Congratulations on getting through the first week of our class. This is a long post, but hang in there, because I want to set you up for successful completion of Week 2, which is where you have your first two big assignments. We’ve now walked through the Enlightenment period, and seen several characters in Candide and one very obvious character in Life of a Sensuous Woman who stood against the status quo, or acted in ways that fought against the social structures of the time. The Romantic movement as a whole was an attempt to overthrow the European power structures, which is why it gave rise to so many revolutions. Here’s a preview of our second week. I’ll break it down into two parts: 1) What You’ll Read, and 2) What You’ll Write. 1) WHAT YOU’LL READ Now we’re into Romanticism, and you’ve seen Blake’s poetry. His social criticism is not as witty as Voltaire’s, but it is far more caustic. As a writer with one foot in the Enlightenment and one foot in the Romantic movement, Blake uses Romantic devices to address Enlightenment social ills. The upcoming Romantic poetry we’ll read is rebellious in a far more restrictive way: the emotion it contains determines its form; it doesn’t rely on logic or tradition to make it look like “poetry.” Keats’ poetry first gives us the beginnings of the Gothic, and the Romantic fascination with the supernatural. And with “To Autumn” Keats give us — please indulge me here — the most beautiful woman in all of literature (IMHO). He presents her while he also champions the working classes, those neglected by society, and those who have no influence on the urban centers of fashion and influence. Whitman’s work comes in a form that nowadays we think is obvious. His long, unrhymed lines look like what we consider poetry to be. But at the time he was writing, his form was unthinkable. Just look at the difference on the page between Keats’ “La Belle Dame sans Merci” and Whitman’s “Song of Myself.” You don’t even need to read them to see that Whitman is far more unrestrained, and it shows even in his form. The fact that he considers himself —and all of us — a proper subject for poetry is just the icing on the cake. Of course, it’s not just his form that has him fighting against the power. His poetry, especially his descriptions of male and female bodies, was considered pornographic at the time. He even lost a job with the US government because his poetry was considered to be so offensive. Many of you may have read Frederick Douglass’ Narrative of the Life . . . in high school. If you have, please reread it, keeping the podcasts in mind, because I’m pretty sure you didn’t read it in the way I’m talking about it here. It’s a work that is full of hidden threats, plenty of deceptions, and subverted expectations. And I’m not talking about what the slaves are doing to their owners; I’m talking about what Douglass is doing to us, his readers. Of course, it’s a Romantic text, because he’s not trying to prove his points by bombarding you with logic, or by appealing to an authority, but by making you feel certain things very deeply. Fear, indignation, sympathy, anger; he’s writing to create a level of these in you that puts you on his side and makes you see the world his way. Rounding out the week, Tagore gives us an extended allegory on Indian independence as he highlights the terrible treatment of women in Indian society at the end of the 19th century. Don’t let the names get you bogged down. The husbands and wives are both similar, which makes then not very well-suited for one another. And both could not be more different than their equivalent in the opposite couple. Here’s a little chart that might help: Brothers Wives Type Chidam Chandara Well-built, good-looking, quick-witted, jealous Dukhi Radha Kind of large and dumpy, not very bright 2) WHAT YOU’LL WRITE On Monday, you’ve got your first DISCUSSION FORUM PRIMARY POST due. So you’ll choose one question from any of the first four modules, and address it in the first discussion forum. Be sure to check out the rubric in the syllabus to see what you need to do. Just so you don’t have to go back through all those modules, I’m including all the possible questions you can address at the end of this email. On Wednesday, your first two DISCUSSION FORUM SECONDARY POSTS are due. These are your considered responses to two other primary posts (you’ll be able to see all the other primary posts once you post your own). These need to be substantial engagements, not just “I agree with you 100%” things. Again, there’s an explanation of these in the syllabus. Finally, on Friday, you’ve got PAPER #1 due. I know that the prompt for this paper is long and looks intimidating, but it’s in that form so that I can be as clear as possible about what you should be writing about, and how you should do so. I spend long time defining what a cultural value is, and I even give you a paragraph-by-paragraph breakdown of your paper, so you’ll know exactly how to succeed in this assignment. And yes, this is an English class, so I do pay VERY close attention to your writing. Ideally, I want to be able to address your ideas and your argument. But if I spend most of my time trying to figure out what you’re trying to say, then all I’m doing is guessing at your ideas, and I’m not really engaging with your thought. So pay close attention to your grammar, usage, and word choice. They’re like the tires on your car-argument. they’re easy to overlook, and nobody really gives them much thought, but you’re not going anywhere if they’re not working properly. If I had to give you just one piece of advice that will help you with your writing, it’s this: Don’t try to sound smart or academic. If you’re not 100% sure of the meaning of a word, don’t use it just because you think it will make you sound intelligent. Be as clear and simple as you can be. OK, here are the discussion questions: Discussion Questions 1 - The Enlightenment Are the laws that govern us an Enlightenment idea? Why or why not? When you make a decision about whether or not to do something, do you think it through beforehand, or do you at on your feelings rather than your thoughts? Are there generalizations that are true about people at the national level? That is, can we generalize about, say, people from Italy to distinguish them from people from France? If you think these generalizations are true, how large or how small are they? That is, can we say the same things about people from northern Italy as we can about people from southern Italy? Or can we make general statements about all Europeans? Discussion Questions 2 - Candide I Why is Voltaire making fun of the philosophical concept of Optimism in the character of Pangloss (see “Voltaire, Candide, and Optimism” at the teaching site)? Does Optimism accurately reflect the world you live in? Why do both the Bulgars and the Abares think they won the war? How does the street preacher treat Candide? Why are his actions ironic? How do the residents of Lisbon react to the earthquake? Is this a Christian reaction? With so many characters coming back from what appears to be a sure death, why doesn’t Jacques survive? What was the Inquisition? How is Voltaire commenting on it? How does the Old Woman react to all the terrible things that happened to her? What advice does the Old Woman give to Cunegonde? Discussion Questions 3 - Candide 2 Who are the Jesuits? What real-life project of theirs does Voltaire base El Dorado on? What keeps Candide from living forever in El Dorado? Why does Candide take so much with him when he leaves El Dorado? Why is Pococurante so unhappy? What is a dervish? Why are they considered so wise? Why does the dervish respond as he does to Pangloss’ questions? What do you make of the fact that happiness for Candide is only possible outside of Europe? Is Voltaire saying that thinking will always make you unhappy? Discussion Questions 4 - Life of a Sensuous Woman Could you call this a text which empowers women? Why or why not? What does the old woman’s tale tell you about the “adaptability” of women, or of people in general? With the publication of this text, Saikaku gained national readership. What is it about this text that makes it so appealing? How do you reconcile this text with Saikaku’s time as a wandering religious beggar?