Blog Prompt #5

Description

In your final project, your team will create a multimedia Biography that addresses a significant social issue related to the concept and practice of citizenship in the United States. Like we saw in the writings of John Dos Passos and George Packer, the individual that you select for the Biography is a symbolic figure who represents this larger issue, but the form of that representation can vary. Your symbolic figure may be a victim of the issue, like Tammy Thomas, associated with the cause of an issue, like Robert Rubin, an icon of a topic, such as Peter Thiel, or even an advocate who is working to resolve a social issue, such as Dean Price or Nelini Stamp.

Activity:

To help you begin this process, you will each select a social issue that interests you and a representative person for whom you will write a short biography in the style of Packer and Dos Passos. Remember that the individual you select can come from any walk of life: an artist, a celebrity, a politician, a major business leader, etc.

1)      Pick your social issue and then think about different types of people who could represent it. You may think of your person first, which is fine so long as you can clearly tie that person to a social issue.

2)      Experiment with free and indirect discourse with some free writing. Remember that you are trying to capture and communicate an impression of that individual.

3)      Consider how you want to portray your representative individual. What will the tone be? Remember, however, to be ethical in your representation even if you are focusing on something negative about that person. Packer, for example, often keeps his biographies somewhat balanced in content even when he is criticizing his subject.

4)      Write a 300-500 word biography. Since your next project is multimedia, include an image of your chosen person. Keep in mind that your image should fit the tone you have established in your writing. Post by noon on Wednesday (4/16).

5)      Include any sources that you use at the bottom of your post.

6)      Comment on two groupmates’ blogs by noon on Thursday (4/17)

Blog Promopt #4

Personified Place

Activity: 
George Packer uses individual characters and biographies to personify places such as cities and regions in The Unwinding. To personify something means to represent qualities or concepts in human form, or to change those qualities into characteristics of a person. Personification is commonly used by creative writers in a variety of genres.

Here is an example in the form of a poem from Bianca Spriggs, a local poet and student here at UK, who attempts to personify her home region of Appalachia: http://www.stilljournal.net/bianca-spriggs10ways-poetry.php.

Here is another example from Carl Sandburg, who personifies Chicago in his classic poem: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/chicago/ .

Create a character that is based upon your home town or region. Think about what qualities and concrete details are the most representative of your chosen place and make a list. These characteristics do not need to be major facts, though they certainly can be. Think about things like location, politics, jobs, accents, food, demographics, history, and anything else that represents the community and its values.

1.      Use those qualities to create (or “characterize”) a person and name that person after the place you have selected. As you start to convert your list of qualities and details about your chosen place into a list of characteristics, ask yourself some basic questions:

a.       What might this character look like?

b.      What might this character’s job be?

c.       How does this character sound, walk, talk, and interact with others?

d.      What are your character’s priorities?

e.       How might your character view the surrounding world?

2.      Write a 300-500 word characterization of your chosen location. You may wish to use one of our models to guide you. Feel free to mimic the form and tone of the poems above by Spriggs and Sandburg, the Camera Eye or Biography of The Big Money, or one of your favorite poems or songs.

Please include the name of your character in your “Post Title” field at the top of your posting window. Name your character after your chosen location (ex: Lexington Kentucky or The Bluegrass).

3.      Provide a short, 3-4 sentence explanation of your characterization. Be thoughtful! Teach us something about your creative process.

4.      Post your Personified Place by noon on Wednesday, March 5th.

5.      Comment on two posts by noon on Friday, March 7th.

Blog Prompt #3

Camera Eye

Activity:

Create an autobiographical Camera Eye modeled on those you have encountered in The Big Money.

1.    Identify a significant moment in your life that you wish to explore through the Camera Eye.

Ø  Need some help brainstorming?

·      What moment had a significant impact on your identity?

·      Explore times in your life of transition, change, times of endings and beginnings.

·      Write about someone who has influenced your life in some important way.

·      Write about a meaningful relationship.

·      Write about an important object or place.

·      Reflect on some pattern, thread, or theme that weaves through your life.

2.   Create the Camera Eye. It should be approx. 300-500 words.

·      Model the style of the Camera Eye on The Big Money.  

·      Pinpoint key details that “tell the story”.

·      Using your poet’s eye, experiment with line breaks, repetition of key words and images, and punctuation.

·      Print out early drafts. Is it visually appealing?

·      Read aloud as you create to test the rhythm. Does your tone suit the moment that you’re exploring? 

3.   Provide a coherent 3-4 sentence summary of the moment. Place it below the below the Camera Eye.   

4.   Post your Camera Eye

5.   Comment

Comment on at least 2 Camera Eyes posted by your teammates. Each comment should be approximately 100-200 words (or more if you’re inspired).  Pick out a piece of the Camera Eye that made an impression on you and to offer a thoughtful response to the writer. Feel free to provide a brief analysis of the Camera Eye or any of its parts.

Make sure to post your Camera Eye by Monday, February 17 at noon. Comment by Wednesday, February 19 at noon.

Blog Prompt #2

Found Poem

Activity:

Create a found poem in the form of either a Newsreel or a Biography. Like a collage, a found poem takes an existing text(s), rearranges their words and images, and presents the new text as a poem. According to poets.org, “a pure found poem consists exclusively of outside texts: the words of the poem remain as they were found, with few additions or omissions. Decisions of form, such as where to break a line, are left to the poet.”

For example, Hart Seeley heard poetry in the news briefings conducted by former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in the early years of the Iraq War. Here is Seeley’s poetic translation of Rumsfeld’s often bewildering speech.

The Unknown

As we know,

There are known knowns

There are things we know we know.

We also know

There are known unknowns.

That is to say

We know there are some things

We do not know.

But there are also unknown unknowns,

The ones we don't know

We don't know.

1.    Decide on the form of your found poem: Newsreel or Biography.

Ø  Newsreel guidelines:

·      Decide on a specific theme to organize the Newsreel

·      Follow Dos Passos’ example by drawing upon specific public texts, such as newspapers, advertisements, song lyrics, etc.

·      Narrow your selection to key words and phrases that advance the theme

·      Using your poet’s eye, rearrange the textual fragments

·      Provide a clever title taken from the original texts

·      At the bottom of the page, give a list of the sources used in the Newsreel.

Ø  Biography guidelines:

·      Decide on a specific theme to organize the Biography

·      Select the public figure who symbolizes this theme. (The figure can come from either the period we are studying or from the present day.)

·      Find your subject on Wikipedia and print the entry. 

·      Using your poet’s eye, and pen, pencil, and/or highlighter, create your found poem out of the words of the Wikipedia text

·      Provide a clever title taken from the original text

2.   Things to remember as you create the Newsreel or Biography

·      All the words must come from the original texts, including conjunctions, prepositions, articles, etc.

·      Sketch out early drafts on paper so you can rearrange words, phrases, and sentences quickly

·      Pinpoint key words or images that create impact and evoke the theme.

·      Experiment with line breaks, repetition of key words and images, and punctuation.

·      Print out early drafts to see how it looks on the page. Is it visually appealing?

·      Read aloud as you create to test the rhythm

·      If you require inspiration, consult The Big Money.  

3.   Post your poem

4.   Comment

·      Comment on at least 2 found poems posted by your groupmates. Each comment should be approximately 100-200 words (or more if you’re inspired).  Pick out a piece of the found poem that made an impression on you and to offer a thoughtful response to the writer. Feel free to provide a brief analysis of the poem or any of its parts.

Post to your blogs by noon on Monday, February 10. Post your comments to your groupmates' blogs by noon on Wednesday, February 12.

Blog Post #1

“Documenting America in the 1930s”

Activity:

Pick one photograph from your assigned photographer to examine in detail. In approximately 300-500 words in length, offer your interpretation of the photograph. Remember, your team is your immediate audience so your blog should build upon previous discussions about your assigned photographer.  Please adhere to the following guidelines in preparing your blog.

1.    Observe and Prepare

Study the photograph carefully and describe what you see in your notebook. The prompts below will help you to explore the details of the photograph:

What’s happening in the image? What do you notice first? What people and objects are shown? How are they arranged? What is the physical setting? What other details can you see? Are there details that you might not have noticed at first?

Does lighting or location or any other details influence the way you interpret the photograph? Where is the photographer (above, below, or at the same level as the subject in the photo)? How does the vantage point shape your response?

What seems to be the “mood” of the photograph? What can you learn from examining this image? Does the photograph tell you anything specifically about America in the 1930s that other kinds of historical documents that you are familiar with do not? In your opinion, what did the photographer want you to see in this photograph?

2.   Clarify and Focus in a Rough Draft

Just as you did in the presentation, develop a specific theme/thesis for your interpretation. 5-10 minutes of free-writing will radically improve your blog. Use this strategy here so you can feel good about the final copy that your teammates will read. 

3.   Post Your Blog

Include a copy of the photograph. Create a title for it that reflects your theme. 

4.   Comments 

Comment on at least 2 blogs. Each comment should be approximately 100-200 words (or more if you’re inspired).  Pick out a piece of the post that made an impression on you and to offer a thoughtful response to the writer. Can you add anything to your teammate’s interpretation of the photograph? You might also consider the photographer’s larger body of work. How does the photograph relate to it?