Exploring Race, Gender and Sexuality Theories Through the Arts of Music and Literature by Nicky Hutchins
This semester I stepped out of my comfort zone by signing up alongside two of my classmates to conduct two modules of “Teaching Theories of Race, Gender and Music” to our graduate school classmates in our Teaching Race and Gender Theory in the Undergraduate Humanities Classroom. I will admit after viewing the required readings for this module, I did realize that this type of pedagogical lesson was going to be a bit of challenge. However, during the midst of reviewing the required readings, doing research on both the author (Emily Lordi) of the required reading texts and finding ways to use music as a teaching tool on the theories of race and gender, I became intrigued into delving deeper into this unconventional teaching method.
Currently I am not teaching as my classmates are, but one of my professional goals for next year is to apply for an adjunct professor position in the undergrad programs in the colleges in Delaware, Maryland and Philadelphia. So, I decided to create a syllabus for a mock humanities course titled “Exploring Race, Gender and Sexuality Theories Through the Arts of Music and Literature”, that I could use as a practice tool for creating lesson plans as well as to add towards my teaching applications portfolio. The preparations, research methods, and class activities that Darren and Sara (my group members) and myself developed and used gave me the opportunity to see firsthand what works and what needs to be tweaked and what not to use as teaching tools for this type of course. But the tool that resonated the most with me was the exit tickets assignment we gave our classmates (our mock students) to end our first class session. In this practice, Sara, Darren and myself distributed “tickets” in the form of notecards and we asked the students to write down their responses to the following questions:
· What were they clear on from today’s class session (something learned, perhaps)?
· What thoughts, ideas, questions are still circling in their minds, trying to grasp, think about or understand?
· What would they like to focus on for or during the next class session?
The exit tickets can serve as a dual purpose. It allows the teacher to take attendance without the traditional method of role- calling at the beginning of a class and it also provides the teacher with both feedback to gauge the students’ comprehension of the lesson and the opportunity to plan for the next session on the same topic. Since I used our class module’s exit tickets as a source for my syllabus planning I included a copy of the original tickets with my reflection.
Today’s college students are diverse in age, race, class, cultural backgrounds and life and learning experiences. Skills such as reading, writing, listening and learning for each student will have formed and developed differently. Therefore, in my class on race, gender and sexuality theories, I needed and decided to be as diverse in the readings and music selections as well as take on an interdisciplinary approach to my teaching methods so that everyone in my class can relate in one way or another to at least one other person in the class room as well as create that desire to want to explore and learn more about other theories and beliefs that differ from their own. The “textbook” that we used for our music module teaching session, Emily Lordi’s Black Resonance: Iconic Women Singers and African American Literature, supports my theory that literature and music have been entwined for a long time. Combining the arts of literature and music can also be used as a teaching tool to intercross the borders of race, gender and sexuality and create a kinship between the students since the classrooms may contain various backgrounds and cultural beliefs. And for those who may not be as interested in reading as others, music can help bring the written words alive in the classroom.
Using music and literature as teaching tools do not require a background in music and literature but it does help to have a strong interest and some learning and research exposure prior or self-areas of expertise in the fields. Music and literature to discuss and teach about race, gender and sexuality theories provides ample learning when used to approach the students to consider why the artists decided to choose certain lyrics, words and/or music to express their characters, themes, plots and themselves in their works. There will be times when I will provide the students with the musician’s and authors backgrounds but there will be times when not having or knowing the historical information prior would help form the students’ perspective on a theory have a different bias approach to the follow up assignment. My end goal of the 12 to 15 weeks’ class session is to get and have my students better equipped to make interpretations on their own from multiple resources and garner empathy for other theories far removed from the ones they personally believe in.
I believe that using music and literature can clarify concepts, inspire discussions and motivate the sharing of life experiences and generate open minds to an understanding of other beliefs if I provide in my class an energizing interest to explore and discuss attention grabbing topics as well as a safe space for my students. To do this, I would need to step back a bit and not have a strong traditional teacher- authorial presence and to do this best is to create a more student centered and student led classroom. The required blog posts, journal writing, open -ended assignments and thirty minutes assigned student-led teaching sessions provides the opportunities to make the students more responsible for their learning.
I hope that my syllabus and my reflection on using music and literature as a teaching tool for an undergraduate course on the theories of race, gender and sexuality supports the following statement; “the arts can be used as a brain-based attention enhancer as well as a strategic way to teach a topic of this type of complex nature”.
Exploring Race, Gender and Sexuality Theories Through the Arts of Music and Literature
Humanities 622
The College of Pedagogy Learning
Thursdays 6:00pm to 8pm
Room 614
Professor Nicky Hutchins
Description and Class Objectives:
Welcome to “Exploring Race, Gender and Sexuality Theories Through the Arts of Music and Literature” class. Music and literature has the power to captivate and inspire its listeners to try to gain insight from the lyrics that can contain vague, disguised and hidden meanings as well as messages that are very loud and clear. In this class, we will use and strengthen our reading, listening and thinking skills as we evaluate and interpret evidence through the arts of music and literature to gain a richer understanding of our own race, gender and sexuality theories as well as those outside of our own beliefs. At the end of this course you will be better equipped to make interpretations from multiple musical and reading resources and garner empathy for other theories that may be far removed from your own personal theories on race, gender and sexuality.
Requirements:
This 15 weeks’ class is designed as an introduction to core concepts of race, gender and sexuality theories in an open and safe space-student -centered environment which means that both in and out of class respectful and active participation from everyone is required. To give everyone, the opportunity to have their voices heard without fear of being misjudged, mislabeled and misunderstood, there will be weekly blog posts discussions on our class’ blackboard, journal entries, collaboration projects, round table and in class student-led discussions. Lack of respect and courtesy to one another will not be tolerated in this classroom. Diversity in opinions, backgrounds and beliefs are expected and welcomed and though we will not always agree on theories, this classroom will be a safe space that we can all openly and respectfully listen and let our voices be heard. As part of your final grade each student is required to schedule with me, one on one and no less than fifteen minutes’ office session to discuss their journal entries and any other class issue that you may need to discuss privately with me (dates and times will be posted later in the semester for you to choose from).
Required Readings:
Textbook which can be purchased in the college bookstore and via online through Amazon
Black Resonance: Iconic Women singers and African American Literature by Emily Lordi
Excerpts from the following list of books below will be available on our class blackboard
Ain’t I a Woman by Sojourner Truth
Feminism: A Movement to End Sexist Oppression by bell hooks
Jazz by Toni Morrison
The Piano Lesson by August Wilson
Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin
Masculinity as Homophobia: Fear, Shame and Silence in the Construction of Gender Identity by Micheal S. Kimmel
Night to His Day’: The Social Construction of Gender by Judith Lorber
Lost in Translation: A Life in a New Language by Eva Hoffman
Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
M Butterfly by David Henry Hwang
An Asian Lesbian’s Struggle by C. Allyson Lee
Moving Beyond White Guilt by Amy Edgington
A Bill of Rights for Racially Mixed People by Maria P. P. Root
The Sonic Color-Line, Race and the Cultural Politics of Listening by Jennifer Stoever
The Lemonade Syllabus
Grading:
Attendance :15%
Class participation: 15%
Student led in class discussion session: 10%
Weekly blackboard blog posts: 20%
Essays and journal entries: 20 %
Final paper and presentation: 20%
Attendance:
Attendance will be taken and recorded for each class session via exit tickets. During or after class, colored index cards (colors will vary each session) will be distributed. In no less than four sentences students will have the space to freely express their thoughts and provide constructive feedback on what they felt the outcome of that day’s in class lesson and session via comments and or questions. Three to five minutes will be allocated for this exercise. Of course, we understand that life happens and we cannot always control our circumstances, so I ask as respect and courtesy to each of us if you must be tardy to class, that you enter the classroom with a minimal disruptive entry as possible. Also, feel free to email me prior to class if possible of your absence or delay time to class.
Class participation and student led in class discussion sessions:
To ensure that all voices are heard in a safe and secure manner, there will be times that the class is divided into small groups of two to three for think and share chat sessions on the weekly topic. Also, each student will be required to choose one of the required reading excerpt and a three to five minutes’ music selection for in class listening of their choosing to lead the class into an insightful student led class activity and discussion on how the selected music artist, the reading and the theory their selection relates to ties into one another. Each student will be allocated 30 minutes of class time to lead their “class”. Sign-up sheets will be set up in the third week of our class.
Weekly Blackboard Posts
Each week I will post a discussion question and music selection pertaining to the week’s topic and reading selection. Each student is required to respond with a thoughtful, no less than ten (10) sentences reply. Also, each student must reply with no less than five (5) sentences to at least two (2) classmates’ posts. For each student to have a fair chance to complete the posts requirements, your initial response to my question is due no later than the Monday 11pm following the class session and your replies to your classmate’s post is due no later than Thursday morning 9am.
Essays and Journal Entries
There will be two graded 5 pages’ essays assigned. One will be based on closely relating literature and race, gender and sexuality theories and the second will focus on relating music with race, gender and sexuality theories. The journal entries will be bi-weekly assigned and can be in any format…. poetry, rap, prose, essay, free style, etc. and will only be discussed and shared during our mandatory one on one sessions.
Final Paper and Presentations
Your final papers and presentations will be a collaborated project. Our college’s board of directors has granted approval for our class to allow our voices to be heard by creating and producing for print and distribution our own book of insightful written theories on race, gender and sexuality. Your blog posts, in class assignments, discussions, essays and journal entries will provide you with ample sources and a way to also see for yourself the development in your listening, reading and thinking skills and your understanding of race, gender and sexuality theories outside of your own beliefs.
Exhale and Get Ready to Explore Via the Arts of Literature and Music: Theories of Race, Gender and Sexuality
Week one: Introduction: Sharing our voices
Week two: Sharing Our Experiences
Week three: What’s Going On: Sharing our Feelings
Week four: How Others See Us and Our Voices in Reaction
Week five: How We See Others: Voicing Our Experiences
Week six: Race Theories
Week seven: Race Theories
Week eight: Gender Theories
Week nine: Gender Theories
Week ten: Sexuality Theories
Week eleven: Sexuality Theories
Week twelve: Race, Gender and Sexuality
Week 13-15: Wrapping it all together
(Professor notes:) This part will not be included on the syllabus I just wanted to show some examples of my lesson plans/activities for the class.
Week one: In class assignment: pair and share exercise. Just use five words to describe self, discuss why you chose those words with your neighbor and then have each pair introduce each other to the class. Provides the class to get to meet and greet one another. Next discuss music and literature terms for those who feel limited that by not having a music background they won’t be able to relate and grasp the class concepts. Discuss the syllabus and class expectations. Blog Assignment: sharing what theories we developed from our families and close ones and how it has shaped our own beliefs. Reading for next class, Sojourner Truth’s Ain’t I a Woman.
Week two: In class assignment play out loud a recorded version of Aint’ I a Woman after providing a bit of historical information regarding the author. Afterwards have students free write their reactions, of listening to same piece versus reading it. Then play a piece of Beyonce’s Lemonade video class for five. After for next five minutes have students write down their thoughts and feelings comparing Sojourner’s and Beyonce’s take on their gender issues. This gives students a chance to voice their perceptions. Blog assignment: Read from Lordi the intro and write feedback resonating today’s class viewings and a passage from the intro.
Week three: in class…… lights off have students listen to Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On” lights on give writing prompt how do lyrics of this song from 1960’s relate or make them feel about what’s going on now in today society. Have class create their own lyrical response of what’s going on reading assigned chapter one of lordi prompt. Listen to one of Bessie smith recordings and pick one rap song. Relate the two music selections to the reading and your feelings on how all three resonates to your own theory towards race and gender. This assignment is designed to help the class integrate one of the central ideas of Lordi’s text as well as move us into a discussion of how music and literature can relate.
Week four: “How others see us”. Rose colored lenses listen to and watch video. Listen to Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy” and Disney’s Song of the South (Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson 1946) (slogan like command to gloss over life worries). Give students five minutes to write down their thoughts tp the following two questions: 1) what do you think about Disney’s musicial appropriation of being “Happy in the south during that era” and what similarities /differences do you notice of the two artists’ commands that “we be happy”? discuss think/share pairs with someone you have not yet paired up with. After five minutes have pairs voluntarily share with the group their discussions and then share with class the actual story behind Disney’s Song of the South and how it is not easy to find authentic copy. Then have students view the Disney song on video to gauge the difference in reactions. Open class discussion. Blog assignment. Read excerpt from Wilson’s The Piano Lesson and Morrison’s Jazz and how Morrison style of writing in jazz and creating it to look like music selection … no blog this week ……………Essay one. create your own ‘Happy in today’s world” piece.
Week five: “How we see others”. Have students volunteer to read their essay assignments out loud. Discuss their choices on lyrics, prose and visions from the song. Discuss and clarify with students upcoming student-led 30 minutes’ class discussions. End class by playing “We need you Right Now (Live) Donny Hathaway lights dimmed. Blogging assignments based on the M Butterfly, and An Asian Lesbian excerpts on Blackboard.
Weeks 13-15: Peer review exercises. By now students are more comfortable about sharing their work and letting their voices be heard out loud. Have students share their writings via email to be annotated by fellow classmates. Writing for one peers to be reviewed on same level versus wring for the professor to be graded makes a difference in the quality of the assignment the student will produce. When students write for their professors, they write just to be graded, however when they writing for their peers to review and comment on, they tend to want to leave a lasting impression and will put a bit more effort into their written work. Also, this gives the students opportunity to learn from each other and to build trusting relationship with their peers through their written works. Especially since the final works will be a collaborated project into a work that many others will get to see and review. Classmates will want to support and encourage each other up to par. This will also allow those students who tended to shy away from in class discussions to participate and engage more openly with their classmates.
Exploring Race, Gender and Sexuality Theories Through the Arts of Music and Literature by Nicky Hutchins
This semester I stepped out of my comfort zone by signing up alongside two of my classmates to conduct two modules of “Teaching Theories of Race, Gender and Music” to our graduate school classmates in our Teaching Race and Gender Theory in the Undergraduate Humanities Classroom. I will admit after viewing the required readings for this module, I did realize that this type of pedagogical lesson was going to be a bit of challenge. However, during the midst of reviewing the required readings, doing research on both the author (Emily Lordi) of the required reading texts and finding ways to use music as a teaching tool on the theories of race and gender, I became intrigued into delving deeper into this unconventional teaching method.
Currently I am not teaching as my classmates are, but one of my professional goals for next year is to apply for an adjunct professor position in the undergrad programs in the colleges in Delaware, Maryland and Philadelphia. So, I decided to create a syllabus for a mock humanities course titled “Exploring Race, Gender and Sexuality Theories Through the Arts of Music and Literature”, that I could use as a practice tool for creating lesson plans as well as to add towards my teaching applications portfolio. The preparations, research methods, and class activities that Darren and Sara (my group members) and myself developed and used gave me the opportunity to see firsthand what works and what needs to be tweaked and what not to use as teaching tools for this type of course. But the tool that resonated the most with me was the exit tickets assignment we gave our classmates (our mock students) to end our first class session. In this practice, Sara, Darren and myself distributed “tickets” in the form of notecards and we asked the students to write down their responses to the following questions:
· What were they clear on from today’s class session (something learned, perhaps)?
· What thoughts, ideas, questions are still circling in their minds, trying to grasp, think about or understand?
· What would they like to focus on for or during the next class session?
The exit tickets can serve as a dual purpose. It allows the teacher to take attendance without the traditional method of role- calling at the beginning of a class and it also provides the teacher with both feedback to gauge the students’ comprehension of the lesson and the opportunity to plan for the next session on the same topic. Since I used our class module’s exit tickets as a source for my syllabus planning I included a copy of the original tickets with my reflection.
Today’s college students are diverse in age, race, class, cultural backgrounds and life and learning experiences. Skills such as reading, writing, listening and learning for each student will have formed and developed differently. Therefore, in my class on race, gender and sexuality theories, I needed and decided to be as diverse in the readings and music selections as well as take on an interdisciplinary approach to my teaching methods so that everyone in my class can relate in one way or another to at least one other person in the class room as well as create that desire to want to explore and learn more about other theories and beliefs that differ from their own. The “textbook” that we used for our music module teaching session, Emily Lordi’s Black Resonance: Iconic Women Singers and African American Literature, supports my theory that literature and music have been entwined for a long time. Combining the arts of literature and music can also be used as a teaching tool to intercross the borders of race, gender and sexuality and create a kinship between the students since the classrooms may contain various backgrounds and cultural beliefs. And for those who may not be as interested in reading as others, music can help bring the written words alive in the classroom.
Using music and literature as teaching tools do not require a background in music and literature but it does help to have a strong interest and some learning and research exposure prior or self-areas of expertise in the fields. Music and literature to discuss and teach about race, gender and sexuality theories provides ample learning when used to approach the students to consider why the artists decided to choose certain lyrics, words and/or music to express their characters, themes, plots and themselves in their works. There will be times when I will provide the students with the musician’s and authors backgrounds but there will be times when not having or knowing the historical information prior would help form the students’ perspective on a theory have a different bias approach to the follow up assignment. My end goal of the 12 to 15 weeks’ class session is to get and have my students better equipped to make interpretations on their own from multiple resources and garner empathy for other theories far removed from the ones they personally believe in.
I believe that using music and literature can clarify concepts, inspire discussions and motivate the sharing of life experiences and generate open minds to an understanding of other beliefs if I provide in my class an energizing interest to explore and discuss attention grabbing topics as well as a safe space for my students. To do this, I would need to step back a bit and not have a strong traditional teacher- authorial presence and to do this best is to create a more student centered and student led classroom. The required blog posts, journal writing, open -ended assignments and thirty minutes assigned student-led teaching sessions provides the opportunities to make the students more responsible for their learning.
I hope that my syllabus and my reflection on using music and literature as a teaching tool for an undergraduate course on the theories of race, gender and sexuality supports the following statement; “the arts can be used as a brain-based attention enhancer as well as a strategic way to teach a topic of this type of complex nature”.
Exploring Race, Gender and Sexuality Theories Through the Arts of Music and Literature
Humanities 622
The College of Pedagogy Learning
Thursdays 6:00pm to 8pm
Room 614
Professor Nicky Hutchins
Description and Class Objectives:
Welcome to “Exploring Race, Gender and Sexuality Theories Through the Arts of Music and Literature” class. Music and literature has the power to captivate and inspire its listeners to try to gain insight from the lyrics that can contain vague, disguised and hidden meanings as well as messages that are very loud and clear. In this class, we will use and strengthen our reading, listening and thinking skills as we evaluate and interpret evidence through the arts of music and literature to gain a richer understanding of our own race, gender and sexuality theories as well as those outside of our own beliefs. At the end of this course you will be better equipped to make interpretations from multiple musical and reading resources and garner empathy for other theories that may be far removed from your own personal theories on race, gender and sexuality.
Requirements:
This 15 weeks’ class is designed as an introduction to core concepts of race, gender and sexuality theories in an open and safe space-student -centered environment which means that both in and out of class respectful and active participation from everyone is required. To give everyone, the opportunity to have their voices heard without fear of being misjudged, mislabeled and misunderstood, there will be weekly blog posts discussions on our class’ blackboard, journal entries, collaboration projects, round table and in class student-led discussions. Lack of respect and courtesy to one another will not be tolerated in this classroom. Diversity in opinions, backgrounds and beliefs are expected and welcomed and though we will not always agree on theories, this classroom will be a safe space that we can all openly and respectfully listen and let our voices be heard. As part of your final grade each student is required to schedule with me, one on one and no less than fifteen minutes’ office session to discuss their journal entries and any other class issue that you may need to discuss privately with me (dates and times will be posted later in the semester for you to choose from).
Required Readings:
Textbook which can be purchased in the college bookstore and via online through Amazon
Black Resonance: Iconic Women singers and African American Literature by Emily Lordi
Excerpts from the following list of books below will be available on our class blackboard
Ain’t I a Woman by Sojourner Truth
Feminism: A Movement to End Sexist Oppression by bell hooks
Jazz by Toni Morrison
The Piano Lesson by August Wilson
Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin
Masculinity as Homophobia: Fear, Shame and Silence in the Construction of Gender Identity by Micheal S. Kimmel
Night to His Day’: The Social Construction of Gender by Judith Lorber
Lost in Translation: A Life in a New Language by Eva Hoffman
Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
M Butterfly by David Henry Hwang
An Asian Lesbian’s Struggle by C. Allyson Lee
Moving Beyond White Guilt by Amy Edgington
A Bill of Rights for Racially Mixed People by Maria P. P. Root
The Sonic Color-Line, Race and the Cultural Politics of Listening by Jennifer Stoever
The Lemonade Syllabus
Grading:
Attendance :15%
Class participation: 15%
Student led in class discussion session: 10%
Weekly blackboard blog posts: 20%
Essays and journal entries: 20 %
Final paper and presentation: 20%
Attendance:
Attendance will be taken and recorded for each class session via exit tickets. During or after class, colored index cards (colors will vary each session) will be distributed. In no less than four sentences students will have the space to freely express their thoughts and provide constructive feedback on what they felt the outcome of that day’s in class lesson and session via comments and or questions. Three to five minutes will be allocated for this exercise. Of course, we understand that life happens and we cannot always control our circumstances, so I ask as respect and courtesy to each of us if you must be tardy to class, that you enter the classroom with a minimal disruptive entry as possible. Also, feel free to email me prior to class if possible of your absence or delay time to class.
Class participation and student led in class discussion sessions:
To ensure that all voices are heard in a safe and secure manner, there will be times that the class is divided into small groups of two to three for think and share chat sessions on the weekly topic. Also, each student will be required to choose one of the required reading excerpt and a three to five minutes’ music selection for in class listening of their choosing to lead the class into an insightful student led class activity and discussion on how the selected music artist, the reading and the theory their selection relates to ties into one another. Each student will be allocated 30 minutes of class time to lead their “class”. Sign-up sheets will be set up in the third week of our class.
Weekly Blackboard Posts
Each week I will post a discussion question and music selection pertaining to the week’s topic and reading selection. Each student is required to respond with a thoughtful, no less than ten (10) sentences reply. Also, each student must reply with no less than five (5) sentences to at least two (2) classmates’ posts. For each student to have a fair chance to complete the posts requirements, your initial response to my question is due no later than the Monday 11pm following the class session and your replies to your classmate’s post is due no later than Thursday morning 9am.
Essays and Journal Entries
There will be two graded 5 pages’ essays assigned. One will be based on closely relating literature and race, gender and sexuality theories and the second will focus on relating music with race, gender and sexuality theories. The journal entries will be bi-weekly assigned and can be in any format…. poetry, rap, prose, essay, free style, etc. and will only be discussed and shared during our mandatory one on one sessions.
Final Paper and Presentations
Your final papers and presentations will be a collaborated project. Our college’s board of directors has granted approval for our class to allow our voices to be heard by creating and producing for print and distribution our own book of insightful written theories on race, gender and sexuality. Your blog posts, in class assignments, discussions, essays and journal entries will provide you with ample sources and a way to also see for yourself the development in your listening, reading and thinking skills and your understanding of race, gender and sexuality theories outside of your own beliefs.
Exhale and Get Ready to Explore Via the Arts of Literature and Music: Theories of Race, Gender and Sexuality
Week one: Introduction: Sharing our voices
Week two: Sharing Our Experiences
Week three: What’s Going On: Sharing our Feelings
Week four: How Others See Us and Our Voices in Reaction
Week five: How We See Others: Voicing Our Experiences
Week six: Race Theories
Week seven: Race Theories
Week eight: Gender Theories
Week nine: Gender Theories
Week ten: Sexuality Theories
Week eleven: Sexuality Theories
Week twelve: Race, Gender and Sexuality
Week 13-15: Wrapping it all together
(Professor notes:) This part will not be included on the syllabus I just wanted to show some examples of my lesson plans/activities for the class.
Week one: In class assignment: pair and share exercise. Just use five words to describe self, discuss why you chose those words with your neighbor and then have each pair introduce each other to the class. Provides the class to get to meet and greet one another. Next discuss music and literature terms for those who feel limited that by not having a music background they won’t be able to relate and grasp the class concepts. Discuss the syllabus and class expectations. Blog Assignment: sharing what theories we developed from our families and close ones and how it has shaped our own beliefs. Reading for next class, Sojourner Truth’s Ain’t I a Woman.
Week two: In class assignment play out loud a recorded version of Aint’ I a Woman after providing a bit of historical information regarding the author. Afterwards have students free write their reactions, of listening to same piece versus reading it. Then play a piece of Beyonce’s Lemonade video class for five. After for next five minutes have students write down their thoughts and feelings comparing Sojourner’s and Beyonce’s take on their gender issues. This gives students a chance to voice their perceptions. Blog assignment: Read from Lordi the intro and write feedback resonating today’s class viewings and a passage from the intro.
Week three: in class…… lights off have students listen to Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On” lights on give writing prompt how do lyrics of this song from 1960’s relate or make them feel about what’s going on now in today society. Have class create their own lyrical response of what’s going on reading assigned chapter one of lordi prompt. Listen to one of Bessie smith recordings and pick one rap song. Relate the two music selections to the reading and your feelings on how all three resonates to your own theory towards race and gender. This assignment is designed to help the class integrate one of the central ideas of Lordi’s text as well as move us into a discussion of how music and literature can relate.
Week four: “How others see us”. Rose colored lenses listen to and watch video. Listen to Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy” and Disney’s Song of the South (Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson 1946) (slogan like command to gloss over life worries). Give students five minutes to write down their thoughts tp the following two questions: 1) what do you think about Disney’s musicial appropriation of being “Happy in the south during that era” and what similarities /differences do you notice of the two artists’ commands that “we be happy”? discuss think/share pairs with someone you have not yet paired up with. After five minutes have pairs voluntarily share with the group their discussions and then share with class the actual story behind Disney’s Song of the South and how it is not easy to find authentic copy. Then have students view the Disney song on video to gauge the difference in reactions. Open class discussion. Blog assignment. Read excerpt from Wilson’s The Piano Lesson and Morrison’s Jazz and how Morrison style of writing in jazz and creating it to look like music selection … no blog this week ……………Essay one. create your own ‘Happy in today’s world” piece.
Week five: “How we see others”. Have students volunteer to read their essay assignments out loud. Discuss their choices on lyrics, prose and visions from the song. Discuss and clarify with students upcoming student-led 30 minutes’ class discussions. End class by playing “We need you Right Now (Live) Donny Hathaway lights dimmed. Blogging assignments based on the M Butterfly, and An Asian Lesbian excerpts on Blackboard.
Weeks 13-15: Peer review exercises. By now students are more comfortable about sharing their work and letting their voices be heard out loud. Have students share their writings via email to be annotated by fellow classmates. Writing for one peers to be reviewed on same level versus wring for the professor to be graded makes a difference in the quality of the assignment the student will produce. When students write for their professors, they write just to be graded, however when they writing for their peers to review and comment on, they tend to want to leave a lasting impression and will put a bit more effort into their written work. Also, this gives the students opportunity to learn from each other and to build trusting relationship with their peers through their written works. Especially since the final works will be a collaborated project into a work that many others will get to see and review. Classmates will want to support and encourage each other up to par. This will also allow those students who tended to shy away from in class discussions to participate and engage more openly with their classm