We continued our discussion on value systems. Here's my question for your weekend: There is a group of quantum physicists that contend that TIME is an illusion and that all moments actually exist simultaneously. What would Black Elk say to the idea that time is illusory?
What would Black Elk say to the notion that time is illusory? The class seemed to come to the conclusion that Black Elk would say time is real, but that the European concept of time may not be accurate. In our novel, Black Elk models time as circular rather than linear. In repeated specific examples, Black Elk describes how events circle back over and over rather than move forward as in the European concept. Also, time for Black Elk seems to be organized by events rather than the European way of having events organized by time. So, where a soldier in the Union army might say that 1880 had several events and then list them, Black Elk would describe the events in order of importance. In the first epistemological model, time organizes the events; in the second,
MORAL RESPONSIBILITY: FIRST ENCOUNTERS
(The West) A. Enduring Questions: 1. What value systems can be seen in indigenous writings? 2. What value systems can be seen in Western European writings? 3. How do Western Europeans view indigenous people? 4. How do indigenous people view Western Europeans? 5. What are the consequences of these first encounters? 6. How do Western Europeans justify the genocide of native cultures? 7. What history is written by winners? 8. What value systems are present in these stories? 9. What are the short/long term effects of cultural dominance? 10. How do these groups misrecognize the differences between their cultures? 11. What are the effects of Native American stereotypes in modern society? 12. How do these stereotypes-such as those seen in Native American mascots-benefit the dominant culture? 13. How does the binary of light/ darkness, wilderness/ civilization, God/Devil, and good/ evil structure early American ideology? 14. How do individuals struggle with the pressures to conform within American society (i.e. in Puritan society, in the struggle to preserve Native American culture)? 15. In what ways did early Americans look to Nature to find moral guidance? 16. How does Romanticism portray Nature? Current Readings (Green text indicates hotlinks to text) Black Elk Speaks Walden “Young Goodman Brown”, “The Minister’s Black Veil” "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" "A Red Girl's Reasoning" Today we used class time to work on papers/blogs about 1776. Read the entry for 9/9 for instructions.
However, I am extending the deadline until MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16. Tomorrow we will be using class time to view a video about 9/11 and discuss how events like this impact our perception of the American Dream. You will have class time today and Friday to work. POST YOUR ESSAY AS A COMMENT TO THIS BLOG!!! Today in class, you will be blogging about your experiences reading The Great Gatsby. In class, we talked about The American Dream, symbols and motifs, geographic symbolism, the use of tone, and other concepts and literary devices used in this novel. We referred to our "go to" text How to Read Literature Like a Professor as a resource in this discussion.
Today we will start to discuss 1776 in relation to our model of The American Dream. I will contend that this nonfiction book is another way of exploring the ideas of The American Dream and the people who hold that dream. You will be writing a an opinion (argumentative) essay in a blog entry that either agrees or disagrees with my contention. Before you begin to write, you should do your assignment below. This is to have you prepared for class, so it is an essential part of the total assignment. By the beginning of class on Wednesday, September 11, you should have viewed the video and have submitted your final blog entry. You will have class time today and tomorrow to work. This semester we will be using instruction from Education Portal. The lessons we will be using can lead to college credit if you choose to pursue that option. (By the way, this is a "flipped classroom" model.) Most of these video lessons are about 7-10 minutes in length. They each have a complete written transcript of the video included, so if you're a better reader than viewer, that's ok. You will be held accountable for the material at the BEGINNING of the class due date for each assignment, so BE PREPARED FOR CLASS. The first set of lessons, writing essays, will run parallel to our reading/discussion in class, but this set of lessons has been chosen to give you a good foundation in writing that you'll use the rest of the semester. So, here's Lesson #1. You should be prepared for class September 10, which is tomorrow. Be familiar with the material and be prepared for an assessment of your knowledge of the material covered. If you have any questions about the material, be ready with the questions at the beginning of class..... |
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