DISCUSSION n. 15: "The Godfather" due May 5

Two separate PARAGRAPHS.

1) In terms of "value to society" (not just to the selfishness of 'familial amoralism') does Don Corleone have any redeeming qualities? Or is he just a smooth and polished greedy monster (like Wall Street's sharks?)

2) Which representation of the don is 'better': Puzo's or Coppola's?  (Interpret "better" as you want.)


REPLY:  Argue back on n. 1 only.

We will discuss n.2 extensively in class.

DISCUSSION n. 14: Puzo's "The Godfather" -- DUE APRIL 21

COMMENT Choose one little -- and I mean little -- detail or quote that most likely nobody else noticed.

It must be something that shows HOW DIFFERENT the values, lifestyle, mentality, etc. are from those of ordinary people.

REPLY to one comment that seems particularly interesting or meaningful. 

Discussion n. 13: GIVE US THIS DAY

COMMENT:

1. What did you think of the film in and  by itself, without including the association with the book?
2. Surprised that the plot is not what you expected?
   Surprised that the characters are not the same as in the book?
   Surprised that the Italian American theme is almost absent?

REPLY:  reply to a comment you don't agree with completely.

DISCUSSION n. 12: CHRIST IN CONCRETE - due April 14

COMMENT:

NO MORE THAN 3 PEOPLE CAN CHOOSE THE SAME CHAPTER

Choose one chapter in the second part of the book (after page 60) that somehow in your opinion "does not fit" well with the rest of the book.  Explain the reason of your choice.

REPLY:  find a comment you don't agree with and explain WHY you think that particular chapter does fit or adds something relevant.

Discussion 11: notes for March 30 - YOUR COMMNENT REQUIRED

"RELIGION, RELIGIOUSNESS and FAITH" in Christ in Concrete

To avoid semantic confusion in our class discussion we should agree on the meaning of these terms.

Here is my proposed interpretation:

RELIGION: what today is called "organized religion": the hierarchy, the buildings, the structure, the holy books, the authoritative interpretation of the holy books, the dogma(ta), the rituals, the collective prayers, the memorized instructions, the official theology, the doctrine,  the "sins," the excommunication, plus the popular beliefs.

RELIGIOUSNESS:  the general sense of belonging to an organized religion, but not completely, with deviations from the dogma(ta) and beliefs, but a strong sense of spirituality, a belief in life-after-death, in the existence of God.

FAITH: the strong belief that God exists and that s/he intervenes in human affairs, s/he can be moved by prayers and other rituals to perform miracles, to protect from evil and individual tragedies. In some cases, God acts through intermediaries, like angels, saints and prophets who can perform miracles.

POST YOUR COMMENTS: 

• Are the definitions clear enough to guide us through the discussion? (We don't want to get bogged down in endless semantic disputes. Rather, we need a basic consensus on the meaning of these terms so that we can make progress.)
• OPTIONAL: do discussions about religion, faith etc. make you uncomfortable? Yes? No? Indifferent?    Tell us why.

DISCUSSION N. 10 Due March 30

COMMENT:  Christ in Concrete

Select a BRIEF quote from the book and copy it word by word.
Choose something that, in a few words, summarizes ONE of the larger themes of the book.
Explain the reason of your choice.


REPLY

When you find in the comments something YOU wish you had found first, tell the author. Maybe you would have given it a different interpretation. Explain the how and why of your reply.

DISCUSSION N. 9: DUE MARCH 31

COMMENT

How would you rate the book in terms of difficulty?

What are other difficult texts you have encountered before?

Does taking notes help with the comprehension?
IN  SEPARATE PARAGRAPH

 Do you have suggestions for your classmates on how to approach this text?


REPLIES.  Reply to at least one comment with your observations.

Discussion n. 8. DUE THU MARCH 17

MOONSTRUCK

COMMENT:   except for Ronnie and Loretta, who is the  character you disliked the most? Why?

REPLY: reply to a comment about a character that you liked and argue against the reasons of the comment.

Discussion n. 7. Due MARCH 17

L'EMIGRANTE

COMMENT:   is there a MINOR character (anyone but PEPPINO and ROSITA) you found particularly appealing in this film? Who? Explain the reasons of you choice, but please, don't re-tell the whole story.

REPLY: reply to a comment about a character that did nothing for you.

Discussion n. 6: DUE THU MARCH 17

Research the topic "SACCO and VANZETTI"

Make sure to take notes about the time and location of the event.

Connect in your mind this historical episode with the "Wall Street" article in the assignment and the character of Tony-the-Anarchist in L'emigrante.

COMMENT:  what were your reactions to learning about this episode? Did it trigger any questions, curiosity, interest?

REPLY to a COMMENT posted after yours: choose something original you had not thought about.

Discussion n. 5 due March 3

COMMENT

Son of Italy and The Italian: which of the two made the bigger impression on you? And, what made an impression (talking about the movie, remember the score was not part of it. It's a silent movie, so skip references to the music.)

REPLY Read the comment of a classmate written after yours. It must be a comment you don't agree with but don't start with the predictable: "I am sorry but I disagree.....". Jump right in. Be nice, but make your argument.

Discussion n. 4: due March 3

Let's see if you are 'honest' and follow my directions:

Open SON OF ITALY on a page at random. RE-READ that chapter and the one before or after that (total of two chapters).

See if you discover something you had missed the first time.  What is it? How does that relate to your own previous take on the book, or the conversation we had in class, or new thoughts and ideas?

In the COMMENT, specify what chapters you reread (don't use the number, give us a few clues) and the new stuff you discovered, and explain why it has new meaning for you.

REPLY to at least one comment posted after your own (yes, come back to read what other people had to say.)

Discussion n. 3: due FEB 25

On the course homepage open the lecture notes for last week.


Go through the outline. We didn't cover everything I had planned, however:

• what TOPIC do you wish we had discussed more in depth (or, if we didn't get to it, you wish we had discussed?)  WHY?
• what TOPIC we discussed that you thought was a waste of time? WHY?
• what TOPIC would you have introduced that is not in the outline? WHY?

IN A SEPARATE PARAGRAPH:

still relating to the lecture's outline, is there a question you would like to ask?


As usual, REPLY to a comment: choose a comment that was written AFTER yours.

Discussion 2: due Feb 18

In the first 60 pages of SON OF ITALY you came across an infinite amount of DETAILS.

Don't focus on the plot, the action, the major themes etc. etc. etc.

COMMENT:

FOCUS on one small detail, something that had an impact on you and that most other people probably noticed but did not spend much time thinking about.
Instead, for you it had a particular meaning.
Why? What is it that led you to choose it?

Read your classmates' comments first and avoid repetition.

REPLY: choose the comment of someone who wrote AFTER you did (you will have to come back.) Choose something you had NOT thought about or you had NOT noticed and explain why this comment caught your attention.

Discussion 1: due Feb 11

BEFORE you start writing, read the comments left by other students. (If you are the first one to post, you have an open canvas.)
AVOID repeating the same topic/issue over and over. Even if you choose the same general topic, find in it an original detail or aspect.


COMMENT: Thinking back about the first class, what is ONE detail, or piece of information that you remember vividly?

Describe it and explain WHY it means something to you.

(If your comment is widely off target I will remove it: it's not personal, I just want to make sure the conversation stays on track.)

REPLY:  from the comments left by classmates choose one you find particularly interesting or intriguing or original and tell him/her why you selected it.

Due Feb 11: introductions follow up

I had to remove some of the introductions: I insist that you must think before you start writing. No stream of consciousness and no "whatever."
Same goes for style: punctuation, upper case where needed etc., proper grammar, no text-style abbreviations.


ASSIGNMENT:

Go back to the first posting: read the comments that appear BEFORE YOURS, in ASCENDING ORDER (from the last to the first: this will prevent having a bunch of replies to the first two or three due to 'reader's fatigue.')

Choose one that you find particularly interesting and REPLY. Explain the reason of your choice.

ALSO: come back to answer the polls (work in progress.)

INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO YOUR CLASSMATES

Write your mini autobiography introducing yourself to your classmates.

Skip the details about your school and college career (courses, major, employment goals.)

Focus rather on your "intellectual" history: the books, films, hobbies and creative activities that helped you grow.

Avoid mentioning the "most important people" in your life. Keep the focus on yourself and your personal, individual, unique path, the choices you made that took you where you are.

(This may take more than the traditional 3 minutes of standard platitudes and list of achievements. Actually, failures or dead-ends are more interesting than success stories.)

===

Here is the very first comment by a student last semester: it set the tone for the entire class.

"Hello, my name is ________________. Most of my life has revolved around cancer. Although I am not a cancer “survivor” I have survived cancer. A couple of days after my sixth birthday my younger brother was diagnosed with leukemia. My life changed. At a very young age I had to learn to take care of myself. To escape the lonely feelings I started writing in a journal. Writing made me feel at peace. Music and dancing also lifted me. Performing during my recitals, parades and charity events was thrilling and liberating. As I was starting to feel in control of my life, here comes cancer again. This time attacking my mother and my aunt, which were diagnosed with breast cancer. Immediately, I had to learn how to manage my feelings of anger. As a freshman in high school, I decided to join the cheer team. Performing to express my anger worked. I moved up fast and became varsity captain. As Captain of the cheerleading team I was accountable not only for myself but also for my teammates. I improved my skills on how to be a leader, and take responsibility for my actions and words. Throughout my stages of development, I was unconsciously characterizing and identifying myself. In Piaget’s stages of cognitive development theory, children experience sensorimotor. That is when they are experiencing the world through senses and actions. That is who I was; I first observed and then determined to face my fears. I never said, “I can not do it,” I just did it even if it was a challenge I did not stop until I succeeded. Cancer was one of the many situations that helped me grow into the person I am today. Ironically someone approached me at my job a few days ago, and said “ I see the care you have for people in your eyes, not many have that.”