Archive | Reading assignments

In addition to reading “Saboteur,” by Ha Jin, for Thursday (from the Lawn anthology), you should also watch this TED Talk about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “The Danger of the Single Story.”

Adichie is herself a novelist and short story writer. We will read her story, “Birdsong,” later in the semester.

Your reading journals are open format again today–do whatever you want, as long as it shows roughly 250 words worth of thinking; it can also focus on either the story, or the video, or both.

A final note: the Compass solution is still pending. I will post when I have an update!

<Editor’s Update– Compass should be up and running now; check it out, and if it isn’t, let me know.>

Just a reminder that Tuesday starts our unit on Yokohama, California by Toshio Mori.

We will be reading the whole collection over three class periods, so you should plan accordingly. But we will only discuss the first three for Tuesday: “Tomorrow Is Coming, Children,” “The Woman Who Makes Swell Donuts,” and “The Seventh Street Philosopher.”

For your reading journals: write a discussion question that draws from all three stories. It can be about a pattern which you trace among them, or a recurring theme, or something that contrasts them. Include specific examples in your question.

This is just to remind you about the change in the reading schedule.

Instead of Haruki Murakami for Tuesday, September 29, you will need to read Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl,” in your Lawn anthology.

I have actually pushed Murakami back until next Tuesday; we will read Gabriel Garcia Marquez for Thursday, October 1.

Reading: “Lost in the Funhouse,” John Barth, PDF provided (or click here)

Reading journals: New format! If you’re a person who likes to doodle and sketch, you can draw a visual representation of the story. For examples, think about something like this

or this

If “Lost in the Funhouse” was a movie, and you were tasked with designing the promotional poster, what would it look like? Or, if you were an artist drawing on “Lost in the Funhouse” for inspiration, what would you create?

If you go this route, you don’t have to produce any writing. But, you should be prepared to share your work with you discussion group and explain why your drawing looks the way it does, using specific elements of the story.

Alternatively, you can do a regular 3-2-1 reflection for tomorrow. If your reading journal entry is already complete in a different format, that’s ok, too.

Summary/Response papers are due as hard copies in class. As the syllabus states, you have one no-questions-asked 48-hour extension you can invoke for the semester. If you need to use it, however, you need to email me to invoke it at least 24 hours in advance.

Besides the paper, you’ll need to complete the day’s Reading: “Metamorphosis,” Franz Kafka, in the Lawn anthology

Reading journals: a 3-2-1 reflection on the story.

Note: Past day’s discussion questions have been updated!

Reading: “A Scandal in Bohemia,” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (provided)

Reading Journal: Like Tuesday, you should come with a complex questions for discussion in your journal, ready to share with your group.

As you’re writing your question, keep in mind the major strategies we’ve discussed for Being a Person Who Notices [Stuff]:

1. Patterns–is there something that gets repeated, such as a color, or phrase, or sound, or image? Take note of it; it could be the source of something interesting!
2. Contradictions/oddities–is there something that seems kind of off, or doesn’t quite make sense, or something that isn’t there that you would expect to be there? Write it down; it could be the very thing about the story that needs puzzling out.
3. Relationships–pay attention to how characters speak to one another, and how what they say compares with what they do and how they are described. What about the story is supposed to be specific, and what is supposed to speak to something broader?

Reading: We will be finishing up our discussion of “Cathedral,” so bring those notes. Also, read “Lady with a Dog,” by Anton Chekhov, in the Lawn anthology.

Reading journals: Write your own discussion question for the class. The question should not be answerable with a simple yes or no. It should be complex enough that it requires a few sentences to ask. Use previous discussion questions from your handouts as a model if you get stuck.

Reading: “Cathedral,” by Raymond Carver

Reading Journals: Do another 3-2-1 reflection on the story. 3 reactions, 2 questions, 1 connection.

Summary/Response projects: please bring in the following

– the article you intend to summarize and respond to, or at least the full citation
– the idea you have for a question or argument you might make about the text
– how you hope the article will help you make that argument

Reading: “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” Joyce Carol Oates, pp.  in the Lawn anthology.

Reading journals: Write a 3 – 2 – 1 reflection on today’s reading. A 3 – 2 – 1 reflection includes

3 reactions (to the text)
2 questions (about the text)
1 connection (between the text and something–anything–else)

We will also be talking more about your first paper projects. See the menu for useful links! Also, we will be talking about this article, from the University of Toronto, in class.