(#7) DQs on Lyndon B Johnson

Please answer the following questions after reading and listening to Lyndon B Johnson's speech "We Shall Overcome."

1. Why did President Johnson believe the right to vote is the most important civil right? 
2. Explain the significance of why Johnson uses the phrase, "We Shall Overcome." Identify the ways in which President Johnson established his credibility to speak on civil rights? Do you find such explications of credibility persuasive? Why or why not? 
3. How did President Johnson use history in “We Shall Overcome?” What lessons did he try to teach from U.S. history? Are such lessons still relevant today? 
4. Do President Johnson’s appeals to the American Promise seem outmoded today? Would Americans in the twenty-first century be responsive to such a narrative? If not, why not? If so, on what subject(s)? 
5. One could argue that the Johnson speech was far more efficacious in bringing about change in civil rights because it was made by a powerful white president and was the prelude to the 1964 Civil Rights Acts. Do you agree? Why or why not? 
6. The Web site for the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs contains a transcript of President Johnson’s speech as one of its “Basic Readings in U.S. Democracy” (http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/demo.htm) as well as list of readings for citizens of other countries interested in learning about American history. Why might the State Department have included Johnson’s speech? What does one learn about U.S. democracy by reading Johnson’s speech?

(#6) DQs on Martin Luther King, Jr.

Please answer the following questions after reading and listening to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech "I Have A Dream."

1. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech compares the situation of African-Americans in 1863 to their situation in 1963. What are the differences? What are the similarities? 
2. King refers to a check or a promissory note that was given to African-Americans. What is that promissory note? How does he develop the check image? 
3. King’s speech is a call to action. To what kind of action? What do African-Americans want? Significantly, what kind of action does he warn against? Why? 
4. The most quoted sentences of this speech repeat the phrase “I have a dream.” What are the elements of that dream? How does it relate to the “American Dream”? 
5. King takes the phrase “let freedom ring” from the patriotic song “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.” Why is this important? How does he expand on this phrase? 
6. How does King tie this phrase to the words of an “old Negro spiritual”? Why is this significant? 
7. King was a Southern Baptist minister. What aspects, themes, images of his speech might be representative of Southern religious sermons?
8. Of what aspects of American culture is King’s speech critical? 
9. Did the speech lead to transformations in American culture? Explain your answer.

(#5) DQs on Malcolm X

Please answer the following questions after reading and listening to Malcolm X's speech "The Ballot or the Bullet."

1. Malcolm X calls himself a “Black Nationalist.” What does this mean? List a few of the characteristics of this ideology. 
2. Why is Malcolm X so skeptical about whether white politicians and white liberals can be trusted to help the cause of Black Americans?
3. Is Malcolm X advocating for violence or is he merely predicting it, should voting rights not be successfully implemented? 
4. Consider the following passage from the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.” Does Malcolm X agree with this passage? Explain your answer.
5. Consider the following statements, and then determine which one most accurately summarizes Malcolm X’s thesis in his speech: (a) Whites have systematically exploited and duped Blacks throughout American history; therefore, Blacks should use either the ballot or the bullet to organize and overthrow this system of exploitation. The goal of this political revolution should be a free society that genuinely protects everyone’s rights. (b) Whites have already organized themselves as a “nation” or race that merely looks out for its own interests; rather than integrate into this organization, Blacks must do the same things in their own community by maintaining separate political and economic institutions.

(#4) Creating a Working Thesis and Intro Paragraph

Over the weekend, produce and post a draft introductory paragraph to the second formal essay assignment. Be sure to include an argumentative thesis statement that clearly identifies your two chosen authors and texts, and the main point(s) that will be utilized to support your paper's thesis. 

Remember that in your paper you can argue for the positive purposes and outcomes of graffiti and street art, you can argue against the negative purposes and outcomes of graffiti and street art, or you can argue for a combination of both positive and negative purpose and outcomes of graffiti and street art. Furthermore, the paper's main point(s) can stem from the list of ten possibilities that appear on the Rubric for Paper Two. 

Please bring one hardcopy of your draft introduction and thesis statement to class. (Due Tue, 3/12)

(#3) NYC's Graffiti is Still Burning

There are numerous similarities and differences between gang graffiti, graffiti art, street art, and the integration of graffiti into the global community. In class we have begun to identify a few. Graffiti has been used as a visual symbol of resistance, group identity, and individual identity in and out of art galleries and the corporate social world. Current graffiti artists incorporate images of popular culture into their work and are also challenged with creating artistic and aesthetically pleasing works in the public environment. Graffiti is no longer considered subculture but has a history quite independent of that in the dominant culture.

For this homework assignment, I would like everyone to locate an example of graffiti or street art in their local community or neighborhood. If possible, this example should be photographed, or even sketched, so that it can be distributed and shared with the class on Thursday. Then, a brief synopsis of the chosen example should be offered in the same fashion as a piece of art that hangs in a formal gallery. Using the Glossary of Graffiti, employ key terms to help describe your chosen example. The following list of questions should help to guide you.

How long has the work or graffiti or street art been there? On what kind of wall or building does it appear? What is the medium used: spray paint, sticker, marker, etch, scratch, etc.? What type of graffiti or street art is your chosen example? What are the significant elements and aspects of the chosen example? Who is the artist; i.e., what is their assumed name or identity? To your knowledge is the artist active in the city still? How much territory have they claimed? Where else does/might their work appear?  

Explain how and why you consider the chosen example to be vandalism or art, or both. What purpose might your example serve for the individual, for passersby, or for the community? What are some of the emotions you feel upon viewing this example of urban graffiti or street art?

Please post the description (about 250 words in length) of your graffiti or street art example as a comment below. Visual reproductions of your example can be linked by providing a URL to the photo in your post, they can be emailed to me before class meets, or they can be printed and brought to class. (Due 2/28)

Revision of HW#2

After examining your submissions for HW#2 - Let's Argue About Flash Mobs, it appears that a large number of students failed to meet the requirements of the assignment. Therefore, I am offering everyone the chance to revise their original submission by this upcoming Tuesday, 2/26.

Please review the terms of the assignment, provided for your convenience below. Importantly, when reviewing your original submission, be sure that you labeled each paragraph to identify which rhetorical device is being employed, and that you used at least one direct reference from the course texts to support your argument.

Should you revise this homework, you can simply reply to your original comment with the revision.

Again, this revision is due before class this upcoming Tuesday, 2/26.

This assignment will require two developed paragraphs to complete your answer. In the first, argue in favor of flash mobs. That is, identify the "positive" qualities and results of flash mobbing. In the second, argue against flash mobs. That is, identify the "negative" qualities and results of flash mobbing and mobs in general. Each argumentative statement should constitute the topic sentence of these paragraphs.

Vitally, you should employ one distinct pattern of organization, or rhetorical device, in each paragraph. Be sure to head each paragraph with a label that identifies which pattern or device you are using to argue your point. See Hacker's textbook, pages 32-45, for information regarding patterns of organization and rhetorical devices.

Be sure that you include at least one direct reference (i.e., quotation) from one of the course texts in each paragraph. These references should be parenthetically cited according to APA or MLA format and thoroughly explained so as to best support the paragraphs' topic sentences.

(#2) Let's Argue About Flash Mobs

This assignment will require two developed paragraphs to complete your answer. In the first, argue in favor of flash mobs. That is, identify the "positive" qualities and results of flash mobbing. In the second, argue against flash mobs. That is, identify the "negative" qualities and results of flash mobbing and mobs in general. Each argumentative statement should constitute the topic sentence of these paragraphs.

Vitally, you should employ one distinct pattern of organization, or rhetorical device, in each paragraph. Be sure to head each paragraph with a label that identifies which pattern or device you are using to argue your point. See Hacker's textbook, pages 32-45, for information regarding patterns of organization and rhetorical devices.

Be sure that you include at least one direct reference (i.e., quotation) from one of the course texts in each paragraph. These references should be parenthetically cited according to APA or MLA format and thoroughly explained so as to best support the paragraphs' topic sentences.

Please post your answer to this prompt below as a comment. (Due before class meets on Tue, 2/19)

(#1) Are There No More Pirate Islands?

For Thursday, please answer the following prompt in two fully developed paragraphs in a typed document. You do not need to comment on this post. Direct citation from course texts is not required; however, it is encouraged should you wish to offer support to your writing. Bring this homework to class in hardcopy, properly formatted as indicated on the syllabus, so that it may be turned in.

First, describe an experience in your life where you may have witnessed a TAZ taking place. When and where was this event? What was happening? Were you a participant or an observer? What thoughts and feelings did you experience? While it may be difficult at first to identify and name a past experience as a TAZ, think hard about the definitions and descriptions Bey provides of such "pirate" spaces. Also, consider the subtext titled "Train Parties" by Sheena Bizarre and the "Reclaim the Streets" event narrated by Stephen Duncombe to help inform your answer.

Second, imagine then creating your own TAZ. What would happen? Where would it take place? Who would be involved? Who would be the audience? Why would you be creating and performing your TAZ? What would your "message" be? How would your “message” be conveyed? What would be your desired result?