“ ‘We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered. About something important, about something real?’” (52)

Why is it important to be bothered?
What do we find out about ourselves?

ASSIGNMENT: Choose one of the following experiences below. Create a memior of this experience, along with pictures and/or memorabilia to substantiate.

NEUBERGER MUSEUM OF ART: Recognized nationally, the Museum's significant collections, innovative exhibitions, and interdisciplinary educational and public programs are catalysts for a total cultural experience that positions the Neuberger Museum of Art as Westchester County's premiere cultural resource for Modern, contemporary and African art.
http://www.neuberger.org/exhibitions.php?type=current



STORM KING: Five hundred acres of landscaped lawns, fields and woodlands provide the site for postwar sculptures by internationally renowned artists. At Storm King, the exhibition space is defined by sky and land. http://www.stormking.org/


DIA: Beacon, Riggio Galleries is internationally renowned for its collection of art from the 1960s to the present. The museum, which opened in 2003, is situated on the banks of the Hudson River in Beacon, New York. Dia:Beacon occupies an incredible place to view art - a former Nabisco box-printing warehouse - houses temporary exhibitions, as well as public programs designed to complement the collection. http://www.diacenter.org/


POUND RIDGE RESERVATION: The 4,315 -acre park makes Ward Pound Ridge Reservation the county’s largest park. miles of wooded trails the park provides a variety of activities in all seasons. There are areas for picnicking, lean-to camping, fishing and cross-country skiing. The park is home to the Trailside Nature Museum, which hosts weekend nature interpretive programs year-round. http://www.westchestergov.com/parks/parkslocations02/wardpoundridge.htm


ADIRONDACK HIKING: Mt. Marcy, the highest peak in New york State, has an elevation of 5344'. Plan your hike: http://www.adirondacks.com/hiking.html


CATSKILL HIKING: Plan a hiking trip in the beautiful Catskill region - there are 9 locations/trails to choose from. Descriptions and maps listed here are approximate, and are provided for basic trip planning: http://www.catskillguide.com/hiking.htm


ZEN MOUNTAIN: Located on 230 acres of forest preserve in the Catskill Mountains, Zen Mountain Monastery (ZMM), is one of the West’s most respected Zen Buddhist monasteries and training centers.

EAST COAST MUSIC MALL: One of the largest and most complete music stores in our area. ECMH offers evening jam sessions for musicians of all kind to join in or spectate: ??? evenings at ??p.m. http://www.eastcoastmusic.com/home.htm


INNISFREE: A 150-acre public garden in which the ancient art of Chinese landscape design has been reinterpreted to create, without recourse to imitation, a unique American garden. http://www.innisfreegarden.org/

Based on our viewing of the film “Reds”, choose one of the following elements to explore and analyze. Minimum 300 words.

DUE: Monday, March 30

Exposition of plot:
The first half of the film, though it takes an inordinate amount of time and detail to do it, does an intelligent job of setting both the political and emotional scene.

Characterization:
''Reds'' has at its center two remarkable characters -Reed, the perpetual undergraduate who used wars and revolutions as his personal raw material, but whose commitment to social and political change led him to risk everything on behalf of the world Communist movement, and Louise Bryant, an incurable romantic who, in the course of her association with Reed, became her own tragic heroine.

Setting:
''Reds'' is not about Communism, but about a particular era, and a particularly moving kind of American optimism that had its roots in the 19th century.

Tone:
The Witnesses - there are more than two dozen of them - who make up a kind of Greek chorus, the members of which appear from time to time throughout ''Reds'' to set the film in historical perspective, as much by what they remember accurately as by their gossip and by what they no longer recall. One by one the faces that belong to these voices appear on the screen, seen in close-up against a luminously black void….explain the effectiveness of this device.

Theme:
The film is an effort to humanize a political movement that has previously been depicted on screen in a series of obvious and prejudicial broad strokes, from romantic to revolution. Identify a theme to analyze, or explore from the below suggestions:
Freedom
Equality
Idealism
Passion

The Crucible / The McCarthy Hearings

Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy's influence on the Congress of the United States and on the American people is perhaps one of the more dark periods in our recent history. The term "McCarthyism" has become synonymous with the word "witch hunt."

In a 1950 speech, McCarthy entered the public spotlight by claiming that communists had "infested" the State Department, dramatically waving a sheet of paper which purportedly contained the traitors' names. A special Senate committee investigated the charges and found them groundless. Unfazed, McCarthy used his position to wage a relentless anti-communist crusade, denouncing numerous public figures and holding a series of highly confrontational hearings. With little if any proof of his charges, McCarthy relied on accusation, slander and innuendo to tarnish his opponents' reputations (a practice now known as "McCarthyism"). In 1954, televised hearings allowed millions to view McCarthy's methods for the first time, sparking a public backlash and official censure.

THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS

"I am no witch. I am innocent.I know nothing of it."

~ Bridget Bishop




"Oh Lord, help me! It is false. I am clear. For my life now lies in your hands...."
~ Rebecca Nurse
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/salemwitchtrials/

Monday, February 2, 2009

en⋅tro⋅py: is a measure of the disorder of a system.

Question: Do you consider yourself an orderly or disorderly person? What about those around you? What are the benefits and the drawbacks of being orderly? Of being disorderly?

*Use your journal to reflect on these questions........

Question: Can disorder be liberating or stifling?

Review your pre-reading journal entry, and select strong, compelling examples that support your position. Aim to refute as many opposing arguments as possible. Your essay may have a serious or a humorous tone.

November 17-21

Tuesday, 11/18

Macbeth: Begin Act IV; Scenes 1-2

Wednesday, 11/19
Macbeth: Complete Act IV

Thursday, 11/20

Friday, 11/21

November 5, 2008

Begin Shakepeare's Macbeth.

Read through Act I, Scene 5

http://www.shakespeare-literature.com/Macbeth/index.html

November 6, 2008

Complete Act I