3/10: *Work from home* Peer review; Midsemester evaluation

Hi everyone,

We will not be having class in person on Tuesday, 3/10 due to the coronavirus precautionary cancellations. Please check bcourses Announcements for further details.

Here is our lesson plan for today’s digital class:

You will be working on a peer review of your partner’s analytical essay. Here are the pairs based on text or other affinities in what you’re writing about.:

• Ella & John
• Samiha & Daniel
• Sophie & Sally
• Alyssa & Alicia
• Giselle & Giovanna
• Valeria & Ivy
• Emily & Clara
• Denise & Alexis
• Cecily & Carolina
• Naia & Edwin
• Christine & Carla
• Annie & Margarita
• Dawn & Sofía
• Max, Misha & Howard

You can choose between this peer review questionnaire (general) or this peer review backwards outline (for organization/structure). We encourage you to do whichever one you didn’t pick as a way to edit your own work between now and Thursday. Here’s what should be completed today:

1. Email your partner a digital copy of your essay and tell them which peer review handout you’d like them to use. Be sure to cc Marlena and Gianna on your email.
2. Once you receive the email from your partner, read their essay and complete the peer review handout they asked you to complete. Then, email your completed feedback handout to your partner and cc Marlena and Gianna. This whole process should take about 1 hours from start to finish.

Once you’ve completed peer review, please use the remaining time to fill out the midsemester evaluation form. as we mentioned in a bcourses announcement, as of Saturday morning the form questions and responses have been mysteriously cleared. As such, we are asking you all to please re-take the survey even if you have already done so, and to take it if you didn’t have a chance yet. We have updated the link, so please be sure to use this one (titled Updated). Please do reach out if you have trouble accessing or completing the form. One tip is that if you have a personal gmail address, be sure you are signed in through your berkeley.edu email and not your personal one.

Homework

• Final Analytical Essay 1 due. Here are the updated guidelines.
  • 4-5 pages, not including your MLA Works Cited entry (that link will take you to PurdueOWL, a helpful citation cite)
  • Give that we can’t meet in person, please submit your essay electronically on bcourses via Assignments.
  • In the essay document, please also include an extra page with a letter to us:
    1. What’s the main claim of this paper? Do you feel like you proved it? Explain why or why not.
    2. What went well? What are you most proud of?
    3. What outstanding questions, concerns, or doubts do you have about this essay? Is there anything you’d like particular feedback on?
  • Please also submit photos/a scan of your rough draft with all of our feedback, compiled into 1 PDF. We’ve opened up an additional Assignment on bcourses for this submission.

Tuesday, 3/3: Ferrante (contd.); Backwards outlining

As you work on moving from rough drafts to final drafts, we’d like to remind you about these tutoring resources available to you. In addition to office hours and working with your peers, they can be a great way to get individualized feedback on your writing, at any stage during the writing process.

Before you turn in your rough drafts in your Writing Folders, take a few minutes to write a brief letter to us with answers to the following questions (on the back of your essay or a separate sheet of paper if need be):

1. What did you set out to analyze in these first 2-3 pages (your thesis and body paragraphs)?
2. What do you still need to analyze, and what do you anticipate adding to your paper to do so?
3. What do you think went well?
4. What do you most need feedback on?

(We’ll address these in our written feedback to you. You’ll then expand your essay into a more final version for in-class peer review next Tuesday, 3/10, and then finally turn in a final version to us next Thursday, 3/12.)

Today in our discussion of My Brilliant Friend, we’ll focus on the continuation of the dissolving margins/smarginatura episode, which takes place in Chapter 22 (beginning on page 172). We’ll break into small groups, and each group will collectively brainstorm on a different aspect of the episode. Using this Google doc, make observations about key moments, track important quotes, and be sure to focus on what formal details are important and how they affect readers. Here are the groups:

1. Setting the scene: Chapter 20
2. Setting the scene: Chapter 21
3. Gender dynamics
4. Violence
5. Bodies and senses (e.g. sight, smell, etc.)

We’ll take 10 minutes in groups, and then each group will report back on key findings.

Next week, we’ll be screening an episode from the HBO series adaptation of My Brilliant Friend that includes this scene, so let’s keep this discussion in mind!

Then, we’ll read a sample analytical essay on Toni Morrison’’s Beloved (written by a student here at Cal!) and talk about backwards outlining as a useful tool for editing a draft of a paper using this handout.

We’ll do the following, first all together for the intro paragraph, and then we’ll work in small groups, one group per body paragraph using this chart, accessible as a collaborative Google doc.

1. Identify a key observation that appears in the paragraph and then note it down. Note that this should be a straightforward aspect of the text that the writer noticed (e.g., the word “form-ing” is divided across pages). Perhaps you didn’t notice it when you were reading, but there’s no way to disagree with this observation. You don’t need to note down all the observations, just one important one: pick one key observation that grounds the paragraph.
2. Identify the main claim of the paragraph, and then write it down in your own words below. Note that this should be an argumentative claim that someone could agree/disagree with, rather than summary (e.g. not “talks about the episode with the other woman,” but rather “the episode with the other woman demonstrates/ultimately proves/etc. …”). This claim should be an interpretation based on the key observation.
3. In the process, you can also note down any questions you still have that you’d want the writer to address.

We’ll close by talking about what the possible next steps would be when using backwards outlining as a tool for editing an essay.

Homework:

• Read My Brilliant Friend: pages 209-270
  • *Trigger warning: Chapter 35 (pg. 231f.): sexual assault
• Post on bcourses > Discussions > My Brilliant Friend
  • Write a brief and cohesive paragraph (~200-250 words) about the following: Pick one scene, episode, or moment from Ferrante’s My Brilliant friend that we have not discussed as a class and that you find particularly interesting, strange, or revealing. First, make observations about content: what’s happening, and why is this scene important within the events of the novel as a whole? Then, make observations about form: how is this moment being conveyed, and what formal details most stand out? Finally, wrap up your paragraph with a claim (or claims) about how you see content and form interacting. Be sure to quote from the text (and include page numbers) as you write.
• Work on complete draft of your Analytical Essay 1 (4-5 pages) for peer review (next Tuesday, 3/10)

2/27: Ferrante (contd.); Body paragraphs

Today we will continue our discussion of My Brilliant Friend. First, we will look at the first paragraph on p. 132 (“I pretended to be interested…”). You will have five minutes for a free-write on the following questions: 

Why do you think Lenù sees Lila’s interest in the shoes as unworthy? If we compare their pursuits – literature and writing for Lenù and shoemaking and design for Lila – how are they different? What kind of futures are these two characters imagining will result from their pursuits? 

Next, we will break up into groups of 3-4 and discuss what you wrote. Take notes as you discuss! Then, together as a class, we will share the results of your writing and groupwork.

We will also look at Chapter 16: the dance scene.

Then, in anticipation of your rough draft work, we’ll talk about building body paragraphs. We’ll look at samples to see what kinds of strategies can be used to integrate and interact with textual evidence.

Homework:

• Respond to two peers‘ Analytical Essay 1 theses by 12pm Sunday on bcourses Discussions
  • Please be sure to respond to people who don’t already have two responses
• Read My Brilliant Friend, pages 153-209
• Rough draft of Analytical Essay 1 due. (2-3 pages; no introduction, no conclusion, just a thesis and body paragraphs). Please turn in a printed copy in your writing folder and also submit an electronic copy on bcourses.
  • Reminder: your writing folder should also contain your interest inventory and the main writing assignments you’ve received feedback on so far (i.e. Intro Text, Close Reading Text). Please do not include handouts or any prewriting work.

2/20: Ferrante; From observations to claims

Today we will start discussing Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend, the first novel in the series popularly known as the Neapolitan Quartet.

Elena Ferrante (?-present)

For those of you interested in hearing some more Neapolitan, check out this song: “Tu vuo’ fa’ l’americano”.

We’ll consider the difference between observations and analytical claims using this handout. We’ll review what claims look like and where claims should appear in a paper. 

Then, we’ll try transforming observations to claims while also getting into the novel itself. We’ll break into small groups and do the following:

1. Each group will receive a piece of evidence (=a short quote with page number) from the opening of My Brilliant Friend.
2. Below that, develop and write down a single, specific observation about that piece of evidence. (Remember, this is something objective that all readers would agree on.)
3. Below that, transform the observation into an interpretive claim. Consider the verbs in the claim carefully. (You can use page 3 of the Observations to Claims handout to review options and examples.)
4. We’ll then rotate: pass your group’s observation and claim to the group to the left. After reading what the other group has written, develop a new, distinct claim based on the same observation. (Again, you can use the Observations to Claims handout to review examples of how different claims might derive from the same observations.)
5. We’ll then rotate, passing the observations and claims to a new group. The new groups will develop a third, new claim, and so on.

At the end of class, we’ll assign Analytical Essay 1. 

Homework:

• Pick up your Close Reading Texts with our feedback starting Monday, 2/24 at 2pm. Gianna’s feedback will be in the black plastic folder mailbox outside of 4321 Dwinelle, and Marlena’s feedback will be in the black plastic folder mailbox outside of 4416 Dwinelle.
• Attend mandatory office hours appointment. Please be sure to read our feedback on your Close Reading Text in advance and bring your Writing Folder to the meeting. This is an opportunity to raise questions you have about the class or writing we’ve been doing so far.
• Read Analytical Essay 1 assignment packet and then complete your prewriting: due by class time via bcourses (be sure to complete Steps 1-4)
• Read My Brilliant Friend pages 54-104

2/11: Jenny Zhang

With last class’s 10-on-1 discussion in mind, we’ll practice a few strategies for developing thesis statements that open up the possibilities beyond five-paragraph essay formulas. First though, we’ll talk about: what exactly is a thesis statement? What is the additive style and how can we change additive style theses into subordinating style theses?

Using this handout, we’ll practice revising additive style theses into subordinating style theses, and finally, we’ll write and share some subordinating style sentences about Jenny Zhang’s “Our Mothers Before Them” (pages 75-116) in this shared Google doc.

Jenny Zhang (b. 1983 in China, lives in New York)

Then, we’ll use these sentences to start to think about Zhang’s short story. We’ll take about 10 minutes to do an individual freewrite based on the following:

Last week, we discussed the idea of cultural context and the idea of translation not only across languages, but across cultures. Pick one moment, phrase, or line that stands out to you in relation to these themes in “Our Mothers Before Them” (be sure to note the page number). What do you find interesting, strange, or revealing, in terms of both content and form? How does the text dramatize different processes of translation and interpretation? If you’d like, feel free to bring in your personal perspectives and experiences. For example: how do characters translate across cultures?  How do you? Are you familiar with the cultural setting and historical context of the story? If so, or if not, how does that affect your reading experience?

If we have time, we’ll share our reflections. Either way, please make sure to bring these to class next time so we can continue the discussion.

Finally, we will say more about the assignment components and structure of the Close Reading Text, and we’ll have time for questions as well.

Homework:

• Finish reading Jenny Zhang’s “Our Mothers Before Them”
• Close Reading Text 10-on-1 body paragraph, key question(s) and working thesis due (via bcourses and print out for peer review before class)
  • *Note: We will post feedback to your prewriting on bcourses as soon as possible before Thursday. Please do send a quick confirmation note when you receive it. Then, you’ll be able to use that feedback to work towards your paragraph, questions, and thesis for next class. 
  • We’ll also be switching the grading for this assignment. So if Gianna read your Introductory Text, Marlena will read all components of your Close Reading Text, and vice versa. If you have specific questions about the feedback you receive, please be sure to contact whichever one of us gave you the feedback 🙂

2/6: Elsa Morante

Today, we’ll discuss Writing Analytically Chapter 8: “Using Evidence to Build a Paper: 10 on 1 versus 1 on 10.” In small groups, we’ll discuss the following questions:

• Group 1: What is a 1-on-10 approach? What are the limitations/dangers of the 1-on-10 approach?
• Group 2: Name two major problems with the five-paragraph essay form. (*Bonus: who is Procrustes? What is procrustean?)
• Group 3: What is the 10-on-1 approach? What are some of the advantages of the 10- on-1 approach?
• Group 4: How can 10-on-1 generate the form of a paper?

Afterwards, we’ll zoom out to briefly consider who the ideal reader of an R1A paper might be.

Elsa Morante (Italy, 1912-1985)

Then, we’ll move into a 10-on-1-inspired group discussion of Elsa Morante’s “The Mirrors.” Together we will read the first full paragraph on p. 124 (“There. At this moment…”). As a group, we will begin to generate observations about this paragraph; a volunteer will write them down for us on the board. Make sure to consider both content and form!

Once we have our list of observations, we will start to discuss how we might construct an argument from these observations. What conclusions might we come to, based on the analysis we have done together? Do we notice observations that seem to lead us down different, perhaps even opposing, paths? If we begin to encounter difficulties, what are some ways we might address them?

Finally, we’ll assign the Close Reading Text, focusing on the first steps. We’ll keep reviewing pieces of the assignment over the next few classes, so please be sure to bring the assignment handout to class.

Homework:

• Close Reading Text prewriting due (submit via bcourses)
• Read pages 75-116 of Jenny Zhang’s “Our Mothers Before Them” (from Sour Heart, 2017)
  • Note: the page numbers are the small page numbers from the book itself. Please read up through the phrase midway through pg. 116: “its creator could not have been more proud.”

2/4: Natalia Ginzburg

Today, we’ll begin class by introducing another key aspect of close reading: form and content. We’ll use this handout to think about the differences and delve deeper into form by looking at a number of English translations of the same lines from Dante’s Inferno, compiled by Caroline Bergvall. If you’re interested in learning more about Bergvall’s project and seeing additional translations, here is a link.

Natalia Ginzburg: (Italy, 1916-1991)

Then, we’ll get into Ginzburg’s “Dear Giuseppe.” We’ll use this table to investigate different formal aspects of the short story in small groups and how they relate to content, in other words, how form and content interact.

Each group will close read one passage of the story and fill in the chart (#1, in whatever order you want). Then, you’ll move to #2 to think more about the interactions between form and content and then to #3 to begin to formulate questions based on that. Here are the groups, based on your bcourses posts. Please compare your sentences and pick about 1 paragraph or ¼ of a page of text to analyze as your passage.

Group 1: pg. 49: Daniel, Sally, Valeria, Alexis

Group 2: pgs. 51-52: Misha, Annie, Max, Carla, Carolina

Groups 3 and 4: pg. 53 (please split into 2 groups based on the sentences you chose or other affinities): Howard, Sophie, John, Edwin, Dawn, Naia, Alicia, Ella, Cecily

Group 5: pg. 54: Christine, Giovanna, Giselle

Group 6: pg. 56: Alyssa, Samiha, Sofía, Ivy

Group 7: pgs. 57-58: Denise, Clara, Emily

After working in small groups, we’ll come back together to discuss your findings and how this type of close reading could lead to questions that drive a longer close reading text.

At the end of class, we’ll give back your Introductory Texts with our feedback.

Homework:

• Announcement: Gianna will be back on Thursday and holding office hours before class– yay!
• Read Elsa Morante’s “The Mirrors” [from Aracoeli, 1982] (course reader)
• Read Writing Analytically Chapter 8: “Using Evidence to Build a Paper: 10-on-1 vs. 1-on-10” (at the end of your course reader)

1/30: Clarice Lispector

Before we get into our discussion of Clarice Lispector and delve further into close reading, let’s touch on Mistral’s “Crazy Women.” What, if anything, seems to indicate that the women in these poems are “crazy”? What do you make of the phrase?

Clarice Lispector (Brazil, 1920-1977)

Let’s discuss Katrina Dodson’s translator’s note and compare it to those of Ursula K. Le Guin. What do they share? How are they different? What terms or ways of talking about translation come up?

PS: If you’re interested in learning more about Clarice Lispector, here’s a link to a rare, stunning interview she gave shortly before her death.

We’ll then break up into small groups based on the Heuristics Toolkit Handout (#1, 2, and 4) and work to develop some close reading observations about “Os laços de família” (“Family Ties”).

The groups will then share their approach and observations with the class. You don’t have to take us through every single step in detail, but maybe take us through an overview and an example or two of your process and interpretations, using page numbers and textual evidence. (Please be sure that every group member speaks when we do this.)

How do your group’s approach and observations compare to those of other groups? Did you choose the same details or different ones? If you chose the same details, did you interpret them in the same way?

In considering these questions, we’ll come together as a group to look at how these observations work together to develop possible interpretations of the story as a whole.

Homework:

• Read Natalia Ginzburg’s “Dear Giuseppe” (“Caro Giuseppe”) [from La città e la casa, The City and the House, 1985] (course reader)
• Post on bcourses Discussion > Ginzburg’s “Dear Giuseppe”: Pick one single sentence that really stands out to you in Natalia Ginzburg’s “Dear Giuseppe,” and quote it, along with the page number. Then, write a short paragraph (~150-250 words) analyzing that sentence. What is being said, and how is it being said? What specific details do you notice (re-quote those phrases or moments as you write), and what effects do they have? In your paragraph, try to put forth at least two possibilities for interpreting the sentence.

1/28: Mistral annotations from today

Amazing work on these!

1/28: Annotating close reading, Gabriela Mistral

Today, we’ll introduce some ways of thinking about close reading. 

Then, we’ll get into close reading via annotation: just the act of marking up a text itself can be a great way to start interacting with it and analyzing it. This is a strategy you can use with each text we read throughout the semester.

Gabriela Mistral (Chile, 1889-1957)

PS – If you’re interested in hearing Mistral read her own poems, check out this link.

We’ll break into small groups, and each group will get a poem or a piece of a “Locas mujeres” (“Crazy Women”) poem to close read. Please use the markers we’ll provide (or any you may have) to mark up the text in whatever way you see fit. For example, you could color-code repetitions or rhymes or alliterations (similar consonant sounds) in the same color, underline or box important phrases or elements, track the use of line breaks or punctuation, etc.— it’s up to you! Feel free to read the poem aloud to think about sound, and also to compare the Spanish and the English versions. As you work, try to also jot down key questions, reflections, areas of inquiry, or themes that you think are important to consider (these can just be words or phrases in the margins). 

We’ll give each group about 15 minutes to work on their section, and then we’ll have a gallery walk, where we can move around the room to see what others’ annotations look like and add to them.

Then, we’ll reconvene as a group to think about the following:

• What are some of the patterns that you see emerging across these poems and the others you read for today? What did other groups notice in their poem that was different from your own?
• What are some of Mistral’s poetic resources and strategies?
• When do these resources and strategies occur in the poems? What effects do they have, and how do they relate to the themes or narratives of the poems?
• What are some of the links and/or tensions between what the poems are saying and how they say it?
• Why do you think “Locas mujeres” (“Crazy Women”) is the title of this section of the Mistral’s collection Lagar (Winepress)? (Like, are the women really crazy? What makes them seem crazy, or not? What’s the relationship between “crazy women” and poetry?)
• What did you think of Le Guin’s translator’s notes? What did you learn about Mistral, and what do you make of Le Guin’s discussion of translation?

Homework:

• Read Clarice Lispector’s short story “Os laços de família” (“Family Ties”) (from Os laços de família, 1960) (course reader)
  • If you read Portuguese and want a copy of the original, let us know!
• Read Katrina Dodson’s translator’s note, available here. (And consider: how does it compare to Le Guin’s notes on translating Mistral?)
• Read Writing Analytically Chapter 1: Five Analytical Moves (excerpt, will be distributed in class)
• Read Writing Analytically Chapter 3: A Toolkit of Analytical Methods (course reader)