Category: Uncategorized (Page 3 of 4)

Hi Class,

For Wednesday, please prepare to speak a bit more than on Monday.

1–Reread “The Enormous Radio” and prepare something to say on liminality, CGI,  and SOP.

2–Reread “The Veldt” and be ready to speak about the plot, technology, and control/power.

3–Bring in a Question pertaining to your essay.

*I’ve posted an additional free grammar checker on the right sidebar

Best,

Prof. Scanlan

Hi Class,

For Monday,

1–Please study this student example of a first draft before you write the essay–it contains my margin notes on the intro, thesis, and methodology. Please be aware that you can organize your first page in a different way. For example, you can begin with the story summaries and then present your gothic concepts right before you reveal your thesis. This example was for a similar assignment–not exactly the same.

Midterm-Essay-Student-Example-2020

2–Reread your selected stories carefully and take good notes! As you write up the first draft of the Midterm Essay, make sure to think about how your characters are similar and different. Make sure to explore them by using some of our gothic terms.

3–Your draft (which I’ve called “the first page”) should be as long as you can make it, but at least 250 words. Make sure to include a strong thesis in the form of a question. Also include a methodology which is a chronological plan for how to aim to prove your thesis.

4–Post your draft to the Coffeehouse 4 category.

Email and questions,

Best,

Prof.  Scanlan

Hi Class,

Sorry about the link to Young Goodman Brown. I’ve replaced it with a local PDF.

Remember: NO CLASS ON MONDAY, OCT 12

For Wednesday:

1—review “Prologue to Invisible Man” by Ralph Ellison

2—Read “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne

3—Read “The Enormous Radio” by John Cheever (link fixed)

4—Read “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury

5—take notes on the characters that you want to write about in Midterm Essay. It will help to take a few minutes and sketch out why you think a certain pair will make a good comparison. Then, it will help to identify those scenes in which the characters do something to draw attention to their similarities and differences. Next, it will help to identify those gothic terms that are easily applied to your characters, such as: liminality, Spirit of Perverseness, the Central Gothic Irony, redemption, allegory, gothic elements, fantastic uncanny (there are other terms).

See everybody on Wednesday.

Best,

Prof. Scanlan

Hi Class,

*Sorry about the missing Ellison story and Formatting Handout. Both are now posted to the Readings menu tab.

**The essay details handout is posted to the Assignments menu tab.

** I updated the due dates of the Midterm Essay to reflect the fact that there is no class on Monday, Oct 12. So, the dates are shifted to:

Draft Due: Monday, Oct 19

Final Draft Due: Monday, Oct 26

For Wednesday:

1–Read Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” then, in your notes, reflect on how Todorov’s terms work in the story.

2–Review Lloyd-Smith. In your notes consider why “Young Goodman Brown” is a quintessential American gothic story.

Email any questions,

Best,

Prof. Scanlan

Hi Class,

Great discussion! My goal is to give each student time to speak on the topic under discussion in each class.

For Monday:

1–Review Freud’s “The Uncanny”

2–Read Alan Lloyd-Smith’s chapter on American Gothic

*****3–Read Ralph Ellison’s “Prologue to Invisible Man” (Sorry about that! It is now posted to Readings menu tab)

4–Read Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”

Please prepare some notes or talking points related to these questions:

–How does redemption work in the story?

–What IS EVIL. And is it present in the story?

–Is the Spirit of Perversity at work in the story?

–What lessons can draw from this story and apply to our own world/life?

–Who else would you like to hear from? Who does not have a voice?

–who carries the most guilt?

–What is a parasite? Who acts like a parasite and who acts like a host in the story?

Have a good weekend,

Prof. Scanlan

Hi Class,

Sorry about today’s Zoom link mix-up. I should have seen this coming last week and sent out a new link for today’s odd Tuesday=Monday class.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we will use our regular Zoom link (see Sept 2 post for that).

Today, we covered quiz 1 and discussed chapter 8. My plan is to finish discussing the final two chapters on Wednesday. Please review them as they are the key to the entire story. I hope to address redemption and allegory; write down any questions that you have about these concepts.

Also: please read the four-page hand out titled Sigmund Freud’s “The Uncanny” in the Readings menu tab. Write down any questions that you have.

Best,

Prof. Scanlan

Hi Class,

I almost forgot that the Monday/Wednesday Zoom link won’t work today–because it is a Tuesday!

Here is today’s link:

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/94438253568?pwd=Z0hkZ2Z1YnJTTEJ4clFid2tQS1cydz09

Meeting ID: 944 3825 3568
Passcode: 152309

See everybody at 11:30.

Prof. Scanlan

Hi Class,

Again, I was very impressed by your contributions today! I’m hoping for more of the same next week.

REMEMBER:  We have class on Tuesday and Wednesday of next. There is no school on Monday (Yom Kippur). Tuesday follows a Monday schedule. So I will see you at 11:30am on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Homework:

Finish reading Jekyll and Hyde. The ending might be confusing, so be sure to reserve adequate time to read, reread, and take notes. Be sure the think about the concepts that we have been working with over the past few weeks, especially irony, paradox, allegory, frame, focal point, focalizer, and, of course, redemption.

Then write and post Gothic Coffeehouse Post #3. Please note the new menu category: Coffeehouse #3. For this post, consider which characters, if any, are redeemed. (what is the redemption about? and who does the redeeming?) 300 words total.

Best,

Prof. Scanlan

Hi Class,

Great discussion! Let ‘s keep up this energy and intellectual momentum.

For Wednesday:

Q-what do they find in Hyde’s apt? [chapter 4]

Q-what happens in chapter 5 concerning Jekyll, the letter, and the signature?

•• My goal is to ask each student to provide some information/discussion of these questions.

Define: Focal point, focalizer, sarcasm, paradox—Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Here’s the link (you may have to log in to your City Tech library account):

The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (4 ed.)

Read Chapter 6 and in your notebook try to hypothesize: what are the possible causes of Dr. Lanyon’s death.

Best,

Prof. Scanlan