Politics
Artworks
Banksy. Various works. Banksy is an anonymous grafitti/street artist (or collective?) whose work has commented on themes as diverse as the Israel/Palestine wall and the definition of Art. Usually spray-painted through a stencil, his works are deceptively simple twists on the everyday which invite us to discover the world in a new way, revealing inequality and hypocrisy through humour. In addition to investigating the context of the artwork you have chosen, discuss the use of contrasting styles and his symbolic use of colour. You can view Banksy's artworks online [https://www.canvasartrocks.com/blogs/posts/70529347-121-amazing-banksy-graffiti-artworks-with-locations] and read a "biography" at The Smithsonian [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-story-behind-banksy-4310304/] Advanced students might choose to discover what has happened to these artworks as they are increasingly commodified and reduced to a part of the system (right down to merchandise in a gift shop!) he originally resisted.
Speeches
Boushnak, Laura. (2015). "Reading is a Daring Act". Imagine dropping out of school at eight to get married or being unable to read your boyfriend's text messages. This Ted Talks speech by an Arab photographer highlights the power of reading as a subversive (=rebel) act. Look in particular at the structure and the way she uses anecdotes to make points about the use of power in society. Please be aware that these are not the experiences of all Arab or Muslim women; don't fall into the trap of racial stereotypes. Recommended for standard and ESL students.
Gay, Roxane. (2015). "Confessions of a Bad Feminist". This speech discusses the reality of living as a C21st woman with feminist ideals in an inherently sexist culture. You can read or watch it on Ted Talks [https://www.ted.com/talks/roxane_gay_confessions_of_a_bad_feminist/transcript?language=en] Look at the way she identifies certain acts as "transgressions" against her feminist ideals and the humour with which she presents the contradictions of her life, and the criticisms she makes about the way we regard feminists. What can we discover about our own lives from her confessions? What techniques does she employ to keep us listening/discovering?
Gay, Roxane. (2015). "Confessions of a Bad Feminist". This speech discusses the reality of living as a C21st woman with feminist ideals in an inherently sexist culture. You can read or watch it on Ted Talks [https://www.ted.com/talks/roxane_gay_confessions_of_a_bad_feminist/transcript?language=en] Look at the way she identifies certain acts as "transgressions" against her feminist ideals and the humour with which she presents the contradictions of her life, and the criticisms she makes about the way we regard feminists. What can we discover about our own lives from her confessions? What techniques does she employ to keep us listening/discovering?
Songs
Pink Floyd. “Another Brick in the Wall” This punk-rock classic describes the institutional nature of education – instead of sharing paths to discovery, school creates mindless robotic machines. Watch the video about a young boy who gets into trouble for writing poetry instead of chanting mathematical equations at school, then dreams that school is a factory turning identical students into sausages until the kids fight back. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4SKL7f9n58. Wikipaedia has useful summaries at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Brick_in_the_Wall , including analyses of techniques (but you will still need to link them to belonging before they will make sense in your essay!) It would work well with the sorts of discoveries made in Go back to where you come from or Motorcycle Diaries.
Novels
Bookriot [http://bookriot.com/2017/01/10/read-harder-2017-read-a-classic-by-an-author-of-color/] has a wonderful list of classics by Writers of Colour going back over 100 years. Many of these texts have a historical dimension, as well as depicting life from a non-White perspective.
Suzann Collins. The Hunger Games. Set in a futuristic world where the government controls districts through a reality-TV style game in which teenagers are randomly chosen to fight to the death. Look at the descriptions, the dialogue and the way the plot develops to reveal surprising connections between the personal journeys of key characters and their devastating discoveries about the world they live in.
Rhue, Martin. The Wave. This quick read tells the true story of a history teacher who accidentally created a neo-Nazi club in his school as an experiment to show his class why people followed Hitler. A fantastic text highlighting the benefits and problems associated with a rediscovery of the past. Ask Ms Carmyn for a study guide which highlights the techniques in this novel. There is a film of this text, but it doesn’t have many techniques to talk about; the novel is much better.
White, T. H. (1957). The Master. This contemporary retelling of The Tempest can be found online [https://archive.org/details/masteradventures00unse]. It tells the story Compare the roles of the teenagers to Miranda and Pinky to Caliban in the original, and discuss the ways in which The Master and Prospero dominate their landscapes. Don't forget to discuss the impact of direct allusions to Shakespeare's play. Recommended for advanced students studying The Tempest.
Poems
Hughs, Ted "Hawk Roosting" online at the beckoning [http://www.thebeckoning.com/poetry/hughes/hughes2.html] describes the bloody observations of a hawk as he contemplates his life of destruction and power. Read literally, it could be contrasted with an interpretation of the tiger's role in Life of Pi (who is who?). It could also be used to unpack the way the dictators use power and aggression to control how others live and feel, allowing you to make similar social discoveries to the narrator of The Morocycle Diaries. An analysis of the poem (not of discovery though) can be found at BBC Bitesize [http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/poetryconflict/hawkroosting1.shtml].
cummings e e. "next to of course god america" online at The Poetry Archive [http://www.poetryarchive.org/poem/next-course-god-america. This satirical poem uses unconventional punctuation and simple language to carry a serious antiwar message. Nationaist Us cliche's are juxtaposed against grasphic descriptions of the "heroic dead", enabling readers to discover the need for a pacificst political stance.
Gluck, Louise. "Circe's Power" tells the ancient Greek story of Odysseus from the sorceress's point of view. It can be read from both a feminist or a postcolonial perspective and would suit studetns who feel that they can't quite get the hang of politics in The Tempest. You can read this poem here [http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/circe-s-power/] . Make sure you also read the original so that you can explain the way Gluck is reinterpreting the story.
Shelley, Percy. (1817). "Ozymandius" is a sonnet which uses the metaphor of a gigantic statue of an ancient leader to discuss the way all tyrants eventually fall. don't forget the analyse the use fo the sonnet form as well as the metaphor of a leader whose head has falled from his body and is lyign half-covered and forgotten in the sand. It could be linked to any of the set texts but matches particularly well with an analysis of Prospero's role in The Tempest or the way politics function in Life of Pi or The Motorcycle Diaries.
Non Fiction
Pink Floyd. “Another Brick in the Wall” This punk-rock classic describes the institutional nature of education – instead of sharing paths to discovery, school creates mindless robotic machines. Watch the video about a young boy who gets into trouble for writing poetry instead of chanting mathematical equations at school, then dreams that school is a factory turning identical students into sausages until the kids fight back. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4SKL7f9n58. Wikipaedia has useful summaries at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Another_Brick_in_the_Wall , including analyses of techniques (but you will still need to link them to belonging before they will make sense in your essay!) It would work well with the sorts of discoveries made in Go back to where you come from or Motorcycle Diaries.
Novels
Bookriot [http://bookriot.com/2017/01/10/read-harder-2017-read-a-classic-by-an-author-of-color/] has a wonderful list of classics by Writers of Colour going back over 100 years. Many of these texts have a historical dimension, as well as depicting life from a non-White perspective.
Suzann Collins. The Hunger Games. Set in a futuristic world where the government controls districts through a reality-TV style game in which teenagers are randomly chosen to fight to the death. Look at the descriptions, the dialogue and the way the plot develops to reveal surprising connections between the personal journeys of key characters and their devastating discoveries about the world they live in.
Rhue, Martin. The Wave. This quick read tells the true story of a history teacher who accidentally created a neo-Nazi club in his school as an experiment to show his class why people followed Hitler. A fantastic text highlighting the benefits and problems associated with a rediscovery of the past. Ask Ms Carmyn for a study guide which highlights the techniques in this novel. There is a film of this text, but it doesn’t have many techniques to talk about; the novel is much better.
White, T. H. (1957). The Master. This contemporary retelling of The Tempest can be found online [https://archive.org/details/masteradventures00unse]. It tells the story Compare the roles of the teenagers to Miranda and Pinky to Caliban in the original, and discuss the ways in which The Master and Prospero dominate their landscapes. Don't forget to discuss the impact of direct allusions to Shakespeare's play. Recommended for advanced students studying The Tempest.
Poems
Hughs, Ted "Hawk Roosting" online at the beckoning [http://www.thebeckoning.com/poetry/hughes/hughes2.html] describes the bloody observations of a hawk as he contemplates his life of destruction and power. Read literally, it could be contrasted with an interpretation of the tiger's role in Life of Pi (who is who?). It could also be used to unpack the way the dictators use power and aggression to control how others live and feel, allowing you to make similar social discoveries to the narrator of The Morocycle Diaries. An analysis of the poem (not of discovery though) can be found at BBC Bitesize [http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/english_literature/poetryconflict/hawkroosting1.shtml].
cummings e e. "next to of course god america" online at The Poetry Archive [http://www.poetryarchive.org/poem/next-course-god-america. This satirical poem uses unconventional punctuation and simple language to carry a serious antiwar message. Nationaist Us cliche's are juxtaposed against grasphic descriptions of the "heroic dead", enabling readers to discover the need for a pacificst political stance.
Gluck, Louise. "Circe's Power" tells the ancient Greek story of Odysseus from the sorceress's point of view. It can be read from both a feminist or a postcolonial perspective and would suit studetns who feel that they can't quite get the hang of politics in The Tempest. You can read this poem here [http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/circe-s-power/] . Make sure you also read the original so that you can explain the way Gluck is reinterpreting the story.
Shelley, Percy. (1817). "Ozymandius" is a sonnet which uses the metaphor of a gigantic statue of an ancient leader to discuss the way all tyrants eventually fall. don't forget the analyse the use fo the sonnet form as well as the metaphor of a leader whose head has falled from his body and is lyign half-covered and forgotten in the sand. It could be linked to any of the set texts but matches particularly well with an analysis of Prospero's role in The Tempest or the way politics function in Life of Pi or The Motorcycle Diaries.
Non Fiction
Non fiction
critical essays
· Plumwood, Val (2000) Being Prey. (online at http://www.aislingmagazine.com/aislingmagazine/articles/TAM30/ValPlumwood.html ) Val Plumwood was an eco-feminist (ecologist and feminist) who thought we should radically re-think the ways we interact with the environment. Instead of exploiting the environment (the way colonists exploited native peoples or men exploited women), she thought we should live as part of an ecosystem - even when this meant we became prey rather than predators. Ignore the philosophical content and focus instead on the beginning and end, noticing different ways she belongs to the Kakadu landscape – first as a tourist and then as a crocodile’s dinner! (Yes, it’s a true story). Look the way the lyrical sensory imagery enables to reader to discover her experience of the setting, then the violent verbs and short sentences reject her. In the last page, look at the way the experience is used to symbolise a larger discovery of the ways humans should interact with the environment – as part of the ecosystem, not the “owners” of land. Because it’s about the “wilderness” of nature, this text works very well with The Tempest because the play creates a strong dichotomy between the idyllic experience of the island as controlled by Prospero and the inherent wildness of the indigenous beings (Ariel and Caliban). You could also contrast Prospero’s control of nature (esp. the elements/weather) with Plumwood’s philosophy. Look in Belonging on the O-drive for an analysis of this text.
De Soyza, Niromi, (2011). “I was trained to kill at 16” in Marie Claire, April 2011. (Belonging folder at 820.9) This is the author’s story of why she joined and later left the Tamil Tigers, a resistance group fighting the Sri Lankan government to establish their own independent country. Discuss the sensual imagery of the hook and the chronological structure of the rest of the article, focusing on how living in a state of civil war made her try to discover a new identifity as a “soldier”, and the discoveries she later made about this decision. Identify some of the powerful emotive vocabulary (eg “betray”) This text would work very well with Motorcycle Diaries because it illustrates one response to the
De Soyza, Niromi, (2011). “I was trained to kill at 16” in Marie Claire, April 2011. (Belonging folder at 820.9) This is the author’s story of why she joined and later left the Tamil Tigers, a resistance group fighting the Sri Lankan government to establish their own independent country. Discuss the sensual imagery of the hook and the chronological structure of the rest of the article, focusing on how living in a state of civil war made her try to discover a new identifity as a “soldier”, and the discoveries she later made about this decision. Identify some of the powerful emotive vocabulary (eg “betray”) This text would work very well with Motorcycle Diaries because it illustrates one response to the