2. Politics: What is the nature of the relationship between the citizen and the state? Foundational Texts: 1984, by George Orwell A Brave New World, by Aldus Huxley Supporting Texts: “A Modest Proposal,” by Jonathan Swift “National Prejudices,” by Oliver Goldsmith “Thoughts on Peace in an Air Raid,” by Virginia Wolff Selections from “Civil Disobedience,” by Henry David Thoreau “Shooting an Elephant,” by George Orwell “What Is an American?” (speech), by Harold Ickes “Ich Bin Ein Berliner” (speech), by John F. Kennedy Visual Texts: Guernica (painting), by Pablo Picasso Cover of The New Yorker, March 17, 2003 Cover of Harper’s Magazine, April 2003 Assessments: Daily discussion: Small-group and full-class discussion of texts. Weblog: Weekly prompt drawn from texts on class weblog. Students must respond to the prompt and to other students’ responses. Responses must include evidence drawn from the readings. Journal: Personal rhetoric journal. Students will respond to daily/weekly reading with entries dissecting the rhetorical merits of the work, with examples. Quizzes: Students are given a quiz on most readings. These check for understanding of meaning and strategies. Quiz: Vocabulary from readings Quiz: Grammar from daily warm-up exercises, syntax discussions and/or reading notations. Test: Multiple-choice questions regarding rhetorical devices and their usage within given passages; short essay comparing the world view in any of the supporting texts to the dystopian views revealed in 1984 and A Brave New World. Composition: Responding to a quotation. In “Shooting an Elephant,” George Orwell observes that “when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys,” and that this man “wears a mask, and his face grows to fit in.” Write an essay in which you support, refute or qualify the paradoxes that Orwell presents.
Composition: Compare and contrast essay. Follow a current international news story over the course of a week in the international media. Sources must include news outlets (print or broadcast) in North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. While your sources will necessarily be in the English language, the majority of your sources should come from non-English-speaking populations. Write an essay comparing and contrasting the coverage of the topic in the international and U.S. media. Spring Trimester 5. Nature: What is nature’s influence on humankind? Foundation Text: Nature, by Ralph Waldo Emerson Supporting Texts: “An Entrance to the Woods,” by Wendell Berry “The Keel of Lake Dickey,” by John McPhee “A Wolf in the Heart,” by Barry Lopez “To Build a Fire,” by Jack London “Two Views of the River” (from Life on the Mississippi), by Mark Twain “The World Is Too Much with Us” (poem), by William Wordsworth “The Moment” (poem), by Margaret Atwood “Thanatopsis” (poem), by William Cullen Bryant “The Horses” (poem), by Ted Hughes Visual Text: “Kindred Spirits” (painting), by Asher B. Durand Assessments: Daily discussion: Small-group and full-class discussion of texts. Weblog: Weekly prompt drawn from texts on class weblog. Students must respond to the prompt and to other students’ responses. Responses must include evidence drawn from the readings. Journal: Personal rhetoric journal. Students will respond to daily/weekly reading with entries dissecting the rhetorical merits of the work, with examples. Quizzes: Students are given a quiz on most readings. These check for understanding of meaning and strategies. Quiz: Vocabulary from readings Quiz: Grammar from daily warm-up exercises, syntax discussions and/or reading notations.