Month: November 2020

So…the turkey is eaten, Black Friday is in the books, Cyber Monday happens any second. No doubt about it, the holidays are here — and with them, the perennial question that has haunted mankind for close to a couple of hundred years, and will serve as our guiding query the next three weeks: “Is there really a Santa Claus?”

It’s a question the New York Sun famously attempted to answer in 1897 in the world’s most reprinted editorial in the world, the iconic “Yes, Virginia, There IS a Santa Claus,” a piece that has appeared in dozens of languages and is referenced in movie after movie. and it’s a topic that has routinely obsessed historians, theologians and pop-culture enthusiasts f0r centuries. And this month, it falls to you and a team of your peers to debate and decisively answer.

Over the next three weeks, you’ll work with a group on a research-centered debate to determine the existence of Santa Claus; you’ll write the you’ll learn a lot about logical fallacies (and ideally learn how to avoid them); and you’ll work independently to write an essay arguing the other side of case you’re assigned to make.

Nov. 29-Dec. 20:  The Big Debate

During the first week of December, I’ll assign you to a team of your classmates, and to the “Yes, There Is A Santa Claus” Team or “No, There is NO Santa Claus” side of the debate. Then, working with your team, you’ll build your research-supported primary case answering this burning seasonal question.

The requirements?

Most scholars consider Jonathan Swift’s  “A Modest Proposal For Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public” (1729)  to be the most brilliant satire ever written, addressing as it does the injustices the English had heaped upon the poor Irish — in particular, poor Irish catholics — for centuries. In the nearly 300 years since its publication, “A Modest Proposal” has inspired countless films (including this short offering out of Norway, numerous rock songs and a rap version) and, quite recently, served as the subject of a BBC podcast that should listen to at least the first 10 or so minutes of before you engage in your project work this week and next.

A complete and extremely effective Aristotelian argument, Swift’s satirical work still looms large, regularly making its way into modern-day political headlines — most notably, perhaps, a decade or so ago when Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich suggested that schools could save money by replacing their custodial staffs with their poorest students. The quintessential example of Juvenalian satire,  Swift’s hyperbolic essay suggests that the impoverished Irish might ease their economic troubles by selling their children as food to rich gentlemen and ladies — in the process mocking heartless attitudes towards the poor as well as British policy toward the Irish in general. Published anonymously, “A Modest Proposal” sparked outrage in England and Ireland by readers who failed to appreciate his satiric intent — and at least one of his contemporaries turned the tables, suggesting that the proposal would be a way he could alleviate a debt he owed Swift.

Between now and the start of the Thanksgiving break, we’ll be working with satire generally and Swift’s essay specifically, collaborating in groups to identify all nine components of our classical, Aristotelian argumentative structure in his work as well as a late-breaking 10th component, digression;  we’ll examine the key elements of satire and examine a view brief video and printed satires to understand and hone our analytical vocabularies; and you’ll work — either solo or with a group of your choosing  — to make a commercial or advertising poster inspired by Swift’s classic essay.

Assignments for This AND Next Week

FIRST: Plan on attending class every day on Zoom — cameras on — for this week and next. There’s a lot to learn between now and the break, and it’s critical that you come. I’ll be taking grades on survey and groupwork in class, so DON”T MISS! We’ll start by reviewing this basic introduction to satire, then working our way together  through the materials in this unit to build our academic vocabulary for analyzing and writing about satire.

SECOND: Click through and read all the materials linked in this post, above. “A Modest Proposal” is an essential part of our Western canon of literature, so you’ll want to understand it completely. It WILL come up again in college English, history and economics classes. You may wish to add some of your learnings to your annotation of the text.

THIRD: Select a group of up to 4 partners — or opt to work alone if you prefer — on a video commercial  or electronic poster for a product, idea, or social concept inspired by Swift’s essay. Opt for the commercial, and you’ll need to upload your work to YouTube, make it viewable so I can take a look, and provide me with a link when you’re done; opt for an electronic poster, and you’ll create your work in Canva,then share it with me.

Some things to consider as you decide how you’ll work and who you’ll work with: 

• It’ll be challenging to get together for a video shoot — and there’s no need to include yourself or members of your group in the video you create; you can collaborate remotely using video shot separately, stock footage, stock sound, etc.
• Carefully consider your action plan. Make sure you can work with the people you choose to work with. Pick your unreliable friend, and you’ll be stuck with the lion’s share of the work. Elect to work alone, and you may end up feeling a bit overwhelmed.
• As you commit to a plan, IMMEDIATELY set up your systems for communicating and collaborating.

Your requirements for either deliverable:

1. In a comment at the bottom of this post (pro tip: everyone needs to comment individually to get credit), list the names — properly spelled and capitalized — of all members of your group, or tell me that you’ll be working alone. If you elect to work in a group, everyone in your group must participate equally and be able to explain their specific role in the project.
2. Your project must be CLEARLY inspired by Swift’s satire in an immediately obvious way.
3. Your submission MUST include every part of the Aristotelian argument — and every one of Townsel’s required writing elements — to persuade your audience to do something specific — for example, buy a product, support a cause, join a group. It’s up to you, but from exordium to peroration, appositive phrase to power sandwich, ethos to pathos, it all needs to be there.
4. If you use graphics, video, sound our sources that aren’t your own work, you need to credit every bit of what isn’t you or your group’s original work or brainwave.
5. You’ll submit the link to your group’s work in this week’s Accountability Check and Reflection form, linked below in Part 4.

FOURTH: When you’ve completed the project, a) go to Flipgrid and report back individually on what you’ve learned about satire, generally, and your role in completing your project, specifically, then b) hit this week’s Accountability google form and work your magic.

Complete the form, and you’re free to enjoy a worry-free Thanksgiving...unlike our small friend, below…

It’s the last week of the grading period, which means it’s time to tie up loose ends…and some of us have more loose ends to tie up than others. We also have a debate to finish this week (juniors, I’m looking at you), arguably the most important election of our collective lifetimes, the voting holiday on Tuesday and, therefore, a shortened academic week. In recognition of all this, after the end of our junior debates, this week in Lang will be asynchronous, and your assignments are incredibly straightforward. The only thing that’s different? Your deadline for SUBMITTED work will be 10 p.m. Wednesday to give me time to get all the remaining regular grades and the avalanche of your late and missing work in.

THIS WEEK’S ASSIGNMENT: DUE  10 P.M. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4

FIRST: Juniors, we’re finishing the debate Monday on Zoom. Bring it! (Sophomores, you’re done, and I’ll announce the winners on Wednesday after our holiday.)

SECOND: We’re mixing it up this week and STARTING with the weekly Google self-reflection form, which asks you to revisit our class blog postings since the start of the six weeks, double-check that you’ve submitted all the assignments, make up those you haven’t, report your work back to me, and, generally do as much as you can to improve your grade. If you’ve done everything, this will be a mic drop. If you’re behind, you’ll catch up. And if you’ve turned in only a handful of assignments, you have three days to throw a Hail Mary and pull out a passing grade. I’m here for it, but you really have to do the work.

THIRD: You’ll finish out the grading period by showing me what you’ve learned. You’ll craft a well-written, 700-word essay comprising all parts of the classic Aristotelian argument (including a CLEAR and SPECIFIC line of reasoning) and every one of Townsel’s required writing elements (highlighted and labeled), making an airtight case for the grade you believe you deserve. Remember, you’ll need at least three claims for your partition. If you’re missing assignments, please make sure you address this in your essay — or it there’s something you’re doing particularly well, tell me about it. Argue well,  and it can’t help but improve your grade. Again, you’ll turn this essay in on this grading period’s final self-reflection form.

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FOURTH:  Time to get in the holiday mood! After you’ve finished your essay and filed your self-report form, read and annotate Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” and bring your annotated work to class next Monday, November 9, to serve as the springboard for some group work. You’ll find instructions for annotating Swift here and, as always, in the Menu section along the left side of the blog. If it helps, here’s an audio book — and another, so you can pick your preference — that you can listen to as you read Swift’s work. Just MAKE SURE that you read along as you listen to make a connection between the written and spoken period language. Finally, you’ll find an Understanding Satire handout you’ll need to complete your annotation both here and under the menu section of the blog.

And with that…bye-bye, babies!