Hi folks! As I intimated in class, you may turn in an extra credit reading response (prompt questions outlined below) that will replace your lowest reading response grade for the semester. Alternatively, it is also a chance for those of you who did not complete five reading responses to do so with this response.
All reading responses are due along with your final project/essays in Avery 475 on Thursday 28 April (note the extended due date).
Choose a question from below and respond in a 2-3 page, typed essay:
1. The Pianist is based on the real life autobiography of composer Władysław Szpilman, and directed by Roman Polanski, himself a survivor of the Krakow ghetto (Polanski's mother perished at Auschwitz and his father survived the Mauthausen camp). From what you gathered in viewing this film, is the approach any different than that of Spielberg's in Schindler's List? What differences in perspective do you note between the two films, and how do the films represent the individual experience of the Holocaust differently?
2. The Pianist offers a view of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, but the uprising is not the central focus of the film. What is the purpose of this approach to conveying an individual perspective while foregrounding the historical event of the Uprising?
3. Silence plays a critical role in this film, as it has in other documentaries (Night and Fog, Shoah) we have viewed in this course. What is the role of silence in The Pianist, and how does it differ (or compare) to that of other films we have viewed?
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Maus Reading Response Prompt
Final reading responses are due Tuesday 19 April in class or in Avery 475 by 5 PM. Choose one of the following prompts and develop a thesis in an essay of 2-3 pages:
1. Spiegelman's depiction of humans as animals is of central importance to Maus. How does this representation approach depicting the realities of the camps? What benefits and drawbacks are there to be had from depicting animals as humans?
2. Maus is a graphic novel that is both wholly focused on and entirely distant from the events of the Holocaust. What role does the Holocaust play in the text? For Artie? For Vladek?
3. Maus is often considered a work of second generation Holocaust narrative; what evidence do you see that supports this conclusion? How does Art Spiegelman approach representing his own feelings about the Holocaust?
1. Spiegelman's depiction of humans as animals is of central importance to Maus. How does this representation approach depicting the realities of the camps? What benefits and drawbacks are there to be had from depicting animals as humans?
2. Maus is a graphic novel that is both wholly focused on and entirely distant from the events of the Holocaust. What role does the Holocaust play in the text? For Artie? For Vladek?
3. Maus is often considered a work of second generation Holocaust narrative; what evidence do you see that supports this conclusion? How does Art Spiegelman approach representing his own feelings about the Holocaust?
Teaching Resources on the Web for Final Teaching Units
Hi folks,
For those of you who will be completing a teaching unit for the final project, I have compiled a list of resources on the web that offer unit plans, assignments you might model, and other suggestions for how to develop and implement a teaching unit on the Holocaust.
The Florida Center for Instructional Technology's Suggested Resources for Teachers:
http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/resource.htm
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Teaching Resources portal:
http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/
The Holocaust Teaching Resource Center in Virginia:
http://holocaust-trc.org/
Suggested handouts, lessons, and activities, offered by the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center (check out their teaching trucks program, too!):
http://wsherc.org/teaching/handouts.aspx
For those of you who will be completing a teaching unit for the final project, I have compiled a list of resources on the web that offer unit plans, assignments you might model, and other suggestions for how to develop and implement a teaching unit on the Holocaust.
The Florida Center for Instructional Technology's Suggested Resources for Teachers:
http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/resource/resource.htm
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Teaching Resources portal:
http://www.ushmm.org/education/foreducators/
The Holocaust Teaching Resource Center in Virginia:
http://holocaust-trc.org/
Suggested handouts, lessons, and activities, offered by the Washington State Holocaust Education Resource Center (check out their teaching trucks program, too!):
http://wsherc.org/teaching/handouts.aspx
Thursday, April 7, 2011
In-class discussion questions for Tuesday 12 April
1. Now that you have read the full text, how might you classify Maus? Is it fiction? Nonfiction? Memoir? A hybrid of classification? How does the comic book genre factor into your classification?
2. How do you interpret Vladek's racist response when Francoise picks up a hitchhiker?
3. Vladek's memory of his experiences at Auschwitz (both arrival and the duration) is both similar and dissimilar to other texts we have read. What main overlaps or departures do you notice in his narration of events?
4. Spiegelman inserts a somewhat cheeky (but quite astute) question on page 43, the frame in which Art is depicted entering his psychiatrist's office that is "overrun with stray dogs and cats." Spiegelman interjects, "Can I mention this, or does it completely louse up my metaphor?" How do you understand the meaning of this interjection? What hidden meanings or interpretations can you ascertain? How does this differ from Delbo's narrative interjections in Auschwitz and After?
5. The economy of the camps plays a significant role in representing camp life in a couple of texts we have read for the course, namely, Levi's Survival in Auschwitz and Sara Nomberg-Przytyk's Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land. In Volume II of Maus, Art Spiegelman illustrates (pg. 64) the trade-off Vladek contemplates for bringing Anja near his barracks. How does this visual depiction differ from the texts we have read?
6. Chapter Three is entitled "And Here My Troubles Began..." Besides Vladek's memories, what does this title suggest? How does it relate to Vladek's racist outburst to Francoise after she picks up an African American hitchhiker?
7. What is the role of the American troops in the frames depicting/narrating liberation? What praise as well as critiques do you interpret in these frames?
8. How do you interpret the closing of the volume? Is anything resolved? Are there questions left unanswered? How might you characterize the sense of "closure" Art sought in gathering/representing his father's experiences?
2. How do you interpret Vladek's racist response when Francoise picks up a hitchhiker?
3. Vladek's memory of his experiences at Auschwitz (both arrival and the duration) is both similar and dissimilar to other texts we have read. What main overlaps or departures do you notice in his narration of events?
4. Spiegelman inserts a somewhat cheeky (but quite astute) question on page 43, the frame in which Art is depicted entering his psychiatrist's office that is "overrun with stray dogs and cats." Spiegelman interjects, "Can I mention this, or does it completely louse up my metaphor?" How do you understand the meaning of this interjection? What hidden meanings or interpretations can you ascertain? How does this differ from Delbo's narrative interjections in Auschwitz and After?
5. The economy of the camps plays a significant role in representing camp life in a couple of texts we have read for the course, namely, Levi's Survival in Auschwitz and Sara Nomberg-Przytyk's Auschwitz: True Tales from a Grotesque Land. In Volume II of Maus, Art Spiegelman illustrates (pg. 64) the trade-off Vladek contemplates for bringing Anja near his barracks. How does this visual depiction differ from the texts we have read?
6. Chapter Three is entitled "And Here My Troubles Began..." Besides Vladek's memories, what does this title suggest? How does it relate to Vladek's racist outburst to Francoise after she picks up an African American hitchhiker?
7. What is the role of the American troops in the frames depicting/narrating liberation? What praise as well as critiques do you interpret in these frames?
8. How do you interpret the closing of the volume? Is anything resolved? Are there questions left unanswered? How might you characterize the sense of "closure" Art sought in gathering/representing his father's experiences?
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Everything is Illuminated Reading Response Prompt
Choose one question from the following two questions to answer in an essay, due Tuesday 12 April in class or in Avery 475 by 5 PM.
1. What role does collection play in the film? Both Jonathan and Lista collect ephemera that many of us might consider to be useless material. Why do they collect, what purpose does ephemera serve, and how do you interpret the coincidence that both Jonathan and Lista are collectors?
2. Since everything in the film is eventually "illuminated," how do you interpret the grandfather's role? Why does he pretend to be blind, and why does he eventually commit suicide? What is illuminated, both physically and metaphorically, about the grandfather?
1. What role does collection play in the film? Both Jonathan and Lista collect ephemera that many of us might consider to be useless material. Why do they collect, what purpose does ephemera serve, and how do you interpret the coincidence that both Jonathan and Lista are collectors?
2. Since everything in the film is eventually "illuminated," how do you interpret the grandfather's role? Why does he pretend to be blind, and why does he eventually commit suicide? What is illuminated, both physically and metaphorically, about the grandfather?
Friday, April 1, 2011
Maus Discussion Questions
In light of the schedule change, I'm posting discussion questions for our discussion of the first volume of Spiegelman's Maus, Volume I.
1. Maus assigns different animals to nationalities and "races." How do you interpret the use of animals as stand-ins for ethnic and national identity? What are the metaphorical/symbolic interpretations of each animal representation? How might the graphic novel be different if Spiegelman had used human characters?
2. At one point, early on in Volume I, Vladek asks Artie not to write about the personal details of his courtship and marriage of Anna--why do you suppose we are provided with the anecdotes that Vladek wishes to keep private? How do you interpret Spiegelman's betrayal of his father's wishes?
3. In class, we discussed some of the characteristics of second generation Holocaust narration; which of the factors we discussed do you see as important to understanding Maus?
4. How is the graphic novel genre different from other Holocaust novels and cinematic representations we have studied? What advantages and limitations do you note that influence your comprehension of the text?
5. Spiegelman has described comics as “a vital and expressive language that talks with its hands.” How does this quote call attention to "handwriting" as a theme in Maus?
6. How do you interpret the difference in tone/coloring of the meta-narrative, "Prisoner of Hell Planet," the short "case history" of Art's mother's suicide? How do you interpret the case history's meaning in relation to the rest of the text? To Art's relationship with Vladek?
1. Maus assigns different animals to nationalities and "races." How do you interpret the use of animals as stand-ins for ethnic and national identity? What are the metaphorical/symbolic interpretations of each animal representation? How might the graphic novel be different if Spiegelman had used human characters?
2. At one point, early on in Volume I, Vladek asks Artie not to write about the personal details of his courtship and marriage of Anna--why do you suppose we are provided with the anecdotes that Vladek wishes to keep private? How do you interpret Spiegelman's betrayal of his father's wishes?
3. In class, we discussed some of the characteristics of second generation Holocaust narration; which of the factors we discussed do you see as important to understanding Maus?
4. How is the graphic novel genre different from other Holocaust novels and cinematic representations we have studied? What advantages and limitations do you note that influence your comprehension of the text?
5. Spiegelman has described comics as “a vital and expressive language that talks with its hands.” How does this quote call attention to "handwriting" as a theme in Maus?
6. How do you interpret the difference in tone/coloring of the meta-narrative, "Prisoner of Hell Planet," the short "case history" of Art's mother's suicide? How do you interpret the case history's meaning in relation to the rest of the text? To Art's relationship with Vladek?
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Important Schedule Change Announcement
My apologies for springing a change to the schedule on you, but it looks like I will be out of town on 14 March, when we were to have discussed the second book of Spiegelman's Maus. Therefore, I am moving up the reading by one class period, so on Thursday of next week, 7 April, we will cover the first book of Spiegelman's Maus, followed by the second book of Maus on Tuesday 12 April. We will NOT hold class on Thursday 14 April.
I will be posting discussion points for Spiegelman's Maus tomorrow afternoon on the course blog to help get you started. Again, my apologies for the change in schedule.
I will be posting discussion points for Spiegelman's Maus tomorrow afternoon on the course blog to help get you started. Again, my apologies for the change in schedule.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)