MLK Letter From Birmingham Jail Day 3 Class discussion

MLK Letter From Birmingham Jail Day 3 class discussion

Intro - (5-10 mins)

Small Group (15-20 mins)

Preview connection to Exam question (3-5 mins)

Large Group Discussion (15 mins)

Consult the file on Allusions in MLK Letter from Birmingham Jail and then revisit question # 5 from today's in-class. Explain how MLK's  uses certain authorities and their ideas to build the logos of his argument and simultaneusly establish ethos with the clergymen. Explain the specific uses of at least two allusions (e.g., Tillich and Buber) which help him build the logos of his argument in paragraphs 13-20. 

Visually depict how King  develops the logos of paragraphs 13-20 argument by weaving in and connecting key authorities and their ideas into his argument.  Chart how King takes one auhtority-conected idea and builds on it with another idea, providing connecting links, transitions, and explanations of his own to unify and propel the argument forward. Finally, after completing your visual chart, write a detailed thesis which articulates King's central claim/argument and the strategies he employs to make his claim appealing and persuasive for his primary audience.

Tomorrow: Periods 1 & 3...Room 035
Period 8: DC

Letter From Birmingham Jail, The Individual and Authority…In this course, we have studied a variety of texts that have explored the costs and benefits of being an individual and the wide array of approaches people can take to maintain their values and integrity, their freedom and identity.  At the same time, these texts have captured the social forces that individuals who pursue a ‘self-reliant’ lifestyle have to confront or struggle against—whether it be pressure to conform to political or religious orthodoxy, or to economic, intellectual, and family norms.

Craft an essay in which you analyze the ways that King's Letter from Birmingham Jail speaks to the broad theme of ‘the individual and authority.’  Structure should include one introductory paragraph, two well-developed body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph (if you have the time and something meaningful to say).

Letter From Birmingham Jail Day 1

Letter From Birmingham Jail Pre-reading Considerations

All rhetoric is situational

Rhetoric – the art of persuasion; knowing all of the available means of persuasion; how to feature content

Contextualizing Questions

1. What kind of text are we dealing with?

2. When was it written?

3. Who wrote it?

4. For what audience was it intended?

Primary and secondary audiences

5. For what purpose was it written?

The three appeals (plus one)

Ethos, logos, pathos (and authorities)

Ethos – credibility. The good man speaking well.

Established by actions, reputation and words.

Pathos: appeal to emotions

Logos: Appeal to logic and reasoning.

Where do you see each at work?

Appeal to Authorities: (subset of Allusions)

Prominence of Allusions (how they help; who gets them and who doesn’t)

Sentence level devices –  Three Prominent moves by MLK

Antithesis, parallelism, alliteration

Oldies but goodies -  Metaphor, simile, repetition of words, personification

Structure of text

Classic Structure of a Persuasive Speech

1. paragraphs _______: introduction (exordium)

2. paragraphs _______: narrative or statement of fact (narratio)

3. paragraphs _______: arguments and counter-arguments (confirmatio and refutatio)

4. paragraphs _______: conclusion (peroratio)

Civil Disobedience

What's on tap for today...

Emerson Tweets...
My attempts...
Speak your mind; mind not that others may call you inconsistent.

God lies within; ignore the mob’s noise without.

Too much reverence prevents living in the present.

Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau

Finish reading Civil Disobedience

By 11:59 tonight, post one entry consisting of two questions to Canvas. Write two discussion questions:1) one should be evaluative - a question that uses the text as a springboard to explore what you think of one of Thoreau's ideas or it's implications for society or the individual today) and 2) another should be interpretive/inferential in nature (questions that explore/interpret the meaning/intent of specific lines or passages which may be complex, ambiguous, or appear to conflict with other points in the essay).  Furthermore, one of the question should be linked to a passage in in pp 1-9; the other should come from a passage found in pages 10-18. 

On Tuesday, you will respond to two of these questions on Canvas.

On Wednesday, we will discuss the text.

On Thursday you will write an essay in response to the following: 

Civil Disobedience, The Individual and Authority…In this course, we have studied a variety of texts that have explored the costs and benefits of being an individual and the wide array of approaches people can take to maintain their values and integrity, their freedom and identity.  At the same time, these texts have captured the social forces that individuals who pursue a ‘self-reliant’ lifestyle have to confront or struggle against—whether it be pressure to conform to political or religious orthodoxy, or to economic, intellectual, and family norms.

Craft an essay in which you analyze the ways that Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience speaks to the broad theme of ‘the individual and authority.’  Structure should include one introductory paragraph, two well-developed body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph (if you have the time and something meaningful to say).

Concerning points/grades: While there will not be time for revision work on the Into the Wild paper, the following might boost your grade a little before the semster exam:  Everyone will receive 10 out of 10 points for the Into The Wild quiz. I was going to drop it entirely because performance was all over the board, but decided to do this instead.

Today...

Small groups...

Share your essay thesis and explain why the claim you made is supported by the text. Don't just share quotes - explain why you believe they support your interpretation of Emerson's view.

Is Emerson simply preaching a "You're not the boss of me" or "If it feels good, do it" philosphy?

What, if anything in Self-Reliance, is to prevent his essay from simply inspiring people to embrace a self-centered, selfish, my-way-or the highway approach to living?

Emerson tells us in about a dozen ways that we should be self-reliant, but why? Why should he trust us to trust ourselves? 

What does a self-reliant person have to get in touch with in order to tap into their true power? Where does Emerson tell us?

How does someone get in touch with their deepest understanding? Does Emerson give any any hints? 

This weekend,

·        Do the Emerson’s Tweet’s activity provided as link in the Self-Reliance Close Reading. The last part of the exercise has you creating three tweets of your own based on specific lines from Self-Reliance. Please bring your three tweets in on Monday (handwritten or typed);

·        begin reading Civil Disobedience (pp. 1-18) in Henry David Thoreau: Civil Disobedience and Other Essays. I suggest reading 1-9 this weekend and finishing 10-18 in class on Monday.