Lesson plan for week 8: general thoughts and notes

Patrick Mooney, TA
Eng 133TL, Prof. Huang
29 February 2012

Major topics:

  1. Administrative issues, etc.:
    1. C/Lit students will have to write paper two.
    2. Don't have a paper topic yet? Going back through the section discussion questions (available on section website, http://is.gd/abilis) might be one good way to start coming up with one.
      • However, these questions were not intended to be used as-is for paper prompts — this is just a way to start thinking about topics.
      • It is perfectly OK to come talk to me if you are having problems coming up with a paper topic.
    3. It is always OK to e-mail me and ask what your grade is.
    4. Breakfast.
  2. Papers
    1. Those who turned papers in by the end of lecture on 22 Feb are about to receive their papers back.
      • Those who turned in papers after that time can pick up the paper on Friday. E-mail me if you would like to do so.
    2. General discussion of papers.
      • What was effective?
        • Specific, focused questions that were resolved through close attention to the text.
        • Polished writing.
        • Avoiding generalizations.
      • What was less successful?
        • Summarizing instead of analyzing.
        • Not editing.
        • Not having a Works Cited page.
          • If you are citing any works, you should have a Works Cited page.
          • Not citing any works is a bad idea for other reasons.
      • Questions?
  3. Questions for discussion:
    1. The subtitle of Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior is "Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts." To whom (which people and groups) does Kingston apply the word "ghosts" in the memoir? What is it like for Kingston to grow up around these spectral figures?
    2. Kingston's argument about Chinese culture is, in some ways, very complex. Does she paint a positive or a negative view of Chinese culture? Overall, what is her view of the way that her culture affected her upbringing?