can interview them yourself. The person cannot be a relative. You can work in groups and share data. In fact, I encourage it.

Due dates
The planning sheet and 5-10 sources are due Wednesday, November 7 or Thursday, November 8 to share.

An introduction and conclusion to the essay are due: Monday, November 12.

The first draft of the essay is due: Wednesday, November 19 or Thursday, November 20.

The final draft is due Tuesday, November 27 or Wednesday, November 28. Put the essay, the planning sheet, and all the works cited and bibliography pages on a disk. You can use the same disk the midterm was on.
Social Entreprenuers

On "Frontline: World," I saw a program about a micro-lending organization called KIVA where lenders who want to help small businesses in Uganda. Now KIVA is all over the world. All loans have been paid back 100 percent. Visit http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/uganda601/video_index.html to see the video.

Here is a link from this site to other entrepreneurs. Choose one's that interest you: http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/socialentrepreneurs.html

The organization is in San Francisco. There is a link to other Frontline programs about Social Entrepreneurs. Watch this program and over the week, watch two others. Respond to the following questions: What is a social entrepreneur? What problem did the person profiled identify? What is the name of the organization they started? Describe their relationship to the community they serve. Why did they decide to address this issue? What is the local component? How does the community own the process?

You need to define "social," "entrepreneur," and "philanthropy." This should be a part of your introduction. A philanthropist gives money to worthy causes. A entrepreneur is a business person. A social entrepreneur is a business person whose business creates social good and economic development in a community where poverty was a barrier to its financial growth. I will give you a handout to begin your research process tomorrow. If you want to stop by my office the handouts will be in a folder in the bin by Tuesday, October 30.

Visit 3 websites this week -- Monday-Wednesday, October 29-31, and respond to the questions listed above for each social entrepreneur. Post here.

For your research project, I want you to find someone, if possible, who uses his or her art for social change. This Thursday, November 1, poet, activist, Amiri Baraka is at UC Berkeley at a reading. Friday, November 2, he is at EastSide Arts Cultural Center. He would be a great topic for your research. He doesn't live here, so this
is an opportunity to talk to him about art, activism and social change.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Research Assignment
Monday and Tuesday, October 29-30 we will talk specifically about the research essay and I will share examples of student projects and also show you a couple of films on Social Entreprenuers. They are not all artists; however, your assignment is to find an artist who is using his or her craft for social change.

A second topic could be to do a literature survey of a contemporary of Tupac. A third topic could be a research essay on the history of hip hop within the context of African musical forms. A fourth could look at hip hop culture as a movement and focus on the work of key figures in this movement. A final topic could be to explore one or more of the four elements of the genre.

Original topics are also welcome, as long as it fits within the themes we've been exploring this semester: hip hop culture, Tupac Shakur, Black Revolutionary Movements....

Remember, we meet in the library with Steve Gerstle, Wednesday, October 31.
Midterms Hurray!
Today is a day you have been anticipating with bated breath. Your assignment is to write a 3-5 (three to five) page essay on 1 (one) of the many essays questions I gave you earlier this week.

Please include an introductory paragraph where you tell your audience what you plan to talk about. State your thesis. Make sure that this sentence is clear, specific, and unified. Remember a good thesis is not a title, an absolute fact, an announcement or the entire essay (Writing with a Thesis handout). Please include a works cited section of your paper (see Diana Hacker's Rules for Writers).

Your primary source is Michael Eric Dyson's book, Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur. Use evidence from this book to support your claims. Use three citations, one per paragraph: 1 block quote, 1 paraphrase, and 1 other citation. I also want students to cite Tupac's work--his poetry or lyrics to a song. Minimally you will have 4 paragraphs with 4 citations, 1 per paragraph. Students need to have a works cited page and a bibliography. Use the COA database to find one article to read for background information about your topic. Do not quote from this source. I want this to be cited in your bibliography.

This essay is similar to the practices we have done in the past; the only difference is that you are writing the entire essay.

You will begin your essay here and finish it over the weekend. We will meet in the lab Monday, October 29 so that you can give me the essay, your essay planning sheet, and your outline, electronically along with all your chapter notes. These notes do not have to be typed.

Homework is to finish the essay. Bring your book on Afeni Shakur to class on Monday, October 29.



Sabir Essay Questions for Midterm 2007
Choose one

1. Was Tupac really the thug he personified himself to be or did he get stuck playing a character in the longest role of his short lived life?

2. Do you think Tupac was capable of truly loving a women knowing that at times, he found it difficult to love himself?

3. Was Tupac happy with the notoriety he received from his Hip-Hop career or do you think he would have rather gone through life unnoticed?

4. Do you think that Tupac’s reference to God in his music was a cry for help or salvation?

5. Do you think that Tupac over-exaggerated his misogynistic lyrics to mask the sensitivity that he actually had for women?

6. Talk about Tupac’s success after death. What does Dyson attribute this to?

7. Tupac grew up fatherless. And even though he had many role models—good and bad, his bitterness is evident in some of his songs. Do you think Tupac was able to fill this void in his life? How did he reconcile this, if at all?
8. Would you say that Tupac had lived the American dream? What is the American dream?

9. How does Tupac's mother influence his life as he was growing-up? How does she influence him about people of all races?

10. Why did you think Tupac was transformed into a different Tupac after he was arrested and sentenced to jail? How does that change his hip-hop career?

11. Who were some of the important adults in Tupac’s life that both boosted and helped him develop his hip-hop career?

12. Do you think Tupac has two-faces? If so, what are they?
13. Was Tupac a "real n***a", and if so why did he feel he was one of the realest in the rap game?

14. Did Tupac really feel he was true to being a "Thug" or was he putting on another act?

15. If Tupac were alive today would he be trying to make a change in hip-hop, and urban America or would he be following mainstream rap, and send disses to other rappers like everyone else?

16. Why did Tupac set himself up to be a scapegoat for black youth?

17. Why did Tupac feel he needed to pursue and continue the gangsta lifestyle/image?

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Today in class we completed the Tupac/Biggie film. A student in my English 1B class said it is on-line. I'll post the URL once she sends it to me. I found a link to the Legacy of Torture video that works and have posted it where the other was (10/15). You can watch it and do the assignment now. Thursday, October 25, at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 9th Street, Oakland, there will be a panel about the Black Panther Party from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Visit http://alpha.dickinson.edu/oha/pdf/2007finalprogram.pdf. There might be other programs your like to attend, such as the workshop on Stanley "Tookie" Williams on Saturday, October 27.

I encourage you to attend. I plan on attending it. If you want to attend a plenary or any other session at the Oral History Conference, the workshops are free. Mention Dr. Curtis Austin if you have any trouble; he said the community could attend the workshops without cost.

In class today we also talked about the Elements of Style reading. We got stuck on restrictive clauses and commas (3). I am still not clear on whether we treat "Jr." as a title and set it off like a parenthetical as Latrice suggested.
(10/22 homework is to be posted at 10/22. It's up now.)

Homework is to develop an Initial Plan (from worksheet)for the midterm essay. You need to choose one question and respond in a 3-5 page essay. Your main source is Dyson. I want three citations from his book: 1 block quote, 1 paraphrase, and a shorter citation. Students should also cite Tupac's work.

You need to have a works cited page and a bibliography. For teh bibliography I want students to read a scholarly article that relates to your essay topic. You can read one of the sources Dyson cites in his notes and/or bibliography. Bring the article to the Writing Center (L-234) on Thursday, October 25.

Also bring your notes and of course all your books. Your essay is due Monday, October 29. We will meet in the library, where I will take your essay on a disk. The book store sells disks.

What else?

Jay showed the Dave Chappell skit on Tupac. It was funny.

Mark your calendars

We have another library visit October 31. Meet in the library with Steve Gerstle.
I also gave students a check list for all your work this semester. If I forgot something please let me know. Assign a grade next to the assignment.


Late work
I am accepting late assignments for the next three weeks or through November 12. This includes blog assignments.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Last Thursday, October 18, we continued watching the film. I still haven't posted the essay questions. I'll give you a hardcopy tomorrow.

We reviewed the essay questions for the midterm Monday, October 22. The freewrite is to be posted here, along with a summary of the Ernest Hardy article on Tupac. There are extra copies of the essay outside my office in a folder. I have also placed copies of the English 1A midterm questions.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Today in class we began to watch Biggie and Tupac an investigative journalism piece that looks at the murder of these two icons. Homework is to read the preface, introduction and first chapter of Elements of Style (1-14) and jot down any questions you might have about it.

Tomorrow we will look at essay questions for the midterm. We will practice paraphrasing and perhaps continue the film. It's rather long, so I'm not certain we'll have time. Long but quite interesting.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

The Writing Topic on pp. 32-33 (Reading to Write handout) is homework. Students hadn't read the assignment. Don't get tired now, we're half way to the prize. Take your vitamins and get back in gear! Respond to one WT in a three paragraph essay. Utilize the text as evidence.

We previewed Chapter 8 using strategies listed on page 4 (Reading to Write). Some of the comments were that the chapter was about Tupac's body as canvas.

Students are not reading Hacker. You are held responsible for the information there. Read the first two chapters, The Writing Process and Document Design, The Basics, Grammar, Clarity, Punctuation, Mechanics.

We also read the lyrics to the song: "I Wonder If Heaven's Got a Ghetto." Students then went to the computers and watched the video. Respond to this song in a freewrite here. Some of the comments were the difference in tone. Latrice said he sounded angry. Jay said Tupac referenced topics and people he was not around to reference like Bush as president. The song seems to have been published after his death. Does this mean he didn't write it, or was it one of the many unpublished songs released posthumously?

We will meet in B-203 tomorrow. I plan to show you a film about an investigation into the murder of Tupac and Biggie.

Bring your Elements of Style book as well as the Dyson text. Students need to submit essay questions at the blog entry where indicated. You will be given your midterm next Thursday in class on the Dyson book.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Today in class we discussed the handout from Reading to Write. I suggested students practice doing the prereading exercises for the rest of the book. This is the homework, plus posting the freewrite response to the Writing Topic on page 16.

Also, students are to finish the rest of the package and answer all questions. We will respond to a Writing Topic tomorrow (pp. 32-33).Meet in the Writing Center Tuesday, October 16.

Additional reading, writing and viewing for those who have completed the book:Legacy of Torture video
http://www.freespeech.org/fscm2/contentviewer.php?content_id=1544

Connect this information what we have learned about the Black Panther Party and other revolutionary movements referenced in Dyson, Tupac's work and other such movements elsewhere in the world America has played a vital role in suppressing (Cuba, Nicaragua, Mexico, Chili, etc.) I'd also suggest students visit www.freedomarchives.org.

Also read the following article and think about it in reference to Tupac's song, "So Many Tears." How are the two connected?

The article
Promising varsity football player slain in tragedy San Leandro High mourns a 'great kid'

By Kelly Rayburn, Martin Ricard and Harry Harris, STAFF WRITERS
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/ci_7182642 article on Ballard
Article Last Updated:10/15/2007 09:16:51 AM PDT

OAKLAND — Greg Ballard Jr.'s San Leandro High School classmates and football teammates were waiting and waiting for him to show up at Boomers in Livermore on Saturday night. That's where they were celebrating a school spirit night for the senior class. Earlier in the day, San Leandro's football team had won 26-21 over Bishop O'Dowd.

Ballard never made it to Boomers.

And his classmates soon learned that Ballard, 17, was shot shortly after 8 p.m. in East Oakland.

He died within a half-hour.

Oakland homicide Sgt. TonyJones said Sunday police have "absolutely no idea" why Ballard was shot.

No witnesses have stepped forward, and no one has been arrested, Jones said Sunday. The death was a tragic blow to those close to Ballard, who said that after running into some trouble, he had began to turn himself around. He was on track to graduate and doing well in school. He joined the football squad for his senior year.

"He finally saw which direction in life he wanted to go in, and he saw the door," said older brother Don Taylor, 29, of San Leandro. "But the door was locked, and the room went dark. I just wish he had a little more time to do some of the things he wanted to do."

San Leandro's head football coach, Brad Bowers, said, "It's a devastating blow to us to say the least ... he had actually turned into a fantastic student — a great kid and a great student."

Ballard had been through some rough patches in previous years. He even spent some time in juvenile hall, Bowers said.

But, to many people, he seemed to have moved past all that. Jerome Manos, athletic director at San Leandro and defensive coordinator for the football team, worked as a counselor at the school during the 2006-07 school year.

He said he met with Ballard his junior year and recommended he play football, thinking it would bring something positive to his life.

"He was one of my guys," Manos said about Ballard, who played safety and on special teams. "It was a very unfortunate thing that happened. He was a good kid. He was working hard. He was trying to get his life turned around and make better decisions ... unfortunately he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, I guess."

It is a rarity in prep football for someone to join the team his senior year after forgoing the sport for his first three years in school. In fact, Bowers said he does not typically take players on the varsity squad who haven't played in previous years. But Bowers said he talked to Ballard before the season and became convinced Greg was serious about changing directions.

"I couldn't help but support what he was doing," Bowers said.

At a two-a-day drills retreat the team took to Jackson before the season, Manos said Ballard told his coaches and teammates how important it was to him and his family that he graduate high school.

He seemed ready to achieve that goal. His senior portrait was already snapped. As Bowers and Manos tell it, Greg was a regular at practice, working hard, never late.

He faced a tough challenge playing with people who'd played in previous seasons, but, Bowers said, "He had a good attitude. He was at practice everyday. With our program it takes a humongous commitment."

The coach said Ballard had bought into the structure and discipline associated with being part of a team. It began to show in a changed attitude, not only on the field, but also in the classroom and on campus, Bowers said.

He had recently received a student-of-the-month award in his social justice class, Bowers said. Ballard did not see playing time against Bishop O'Dowd, though he had in previous games. After the game, his brother said, he went straight home to get ready for spirit night at Boomers.

But he didn't have a car. And couldn't catch a ride. So he changed his plans, Taylor said.

Ballard was in the 9200 block of Sunnyside Street when he was shot about 8:10 p.m.

Wounded, he was able to make it to the rear of a house on Sunnyside. That's where he was found. He was taken to Highland Hospital and died at 8:49 p.m., police said.

"It's terrible that just a few hours earlier he was celebrating victory with his teammates, and then he had his life taken," Jones, the homicide sergeant, said. "It's a real tragedy."

It was Oakland's 107th homicide of the year. There were 122 homicides this time last year.

Word spread quickly Saturday night that something had gone wrong. Bowers had his cell phone turned off, but turned it back on about 11:30 p.m. He had 25 missed calls, mostly from his players — and one from Ballard's mother. Manos got the news late Saturday.

"That was a big win for us," he said. "I didn't find out about this thing until late last night, and it just puts everything in perspective. It's tragic."

San Leandro Principal Amy Furtado got a call at about midnight. The news left her "devastated and troubled," she said.

"We all felt that he had turned a corner and absolutely had regained his focus," she said. "He had a bright future ahead of him."

Thursday, October 11, 2007

This is a url Zareth found when researching her essay question http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/10/columbia.noose/index.html As Tupac says: Something will never change/ that's just the way it is...". However, the "way it is" is not the way it has to remain. If the law is enforced when hate crimes are committed, then perhaps this might deter what seems to be a resurgence of racially motivated crimes.
Today we're in the Writing Center again. I still haven't gotten the key for the technology cabinet in B-203, but the permission slip--sounds juvenile doesn't it,is in my pocket.

Go on-line first and read the lyrics to Changes, then open another window and respond to Changes in a 3-paragraph essay. Include a citation in each paragraph. Please include Dyson references also, plus poetry that also resonates for you if applicable.

What's amazing about this song, as one sees in all great literature is its timeless qualities. Did you notice how relevant Tupac's lyrics are regrading the presidency, the prison industrial complex, the proliferation of guns and drugs in urban communities? One sees the director of the clip play with the two-ness we see evidence in the artist's life. At one point in the video, Tupac says: "I'm only responsible for what I do, no for what all black men do."

His closing line references this: "Somethings never change," yet the hope is, that they do...otherwise what does that mean for the rest of us? What did that mean for Tupac?

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUoUDuAPCZA

If you don't have time to post your thoughts here in a 3-paragraph essay, post it later, as long as it's up sometime today.

Homework:
Read the handout I gave up and do the exercises up to page 15. We'll talk about it Monday. Keep reading Dyson. We are finished with the book Monday. I asked you to develop 5-10 essay questions yesterday for today. Post them at that assignment.

Also, bring in Elements of Style. We'll meet in the Writing Center Monday, October 15 also in this Lab. I'll have the freewrite up already, so just sit down at a computer and begin writing.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Announcements

Today was Jay's 23rd birthday. Happy Birthday Jonell, and many many more!

I told students about The Living Word Festival which began last week and continues through November 3. Visit www.youthspeaks.org. There is an event this Saturday, October 13, 8 p.m., at the Black New World, 836 Pine Street, Oakland. Tickets are $10 general and $5 for youth 18 and under. I wanted students to note Saturday, October 27, 9 p.m. DJ Kool Herc and James Brown's drummer Clyde Stubblefield perform together. DJ Funklor will join them. It's at the Bruno's, 2389 Mission Street, in San Francisco. It's a 21+ event plus ID. Tickets are $15, free with/Scourge Benefit Ticket. There is a lot more. Visit the website. If you want credit for attending anything, you have to write a review (250 words min.)
1. As you read about Tupac Shakur's life, what is about him that makes his legacy continue long after his death? Is it hype or was the young man tapped into serious truths only he could articulate? What in his life prepared him for the task? Dyson mentions several. Survey the text. Make a list with page numbers. Is the list exhaustive? Did Dyson miss anything? If so, list it here.

Some say that suffering is a necessary aspect of life. That without pain there is no gain. Do you agree? Talk about how Tupac's life was reflected in his art, whether that was a role in a film, a poem or a song. His life, Dyson and other's believe was art manifest. What do you think?

2. Despite the accolades, Tupac was certainly a man whose life was riddled with contradictions, those contradictions reflected in his work. Look at the arguments Dyson poses that support this duality, a duality we see in Tupac's music, his poetry and in his life. If Tupac's two-ness was not evidence of hypocrisy, then what was it?

Post your thoughts here, then respond again to one other classmate's response. Identify yourself. Again, use Dyson and Tupac's poetry and lyrics to songs to respond to the questions. This is an in-class assignment for Wednesday, October 10. If you don't finish you can complete the response from home.

Homework is to finish the and develop 3-5 essay questions. Bring them to class. Oh, I changed my mind, we're going to meet here tomorrow and respond to one another's questions.

Next week week need to schedule conferences so we can talk about your writing, and how you're doing. Bring in copies of all of your work submitted so far.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Today we continued with our discussions. There were three groups: Chapter 4, Chapter 5-6 and Chapter 7. Some students don't realize the importance of conversation about readings. There were three handouts: a new one was on Introductions and Conclusions, the other was a copy of a page on revision strategies from Hacker. You can use this to articulate what you want to happen when you visit the writing center. I'm still working on essays. I certainly hope to be finished before midterms :-) If you know any graduate students in Humanities who need a job, let me know.

We wrote a introduction to an essay on the word "thug." It's a definition essay obviously, but it is also an argument. I chose this word for the scholarship Dyson devotes to it in Chapter 3, There is No Malcolm X in My Textbook. (There is no Malcolm X in this chapter either.)

Students were to look at their hip hop lexicon and choose a word to analyze in an introductory paragraph. You don't have to type it. Bring the introduction into class tomorrow.

The following is an example using the word: Thug. I revised the sentence I jotted down on the board. Oh, the quotes come from the first seven entries in http://www.urbandictionary.com/

"Come into my world and you can see that we iz more then thugs/With just a little twist of harmony we smokin' warriors." Bone thugs

Thug is a word that describes a lifestyle which is both sacred and profane. Popularized by hip hop icon Tupac Shakur, the rap artist epitomized T.H.U.G. life, "an acronym coined by Flesh-n-Bone of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, that stands for 'Trues Humbly United Gathering Souls'" (Urban Dictionary.com). Tupac had the term tattooed on his stomach (ouch!) and when he was killed old ladies like Nikki Giovanni, poet and faculty at Virginia Tech, tattooed the term on their shoulders or arms. It became an even larger fraternity of sorts.

So what is a thug? Do I want my baby to be one? Forget that, do I want to be one of the "roving bandits who rob women in Hindu temples" (Urban Dictionary, thug 5)? No. My kind of thug is a warrior or a soldier put into the worst conditions imaginable and (is) still able to survive against all odds" (Urban Dictionary, thug 4).

References and Works Cited:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Research Project
1. Start thinking about your research topic: Think about a person who is an artist and a social entrepreneur. Think about the origins of hip hop culture. What gave rise to the music in the South Bronx? Think about the role of music as score to revolutionary struggle. Is hip hop another aspect of this genre: the freedom songs of the Civil Rights Movement, the coded messages in Negro Spirituals, the chants and field hollers on the plantations? What about the link to reggae music--another type of protest music?

2. You could chose pivotal songs and poetry, even films in Tupac's canon and show how the work marked significant and measurable changes in the young man's life.

3. You could also trace themes in his music and draw parallels between what he wrote and how he lived. What about the 2-ness of 2Pac the Gemini and the namesake of an Incan warrior?

4. Is hip hop dead? Why have many artists written its postmortem?

5. Compare Tupac to some of his peers who are still around, imagine what he'd be up to now?

6. Look at the legacy of "nommo" or the notion of "word as flesh" in the African tradition transported to America in the form of "tellin' lies and signifying." How is rap an extension of this oral tradition? (Look at old footage of musicians like Cab Calloway and others.)

7. KRS One says that Hip Hop is a nation. He said it was the first bloodless coup. Talk about hip hop around the globe and how this movement has left no culture untouched. Is this a good thing and if so, for whom?

Monday, October 08, 2007

Homework for today was to catch up on the reading. The plan is to be finished with Dyson Monday, October 15. We divided ourselves into Literature Circles based on the readings. All students were not up to Chapter 7, but they will be tomorrow. We will continue our discussions tomorrow and perhaps do a little writing or listening and writing :-)

We are looking at introductory paragraphs and conclusions this week. Next week we will read Elements of Style, so bring it to class. Thursday, October 10-Thursday, October 18, we will look at the research essay and look at possible topics. Next week you will choose a social entrepreneur to profile in an essay. You can choose someone who uses art as his or her medium of exchange. A social entrepreneur is a business person. Remember, the person has to be alive and work in Northern California, if at all possible.

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Today in class we responded to the questions on the Jena 6. The assignment is a few entries down. Post your essay there and respond to a classmates' essay.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Extra Credit:
Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Anucha Browne Sanders' sued the Madison Square Garden franchise for $10 million dollars, and won just days ago $11.6 million in the case against coach Isiah Thomas.

Look at Byron Hurt's cinematic journey to discover some of the reasons why in Hip Hop culture black masculinity is tied to disrespect and hatred of black women. .

Sample thesis
The Anucha Browne Sanders' victory in the sexual harassment suit against Madison Square Gardens (NY Knicks Franchise owners)is a coup for women everywhere. This victory was a message to men everywhere that misogyny in the workplace will not be tolerated.

In Keep Ya Head Up Tupac Shakur states: "I wonder why we (black men)take from our women, why we rape our women, why we hate our women" (first stanza).
He was speaking to directly to Isiah Thomas, a black man first, NY Knicks Basketball coach second.

I have pasted an article from the San Jose Mercury News about the case. If you'd like to join the discussion on the permission men in power seem to have with regards to sexual impropriety with women in the workplace, in society and even in domestic setting, please post them here. Students, feel free to respond to each other's comments.


$11.6M to Anucha Browne Sanders? Compared to other Isiah $$ blunders, that’s nothing
By Tim Kawakami

Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007 at 11:41 am in NBA.
Update: I missed one! Thanks to Sac Bee NBA maven SH-C for reminding me about Quentin Richardson, yet another one of Isiah’s endlessly bad contract pick-ups.

(I’ve just added Q to the list.)
News note: Anucha Browne Sanders, the former Madison Square Garden employee, just won an $11.6M civil-suit verdict in her sexual harassment suit against MSG and Knicks Coach Isiah Thomas.

(Isiah was found guilty of the harassment, but not personally liable. MSG, pending appeals, etc., is the entity that must pay the $11.6M.)
Cavaet: Sexual harassment is horrifying behavior, and if a New York jury says Thomas committed it, I’m agreeing with the jury. Totally. MSG should pay. Especially MSG honcho James Dolan, who is, almost by legal definition, a total, enabling dunderhead. Probably.

My unique view: At $11.6M, Browne Sanders (who starred as a Northwestern hoopster at the same time I attended that school) becomes only the Knicks’ eighth-ninth-largest money commitment on the books.

She’s barely in the top 10! And that’s not counting the salary due to Isiah and the $25M they just paid Larry Brown a year ago for one year’s work…

Here’s my Genius Knicks/Isiah Payment List:
1. Zach Randolph, owed $51M guaranteed, starting with $13.3M this season.
2. Stephon Marbury, owed $42M guaranteed, starting with $20.1M this season.
3. Eddy Curry, owed $40.3M guaranteed, starting with $8.9M this season.
4. Quentin Richardson, owed $26.2M guaranteed, starting with $8.1M this year.
5. Jerome James, owed $18.6M guaranteed, starting with $5.8M this season.
(Any list where Jerome James is only the fifth-fattiest deal is a very bad/fat list.)
6. Jared Jeffries, owed $25M guaranteed, starting with $5.6M this season.
7. Jamal Crawford, owed $16.5M guaranteed, starting with $7.9M this season.
8. Malik Rose, owed $14.6M guaranteed, starting with $7.1M this season.
9. Anucha Browne Sanders, owed $11.6M, pending appeal.

The top 8 guys haven’t done much for the Knicks and almost certainly won’t do much for the Knicks in the future.

Browne Sanders’ $11.6M, however, might get Isiah booted from the premises. Might–because Dolan is so dumb, who knows, this verdict might give Isiah Lifetime Tenure just because Dolan can’t admit how dumb he was for hiring Isiah in the first place.
But if Anucha’s $11.6M is the price MSG has to pay to figure out it’s time to dump Isiah… well, that’s the best $11.6M Isiah ever wasted for them.
And I hope Ms. Browne Sanders gets every penny, and has a tremendous life with her family. I really do.

http://www.mercextra.com/blogs/kawakami/2007/10/02/116m-to-anucha-browne-sanders-compared-to-other-isiah-blunders-thats-nothing/


You might want to look at other articles to get background on the case.
Today in class we read three articles about the Jena 6 case, along with the lyrics to the PLIES' song "Real Testament." Here is a link to the artist discuss http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_29UNBVXREA. The assignment is to answer the following question:

1. The Jena 6 case an example of the unfair treatment of black males, in particular, by the American judicial system. PLIES speaks of this uneven sentencing pattern for similar crimes based on race in his song: "Real Testament." Use the Jena 6 case to explore issues of race, class, and justice. In a 4 paragraph essay, incorporate one source per paragraph. You can use direct quotes, paraphrase. Don't forget to site your sources in text and in a works cited.

Post it here.

Homework: Develop 4 essay questions from chapters 4 and 5 in Holler. Bring to class and be prepared to answer someone else's. We will meet in the lab again Thursday, October 4.


Reminder: The Color Purple money is due tomorrow also if you want to attend teh play with us Nov. 6, 8 p.m. ($25 per ticket).

Monday, October 01, 2007

The film I mentioned screening Friday is described below. Also, while on-line at the OM website, I noticed there was a free film screening tomorrow evening.

Oakland Museum free film Tuesday, 10/2 and Friday 10/5
Free film: Miss Navajo at the Oakland Museum of California, at the James Moore Theatre, 1000 Oak Street, at 6:30, October 2, 2007. There is free parking in the museum garage on Oak Street.
Visit http://www.museumca.org/pdf/missnavajo510.pdf

First Friday Events
Public Japanese Gardens in the USA: Present and Past Author Reading and Book Signing, 5:30

For more than 35 years, David Newcomer has been searching out Japanese gardens in the U.S. His new book is a guide to gardens in Northern California. Included with museum admission.

Dude, Where's My Black Studies Department?
Author Reading and Book Signing, 6:30

Dude, Where's My Black Studies Department? The Disappearance of Black Americans from U.S. Universities. African American author Cecil Brown will be signing copies of his new book. Brown writes that Blacks have been vanishing from college campuses in the United States and “reappearing in prisons, videos, and movies.” He tackles this unwitting “disappearing act” head-on, with special attention to the University of California system and UC Berkeley, where Brown received his PhD in African-American Literature, Folklore, and Theory of Narrative. Included with museum admission.

Feria Urbana Fair/Sale 5–9 p.m.

Courtesy Feria Urbana
An urban fair of local artists and designers. One-of-a kind crafts, jewelry, clothing, fashion accessories, baby items, and more. Included with museum admission.

Ric Alexander, 5–9 p.m.
The first Friday of every month takes on a whole new groove at the Oakland Museum of California! Hear live performances by leading Bay Area artists (tonight features the fusion jazz of Ric Alexander), enjoy the full cash bar and light dining in our café. Take a break from the music to hear insider secret stories about our galleries, practice yoga, catch a flick, meet an author, check out new merchandise at the Museum Store, and support local artists and designers at Feria Urbana and Oaklandish. Visit www.museumca.org/ffaf/index.html for additional information. Included with museum admission.

Simmin Joy, 5:30 & 7:15
Simmin Joy practices Anusara-style yoga in a class for adults that is deep and lighthearted, focused and fun. Bring your mat, sit down, relax—and breathe. Included with museum admission.

Sunset Cinema: Piece By PieceFilm. Screens 6:30-8:30 p.m.

KQED's Truly CA film series returns to the museum gardens. Nic Hill's film documents 20 years of San Francisco's controversial and often misunderstood graffiti art movement-a candid look at the story behind the writing on the wall. Bring a picnic basket and blanket and enjoy the film and complimentary beverages, dessert, and one glass of wine (with ID). Q & A after the film. Sunset Cinema is co-sponsored by the museum, the KQED Education Network, and the Oakland Film Office. Download the outdoor screening guide (PDF) Free.

Thursday Club 1967 Riot Photo. The Thursday Club © 2005. 8 p.m.

Filmmaker George Paul Csicsery was beaten at an antiwar demonstration in Oakland in 1967. Thirty years later he set out to find the police officers who were present at that event— and his best clue, a newspaper photograph of himself getting clubbed. The film looks at the now retired officers and reveals their thoughts on the protests of the ’60s. Included with museum admission.

Gallery Secrets Revealed Curator's Tour at 6 p.m.

Inez Brooks-Myers, curator of costumes and textiles, is a great story-teller. Hear some insider secrets in the Art and History Galleries. Included with museum admission.
Today, we were going to lsten to Brenda's Got a Baby and Keep Ya Head Up, both by Tupac, but the TV/DVD/CD player was gone and so we switched tasks. For the freewrite students looked at two poems from A Rose Grew From Concrete pp. 19 and 21. The task was to summarize the thesis and then take 1-3 lines from the poem and discuss the themes, then use Dyson's Holler If Ya Hear Meto substantiate the writer's claims. So and so is true because on page X,Y,Z Dyson writes....

Use Hacker to refresh your memory on how to use signal phrases and what is a quote and what is a paraphrase. For this exercise, which is due Tuesday, use 2 direct quotes and 1 paraphrase. Include a wroks cited at the end of the short (three-four paragraph long) essay response to the poem. Be prepared to share Tuesday.

Also students were to watch 60 Minutes (Sept. 30 episode on-line at CBS.com). Watch the segment on Vince Young, quarterback for the Tennessee Titans. Try this link. It is also transcribed: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/27/60minutes/main3304630.shtml.

We are going to compare Vince with Brenda from the song we didn't hear today.

I didn't mention it, but Friday, October 5, at the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak Street, there will be a movie on graffitt writing shown. We can go as a class if you like and I can get free passes for you. Let m