N. 23 Back to "Christ"

As I finished writing N. 22, I thought I would ask you to comment about the final scene of chapter 1,
with the description of Geremio's demise.

COMMENT
Quoting at least one detail verbatim, let the scene "come to you" -- i.e. drop your "resistance to the text" and let it enter your cognitive-emotional sphere by visualization. And tell us about your personal observations about yourself (also known as "critical thinking.")

--- About your comments on "Christ"

Some interesting questions came up in your comments and I will try to clarify some of the points.

COMMENT to this post: write more questions you had about obscure or difficult aspects of Christ.



1) Why did Geremio/Annunziata have so many children.
a)  By their standards it wasn't unusual for women to get pregnant every year or so. What was unusual was for all those children to have survived. Mortality rate in USA for children under 3 was about 50%.
b) Why did they conceive so many children? This is not to bu cute, but they didn't have television. TV has proven to be the most effective birth control method in the world. It is addictive and after watching TV for 5 or 6 hours at night, first it's late and you have to get up to work the next day, second your brain is turned to mush and doesn't even know what the other signals are.
c) The Catholic church made it a sin to use the only contraception known at that time, namely, coitus interruptus.
d) There were no birth control methods. Folk remedies existed (you can find them on google) but many rejected them as being gross, or because of shame in dealing with one's body.
e) Nobody knew that women are fertile only a few days during their cycle, therefore they didn't know that by abstaining during a certain period, it would reduce the chance of pregnancy.
f) The method of abstaining during probable fertility was discovered in the 1910s by two doctors, aJapanes, Ogino, and an Austrian, Knaus. The Ogino-Knaus method (also known in Italy as "oggi no, Knaus"  [not today, Knaus]) took years to become known in the scientific community -- no internet back then, and the media did not cover these topics out of shame. Finally, after it became known, it was the only method approved by the Catholic church. BTW, it doesn't work that well.

====================

2) The initial scene shows a gang of brick layers, all adults, working and chatting, teasing each other. They are friends, and like all male friends when they get together it's part of their way to relate to one another.
a) Nicknames are very common in Italy. Once I remember sitting down with family and a few friends after a big lunch party and for fun we started listing nicknames in our town. We came up with over 100 names, and we were far from finished. Some nicknames are used openly, some are used behind the person's back as they are insulting or the person is especially sensitive.
Nicknames is one of the reasons why Italy has one of the highest number of different lastnames in the world. Nicknames eventually, with time, became last names, centuries ago. In comparison, in Vietnam about 50% of the population has the last name Nguyen. In China about a dozen last names cover over 60% of the population.

====================

3) Geremio and Annunziata. 
Aside from their goal of buying a house together, aside from the fact that they have 8 children, the nature of their relationship emerges clearly in the pillow talk they have, when Annuziata noticed that Geremio hasn't told her anything about the job they are working on. Normally he does. Annunziata by intuition understands that there is something wrong and wants Geremio to confide in her. They trust each other, the love each other.

=========================

4) I expected more of you would pick a detail from the gruesome scene of Geremio's death. It's frankly one of the most terrifying passage in literature ever to be found. If you skipped (the last two pages approx of the chapter) I would recommend that you go back and read it. You will never forget it.

N. 22 The Godfather

Based on the assignment for May 3, in your COMMENT:

mention the quotation from the book where we learn how Mafiosi see themselves;
or how they justify their way of life;
or even what is appealing to the public at large of their lifestyle.

No repetitions. Be original. The text offers plenty of examples.

REPLY: pick the best COMMENT and explain the reason of your choice.

N. 21 "Rome Open City"

This year, 2020, is the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII and, for Italy, the end of the Fascist regime.


Open discussion about Open City.

Write your comment and reply to the best comment by a classmate.

N. 20 More about "Christ in Concrete"

AT THE END OF EVERY PROMPT, YOU SHOULD ASSUME THAT THERE IS ALWAYS THE QUESTION "WHY" OR THE ADDITIONAL PROMPT, "PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY."

This novel is a literary masterpiece, however, everybody agrees that it is also challenging and "difficult." 

Does it make sense in our time and age to assign texts like Christ? 
Is it worth the time and effort? 
Or, is it better to work something more transparent and immediately available.?
Which of the two models are more likely to trigger critical thinking (which, to me, means "thinking about yourself thinking about a topic or text.")

You can also mention which text so far has given you the best opportunity for critical thinking.

Please take this task seriously. Don't overdo it. Be concise, clear and grammatically correct.

COMMENT AND REPLY TO THE BEST COMMENT

N. 19 "Give Us This Day"

AT THE END OF EVERY PROMPT, YOU SHOULD ASSUME THAT THERE IS ALWAYS THE QUESTION "WHY" OR THE ADDITIONAL PROMPT, "PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY."

Separate paragraphs.

Geremio is a completely different person in this film, as compared to the other Geremio in the novel.


1) What did you like-dislike the most about Geremio? (OK, if you were indifferent, say so. Otherwise I will be accused of forcing your comments.)


2) And what about Annunziata? Isn't it really her stubbornness (to buy the house) that causes all the troubles?


3) Is there an aspect or detail of this film, something small, that "made you think?"

a) Read your classmates comments and mention the comment that "made you think some more."
b) What is your detail or aspect, and why does it matter to you.

N. 18 CHRIST IN CONCRETE

AT THE END OF EVERY PROMPT, YOU SHOULD ASSUME THAT THERE IS ALWAYS THE QUESTION "WHY" OR THE ADDITIONAL PROMPT, "PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY."


Separate paragraphs:

1) Your general reaction to the style. Did the language used by Di Donato get in the way of comprehension? How does it rate in terms of difficulty, compared to other texts you read before?

2) Was there anything in this chapter that you didn't expect? Is there one specific detail that grabbed your attention?

3) Is the text clear enough about the nature of the relationship between Geremio and Annunziata? What kind of rapport do they have?

4) Read your classmates comments about 2). Pick one comment that opens up a different perspective for you.

N. 17 My pick of 'Moonstruck' assignments (comment required)

I consider Paulina's to be a very insightful and well argued piece of work.
Granted, Paulina had the advantage of being familiar with the film; and on top of it
she also likes it a lot.
Nevertheless, the quality of her polemic (ouch! poor me) is remarkably on point; and
her analysis of the psychological depth of Rose is simply spectacular.
The other aspect that is unique in her essay is the reference to the nature-magic element in this fairy tale.
(Don't we live in a strange world, where we trust algorithms to find us love, but we no longer seem to have any use for believing in magic?)

COMMENT as you wish (I am not going to dictate, at least this time.)

1. As a woman with full knowledge that the lead actress Cher isn't of Italian heritage unlike me... I don't find Moonstruck to be all that annoying at all, I in fact loved the theme of being true to one's self as we go through internal and external phases... just like the moon. What I got out of this movie is as we are ever changing, we subsequently disrupt the flow of other people's lives, just like The Moon does to the tide. I was more so annoyed that I was asked to be annoyed by this movie and pick it apart because it somewhat relies on the nationality to string together a narrative. I'm annoyed by the wording of these questions, as if I'm being dictated blindly.

2. I may seem biased, but I cannot think of one thing in this film that irritated me that can't be rationally justified. If I did, my answer would be much more suited for a film class and not English. Although what correlates those two subjects together is storytelling and I think Moonstruck does that beautifully in a plethora of ways.

3. I thoroughly loved every emotion displayed in Moonstruck and all the ideology it tackled throughout the film. I love the story of two different family members committing adultery from two different sides of the spectrum and in the middle is the mother who goes out on a whim, and for one night abandons the responsibility of taking care of both these individuals as a mother and a wife .. a submissive role she filled for years, and in one night she finds that she too could commit adultery and entertains the idea only because she can, but she doesn't because she has a complete understanding of self as a whole and with that maturity forgives her husband and daughter. Contrary to that self-awareness is Loretta kicking the can in the middle of the street, in the middle of her life altering around her for good and bad, she is throwing caution to the wind but forgets about the "passion" to enjoy such a carefree moment ... easily one of the most beautiful scenes in a movie. It's not necessarily okay what these Italian characters do, but my takeaway was that life isn't always black and white, intact you are "whole" with a little ying in the yang and vice versa.

4. Italian Americans are portrayed beautifully in Moonstruck, because life as complicated, messy, betraying, dramatic, corny, as it is. is beautiful. la vita ha molte fasi proprio come la Luna. A stereotypical portrayal is just a perception. My perception is Moonlight was an awesome movie.

N. 16 Due April 2

Read all the comments to n. 14.

In general they seem to manifest ambivalence.
Does it make you feel uncomfortable that you can't articulate a fully persuasive argument either way?

COMMENT and REPLY but make an effort to reflect both about your ambivalence and the discomfort of being ambivalent.

N. 15: due April 2

Speaking of which:

From the Washington Post March 25, 2020

Columnist George Will

PHOENIX — Felecia Rotellini’s father, who is 104, was incensed when his family took away his car keys two years ago. He was born in a Wyoming company town that no longer exists because the coal company that owned the town is long gone. The town of Cambria, and elsewhere in Wyoming, had many coal-mining immigrants from Italy, including some relatives of Leon Panetta, the former defense secretary, CIA director and White House chief of staff.

Rotellini’s father’s father was a union organizer at a time when that was a more hazardous occupation than his day job of subsurface mining. He died of black lung disease. The organizer’s granddaughter, an apple that did not fall far from the tree, came by her politics by family transmission. She calls herself “a John Kennedy Democrat.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-loose-brick-in-republicans-red-wall/2020/03/24/349ce6f0-6dee-11ea-aa80-c2470c6b2034_story.html 

 I noticed in the text: "company town," "unions organizer being more dangerous than being a miner."

COMMENT:Is this sufficient proof that ANY kind of knowledge is never useless?

Did you notice anything else in the passage above or in the entire opinion piece that directly connects to some kind of special knowledge that you only possess (generalization) but that most people probably don't? In other words, where you able to understand things that other people probably missed?

N. 14 - Your honest opinion requested (March 26)

I haven't read this article yet, but the headline grabbed my attention.

What do you think ABOUT THE QUALITY OF THE ARGUMENT?

(Turn off private browsing to view it for free)

COMMENT and REPLY

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/03/20/coronavirus-college-pass-fail/ 

N. 13: the best from March 10

Now that we are going to switch to the online mode, I will begin to evaluate your comments and leave feedback to the better ones. I will also give extra credit if I find one (or more)  outstanding comments.

Reminder: I try to do my best NOT to evaluate based on your opinion, whether it aligns with mine or not. I try my best to be always impartial and to judge the QUALITY of your arguments. Thus, make sure that your premises are correct, that you read carefully the input.

 

For instance, for this post, I noticed that some misinterpreted the text: the author describes Americans as practical and matter-of-fact, un-emotional about their environment; while the recent immigrants are more sentimental about the place where they live. Read it over and you will notice the premise of her argument.

 

Anyway. Here is the best comment from that assignment (with my compliments and extra credit).

COMMENT (I will not give feedback)
Be honest: do you see the fully comprehend this perspective, its premises (implicit and explicit) and, most of all, how they are perfectly aligned with the conclusion?

It's not easy to pull off something like this (ONLY BLEMISH, HE DIDN'T CAPITALIZE "I")

 

Eric OberholtzerMarch 10, 2020 at 11:37 AM

This definitely applies to most all ethnic enclaves wherever they might be. I doubt that western life hasn’t touched every corner of this earth so of course people stray off traditional practices to something newer and different in every way. It’s a virus everyone has or will succumb to as laziness and procrastination are tempting. Yet as we (anyone with any sort of ethnically background) age we discover that our roots and ancestors are much more rich in what we lack, what we were seeking. The feeling of regret and longing for what was or could be is something i can relate too, not being in the moment but in some fantasy of the future or simple memory of easy going times. I enjoyed that there wasn’t any sensory descriptives because i formed my own without even knowing it.

N. 12: Due March 12

L'emigrante.

The U.S. is considered the standard bearer of capitalism and, for this reason, it is often condemned for the excesses of the power of money over everything else. (President Calvin Coolidge famously said that "the business of America is business.")

Admiration for American democracy and wealth  is often accompanied  -- both by Americans and foreigners -- by sharp criticism for our enormous economic inequality and the treatment of the poor, minorities and immigrants (often these three terms go together.)

L'emigrante, under the guise of comedy, presents a rather critical AND PESSIMISTIC view of America.

REPLY to the COMMENT immediately before yours (obviously if you are the first to comment you won't have to do it). Avoid the usual "I agree-I disagree." Does it discuss aspects or details you did not notice?

COMMENT: avoid repeating what your classmates have already said. Pick something original, a scene or a detail, and explain how it adds to the generally critical attitude of the film about the American system.
If you can't find one NEW thing to mention, pick TWO aspects together and show how they reinforce a specific point about the anti-capitalism/ anti-American theme. 

N. 11: Due March 10

And here is the representation of Italian Americans and Little Italy by Italian journalist-writer Amy Bernardi, in 1911.

To be happy in America one needs an aptitude for mechanical things; an opportunistic and entrepreneurial spirit, sharp about business and dull and primitive in everything else. One needs to be conventional and follow all approved standards like a sheep. One must show great interest for everything American and superior contempt for everything Latin, even the things that made Latin life great and beautiful. The Italian immigrant, to the contrary, is full of rural vitality, individualism and regionalism. His business sense is rudimentary. Although he doesn’t know and cannot express it, his soul is burdened by the ancestral traditions of his bloodline. This soul, tenacious and constantly challenged, impalpable but omnipresent, is what we feel in Little Italy (the nickname given by Americans to the neighborhoods where Italian immigrants live). You are moving across American life and then, suddenly, you feel that something is going through your spirit, and penetrates it, and bares it under the attacks of hyper-civilized barbarism. You feel a little tear in the fabric of your being: a regret, a longing for everything that was, for everything that is and that maybe will be. It is the waft of exile, cold and thin; it is a moment of void, loneliness and pain. Everything around you seems to break up into smithereens, collapse, suddenly fall down, in the incurable nostalgia of your lonely heart. Then, with its boredom, with its travails, American life takes over again. What was it? It is the soul of Italy that passed you by.

COMMENT  Does the description apply to the many "new" ethnic neighborhoods in the city?

Are there any aspects of the description you can relate more closely to? (Notice that the writer doesn't even mention sensory experiences, visual, auditory or olfactory. It is all abstract and mental.)

N. 10: DUE MARCH 5

COMMENT:

 

Are you satisfied with your participation in class?

 

Aside from personal issues (shyness, self consciousness about foreign accent, "I don't want to sound stupid") WHAT WOULD ENCOURAGE YOUR PARTICIPATION?
I am in favor or a free flow of questions and ideas, but maybe I should give you a series of questions (like in today's assignment) to provide a framework and a structured environment.

 

PROPOSE A METHOD THAT ENCOURAGES EVERYBODY'S PARTICIPATION.

 

REPLY only after at least 10 students have posted their comments.

N. 9: Due MARCH 3

SELF-REFERENTIAL REFLECTION

 

COMMENT:

 

1) read all the comments in posting n. 8.  Avoid commenting on the information reported in the comments. Rather: what are the major themes running through them? And what does it tell you about the need/desire to know more that people express?

 

SEPARATE PARAGRAPH

 

2) Go over YOUR OWN comment in n. 8. How does it compare to the general quality of other comments (be honest, if your is the best, say so.)

LINE BREAK

AND: after reading them all, what is the comment that you liked the most and why. (This is not a beauty contest: talk about the aspects you care about the most while your were reading your classmates reflections.)

N. 8: DUE FEB 27

Google one of these strings:

 

- African Americans Great Migration

 

-  Potato famine Irish immigration

 

-  Anti Jewish Pogroms Jewish immigration (or similar)

 

- Anti Irish  or anti Catholic cartoons (images)

 

-  Anti Semitic cartoons 1880 (images)

 

- Anti Chinese cartoons 1890

 

- Northern Italians hatred against southern Italians (for an effective search, my apologies, you will have to enter the string "anti terroni").

 

 

COMMENT:  summarize briefly what you found in your research. Try to limit the factual information and focus on the thoughts  that came after the first emotional responses.

N. 7: Due FEB 25

The slideshow/video "The Way They Lived" is a compendium of various moments we have seen represented in the other texts.

 

Were there things that jumped out of the screen and forced you to re-think, re-assess, re-evaluate the meaning of the information you had learned so far about ItAms?

Or did they just re-confirm, in starker terms, your understanding of their experience?

 

In your COMMENT, make specific references to one or more photos.

Reminder: short sentences, short paragraphs.

 

REPLY: pick a comment written AFTER yours that is particularly well written and sharp in conveying concepts and ideas.

N. 6 Due FEB 20

Here is a passage from a classmate's assignment (due Feb 18).

READ IT and COMMENT:

 

While the author retells a few stories in these chapters, the story that most resonates with me is about his first English words. It reminded me of an earlier memory when I was a child. In this specific day, my dad and I went to order takeout to bring back home for dinner. As I was waiting for the food, I noticed one of the workers was struggling to say a specific word in English while he picked up the incoming orders via the phone. After he hung up, I tried correcting him and told him the proper pronunciation of the word. The older man stood behind the counter with a face of pure embarrassment. I didn’t really think about how embarrassing it could be for a middle aged man to be corrected by a middle schooler but reflecting back on the incident, I could have been nicer.

 

COMMENT:

 

1) Objectively, do you think you could have described the same situation, both in terms of narration and the psychological aspects, with the same clarity? (Don't be shy, if it's a yes, say yes.)

 

2) SEPARATE PARAGRAPH. Which of the two perspective do you identify with more closely: the worker's or the teen age girl? (This requires that you go back in your mind and reconstruct the dominant emotion you experienced when you finished reading the passage.)

N. 5 Due TUE FEB 18 -- "Son of Italy"

In the assignment for today I asked whether you were more interested in the pathos of the story, or the documentary details about the living conditions of the people Pascal describes.

 

COMMENT:  write distinct, separate paragraphs.

 

1) Think back to the time BEFORE you started reading the book: 
can you describe your expectations (whether positive or negative). Were you curious or skeptical? Ready to get bored to tears, or excited, or whatever?

 

2) Six chapters later: compare your initial approach with your state of mind now. Surprised? Satisfied? Eager to find out more? Mildly entertained? "What-a-chore?

 

3) What is the single aspect of the book that you will remember 5 years after you graduate?

 

REPLY: wait for at least 10 comments before you reply -- pick any comment you liked.

N. 4 - First, an apology, then TOPIC DUE FEB 11

I should have known better. In class I mentioned that I could only check your comments up to 1:00 PM before class and from what I read, it looked like the postings did not really focus on DETAILS, but dealt primarily with major themes.

Today I finally had a chance to review the entire thread and:

1) I am impressed with the degree of participation and empathy of your comments;

2) Thank you for giving me a window on your perspectives and your "Weltanschauung" (now, rush to look it up and find out what it means.)

FOR NEXT TUE:

SON OF ITALY:  Think "superstition," and the role of irrational beliefs in people's lives, yours included (irrational does not mean "wrong": it means it cannot be proven by our standard scientific methods.)  DO YOU PERSONALLY, or does someone you know (family, friends, culture, community) believe in EVIL spiritual forces, or in "DEVILS," or that these forces can take control of a person (DEMONIC POSSESSION), or that some individuals in fact DO HAVE EVIL powers?

I am asking about the negative, because probably a majority of  people believe in POSITIVE spiritual forces (god, angels, saints, amulets etc.)

COMMENT:  IF YOU POST AS ANONYMOUS, TYPE YOUR NAME AT THE TOP OF YOUR COMMENT, OTHERWISE I WON'T BE ABLE TO GIVE YOU CREDIT.

 

keep it short, with short sentences and SHORT PARAGRAPHS. Go straight to the point, think like a junior anthropologist.

REPLY: Let at least 12 classmates post before you reply. Pick the comment that resonates with you the most and explain why.

N. 3 - DUE FEB 6

Review the cartoons and the video with newspaper clips about the Black Hand.

 

THERE MUST BE at least ONE detail that you can associate with directly with either your personal experience (not only about IT-AM) or with something you learned in school or from the media.

 

In other words: when you watch these two videos SOMETHING must resonate in you, either because it reminds you of something similar, OR because it made you UNDERSTAND something new (the  ah-ha moment.)

 

COMMENTS MUST BE ORIGINAL. DO NOT REPEAT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY DISCUSSED.

 

COMMENT: in a very short paragraph, identify the cartoon or clip and FOCUS ON THE DETAIL.

 

SEPARATE PARAGRAPH (space between paragraphs):  why did you pick this detail? What is it that made an impression on you.

 

KEEP YOUR COMMENTS SHORT AND CLEAR. Nobody reads paragraphs longer than 5 lines (and I am being generous here.)

 

REPLY to a comment that points to a detail that you also identified.

N. 2. Due TUE FEB 4 -- Cartoons are in Lecture 1 (course homepage)

ANTI-ITALIAN AMERICAN CARTOONS

Your COMMENTS in two separate paragraphs:

1) COURSE HOMEPAGE, LECTURE 1
If you followed the assignment's directions for video n. 1, you should have recorded your immediate emotional reactions to the first 3 cartoons. Without getting into the details, how would you define -- broadly speaking - your reactions in few simple words?

2) From emotional reaction to RATIONAL self-reflection:  thinking back about the cartoons, are you surprised at the way ITAMs were represented? Would you ever expect this kind of treatment? Or, come to think of it, you really are not all that surprised...

REPLY: read your classmates comments carefully and REPLY to one comment that made an impression, either because it was well written, or because it touched upon something that opened up a new line of thoughts and ideas in you.

N. 1 - Due THU JAN 30 - EVEN IF YOU WERE NOT IN CLASS TUESDAY

What do you remember most vividly from the first lecture? Try to focus on a detail, on something that has a personal resonance for you,  something that maybe nobody else noticed.

COMMENT: Avoid long answers. Write mostly short sentences. You want your classmates to read what you have to say. 

REPLY: read all the comments before yours. Choose one that mentions something you did not notice or that you forgot but that is meaningful to you.

IF YOU WERE NOT IN CLASS: Read all the comments. REPLY to the comment that tickled your curiosity the most.