Today: No class. Students are at the library, doing research for their in-class presentation on Theme 4: Justice, Revenge, Authority, etc.

Today, students used Powerpoint to present a topic and make a claim about an issue on Theme 3: Gender and Marriage. I had very constructive remarks on topics like Gay Adoption rights, Gay marriages, Stereotypes about Men and Women in today's society, etc...

Today, I met with students in a computer room (for the class that is not held in a computer lab). We used wiki as a space where students could read each other's paper and comment on it. This avoids the hard copy issue (some students forget to bring a hard copy for peer review) or the "I lost the comments" issue. Now, comments are stored on the indi

Today, I was observed by two of my peers. It was also the last "real" day of class; therefore, I decided to criticize the way Hollywood looked at Justice and also ask my students one important question: from all the models of manhood or womanhood that we have read this semester, which one do you prefer? From all the systems of Justice or authority

In-class presentation of the students' research on Theme 4.

WEEK 1 - WHO IS AN AMERICAN ? June 9 - Introduction to the course and to literary analysis: what does it mean to close read a text of American literature? What symbols, metaphors, techniques should we look for in a text? June 11: Defining the New Nation. Today, we had to read Crevecoeur (309-324), Winthrop (75-86), John Smith (43-57). Studying the

Since Paper 2 asks my students to answer the question, "why get married?" and to give me grounds to defend marriage I have decided to read a few stories that may help them get started on the subject: 1. Kate Chopin, The Storm: woman, at home; man, outside. woman cheating on her husband when a stranger comes in the house, during the storm. We analyz

Today, we studied three texts dealing with the theme of Personal Justice: Spanish Roulette: “Spanish Roulette” by Ed Vega is the short story of a young, ‘spic’ poet named Sixto whose sister has recently been raped by a local gang member and dealer. Sixto vows revenge, loading his revolver but struggling greatly with the idea, and in a way h

The last day of class (sad!!!) has arrived . Since Mid-April, I have asked my students to come for individual conferences: I have noticed that working one-to-one on papers was reaping more results that any other peer review session. Time to grade now !!!

Today, we started working on the idea of marriage and the social conventions associated with the idea of marriage. Students will have to answer the question Why Get Married in their second paper. Therefore, I have tried to use the following stories as starting points for reflection: 1) Anne Sexton’s poem, “Cinderella” pokes enormous fun at th