Second Semester Welcome

Find a seat to stand behind before you are given your new seats.

Kick-off: Monday, January 25th 2016On your “Exploring Identity Markers”

handout, indicate your beliefs on the following statements. Prepare to share!

“I see myself as a racialized being” “I see myself as ‘ethnic’I participate in a particular cultureI have biases about race and cultureSystemic racism is a relevant, contemporary issueHard work and high achievement in school ‘level the playing field’ for everyone in America’

Kick-off: Monday, January 25th 2016 Next, for each of the following people,

describe who they are. What is their job? Their personality? Their taste in music? Their goals? What are they good at? With what do they struggle? Etc.

Unit 3: Uncovering Invisibility & Invisible Man

What do we refuse to “see”?

What do we choose to “see”?

Janitors Slaughterhouse workers Child labor Slavery Elderly Imprisoned The homeless and

hungry

All Muslims are terrorists

All Latinos are Mexican All gay men are

flamboyant All Asians are good at

math Obese people are lazy

Why do we refuse to “see” what’s going on?Who or what is invisible in our society?

IMPORTANCE of IDENTITYPOWER of PERCEPTION

Sociocultural Consciousness

“The awareness that one’s worldview is not universal, but is profoundly shaped by one’s life experiences.”

Sociocultural Consciousness The extent to which you are award of your

beliefs and your belief’s relationships to your experiences and identity.

Understanding that a person’s perspective, while accurately reflecting his or her personal experience, is not necessarily shared by others by others is prerequisite for communication in a multicultural society.

EXPLORING IDENTITY MARKERS

RACE ETHNICITY CLASS LANGUAGE GENDER SEXUAL ORIENTATION RELIGION AGE

RACE A grouping or classification based on genetic

variations in physical appearance, most notable skin color.

We can see race (skin color, eye shape, eye color nose shape, hair color, hair texture, etc.)

ETHNICITY The shared historical, linguistic, religious and

cultural identity of a social community, group, nation, or race.

Can’t see ethnicity – have to observe

RACE and ETHNICITY are not synonymous.

CLASS Also known as socioeconomic status Access to financial resources

(healthcare, food, shelter, education, etc.)

More wealth means more choices, more opportunity, more access

LANGUAGE“Students’ Right to Their Own Language” Conference on College Composition and Communication (1974)

“We affirm the students’ right to their own patterns and varieties of language – the dialects of their nurture or whatever dialects in which they find their identity and style…The claim that any one dialect is unacceptable amounts to an attempt of one social group to exert its dominance over another.”

LANGUAGE

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) – is a dialect of American English

(NOT Ebonics)

Spanish is a language Many of you are bilingual

GENDER SEXUAL ORIENTATION

RELIGION AGE Examples)

Christian Jewish Muslim Agnostic Atheist

Elderly Middle-aged 20-something Teenager Child Infant

YOUR IDENTITY MARKERS Complete the table with your identity markers

on your handout

YOUR IDENTITY MARKERS in CONTEXT First – rank the relative importance of your

identity markers when you are at home, where the top identity marker is most salient and the bottom identity marker is the least salient.

Second, rank the relative importance of your identity markers when you are at school, where the top identity marker is the most salient and the bottom identity marker is the least salient.

Salient (adj) – most noticeable or important

RACISM

Excerpt from Sister Outside: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde

“Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference

List as many authors, texts and characters as you can that you have read in your Literature classes at MCP

SO WHAT?

The concept of identity is a complex one, shaped by individual characteristics, family dynamics, historical factors, and social and political contexts. Who am I? The answer depends in large part on who the world around me says I am. Who do my parents say I am? Who do my peers say I am? What message is reflected back to me in the faces and voices of my teachers, my neighbors, store clerks? What do I learn from the media about myself? How am I represented in the cultural images around me? Or am I missing from the picture altogether?

Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum (1997) "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" And Other Conversations About Race.

Why are we reading Invisible Man? To think about: How do you identify yourself? In what ways are you responsible for – or in control of – your identity? Your choices? In what ways are you not?Who do you “see” in yourself and who or what do others “see” in you? What do you choose to “see” in other people?

Final Word: On your handout: What do you wish people would see first or

consider most important you? Why?

Homework Read and take notes on W.E.B. DuBois’ The

Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois, Excerpt from Chapter 1: Of Our Spiritual Strivings

Kick-Off: Tuesday, January 26th, 2016 Talk with your shoulder partner: Of the

following pictures, which one do you think best captures the idea of identity? Explain.

Born February 23, 1868 in Massachusetts

Died August 27, 1963 in Accra, Ghana

Attended Harvard- was the first African American to earn a doctorate degree

Founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

W.E.B. DuBois

Book was published in 1903

Collection of essays on race

DuBois felt that the cure wasn’t simply telling people the truth about injustice, it was inducing them to act on the truth

Believed in liberal arts education for a Black Leadership Elite

W.E.B. Dubois’s Souls of Black Folk

As you reread- What is the “unasked

question” DuBois refers to?

When did DuBois realize he was “shut out fro their world by a vast veil?”

What is the “second-sight” that Black people have been gifted with?

Note the most important word, phrase, or line that stand out to YOU.

W.E.B. Dubois’s Souls of Black Folk

More on “The Veil”… For DuBois, the veil concept primarily refers to three things:

First, the veil suggests to the literal darker skin of Blacks, which is a physical demarcation of difference from whiteness. 

Secondly, the veil suggests white people’s lack of clarity to see Blacks as “true” Americans. 

Thirdly, the veil refers to Blacks’ lack of clarity to see themselves outside of what white America describes and prescribes for them.

The Major Takeaway

“The Negro is...born with a veil, and gifted with a second sight in this American world,— a

world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself

through the revelation of the other world. It is a particular sensation, this double-

consciousness... One ever feels his two-ness,—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts,

two unreconciled strivings, two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.” – Dubois, Souls of Black Folk

Double-Consciousness

The sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others

This American Life #557 “Birds and Bees” Act II “If You See Racism, Say Racism” As you listen, think about when you were

dipped (or thrown into) The Race Pool and The Racism Pool (if you have been…)

Take note of anything that stands out – you’ll want to refer to theses ideas in your reflection paper

Public pool, 1964

Everybody Writes – Final WordWhat was a moment when you realized a part of your identity (think back to yesterday’s identity markers)? It can be a positive or negative experience.

Keep this for your reflection paper

Homework Re-read Invisible Man Prologue Generate three-four discussions

questions for small group discussions tomorrow

Consider theme, figurative language, symbolism, allusions

Kick-off: Wednesday, January 27th 2016 Jot down the definition for epigraph

Epigraph- a short quotation or saying at the beginning of a book or chapter, intended to suggest

its theme Then, take a look at the epigraphs from Invisible

Man Consider the following information:

Benito Cereno is a novella by Herman Melville (author of Moby Dick) about a captain who encounters a slave ship; an insurrection occurs on the slave ship and the slave ship’s captain is overthrown

Necrophily = necrophilia (the fetish of corpses) Carcase – British English for carcass

Invisible Man Setting, Narrator, Summary of Prologue

Get Ready for Small Group Discussion

Take out your novel, notes, and prepared questions. At the end of a 25 minute discussion, you must present:

Your Discussion Takeaways - the THREE most insightful points about the chapter.

This is NOT a time to review plot – it is a time to ANALYZE. Consider the quotes and questions I gave you, in addition to: Thematic Ideas Figurative language Symbols Allusions

In your groups, choose: ONE person with crazy attention to detail to track (all should be

taking notes). TWO people who will present the information to the class.

Motif Review In a literary work, a motif is a recurring image,

idea, or action that has symbolic significance and contributes to the development of theme.

Theme Motif SymbolThe central idea or message of a work

A motif, a recurring image, idea or action that contributes to the development of theme

Images, ideas or actions that represent something else to help readers understand an idea or thing. Symbols may appear once or twice.

Why is this Important?We track MOTIFS in order to

identify THEMES.For example: Hamlet

Motif: Ears and Hearing Examples:

King Hamlet is killed by poison in his EARS Polonius’s constant meddling and spying leading to his own

death. Theme: Although curiosity can lead to the discovery

of truth, some truths are meant to stay hidden as their discover can lead to more destruction.

Symbol: Flowers = Ophelia’s femininity, innocence and virginity

As you continue to discuss… Consider motifs in the Prologue

(there are a couple!) Read the Louis Armstrong lyrics to

“What Did I Do to Be so Black and Blue?”

Consider the symbolic significance of the song to the narrator

(10) Discussion Takeaways

(5) Final Word - jot down points from today’s

discussion to incorporate into you reflection paper

Kick-off: Thursday, January 28th 2016 Organize your work space with laptop,

notebook, DuBois excerpt, notes from This American Life #557 and Invisible Man discussion notes, Invisible Man text

Identity Markers Reflection AssignmentDue Monday, February 1st 8:00 am to turnitin.com

Reflection Planning Time A word about laptops…

Plan your reflection before you write! Consider how you want to organize your reflection Look at the rubric to make sure you cover all

content

Final Word Create personal deadlines for your

Identity Markers Reflection paper. When will you complete your outline?Your first draft? Who will review your first draft? When?

When will you submit the final paper to turnitin.com?