Reading/Questions for MacGregor's "Is This the Most Crowded Island in the World?" (pp.154-166)

 

As always, answer 2 of the following questions for next week's class!

Q1: Why is it significant that no one outside of the island knows the name of this island, and why doesn't anyone recognize Haiti as having the world's most densely populated island? (as he explains, Haiti doesn't even feature on Wikipedia's list of most crowded islands). What make this place such a well-kept secret?

Q2: Both of the essays we've read so far in this unit are about the legacy of the past...how we continue to pay (or suffer) for the mistakes and decisions of our forefathers. How does the legacy of Haiti's slave past continue to haunt it into the future? Why isn't it so easy for Haiti to simply be a modern nation among other first-world powers?

Q3: MacGregor quotes a local saying on page 164: "A rich man travels, a poor man leaves." What is the significance of this quote, and how might it relate to his argument about the importance of "free movement"? 

Q4: At the end of this essay, the author seems to echo our last essay ("Paper Tigers") when he writes, "Not only is our planet poorly understood, but we're also less adept than we might guess at gathering these threads of local knowledge and experience...into our collective understanding of the human experience" (166). What prevents us from doing this? Why can't we learn from the stories of other people in other countries to get a more diverse understanding of the world?

Writing Workshop #3 & Jarvis, "Paper Tiger" (pp.109-124)

 Be sure to read "Paper Tiger" for next week and watch the video below, which discusses the importance of context for creating conversations in your writing. Respond to the question at the end as a COMMENT. See you next week, I hope! And remember, it's never too late to come back to class, even if you've missed several classes. Our conversations might help you write the next paper. :) 

Reading/Questions for Hewitt, "A Visit to Chernobyl" (pp.95-108)

  

Answer 2 of the following questions for next week's class! Hope to see you there...and check your e-mail for your Paper #1's with grades and comments.

Q1: Many people are terrified of Chernobyl, because it was the site of the largest nuclear meltdown in human history. However, according to Hewitt, what is the reality of radiation here vs. the rest of the world? Where are the "Chernobyls" in our own daily lives?

Q2: On page 102, he writes, "Gazing up at this rusting masterpiece of Cold War technology feels like touring the Colosseum: a boldly ambitious, epoch-defining achievement of engineering that now stands as an artifact of a toppled civilization." Why does he compare this to the Colosseum (in Rome) and how might this explain part of what he learns about Chernobyl? What does it teach him about history--and the future?

Q3: How did the Soviet government respond to Chernobyl initially, and what did it tell the people that lived there? Why is this significant, and how might it help us look at our own response to the COVID pandemic and other natural disasters?

Q4: At the very end of the essay, Hewitt writes, "At Chernobyl, it's humbling to see h ow human ingenuity can bring about horrifying problems. But it's also inspiring to see how it can solve them" (108). How does an essay about one of the worst man-made disasters in history teach us about how we can solve them? What could be inspiring about this essay--or what we learn about Chernobyl?

Writing Workshop #2: Writing as a Conversation

 Here's your second Writing Workshop video, about 17 minutes...I know that might seem annoying, but hey, at least I'm not talking for an entire hour! :) But I do think this will be helpful throughout the semester, since the #1 thing I want to teach you about writing is that "writing is a conversation." Watch more below.

ALSO: The response question is at the end of the video, so you'll have to watch it to get the question. Respond as a COMMENT, or e-mail it to me if you can't get it to post. Let me know if you have any questions about your paper as well! Good luck! 

Reading & Questions: Gregory, "Finished" (pp.43-54)

NOTE: If you don't have the book for whatever reason, or would rather read it on-line, here's the link to the original article as published in The New Yorker in 2018: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/08/lessons-from-the-last-swiss-finishing-school

Answer 2 of the following questions:

Q1: Why are so-called "finishing schools" looked down upon today? Why do so few women attend them, and why do the ones who do tend to hide it or keep it secret? What makes them unfashionable or even politically incorrect?

Q2: While the word "etiquette" has a negative connotation for most people, sounding snooty or pretentious, how does the essay define it? Why is etiquette important for cultural exchange and mutual understanding? Related to this, do you think etiquette is more a set of rules or a philosophy?

Q3: One of the students of the Villa claims that "There are unspoken rules in business and in life...Our success is based at least a little bit on how much we violate them" (48). What does she mean by this, and why might the most important rules in life be "unspoken"?

Q4: At the very end of the essay, the author records a small act of kindness on a funicular (a railway car on a mountain). Why does this kindness surprise her so much, and what does it have to do with the business of etiquette at the villa? Isn't he just being polite?  

Paper #1: The Etiquette of Travel

Philbrook Museum in Tulsa, OK

INTRO: Each of the essays we’ve read so far in The Best American Travel Writing 2019 has tried to demonstrate that behind every tourist destination is a culture, one that the tourists often don’t often see or understand. And the danger of misunderstanding a culture is not just remaining ignorant… it can cause actual harm to the people and the environment they live in. Or, as Alice Gregory writes in her essay “Finished,” “Etiquette is not something you learn for yourself…It’s something you do for others” (53). So what is the etiquette of travel? What do you owe the places you visit and the people you meet? And what do they give you in return?

PROMPT: For your first essay, I want you to give advice to someone planning to visit your favorite place in the world (it can be anywhere, any type of place). Why is this place special to you—what did it teach you? Likewise, how should they behave there to feel the same way? What is the ‘etiquette’ of this place, and why is it important to respect it and the people who either live/work there? What might be the danger of not understanding this—or not knowing why this place exists and is important to people? Again, try to help us understand your relationship to this place, maybe how you first came there, and what you learned about the etiquette of going there and being part of it.

EXAMPLE: One of my favorite places in the state is the Philbrook Art Museum in Tulsa. I’ve been there at least twenty times, sometimes spending half the day there. In my essay, I would explain what it was like to go there for the first time, why it became so special to me, and what I learned over the years about respecting the place and the other travelers and tourists who come there (as well as the people who work there). In my opinion, the better you understand the etiquette of the place, the more you’ll enjoy it yourself, and the more other people can enjoy their experience as well. But it’s not like Nashville—you can’t do things here you couldn’t do in your own hometown!

REQUIREMENTS:

• You must quote from at least one of the essays in class in your essay (much as I did in the Intro). Use the essay to introduce points, support your ideas, or offer a counterpoint to your own observations and beliefs. Make it something we can learn from, and not just a quote thrown in to fill space.
• Try to bounce off some of the ideas in the essays and the conversations we’ve had in class. Think about why this matters—and how it could help someone appreciate this place more than if they wander around blindly and ignorantly.
• The essay should be at least 3-4 pages, double spaced, but you can do more. That’s up to you.
• DUE Tuesday, September 15^th by 5pm for Tuesday classes
• DUE Thursday, September 17th by 5pm for Thursday classes
• NO CLASS that week, since I want you to work on your papers and turn them in on time!