Assignment for Wednesday, Nov. 1, to Tuesday, Nov. 7

For Wednesday and Thursday, read pp. 57-87 in The Woman Warrior.

For Friday and Monday, read. pp. 87-109 in The Woman Warrior. 

For Tuesday and Wednesday, no assignment. (End of quarter reprieve.)

Assignment for Monday, Oct. 30, and Tuesday, Oct. 31

In Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior, read pp. 19-53. Keep in mind the tension in her writing between memory and imagination. Pay attention to how each of them influences the way she tells her story. Also, bring They Say / I Say to class.

Assignment for Monday, Oct. 23, and Tuesday, Oct. 24

Email the essay on Hillbilly Elegy to me at mrmontasmph@gmail.com before the start of class. Share it with me as a Google doc, and give me editing privileges.

Assignment for Tuesday, Oct. 17, to Friday, Oct. 20

For Tuesday (Day 5): Look over the prompts for the Hillbilly Elegy writing piece; they are posted to the right. Try to decide on one of them. You do not have to write one page before class; instead, you will have all of class to work on the paper. I won't be in class; Mrs. Hadlick will be your teacher. (I will be in school in the morning.) You do not need to email it to me, but be sure to bring it with you to class so I can read it and go over it with you. Don't print it out; just have a digital copy.

For Wednesday (Day 6): Write one page of the Hillbilly Elegy writing piece. Don't print it out; just have a digital copy available for me to read. I will go around the class and review everyone's work.

For Thursday (Day 1) and Friday (Day 2), come to class with two pages written for the Hillbilly Elegy writing piece. Like last class, just bring a digital copy with you so I can go over your work.

Assignment for Thursday, Oct. 12, Friday, Oct. 13, and Monday, Oct. 16

For Thursday (Day 2), read the reviews of and article about Hillbilly Elegy linked below. Be patient with the reviews; they begin by summarizing the book, but ultimately they spend more time analyzing it. Don't hesitate to use the extra time this long weekend to read some of the links within the reviews, too; they address some of the issues we would have addressed if we had looked more closely at race, poverty, and public policy.

The Lives of Poor White People (The New Yorker)
Hillbilly Elitism (Jacobin Magazine)
I Was Born in Appalachia. Hillbilly Elegy Doesn't Speak for Me. (The Washington Post)

For Friday (Day 3) and Monday (Day 4), read the following pieces on Confederate monuments. Keep in mind Vance's position on the qualities he identifies as belonging to hillbilly tradition and culture. Be prepared for a quiz that will have multiple choice, true-or-false, and short-answer questions.

The Stubborn Persistence of Confederate Monuments (The Atlantic)
The Myth of the Kindly General Lee (The Atlantic)
A Myopic View of General Lee (The National Review; this is a response to the prior article on Lee)

Assignment for Tuesday, Oct. 10, Wednesday, Oct. 11, and Thursday, Oct. 12

For Tuesday (Day 6), finish reading Hillbilly Elegy (to p. 257). In class, we will develop essay prompts for Hillbilly Elegy.

For Wednesday (Day 1) and Thursday (Day 2), read the reviews of and article about Hillbilly Elegy linked below. Be patient with the reviews; they begin by summarizing the book, but ultimately they spend more time analyzing it. Don't hesitate to use the extra time this long weekend to read some of the links within the reviews, too; they address some of the issues we would have addressed if we had looked more closely at race, poverty, and public policy.

The Lives of Poor White People (The New Yorker)
Hillbilly Elitism (Jacobin Magazine)
I Was Born in Appalachia. Hillbilly Elegy Doesn't Speak for Me. (The Washington Post)

Assignment for Thursday, Oct. 5, Friday, Oct. 6, and Tuesday, Oct. 10

For Thursday (Day 4), read to p. 222 in Vance's Hillbilly Elegy. Be sure to bring They Say/I Say to class.

For Friday (Day 5) and Tuesday (Day 6), finish reading Hillbilly Elegy (to p. 257). In class, we will develop essay prompts for Hillbilly Elegy.

Assignment for Tuesday, Oct. 3, Wednesday, Oct. 4, and Thursday, Oct. 5

For Tuesday (Day 2),  read to p. 195 in Vance's Hillbilly Elegy.

For Wednesday (Day 3) and Thursday (Day 4), read to p. 222 in Vance's Hillbilly Elegy. Be sure to bring They Say/I Say to class.

Assignment for Monday, Oct. 2, and Tuesday, Oct. 3

For Monday and Tuesday, read to p. 195 in Vance's Hillbilly Elegy.