ENG 208 FALL, 2017Fri. Sept. 8 Week 2-3

Sit in groups:Sean Julia W. Ashley Kai Katie R. Mavis

Austin Hakeem Katie M. Robert Alexis Julia M.

Conrad Daniel Jacob Zibby Hannah Caitlyn

"How do works get into the canon? It has been widely assumed that respected, magisterial critics like Samuel Johnson, Matthew Arnold, T.S. Eliot, and F.R. Leavis had a great deal to do with forming the canons of their day. According to Herrnstein Smith, though, social factors are usually more important than individual agents. Thus, the politics of feminism over the past twenty years has sparked a growth of interest in previously neglected female authors. But the canon has not altered as much as one would expect given the rapid changes in society over the past half century. Strong conservative forces - including the very idea of a canon - operate to keep the canon constant. Institutional education may be the strongest of these. The literary texts most widely read today are those read in schools, and teachers are likely to teach texts that were valued when they were students."

David H. Richter “What We Read: The Literary Canon and The Curriculum after the Culture Wars”

Today we'll grapple with 3 major questions:

1: Why the heck are we engaging with these readings / viewings from Aristotle, Adiche, Alcoff, Richter and Alexander? I’d say reading is the number one factor that builds writing skills. Behind writing. Why? It helps build your imagination of what a piece of technically sound writing looks like, tastes like in your mouth, feels like in your heart. Could you imagine your favorite athlete succeeding in a sport she’d never watched?

There are two different categories of reading:The first type, which we’re in the middle of right now, is a grounding in the history, theories, and ideas of particular aspects of rhetoric as it applies to composition of a self.

The second type which is more plentiful, is the sample type which shows how writers have succeeded, in my opinion, at creating the type of writing we’ll be attempting.

2: What is the literary canon and why should I care?

The term “literary canon” refers to a body of books, narratives and other texts considered to be the most important and influential of a particular time period or place. Take a 19th century American literature course, for instance. One is being exposed to a version of a group of texts that has, through one means or another, been established as representative of the essential authors, movements and historical events in America during the 1800s.

From, "Literary canon excludes works no matter how selective canon makers are" by Jordan Bates, The Daily Nebraskan

3: Has the concept of "literary imagination" impacted my life?Week 2: Where do we get our identity imaginations?

The mind of an adult begins in the imagination of a child.

If we don’t give children books that are literary mirrors as well as windows to the whole world of possibility, if these books don’t give them the opportunity to see outside themselves, then how can we expect them to grow into adults who connect in meaningful ways to a global community, to people who might look or live differently than they. You cannot.

Kwame Alexander

Braiding concepts from our readings with your experiences.

Group Share:Look at all your Reading Reaction Week 2 quotes.

Rhetorical exigency: the high-concept problem or situation where positive modification may be achieved through rhetorical discourse.

Artistic Proofs: Those proofs that originate with you, the author. Appeals to ethos, logos, pathos.

Inartistic Proofs: Those proofs that come about from the situation. Immutable facts (Each day lasts 24 hours); cultural values, knowledge level, socio-cultural-political ideologies, etc.

Group 1:What are Adiche's main points?Is there rhetorical exigency to her presentation?What quotes from Adiche did you pull out? To agree with or disagree with?Can you identify Adiche's Artistic Proofs?What Inartistic Proofs, if any, does she incorporate?

Group 2:What are Alcoff's main points?Is there rhetorical exigency to her presentation?What quotes from Alcoff did you pull out? To agree with or disagree with?Can you identify Alcoff's Artistic Proofs?What Inartistic Proofs, if any, does she incorporate?

Group 3:What are Richter's main points?Is there rhetorical exigency to her presentation?What quotes from Richter did you pull out? To agree with or disagree with?Can you identify Richter's Artistic Proofs?What Inartistic Proofs, if any, does he incorporate?