Asian American Literature

The final exam will consist of three parts, listed below.  Be prepared to write about each of the texts that we’ve read for class. (I’ll provide a list of the texts for you to choose from)

I. Quote Identification (4 questions, 5 points each)

This will look exactly the way it did on our first exam: I’ll provide you with a quote from a class text, and I’ll ask you for the author and the title of the text.

[Tip: Read the quote carefully for clues: writing style; description of notable events, character names, time period, important themes or ideas in the text, etc.]

II. Short Answer (4 questions, 10 points each)

This will look very similar to the section on the first exam.  I’ll give you a list of themes (see below), and I’ll ask you to write about 4 of them.  For each, I’ll ask you to provide three kinds of information:

1. an example of the theme in a text (be specific here—paraphrase a quote, describe a scene, etc.)
2. an explanation of the ways that the scene represents the theme
3. the importance of that representation (i.e., what can we learn about the theme from its representation?)

III. Essay Questions (2 questions, 20 points each)

I’ll give you 3 questions and ask you to answer 2.  For each, you’ll need 3 examples from different texts to support your answer.  I’ll be looking for a thesis that answers the question, specific examples, and language that explains how your examples support your answer.  Topics to prepare are below:

1. the connection between Asian America and America
2. the variety of different ethnicities (e.g., Chinese American, Japanese American, etc.) that make up the group “Asian American”
3. Asian American experiences and stereotypes

Just like your midterm blog portfolio, your final blog portfolio will consist of three parts:

1. A numbered list of all of your blog posts, with titles of the post (22 TOTAL)
2. A numbered list of your sets of comments. Include the date posted, the title of the post, and the name of the person’s blog on which they’re posted (11 sets, or 22 total)
3. A reflective essay that uses information from your posts and comments

Your reflective essay is designed to surface and articulate what you’ve learned over the course of the semester by looking back on and analyzing your own writing during this time. Your essay should answer either or both of these questions:

What have you learned about Asian Americans over the course of the semester?
AND/OR
What have you learned about yourself as a reader, writer, and thinker over the course of this class?

To answer these, you should refer to the writing that you’ve produced over the course of the semester: your blog posts and comments, your exam, your paper. With the above questions in mind, read back over your writing and locate particular sentences and passages that attest to your learning. In your paper, you’ll quote these and analyze them. In what ways do they show what and how your ideas have changed? What terms, concepts, and phrases provide evidence of the complex ways that your thinking has progressed and shifted over the course of the semester? How do they provide evidence that you can use to answer the questions above?I’m looking for a deep engagement with your own writing here. For that reason, please plan to use no more than six quotations or short passages from your writing for the essay.

TIPS:

• Please provide an introduction that contains your main idea(s). [Example: in this paper, I'll show how I focused on the ideas of immigration and identity throughout the semester. This affected both the ways that I thought about Asian Americans and the ways that I think about myself as an American citizen.]
• You may, of course, use the “I” voice in your paper.
• You may feel free to use a chronological approach (ex., “when I first started this class, I thought Asian Americans were ____. My first blog post contains this comment: “______.” Here, you can see the ways that I was dedicated to x idea. All I could associate with x idea was___. In a blog post three weeks later, however, there is a marked shift in my language and tone. “______…”). You may also choose a different kind of structure if it makes sense to you (you could arrange it by theme: “these three quotes show the ways that my thinking changed about Asian America. These two show the ways that I am a writer that needs a number of drafts to shape a complicated argument”.)
• Be as specific as possible.
• Concentrate on a comprehensive analysis of your passages, just as you did in your paper.

FINAL BLOG PORTFOLIO DUE MONDAY, 4/28 IN CLASS

Portfolio will be graded as follows:

2 points for each blog post: 44 possible

1 point for each set of comments: 11 possible

Reflective essay: 45 points possible

By my count, you should have 9 sets of ( or 18 separate) comments by the end of this coming week (4/3).

Please make sure that you’re documenting your comments—that you know where they are!

As you begin your paper draft, I’d ask you to focus on two things: the analyses of the passages and the argument. I’d suggest that you locate 4-5 passages that you might like to work with (no longer than a paragraph!). For each, do the following:

• type out the passage, and note the author and page number after it in parenthesis.  Like this: “quote here,” (Middleton 1).
• Pick out the important words and phrases.
• For each, write a couple of sentences about what you associate with it. What does it mean to you?
• For each, explain how that meaning connects with particular issues of Japanese American experience. In other words, why does that meaning matter?

Once you’ve completed this for each passage, look over what you’ve written and see if there are consistent themes in a few of the passages. The passages that contain the same themes or ideas will form the basis of your paper.

This is the kind of writing that we’ll work with on Wednesday. If you’ve already written an entire draft of your paper, that’s great!! We can work with that too!

 Name this guy!!

A number of you have contacted me about the driving conditions and current weather.  Rather than ask you to risk life and limb to come in to take the exam, I’m happy to send you the exam and have you send it back to me via email.  (If you prefer to take it in class, I’ll be there at the scheduled time.)

This is how this will work:

1. Please email me (kmiddleton@strose.edu) so that I know you’ve received this message.
2. At 1:15, I’ll email out the exam to all of you.  You’ll then have an hour and 15 minutes to complete the exam and send it back to me. Please return the exam to me via email NO LATER THAN 2:45 (that’s as long as you would have in class, as well as a few minutes to cover technical difficulties).
3. As soon as I receive your exam, I’ll write you back and let you know that I’ve gotten it.  IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THAT MESSAGE, SEND IT AGAIN, OR ELSE I WILL MARK THE EXAM LATE AND TAKE OFF POINTS!! 
4. Questions?  Call me in my office: 518 485-3647.

Looking forward to hearing from you.  Stay safe out there!!

Below are the kinds of questions that will appear on Wednesday’s exam on Chinese America.  You may bring your books and use them for the exam.  It would also be a good idea to use your next blog post (due Thursday) as a way to practice answering one of these questions.

Section I: Close Reading

I’ll give you the last few paragraphs of Kingston’s novel.  Be prepared to discuss how the final story she tells there relates to the events and themes of the rest of the novel.  We discussed this only briefly in class, but think about which character in the novel the story might apply to, what kinds of information about that character the story reveals, and why she chooses to end the novel in this way.

Section II: Short Answer

In this section, you’ll get to choose 4 of the themes below to write about.  For each, I’ll ask you to identify a specific scene in one of the texts from class that we’ve read thus far.  You’ll briefly describe the scene/quote/idea, and then explain in detail how that idea tells us about the relationship between the theme and the experience of Chinese Americans.  You’ll need to use one example from each text in this section (American Born Chinese, The Woman Warrior, “Come All Ye Asian American Writers of the Real and the Fake,” Strangers from a Different Shore), so look back over your notes and the books.  To be clear: you’ll only need one example per theme.  Here’s the list we generated in class:

• Real vs. Fake
• Experience of Reality
• Identity
• Immigration
• Mythology
• Stereotypes (e.g., FOB)
• Difference between men and women
• Culture—Chinese American vs. Chinese

Section III: Quote Identification

I’ll give you four different quotes, and you’ll need to identify the author of the text and the title of the piece to which it belongs.

This is a dry run for the blog portfolio that will be one of your final assignments for the semester.  The blog portfolio is comprised of three parts.  Please type your responses to all three, and have it ready to hand in to me in class on Monday, Feb. 11.

Part I: List of Posts

Create a list of all of your blog posts to date (up to and including your post on due Sunday, Feb. 10).  Please include the date and title of each post.

Part II: List of Comments

Create a list of all of your comments to date (up to and including your set for the week of Feb. 4-9).  Please include the date and location (whose blog is it on?  what is the title of the post you commented on?  provide both of these) of all of them.

Part III: Analysis and Goal Setting

1. Read back over your posts and comments.  Name at least two things that you do well in your posts and comments, and provide examples (quote yourself and explain how the quote is evidence of your skills.)  [Some ideas: analysis of quotes; figuring out plot points; identifying themes; connecting the book to the real world; incorporating outside sources; answering other people's questions; humor and voice; clarity of thought; records important ideas; links class discussion to the blog; etc.]
2. Look at your classmates’ blogs.  What does someone else do well in their posts and/or comments?  Name at least two skills (these can be from different people) and provide examples.  (quote yourself and explain how the quote is evidence of their skills.)
3. Finally, determine three goals for yourself and your blog posts and comments for the rest of the semester.  What do you want to do better and why?