Orig textbook by cristina chabert

12th Grade Level 8 Cristina Chabert by

2013 / 2014

Protecting local languages and identity By David Graddol (abridged and adapted) One of the main challenges facing many countries is how to maintain their identity in the face of globalisation and growing multilingualism. There is a case for regulating the status of English but ways need to be found of reinventing national identity around a distinctive mix rather than a single language which is kept pure.

A. Complete each paragraph by inserting the missing passages. Not only do but it is also important that mother-tongue education is often pro languages survive ves a vita extensive not relegated simply to the nursery and kindergarten, l mechan borrowin ism of in g , b u t th novation is process and crea tivity. nal e natio h t n a h rt tising. g es othe such as adver lved by appropriatin g so re a is u ox rad g pa n is th In most cases, eir national se of la ublic spaces do least damage to th , the u p English in ways which In some is banned in . e ity g nt a ide d u language an lang In response to the spread of English and increased multilingualism arising from immigration, many countries have introduced language laws in the last decade. _____________________ _________________________________________________________________ Such attempts to govern language use are often dismissed as futile by linguists, who are well aware of the difficulty of controlling fashions in speech and know from research that language switching among bilinguals is a natural process. CAN PURISM SURVIVE MULTILINGUALISM? It is especially difficult for native speakers of English to understand the impulse to maintain the ‘purity’ of a language by regulation. English is one of the most hybrid and rapidly changing languages in the world, but that has been no obstacle to its acquiring prestige and power. ________________________________________________________________________ __________________________ The need to protect national languages is, for most western Europeans, a recent phenomenon – especially the need to ensure that English does not unnecessarily take over too many domains. Public communication, pedagogic and formal genres and new modes of communication facilitated by technology, may be key domains to defend. IMPORTANCE OF MOTHER-TONGUE TEACHING The importance of early education in the mother tongue has long been recognised, _______ _______________________________________________________________________________ with serious intellectual development carried out in other languages. We also need to recognise that, for an increasing number of children in the world, what the state may term ‘mother-tongue education’ is not in the language of the home. For the next generation of primary schoolchildren in China, for example, many children will be expected to learn in Putonghua rather than their mother tongue. TEACHING ENGLISH AND IDENTITY CHANGE The argument about the language of education is also an argument about national identity, as much as about developing the intellectual skills of children. Amy Tsui, based in Hong Kong, has argued that many Asian countries are in the process of reinventing national Cristina Chabert

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ENGLISH AROUND THE WORLD

identity at the same time as they are ‘legitimating’ the hegemony of English by making it a central feature of national development. ___________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________. B. Speculate on the percentage of the world’s languages situated in each level

(from ‘safe’ to ‘extinct’) by choosing the correct number from the box on the left.

4 9

10 57 10 11

C. Research: choose one of the language hotspots with a severe or high

threat level; identify one of the endangered languages of that area, as well as the reasons for its situation, and present your findings in class.

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ENGLISH AROUND THE WORLD

Are dying languages worth saving?

Language experts are gathering at a university in the UK to discuss saving the world's endangered languages. But is it worth keeping alive dialects that are sometimes only spoken by a handful of people, asks Tom de Castella? "Language is the dress of thought," Samuel Johnson once said. About 6,000 different languages are spoken around the world. But the Foundation for Endangered Languages estimates that between 500 and 1,000 of those are spoken by only a handful of people. And every year the world loses around 25 mother tongues. That equates to losing 250 languages over a decade - a sad prospect for some. This week a conference in Carmarthen, west Wales, organised by the foundation, is being attended by about 100 academics. They are discussing indigenous languages in Ireland, China, Australia and Spain. "Different languages will have their quirks which tell us something about being human," says Nicholas Ostler, the foundation's chairman. "And when languages are lost most of the knowledge that went with them gets lost. People do care about identity as they want to be different. Nowadays we want access to everything but we don't want to be thought of as no more than people on the other side of the world." Apart from English, the United Kingdom has a number of other languages. Mr. Ostler estimates that half a million people speak Welsh, a few thousand Scots are fluent in Gaelic, about 400 people speak Cornish, while the number of Manx speakers - the language of the Isle of Man - is perhaps as small as 100. But is there any point in learning the really minor languages?

Last speaker dies "I do think it's a good thing for a child on the Isle of Man to learn Manx. I value continuity in a community." In Europe, Mr. Ostler's view seems to command official support. There is a European Charter for Regional Languages, which every European Union member has signed, and the EU has a European Language Diversity For All programme, designed to protect the most threatened native tongues. At the end of last year the project received 2.7m euros to identify those languages most at risk. But for some this is not just a waste of resources but a misunderstanding of how language works. The writer and broadcaster Kenan Malik says it is "irrational" to try to preserve all the world's languages. Earlier this year, the Bo language died out when an 85-year-old member of the Bo tribe in the India-owned Andaman islands died. While it may seem sad that the language expired, says Mr. Malik, cultural change is driving the process. "In one sense you could call it a cultural loss. But that makes no sense because cultural forms are lost all the time. To say every cultural form should exist forever is ridiculous." And when governments try to prop languages up, it shows a desire to cling to the past rather than move forwards, he says. If people want to learn minority languages like Manx, that is up to them - it shouldn't be backed by government subsidy, he argues. "To have a public policy that a certain culture or language should be preserved shows a fundamental misunderstanding. I don't see why it's in the public good to preserve Manx or Cornish or any other language for that matter." In the end, whether or not a language is viable is very simple. "If a language is one that people don't participate in, it's not a language anymore." News Magazine, 15 September 2010

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A. Complete the table below with information from the text. Arguments for language preservation

• • • •

Arguments against language preservation

• • • • B. Language Focus: Complete the texts of opinion below by inserting the correct form of the verbs in brackets.

Dave Morgan, Sydney, Australia Efforts should _______________(take) to "conserve" at the very least. Otherwise our descendants in the mists of time may have the same problems understand us as we _______________(do) the ancient Egyptians (until we uncovered the Rosetta stone). Languages _______________ (not need) to be kept alive - but what does need to be kept alive is the knowledge on how to speak (and write) these languages so future generations are able _______________ (understand) where we _______________ (come) from. Neil Mungeam, Arundel This article _______________ (seem) to suggest that language death is a "natural" occurrence and is merely "romantic". One hundred years or slightly more ago the Native American people _______________ (still speak) their own languages. They _______________ (not choose) to shift to English. Their children were forced to go to government boarding schools where their hair was shaved and they _______________ (beat) if they were caught talking in their mother tongue. So many _______________ (lose) their own language. There was nothing natural or voluntary about it. Ian Anderson, Asker, Norway Official' interfering with languages _______________ (not work). Look at the Norwegian Nynorsk (New Norwegian), they force people _______________ (learn) it and have to provide all official literature in it, but hardly anyone _______________ (want) to speak it. We all _______________ (use) Bokmal, the 'other' language.

C. Discussion: after watching the short video, and taking into account all you have read about endangered languages, discuss whether or not there is any point in learning the really minor languages.

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The Teenager is a Modern Invention

Complete the article below using just one of each pair of words given.

There were no Teenagers before World War II. Ask those still living who (1) lifted / raised their children (2) prior to / before then. Or (3) spend / pass a rainy Saturday in the basement of your library, comparing (4) antique / old Life magazines from before the War and after. Instead of Teenagers, there were Youths. Youths were young people who wanted to become adults. However confused, wayward, or silly they acted, however many mistakes they (5) did / made, they (6) looked / watched to the future. They (7) acknowledged / knew that adult life was different than a child’s life. They (8) anticipated / planned to grow up, leave childhood behind, and become adults. They were (9) thinking / aware that life is more than Youth. The Teenagers had no such (10) horizon / distance. Beyond the Teeny world there is no adult life, no past with heroes, no future with (11) desires / goals. The day the Teenager was (12) defined / created was a (13) sad / sentimental day for every youth in America. Imagine yourself young again, unsure of yourself, swayed by (14) strong / explicit passions, by turns ashamed and proud, sometimes shy, sometimes assertive, sometimes headstrong, always awkward, filled with new desires and hard on yourself for having them, drawn toward cliques, knowing that you want to become something better, someone capable of good work, deserving your own (15) respect / devotion, and maybe one day becoming a good parent, imagine such struggling youths (16) listening to / hearing their own parents say, “Relax, take it easy, (17) admire / enjoy yourself, adulthood will happen, don’t (18) sweat / perspire, this is the time of your life.” A new music, Rock, through whose dances the couple was (19) demolished / annihilated, contributed (20) dreadfully / mightily to the destruction of courtship. The pill divorced Eros from responsibility. Owning a car (21) provided / conceded a hideout from home. Dope became a way of life. And TV brought (22) soft / delicate versions of all this corruption (23) right / correct into the home. All these things went into the creation of the Teenager, but no one was more responsible than the parents. We are now the third generation of Teenagers. This means most people have had considerable (24) experiment / experience of things that made the Teenager. In truth, many parents today are not much different from Teenagers. To disapprove of the Teenager, then, they would have to disapprove of much in their (25) experience / past and much that still exists in their lives. The most (26) intense / potent impediment to modern parents acknowledging their negligence is the (27) doctrine / theory of choice. Yes, we see rock music is bad; we don’t like it ourselves. Yes, we see television is shallow. Yes, we see that (28) loose / free money is not good for our children. They have so much more than we had. Yes, they are not better off for it. But what can you do? The kids have to have some (29) responsibility / culpability. You have to give them some choice. What is right for a federal republic is not right for a family. A family run on democratic (30) scripts / lines with all members, children as well as adults, considered (31) balanced / equal would be unnatural, for it would (32) deny / avoid the difference between adults and children. Such a family cannot (33) instruct / educate its young members. One child, one vote, is a (34) formula / prescription for the (35) end / conclusion of the family. Michael Platt, Myth of the Teenager

II.

Vocabulary There are many adjectives in the text used mostly to characterize the Teenager. Let’s see how well you know their meanings. How do you call someone who…

…lacks good sense? …is timid or easily frightened away? …is disconcerted?

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…is embarrassed by emotions of guilt, foolishness, or disgrace? … has or shows self-respect and self-esteem?

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…is superficial? …is competent and efficient? …is doubtful about something?

III.

…is sure or confident about him/herself or something? …is trying to make his/her way with violent effort? …is disobedient, turning away from what is right or proper?

Reading comprehension a. The author establishes a parallelism between Youths and Teenagers. Compare them as far as the following aspects, thus completing the table below. Youths

Teenagers

Responsibility Education Plans for the future Ambitions Idols Parents

b. He also relates certain features of modern life with the creation of the Teenager. What was the impact the following brought about on the teenager?

Rock Pill TV Drugs Cars Money

c. How critical of modern parents is the author? Quote from the text to justify your answer. d. Explain what the author means with the following sentences: 1. “The pill divorced Eros from responsibility.” (paragraph 4) 2. “Dope became a way of life.” (paragraph 4) 3. “What is right for a federal republic is not right for a family.” (last paragraph)

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Good Manners

IV.

Watch the film and take notes on some of the good manners that are mentioned in relation to each place / situation.

a) What type of film is it? Who produced it? Why? Justify your answer referring to details in it.

b) In what way does the film relate to the text on the invention of the Teenager? c) Compare / contrast the author of the article with the maker of the film. d) Identify the decade the pictures below correspond to (1930s, 1940s or 1950s) and justify your answer by referring to details present in each one of them.

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Breaking the mold I.

Read the following parts of the text and put them in order.

1. Despite the prosperity, as the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States intensified it was an anxious time. Living with the fear of a nuclear attack raised questions among the young. “It was scary,” remembers Martine Algier, who lived in a small town in Michigan before moving to the suburbs with her family. “It was really crazy. It looked like the adults were going nuts – I mean, here were these adults who were supposed to be running the world and take care of us, and yet they’d obviously done something very crazy to put us all in a situation like this.” At school teenagers hid under their desks during air raid drills, and at home they watched their parents store food and dig bomb shelters in their backyards. “After the Second World War our parents wanted, needed security,” says Ron Thelin, who lived in a small town in California. “Things were programed, your future was programed out… It was like being in trance.” 2. More babies were born in the first ten years after the Second World War in the United States than in the fifty years before it. There were so many ‘baby boomers’ that school playgrounds and classrooms soon became overcrowded. 3. As more and more young people listened to wilder, angrier sounds in music and watched the new films, they began to dance differently and to look differently; many of them also felt different. There were some early signs of rebellion as young people began to challenge established patterns of behavior. 4. In the United States more young people had money to spare than in any previous generation, and they spent it on new leisure opportunities. There were skating rinks and bowling alleys. There were magazines catering specially for young people. “The cars were made for us,” says Bob Bossar, from Pennsylvania. “We had new highways, we had new clothes and music, new schools – just a lot of bright things were going on. Probably a marketer’s dream, the baby boomers.” 5. In Britain the Teddy Boys broke with postwar conventions of dress, wearing eccentric outfits of narrow trousers and long, tailored jackets. There

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were similar groups elsewhere: the Blousons Noirs in France, the Halbstarken in Germany, the Taiyozoku in Japan, the Skinnuttar in Sweden and the Stilyagi in the Soviet Union. In the mid-1960s people in the United States would be shocked by the appearance and unruly behavior of motorcycle gangs clad in leather, who called themselves Hells’ Angels. By 1950 over half the people in the United States were under the age of eighteen, and increasing numbers of them were finding fault with the world around them. 6. The world in which the immediate postwar generation grew up was one in which most children were taught to treat their parents and others in authority with unquestioning deference, and to imitate their elders’ tastes and values when they themselves reached adulthood. But the dramatic changes of the 1960s had their roots in changes already taking place during the conservative 1950s. 7. In Europe economic recovery from the war was slower, but there too young people were growing up in a very different way from their parents’ generation. Prompted by reforms that made education more accessible, young people stayed on longer at school. New schools were built and the number of students in them rose. 8. For the vast majority of young people everywhere, music helped to break through that trance. Most parents did not approve of the loud, provocative sounds of rock and roll music, which they associated with rebelliousness. Their children, who were beginning to question the values their parents tried to impose, felt very differently. While he was still at school in 1955 Ron Thelin watched a film about juvenile delinquency, Blackboard Jungle, with its soundtrack featuring music by Bill Haley and the Comets. “It was a revelation for me. I had never heard the beat before,” he recalls. “It was totally unlike anything that I’d experienced in my life.” He became a rock and roll fan, and used to collect Elvis Presley records. “The music and the performance were an example to us of how we should move, and how we should let the music dominate us. It was something new, very out of the ordinary. It was breaking the mold. And it was fun.”

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II. Now, match the following images to each section and give them an appropriate title:

III. Vocabulary – Explain the meaning of the following expressions: •

Part I:

go nuts

being in a trance

•

Part II:

a marketer’s dream

baby boomers

•

Part 5:

unruly behavior

•

Part 8:

break the mold

run the world

IV. Answer the following questions: a) Based on information from the text, explain what led the postwar generation to want to break the mold. b) After watching the video clips below, speculate on the role music played in changing people’s behavior, relating it to the first part of the text.

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c) How can we explain the worldwide impact of the “youth revolution”?

Language Focus: Compound verbs Consider the following sentence from the text: “There were so many ‘baby boomers’ that school playgrounds soon became overcrowded.” The word overcrowded comes from the verb overcrowd = over + crowd. Notice the formation of the verb: the preposition over precedes the verb crowd, thus forming another verb. There are more verbs formed in the same way. Cristina Chabert

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A. Match the prepositions and the verbs below so as to form new verbs or nouns, and then replace the words / expressions in italics below using the new words you found. Make all the necessary structural changes. over with up out under down

do power mine set draw hear

estimate hold smart bring live grade

1. The adults were disturbed with the new kind of music. 2. Parents gave the youngsters and their capacity to change the world too little value. 3. Elvis Presley’s music survived him. 4. Nobody could but avoid hearing the new sounds of music. 5. The teenagers’ care and education was quite conventional. 6. Music helped teens remove themselves from the harsh realities of the Cold War. 7. Mainstream American society always tried to minimize the importance of rock and roll. 8. More and more teenagers had to suppress their desire to experiment marijuana. 9. During political demonstrations some teenagers managed to get the better of the police. 10. Many youths destroyed by imperceptible stages their parents’ resistance to the new fashion. 11. At one point the Beatles were excessively affected by their popularity. 12. During Woodstock most of the young audience considered that Jimmy Hendrix surpassed himself in performance. B. Now, fill in the blanks with an appropriate verb from the box below in the correct form. over-cloud

withstand

outgrow

downsize

over-expose

understate

outdate

bypass

underpin

uproot

outline

uphold

1. Be careful of __________________ your children to harmful influences. 2. Many teens fought against their parents to __________________ their newfound beliefs. 3. By doing away with traditional values, youths __________________ the conservative family structure. 4. Ron Thelin’s statements are __________________ by references to past emotions. 5. The widespread use of television __________________ radio as the centerpiece of family homes. 6. The first youth revolution was __________________ by the use of drugs. 7. In the 1960s people had difficulty in __________________ their racial prejudices. 8. Many 50s artists had to __________________ major criticism on the part of mainstream America. 9. Some teens used to __________________ their parents and go to dance halls. 10. The information from the text __________________ the extent of the impact music had on teens. 11. Bob Bossar briefly __________________ the wonders of the baby boomers’ world. 12. American manufacturers __________________ the car models to be sold overseas. Cristina Chabert

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The King I.

Why was Elvis such a controversial figure? Why was he first considered “unfit for a family audience” and kept out of television programs? Watch the video to figure out the answers.

II.

Complete the following text by writing the missing words from the box below in the spaces provided. teenage music influence reaction beat

drums cult field style stage

conservative appearances ballad singer fans

audience source records copies star

entertainment popularity idolized rhythm show

Rhythm and Blues was the primary _______________ of Rock and Roll, the teenage craze. Rock and Roll took these postwar blues singing _______________ and set it against a slow _______________ of repetitive chords in the piano or guitar and an accented offbeat on the _______________. The effect was overpowering. The first Rock and Roll singer to reach the general public was a white _______________ from Tupelo, Mississippi, named Elvis Presley. Presley had grown up in the South singing Rhythm and Blues and he sang with a more swinging _______________ than many of the race artists did. His success left a deep impression on postwar blues styles. Presley’s first television _______________ brought him into national prominence. He was a young, good-looking singer, shouting the blues, and shaking his hips and getting around on the _______________ like a strutting blues singer in a Southern nightclub. Overnight he was the most controversial _______________ personality since Frank Sinatra had first toured the country. Presley was ridiculed, bitterly attacked and _______________. With his spasmodic hip gyrations, he introduced a sexual suggestiveness that outraged _______________ adults; with his legions of teenage _______________, who immediately rose to his defense, he brought to Rock and Roll the _______________ of personality and became the archetype of the rock _______________ as cultural hero. Cristina Chabert

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The new teenage _______________ was richer than any juvenile group had ever been before and they spent much of their money on _______________. In 1956, ten million _______________ of Presley’s records were sold. A television variety _______________ that had first called Presley “unfit for a family audience” was forced to pay his price of fifty thousand dollars for three short appearances, and he sang a new _______________, ‘Love Me Tender’. Presley’s immense _______________ brought bewildering confusion to the blues _______________. He was white, but he was singing in a Negro style, and using many of the Rhythm and Blues stage ideas. The fact that he was still so young brought the new _______________ Audience into the picture, and the result was a jumble of racial styles, derivative blues, adolescent emotional problems and relentlessly amateurish singing. The _______________ to Rock and Roll, which by this time included the blues, was immense and bitter. In the South, many white groups recognized the strong Negro _______________ in the music their children were listening to and there were attempts to suppress it. By the late 1950s a malaise had set in: the Rock and Roll _______________ had become formula ridden, sentimental, and often – as in love-death ballads like ‘Teen Angel’ – distinctly poignant. Seeking a more honest expression, a significant segment of the adolescent and young adult audiences transferred their allegiance to folk music, to traditional balladeers and to the prophets of modern folk / social commentary – Joan Baez and Bob Dylan.

III.

Now, using as many of the words of the box above as possible, write 5 sentences about Rock ‘n’ Roll.

______________________________________________________________________________

Language Focus: Compound adjectives Look at this example from the text: “He was a young, good-looking singer…” In this example, the adjective in bold is a compound word, joined by a hyphen. There are two types of these compound adjectives: 1. Those that used to describe appearance and character. In these cases the second part of the compound is usually a present or past participle. e.g. He was a good-looking singer, but not a soft-spoken man. 2. Those that are used to describe something precisely. We use them to describe, for example, height, weight, length, duration, etc. The unit is always singular. e.g. Elvis became a two hundred-pound middle-aged man. A. Read the sentences below and write a sentence with the same meaning using a compound adjective. a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) j)

Priscilla, Elvis’ s wife, was fourteen years old when he met her. Priscilla Presley has got blue eyes and brown hair. Elvis became addicted to drugs. Elvis’s musical career lasted long. Graceland, Elvis’s home, has a front gate that is 6 yards wide. The trip to Memphis, where Elvis lived, took five hours. Elvis was driven by ambition. Priscilla Presley loved nature. The documentary about Elvis’s life lasted one hour. The song ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ refers to lovers who had their hearts broken.

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B. Match the following words to make compound adjectives. first easy five well short brand part good

star time sleeved time known going looking new

left north badly second ten far old light

fetched hand hearted east fashioned handed pound written

Make five sentences using some of the adjectives you’ve just created. a) ____________________________________________________________________________ b) ____________________________________________________________________________ c) ____________________________________________________________________________ d) ____________________________________________________________________________ e) ____________________________________________________________________________

The Blackboard Jungle

What do you do with a kid who can’t read, even though he’s fifteen years old? Recommend him for special reading classes, sure. And what do you do when those special reading classes are loaded to the roof, packed because there are kids who can’t read in abundance, and you have to take only those who can’t read the worst, dumping them on to a teacher who’s already overloaded and who doesn’t want to teach a remedial class to begin with? What do you do with that poor ignorant jerk? Do you call him in class, knowing damn well he hasn’t read the assignment because he doesn’t know how to read? Or do you ignore him? Or do you ask him to stop by after school, knowing he would prefer playing stickball to learning how to read, and knowing he considers himself liberated the moment the bell sounds at the end of the eighth period? What do you do when you’ve explained something patiently and fully, explained it just the way you were taught in your education courses, explained it in minute detail, and you look out at your class and see the stretching vacant wall of blank, blank faces, and you know nothing has penetrated, not goddamn thing has sunk in? What do you do then? Give them all board erasers to clean. What do you do when you call on a kid and ask, ‘What did the last passage mean?’ and the kid stands there without any idea of what the passage meant, and you know he’s not alone, you know every other kid in the class hasn’t the faintest idea either? What the hell do you do? Do you go home and browse through the philosophy of education books the GI Bill1 generously provided? Do you scratch your ugly head and seek enlightenment from the educational psychology texts? Do you consult Dewey2? And who the hell do you condemn? Just who? Do you condemn the elementary schools for sending a kid on to high school without knowing how to read, without knowing how to write his own name on a piece of paper? Do you condemn the masterminds who plot the educational systems of a nation, or a state, or a city? Do you condemn the kids for not having been blessed with IQs3 of 120? Can you condemn anyone? Can you

1 2 3

A bill that gave government funds to ex-soldiers in the United States so they could complete their education or professional training. John Dewey, a well-known American educational philosopher and writer. Abbreviation for Intelligence Quotient, the scale used to measure human intelligence; 100 is taken as the average.

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condemn the colleges that give you all you need to pass a Board of Education examination? Do you condemn the Board of Education for not making the exams stiffer, for not boosting the requirements, for not raising salaries, for not trying to attract better teachers, for not making sure their teachers are better equipped to teach? Or do you condemn the meatheads all over the world who drift into the teaching profession, Drift into it because it offers a certain amount of pay-cheque-every-month security, vacationevery-summer luxury, or a certain amount of power, or a certain easy road when the other more difficult roads are so full of ruts? Evan Hunter, The Blackboard Jungle, 1955

After having read the text, discuss with your partner the answers for the rhetorical questions asked by the author.

II.

Now, answer the following questions about the passage. 1. How different are Evan Hunter’s concerns from today’s? Has education changed much in the past 60 years? 2. The author appears to have a two-sided opinion about teachers. Point it out, referring to concrete examples from the passage. 3. “Give them all board erasers to clean.” What does the author mean by that? Why did he make it into a one-sentence paragraph? 4. What type of language does the author use? Why? 5. What is the author’s position in relation to the education issue? 6. How suggestive and appropriate is the title of the novel?

III.

Watch the trailer of the movie Blackboard Jungle and discuss the way the book was read. Which new factors does it bring into scene?

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Language Focus: Present Perfect 1. The following terms are often used when describing the use of particular verb forms: action / event

habitual action

state

Find two examples for each of the terms in the verb forms below: _______________ a) Some kids have always hated school. _______________ b) Give them all board erasers to clean. _______________ c) Have you ever been a teacher? _______________ d) He considers himself liberated the moment the bell rings. _______________ e) Evan Hunter is a famous writer of the 1950s. _______________ f) Students began to question the system. 2. a. Which of the descriptions below represent uses of the present perfect? i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi.

An action or event that was completed at a specific time in the past. A habitual action that began in the past and still continues. An action in the recent past that has a significant result in the present. An action in the past where the time is unknown or unimportant. A habitual action in the past. A state that began in the past and still continues.

b. Look carefully at the verb forms in the following sentences. Match each one of them to one of the uses described above. i. ____ You know that not a goddamn thing has ever sunk in? ii. ____ Parents always condemned teachers for their children’s academic failures. iii. ____ Since the 1950s education has become a major political and social problem. iv. ____ You teach the way you were taught in your education courses. v. ____ Do you call him in class, knowing perfectly well he hasn’t read the assignment? vi. ____ What do you do when you’ve just explained something patiently and fully and see blank faces? 3. Now match one of the uses of the present perfect from the box to each sentence below. a

Something done several times in the past.

Something started in the past and continuing in the present.

Past event important at the time of speaking.

Experience up to the present.

Time adverbial of recent past.

With a time adverbial that includes the present.

i. ____ Some kids have changed schools more than three times. ii. ____ I don’t think I’ve ever been to such an interesting class. iii. ____ He might have failed the exam. We’d better check on him. iv. ____ You’ll never guess who we’ve just met: our first grade teacher. v. ____ She’s been working for the same company since she graduated. vi. ____ The teacher hasn’t complained about her classes so far.

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CULTURE, ARTS AND SOCIETY

American Poetry since 1945: the Anti-‐tradition

A shift away from an assumption that traditional forms, ideas, and history can provide meaning and continuity to human life has occurred in the contemporary literary imagination throughout many parts of the world, including the United States. Events since World War II have produced a sense of history as discontinuous: each act, emotion, and moment is seen as unique. Style and form now seem provisional, makeshift, reflexive of the process of composition and the writer’s self-awareness. Familiar categories of expression are suspect; originality is becoming a new tradition. It is not hard to find historical causes for this disassociated sensibility in the United States. World War II itself, the rise of anonymity and consumerism in a mass urban society, the protest movements of the 1960s, the decade-long Vietnam conflict, the Cold War, environmental threats – the catalog of shocks to American culture is long and varied. The change that has most transformed American society, however, has been the rise of the mass media and mass culture. To Americans seeking alternatives, poetry seems more relevant than before: it offers people a way to express subjective life and articulate the impact of mass society on the individual. Use the information from the first part of the informative text to complete the chart below. Mind the visual clues and use note form.

II. In the 1950s a loosely knit group of American writers who became exiles within their own culture emerged in New York City and then in San Francisco, reaching prominence in 1956. They became known as the Beat Generation (the Beats or Beatniks) and were a clamorous bohemian reaction to the so-called silent generation of the 1950s. The Beats rejected conventional consumer society and created their literature around an unconventional lifestyle of Zen Buddhism, drugs, jazz, and a heightened respect for the individual over the mass. Their poetry was oral, repetitive, and immensely effective in readings, largely because it developed out of poetry readings in underground clubs. Some might correctly see it as a great-parent of the rap music that became prevalent in the 1990s. Beat poetry was the most anti-establishment form of literature in the United States, but beneath its shocking words lied a love of country. This poetry, which was a cry of pain and rage at what the poets saw as the loss of America’s innocence and the tragic waste of its human and material resources, had a marked influence on contemporary American literature and on the youth movement of the 1960s.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS AND SOCIETY

Now, read Ginsberg’s poem America along with his reading of it so as to answer the questions below.

America America I’ve given you all and now I’m nothing. America two dollars and twentyseven cents January 17, 1956. I can’t stand my own mind. America when will we end the human war? Go fuck yourself with your atom bomb. I don’t feel good don’t bother me. I won’t write my poem till I’m in my right mind. America when will you be angelic? When will you take off your clothes? When will you look at yourself through the grave? When will you be worthy of your million Trotskyites4? America why are your libraries full of tears? America when will you send your eggs to India? I’m sick of your insane demands. When can I go into the supermarket and buy what I need with my good looks? America after all it is you and I who are perfect not the next world. Your machinery is too much for me. You made me want to be a saint. There must be some other way to settle this argument. Burroughs5 is in Tangiers I don’t think he’ll come back it’s sinister. Are you being sinister or is this some form of practical joke? I’m trying to come to the point. I refuse to give up my obsession. America stop pushing I know what I’m doing. America the plum blossoms are falling. I haven’t read the newspapers for months, everyday somebody goes on trial for murder. America I feel sentimental about the Wobblies6. America I used to be a communist when I was a kid I’m not sorry. I smoke marijuana every chance I get. I sit in my house for days on end and stare at the roses in the closet. When I go to Chinatown I get drunk and never get laid. My mind is made up there’s going to be trouble. You should have seen me reading Marx. I have mystical visions and cosmic vibrations. America I still haven’t told you what you did to Uncle Max after he came over from Russia.

4 5 6

Followers of Leon Trotsky, a Russian political and economic theorist. William Burroughs, a major postmodernist American novelist that was a primary figure of the Beat Generation. Members of the Industrial Workers of the World, a chiefly US labor organization dedicated to the overthrow of capitalism.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS AND SOCIETY

I’m addressing you. Are you going to let your emotional life be run by Time Magazine? I’m obsessed by Time Magazine. I read it every week. Its cover stares at me every time I slink past the corner candystore. I read it in the basement of the Berkeley Public Library. It’s always telling me about responsibility. Businessmen are serious. Movie producers are serious. Everybody’s serious but me. It occurs to me that I am America. I am talking to myself again. Asia is rising against me. I haven’t got a chinaman’s chance. I’d better consider my national resources. My national resources consist of two joints of marijuana millions of genitals an unpublishable private literature that goes 1400 mph and twenty-five-thousand mental institutions. I say nothing about my prisons nor the millions of underprivileged who live in my flowerpots under the light of five hundred suns. I have already abolished the whorehouses of France, Tangiers is the next to go. My ambition is to be President despite the fact that I’m a Catholic. America how can I write a holy litany in your silly mood? I will continue like Henry Ford my strophes are as individual as his automobiles more so they’re all different sexes. America America America America America

I will sell you strophes $2500 apiece $500 down on your old strophe free Tom Mooney7 save the Spanish Loyalists8 Sacco & Vanzetti9 must not die I am the Scottsboro boys10.

America when I was seven momma took me to Communist Cell meetings they sold us garbanzos a handful per ticket a ticket costs a nickel and the speeches were free everybody was angelic and sentimental about the workers it was all so sincere you have no idea what a good thing the party was in 1835 Scott Nearing11 was a grand old man a real mensch Mother Bloor12 made me cry I once saw Israel Amter13 plain. Everybody must have been a spy. America you don’t really want to go to war. America it’s them bad Russians. Them Russians them Russians and them Chinamen. And them Russians. The Russia wants to eat us alive. The Russia’s power mad. She wants to take our cars from out our garages. Her wants to grab Chicago. Her needs a Red Readers’ Digest. Her wants our auto plants in Siberia. Him big bureaucracy running our fillingstations. That no good. Ugh. Him make Indians learn read. Him need big black niggers. Hah. Her make us all work sixteen hours a day. Help. America this is quite serious. America this is the impression I get from looking in the television set. America is this correct? I’d better get right down to the job.

7 American political activist and labor leader believed by many to have been convicted of a crime he didn’t commit (the San Francisco Preparedness Day bombing in 1916) 8 Middle-class liberals and moderate socialists, who, after the fall of the Spanish monarchy in 1931, began a broad ranging attack on the traditional, privileged structure of Spanish society. 9 Italian-born anarchists convicted of murdering two men during the armed robbery of a shoe factory in South Braintree, Massachusetts, in 1920. The trial was controversial, for they were compelled to detail their anarchist beliefs in court – which might have influenced the jury – and there were witnesses claiming they were in Plymouth. 10 Nine black teenage boys accused of rape in Alabama in 1931. 11 American radical economist, educator, writer, political activist, and advocate of simple living. 12 Ella Reeve Bloor, a US labor organizer and writer. 13 Marxist politician and founding member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA).

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS AND SOCIETY

It’s true I don’t want to join the Army or turn lathes in precision parts factories, I’m nearsighted and psychopathic anyway. America I’m putting my queer shoulder to the wheel.

Answer these questions about the poem. a. What is Ginsberg suggesting when he says “I’m sick of your demands” (line 14)? b. What criticism is he making to America? c. How significant is the fact that, at some point, he says, “It occurs to me that I am America.” (line 44)? d. Ginsberg’s clear dissatisfaction with America is also tinged with optimism and hope. Find in the poem examples of this. e. What do you think he is referring to when he says “I sit in my house for days on end and stare at the roses in the closet” (line 30)? i. Identify in the poem the line that shows he’s changed this attitude. f. What is Ginsberg’s intention in the first part of the last stanza, namely with the ungrammatical sentences? g. How can you explain the poem’s format, with the shifting from verb form to stanza?

Language Focus A. Slang As you have had the opportunity of noticing, the poem contains several registers of language. Look at the following examples from the text: a. The Russia wants to eat us alive. The Russia’s power mad. She wants to take our cars from out our garages. Her wants to grab Chicago. b. Go fuck yourself with your atom bomb. I get drunk and never get laid. I’m putting my queer shoulder to the wheel. Whereas the examples in a. are considered ‘bad’ English, because they are ungrammatical, the examples in b are considered slang. Slang is a very elusive element in human communication. It enters the language from a wide variety of sources, often from closely-knit communities. It belongs to the category of informal English, and can be broadly subdivided into innocuous and obscene. The examples in b. are regarded as obscenities. Let’s see if you can get the meaning of the slang words / expressions below. Match them with their corresponding definitions.

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

Cristina Chabert

red letter day take a rain check catch 22 yakety-yak smart Alec hogwash attaboy unmentionables sucker jock couch potato idiot box nerd loaded belly-button

a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. o.

athlete nonsense television gullible person someone who spends lots of time watching television navel short time attractive young man smart, superior wise guy, obnoxiously conceited person embarrassing mistake underwear a memorable date jail exclamation of encouragement or approval 2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS AND SOCIETY

____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26.

kick the bucket hunk blooper red neck booboo jiffy posh wet blanket cinch party pooper Angola

p. q. r. s. t. u. v. w. x. y. z.

mistake, blunder; minor injury (baby talk) very easy drunk; having much money; drugged boring, dull or unattractive person voluble talk person / thing that dampens enthusiasm killjoy position in which one cannot win, whatever one does leave it for another time uneducated white country man pass away, die

B. Euphemisms Euphemisms constitute another form of using the language. They are pleasant, innocuous words and phrases that are used instead of plainer, more direct expressions, which may give offence. Sometimes euphemisms are used out of a sense of politeness; for instance, to pass away instead of to die. And sometimes they are used to deceive, like air support instead of bombing raids. Can you identify the euphemistic expressions in these sentences? What do they really mean? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

‘We’ll have to let you go, John,’ said the managing director. At the end of the evening Ginsberg seemed to be tired and emotional. Many youths got into the habit of watching adult movies. The journalist commented that certain police officers might be responsible for the stock shrinkage. This house is ideal for the Do-it-yourself enthusiast. ‘This one was an own goal,’ said the police officer as he looked at the terrorist’s blown-up car. The President admitted that the statement he had made the day before was no longer operative. Harry Truman explained to the American people that it had been necessary for the American troops to engage in anticipatory retaliation. 9. ‘If anything should happen to me…’ 10. When the police questioned Ginsberg closely about his drug use, he admitted that he may have been economical with the truth. 11. There will be a tax reform. 12. It is a unique opportunity to acquire this property, which has a truly enormous potential for improvement. 13. He is no longer in his prime. 14. ‘The kindest thing to do would be to put your dog to sleep,’ said the vet. 15. General MacArthur expressed his satisfaction with the body count. 16. ‘I think that we’ll have to go in and take a little look,’ said the surgeon. 17. Kerouac, the Beat Generation poet, has been resting since he wrote his first masterpiece. 18. ‘and in sixth place…’ 19. a man is helping the police with their inquiries. 20. In his book he tells of his experiences as a gentleman of the road. 21. ‘…but I hope that we will always be friends.’ 22. Restroom. 23. She’s finally resting in peace. 24. The football team excelled in sportsmanship. 25. ‘I see that you’ve left room for improvement,’ said the father, looking at the child’s report card. 26. He’s a communications technician. 27. Right now she is between jobs. 28. The firm decided to reorganize its staff.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS AND SOCIETY

Pop Art The term "Pop Art" was coined by English art critic Lawrence Alloway in the late 1950s. He used it to describe what he viewed as a contemporary attitudinal shift in subject matter and techniques of art. Beginning in England in the mid-1950s and the United States in the early 1960s, this movement was marked by a fascination with popular culture reflecting the affluence in post-war society. It was most prominent in American art but soon spread to Britain. In so doing, artists availed themselves of images and ideas culled from popular culture — such as movies, comic books, advertising and especially television — and faithfully reproduced in all their mass-produced glory. This type of subject matter was considered every bit as artistically worthy as the traditional subject matter of Fine Art, and in celebrating everyday objects such as soup cans, washing powder, comic strips and soda pop bottles, the movement turned the commonplace into icons. The basic idea behind Pop art was to create a form of art with instant meaning. To achieve their goal of instant meaning, Pop artists experimented with new commercial processes, like acrylic painting, collage on canvas using materials not normally associated with painting, and silkscreen printing. People and objects were presented in bright, often highly-contrasting colors, while compositions were typically very simple and visually appealing to the general public. One of the most notable pop artists was the artist Andy Warhol (1928-1987), who really brought Pop Art to the public eye with his screen prints of Coke bottles, Campbell’s soup tins and film stars. How much closer can you get to pop culture of the 60's than a can of soup? Well, perhaps the answer is Marilyn Monroe. Warhol is noted for creating artistic portraits of Marilyn Monroe. He is noted to have mingled with many different subculture circles and must have had some influence on how and why he created the art that was famous for. I bet you didn't know his birth name was Andrew Warhola. Or perhaps you did? Another notable pop artist was Roy Lichtenstein (19231997). He created art using comic strips as the subject. He also was known for creating pop art style reproductions of master painters like Monet. Personally, I always like to see someone play with a master's artwork. What better exercise could an artist receive? Pop Art sought to reflect the social values and environment from which it sprang. Thus they focused on the preoccupations shared by most American consumers: food, cars and romance. Typically, this was achieved using brash, or satirical, imagery with strong visual impact. And if they were criticized for concerning themselves with such subject matter, they could simply say they were simply (in Shakespeare's words) "holding the mirror up to nature", or in their case "modern society". If nothing else, Pop Art, which, in the words of the British artist Richard Hamilton was a “popular, transient, expendable, lowcost, mass-produced, young, witty, sexy, gimmicky, glamorous, and Big Business”, was "the" post-war expression of a world wholly preoccupied the pursuit of materialism. I.

Summarize each paragraph with a topic phrase. Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph Paragraph

1 2 3 4 5 6

________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________

II. Now, use those topic sentences to write a cohesive summary of the original text. Use as few words as possible and do not to exceed the lines provided. ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS AND SOCIETY

Language Focus: The main clause Look at the following sentence from the text: If nothing else, Pop Art, which, in the words of the British artist Richard Hamilton was a “popular, transient, expendable, low-cost, mass-produced, young, witty, sexy, gimmicky, glamorous, and Big Business”, was "the" post-war expression of a world wholly preoccupied the pursuit of materialism. The highlighted part corresponds to the main clause of this complex sentence. As you see in the example, the main clause is often split by subordinate clauses. Identify the main clause in each of the complex sentences below. 1. Much as she liked to be honest with them, Elizabeth decided not to tell her children that she had experimented with drugs in her youth, even though her friends advised her to come clean, because they thought that children have the right to know the truth about their parents. 2. In spite of his drug experiences Alan never raised the subject of drugs with his kids, because he was convinced that it wasn’t necessary, since the propaganda at school was so strong. 3. In case your child experiments with marijuana or, even worse, with cocaine or LSD, which might mean that he / she runs the risk of becoming addicted, you must be very frank with him / her about the dangers of drug use, especially in relation to the difficulty in overcoming drug addiction. 4. Every student had to complete a 4000-word essay on drug abuse, which had to be typed, with the exceptions of those students who had attended any of the sessions organized by the school, providing that they could produce a certificate of attendance. 5. In order to reach as many children as possible, the school decided to launch a propaganda campaign, regardless of its costs. 6. Angela, whose elder brother, a chemical engineer, had taught her how to say no to drugs, always refused to try any, whereas her closest friends, who hadn’t had anyone in their families coaching them on how to avoid temptation, ended up trying marijuana, in spite of all the school campaigns, which were normally organized at least twice a year. 7. Bob, who was a former drug addict and, moreover, had come from a family in which there were several cases of drug and alcohol abuse, was, according to the audience, the most inspired and effective orator of the evening.

Graffiti The word GRAFFITI simply means--words or drawings scratched, scribbled or painted on a wall. The word originates from the Greek word "graphein" (to write) and the word "grafitti" itself is plural of the Italian word "graffito." Graffiti markings have been around since the beginning of time, remnant of early graffiti can be seen in caves all over the world. It represents a human desire and need for communication, and in some cases the simple display of existence. Graffiti writers around the world know the name that started it all: TAKI 183. A kid from 183rd Street in Washington Heights in northern Manhattan, Taki’s simple signature captured the attention of a reporter and, in the summer of 1971, an article appeared in The New York Times. TAKI was the first New Yorker to become famous for writing graffiti. The floodgates opened.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS AND SOCIETY

Structure of a Newspaper Article Each newspaper article has a title (called the headline) that is set in large type. The writer of a newspaper article is often not credited; if the author is mentioned, this credit is called the author's byline. The beginning of each newspaper article (the first paragraph) is called the lead (one or two sentences long); the lead should summarize the main facts of the article, telling the 5 W's (who, what, when, where, and why) and how. The first paragraph should also contain a hook, something that grabs the reader's attention and makes the reader want to read the rest of the article. The nut graph is the paragraph that contains the core information about the story and tells the reader why the story is important. The remainder of the article contains supporting paragraphs that go into more detail about the topic, often including quotes and interesting facts. The less important information should appear later in the article, since the article may be cropped (shortened) by the editor (the person who puts the newspaper together) to make the article fit on the newspaper page. The reporter's opinions should not appear in the article - only the facts. Use clear and simple language. Keep the article short and to the point. Use active verbs (for example: Man bites dog) and not passive verbs (for example: Dog bitten by man). Each picture, graph or illustration should have a caption describing or explaining it.

Identify in the news article all the components mentioned above.

II. Now, using the above structure, write a newspaper article about an aspect of the 50s that has caught your attention.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS AND SOCIETY

Notes Henrik Ibsen, who is often referred to as the father of modern drama, popularized the social-problem play. As the name implies, the socialproblem play deals with a social issue that looms large in the dramatist’s society. In the United States in the 1930s, with its political turmoil and social unrest, the social-problem play was very popular. Arthur Miller’s All My Sons is in the tradition of the social-problem play, dealing with a businessman’s responsibility to his society. It is based on a true story, which Miller’s then mother-in-law pointed out in an Ohio newspaper. I. In All my sons the action takes place in a timespan of roughly twentyfour hours. It starts in August, on an early Sunday morning, and ends at about two o’clock the following morning. There are, however, several crucial events that happen before this period, which can be called “the play’s pre-history”. Match each of the following passages about the play’s pre-history to the corresponding events. 1.

[Frank] “Annie came?” (p.93) [Keller] “That was a very happy family used to live in your house, Jim.” (p. 93) [Keller] “… that’s what a war does.” (p. 95) [Mother] “We used to see his face in the cockpit.” (p.105) [Frank] “… does Dad expect a parole soon?” (p. 114) [Chris] “He murdered twenty-one pilots.” (p. 117) ) [Keller] “All of a sudden a batch comes out with a crack. That happens, that’s the business.” (p. 118) [Keller] “… he was in the next cell to mine.” (p. 118) [Ann] “I was waiting for you, Chris.” (p. 120) [George] Annie – we did a terrible thing.” (p. 141)

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Ann and George never contact their father.

Joe alleges to have been sick.

Joe’s business prospers after the war.

Larry writes to Annie.

e. f.

Larry commits suicide. The Deever family moves out of town.

Steve is sentenced to jail.

h. i.

Larry knows what happened. Chris invites Annie to his home.

The US get involved in World War II.

Larry and Ann are engaged.

12.

[George] “I saw your factory (…) It looks like General Motors” (p. 150) [Keller] “Except my flu during the war.” (p. 153)

13.

[Mother] “She’s Larry’s girl.” (p. 155)

14. 15.

[Ann] “His engine didn’t fail him.” (p. 165) [Ann] “I’m not trying to hurt you, Kate.” (p. 165) [Larry] “Yesterday they flew in a load of papers from the States…” (p. 169)

n. o.

Joe and Steve are arrested. Cracked parts from Joe’s factory are shipped. Chris starts writing to Ann. Pilots die because of the cracked parts.

Larry enlists as a pilot.

11.

16.

II. Now, complete this diagram considering the chronological order of those events.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

ALL MY SONS

The events depicted before lead to the “history of the play”, to what actually happens during that period of about twenty-four hours. III. Considering the “history of the play”, link the sections that belong together. . . . . .

wants Annie to leave. gives Kate Larry’s letter for her to finally accept that Larry is dead and set Chris free. is deeply affected by the broken apple tree, which she sees as a bad omen. commits suicide when he finally realizes that he has lost both sons. confronts Keller and accuses him of being the sole responsible for the selling of the cracked cylinder heads. . doesn’t want to accept the truth and wants her brother to leave. . visits the Kellers to prevent his sister from marrying Chris. . asks Annie to marry him. . refuses to accept Chris and Annie’s engagement. . finally believes in his father when he tells him about his innocence. . believes that her missing son will one day return. . wants his father to turn himself in. . justifies himself saying that all that he had done had been for the sake of the family. . finally acknowledges that his father is guilty of having sent 21 pilots to their deaths. . never recognizes his responsibility. . decides to go away, saying he can no longer stay. . visits his father in prison to tell him the news about Chris and Annie’s engagement.

KATE JOE CHRIS ANNIE GEORGE

IV. Now, order the above sentences according to the sequence of events and then summarize the history of the play. Make the necessary changes and use appropriate linking words (although, in the meantime, after, so that, …) _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ V. The play is developed around a series of themes that can be easily identified. Which are they? (Tick ü the adequate ones) Be prepared to justify your choices. Memories of the war Generation gap Family relationships Individual freedom Personal success (the American Dream)

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

Family values Discrimination Quest for values Totalitarianism Responsibility

ALL MY SONS

VI. The space where an action takes place functions as one of the organizational principles of the microcosm of the fiction. It simultaneously determines and is determined by the behavior of the characters and, as Mother says, “… there are meanings in such things.” (p. 107). These meanings need therefore to be decoded through the establishment of relations between the space itself, the characters and their actions. the house poplars

seven rooms

basement backyard porch

two storeys

broken apple tree

plants

Considering the picture above, identify the elements that correspond to the symbolic meanings below. Elements

Symbolic Meanings Symbol of knowledge, which introduces the need of choice, and may either confer immortality, or provoke the fall. Represent the totality of space and time. Center of the world, image of the universe, isolated from the rest of the world. Reinforce the idea of seclusion, of isolation. Represents the duality that is present in some of the characters. Associated to the unconscious, to people’s deepest and darkest secrets. Being already half dead, they symbolize the beginning of the end. Simultaneously an open and a closed space, it can be associated to the revelation of the family secrets.

VII. A character cannot be dissociated from the universe (s)he belongs to. The existence of an isolated character, without being part of a story, without a past, a family, friends, values or character traits would be nonsensical. That’s why it is so important to take these aspects into account. a. How would you characterize the following characters? (Tick ü the chosen traits) If you find it necessary, add other traits.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

ALL MY SONS

MOTHER

KELLER

CHRIS

ANN

GEORGE

idealistic materialistic vindictive depressive anxious friendly reasonable generous naive responsible forgiving calculating

b. The number three appears several times throughout the play: Larry disappeared three years ago (p. 99); Chris thought about his relationship with Ann for three years (p. 101); three things happen at the same time: Larry’s birthday, his tree blows down and Annie comes (p. 104); Chris says three times that they all ought to forget Larry (p. 106). This number can be related to the series of triangular relationships that exist throughout the play.

Establish as many triangular relationships as you can between these main characters and draw a line linking them. Be prepared to justify your decision. The first one is already done for you!

Justification: Larry, Chris and George had all big principles; the three of them were Eagle Scouts. Their destiny is also somewhat similar in terms of the “fall” of their principles: the only thing left of Larry was the tree, Chris can’t stand on his own feet when the weather gets bad (p. 148) and George is precociously aged (p. 144).

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

ALL MY SONS

VIII. Chris is the character that appears to participate in most triangular relationships. This shows how decisive a role Chris’s is, and consequently how important it is to understand him. This cannot be done unless we answer the following question: had he or hadn’t he always known about his father’s guilt? A. Decide whether the following passages suggest that Chris knew or that he didn’t know about what his father had done. Circle K or NK according to your decision. K

[Chris] “He [Steve] murdered twenty one pilots.” (p. 117)

[Keller] “Because sometimes I think you’re … ashamed of the money. (…) Because it’s good money, there’s nothing wrong with that money. [Chris] [a little frightened] Dad, you don’t have to tell me this.” (Pp. 124-5)

[Sue] “… As though Chris or anybody else isn’t compromising…” (p. 131)

[Chris] “Do you think I could forgive him if he’d done that thing?” (p. 133)

[Chris] “The man is innocent, Ann. Remember he was falsely accused…” (p. 133)

[Chris] “I don’t want him [Steve] in the plant, so that’s that! (…) And besides, don’t talk about him like that. People misunderstand you!” (p. 136)

[George] “Then why isn’t your name on the business?” (p. 143)

[Chris] “You’d better answer him, Annie. Answer him.” (p. 154)

[Chris] “That’s all, nothing more (…) about the case or Larry as long as I’m here!” (p. 155)

[Chris] “[In a broken whisper] Then… you did it?” (p. 156)

[Sue] “…Everybody knows Joe pulled a fast one to get out of jail. (…) There’s not a person on the block who doesn’t know the truth.” (p. 131) [Ann] “She says they think Joe is guilty. [Chris] What difference does it make what they think?” (p. 133)

[George] Let me go up and talk to your father (…) Or are you afraid of the answer? [Chris] I’m not afraid of the answer. I know the answer. But my mother isn’t well…” (p. 144) [George] “You heard her say it, he’s never been sick! [Mother] He misunderstood me, Chris! [Chris looks at her, struck.]” (p. 154)

[Mother] I always had the feeling that in the back of his head Chris… almost knew. I didn’t think it would be such a shock.” (p. 160) [Jim] “Chris would never know how to live with a thing like that. It takes a certain talent – for lying. You have it, and I do. But not him.” (p. 160) [Chris] “… I suspected my father and I did nothing about it…” (p. 166) [Chris] “…if I knew that night when I came home what I know now, he’d be in the district attorney’s office by this time, and I’d have brought him there.” (p. 166) [Chris] “…What is there to do? I’ve looked all night for a reason to make him suffer. [Ann] There’s reason, there’s reason! [Chris] What? Do I raise the dead when I put him behind bars?” (p. 167)

This fact (whether or not Chris had always known the truth) also leads us to question the real motives behind some of his less transparent actions or attitudes. B. Decide which are the most logical motives that explain the following episodes (in the boxes below you can add other reasons that you consider more appropriate). More than one is possible.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

ALL MY SONS

C. Chris can also be compared to some of the other characters: 1. Chris and Annie Sue, who Joe considers “too… too… realistic” (p. 94), appears to be one of the most perspicacious characters, capable of seeing beyond the surface of the others. While Mother ends up recognizing that maybe she and Joe don’t really know their own son (p. 163), Sue’s perceptions seem to be grounded. Sue tells Annie that she is “the female version” of Chris’s (p. 132). To what extent is this true? Look at the pairs of excerpts on the left and identify the types of similarities that exist between Chris and Annie. Examples • [Chris] “… I’m his brother and he’s dead, and I’m marrying his girl.” (p. 155) • [Ann] “… I came to get married…” (p. 165) • [Sue] “… if Chris wants people to put on the hair-shirt let him take off his broadcloth.” (p. 132) • [Ann] “How’s that [the dress] for three weeks’ salary?” (p. 109) [Ann] “It [Chris’s money] wouldn’t matter to me.”(p. 130) • [Keller] “… you mean you’d leave the business?” [Chris] “Then help me stay here.” (p. 102) • [Ann] “I’ll do nothing about Joe, but you’re going to do something for me.” (p. 164) • [Chris] “[in a broken whisper] Then… you did it?” (p. 156) [Chris] “Do I raise the dead when I put him behind bars?” (p. 167) • [George] “He simply told your father to kill pilots…” (p. 154) [Ann] “Go, George!” (p. 155)

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

Type of similarity

ALL MY SONS

2. Chris, Joe and Larry Joe had to make a choice between the welfare of the others (his responsibility for the community) and the welfare of his family (his responsibility for the family). He did what he thought was right: he chose the family, the business. KELLER: …I’m in business, a man is in business; a hundred and twenty cracked, you’re out of business (…) You lay forty years into a business and they knock you out in five minutes, what could I do, let them take my life away? (p. 157) KELLER: …You [Mother] wanted money, so I made money. What must I be forgiven? You wanted money, didn’t you? (p.162) a. This was a moral issue. What would you have done if you had been in Joe’s position? Moved by Chris’s strongly antagonistic reaction, Joe contrasts both his sons, suggesting that Larry was materialistic like his father and consequently might also have been willing to sacrifice a few lives for the sake of business: KELLER: Goddam, if Larry was alive he wouldn’t act like this. He understood the way the world is made. He listened to me. To him the world had a forty-foot front, it ended at the building line. This one, everything bothers him. You make a deal, overcharge two cents, and his hair falls out. He don’t understand money… (p. 163) His belief is demystified through Larry’s letter, where he says that he “can’t bear to live any more” and that if he had his father there he could have killed him (Pp. 169-70). Joe then concluded that, for Larry, those pilots were all his “sons” (p. 170). b. Taking all this into account, how would you characterize Larry’s suicide? As an act of cowardice or as an act of bravery? Justify your answer. What about Chris? Is he more like Larry, “a Jesus in this world” (p. 169), or more like his father? c. Decide which of the following passages suggest that he was more like Larry or more like his father. Tick ü in the appropriate column on the right. PASSAGES

LIKE LARRY

LIKE JOE

SUE: … As though Chris or anybody else isn’t compromising… (p. 131) He’s driving my husband crazy with that phoney idealism of his… (p. 132) CHRIS: … Don’t you have a country? Don’t you live in the world? What the hell are you? You’re not even an animal, no animal kills his own, what are you?… (p. 158) JIM: Chris would never know how to live with a thing like that. It takes a certain talent – for lying. You have it, and I do. But not him. (p. 160) JIM: Oh, no, he’ll come back (…) The compromise is always made (…) He probably just wanted to be alone to watch his star [of one’s honesty] go out. (p. 160) MOTHER: He loved you, Joe, you broke his heart. … I don’t know him… (p. 163) CHRIS: … I’m yellow. I was made yellow in this house (…) I’m like everybody else now. I’m practical. You made me practical. (p. 166) CHRIS: … What is there to do? I’ve looked all night for a reason to make him suffer. (…) … this is the land of the great big dogs, you don’t love a man here, you eat him! (p. 167) CHRIS: … I can’t look at you this way, I can’t look at myself (p. 168) CHRIS: … Once and for all you can know there’s a universe of people outside and you’re responsible to it. (p. 170)

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

ALL MY SONS

The analysis of Chris’s war past may also give us some insight into his true character. How did he – the commander of a company – manage to be just about the only survivor? D. Taking into account everything you’ve learned so far about this character, look at the passages below and cross out the one(s) you think represent lame or unlikely explanations for the death of everybody else’s but Chris’s.

E. It’s now time to go back to exercise VII and (re)evaluate Chris. We may “ask” him the same question he asked of his father: “What kind of a man are you?” (p. 158) It seems that one thing is the image of himself he wants to transmit; another is what he actually is: [Mother] I’m beginning to think we don’t really know him. They say in the war he was such a killer. Here he was always afraid of mice.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

ALL MY SONS

The Times they are a Changin' Bob Dylan I.

Read the song lyrics below to order the video clip accordingly.

Come gather 'round people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You'll be drenched to the bone If your time to you Is worth savin' Then you better start swimmin' Or you'll sink like a stone For the times they are achangin' Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen Keep your eyes wide The chance won't come again

Don't speak too soon For the wheel's still in spin And there's no tellin' who That it's namin' For the loser now Will be later to win For the times they, they are a-changin' Come senators, Congressmen Please heed the call Don't stand in the doorway Don't block up the hall

It'll soon shake your windows And rattle your walls For the times they are achangin'

Please get out of the new one If you can't lend a hand For your times they are achangin'

Come mothers and fathers Throughout the land Don't criticize What you can't understand

The line it is drawn And the curse it is cast The slow one now Will later be fast

Your sons and your daughters Are beyond your command Your old road is Rapidly agin'

As the present now Will later be past The order is Rapidly fadin'

For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled There's a battle outside And it's ragin'

And the first one now Will later be last For the times they are achangin'

II. Answer these questions about the song. 1. Dylan is singing of the ‘new order’ that is arriving and pushing out the old values. Account for what is meant by the new order and the old values. 2. Is this poem a promise or a warning? Or is it both a promise and a warning? Justify. 3. What are the messages Dylan is addressing to: a. the media

b. the politicians

c. the parents

d. the ‘Establishment’?

4. What does he mean with “for he that gets hurt / will be he who has stalled”?

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

Language Focus: Modality Dylan expresses, with a high degree of certainty, the idea that the times are changing and that whoever stays in the way will be “drenched to the bone”. Extrinsic modality refers precisely to certainty, probability and possibility. For each of the non-modal expressions below, write down a modal equivalent.

As for intrinsic modality, it has to do with our assessment of the situation, about what or how we feel. Complete the following mind map by adding the appropriate modals to each category.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

Rebels with a cause

There were simply not enough universities to cope with the huge number of students, and many campuses became overcrowded, with conditions and standards within them inevitably suffering. One of the most congested in the United States was Berkeley – one of the eight campuses of the University of California. At Berkeley Vivian Rothstein shared her psychology class with a thousand other students. “Of all of us who went to Berkeley, many of us were first-generation kids who got to go to college, and we were a big deal in our families, and we’d all got really good grades in high school,” she remembers. “There were twenty, thirty thousand kids in the school and nobody knew us. Nobody talked to us… I felt that I was part of this huge, massive community in which I was unimportant. I started looking for a place to belong.” Mounting tensions had been giving rise to student groups and Organizations, and by 1964 a poll estimated that 5 percent of those between the ages of twenty-one and twenty-five had joined a political group of some kind. The civil rights movement was what triggered Vivian’s involvement. “The whole civil rights effort and the people I met in the civil rights movement became the core of my life at Berkeley. It was harder and harder to stay connected to my studies,” she recalls. “I had never belonged to anything like that in my whole life… The sense of urgency and community and common mission was very exciting.” She started taking part in local demonstrations outside shops and restaurants that refused to employ black people. In the mid-1960s Berkeley became the site of the first serious student protests for the civil rights movement, which then spread to other colleges around the country. Choose from the short text above the information you consider most relevant to explain the 1960s phenomenon. Write it down in note form. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

What additional information does the following video provide? Take notes on it.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

Ideological Gap – Letters

Dear Daddy,

You really want to know what our problems are? Why we protest, love in, sit down, drop out, get high, rave or simply misbehave? You ask what we are really protesting about? Yet to ask what youth is protesting about is a silly question. It deserves, and often gets, the reply: ‘What is everyone else complacent about?’ The pressing question I should have thought, is not what, but what now? For there are as many reasons for protest as there are protesters. I see you are all looking for universal causes of our frustration or dissatisfaction. But the universal answers turn out to be universally facile and universally unconstructive. The permissive society gets the blame, but no one knows precisely who, where or what it is. The generation gap is invoked, but those who believe in its existence also seem to believe in its inevitability, if not its necessity in the order of things. I think it exists to give the middle-aged something to protest about. Every specialist has got specialized answers. When we march, the politicians march with us. When we smoke pot, the doctors study us. When we drop out, the sociologists cluster round us. Their views, I’m sure, are to be respected. But they are speaking about us, not for us. There is a gap that I’m aware of, but it’s so big you may scarcely see. It’s an ideological gap, which means you and I will use different words for the same thing. We will adopt different priorities for the same problem and make different interpretations of the same situations. Above all, we will come up with different answers to the same questions. I didn’t see there is a hope in hell of your seeing it our way. I’d rather you didn’t try, as a matter of fact, because if there’s one thing worse than ignorant censure, it’s ignorant admiration. And we’ve had enough of that heaped on us this year… I suppose of all prejudices, age-prejudice is one of the most crippling, matching disillusion with idealism, experience against enthusiasm. It makes so few distinctions, equates protest with delinquency, dropouts with failure. It obscures the fact that everywhere the protests are continuing, articulate, organized and educated, and that we no longer feel hopelessly determined by history. It ignores the fact that every dropout (your catch-phrase, I think, not ours) is in fact society’s failure. That each one of them is concerned with the quality of life, which the stay-ins are in no position to come to terms with. Active or passive, though, we aren’t deliberately trying to be a constant reminder that society is insufferable. My Dear Sally, It must be very satisfying to know you’re right. It’s a luxury I’ve not indulged in for many years now. There’s a confession for you – I probably seem to have spent the last eighteen years pronouncing infallibly on what is right and what is wrong. Well, I wonder how many times you caught the lack of conviction in my voice? Not often, probably. Eighteen years of repetition is a long time to cultivate a passable air of authority. You are right, though, about the distorting effects of age-prejudice. I appreciate that at forty-one, I may not be your kind of scene, but I would certainly resent being classified as a middle-aged archetype, as much as you would resent being called a rocker1 or a teenybopper2. However, just to make the position clear, there are one or two prejudices I’d like to get off my chest first. For a start I find your mumbojumbo of sacred texts quite incoherent, and I refuse to be blamed for not bringing you up a Hindu or a Buddhist. We had our gurus, too, in our time, but we had to make do with Marx as our revolutionary instead of Bolivian guerillas, whose jungle tactics you must surely find pretty irrelevant in Hyde Park? If they are the keystone of your ideological gap, I’d be very disappointed. I had always assumed it was made of more original stuff… What you might not have noticed is that you are beginning to act out the stereotypes they have created. If, as you say, we have become the slaves to affluence, you run the risk of becoming slaves to your image. Television creates all things to its own image, after all, and unless your generation is aware of what makes you different from other generations, you are all in danger of becoming irrelevant, of just stewing in your ‘expanding consciousness’. Which would be a pity. If I tell you how I see it, feel free to reject this explanation along with all the others. No one pretends that parent-child conflicts haven’t always existed. The king must die, after all, and the old must lose power, but will also struggle to retain it against the demands of the young. The conflict was cyclic, for by the time a man achieved power he was old himself and the cycle recommenced. The new factor is sociological. Affluence has brought with it the realization that you adolescent are a market. You have been exploited and in the process your ‘teenage’ image was created. The exploiters suffered the fate of Frankenstein – their creation developed a will of its own. You have begun to disseminate not the ideas embodied in the exploiters’ concepts, but your own ideas. Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

So this is the new factor. The young have gained a class-consciousness, in the Marxian sense. Your demands are not for Coke and candies as the exploiters hoped, but for social change; this social change is not just for you, to be exchanged in time for the key of the door, but for all of us. So the cycle is ending. You have, to continue the analogy, taken over from the discredited proletariat the role of the revolutionary class. As one of your more garrulous spokesmen puts it, I believe, you should not be trying to destroy government and authority, but to make it redundant. I think perhaps you understand all this instinctively. But do you understand us? We are used to thinking that recovery from adolescence was usually spontaneous. It was a great comfort. Now we see you, the first planned generation, with television in your blood and radioactivity in your bones, and we wonder if any of us will recover. Michael Wynn-Jones in Nova, December 1968 1

Member of a gang wearing jeans and leather jackets and riding powerful motorcycles. Children between about ten and fourteen years old, distinguished by sophisticated clothes and attitudes far in advance of their age (US slang). 2

Answer the following questions about the texts: 1. How would you characterize the relationship between father and daughter? Explain, by referring to the text. 2. Find in each letter two examples of sarcasm or irony. 3. Point out in each letter at least one statement that is venting anger or rage. 4. Who do you consider presents stronger arguments? Why? Give examples. 5. Summarize the daughter’s main arguments, in note form, and pair them with her father’s counterarguments. Daughter’s main arguments

Father’s counterarguments

•

6. Which side do you mostly identify with? Justify.

II.

Now, pretending you are the daughter, write the father a letter of reply.

Project Assignment: Select one of the songs below, make an original video clip, and present it in class.

Generation Gap, by Hoodoo Gurus

A Song for Mamma, by Boyz II Men

Song for Dad, by Keith Urban

Father & Son, by Phil Collins

You can let go now, Daddy, by Crystal

Daddy, by Beyoncé

Father & Son, by Cat Stevens

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

Dear Mamma, by 2Pac

She’s leaving home, By The Beatles

You’ll always be my baby, by Sara Evans

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

Days of Rage

Before reading the text, and considering the title as well as the pictures below, use as many of the following keywords as you can to build at least 2 sentences that are likely to be supported by the text.

sexual segregation anti-war

riots

demonstrations draft

barricades protests

turmoil Vietnam

______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ II.

Now read the text to check whether it provides the information contained in your sentences.

As 1967 turned into 1968 youth protests were on the increase in many parts of Europe, both east and west, as well as in Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico and the United States. The two issues – the Vietnam War and university conditions and organization – ran in parallel, and were often combined. In the United States anti-war protests were becoming very violent. One of the largest took place in October 1967, a few months after the government had sent a further 100 000 troops to Vietnam. A march was held in the capital, Washington D.C., at the Defense Department, housed in the Pentagon. Jeff Jones, who had joined the leading radical student group SDS, took part. ‘When we got to the Pentagon,’ he recalls, ‘there were thousands and thousands of people there.’ The army was sent in to control the crowd, some 100 000 people. ‘Things had reached the stage where the government had to call out the army to protect the Pentagon from the people. It was intimidating. It was also exhilarating, because the message of alienation and disagreement and contempt had apparently gotten through.’ Later that year the government announced that students who were arrested in anti-war demonstrations would lose their drafts deferments. They were not deterred. There were continuing campus rebellions – at Antioch College, at Berkeley, Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Kent State, Jackson

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

State and others. Students had led many of the demonstrations, but the anti-war movement was now far wider, with an estimated thirty-six million people having taken part. Students were becoming harder to ignore. There was unrest across Britain, in Czechoslovakia, in Poland and West Germany, in Italy and in Denmark. In Japan, where the Vietnam War had fuelled existing anger over education policies, hundreds of students were arrested when they smashed the windows of the foreign Ministry. The greatest turmoil of all took place in Paris in 1968, where student demands included an end to the sexual segregation that still existed in university accommodations, wider access to higher education for working-class pupils, reforms in teaching methods, examinations and course content, and the right to appoint class representatives. In the United States Jeff Jones took part in a ‘Days of Rage’ protest in Chicago, organized in October by the radical Weathermen Underground group. ‘The first night was the most terrifying thing I was ever involved in,’ he says. ‘We started down through the streets of Chicago and very quickly it turned into a riot of sorts… People started breaking shop windows and car windows.’ As they broke through police barricades, hundreds of people were arrested and six were shot. By the end of the 1960s, says Bill Arthrell, ‘It seemed as though every spring we thought the revolution was going to come, that we were going to profoundly change American society.’ III.

The four statements below are all about the text and are literally TRUE. Considering the passage, decide which two of them are most important. Justify your decision. 1. 1967 was a landmark in US history. 2. The Vietnam War issue has to be seen in its worldwide dimension. 3. Most countries’ governments underestimated the powers of their youths. 4. The Vietnam War cannot be dissociated from other serious social problems.

IV. Research project: select one of the aspects mentioned in the text above, do some research on it and present your findings in class. Make your presentation as clear and appealing as possible.

Norman Morrison I.

This small text, which looks like a piece of news from an American Newspaper, is actually a poem written by Adrian Mitchell in 1969.

1. Transform it into a poem. 2.

Now, compare it with the original one. Are there any differences? If so, do you consider them meaningful, that is, in what way do they determine the interpretation of the poem?

3. Why do you think Mitchel wrote it as a poem?

On November 2nd 1965, in the multi-colored multiminded United beautiful States of terrible America, Norman Morrison set himself on fire outside the Pentagon. He was thirty-one; he was a Quaker, and his wife (seen weeping in the newsreels) and his three children survive him as best as they can. He did it in Washington where everyone could see, because people were being set on fire in the dark corners of Vietnam, where nobody could see. Their names, ages, beliefs and loves are not recorded. This is what Norman Morrison did. He poured petrol over himself. He burned. He suffered. He died. That is what he did in the white heart of Washington, where everyone could see. He simply burned away his clothes, his passport, his pink-tinted skin, put on a new skin of flame and became Vietnamese.

II. Explain the meaning of the following. 1. “… United beautiful States of terrible America…” 2. “… pink-tinted skin…” 3. “… put on a new skin of flame and became Vietnamese.” Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

III. Match the figures of speech to the examples and explain their use. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Antithesis Anaphora Synecdoche Metaphor Enumeration

a. b. c. d. e.

a new skin of flame He simply burned away his clothes, his passport, his pink-tinted skin He burned. He suffered. He died. white heart of Washington United beautiful States of terrible America

On November 2nd 1965 in the multi-colored multi-minded United beautiful States of terrible America Norman Morrison set himself on fire outside the Pentagon. He was thirty-one, he was a Quaker, and his wife (seen weeping in the newsreels) and his three children Survive him as best as they can. He did it in Washington where everyone could see because people were being set on fire in the dark corners of Vietnam where nobody could see. Their names, ages, beliefs and loves are not recorded. This is what Norman Morrison did. He poured petrol over himself. He burned. He suffered. He died. That is what he did in the white heart of Washington where everyone could see. He simply burned away his clothes, his passport, his pink-tinted skin, put on a new skin of flame and became Vietnamese.

IV. Which of the images above best relates to the poem? Justify your answer.

Language Focus: the Verb Look at the verbs in the following sentences and divide them into groups on the basis of common characteristics. Once you have sorted them out, say what those characteristics are. 1. Norman Morrison set himself on fire outside the Pentagon. 2. He was thirty-one. 3. His wife and his three children survive him as best as they can. 4. He did it in Washington where everyone could see. 5. He poured petrol over himself. 6. He burned. 7. He suffered. 8. He died. 9. He put on a new skin of flame. 10. He became Vietnamese.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

Civil Rights in America TEXT 1 […] Minors of the Negro race, through their legal representatives, seek the aid of the courts in obtaining admission to the public schools of their community on a nonsegregated basis. In each instance, there had been denied admission to schools attended by white children under laws requiring or permitting segregation according to race […] We come then to the question presented: Does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities […] may be equal, deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities? We believe it does […] To separate [children] from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be done […]

Judge at Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 1954 (abridged)

TEXT 2 Good evening, my fellow citizens, This afternoon, following a series of threats and defiant statements, the presence of Alabama National Guardsmen was required on the University of Alabama to carry out the final and unequivocal order of the United States District Court of the Northern District of Alabama. That order called for the admission of two clearly qualified young Alabama residents who happened to have been born Negro. […] This nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds. It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened […] It ought to be possible, therefore, for American students of any color to attend any public institution they select without having to be backed up by troops. It ought to be possible for American consumers of any color to receive equal service in places of public accommodation, such as hotels and restaurants, and theaters and retail stores without being forced to resort to demonstrations in the street. […] It ought to be possible, in short, for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to his race or color. In short, every American ought to have the right to be treated as he would wish to be treated, as one would wish his children to be treated. But this is not the case. John F. Kennedy, Civil Rights Speech, 1963 (abridged)

TEXT 3 Truly… this is a sad day, […] Present conditions are so similar to the days just preceding the Civil War, we should pause to remember that heart-beating conflict, which pitted brother against brother, and father against son – today, it is section against section, and those who need to straighten out their own sections, cover up by going to mine. Instead of forcing integration upon the Southern States, truly it would be well for the rest of the country to learn from the States of the South that the way for peace and harmony is to provide for separate but equal facilities and protect each race in the enjoyment of its own way of life… […] My friends, history clearly shows an individual must have pride or he makes no real progress. A family must have pride or it goes down the scale. So it is with countries. So it is with race. Any race, whatever it may be, which feels it must be intermixed with another acknowledges its own lack. Such a race will not serve itself well, nor that with which it wishes to intermix. Integration, where it has taken place, has only led to great turmoil. We all know that if you go into some sections of the New York City at night you take your life in your hands; and you may be in danger there in the daytime. You cannot go to certain areas of Chicago without danger to life and limb. The same is true of most of our major cities. Rape, murder, and robbery are commonplace in some areas of Washington…[…] Speech of Congressman James Whitten, 1964 (abridged) Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

Speeches are, by nature, argumentative texts. Argumentation makes the speaker’s thesis explicit, since he is obliged to prove the validity of his / her position by citing evidence (expert opinion and proven facts). The main purpose is to persuade and / or convince the listener. Argumentation generally appeals to reason, but supports the appeal with stylistic or rhetorical devices that, working at a subliminal level, predispose the listeners to accept the speaker’s opinion. Bearing this in mind, contrast the excerpts of the three speeches as far as the following aspects are concerned: the main ideas, or thesis; the arguments used and the evidence (fact, opinion) presented; and the stylistic or rhetorical devices employed and their significance. Arguments

Evidence

Stylistic devices

Text 3

Text 2

Text 1

Thesis

II.

Who said what? Read the passages below and identify their authors.

1. We were told we have to integrate all the races of the United States or we cannot hold the friendship of the people of India, China, Japan, Africa and all the rest. If that be true, why have China and Japan been at dagger’s point throughout history? 2. We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine “separate but equal” has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal. 3. We cannot say to 10 percent of the population that “[…] your children can’t have the chance to develop whatever talents they have, that the only way that they’re going to get their rights is to go in the street and demonstrate.”

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

Huckleberry Finn Miss Watson’s nigger, Jim, had a half-ball as big as your fist, which had been took out of the fourth stomach of an ox, and he used to do magic with it. He said there was a spirit inside of it, and it knowed everything. So I [Huck] went to him that night and told him pap was here again, for I found his tracks in the snow. What I wanted to know, was, what he was going to do, and was he going to stay? Jim got out of his hair-ball, and said something over it, and then he held it up and dropped it on the floor. (…) so the hair-ball talked to Jim, and Jim told it to me. He says: “Yo’ole father doan’ know, yit, what he’s a-gwyne to do. Sometimes he spec he’ll go ‘way, en den agin he spec he’ll stay. De bes’ way is to res’ easy en let de ole man take his own way. Dey’s two angels hoverin’ roun’ ‘bout him. One uv ‘em is white en shiny, en t’other is black. De white one gits him to go right, a little while, den the black one sail in en bust it all up. A body can’t tell, yit, which one gwyne to fetch him at the las’. But you is all right. You gwyne to have considable trouble in yo’ life, en considable joy. Sometimes you git hurt, en sometimes you gwyne to git sick; but every time you’s gwyne to git well agin. Dey’s two gals flyin’ ‘bout you in yo’ life. One uv ‘em’s light en t’other one is dark. One is rich en t’other is po’. You’s gwyne to marry de po’ one fust en de rich one by en by. You wants to keep ‘way fum de water as much as you kin, en don’t run no resk, ‘kase it’s down in de bills dat you’s gwyne to git hung.” This is a passage from Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, which was written between 1876 and 1883. As you can see from the excerpt, a number of dialects are used in this book: the Missouri Negro dialect, the ordinary Pike-County dialect, among others. 1. Rewrite the second paragraph is Standard English. 2.

Throughout its history, the novel has been America’s most controversial classic. Many school boards, teachers, librarians, and public officials decided that the book fostered racism, and removed it from shelves and curricula. a. Find in the passage reasons that account for these people’s opinions. b. Do you consider that the ban put on this book was an appropriate measure? Justify.

Language Focus: Embedded Questions Look at the following example from the text: What I wanted to know, was, what he was going to do… Although is a colloquial English, this type of questions is called embedded. Embedded questions generally begin with phrases like Do you know… or Can you tell me…, and the real question does not take the normal interrogative form. Thus in the sentence above the real question What was he going to do? Loses the inversion of the subject he after the phrase What I wanted to know, was,… Find the real question in each of the embedded questions below. 1. Do you happen to know why the Americans banned the novel Huckleberry Finn from most school libraries? 2. Can you tell me what Mark Twain’s real name was? 3. Have you got any idea whether Mark Twain wrote other famous books? 4. Could you tell me where I can find more information about Huckleberry Finn? 5. I don’t suppose you would know what the date of Huckleberry Finn’s fist publication was? 6. Do you know whether Mark Twain had any children? 7. Would you happen to know for how long this novel has been banned? 8. Have you got any idea who Tom Sawyer is? 9. Do you know where Mark Twain was born?

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

Red Power Watch the following video on the American Indian Movement to answer the questions below.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Point out two logical causes for the emergence of the Read Power Movement. What happened in 1969? How significant was such an event? Based on the context, speculate on what the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) Agreement is. Why were the Indians demonstrating in 1973? What does “product of a white dream” refer to? Why do you think Thomas Jefferson is cited? Does the same quotation apply to the American Negros? Why /Why not? 7. Explain the meaning of “You got to be what tomorrow needs”. 8. Why “sing it for the world”?

Be Strong By Edward Ivan Madahbee The creator has only created life It is not his duty to show us the way We must guide ourselves through life To truly be accepted into his arms We should not have to ask for favors And he should not have to provide them

What we take from our mother earth We must give back with respect and love Until we are able to accept who we are We will always suffer at our own fate We have to create our own destiny Or does destiny create us?

I have always loved writing and even tried writing a book when I was a teenager. I never had the time to finish it though, now it's lost. The reason I wrote this poem is because I have had a hard life. I belong to a family of eight brothers and one sister. We were always poor and so many of them are caught up in the bad life. I wish I could help them, but they don't want it. I grew up afraid of what they might do and could do. They are abusive in every way, they hurt themselves mostly, others now and then, and their family members half the time. My mother is a saint, and even after all she has been through, she stills loves us dearly. When I write this poem I think of my mother.

To what extent does what the poet write above contribute to better understand the poem? Justify.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

Transcultural Interaction As Native Americans increasingly focus on reviving indigenous traditions, Stanford Humanities Center fellow Sean Teuton says cross-cultural exchange is a vital element to continuing the native narrative. Since the 1960s, Native American populations around the United States have undertaken numerous programs to revive a rich cultural heritage that was nearly obliterated by European and American domination. Today, tribes around America send their children to immersion programs to study traditional native language, history and literature. However, Stanford scholar Sean Teuton argues that an insular emphasis on Native American culture may not be the best approach to preserving their cultural character. "Too many people assume that to be 'really' Native, indigenous people must eradicate everything they have adapted from 500 years of interaction with other nations," said Teuton, a fellow at the Stanford Humanities Center and a scholar of Native American literature. The Red Power movement of the late 1960s, said Teuton, "led to an expansion of national and cultural autonomy" among Native nations that continues to this day. At the same time, it also gave rise to a growing separatist sentiment among Native communities that can "encourage the exclusion of broader world culture," he said. Teuton, whose ancestors were among the Cherokee forced to relocate to Oklahoma during the 1830s Trail of Tears migration, stressed that while maintaining their cultural history on their new lands, indigenous nations have always been interested in what other cultures had to share. After a survey of multicultural writings by 19th-century Native Americans, Teuton said he wants to "offer an alternative to the idea that to defend Native culture, all others must be shut out." Teuton maintains that as Native schools move toward teaching more indigenous literature, their students will also benefit from increased exposure to ideas from the broader world of literature. "By studying this history of transcultural interaction," he said, "we can only strengthen our vision of ourselves as culturally grounded, yet globally aware, citizens of today's world." His research demonstrates that a healthy national identity "works best through open engagement with other cultures." Teuton, who will help establish an indigenous studies program at the University of Arkansas next year, spent his time as a fellow at the Stanford Humanities Center writing Cities of Refuge: Indigenous Cosmopolitan Writers and the International Imaginary. Teuton's Cherokee grandmother left Oklahoma during World War II, settling in Compton, California, where he was born. His move to Arkansas later this year, he said, "returns me to my roots in the Cherokee Nation, which is located just 30 miles away." Veronica Marian, Stanford Report, June 26, 2013

Answer the following questions about the text.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

What does Teuton mean be an “insular emphasis on Native American culture”? What, according to Teuton, was the downside of the 1960s Red Power Movement? What is transcultural interaction? Which benefits can it bring? Transcultural interaction may lead to acculturation. How can one avoid it? Can you think of an example of a healthy national identity in the sense Teuton describes? Speculate on how significant Teuton’s personal life was in shaping his views on the benefits of transcultural interaction.

II. Which paintings could be best used as concrete examples of transcultural interaction? Justify.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

Match the cartoon on the left with their sequence on the right. 2

That Has No Name The problem lay buried, unspoken, for many years in the minds of American women. It was a strange stirring, a sense of dissatisfaction, a yearning that women suffered in the middle of the twentieth century in the United States. Each suburban wife struggled with it alone. As she made the beds, shopped for groceries, matched slipcover material, ate peanut butter sandwiches with her children, chauffeured Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay beside her husband at night – she was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question – ‘Is that all?’ For over fifteen years there was no word of this yearning in the millions of words written about women, for women, in all the columns, books and articles by experts telling women their role was to seek fulfillment as wives and mothers. Over and over women heard in voices of tradition and of a Freudian sophistication that they could desire no greater destiny than to glory in their own femininity. Experts told them how to catch a man and keep him, how to breastfeed children and Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

handle their toilet training, how to cope with sibling rivalry and adolescent rebellion; how to buy a dishwasher, bake bread, cook gourmet snails, and build a swimming pool with their own hands; how to dress, look, and act more feminine and make marriage more exciting; how to keep their husbands from dying young and their sons from growing into delinquents. They were taught to pity the neurotic, unfeminine, unhappy women who wanted to be poets or physicists or presidents. They learned that truly feminine women do not want careers, higher education, political rights – the independence and the opportunities that the old-fashioned feminists fought for. Some women, in their forties and fifties, still remembered painfully giving up those dreams, but most of the younger women no longer even thought about them. A thousand expert voices applauded their femininity, their adjustment, their new maturity. All they had to do was devote their lives from earliest girlhood to finding a husband and bearing children. By the end of the 1950s, the average marriage age of women in America dropped to 20, and was still dropping, into the teens. Fourteen million girls were engaged by 17. The proportion of women attending college in comparison with men dropped from 47 per cent in 1920 to 35 per cent in 1958. A century earlier, women had fought for higher education; now girls went to college to get a husband. By the mid-fifties, 60 per cent dropped out of college to marry, or because they were afraid too much higher education would be a marriage bar. Colleges built dormitories for ‘married students’, but the students were almost always the husbands. A new degree was instituted for the wives – ‘Ph. T.’ (Putting Husband Through). Then American girls began getting married in high school. And the women’s magazines, deploring the unhappy statistics about these young marriages, urged that courses on marriage, and marriage counselors, be installed in the high schools. Girls started going steady at twelve and thirteen, in junior high. Manufacturers put out brassieres with false bosoms of foam rubber for little girls of ten. And an advertisement for a child’s dress, sizes 3-6x, in the New York Times, in the fall of 1960, said: “She Too Can Join the Man-Trap Set.” By the end of the fifties, the United States birthrate was overtaking India’s. The birth-control movement, renamed Planned Parenthood, was asked to find a method whereby women who had been advised that a third of fourth baby would be born dead or defective might have it anyhow. Statisticians were especially astounded at the fantastic increase in the number of babies among college women. Where once they had two children, now they had four, five, six. Women who had once wanted careers were now making careers out of having babies. So rejoiced Life magazine in 1956 paean to the movement of American women back to the home. In a New York hospital, a woman had a nervous breakdown when she found she could not breastfeed her baby. In other hospitals, women dying of cancer refused a drug which research had proved might save her life; its side effects were said to be unfeminine. “If I have only one life, let me live as a blonde,” a larger-than-sized picture of a pretty, vacuous woman proclaimed from newspaper, magazine and drugstore ads. And across America, three out of every ten women dyed their hair blond. They ate a chalk called Metrecal instead of food, to shrink to the size of thin young models. Department-store buyers reported that American women, since 1939, had become three and four sizes smaller. “Women are out to fit clothes, instead of vice-versa,” one buyer said. Interior decorators were designing kitchens with mosaic murals and original paintings, for kitchens were one again the center of women’s lives. Home sewing became a million-dollar industry. Many women no longer left their homes, except to shop, chauffeur their kids, or attend a social engagement with their husbands. Girls were growing up in America without ever having jobs outside the home. In the late fifties, a sociological phenomenon was suddenly remarked: a third of American women now worked, but most were no longer young and very few were pursuing careers. They were married women who held part-time jobs, selling or secretarial, to put their husbands through school, their sons through college, or to help pay the mortgage. Or they were widows supporting their families. Fewer and fewer women were entering professional work. The shortages in nursing, social work, and teaching professions caused crises in almost every American city. Concerned over the Soviet Union’s lead in the space race, scientists noted that America’s greatest source of unused brainpower was women. But girls would not study physics: it was ‘unfeminine.’ A girl refused a science fellowship at John Hopkins to take a job in a real-estate office. All she wanted, she said, was what every other American girl wanted – to get married, have four children and live in a nice house in a suburb.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

The suburban housewife – she was the dream image of the young American women and the envy, it was said, of women all over the world. The American housewife – freed by science and laborsaving appliances from the drudgery, the dangers of childbirth and the illnesses of her grandmother. She was healthy, beautiful, educated, concerned only about her husband, her children, her home. She had found true feminine fulfillment. As a housewife and mother, she was respected as a full and equal partner to a man in his world. She was free to choose automobiles, clothes, appliances, supermarkets; she had everything that women ever dreamed of. In the fifteen years after World War II, this mystique of feminine fulfillment became the cherished and self-perpetuating core of contemporary American culture. Millions of women lived their lives in the image of those pretty pictures of the American suburban housewife, kissing their husbands goodbye in front of the picture window, depositing their station wagons full of children at school, and smiling as they ran the new electric waxer over the spotless kitchen floor. They baked their own bread, sewed their own and their children’s clothes, kept their new washing machines and dryers running all day. They changed the sheets on the beds twice a week instead of once, took the rug-hooking class in adult education, and pitied their poor frustrated mothers, who had dreamed of having a career. Their only dream was to be perfect wives and mothers; their highest ambition to have children and a beautiful house, their only fight to get and keep their husbands. They had no thought for the unfeminine problems of the world outside the home; they wanted the men to make the major decisions. They gloried in their roles as women, and wrote proudly on the census blank ‘Occupation: housewife.’ Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique, 1963

Complete the table below about the passage by summarizing the characteristics of the 1950s America. Mind the visual clues. Use note form.

II.

Choose the best option for each of the following questions about the text. 1.

What is the author’s main purpose in the first paragraph? a. b. c.

To captivate the reader’s attention. To identify the social class of the women in question. To present the problem to be discussed.

What is the author’s primary purpose in the passage? a. b. c.

Cristina Chabert

To excuse the lack of militancy on the part of the women. To invite women to fight against submission. To refute the idea that femininity is defined by interpersonal relations.

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CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

In terms of tone and form, how can the passage be best characterized? a. b. c.

With which of the following positions would Betty Friedan be LEAST likely to agree? a. b. c.

As a concrete proposal. As a dispassionate explication. As a partisan interpretation.

In the interests of the human dignity of women, we will protest, and endeavor to change, the false image of women now prevalent in the mass media. Our fight has already borne fruits, since there are some women in high-level positions in government and industry. Women will do most to create a new image of women by speaking out now in behalf of their own equality, freedom, and human dignity.

The author assumes that the reader is a. b. c.

disgusted with a male-dominated society. unacquainted with the conditions of women. unaware of the causes for the prevailing inequality of sexes.

It can be inferred from the passage that Betty Friedan is 6.

I. II. III. a. b. c. d. e.

a white middle-class woman. a woman involved in the National Organization for Women. a woman of strong moral convictions. I only. II only. I and II only. II and III only. I, II and III.

Sexual Correctness: Has it gone too far? Feminist politics have now homed in like missiles on the twin issues of date rape and sexual harassment. The workplace, the campuses and the courts are the new testing grounds of sexual correctness. Complaints of harassment on the job have ballooned in the last three years as men and women try to sort out when they can and cannot flirt, flatter, offer a friendly pat. Too many rules? Maybe. The obsession with correct codes of behavior seems to portray women not as thriving on their hard-won independence but as victims who can’t take care of themselves. Will the new rules set women free? Or will they set them back? In the Penn State University a professor claims that Goya’s luscious ‘The Naked Maja’, a print which hangs in her classroom, hurts her ability to teach; it sexually harasses her. A Northwestern University law professor is trying to make street remarks – your basic “hey baby” stuff – legally punishable as assaultive behavior that limits a woman’s liberty. Verbal coercion can now constitute rape. But what is verbal coercion – “Do me or die?” Or, “C’mon, Tiffany, if you won’t, I’m gonna go off with Heather?” If the woman didn’t want it, it’s sexual assault. And thanks to nature, he’s got the deadly weapon. At a New York state assembly, a brutish man wouldn’t move his legs for his female colleague to get to her seat, therefore forcing her to climb over him. Sexual harassment, she cried, saying: “If I don’t speak up, then they won’t realize it’s wrong and there will be a new victim.” Oh, please! After attending mandatory sexual harassment seminars at Geffen Records where she works, Bryn Bridenthal is rethinking every move she makes. “Everybody is looking for anything to be misinterpreted.” Bridenthal used to quite innocently stroke the arm of a man who had a penchant for wearing luxuriously soft cashmere sweaters. “I never thought anything about it, but through the seminars I realized that I shouldn’t do that,” she says. “It’s not worth doing anything that might be construed by anyone as sexual harassment.” Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

If it’s chilly in the workplace, it’s downright freezing on campus. No school has concocted guidelines quite as specific as Antioch College’s, which prides itself on being “A Laboratory for Democracy”. The dress code is grunge and black; multiple nose rings are de rigueur, and green and blue hair are preferred (if you have hair). Seventy percent of the student body are womyn (for the uninitiated, that’s women – without the dreaded m-e-n). And the purpose of the Sexual Offence Policy is to empower these students to become equal partners when it comes to mate with males. The goal is 100 percent consensual sex, and it works like this: it isn’t enough to ask someone whether she’d like to have sex, as an Antioch women’s center advocate states. You must obtain consent every step of the way. “If you want to take her blouse off, you have to ask. If you want to touch her breast, you have to ask. If you want to move your hand down to… you have to ask. If you want to put your finger… you have to ask.” What is implicit in the new sex guidelines is that’s the male who does the initiating and the woman who at any moment may bolt. Some young women rankle at that. “I think it encourages wimpy behavior by women and [the idea] that women need to be handled with kid gloves,” says Hope Segal, 22, a fourth-year Antioch student. Drink – the abuse of it, the abuses that occur because of it – is key. In up to 70 percent of acquaintance rapes, alcohol plays a role, and because it poses such a powerful problem, it is the rule at almost every school (and the law in most states) that “consent is not meaningful” if given while under the influence of alcohol, drugs or prescription medication. If she’s drunk, she’s not mentally there, and her consent counts for zip. If the man is just as drunk as the woman, that’s no excuse. It does seem ironic that the very movement created to encourage women to stand up and fight their own battles has taken a strange detour, and instead is making them feel vulnerable and in need of protection. From the grade schools to the workplace, women are asking that everything be codified: How to act; what to say. Who to date; how to date; when to mate. They’re huddling in packs, insisting on a plethora of rules on which to rely, and turning to authority figures to complain when anything goes wrong. Ralphe, 25, a Harvard graduate and now a doctoral candidate at Princeton, argues that a hysteria has gripped college campuses, fomented by “rape-crisis feminists.” The image that emerges from feminist preoccupations with rape and sexual harassment is that of women as victims, offended by a professor’s dirty joke, verbally pressured into sex by peers. This image of a delicate woman bears a striking resemblance to that ‘50s ideal my mother fought so hard to get away from. They didn’t like her passivity… her excessive need for protection… But here she is again, with her pure intentions and her wide eyes. Only this time it is the feminists themselves who are breathing new life into her.” Newsweek, October 25, 1993 (abridged and adapted)

Vocabulary: Find in paragraphs 1-5 words or phrases that match the dictionary definitions below. a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) j) k)

V+Prep in / on: If you __________________, you are proceeding toward a specific target. (¶1) V+Prep: If you __________________, you separate or arrange things into categories. (¶1) V: If something or someone __________________ you, they are continually bothering you. (¶2) N uncountable: __________________ is the exercise or force to obtain compliance. (¶2) Adj: If you’re __________________ angry, you are completely or thoroughly angry. (¶2) V+Obj: If you __________________ something you are devising it or making it up. (¶5) Adj: A __________________ this is something that inspires fear or terror. (¶5) Adj: __________________ means that something is formed or exists merely by agreement. (¶5) V: If you __________________, you make a sudden run, flight or escape. (¶5) V+Prep: If you __________________ something, you feel irritated or resented by it. (¶5) Adj: A __________________ person is someone weak, shy or ineffectual. (¶5)

II. Criticism or not criticism? All these adjectives were taken from the article in order of appearance. Bearing in mind the context in which they appear, decide which have a positive meaning, which have a negative meaning, and which have a neutral meaning. Be prepared to justify your decisions. Cristina Chabert

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CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

hard-won specific defensive

luscious grunge ironic

assaultive equal strange

sexual consensual vulnerable

Positive

deadly wimpy feminist

brutish powerful delicate

Neutral

mandatory meaningful excessive

freezing distrustful pure

Negative

a) What conclusions can you draw about the author’s tone and attitude toward the issue? III. What do you think is the author’s gender? Why? IV. Do you share the author’s views? Why / Why not? V. Watch the video below and discuss whether things have changed much in America since 1993.

The summer of love Not all the 1960s generation concentrated on seeking political change. Many simply wanted to take advantage of their new social freedoms by having fun or enjoying the opportunity to study. Others who felt disillusioned with society looked for alternatives of their own making. For some, revolutionary politics and a revolution in lifestyle went hand in hand. Changing trends and fashions among the young reflected the ever-widening gap between the generations. In the United States, perhaps more than anywhere else, young people had begun to look more and more distinctive. Their hair was long and untidy. They began to dress flamboyantly in brightly patterned, colorful clothes; some young women wore body stockings and beaded necklaces, and painted their faces and bodies. ‘Hippies’, as they called themselves, talked about love and peace and freedom. Martine Algier was instantly attracted by their lifestyle. She had read and enjoyed the works of the Beat poets and writers of the 1950s, who were in some ways the precursors of this new youth culture. On her way to Michigan to visit her parents she passed through the district of San Francisco that became the center of the hippie culture. “The re was music and dancing and people being free and being wild,” she recalls. “I think there was a consciousness that

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

there was a movement happening. There was definitely a sense of being a part of a big wave of something that was coming up.” “It seemed like anything was possible,” reflects Ron Thelin. “Every kind of character in time seemed to appear on the street, because you could dress however you wanted.” The hippies rejected the social and moral values of their parents and teachers. They were anti-establishment, anti-materialism, anti-war. They took drugs and gathered at festivals and open-air concerts to listen to songs of protest, folk music, rock or the harsher, drug-induced lyrics of ‘acid rock’. They were also more open in their relationships and experimented with different ways of living and working, favoring communal living. The communes were very different from each other: whereas some advocated nudity and practiced ‘free love’, others were set up by religious groups and were strict or even puritanical. Bu the summer of 1967 young people in their thousands were pouring into San Francisco to take part in what was called the Summer of Love. As it turned out, the earthly paradise had not arrived. And with the police closing in on their drugs and incidents of violence and rape, many hippies began to think that their time was up. I.

Considering the main topic below, make an outline of the text. I. II. III.

Concerns of the 1960s generation Characteristics of the hippies The summer of love

* Do not forget that for each A you must have a B, and that for each 1 you must have a 2. II. Find in the text evidence of the following: a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h)

Music played an important role in the 1960s. Some youths were a-political. Drug use started by being sanctioned as a new way of creating art. The summer of love was a major flop. Youngsters asserted their distinctiveness through a different dress code. The hippies were unevenly spread throughout the country. The hippies advocated a whole new way of life. The changes that occurred in the 60s can be traced back to the 50s art.

Language Focus: I.

Adjective Order Look at the sentence from the text: “They began to dress flamboyantly in brightly patterned, colorful clothes.” 1.

When there is more than one adjective in front of a noun, the general order in which they occur is as follows:

Opinion

Size

lovely horrible strange

tiny huge big

Age young ancient old

Shape round square oblong

Color grey orange brown

Origin Chinese American Parisian

Material/Type steel economic cotton

+ NOUN

Two adjectives together are often joined by and: a. When there are two color adjectives (“They also wore red and gold dresses.”) b. When there are two adjectives alone after a link verb (Their hair was long and untidy.”)

When there are three adjectives alone after a link verb, we usually put as comma after the first, and and between the last two (as in the first example above). E Note that some adjectives cannot be used before a noun: asleep, ill, afraid, well…

Cristina Chabert

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CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

E Also, some adjectives can be used as nouns: the old, the rich, the unemployed, the Spanish… Read the following text and put the words in italics in order. Add and and commas where necessary. Martin is 25 years old. He’s a man / pleasant / young. He’s generous / honest. His girlfriend Jessica is a slim / American / girl / beautiful / dark-haired, who has got big / eyes / brown / round and likes wearing dresses / silk / long / black and silver / expensive / jewelry. She’s intelligent / warm / lovely. Last month Martin bought himself a red / American / car / fantastic / big / new, and immediately made plans to drive to San Francisco, where the summer of love / unforgettable / 1960s happened. This morning, however, he had some worrying / news / sudden: the bank he has been keeping all his savings is having problems / financial / serious and is closing down!

II.

Multiple Meanings In the following groups of sentences, find the one word that fits the gaps in all three sentences. You must use the same word for each sentence without changing it in any way. 1.

a. b. c.

Those who do work and earn have to _______________ the pensioners. His wife sued him for _______________. Leading doctors will _______________ his testimony.

a. b. c.

She _______________ her husband five children. That guy is such a _______________. Nobody likes him. They used a modern machine to _______________ a tunnel through the Alps.

a. b. c.

He has the _______________ right to the estate. One of my favorite types of fish is _______________. His shoes were so worn-out that his left _______________ already had a hole.

a. b. c.

When he drinks he is _______________ and insulting. What do you _______________ by implying that I am a liar? One must seek a _______________ between cynicism and blind faith.

a. b. c.

Make sure you _______________ in advance; otherwise you risk not getting any vacancies. The police will _______________ anyone who overspeeds. This is a _______________ I strongly recommend.

a. b. c.

He took his _______________ before the formal ceremonies began. I’ll make all the arrangements. Just _______________ it to me. She’s planning to _______________ music to study law.

a. b. c.

Is the knife _______________ enough to carve well? You are risking a _______________ by parking here. Her writing style is much to _______________ for the average reader.

a. b. c.

The manager cannot _______________ him without just cause. The school administration is under _______________ for its policies. The troops decided not to _______________ at the fleeing enemy.

Project work: Select one aspect of the 1950s or 1960s, do some research on it and present your work in class.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CULTURE, ARTS & SOCIETY

Questioning the Universality of Human Rights Over the past fifteen years, especially, scholars, human rights advocates, and government officials have been promoting or critiquing the claim that human rights, as conceptualized in major U.N. conventions, are universally valid. Chris Brown, professor of international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, asks the critical question of whether “the current international human rights regime, far from being genuinely ‘universal’ is actually a form of cultural imperialism, promoting the values of one civilization, that of the ‘West’, and undermining those of others”. _______________________________, _______________________________________________________ while some Islamists reject the notion of gender equality and religious freedom. Brown acknowledges that international human rights as currently conceptualized are based on Western European notions of rights with corresponding duties and natural law, and asks whether all human beings have the same needs that are everywhere wrong to resist and right to satisfy. _________ _________________________________________________________________. He claims that twentiethcentury philosophers, religion comparativists, and anthropologists have failed in their efforts to find those common characteristics in moral codes cross-culturally that establish a universal basis for human rights. The Universal Declaration’s claim that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” is denied by Hinduism; that men and women should be treated equally is rejected by traditional versions of Islam. Farish A. Noor, a Malaysian political scientist and human rights activist, advocates a need for a multicultural understanding of human rights in place of the present “Euro-centrism.”________________ ______________________________________________________________. He faults the U.S. for being an international arms merchant, for supporting repressive regimes, and for polluting more, exploiting more, and consuming more natural resources than other countries. Xiaorong Li, a native of China, vice-chair of the organization Human Rights in China, and research scholar at the University of Maryland, argues against universal human rights._______________________ ________________________________________________________: • human rights are culturally specific; • the community takes precedence over individuals; • social and economic rights take precedence over civil and political rights; • rights are a matter of national sovereignty. _____________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________. One involves studying and comparing local religious and socio-political traditions to determine whether enough commonality exists to support a universal set of human rights. Another is to argue philosophically for or against universalism. Yet another approach is to examine how states from different traditions have reacted to specific human rights conventions, to determine why they refuse full acceptance, and assess the probability for future consent. Paul J. Magnarella (abridged and adapted)

Cristina Chabert

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CITIZENSHIP & MULTICULTURALISM

Complete the text above by inserting the missing sentences below. There are a variety of ways to approach the universalism – relativism debate.

She explains that this particular cultural relativist argument maintains that… He notes that Confucians and other supporters of “Asian values” criticize the individualism of Western notions of human rights in favor of family and extended kin group values… Does humankind’s common biology justify a common morality? He is especially critical of colonialism and what he refers to as the American hypocrisy of its claim to be the global defender and promoter of human rights. II. Think of examples in our Western societies that support each of Xiaorong Li’s arguments. a) b) c) d)

Human rights are culturally specific. The community takes precedence over individuals. Social and economic rights take precedence over civil and political rights. Rights are a matter of national sovereignty.

III. Do you agree with Xiaorong Li, or do you think there are indeed some rights that are inherently universal? IV. The US is the only country other than Somalia that has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most widely and rapidly ratified human rights treaty in history. It is also one of only seven countries – together with Iran, Nauru, Palau, Somalia, Sudan and Tonga – that has failed to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Speculate on the reasons behind this failure, as well as on its implications.

Questioning Universality but Defending Human Rights? When we imagine a human rights defender, what springs to mind? Perhaps, we envisage an individual whose character encapsulates all that is “good”; someone who treats and views every human being as an equal and with dignity. Of late, my perception of what it means to be human rights defender has been called into question. A few months ago, I had the opportunity to meet and work with a group of individuals who identified themselves as human rights defenders (HRDs) and was shocked to learn that some expressed unwillingness to commit to the universality of human rights. One HRD claimed that some human rights did not apply in Africa. Another shared discriminatory views of Muslims when referring to the human rights situation in his country, seemingly unaware of how these views clashed with equal rights. Considering the mainstream portrayal of individuals in this line of work, it is highly concerning to have identified some who deny outright the notion of universality. This issue requires closer examination and presents an urgent need for further discussion. Someone carrying the label of HRD refusing to commit to universality could be damaging to the mission and aims of the human rights movement. In a practical sense, any number of negative impacts could result from the actions and beliefs of an HRD rejecting universality. What if an HRD fighting for the prevention of torture did not support rights for homosexuals? How would their level of support change upon encountering a homosexual who had been tortured? While it may be challenging to predict the outcome of this hypothetical, we must at least accept the possibility that the victim would not be treated equally and with the dignity guaranteed to them under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In a broader sense, the term “human rights defender” would likely suffer also, as would the

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CITIZENSHIP & MULTICULTURALISM

organisations, institutions and states promoting individuals under this guise. Certain cultural obligations and incompatible belief systems are being invoked by some HRDs in order to dismiss universality. For instance, one HRD I met worked in women’s rights but said he could not support the gay rights movement as it conflicted directly with his religious beliefs, in which homosexual relations were perceived as immoral. The definition of an HRD, accepted by numerous human rights organisations, does not permit the “excuse” of cultural relativism. Supposedly an HRD is an individual defending human rights, whether it be of all or the rights of a specific group, who commits fully to the universality of human rights. Thus, the individuals described above cannot be considered as HRDs. Realistically though, how many individuals defined as HRDs, or even working in the broad human rights movement, actually fit into this narrow and somewhat dubious category? Generally speaking, this concern with HRDs could be seen as part of a larger inconsistency within the concept of universality. Universality itself allows for these claims from the particular to occur. By particular, I mean the claim to (or rejection of) a specific, special or identity-based right, drawn from a particular context, but relying on the universal right to equality, and frequently other universalistic claims such as the right to freedom of speech and belief, which then results in a paradoxical rejection of universality. An HRD that will not commit to universality because of a professed inability to support LGBTI1 rights specifies their right to freedom of religious conscience as the reason for this inability. However, the act of drawing upon the right to freedom of religious conscience suggests that this HRD identifies themselves as selectively subject to universal rights. The trouble with the current conception of HRDs is that it promotes an essentialist perspective that cannot adequately represent realities. In other fields like anthropology, complexities involving cultural relativism and universalism are accepted as an issue worth exploring. Until now, the realm of defending human rights has largely avoided this kind of scrutiny. These common assumptions must be questioned. Moreover, whether individuals defending rights fall under the definition of HRD or not, it remains an issue that there are individuals potentially damaging human rights whilst simultaneously promoting and protecting them. By Ashley Drew

Laws affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people

Complete the following chart with information taken from the passage. Use note form.

II. Which ‘inconsistency within the concept of universality’ is Ashley Drew talking about? III. What kind of scrutiny is he talking about in the past paragraph? And why do you think the realm of defending human rights has largely avoided it? IV. In the last paragraph Ashley Drew refers to a paradox. Identify it. V. What does the chart on the right tell us about the world’s situation on Human Rights?

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CITIZENSHIP & MULTICULTURALISM

Language Focus: Reduced Relative Clauses Look at the following sentence from the text: Someone carrying the label of HRD refusing to commit to universality… Both sentences include a reduced relative clause. To form a reduced relative clause, you may delete the relative pronouns and the verb when: a. the main verb in the relative clause is progressive or continuous: Someone (who is) carrying the label of HDR… b. they are followed by a prepositional phrase: People (who live) in Africa and Asia have more difficulty accepting the universality of the Human Rights.

E

However, you cannot delete the relative pronoun or the verb when: a. they are followed by an adjective: x

The man (who is) angry is my father.

(But you may switch the positions of the adjective and noun: The angry man is my father. b. they are followed by a noun: x

The man (who is) a doctor is my father.

Now, transform the following sentences in bold into reduced relative clauses: 1. The police found some footprints that led to the house. 2. The building that was done up last week has been vandalized again. 3. The man who is opening the champagne bottle is Jane’s father. 4. The room that overlooks the garden is where I like to stay when I’m alone. 5. Students who do not practice their English don’t improve very quickly. 6. Those who want to go to Big White for snowboarding need to pay soon. 7. The bus which leaves at 6:03 was late today, so I caught the 608 for downtown.

Human Rights Hypocrisy

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

Take notes on the Human Rights America is accused of violating.

II.

Which visual and verbal techniques is the reporter using to emphasize her views?

III.

In what way does the video relate to the text ‘Questioning universality but defending Human Rights’?

IV.

Explain the pun ‘U.N.-DENIABLE FLAWS’.

CITIZENSHIP & MULTICULTURALISM

Proud to be a Muslim Woman

What What What What

it's it's it's it's

like like like like

to to to to

be a Muslim woman? be a revert to Islam at the mature age of 35? wear a hijab? be married for the second time, this time to a Muslim man?

I am asked for so many times, by different people, some rather confrontational and others just curious. I entertained all. Like most non-Muslim, I used to believe that strong, liberated educated Muslim women would not wear the tudung or the hijab. Those who do it are either forced to or talked into wearing it, and they are mostly uneducated and dependent on the men for their survival. That's what I used to believe. But after reading good literature about the hijab, read the al-Quran and the hadith, which state why Muslim women should wear the hijab, my perspective changed. I evolved. I'm proud to be a Muslim woman. Real Muslim women who adhere to the teachings of Islam are the most liberated women in the world. We do not need the propaganda of Feminists who are out to 'free' us and return us our rights. We are already freer than non-Muslim women who are still controlled by mass media and men on how they are supposed to behave, what they're supposed to wear to look pretty, sexy and acceptable, the latest fashionable color of clothes and make-up, the latest fashionable hairstyle, etc. We already have rights that were denied to other women in other societies from the time Islam was spread by prophet Muhammad. We are protected in Islam. We already had our equal rights even before the Women Liberation Movement began in the West. Westerners have always believed that the feminist movement helps give equal rights to women in the world. Well, they're wrong. Way back in time, when the status of women was as low as mere objects of pleasure, Muslim women were already well protected. While women in England were still treated as a commodity and women in India were burnt alive along with their death husbands, Muslim women were already given equal rights. The right to refuse to marry a man they didn't like. The right to inheritance. The right to education. The right to divorce. The right for maintenance and the right to stay at the estranged husband's home for 3 month after the divorce. The right to voice their opinion. The right to own properties and wealth. The right to be called by her name even after marriage. It's all in black and white in the al-Quran and Hadith. Women have equal rights as men in Islam. Mothers are honored and are accorded a higher status than the fathers and the wives of Muslim men. Islam instructs men that they are the best Muslim men if they are kind and good to their wives. Tell me, which other religion has elevated the status of women to such glory, compared to Islam? Oh, I know what the western critics say: "Look at the oppressed Muslim women. See what these escaped women reveal about their conditions." Oh really? Out of 1000 Muslim women, how many are actually unhappy being Muslim? Why focus on the 1% who agree with you while ignoring the other 99% whose voice you refuse to hear? Believing Muslim women who wear the hijab as being oppressed and ‘unliberated’ shows how ignorant they actually are. I believe none of these critics have ever walked down the streets covered in a hijab before and experience the peace, tranquility and comfort a hijab gives the wearer who goes to a public place. Additionally, trying to influence Muslim women that wearing the hijab is a compulsion, not an obligation, and that they don't have to put it on if they don't want to is like telling a motorist that it's alright to ignore the traffic rules, that you'd still be safe if you don't get caught by the traffic cops. How silly. So am I happy to be a Muslim woman? Of course. Am I proud to be one? Definitely. Am I oppressed? Of course not. I've been more liberated since I embraced Islam. My message to all those ‘freedom fighters out to liberate Muslim women’, you're wasting your energy. Spend that energy to learn more about Islam and you might be surprised. My message to those Muslim feminist women out to ‘save oppressed Muslim women’ and declaring "It's not important whether the head's covered or not, but it's what's in heart that's important," I do feel sorry for you. While ignoring the symbol of hijab that binds all Muslim sisters together, you are following the beat of westernized thinking that may have diverted from true Islamic teachings. While the rest of us sisters are as happy as fresh apples in the refrigerator being covered temporarily in

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CITIZENSHIP & MULTICULTURALISM

plastic covers, some have chosen to be like drying apples exposed to dirt and pollution, touched by unchaste hands. If Islam is bad for women, why are more and more educated Western women embracing Islam today? Aliya, Musings of a Mualaf I.

Find in the text evidence all evidences of each of the following: a. The common idea of Islamic women is nothing but a stereotype. b. Aliya is particularly critical of western women. c. Aliya considers the Islamic world much more advanced than the western in what concerns women’s rights. d. Only a small number of Islamic resent their female status. e. Aliya adamantly refuses any external interference that tries to influence Islamic women. f. The author was named Aliya after she became an adult.

II. Which photos best illustrate the text? Write an appropriate caption for each one.

III. Compare / contrast Aliya’s and Eve’s views on Islam and discuss your findings in class.

Why ARE so many modern British career women converting to Islam? Tony Blair’s sister-in-law announced her conversion to Islam last weekend. Journalist Lauren Booth embraced the faith after what she describes as a ‘holy experience’ in Iran. She is just one of a growing number of modern British career women to do so. Here, writer Eve Ahmed, who was raised as a Muslim before rejecting the faith, explores the reasons why. Born in London to an English mother and a Pakistani Muslim father, I was brought up to follow my father’s faith without question. But, privately, I hated it. The minute I left home for university at the age of 18, I abandoned it altogether. Lauren Booth, who is Cherie Blair's As far as I was concerned, being a Muslim meant hearing the word ‘No’ half sister, decided to convert to Islam over and over again. Girls from my background were barred from so after what she described as a holy experience in Iran. many of the things my English friends took for granted. Indeed, it seemed to me that almost anything fun was haram, or forbidden, to girls like me. There were so many random, petty rules. No whistling. No chewing of gum. No riding bikes. No watching Top Of The Pops. No wearing make-up or clothes which revealed the shape of the body. No

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CITIZENSHIP & MULTICULTURALISM

eating in the street or putting my hands in my pockets. No cutting my hair or painting my nails. No asking questions or answering back. No keeping dogs as pets, (they were unclean). And, of course, no sitting next to men, shaking their hands or even making eye contact with them. These ground rules were imposed by my father and I, therefore, assumed they must be an integral part of being a good Muslim. Small wonder, then, that as soon as I was old enough to exert my independence, I rejected the whole package and turned my back on Islam. After all, what modern, liberated British woman would choose to live such a life? Well, quite a lot, it turns out, including Islam’s latest surprise convert, Tony Blair’s sister-in-law Lauren Booth. And after my own break with my past, I’ve followed with fascination the growing trend of Western women choosing to convert to Islam. Broadcaster and journalist Booth, 43, says she now wears a hijab head covering whenever she leaves home, prays five times a day and visits her local mosque ‘when I can’. She decided to become a Muslim six weeks ago after visiting the shrine of Fatima al-Masumeh in the city of Qom, and says: ‘It was a Tuesday evening, and I sat down and felt this shot of spiritual morphine, just absolute bliss and joy.’ Before her awakening in Iran, she had been ‘sympathetic’ to Islam and has spent considerable time working in Palestine. ‘I was always impressed with the strength and comfort it gave,’ she says. How, I wondered, could women be drawn to a religion which I felt had kept me in such a lowly, submissive place? How could their experiences of Islam be so very different to mine?

Language Focus: Emphasis

Look at this sentence from Aliya’s text:

I do feel sorry for you.

Using the auxiliary verb do in affirmative sentences is a way of emphasizing the action. There are, however, other ways of emphasizing. Study the PPT on emphasis and do the exercises.

The Right to be Different Heath Campbell: Nazi Father Fighting to See His Son Heath Campbell, the founder and leader of “Hitler’s Order,” is currently battling for the legal right to see his youngest son, Heinrich Hons Campbell (2-years-old). The father also has three other children: Adolf Hitler Campbell (7-years-old), JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell (6-years-old), and Honzlynn Jeannie Campbell (5-years-old). He and his wife no longer have custody over these three children (note: if you have not noticed already, Campbell gave his children Nazi-inspired names). Although I am against Anti-Semitism, legally speaking, Campbell is not doing anything wrong by giving his children absurd names and starting a pro-Nazi organization. However, Campbell believes that his Nazi identity is the cause for losing custody over his three older children back in January 2009 and youngest child in November 2011 (right after he was born). Campbell and his wife (currently estranged) tried to appeal the court’s decision in 2012 but the New Jersey Supreme Court denied the appeal. Campbell briefly discusses his situation in the news coverage below:

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CITIZENSHIP & MULTICULTURALISM

Why would Campbell and his wife be forbidden to see their children? Campbell obstinately claims that, hadn’t it been for his Nazi affiliation that wouldn’t have ever happened. Court records tell a different story: “... the children were not removed from the home because of their [Nazi-related] names, but because of tangible evidence of abuse or neglect.” Even after court rulings and denials of appeals, Campbell and his wife still assert that they were discriminated against for their beliefs. Heath Campbell stated the following in 2011: “Actually, the judge and DYFS told us that there was no evidence of abuse and that it was the names! They were taken over the children's names.” Officials have denied Campbell’s statement. According to Heath Campbell, his wife has recently given up her rights to their children. Campbell has the right to personally express his views, no matter how discriminatory they are. I doubt the court had his children removed from him based only on the fact that he identifies as a Nazi. Westboro Baptist Church members As far as I know, children of the Westboro Baptist Church members have not been removed from their custody and their actions are arguably on par or even worse than Campbell’s. Caleb Peng in Culture

Considering the context in which they appear, choose the best synonym of the following words (they are underlined in the text). 1.

Custody a. b. c.

Detention Guardianship Protection

Estranged a. Alienated b. Dissatisfied c. Separated

Appeal a. Charm b. Demand c. Plea

Affiliation a. Attachment b. Connection c. Link

Tangible a. Definite b. Noticeable c. Substantial

II. Answer these questions about the text and the video. 1. Find in the video evidence against the court’s accusation of tangible child abuse or neglect. 2. Speculate on why Campbell’s wife has recently given up her rights to their children. 3. In the video the journalist asks Campbell whether his cause in court of not damaged by his Nazi attire. Imagining you were the judge, how would you interpret the way Campbell chose to appear in court? 4. How pointy is Caleb’s reference to the Westboro Baptist Church? 5. Point out arguments for and against the Campbell’s right to personally express his views, no matter how discriminatory they are.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CITIZENSHIP & MULTICULTURALISM

Language Focus: Causative Structures Look at these sentences from the text:

Campbell obstinately claims that hadn’t it been for his Nazi affiliation, that wouldn’t have ever happened. I doubt the court had his children removed from him.

These are examples of causative sentences. They are similar to passive sentences in that the agent (the doer of the action) is not the grammatical subject of the sentence. Depending on whether the agent is mentioned or not, causative structures can be of two main types: – Causative structures without an agent – Causative structures with an agent

Study the PPT on Causative Structures and do the exercises.

Living with Diversity

Answer these questions about the video. 1) According to Taylor, what is the basis of people concept of diversity? How does he come up to that conclusion? 2) He presents a different view about America’s major source of strength. a. Which is it? b. Which arguments does he use to support his view? 3) Are his arguments also valid for Portugal? Why / Why not? 4) How do you think Taylor would explain the situations depicted in the photos below?

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CITIZENSHIP & MULTICULTURALISM

Racial Diversity in Europe

The following topics were taken from a study by Robert Ford, from the Hallsworth Research Fellow, Univeristy of Manchester, titled Grey nativists vs melting-pot youth? Diversity, age and racial attitudes in Europe.

Transform them into a text.

The flip side of immigrant assimilation: majority adaptation • • •

•

Much work on minority assimilation - how immigrants adapt to the majority culture But assimilation is a two sided process – majority populations also need to adapt to the presence of minorities Many facets of immigrant social disadvantage – poorer housing, employment and education outcomes – are likely related to negative majority attitudes We need to understand the factors driving majority attitudes to minorities, and how these change in response to rising diversity

Why might racial attitudes change between generations? Why is this important? •

Why change? – – – –

•

Why is this important? – – –

–

Greater social contact (direct and indirect) with immigrant minorities among young Greater exposure to diversity among young through travel, cultural consumption etc. Spread of social norms against racism European integration? Post-nationalism? Anti-immigrant parties have succeeded in a number of European countries. Also, growing debate about desirability of immigration/needs for assimilation etc. In all European countries, mass immigration is a recent enough phenomenon that significant cohorts of voters exist who grew up before it began The conditions voters experienced in their youth may have a crucial impact on how they react to immigration, diversity and minorities. Voters who grew up with diversity may react very differently to those who have grown in homogenous society In countries where mass immigration is a longer established phenomenon (esp. US, but also Canada) we see evidence that the acceptance of new minorities is a generational change process

The Challenge of Stopping Immigration European governments are aware of the problem. Since the immigration stop of the 1970s, there have been several attempts to halt or slow down the immigration flow. Some European governments seek to discourage emigration by improving the life conditions of the prospective emigrant in his home country or by trying to scare prospective immigrants through ad campaigns that show the horrors of life as an illegal immigrant. Ignorance also contributes to immigration. Researchers studying Turkish marriage immigrants who immigrated to Belgium found that children and adults growing up in Turkey in an emigration town, that is, a town where most of the residents either emigrated or wanted to emigrate, were unaware of the basic facts of European life. They knew about the high unemployment benefits but were not aware that basic necessities were much more expensive. One marriage-migrant interviewee admitted frankly that life in Belgium was not what he had expected. However, when he tried warning the youth in his hometown of the hardships of immigration, he was accused of wanting to keep newfound wealth to himself.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CITIZENSHIP & MULTICULTURALISM

The problem with both methods is that a European lifestyle is based not only on material wealth but also on the rights and privileges of a liberal democracy. Even if it were easy to try to create jobs and affluence in countries such as Tunisia—which it is not—it would be harder to change the fabric of the legal system in a liberalizing direction. Several countries have also tried unsuccessfully to convince immigrants to leave their new homes by offering incentives and continued welfare support for those who return to their native countries. Two such programs in France, the first in 1977 and the second in 2005, ended in failure. Creating incentives for departure might also backfire by encouraging migration for the purpose of collecting the offered benefits and by convincing those in the home country that Europe is drowning in cash, ready to be exploited. As many countries become aware that the long-term effects of a The arrival of families changed the immigrants' brain drain outweigh any short-term benefits from remittances, some attitudes towards religious and cultural values, transplanting honor culture, modesty have themselves begun to discourage emigration. The Algerian standards, and attitudes toward women to the West. Veiled women have now become a Ministry of Religious Affairs, for example, issued a fatwa (religious common sight on U.S. and European streets. edict) decreeing that illegal immigrants who die at sea have committed suicide, a sin in Islam. But as long as Europe offers opportunities for work, education, and personal safety, and as long as it offers a liberal democracy with the rights and privileges such a lifestyle entails, it will continue to attract mass immigration. Esther Ben-David, Middle East Quarterly, Spring 2009 (abridged and adapted)

Explain the meaning of the following: a. …it would be harder to change the fabric of the legal system in a liberalizing direction… b. …Creating incentives for departure might also backfire… c. …the long-term effects of a brain drain outweigh any short-term benefits from remittances…

II.

Taking into account the information from the text, build a mind map in which the relationships between the following topics below are made clear. Add any connecting idea if necessary.

ns fe conditio improve li s untrie in home co

ignorance about European life countrie s the bra in

offer of incent ives for immigrants to le ave opportunities for work, education and personal safety

a w a re of drain e ffect

attem pt down s to halt the im o migra r slow tion fl ow e showing th campaigns gal f an ille horrors o s life immigrant’

measures to di scourage emigration

Language Focus: Subjunctive

Look at this sentence from the text:

Even if it were easy to try to create jobs and affluence in countries such as Tunisia…

In this sentence, the verb to be is in its past subjunctive form. The structure of the subjunctive is extremely simple. For all verbs – except the past tense of be, the subjunctive is the same as the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to"); it does not change according to person (I, you, he…) Study the PPT on the subjunctive and do the exercises.

Cristina Chabert

2013/2014

CITIZENSHIP & MULTICULTURALISM