FINAL EXAM!

Your final exam will be, for the most part, a test on the Eastern lit unit we just completed. It will also include a cumulative time line and a review of major worldview terms.

TIMELINE: From Adam to Superman.

WORLDVIEW TERMS: *polytheism, *pantheism, *monotheism, *atheism, animism, agnosticism (*and be able to apply these terms to cultures we've studied this year)

EASTERN LIT SCOPE & TERMS:

Hinduism -- caste, dharma, karma, reincarnation, Brahma, Krishna, Pandava brothers, Arjuna, Mahabarata - Indian epic (Gita - holiest part)

Taoism -- the tao (the way), yin/yang, balance, pu, Tao te Ching, Lao Tzu (and Winnie the Pooh!)

Buddhism -- Zen, haiku, Noh drama, Atsumori, samurai, suffering (four noble truths), Tibetan singing bowl (the void), reincarnation, karma

The test will be on the lower and middle levels of Bloom -- I will not have time to grade essay responses on the upper level. You can count on our traditional time line format, fill-in-the-blank term ID's, possibly a worldview matching exercise, and some middle level questions that ask you to apply religious and literary analysis to your knowledge of the literature selections.

Final Book Club Questions!

1) Purpose, genre and audience of the book -- did it satisfy?

2) Literary merit... look at your popcorn books if necessary, and discuss at least 6 applicable terms

3) What cultural details about a non-Western society were portrayed in the book? Please identify the culture geographically and chronologically.

4) What religious point of view was portrayed in the book? Cite some religious details to back up your ID. Use terms such as pantheism, Hinduism, Zen, etc. Please be accurate and true to the author's intentions.

5) If the main character in the book were a Biblican Christian, what might have happened differently, if anything? How would you minister to this person as a Christian missionary? What BIblical message do the characters in the book most need to hear? Please be thoughtful and specific - don't just say "Jesus."

6) Did you like the book? Why/why not? Give the book a rating out of 5 stars.

Eastern Lit Assignments

1) Everyone owes me a blog on Hinduism and/or Taoism, due last week! However, I have not graded them yet, so there is some grace time... reflections on the Mahabarata and/or the Tao te Ching or The Tao of Pooh.

2) Haiku contest with free laptop prize!! Check out Scholastic. Also, thanks for your most interesting and lovely original haiku. Hope you enjoyed your Pocky prizes!

3) Your "Letter to the East" will be done in class on Friday. It will be addressed to any Eastern lit character (a Pandava brother, the Taoist master (female), Atsumori or the priest Kumagai. The first part will acknowledge similarities between your beliefs and the second point will explain a crucial difference while presenting the gospel.

Kirk's Guide for Electronic Research

Googling: Limit yourself to about 15 minutes of unsuccessful Googling before giving up the hunt. Try the library or a database, or consider altering your topic/thesis. The Internet simply doesn't have everything.

Scholarly sites: Your research source must be academically up to par, reliable, and reputable. Often, this will mean an "edu" suffix in the web address. Find the author, poster, sponsor, or publisher. Go to the home page. Minimize the http. Look for universities, scholarly institutes, PhD's, etc. In film, look for film institutes or critics who discuss the literary value of films.

Commercial sites: These are not scholarly. They are for making money. They generally represent the consensus of opinion on a topic and offer nothing new or special. Some teachers will bar these sites from serious research assignments: Sparknotes, enotes, Bookrags, etc. Beware of sites with a lot of ads or with information for purchase -- this excludes subscriptions to scholarly journals of course.

Unreliable sites: blogs, forums, consumer reviews, anything written by Joe Public, or Wikipedia - which is just a public domain encyclopedia.

Databases: Go through your school or library. Nearly everything you find there will be of acceptable quality.

Documentation: Don't forget the web address and date of access. Some sites, including databases, will provide doc form for you. Use an MLA guide.

Hero Research Paper!! -- Phase One

Topic: Select a hero (protagonist, in a hero cycle) from a story (not real life) who reveals something about humanity, culture, and/or worldview. Also, since this is essentially a literary topic -- we are studying stories -- you can expect to use literary terms in your discussion, for instance theme, symbolism, antagonist, character development, archetype, etc.

Sources: This being a literary topic, your sources will be literary critics. This week, we will learn where critical sources can be found in the SCS library, online, and in electronic databases. We will learn how to select valid sources and eliminate poor sources. You will find at least 2 sources on your selected topic by the end of the week.

Due: Friday 3/27 -- Phase One Thesis Worksheet

Book Clubs, 3rd Quarter

Your book club should be finishing up its "club choice" reading selection. For your meeting, please discuss the following items:

1) Purpose, genre and audience of the book -- did it satisfy?
2) Literary merit... look at your popcorn books if necessary, and discuss at least 6 applicable terms
3) What is the time/cultural/religious context of the book? For instance, The Iliad was Greek @ 800 B.C., polytheistic. What clues led you to this analysis?
4) Did you like the book? Why/why not? Give the book a rating out of 5 stars.

Please pick up book club cover sheets from the "paper table." Due for Book Club Forum in class March 31, the last day of the quarter.

Middle Ages Lit Test

Here is what the text will comprise:
1) history context (time line)
2) geography context
3) King Arthur legend
4) Christ figures in lit
5) Koran and Islam
6) 1001 Nights

Test date: Tuesday, St. Patrick's Day

Test will include:
lower level details from history and stories read
middle level lit term application/analysis
higher level questions of worldview significance

Assignment Update: Koran and Essays

Koran: Thank you for your excellent work in reading and thinking about the Koran this week. I hope you have learned some valuable perspectives. Please blog about what you, as a Christian, learned this week. I would especially like to hear if you have picked up on any concrete reasons why you find Christianity to be more reliable or appealing.

Essay: All of you who conferenced with me this past week owe me a final critical essay draft next Thursday, before the long "snow day" weekend. Those of you who will conference next week have until the following Monday, after the long weekend.

Camelot Assignment

Thank you for enduring this old-fashioned musical, actually my favorite movie of all time, Camelot. Your job is to look past the campy songs and 60's sensibility to see the depth of the human drama. Watch the actors' faces. The performances are emotionally RICH.

This movie is based on a 1950's novel, which in turn was based on a medieval book by Sir Thomas Mallory. It was, perhaps, the first real novel written in English. Indeed, the legends of King Arthur are some of the most enduring of Western culture. In class we will talk about how the legends got started and how they've changed over the years. Perhaps you have enjoyed retellings of the Arthurian legend in other films.

For your blog, please just comment on your reaction to Camelot. Talk about what you appreciated in the story and/or the performances. Talk about why the film has universal human appeal. Also, you might look for Christian significance -- what do you think the story has to say about human beings, sin, Jesus, salvation, hope, or forgiveness? Your response may be free-flowing, but it should be in reasonably good form (capitalization, etc.).

On Monday, we will likely finish up the movie and do a little creative response. I know how you love creative responses :)

Acts 17

In our final bit of Hellenistic lit, we've looked at Acts 17. Please note the references to the Epicureans and Stoics as well as allusions to two Greek writers:

1) Aratus, The Phaenomena, about the stars/astrology, in which he gives an opening invocation to Zeus, saying "for we are indeed his offspring."

2) Epimenides, Cretica, a poem in which the speaker addresses Zeus:

They fashioned a tomb for thee, O holy and high one—
The Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies!
But thou art not dead: thou livest and abidest forever,
For in thee we live and move and have our being.

One final concept to note in this passage -- Paul uses rational logic to make his point. Here's a summary of his argument, after the philosophers ask him to explain his strange stories about the resurrected Jesus:

1) We both worship a deity

(PROOF= your idols, temples, and altar to an unknown god)

2) My deity, unlike yours, does not live in a temple or need your petty sacrifices

3) My deity, like yours, determines our fates

4) My deity, like yours, created "offspring" and "lives and moves" in us

(PROOF= two Greek poets who worshiped Zeus)

5) Therefore, if Point #4 is true, then the real deity could not be a statue in a temple

6) Therefore, my concept of a deity is much stronger, and you should listen up because He is no longer putting up with nonsense and will one day come to judge us all

Wasn't Paul an amazing evangelist? He was well-read, logical, sympathetic, observant, and bold. I hope you will study and remember this passage!

January Book Club Details

Book Club Discussion Guide - Christian Fiction

1) What would you say is the purpose and audience of this book? Do you think the book succeeded?

2) What about the book seems universal or archetypal? In other words, what aspects of the book might be relevant to ANY audience, not just a Christian or Western one?

3) How does this book depict classical Western themes? Here are some we've studied in our Greek and Roman literary selections: fate/providence, rationalism/logic, idealism/realism, democracy/order, etc.

4) Western culture has been profoundly influenced by Christendom. What Christian influences, ideals, or reactions do you detect in the book?

5) Consider your list of literary terms. Can you come up with a few literary observations relevant to the book? For instance, where was the climax of the story? Was there any use of symbol or motif? Last book club, everyone did climax and symbol -- this time, please branch out and use more terms! Consult your "popcorn" booklets.

6) What was the group's opinion of the book? Did you like it or not? Why? Defend your opinions.

For this Friday's book club forum, I will not talk as much as I did last time. All group members need to be prepared to do significant, meaningful talking about their book and the 6 questions. You are allowed to bring snacks to share with the class.

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, and Stoicism

Please read the first book of Marcus Aurelius' Meditations.

In class, we will view an excerpt from Gladiator, in which Richard Harris portrays Aurelius. The movie's depiction of characters is roughly accurate, but the plot is a fabrication. Wikipedia has a page that explains the similarities and differences between the movie and actual historical record.

Extra credit for those bothering to read this post: Vote in the Stoic and Epicurean polls to the right and comment on this post so I know who voted. I am checking to see if you're making use of this site!!

Snow Update!!

Well, I guess your prayers are answered -- no school and a postponed essay due-date! Here's what you need to be prepared for in January:

1) Please finish the analysis of John on your own. All four analysis sheets, COMPLETED on every line, legible and thoughtful, are due on your first day back. This means you will have to activate your brainsto make some good connections between John's style and his audience/purpose. See note on John below.

2) Take the extended essay deadline as an opportunity to perfect your editing: NO spelling errors, NO apostrophe errors, and NO run-ons. Also, make sure your analysis is ARTISTIC, drawing interpretations out of the text WITH LIT TERMS. Theological and personal musings are allowed, but the ARTISTIC ones are required.

NOTE REGARDING ANALYSIS OF JOHN: I had time to mention this to 6th period, but not 5th. The word "Word" in the first paragraph of this gospel is translated from the Greek Logos. Yes, you should know what that means. I also want you to connect this word to the beliefs of the Stoics, whom we've studied in class and whom you've probably studied for Coffey. Stoicism is rather pantheistic, and the Logos is the rational, orderly "divine" principle of the Stoic universe. What John is doing in the opening of his book is to address the Stoics, the most popular Hellenistic philosophers of the day, and tell them that the Logos is a PERSON. Carry this idea through your re-reading of the text and see how John addresses the Greek thinkers of his day. Also, the use of the word "Word" here does double duty in addressing the Jews, for they would associate the Creator with a Word. Thus, John's audience is Jews and Greeks.

Intro to the Gospels

"Gospel" means "good news." Christianity is the only religion with gospels in its scripture. In class, we discussed the following five issues that may be raised when studying the gospels:

1) What is a gospel? How do I read it? Is it more like a biography or a myth?

2) Why are there only 4 gospels in the Bible? Why can't I read the Gospel of Thomas alongside Matthew, Mark, Luke and John?

3) Where did the gospel information come from? Did the synoptic writers just copy one another? Were they eyewitnesses? Were they second-hand reporters?

4) Is our current copy of the gospels accurate to the original manuscripts? How does manuscript evidence for the gospels stack up to other ancient texts? (lower criticism)

5) Is the gospel material authentic and inspired? What do the "higher critics" speculate? How might a Christian respond?

Three (and only three) Ways to Quote

1. The SAYS Type

Mrs. Kirk said, "You had better study your vocabulary words!"
Note the speaker, the speaker's verb, the speaker's breath (the comma), and the speaker's capitalized sentence.

2. The COLON Type

Mrs. Kirk gave our class some excellent advice: "Proofread and run spell check!"
You stand and make a complete statement and then throw your hands out in a big "ta-da." Your two hands are like the two dots of the colon. Then you present your quote.

3. The FLOWING Type

My teacher insisted that we do "slow reading with oral paraphrasing" in order to improve our comprehension.
Note how one quoted phrase has been inserted into my sentence, and if I remove the quotation marks, my sentence still looks normal.

Special Note: The SAYS type can be converted into a FLOWING type by inserting the word "that" --

Mrs. Kirk said that "you had better study your vocabulary words."
See? No comma or capitalization. More flowing.

Critical Essays

"Critical" refers to judgment, and in the case of essays, we are talking about judging art. An art critic judges the quality of art. He answers the questions "Is it good?" and "What makes it good?" We will be more concerned with the latter question, because the works I've selected for us to analyze ARE UNQUESTIONABLY GOOD!

Critical essays in modern culture include movie and music reviews. Notice that these critics are experts in their field of art and they pay attention to specific artistic considerations: Music critics talk about instrumentation, rhythm, vocals, motifs, and dynamics. Movie critics talk about acting, camera work, special effects, themes, and scripting. Art critics talk about color, balance, detail, texture, rhythm, and symbolism. As literature critics, we will talk about theme, figurative language, tone, imagery, rhythm, etc. Art critics also talk about the artistic impact a piece has on its audience, which is a more subjective but equally valid type of commentary.

The best way to approach this task is to alternate between concrete details from the work and your own original, artistic commentary on those details. And, of course, you must package each paragraph with topical and concluding sentences. You will use a similar pattern in each body paragraph:

TS - CD/CM/CM - CD/CM/CM - (opt)CD/CM/CM - CS.

Also, each body paragraph will be devoted to a single artistic consideration, for instance one paragraph analyzing theme, one on imagery, and one on figurative language. Hopefully, this formula will help you write the best critique possible. As a novice critic, it is helpful to have a "recipe" like this on hand to help you organize your thoughts. I will not grade you on perfection of the formula, only on the resulting quality of writing. But trust me - the formula will be helpful.

TIPS FOR WRITING GOOD COMMENTARY:
1. Don't just re-state the CD
2. Use artistic terms like imagery, mood, theme, symbol, metaphor, simile...
3. Be artistic and interpretive. Go deep. Read some good critical pieces for inspiration, such as Sister Wendy's art critiques, other artistic analyses of Biblical texts, or just good literary essays.
4. Don't tell me the passage is good or marvelous or wonderful. Just tell me what makes it good.

Here are your topic options:
Matthew 5:1-16 (The Beatitudes)
Luke 1:39-56 (Mary's Song)
John 1:1-18 (In the beginning was the Word...)
I Corinthians 13:1-13 (Love is patient...)

Things I am allowing you to do on this essay:
1. Select your own paragraph topics. Any relevant literary concern.
2. Do one extra short "single-chunk" paragraph if necessary. Or, you can skip one paragraph for a total of 4 instead of 5. I am not as concerned with quantity of writing as I am with quality of writing. But there is a difference between concise writing and slack/skimpy writing!
3. Combine personal writing with critical writing. This means that you may refer to yourself in the first person and you may also use the commentary sentences to relate the verses to something personal.

EXTENDED DUE DATE: Wednesday 12/17

Iliad/Troy Comparison

Please write a blog about the similarities and differences between the movie Troy and the epic of the Iliad. Use specific concrete details. Also, be sure to raise your discussion into a higher "Bloom" level of thinking by analyzing reasons for the differences or expressing your opinions about how the movie made changes to the story. You may also comment on how the movie genre requires a different approach to storytelling, as evidenced by the documentaries we watched on Friday. Due over the weekend, by Monday 11/17.

Mrs. Kirk's Philosophy of Teaching Writing

I can summarize my philosophy of teaching writing in three words: FEEDBACK, REVISION, and ACCOUNTABILITY. Sometimes, I will have students write an entire first draft and then begin the process of feedback and revision. Other times I will divide the task into phases and provide opportunities for feedback and revision at the end of each phase.

For a personal essay, I like to have students take a blind shot at the topic before offering too much guidance. This way, their ideas might be a little more fresh and natural. For a research essay, I prefer to go in phases. Because the research process is so complicated, getting feedback along the way can prevent big mistakes. For a critical essay (analyzing literature), either way might work. I might even take a class vote!

FEEDBACK will consist of class discussion and lecture, specific comments on the graded draft, sample papers shared in class, sample papers posted on line, excerpts from books about writing, etc. Students are always welcome to see me for face-to-face feedback also.

REVISIONS are a big deal in my class. As communicated clearly to students, a B paper needs at least a 20% revision, maybe more. Even A's aren't perfect. C's should be changing at least half of what appeared on the first draft. Revision efforts should be based on specific feedback on the earlier draft as well as the general/inspirational feedback offered to the whole class. Changing a couple of sentences, fixing spelling errors, or adding an additional paragraph are not considered sufficient. "Revise" means to "see again." You need to try to "see" how your paper could go from good to superb and do whatever it takes to make that change. Good revision is not like a band-aid. Rather, it requires a little demolition before the remodeling. Parents and students should be aware that a poorly accomplished revision will result in a lower grade on the revision draft.

ACCOUNTABILITY in editing is a final element you should understand. Imagine that you are going out for a big event and you've selected the perfect outfit, had your hair and makeup done, borrowed jewelry, and even lost 10 pounds... but at the last minute you get mustard all over yourself. That's the effect of poor editing. It mars the quality of otherwise good composition. In the same way, I will deduct points off the composition grade for errors in basic editing skills: spelling, capitalization, apostrophes, title treatment, run-ons, and any other major skill we've reviewed in class. In this way, I hope to stress the vital importance of the editing process and see students take on a little more accountability in this area.

Vocabulary Root Lists

Lessons 1-2
cred = believe; deus = God; divine = foretell, omniscient; theos = God; sacre = holy; sanct = holy; hiero = high and holy; pia/pie = pure.

Lessons 3-4
dox/dog = opinion; gno/gni = know; crit/cris = judge; mnem/mnes = memory; phren/fren = mind; ratio = reason; not/nos = know; sap/sag = wise; put = calculate, consider; sci(e) = knowledge, understanding.

Lessons 5-6
litera = letter; scrib/script = write; nom/nym = name; graph/gram = draw; lex/lect = word or speech; logos = word or logic

Lessons 7-8
fab = conversation, storytelling; dict = state, tell; gloss/glot = tongue; clam/claim = shout; for/forum = debate; ling = language; loc/loq = talk; verb = word

First Semester Extra Roots
a = not; hetero = different; homo = same; cracy = government; prot = first; pro = forward; epi = on; pre = before; plebe = commoner, citizen...

Lessons 9-10
geo/gee = the earth, as in the globe; terra = earth, as in the ground; humus = soil; mont = mountain; past = shepherd; rur/rust = country, as in countryside; anima = life force; ether = upper air; fan/phan = to show or appear; spirit/spiro = breath; hyper = over; vent = wind.

Lessons 11-12
ferv = boiling hot; flagr = burning; flam = flame; incend = to set on fire; caut/caust = chemical burn; pyr = fire; scint = spark; flu = flow; hydra = water; mar = sea; naus/naut = ship; pont/pons = bridge; unda = wave

Lessons 13-14
ord = order; stol = to send; regula = to rule; rect = straight, right; stell = star; ast = star; cosmo = universe; mut = change; temer = rash, reckless; turb = disorder; spers = to scatter; temper = balanced; ultima/ultra = last or beyond.

Lessons 15-16

October Book Club Meetings

Your first book club meetings are almost due! We will have a full class book forum during your L.A. period on Halloween, the last day of the quarter. Therefore, the last chance for your clubs to meet would be Thursday night the 30th. Appoint a secretary at your meeting (you can switch off secretarial duties for each meeting if you wish) who will take notes as the group discusses the following questions.

Book Club Discussion Guide - Christian Fiction

1) What would you say is the purpose and audience of this book? Do you think the book succeeded?

2) What about the book seems universal or archetypal? In other words, what aspects of the book might be relevant to ANY audience, not just a Christian one?

3) How does this book depict Christian concepts? Consider the depiction of God, of sin, of hope, and of religion itself.

4) Consider your list of literary terms. Can you come up with a few literary observations relevant to the book? For instance, where was the climax of the story? Was there any use of symbol or motif? Etc.

5) What was the group's opinion of the book? Did you like it or not? Why? Defend your opinions.

At the full-class book forum on October 31st, you are encouraged to contribute snacks and hot drink mixes: hot chocolate, hot cider, tea bags, etc. I will provide hot water and cups. Also, your parents are invited and encouraged to participate in your individual book clubs - and they are free to join us in class as well. Every club that has at least one parent participant at their individual book club meeting will receive one bonus point on book club credit!