This interpretive practices section will focus on writers, speaking from various disciplines and and from various time periods, who have been instrumental in bringing attention to justice issues through their writing. We will read protest fiction, history, essays, documents,  and prophets and study these works in depth from two perspectives:1) contextually, understanding the environment in which the essay was written and asking ourselves why the particular issue became important to this person and what enabled this person (or group of people) to think creatively outside their historical cultural "box."  2) Literarily, examining in particular what techniques of argument, evidence and rhetoric the author used to be persuasive.  Students will have the opportunity to implement what they have learned as they write their own essays.  
 

Texts
Jennifer Browdy GeHernandez, Women Writing Resistance
Angela Davis, Are Prisons Obsolete?
David Oshinsky, "Worse than Slavery" Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice
Upton Sinclair, "The Jungle"  (Norton Critical Edition)

On-Line Essays  

Martin Luther King, Beyond Vietnam
The Bible Isaiah 40,   Isaiah 61  Luke 4, Luke 6
Frederick Douglass, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
Barbara, Kingsolver, A Fist in the Eye of God
Aung San Suu Kyi  Freedom from Fear
Lillian Smith, Killer of the Dream
Manning Marable, Racism, Prisons and the Future of Black America
John Mohawk, the Tragedy of Colonization
Jim Wallis, Building Global Justice
James Lawson, The Wounds We Hide
Other essays required for the course will be available in Print form.


Collective Writings
US Declaration of Independence 1776
Declaration of Sentiments 1848
UN Declaration Human Rights 1948
ANC Freedom Charter 1955


Grading
15% attendance, participation and contribution to successful class
15%  preparation assignments
10% 2-3 page collaborative paper on historical context, research process and presentation to class
20% 4-5 page interpretive paper  including draft, editing and final revision
20% 4-5 page analytic paper  including draft, editing and final revision
20% 4-5 page persuasive paper including draft, editing and final revision

   
Schedule   Reading assignments are to be completed for discussion on the day listed


Aug 26 intro/welcome/mingle/geography/purposes and goals
    Writing: paragraph of introduction
    buddies

Aug 31 King, Beyond Vietnam (online)
    Preparation Assignment (P.A.) identify King’s thesis and outline his  argument
    making arguments:  ethos, pathos, logos

Sept 2 Kingsolver, Fist in the Eye of God (online)
    P.A. identify thesis and outline her argument
    literary style

Sept 7    Dec of Independence and Frederick Douglass, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?( Both on line)
    P.A.  1 page response to Frederick Douglass       
    editing (Political and literary)
   
Sept 9 Declaration of Sentiments and Dec of Human Rights
    P.A. 1 page personal reflection on women’s rights/human rights showing you understand the texts and can relate them to your own ideas
    Research I: Context and Reasons for writing the Declaration of Sentiments (1848) and Research II UN  Dec of Human Rights (1948) including US response

Sept 14 Women Writing Resistance (WWR) 1-28 Re-Envisioning History
    Finished Drafts of interpretative paper (make 2 copies; one for me; one for writing partner)
    Research III   Haiti under Duvalier

Sept 16 WWR 29-60
    Individual meetings with me to go over drafts
    P.A.  Evaluation sheet for your partner’s paper (2 copies-one for me; one for your partner)
    Research IV Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo and genocide in Argentina


Sept 21  Politics of Language and Identity
    WWR  73-108
    P.A.  In class writing
    Research V: Somoza, Ortega and  Nicaraguan Revolution

Sept 23 WWR 61-68; 109- 138
    Research VI: overthrow of Allende in Chile
    P.A.  Bring two written questions to class for discussion

Sept 28 Strategies of Resistance 
    guest speaker from Chile, Fabiola Letelier del Solar, CoFounder of the Corporation for the Defense of the Rights of the People
    P.A.  bring two written questions to class
    WWR   173-214

Sept 30 WWR 139-172
     Final Draft of Paper #2  due

Oct 5 begin Jungle/ framing questions vii-xii and context 345-387
    P.A. bring in an example of art in service of social justice

Oct 7 mid-semester break

Oct 12 Jungle Chapts 1-XVI 1-148
    P.A.  In class writing                       

Oct 14 Jungle   Chapt XVI -XXIII   (149-211)           
    P.A.  In class writing
   
Oct 19 Jungle   Chapt XXIII   XXXI ( 212-313)
    P.A.  tba

Oct 21  and alternate ending 331-344
    Due:  Draft of Paper #3
    P.A.  One page response to the alternate ending

Oct 26 Jungle 388-480 Immigrant Workers
    P.A.  Evaluation of Partner’s Paper (2 copies)
    Research VII Immigrant Workers Today 

Oct 28 Jungle 483-522 Criticism
    Final Draft Due
    P.A.  1 page response to the critical essay that you found most engaging

Nov 2   Davis, Are Prisons Obsolete? 1-115
    P.A. Locate the one most fact or idea most startling or disturbing to you and write one page response
    Research VIII Checking out the Sources for Davis text

Nov 4   Davis Discussion 
    P.A.  One page personal essay exploring Davis’ idea of “new terrains of justice.” 
    Manning Marable, “Racism, Prisons and the Future of Black America” (on line)
    Hannah Arendt “Lying in Politics” 1971 (handout?)
    Election Essay TBA

Nov 9 Prophets and Prisons
     Read Isaiah, 40, 61 and Luke 4-6
    

Nov 11  Extending Democracy 
    Aung San Syi Ki, “Freedom from Fear”
    Lillian Smith, Killers of the Dream (1949)
    James Lawson, The Wounds we Hide
    Draft of Paper #4

Nov 16 Noam Chomsky,
    P.A.  Evaluation of Buddy’s Paper (2 copies)

Nov   18 Native Americans
    John Mohawk, Tragedy of colonization (on line)
    Tim Giago, “Old Fears Rising-Terror Visits America Again”
    Randy Woodley, “We Didn’t understand Your language (hand out)
   .

Nov 30 Jim Wallis, Building Global Justice:  We’re the Ones We’ve Been Waiting for (on-line)
    Final Draft of Paper #4

Dec 2   Hearing Each Other
    P.A.  Write a one page essay, poem or editorial on a social justice topic you care about

Dec 7   conclusion
    P.A.  Class evaluation