Senior Portfolio

Your Senior Portfolio is due Wednesday 5/23.
All together, the components of your Portfolio are worth 100 points as a Major Assessment for 4th Quarter.  Also, remember that your final exam will be a formal presentation of the work in your portfolio, so the better your portfolio, the stronger your presentation is likely to be. 

See links to the assignment and all rubrics on the right --->

Gender in Film Essay Assignment

Click the link below for details on your paper assignment for the Gender in Film unit.
Papers must be submitted as Google Documents before class on Tuesday 5/15.

Gender in Film Essay Assignment

Homework due 5/8

Gender Roles in Dystopian Film: Checking In

Now that we have watched two of our three films, you have a sense of how different stories in different films portray women and gender roles.  This weekend, take time to review Children of Men and Surrogates according to Feminist Critical Theory.  

Answer the following questions for each film (yes, that means you must do this twice):

Be specific in your responses and use specific examples from the films as much as possible.

1. How is the relationship between men and women portrayed?
2. What are the power relationships between men and women (or characters assuming male/female roles)?
3. How are male and female roles defined?
4. What constitutes masculinity and femininity? How do characters embody these traits?
5. Do characters take on traits from opposite genders? How so? How does this change others’ reactions to them?
6. What does the work reveal about the operations (economically, politically, socially, or psychologically) of patriarchy?
7. What does the work imply about the possibilities of sisterhood as a mode of resisting patriarchy?

Final Unit: Gender Roles in Dystopian Film

All three of the core texts we have read this year – 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and Brave New World – were written by men and all three focus on male protagonists.  In these works, women play important yet peripheral roles.  And so, for our final unit this year, we will shift our focus to less male-dominated stories and explore gender roles and the portrayal of women in works about the future – this time, films. 

We will watch three films as a class.  You will be expected to watch carefully and analytically, taking careful notes, responding to questions and participating in discussions.  The final assessment for the unit will be an essay in which you compare and contrast the films’ portrayals of women and takes on gender roles in general. 

We will begin with a brief introduction to Feminist Criticism – a literary criticism theory that focuses on “the ways in which literature (and other cultural productions) reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women.”  Through reviewing the typical questions raised by Feminist Criticism, you will have a sense of what kinds of things to look out for in our films.

Step-by-Step Requirements:

1)    While watching the films in class, take two-column “I See / It Means” notes.  In the left column, write details from the film; in the right, explain how these details relate to our questions about gender.  I will check notes periodically and will collect them at the end of the unit.

2)    After each film, we will have a graded Socratic Seminar.  You will need to answer questions about the film and participate actively in the discussion.

3)    Finally, you will synthesize your thoughts on all three films into a 2-3 page paper about the portrayal of women and gender roles in dystopian film, as represented by our three examples.  Just as with a traditional literary analysis paper, you will must use specific evidence to support your thesis.  All the more reason to take careful notes, show up each day, and participate in discussions!

This unit, combined with your Senior Portfolio (more information coming soon!) will make up the totality of your Fourth Quarter grade.

1984 Project

1984 Creative Project

Socratic Seminar

Our seminar on 1984 is on Wednesday 4/4. Prepare by preparing responses to the discussion questions and by writing at least one original question.

Here are the questions:

1984 Seminar Questions

Final Draft Update

The due date for the final draft of your research paper has been extended to Friday 2/23.
Please take the time to ensure you have the proper in-text citations.
Presentations will still be due on Monday 3/26.