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to 120 Homepage English 120 Project #3: Leadership and Literacy in Rule of the Bone
Questions adapted from Tyson, Critical Theory Today (much wording is the same):
What does Bone suggest about trhe popular imagination? The psychological and ideological needs of the viewing public? The entertainment industry's conception of the viewing public?
What kind of "cultural work" does Bone accomplish? I.e., how does it shape the cultural experience of those who encounter? How does it shape our experience as members of a cultural group? [How is it shaping our understanding of leaders? mentors? students? teenagers? the homeless? of marginalized and counter-cultural groups?]
What kinds of behavior, what models of practice, does this work seem to enforce?
Why might readers at a particular time and place find this work compelling?
Are there differences between your values and the values implicit in the work I am reading?
Upon what social understandings or codes does the work depend?
Whose freedom of thought or movement might be constrained implicitly or explicitly by this work?
What are the larger social structures with which these particular acts of prase or blame [that is, the work's ethical orientation] might be connected?
Anayze the book in terms of the leadership theme.
Analyze the book in terms of the literacy theme.
Alternative: politics of art; definition of art.
Maximum points possible: 25
First draft due ______ Second draft due _______ Final version due _______
Choose one of the options described below for your project's focus.
Option 1: Interpreting Art
In our first project of the semester you evaluated a work of art. For this new project, one of your options is to produce a somewhat different kind of argument about art: the interpretation.
Because works of art are generally rich with multiple, sometimes paradoxical meanings, interpretations of a given work can vary among viewers or readers and are usually open to argument. This doesn't mean that all interpretations are equally valid, or that any interpretation at all is meaningful.. A thoughtful reader, no matter what interpretive framework is used, will pay close attention to the work in question, will avoid merely speculating about the author's purpose, and will base his or her claims on specific evidence found in the work itself (or in evidence regarding the work's context and production).
For this project you will analyze and build your own interpretation of a contemporary literary work, Rule of the Bone. As with any interpretation, your goal is to illuminate the book for your readers. That is, you want to help them better appreciate/understand the book and get more out of it. You're free to focus on any facet of the work which you consider interesting or important, and you're free to interpret the story any way you wish, as long as you carefully support your claims with clear reasoning and specific evidence—description, examples, summaries, scenes—from the book itself.
Note: a good way to focus any interpretation of literature is to build your argument around your view of the work's main theme or themes. That is, what, in the largest sense, is Rule of the Bone about? Parent-child relationships? Coming-of-age in America in the 90s? Father figures? Menors? The meaning of "community"? The meaning of "education"? The meaning of religion? What view of race or gender emerges in the book? For your interpretation of the novel, you might pick one of these topics/themes/issues and analyze how it plays out in the course of the story. In other words, consider what questions are raised in the book about your chosen theme, and then consider how those questions seem to be answered by the end or by the story as a whole.
Imagine that your essay will appear in a casebook on Rule of the Bone designed for college students. (A casebook is a collection of essays interpreting and commenting on a literary work to broaden readers' understanding.)
Click here for some brainstorming questions to help you with
Option 1.
Option 2:The Politics of Art (Commentary)
Another approach to Rule of the Bone is to consider its appropriateness as literary material in high school or college.Many battles have been waged in American schools over what constitutes "educational" and "appropriate" reading matter, and over censorship issues generally. A number of books have been banned from the classroom or from school libraries through the years, to loud and sometimes legal protest. Who should have the final say about reading material in the schools? Parents? Teachers? Administrators? The students themselves? What is "literature" and what, in your view, constitutes worthy reading material for a high school or college course in the humanities? How does Rule of the Bone fit, or not fit, your criteria?
For this option you will write a commentary for or against use of this book in the schools. Be sure to ground your argument in a clear central claim about the goal and purpose of education, as well as the goal and purpose of the literary arts. Be sure as well to do a bit of background research into censorship issues in education, to be sure you are adequately informed about your topic.
Your audience for this option can be your hometown community, teachers in your high school, administrators in the North Dakota or Minnesota university systems, etc. Consider writing it as an Op-Ed piece for a local newspaper or magazine.
Evaluation Criteria for Both Options
No matter what option you select, your essay should have a strong central point (thesis) about your selected issue, apparent early on and throughout. That point should be supported in the body of the essay with explicit claims and ample grounds, including good, specific details from the novel and meaningful analysis of the issue in question. The paper should show a discernible structure, attention to audience, coherence between parts, and extra-conscientious editing for mechanical errors and stylistic flaws. All sources should be documented according to MLA format.
It finish areddi. Check mi later: Cindy.Nichols@ndsu.nodak.edu