I'm not sure how to create a post to this blog (as opposed to a comment.) Can we discuss this in class tomorrow?
ANYWAY! As for the response, I decided to do #1 - an imitation of Naipaul's literary style. While using Salim as a narrator, Naipaul highlights the use of periodic sentences. For example, take a look at the first paragraph of section II. (Page 85.) It describes an ant colony matter-of-factly, without any subjective comment on it. The description is short. However, this striking, small image is really symbolic of the state of modern-day Africa, and that's the beauty of his text.
What I'm about to write is a similar description of the coffees available at The Lang Cafe...but it's also a symbol for how I view The New School as a whole. In the style of Naipaul:
"The room is simple. The coffees in it are not; they are styled to suit the taste of Whole Foods shoppers and Park Slope residents. Joy once told me, in her Jamacian accent, that the beans are imported from around the world. Roast varies with region, she said.
The sticker labels hugging the fat tanks of coffee are stamped with buzzwords like "fair trade," "organic," and "single source." They have the dark aroma of their respective regions. People crowd around the tanks, observing the eccentricity, the variety of flavor. Almost like they were about to take photos: 'look what I saw today.'"
It's coffee! It's Naipaul! It's NEW SCHOOL!
Lang College, Spring 2011, group forum for daily readers' responses and links, media, etc.
READ THIS: PRESENTATIONS
PRESENTATIONS: please take these seriously: they are an important part of your participation in the class. Your job when you present is to lead the discussion on the reading for that day. You may bring in some research, but most of all, you should be very well-prepared with insights, interpretations, and questions about the reading at hand. You may want to begin by summarizing the progress of the plot represented by the excerpt assigned on that day. Then you should have passages picked out for the class to discuss. You may want to be ready, also, with the posts for the day (you can copy and paste them and print them out). The purpose of the presentation is to give more responsibility to the classmembers and de-center the discussion a little bit (although I will still chime in). Here are your assignments, mostly random. 1. Wed. 3/30 Small Things, 84-147, Eidia. 2. 4/4 Small Things, 148-225, Hannah. 3. 4/6 Small Things, ending, Anna. 4. 4/11 Ondaatje, Dan. 5. 4/13 Mukherjee, Michael. 6. 4/18 Poppies, 3-87, Karol. 7. 4/20 Poppies, 88-156, Jason. 8. 4/25 Poppies, 157-226, Joe. 9. 4/27, Poppies, 227-342, Will. 10. 5/2 Poppies, 343-446, Rachel. 11. 5/4 Poppies, finish, Jane.
No comments:
Post a Comment