This week, I really chose to do the graphic novel assignment, which you can see below. However, last summer I spent an entire class developing my thoughts on music in the literature classroom, when I took a class with Thom on this subject. I decided to also re-submit one of my entries from last summer in response to the music readings from these past two weeks. Thom, if this looks familiar to you, it's because I submitted it last summer! (btw, I have used "Assigment #2" in my classroom to great acclaim; I highly recommend it to any other teachers who'd like to "borrow" it!)
A Brief Defense of Music in English Class
And a Sample Lesson
Firstly, English classes – especially the advanced level literature classes – are about communication. Literature and writing is the communication of thought across both space and time; in fact, you are not reading this as I am thinking it, nor in the same place I wrote it. Yet my thoughts are being re-created in your mind as you read my words. Amazing. What is even more amazing is that music can do much of the same thing WITHOUT words (although words are also admittedly important to music, oftentimes). But there is something that is even more powerful about music, inasmuch as it primarily communicates emotion, rather than simply thought. This ability to create and re-create emotion is music’s power. If writing communicates thought, music communicates emotion.
So, are there other reasons to teach music in English class? One particular reason comes to mind immediately: Historical Context. Understanding the historical context of a piece of literature is exceedingly important. Music adds another component to a simple discussion of the historical context of a piece of literature.
Thirdly, an analysis of music –especially pop music- can teach a student to think critically about art aside from that which is assigned in class. We as English teachers spend hours upon hours discussing the symbolic significance or thematic structure of the elements of literature; why not apply this same acumen to music? Chances of student involvement in something that is typically more engaging to an adolescent than Shakespeare or Bronte make it worth the effort.
Assignment 1: Historical context groups.
Students will be broken into music research groups for each unit during the semester. If, for example, during the course of the semester we were to read Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, and The Catcher in the Rye, there would be four groups from the class, one for each book. Each group would be responsible for researching and presenting music from the era, geographic locale, and social strata of the subject of the book. For Hurston’s work the students would research early Southern blues music. For Great Gatsby it would be Big Band and Ragtime tunes from artists like Ellington or Joplin. Grapes of Wrath would look at early country and gospel music. Catcher in the Rye would research any pop music from New York in the 1940’s. This presentation would occur near the end of the literary unit, to give students a chance to prepare their musical selections and brief discussions of the significance of artist and song. The other requirement for the assignment would be the mandatory inclusion of any song which is specifically mentioned within the text.
Assignment 2: Socio-political/Geo-historical/Symbolic-Thematic Analysis of a Chosen Song. (Three week unit).
Each student will choose a song of his or her own liking. The only requirement for a song is that it has been recorded and is readily available to a mass audience (common on radio play, iTunes, CD, etc.). Students will sign up for a date to present their songs to the class. Songs must be chosen by sign up date; no two students may present the same song. Students may present multiple songs by the same artist. The students will be able to discuss their song beyond the simple and literal meaning of the lyrics. They will apply the methods used in the discussion of literature to popular music.
Requirements: On the student’s scheduled presentation day, he or she will play the song for the class and present a five to seven minute speech analyzing the symbolic, thematic, historical or socio-political implications of the lyrics, music, and artist’s intentions. All researched material will be properly cited on an accompanying handout for the class.
Handout requirements:
-Complete lyrics of the song, properly cited.
-Complete quotations from outside research, properly cited.
-A complete chronology of the writing, recording, publishing, and release of the song.
-A list of any awards, recognitions, influences upon the songwriter(s), influences which the song created.
Ideas for inclusion in presentation:
-Does the song have a deeper symbolic or allegorical significance? What is it?
-Was the song a response to a particular social event? Personal event from the songwriter’s life? Is the song dedicated to someone in particular? Does it refer to a political/cultural subject?
-Is the song associated with a particular era, either social, cultural or political?
-Does the song have a new meaning to our culture today (was it used in a commercial or a political campaign or a film)?
-What sorts of music, art, literature etc. influenced this particular artist? Was it inspired by another song or work of art or literature?
-What modern artists have been influenced by this particular work?
-What is your response to this work today as a modern listener? How does that differ from listeners when the song was originally released?
Written response:
All students will choose a particular song (other than his or her own) from the presentations and respond in essay format to the song itself and the presentation. Students can respond as musical critics, adolescent music fans, literary analysts, or any combination thereof. Students should pick an aspect of the song or presentation (or both) that they find compelling and construct an essay around a thesis which explores that particular line of thought. Essays should be about 500 words (2 pages typed).
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Graphic Novels as Literature.
This is my ACTUAL 4-19-09 Assignment:
Firstly, I’d like to discuss the merit of the graphic novel as a legitimate form of literature. Once again, we see the entrenched snobbery of the previous generation passing judgment on new art forms. As I’ve discussed in my previous blog entries, resistance from the powers-that-be to emergent literary forms is to be as expected as the sunrise. Walt Whitman’s free verse poetry broke too many rules, both in regards to content and form. Mark Twain’s Huck Finn used colloquial language. Edgar Allen Poe’s stories were too dark and bloody. Shakespeare’s plays contained too many elements appealing to the masses, rather than the aristocracy. I have no doubt critics in ancient Greece complained about the plays of Euripedes and Sophocles for many similar reasons. Today the objections to graphic novels can be boiled down to one simplistic and specious argument: “Graphic novels are just comic books – comic books are for kids.”
I judge literature (in its many and varied forms) by one standard, and one standard only: does the literature in question provide insight into humanity, and the human condition? Does it ask the difficult question “What does it mean to be a living human being?”
Many graphic novels do just that. And not only do they address the dilemma of human existence, but they do so in a sophisticated and complex manner. Anyone who suspects that graphic novels must be an easy read (since they contain pictures – picture books are for kids!) needs to pick up Alan Moore’s Watchmen. Even the most sophisticated reader will find a cerebral challenge in the convoluted and interlocking narratives of that particular graphic novel – it is certainly NOT kids’ stuff.
So, to examine the graphic novel – first from English teacher’s and literary critic’s point of view:
The most beneficial aspect of the graphic novel to a high school English teacher is the simplicity of teaching my students about imagery and symbolism. Imagery is a slippery concept for many high school students; unfortunately, especially in more advanced texts, students get so bogged down in simple comprehension of vocabulary, diction, and syntax that the actual image which the author intends is lost. The students, after laborious study, will understand the authorial intent of a passage; however, they lose the visceral experience, the “being there” which draws in more mature readers (and is so very enjoyable to those of us who love to read). Graphic novels, however, depict imagery explicitly. Students do not have to worry about what they are supposed to “see”; instead, they literally see the image, since it is literally rendered. Many critics of graphic novels state that this indicates the oversimplification of the literature – that the content is “dumbed down” for the masses. I, however, respectfully disagree. I posit that the medium for communicating the message is simply different, neither lesser nor greater. A readily apparent image does not in any way lessen the POWER of that image. In fact, the opposite may be true. Would you be more moved by a sunset which was described to you by an articulate friend? Or would you be moved by actually seeing the sunset itself? Perhaps a better analogy for the graphic novel: would you like to see a painting of that sunset, as rendered by a skilled artist? This question is a matter of taste, not value.
Another reason for the inclusion of the graphic novel in an English class is the readily apparent use of symbolism. Art Spiegelman’s classic graphic novel Maus is a perfect example. Spiegelman renders the story of the Holocaust into a graphic novel format, depicting different political and ethnic groups as various animals. Nazis are cats, Jews are mice, and so forth. While this abstract representation of people might not translate well to a traditional novel (or maybe it would – Orwell’s Animal Farm?), this artistic rendition of the characters immediately conveys to the reader the nature of the relationships within the graphic novel. If one of the English teacher’s jobs is to convey the complex idea of symbolism to the novice reader, what is the problem with using a form of literature which makes imagery and symbolism a bit more obvious, a bit less complex? This is not to suggest that the concepts suggested within the symbol are any less complex; on the contrary, the power of the symbol often resonates even more deeply through a visceral, rather than syntactical, depiction of that symbol.
Firstly, I’d like to discuss the merit of the graphic novel as a legitimate form of literature. Once again, we see the entrenched snobbery of the previous generation passing judgment on new art forms. As I’ve discussed in my previous blog entries, resistance from the powers-that-be to emergent literary forms is to be as expected as the sunrise. Walt Whitman’s free verse poetry broke too many rules, both in regards to content and form. Mark Twain’s Huck Finn used colloquial language. Edgar Allen Poe’s stories were too dark and bloody. Shakespeare’s plays contained too many elements appealing to the masses, rather than the aristocracy. I have no doubt critics in ancient Greece complained about the plays of Euripedes and Sophocles for many similar reasons. Today the objections to graphic novels can be boiled down to one simplistic and specious argument: “Graphic novels are just comic books – comic books are for kids.”
I judge literature (in its many and varied forms) by one standard, and one standard only: does the literature in question provide insight into humanity, and the human condition? Does it ask the difficult question “What does it mean to be a living human being?”
Many graphic novels do just that. And not only do they address the dilemma of human existence, but they do so in a sophisticated and complex manner. Anyone who suspects that graphic novels must be an easy read (since they contain pictures – picture books are for kids!) needs to pick up Alan Moore’s Watchmen. Even the most sophisticated reader will find a cerebral challenge in the convoluted and interlocking narratives of that particular graphic novel – it is certainly NOT kids’ stuff.
So, to examine the graphic novel – first from English teacher’s and literary critic’s point of view:
The most beneficial aspect of the graphic novel to a high school English teacher is the simplicity of teaching my students about imagery and symbolism. Imagery is a slippery concept for many high school students; unfortunately, especially in more advanced texts, students get so bogged down in simple comprehension of vocabulary, diction, and syntax that the actual image which the author intends is lost. The students, after laborious study, will understand the authorial intent of a passage; however, they lose the visceral experience, the “being there” which draws in more mature readers (and is so very enjoyable to those of us who love to read). Graphic novels, however, depict imagery explicitly. Students do not have to worry about what they are supposed to “see”; instead, they literally see the image, since it is literally rendered. Many critics of graphic novels state that this indicates the oversimplification of the literature – that the content is “dumbed down” for the masses. I, however, respectfully disagree. I posit that the medium for communicating the message is simply different, neither lesser nor greater. A readily apparent image does not in any way lessen the POWER of that image. In fact, the opposite may be true. Would you be more moved by a sunset which was described to you by an articulate friend? Or would you be moved by actually seeing the sunset itself? Perhaps a better analogy for the graphic novel: would you like to see a painting of that sunset, as rendered by a skilled artist? This question is a matter of taste, not value.
Another reason for the inclusion of the graphic novel in an English class is the readily apparent use of symbolism. Art Spiegelman’s classic graphic novel Maus is a perfect example. Spiegelman renders the story of the Holocaust into a graphic novel format, depicting different political and ethnic groups as various animals. Nazis are cats, Jews are mice, and so forth. While this abstract representation of people might not translate well to a traditional novel (or maybe it would – Orwell’s Animal Farm?), this artistic rendition of the characters immediately conveys to the reader the nature of the relationships within the graphic novel. If one of the English teacher’s jobs is to convey the complex idea of symbolism to the novice reader, what is the problem with using a form of literature which makes imagery and symbolism a bit more obvious, a bit less complex? This is not to suggest that the concepts suggested within the symbol are any less complex; on the contrary, the power of the symbol often resonates even more deeply through a visceral, rather than syntactical, depiction of that symbol.
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