Additional Homework
Make sure you post responses to the presentations today at the link below. I'd also like the presenters to post a reflection on the process: what worked, what didn't work as well as you liked and what you learned.

Today we had several presentations and many absences. The presentations from: Curtis, Blaine and Dorothy were well structured, researched and presented. The presentations so far have been outstanding and reflect scholarly research and insight into the area each student is focusing on.

I mentioned today that students need to purchase the book: The Coldest Winter Ever from the bookstore. We will start it next week and explore the nature of hip hop fiction. I am also going to give students a copy of Black White Boy, which we will read in class.

Homework
The planning and outlines, and document search for the final research essay on a woman, performance artist or a person who calls themselves a member of hip hop culture who uses an element of the genre in their work for social change. I gave women who you might want to use in your research if you can't find anyone who is located in Northern California and has documentation. Do not pick an obscure artist. I am also negotiable, if you want to look at artists in Southern California.

I'd like the planning, outlines and initial document searches brought in Thursday, November 5. We will continue the presentations next week on Monday and Tuesday (L-202E). Essays are due after the presentations. Email them to me and post them.

Today your task is to complete your research essays which are due after your presentations tomorrow and to rehearse your presentations. We will start at 11 exactly, so we can make it through them all. I'd like you to post the essays, check the formatting before clicking post and email them to me also, so I can see them at their best: professorwandasposse@gmail.com

Research Essays: Can't Stop, Won't Stop posts
Post the planning, outlines, and final drafts.

Post your response to Caprice's presentation: Loop 1, here. You can also post responses to other student presentations, such as, Derek's, even though you gave it to him in class yesterday.

We will continue the presentations Thursday, October 30.

Today we began presentations, Derek the sole presenter. Tomorrow we have four students presenting, Thursday, everyone else. We are not presenting chronologically because students are not prepared.

I hope you are thinking about your woman in hip hop you'd like to profile for the research essay. If you can't think of anyone I can make suggestions: Aya de Leon, Favianna Rodriguez, Anita Johnson, Dawn Elisa ....

Wednesday's class is cancelled. You will have a cyber assignment that day probably connected to "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" or Dyson.

Missing Assignments
No one did the Africa Bambaataa assignment. It is still due. It is a short, 3-4 paragraph essay response to the handout, the interview and Chang's chapter.

Presentations

In class Tuesday students shared their plans for the research essay--topics taken from Chang's book. Some students hadn't even developed an essay plan. Hopefully, these scholars are not presenting first.

Midterm Assignment

Given the fact that many students are behind, I decided not to give you a quiz on Can't Stop, Won't Stop. I hope folks in Loop 1 are ready to present in the morning. I am looking forward to the presentations and accompanying essays.


Assistive Technology

Use the Kurzweil CDs I handed out for the next 30 days. Keep track of how the technology helps you with the writing process, especially editing. It can also help you with reading comprehension.

Per our conversation Tuesday, I want to attend Animal Farm on Friday, October 24 at Theater Artuad, 450 Florida Street, San Francisco, and Climbing Poetree on Saturday, October 25. Tickets for 10/24 are $5, Saturday, I haven't checked what the price is at La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Avenue. Visit www.lapena.org. Let me know. We can get a deal.

Re: Black White Boy, we can go later in the run. I'm going to opening night Monday, October 27. I'll tell you about it.

Field Trips
Theatre
Laney College's production of Piano Lesson in the Laney College Theatre, 9th and Fallon (across the street from the Lake Merritt BART Station.) Thursday, October 23, 7:30 reception, 8 p.m. showtime http://www.laney.peralta.edu/apps/agenda.asp?Q=0&C=agenda

The Piano Lesson continues, Thursday, 10/30/2008 - Saturday, 11/1/2008. Doors open at 7:30 p.m.;Students, Faculty, Staff: $5;
General Public: $10 Location: Laney College Theatre, 8:00 PM - 9:30 PM

August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson," Friday, 12/5/2008 at the Oakland Museum, 1000 Oak Street, Oakland, 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Poetry
Friday, October 24, Climbing Poetree at La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, 7:30 p.m. (It's next door to the Starry Plough.)


Hip Hop Theatre
Saturday, October 25, Black White Boy at Intersection for the Arts, on Valencia in San Francisco, 8 p.m. There is a panel discussion afterwards with the playwright, director and a hip hop scholar, Jeff Chang. This is a part of the Living Word Festival 2008: Race is Fiction.

(Look at the post on field trips to read more about the last two events.)

Let me know tomorrow if you can go the Friday event and how many are in your party. Tickets are $10 (I think. I'm sure I can get a deal for us if we are more than 10. The same is true for Saturday. If anyone wants to read the play email me and I'll send it to you. "The Piano Lesson" by August Wilson circulates in the public library. COA might even have it.)

Kurzweil at Laney
Please write a reflection on your experience this morning with the Kurzweil text to speech program. I have CDs for each of you to try the program out for 30 days. I am going to have the program ghosted on the L-202E computers, so we can use it for the rest of the semester.

I'm really excited about the possibilities for composition and reading. Remember, you can use the labs at Laney, 9-4, M-F, in E-237.

Voter Registration
Today is the last day to register to vote. Don't miss this opportunity to participate in the governance of your nation. All libraries, post offices, court houses, colleges, and other public facilities.

Monday Class, October 20
We will meet at Laney College in the Kurzweil Lab, E-257 from 11 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. I will be going straight there; however, I might have a couple of seats open for a ride to COA.

Afterwards, you are welcome to stay for pizza and the awards event for students who have passed the course. I will not be returning, but Matthew, Khalid, Queyn, meet me in my office L-236 at 10:30 a.m. I have room for one other student. I will not be returning, as I have another class at 1, which will meet me there.

Please post your email address here. We are missing some of them. We want to send you the second essay back.

Students worked on their outlines and if their plans hadn't been developed and posted, this was the assignment. All posts are to the link where the assignment is given. I might have a final project post for the polished draft due next week. Today, the essay plan is due and its outline.

The film "Public Enemy: Welcome to the Terrordome," is screening tomorrow, the final day of the Oakland International Film Festival at Grand Lake Theatre, in Oakland. The film is screening 6 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. The producer is going to be present. The evening wraps with a party beginning about 12 midnight. Tickets are $10 with a discount of $5 for those who attended the festival. If you attend the film screening with me, tickets are $5 for you and any guests. I will meet you at 5:30 p.m. at the theatre tomorrow. Let me know if you plan to come no later than tomorrow.

There is another screening that begins at 9 p.m. I will not be staying for this screening, but I might return. I have an 8 p.m. engagement.

Students spent time in their groups talking about their project plans and developing a preliminary outline to post tomorrow. The plan was due last week. If you haven't posted the plan, please do so, where assigned. We meet in the lab Tuesday, October 14. You cannot do your project if you do not read the book. Seriously, and if you have members of your group who have not read the Loop and are trying to float through, let me know. Call me and they can present on their own. The entire group gets a grade for the entire Loop or section you are presenting, so if any key element is not included, your grade will reflect this.

If you have the introduction you have to talk about the breath of the entire work, that is, the entire book. You will highlight what is to come in all the loops, which is what Chang does.

If you have Necropolis then you have to talk about urban decay and disenfranchisement of communities throughout America, then and now and how hip hop was conceived under these circumstances, that hip hop was one response. There were others.

The individual essays are to take their themes from your section. Look at the assignment sheet for the due dates.

The teams met today in class and mapped out a research strategy. Again, let me emphasize the point that your research does not mean you are not responsible for the information in then entire book. You are, especially in your essay where you need to be aware of the content that proceeds and follows your section or Loop.

Post your plans here, both group and personal essays. Next week you can post the outline after you have read the section. Please post reflections on the chapters in your Loop for others to respond to. Each student is responsible for posting a reflection on each chapter in his or her section and responding to the same number of others in their section and others they have read. Be substantive in your responses.

If you missed class you're on your own, unless your team decides to keep you in the family. You can stay in the Loop, your presentation will be as an individual though. See me if you have questions. See me anyway if you missed class, I want to make certain everyone is on target.

You have until October 17 to get in any outstanding assignments, which includes revisions. If you have not visited me at least once in my office to talk about your writing, now is the time: MW 9:30-10:50ish and by appointment. I am usually available for a short talk after class; if you let me know in advance I can give you more time.

English 1A Assignments Freewrite

The teams for Can't Stop, Won't Stop, are as follows:
If your name is not here talk to me. If you do not want to be on a team, talk to me ASAP

Team coaches: Elesha and Caprice
Introduction and Prelude, plus Loop 1
Tariq
Brittaney
Salvatore
Andrew


Team Coaches: Derek and Chesi--Loop 2
Ammnah
Grace
Marisa
Weghata
Blaine

Team coaches: Matthew and Quyen--Loop 3
Khalid
Ashley
Elijah
Dorothy
Ester


Curtis and Dorothy--Loop 4
Kylah
Kenyatta
Amani
Dorothy

The assignment is to read the sections you've been assigned and look at the following elements:

Who are the key stakeholders in this period surveyed? What is the climate and is the art a response to any particular political, economic or social circumstances? How does this particular period expand the previous artistic era or limit it, or is the terrain explored entirely new?

You will be using compare and contrast, as well as, cause and effect.

Include in your presentation examples of the music, writing, dance styles, and any other relevant aspects of the culture explored in your Loop. Each member of your teams will write a paper exploring one aspect of your Loop. You will all get a grade for how comprehensive your presentation is and how comprehensive the papers are when taken as one research project on the Loop. If anything important is left out collectively, then all will be docked.

When you outline the Loop you are responsible for, make certain you include all the key points, not everything, just what's important. I'd like the planning sheets and outlines in by October 14. (We will meet in L-202E.)

Planning sheets for individual papers are due the same day. You can work on the group plan and individual plans together. Bring in ideas that day and together you can flush it out.

Wednesday, October 15: Document lists due for group project and individual paper

Thursday, October 16: Narratives for each section of the presentation are due. I would suggest you divide the presentation in sections: History or prologue, Setting, Key players, measurable results, outcomes or impact on American society

Presentations
First presentation: Loop 1 October 20
Second presentation: Loop 2 October 21
October 22--no classes, staff development
Third presentation: Loop 3 October 23
Fourth presentation: Loop 4 October 27

Essay due dates
Essays are due: October 24 posted. Post as a unit. Please include works cited with the papers and a bibliography. The essays should be 4 pages minimally, excluding works cited and bibliography. This is your midterm.

Revisions
You will have a week to revise, once I get comments back to you. Students are not revising their essays. There are Change essays students never revised.

Bring Elements of Style to class beginning October 13. We will complete it by October 22-23. You will have a series of short cyber-posts related to the topics raised this week.

Future assignments
Your research essay planning sheet, along with an outline on a woman in Hip Hop Planning Sheet is due Tuesday, October 28. We are in L-202E October 28.

Document search is due: Wednesday, October 29 (You can work on this 10/28).

First draft of the research essay on a woman in who uses Hip Hop Culture as a tool for social change, is due: Monday, November 3

Second draft is due: Thursday, November 6. Email it to yourself so you will have a digital copy for peer review.

We will watch Frontline World docs which look at social entrepreneurs (11/13).

Final draft is due: November 20.

We are in the L-202E November 6, 13, 20.

We'll start reading The Coldest Winter Ever the last week in October, bring to class.

Finals
You’re final essay will take it’s themes from this book.

The day of the final, see schedule, you will present your research essay on the woman in hip hop.

We will listen to Afrika Bambaataa in an interview with Davey D in Sept. 2005, post-Hurricane Katrina. Here's the link http://www.daveyd.com/interdirect.html

Here is another interview I handed out: http://www.daveyd.com/interviewbambaataa96.html

Here is a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h6pcqC6wrI

Homework was to extend the freewrite, which was: Discuss Afrika Bambaataa's significance and/or his impact on hip hop culture? Use Chang's Can't Stop, and the Davey D interview(s) as evidence to support your claims. The short essay needs to incorporate an in-text citation, one block quote, and one paraphrase.

Tuesday in class we started reading Chapter 5: Soul Salvation--reading and talking. Homework was to complete the chapter and bring in a log. We'll continue reading the text and talk about themes and develop thesis sentences together in groups. We also continued with the introductions yesterday.

Students are behind on the reading. The book is not hard, you just have to read it. I would love it if students would bring in music for the eras spoken of. If you do, you get extra credit. Email me the lyrics. We could divide the music into Loops and certain students could develop a musical soundtrack for each Loop focusing on key artists. We'll talk about this more today.

This is an interview with Davey D with Afrika Bambaata http://www.daveyd.com/baminterview.html

Missed You






I'm back! Flew into Oakland Friday evening and then went home, dropped off my luggage, jumped into my car and headed for Prescott Joseph Center for the play, "Ebony and Johnny: A 'Hood Play." It was great adaptation of Romeo and Juliet! Six students showed up from all four classes and we hung in there through the rain. It was that good! I encourage you to go this weekend: Friday-Saturday, October 10-11, 7 p.m., Sunday, October 12, 2 p.m. at 920 Peralta Street in Oakland. There is an art exhibit inside you can visit during intermission. There is art in the front hallway by the door and on the wall along the first staircase and in the first large room in the front of the building.

I curated the exhibit and the reception is Wednesday, October 15, 6-8 p.m. It's free.
I got an email and the film: Equinox is at 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., so if you can't make it, I understand. It is late. We will attend other events, so don't worry.

Keep reading: Can't Stop, Won't Stop and annotating the text and writing chapter logs with questions and vocabulary, and key ideas and important people noted.