Asian American Literature

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!

Click here for sound files and a dictionary of Hawaiian pidgin language.

Map of internment camps.  Click through for pictures of the specific sites.

Just a quick note and reminder that we’ve changed the reading for due for next week.  Rather than re-visit the Frank Chin essay, we’ll be reading a section from Takaki and the handout.  Take a look at the course schedule for more info.  Thanks to Nicole for the reminder!!

 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.

Below is the celebratory image of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, as discussed in Takaki. Notice anything missing?

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?

Below are links to groups’ answers to questions about The Woman Warrior and their own questions and predictions about how the book would end.

Question 1: “Shaman”

Question 2: Ghosts

Question 3: Mother

Question 4: How does the chapter relate to the rest of the book?

Remember when I said to go and get a copy of Native Speaker?  Well, lo and behold, the book has come in at the bookstore.  Go on and get a copy!