For Monday, March 17

Read and annotate chapter 2 of Eyal Press's Beautiful Souls. Write one or two well-developed paragraphs in response to each of the following question: Press writes,  "[W]hat ultimately determines moral conduct are not character traits, personal beliefs, or political attitudes but situational factors ... 'Studies designed to test whether people behave differently in ways that might reflect their having different character traits have failed to find relevant differences,' the philosopher Gilbert Harman has argued. 'It may even be the case that there is no such thing as character.'" (29) Do you agree with this position? What do you think determined moral conduct?

Essay for Tuesday, March 11

Here are your topics for the Beloved essay; it should be three pages in length and it is due in class on Tuesday, March 11. 

In Toni Morrison's Beloved, how does the memory of slavery affect the characters's perception of the present? Select three of the following characters to develop your analysis: Sethe, Beloved, Paul D, Stamp Paid.

How does selfishness shape the the memories of the characters in Toni Morrison's Beloved and Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon? 

If you need to review scenes from Rashomon, you can find a fully translated copy of the movie here:  http://youtu.be/38WdmtBOo34

For Friday, Feb 28

Read and annotate to p. 195 in Morrison's Beloved, and write one page comparing how memory works in the novel and how it works in Kurosawa's Rashomon. Since the novel and the film have a lot to say about memory, your response will be more successful if you focus on particular moments from each text. 

For Friday, February 7, and Tuesday, February 11

We will discuss the Eula Biss essay and introduce Toni Morrison's Beloved. You have no new work for tomorrow since we didn't have a chance to introduce Morrison's novel.

For Tuesday, read pp. 3-33 in Beloved. As we discussed in class, write a one-page commentary about the reading.

Assignment for Wednesday, February 5

Read and annotate Eula Biss's "No Man's Land" (handout). Write at least one page (preferably typed) that explains, first, the different meanings of "no man's land" in the essay and, second, the contributions of those different meanings to Biss's argument.

Assignment for Monday, February 3

Read and annotate Shelby Steele, "I'm Black, You're White, Who's Innocent?" and write at least one page (preferably typed) in response to the following prompt: Steele writes, "I think the racial struggle in America has always been primarily a struggle for innocence" (p. 47). First, what does Steele mean by innocence? Second, using your understanding of American history and society, is Steele right?

Assignment for Thursday, January 30

Read and annotate John Hope Franklin, "The Great Confrontation" (available on JSTOR if you missed class). Write two paragraphs in response to this reading: the first paragraph should summarize the reading; the second should critically respond to its main points. (Note that "critical" does not have to be "negative.")

Upcoming readings: Monday, February 3: Shelby Steele, "I'm Black, You're White, Who's Innocent?" (handout); Wednesday, February 5: Eula Biss, "No Man's Land" (handout, from Notes from No Man's Land); Friday, February 7: Toni Morrison, Beloved, pp. 3-23. Homework writing assignments are forthcoming.