To ease my mind, I decided to examine copyright laws. I ran across two helpful websites: Copyright and Fair Use hosted by Standford University Libraries and the U.S. Copyright Office website. On its FAQ's page, the U.S. Copyright Office answers the following question: “How do I protect my sightings of Elvis?” Could it get any better than that? Somehow, my question about going public with this blog no longer seemed silly and, oddly, no longer mattered. While you will find no Elvis here, you'll find a few new assignments and resources to globalize first-year college composition and literature courses, as the blog sub-title promises.
27 March 2007
This blog entry does not contain an assignment, but I'm identifying a potential resource. Today I had an opportunity to tour Harbor City International School, a small public high school in Duluth, Minnesota, with an emphasis on global citizenship and the international perspective. As I am working on globalizing my curricula, I am interested in learning about the school's philosophy and teaching methods and the possibility of sharing ideas about curricula and projects. The school's mission seems very similar to the mission of my former school (for grades 5-12), Tampere Teacher Training School, which is one of many UNESCO Associated Schools in Finland.
Sharing the same goal of globalizing our English curricula, my friend Ted Anderson, English teacher at Harbor City School, and I will begin to exchange ideas and, I hope, make some realistic plans for collaboration. Personally, today's visit was a good reminder that we have many good resources and like-minded colleagues right within our own communities.
25 March 2007
This simple exercise was created for my Modern World Literature course, which I usually teach online. Similar exercises, pairing texts with audio and video images, could be used in any online or face-to-face literature course.
Photo taken at the Old St. Augustine Village, Florida
"Camera Poetica" Assignment
(1) Read the poem.
First read the poem “Siberia” by Belgian poet Bart Moeyaert, who has studied and published in the Nederlands. Please, don’t view the video clip yet. Read the poem twice for better understanding.
(2) Reflect in writing.
After having read the poem, respond to the following prompts:
(3) Play the video.
Then, using the same Internet link, listen to and watch the video clip of the author reading his poem in Dutch.
(4) Discuss the video.
In your small group, reflect on the following: What impact did seeing and hearing the poet read his work out loud have on you? Did it add or take away from your original experience with the poem? Explain.
(5) Summarize the experience.
Summarize your “Camera Poetica” experience in one word: ____________. Then write a paragraph explaining why you chose this word.
24 March 2007
These are some of the new resources that I will be adding to my Modern World Literature reading list. Many of them could also be used in other literature, or perhaps even composition, courses.
Nawal el-Saadawi (1931-)
Nawal el-Saadawi, a well-known feminist Egyptian writer and physician, is a prolific writer of short stories, essays, and novels. The author's official website, Nawal el Saadawi Sherif Hetata, contains some quotes that could be used as discussion or writing prompts.
Reza Baraheni (1935-)
Reza Baraheni is an Iranian Turk who writes in Persian. He is a leading novelist, poet, and essayist in Iran. With the rise of the Islamic Republic, he was fired from his university post and imprisoned. More information about the author is available from the RAHA - World Independent Writers website.
Selected poems by Baraheni are available at the Mah-mag - Magazine of the Arts & Humanity website, including "Nostalgia" and "Crying."
Forugh Farrokhazad (1935-1967)
Forugh Farrokhzad is the most famous woman in the history of Persian literature. Before her tragic death in an automobile accident in 1967, she wrote several books of poetry and worked as a filmmaker. Forugh Farrokhazad's Open Forum Website is a beautiful dedication to her work.
A link from this website to “Selected Works” leads to many of her poems, including the following titles: “Another Birth,” “Gift,” “The Wind Will Take Us,” and “Love Song.”
Mahmud Darwish (1942-)
Mahmud Darwish is probably the world's most celebrated Palestinian poet. More information about the author is available at the Arab World Books website.
The Where to Now blog at Word Press.com has posted his poem titled “The Prison Cell,” and the Angry Arab News Service website lists his poem titled “Victim No. 48.” These are the two poems by Darwish that were selected for Literatures of the Middle East.
Mohamed el-Bisatie (1938-)
Mohamed el-Bisatie is a member of the group of Egyptian writers known as “Gallery 68.” More information about the author is available at the Arab World Books website.
The same website provides a copy of his short story “A Conversation from the Third Floor," which was also selected for Literatures of the Middle East.
Hatif Janabi (1955-)
Hatif Janabi was born in Iraq, but he has lived in exile in Poland since the late 1970s. He has published several volumes of poetry. So far the only websites I have found about the author are in Polish.
Selected poems by Janabi are available on the Artful Dodge website (scroll down, past Mattawa's prose poems), including “Savage Continents” and “To Where.”
Yashar Kemal (1922-)
Yashar Kemal is one of the most popular contemporary Turkish writers and a candidate for Nobel Prize in Literature. Read more about the author at the Books and Writers website.
Kemal's short story “Campaign of Lies” is posted on the web by the Soc.Culture.Kurdish.
Naguib Mahfouz (1911-)
Naguib Mahfouz is a well-known Egyptian writer and 1988 winner of Nobel Prize for Literature. Read more about the author at the Books & Writers website.
Study questions for and a synopsis of Mahfouz'z short story “Zaabalawi” are available at Dr. Fidel Fajardo-Acosta's World Literature Website. However, I have not yet been able to find the story itself online.
Khaled Mattawa (1964-)
Khaled Mattawa was born in Libya, but he immigrated to the U.S. in 1979. More information about the author and his work can be found on the Artful Dogde website, including “Cricket Mountain,” "Days of 1932," "Days of 1948, " and “Selima!”
More poems by Mattawa, including “Borrowed Tongue” and “The Bus Driver Poem,” can be found on the Web del Sol website.
Mohammed Mrabet (1940-)
Mohammed Mrabet is a Moroccan storyteller whose tales often portray the Maghrebi region. His complete biography can be found on the Paul Bowles Web Site.
An audio recording of his story “The Saint by Accident” is available on the Odeo website.
Amos Oz (1939-)
Amos Oz is an Israeli novelist, short story writer, and essayist, whose stories often describe life on the kibbutz. More information about Oz can be found on The Jewish Agency for Israel website.
Oz’s short story “Nomad and Viper” is available on the website of Tammie Bob from College of DuPage website. The story portrays the Arabs as “the Other” – imagined as dangerous, threatening and yet seductively attractive.
Dan Pagis (1930-1986)
Dan Pagis, an Israeli poet, is considered a major world poet of his generation. Pagis was born in Bukovina, Romania. During World War II, he was interned in a concentration camp for several years. He arrived in pre-state Israel in 1946 and became a teacher on a kibbutz. Pagis writes about his family on the Holocaust Studies website.
Selected poems by Pagis are available on the ISRO Press website, including “Instructions for Crossing the Border,” “Brothers,” “Europe Late,” and “Written in a Pencil in the Sealed Railway-Car.”
Nizar Qabbani (1923-1998)
Nizar Qabbani is a Syrian poet and diplomat. More information about him is posted on the Damascus Online website.
Qabbani has written lyrics for many songs – some examples can be heard on the same Damascus Online website (requires the Real Player). The poet’s own Old Poetry website lists 37 of his poems in English.
Dahlia Ravikovitch (1936-)
The Poetry International Web describes Dahlia Ravikovich as “one of the most brilliant and versatile Israeli poets."
Selected poems by Ravikovich can be found on the same web site (use the link above), including
“A Dress of Fire,” “In the Year to Come, In the Days to Come,” ”Pride,” and “Three or Four Cyclamen.”
This blog entry contains information of critically acclaimed global travel writing by U.S. writers. About half of the essays were recognized in The Best American Travel Writing 2004 collection published by Houghton Mifflin, and the rest are included on the Outside Magazine's Literary All-Stars list on the Outside Online website. By the way, the "all star" list includes Garrison Keillor, Ian Frazier, and Jane Smiley, among others.
Descriptions of Example Articles
"Everybody Loves the Assassins" by Tim Cahill
Traveling to Iran to visit ancient castles and members of an Islamic sect, Cahill discovers people who can't stop being nice. Recognized in The Best American Travel Writing 2004 collection.
"Sandbags in the Archipelago" by Heather Eliot
On a remote South Pacific island Eliot meets a man and explores the fine line between fantasy and reality. Recognized in The Best American Travel Writing 2004 collection.
"Chasing the Wall" by Peter Hessler
Hessler, Peter. "Chasing the Wall." National Geographic 203.1 (2003): 2. InfoTrac: Expanded Academic ASAP. Lake Superior College Library. 18 Mar. 2007
"La Matadora Revisa Su Maquillaje: The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup" by Susan Orlean
Orlean visits Spain and discovers a female bullfighter.
"Gansta War" by George Packer
Packer, George. "Gansta War." The New Yorker 79.33 (2003): 68. InfoTrac: Expanded Academic ASAP. Lake Superior College Library. 18 Mar. 2007
Packer, a former Peace Corps volunteer, visits the Ivory Coast in Africa, where civil war is turning the once glamorous city of Abidjan into a hellhole. Packer follows the trails of two separate gangs. Recognized in The Best American Travel Writing 2004 collection.
"The Road to Herat" by Elizabeth Rubin
Rubin, Elizabeth. "The Road to Herat." The Atlantic Monthly 291.1 (2003): 194-204. InfoTrac: Expanded Academic ASAP. Lake Superior College Library. 18 Mar. 2007.
Symmes visits the 1960's and 1970's hippie trail that brought foreigners to Afghanistan. Today's Kabul is an interesting, lively mixture of NGOs, soldiers, spooky nation-builders, and freaks. Recognized in The Best Travel Writing 2004 collection.
Vaughn writes about his long winding bike ride through southern France and tells how extreme pleasure and adventure can coexist.
As you can see, no recommendation has been made for the month of December. Each of you will have an opportunity to submit one recommendation to me, and the recommendation with the most nominations will be listed as the “Film of the Month” selection. I will provide more detailed information about the selection process by early November. The four top nominations will be listed as the selections for the next semester’s World Literature course, January through April.
Since the goal of this course is to learn about less familiar cultures, the "Film of the Month" selection must portray a culture that cannot be predominately described as "mainstream" U.S. culture. In the second week of the semester, we will discuss the concept of "mainstream" culture and brainstorm some possible film recommendations.
"This film is based on the journals of Che Guevara, leader of the Cuban Revolution. In his memoirs, Guevara tells about the adventures he and his best friend Alberto Granado had as young men while crossing South America by motorcycle in the early 1950s. They encounter many interesting people, including a colony of lepers."
The Story of a Weeping Camel. Dir. Byambasuren Davaa. Thinkfilm, 2004.
"In this Mongolian documentary, a family in the Gobi Desert tries to get a mother camel to recognize and nurture its baby. Because the birth had been difficult, the mother resisted her natural role, and the family had to send for a musician to sooth her with music. It was very fascinating to see how the mother camel responded positively to the music. The film was made in the Gobi Desert and the families that live out in the windy and remote area are in small huts that are filled with their belongings and mementos. Although there is no voice over narration and only minimal dialog, the viewer gets a real sense of the 'simple' lives they lead as camels and sheepherders and how they are mostly removed from modern society."
The Warrior. Dir. Sung-su Kim. Miramax, 2001.
"In this film a group of Korean envoys is captured during a diplomatic mission to China. They are accused of espionage and sent to a remote desert to die. Eventually they make their way back to Korea, but before they reach their destination, they rescue a beautiful Ming princess and battle with bloodthirsty Mongol warriors. This action-packed film is visually very interesting."
The selection will be determined by your recommendations and votes!
We will have an ongoing “Film Forum” discussion using the online course discussion tool. Each month's discussion will have its own subject heading and due date, which will be listed in the forum as well as on the course schedule. In general, you will be asked to view the films and then comment freely on the recommendations and, as needed, provide relevant Internet links for support or further information on the films. In December, you will be asked to make your own recommendation – and justification - for your own “Film of the Month” selection, including a brief description of the film and complete distribution information: the title, the director, the distributor, and the year of release.
*) Image from Free Graphics
As the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum Goal 2 states, our goal as teachers it to help our students develop into "thinkers who are able to unify unify factual, creative, rational, and value-sensitive modes of thought."
In efforts to achieve this goal, I have lately been using the FIRE model much more intentionally than before. Whether stated in the assignment or not, I try to incorporate the four modes of thinking into most class assignments, and perhaps more importantly, I make students aware of the different ways of thinking - the Factual, Imaginative, Rational, and Evaluative thinking.
Focus on any aspects of culture, such as ethnic heritage, religion/belief system, values, traditions, dress, geographic places/space/climate, and attitudes, that have made you who you are today. Your goal is to determine your own "cultural make up" - the perspective from which you experience the world.
Note: remember to distinguish between cultural and personal characteristics. As we have discussed, cultural characteristics refer to what a particular group has in common whereas personal characteristics refer to the ways in which each individual is different from other people.
A soundtrack of your life:
Select 3-5 songs to create a soundtrack of your life, as represented by songs that reflect significant aspects of your culture. You can consult any sound sources, such as CD’s, radio, movie sound tracks, or the Internet, and text-sources of song lyrics. Try to use a different kind of source for each song or musical piece.
Then write an MLA style citation for each source.
An art exhibit of your cultural self-identity:
Select 3-5 visual art works that to create an art exhibit of your cultural self-identity. Feel free to contact any sources that contain visual images, including books, magazines, Internet sources, album covers, advertisements, pamphlets, and posters. Try to use a different kind of source for each image.
Then write an MLA style citation for each source.
How did the movie, event, or dining experience make you feel? What factors in the experience caused you to feel this way? If this was a communal experience, how did the others feel, and why do you think they felt this way? How did the experience meet your expectations? Would you recommend this experience to others – why or why not?
Insightful Thinking – “Seeing the Big Picture”
How does this experience (the event, film, or dining experience) connect with the themes or cultures addressed in this course? How does the experience relate to your own life? How might you, or anyone else who has the same experience, be able to apply new information from this experience to a future circumstance?
A. Going to the Movies
Below is a list of films strongly recommended by former students. Most of them are also available in local movie rental stores, Netflix, and the college library. While the citations are for DVD’s, many of the films are also available in video. Your instructor has viewed all the films below and she also has a longer list in case you would like to consider other options.
Amelie. Dir, Jean-Pierre Jeunet. DVD. Miramax, 2001.
This French film tells about a shy waitress Amélie, who returns a long-lost childhood treasure to a former occupant of her apartment. After seeing the effect it has on him, she decides to set out on a mission to make others happy and in the meantime pursues a quirky guy…
Bend It Like Beckham. Dir. Gurinder Chadha. DVD. Searchlight, 2002.
This is a story about a daughter of strict Indian Sikh immigrants living in Britain. Jess is a very gifted football, or soccer, player – much to her parents’ dismay!
Born into Brothels. Dirs. Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman. DVD. Sundance, 2004.
Shot in India, this documentary reveals the world of Calcutta's impoverished red light district. The filmmakers inspired a special group of children of the prostitutes to photograph their environment…
Bride and Prejudice. Dir. Gurinder Chadha. DVD. Miramax, 2004.
This is an Indian Bollywood retelling of Jane Austen’s novel—it has an all-singing, all-dancing cast. The film is full of energy, color, comedy, and human emotion…
City of God. Dir. Fernando Meirelles. DVD. Miramax, 2002.
This Brazilian film is set in Cidade de Deus (City of God), a housing project built in the 1960s that became one of the most dangerous and violent places in Rio de Janeiro. The film tells the stories of many young boys whose lives sometimes intersect...
The Motorcycle Diaries. Dir. Walter Salles. DVD. Sundance, 2004.
This film is based on the journals of Che Guevara, leader of the Cuban Revolution. In his memoirs, Guevara recounts adventures he (in his twenties), and best friend had while crossing South America by motorcycle in the early 1950s…
Europa Europa. Dir. Agniezka Holland. DVD. World Films, 1990.
In this film, a Jewish boy is separated from his family in the early days of WWII. To survive, he poses as a German orphan and is taken into the heart of the Nazi world and eventually becomes a Hitler Youth and falls in love with a German Nazi girl…
Good Bye Lenin! Dir. Woolfgang Becker. DVD. Sony Pictures, 2003.
This film portrays life in the former East Germany in 1989. A young man protests against the regime, and his mother watches the police arresting him and suffers a heart attack and falls into a coma. Some months later, the GDR does not exist anymore and the mother awakes…
Hero. Dir. Zhang Yimou. DVD. Miramax, 2004.
This film is based on events in China during the 3rd century BC. From 475 – 221 BC, when the land was divided into seven major Kingdoms. This was a time of endless brutal wars and much hardship and suffering…
House of Flying Daggers. Dir. Yimou Zhang. DVD. Sony Pictures, 2004.
This Chinese film is set during the reign of the Tang dynast. A secret female organization called "The House of the Flying Daggers" rises and opposes the government…
Kitchen Stories. Dir. Bent Hamer. DVD. ICA Projects, 2004.
This quirky Norwegian film is inspired by a 1950s Swedish study about the perfect kitchen floor plan. The film is an unusual tale about comradeship and camaraderie starts as a research project in which an observer, sitting on a very high chair, watches his subject as he goes about his daily routine…
Set in 1984 East Germany, before the Fall of the Berlin Wall, this film portrays with remarkable reality the operations of the East German secret police. A group of writers are being under surveillance for anti-government activities…
The Motel. Dir. Michael Kang. Palm Pictures. DVD. 2006.
In this coming-of-age comedy, a womanizing playboy befriends a Chinese-American motel owner’s teenage son…
Run Lola Run. Dir. Tom Tykwer. DVD. Sony Pictures, 1999.
This German film explores events controlled by fate. The film tells about Lola and her boyfriend, whom she desperately tries to save from death by helping him obtain a huge amount of money he carelessly lost…
Smoke Signals. Dir. Sherman Alexie. DVD. Miramax, 1998.
This is a first film written, directed, and co-produced by a Native American. Two mismatched young men live on the same Indian reservation in Idaho and decide to take a road trip together to collect the remains of one man's father…
Tsotsi. Dir. Gavin Hood. DVD. Miramax, 2006.
After shooting a woman and driving off in her car, Tsotsi, a young South-African thug, is surprised to discover a crying infant in the backseat of his car. He grudgingly takes the child home and is forced to care for the child…
Some of the community events that students have attended in the past include Native American powwows, The Hmong New Year celebration, Feast of the Nations Festival in the Twin Cities, the International Folk Festival in Duluth, world music concerts, a Middle Eastern belly dancing performance, and so on. Below is a list of a few ways to get information about events in your region.
For events taking place at Lake Superior College, check the Campus Wave online publication.
For events taking place in your own community, check the local newspapers. Most offer information online. For example, the Duluth News Tribune publishes a weekly “WAVE” section, with information about concerts, theater plays, musicals, art exhibits, and other cultural events taking place in the region (select the “WAVE” link on the home page). The Minneapolis-St. Paul area StarTribune.com has an “Entertainment” link on its home page.
For further ideas, simply ask others to recommend a movie, event, or restaurant. Don’t be timid to try something new. If you’re not sure what you might be facing or how to proceed with this assignment, don’t hesitate to contact your instructor
20 March 2007
Read the poem titled “Frida Kahlo” by the English poet James Reich: 
1. Who is Frida Kahlo? If you don’t know, do a quick Internet search on her and provide a live link to your source within your discussion post.
2. What is she like? List some specific examples and images from the poem.
3. Does the poem have any references to her geographical or cultural origin? What are they?
4. Why do you think James Reich, an Englishman, wrote about Frida Kahlo?
5. What other poems or songs do you know that portray a famous person? If you can, find one example on the Internet and provide a live link to your discussion group.
Read the following two poems:
“A Peach Larger Than a Former Three-Story Building, Larger Than the Sun” by the Slovenian poet Josep Osti: 
“Ode to the Tomato” by the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda: =406868
1. The subject of each of these poems is a natural food product. In what way do the two poems portray its primary subject similarly? Give some specific examples.
2. How does the writer use an ordinary fruit or vegetable to reveal something about the poem’s cultural context? What specifically does each food item reveal about its culture?
3. What is the point of each poem? Do the poems have any kinds of “message”?
4. What is your personal reaction to these poems? Explain.
5. If you had to choose a natural food item for a poem or a song, what would it be? Explain why you would choose this particular item and how you would use it. Find an Internet link depicting your choice, and attach a live link to your discussion post. Have fun with it!
Read the short story “Lepanto’s Other Hand” by the Mexican writer Carmen Boullosa:
3. What is special about Esteban’s parents and his relationship with them?
4. After reading the story carefully, answer the writer’s own questions, which are stated at the end of the story:
· Which of the two stories identified is true? Neither?
· Did time itself do away with Esteban Luz, since he never understood that to practice his art he needed protection, money, friends in high places?
· And protection from what?
· Why such jealousy?
· Why could he not just paint and be admired and bask in glory?
Read the short story “The Man With the Long Mustache” by the Brazilian writer Carlos Machado:
1. What is the situation and mood of the story’s opening scene?
2. Who is the narrator and what is his “eccentricity”?
3. Why does the narrator call his “eccentric” activity a vice?
4. How does the narrator’s wife find out about and deal with his habit?
5. Who is the “Man With the Long Mustache” and what role does he play in the story?
6. What is the impact and meaning of the story’s last sentence?How realistic is this story?
Globalization means different things to different people. Some say it is the movement of people, language, ideas, and products around the world toward markets and policies that transcend national borders. Others see it as the dominance of multinational corporations and the destruction of cultural identities. All aspects of globalization – including its nature, causes and effects - are hotly disputed.
For about 5-10 minutes, reflect informally in writing on what you already know about globalization. What is your understanding or definition of globalization? How is globalization affecting your community and your personal life? How do you feel about globalization? Why do you think globalization is spreading rapidly in the contemporary world? Is globalization a new phenomenon?
Café Discussion on Globalization
From the choices listed below, pick two topics that you would like to discuss and go to a table labeled with one of your topics. Use your Learning Audit notes to prompt your memory. Each group should appoint a facilitator and a recorder and discuss the assigned questions for the topic. The recorder should write the highlights of the discussion on the flipchart/board provided. After 7 minutes, each student should move to another table and repeat the process.
TABLE 1: DEFINITION OF GLOBALIZATION
What is your group’s definition of globalization? If it varies, record all responses.
Why do you think your definitions are similar? Or if your definitions are different, why do you think they differ? Speculate who outside this class would agree or disagree with your definition(s).
TABLE 2: GLOBALIZATION & BUSINESS
How are business and trade affected by globalization? Discuss specific examples.
The term “free trade” is often associated with globalization. In your knowledge, what is “free trade” and what is its global impact? (If you don’t know, research it briefly on the web.)
TABLE 3: GLOBALIZATION & CULTURES
How does globalization affect different cultures? Discuss specific examples.
Some correlate globalization with Americanization or Westernization. What do you think they mean by that, and what are your thoughts on this?
TABLE 4: GLOBALIZATION & ENVIRONMENT
How are the natural environments affected by globalization? Discuss specific examples.
How are urban environments affected by globalization? Discuss specific examples.
Does your group agree or disagree on the points discussed above? Why or why not?
TABLE 5: GLOBALIZATION & TECHNOLOGY
What role does technology play in globalization? Discuss specific examples.
How do you feel about the global impact of technology, and why? If your group members disagree, discuss the reasons for your disagreement.
The reporters of each group will summarize their discussion, followed by a brief class discussion on the topics.
Write a quick response to the following question: What do you know about globalization that you did not know before?