Who are You?
FACES OF AMERICA AND LINGUISTIC REALITIES
Preparation for the AP Exam
Throughout this unit, we will have:
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Multiple-Choice Prompts
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AP Prompts
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Annotating Texts to Deepen Analysis
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Review SAT vocab and Rhetorical/Literary Terminology
Goals of the Unit: Initial Thoughts
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How does one’s language affect how a person sees the world and how he or she thinks
and feels?
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Why do groups (ethnic, racial, families, people in the same profession, computer “geeks,”
youth groups, sports fans, college writing teachers, etc.) tend to develop their own
languages, including slang, shorthand expressions, and acronyms, nicknames, and
specialized jargon? What purposes do their particular ways of speaking serve?
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Do men and women use language differently? If so, how and why?
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How does language figure in political debates about specific issues (e.g. immigration,
terrorism, etc.)? How does the language of people on one side of the issue differ from the
language of their opponents? What causes these differences?
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How do people tailor their languages for different audiences, especially when they are
trying to persuade people? How should you decide whether the language that they are
using is fair or unethical, accurate or misleading?
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Is censorship justified with some words that people find offensive? Why or why not?
Quick Write: What do the following
terms mean to you?
Diaspora
Alienation
Assimilation
Isolation
Culture
Clashing Civilizations
Said’s Lecture at Amherst: The Myth of the Clash of Civilizations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkK4pApcwMc
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Post-Cold War Reality-shift from economic ideology to cultural differences
(“civilization identity”)
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Characterization of the Fanatics
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Role of the Media Machine and Labelling: “Islam and the West”
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How has labelling become reductionist-where racial, ethnic, and national
identities are minimized?
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How is Said addressing the impact of the events of September 11, 2001?
“Two Ways to Belong in America”
Google Doc
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Similarities and Differences between the Sisters: Qualities, Behaviors and
Beliefs
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Use of Anecdotal Evidence: Ethos and Pathos
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Objectivity—How do you present contrasting views with truth?
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Analogy of Permanent Resident: “it sounded like the description of a longenduring, comfortable yet loveless marriage, without risk or recklessness”
(300)
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“Mongrelization”: Role of a “definition”
AP Prompt Extensions
Extension #1: Argument
Bharati Mukherjee as she concludes the comparisons between her and her sisters choices
about immigration and citizenship, writes: “The price that the immigrant willingly pays, and
that the exile avoids, is the trauma of self-transformation” (last sentence). Write an essay in
which you defend, challenge, or qualify this statement. Support your viewpoint from your
experience, observation, or reading
Extension #2: Argument Analysis
Said’s essay includes a number of loaded terms and explores how “the West” and “Islam” are
included. Why are definition and the use of terminology so important to his point in “Clashing
Civilizations”? What other terms does he find objectionable and how does he examine them
to serve his purpose?
Extension #3: M/C Prompt “Two Ways to Belong in America”
Mother Tongue
Different Uses of Language
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Writer: “the way it can evoke an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea,
or a simple truth. Language is the tool of my trade” (417)
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Home: “It has become our language of intimacy” (418).
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Example of her mother’s tongue: What do you think it means? (418-9)Expressive vs. Receptive
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Loaded Words: “Fractured,” “Broken,” “Limited,” “Imperfect”
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Acting as Translator
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Contrast between “achievement test” English and her own ability to write
Close Reading and Claims
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Expert Group Question Presentations
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AP Argument Analysis Prompt Sketch:
In “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan utilizes a number of explicit and implicit claims.
Discuss how Tan refines her claims about language through the sections,
including the order in which her points are made, how they are developed,
and the connections drawn between the sections.
Marking the Text: Tan Interview
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http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/tan0int-1.
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You will be assigned 1 of the 7 pages of the interview. Create a Google
doc for sharing in the Group.
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Identify key quotes and the context (question as well as ethos) that you
would like to share
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How do her responses about writing, achievement, etc. relate to “Mother
Tongue”?
Class Presentations.
“Notes of a Native Speaker”
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Strategies to Contrast between “white” and “colored” experience
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Find examples of Liu’s use of the following: “white, by acclamation”/ ”assimilation”/
”banana”/”American”/”person of color”-How does he define these and use examples to
explore their loaded quality? How does returning to the terms deepen the
understanding?
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How does he use his childhood experiences to demonstrate his assimilation? Role of his
parents? His own role?
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Concept of Self—Public World vs. Private View-Example of Hair and “Asian overachiever”
and “Social Immigrant”
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How does Liu give examples of how he focuses on “anti-Asian” stereotypes and his
“atypical” pursuits?
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Liu writes, “the irony is that in working so duteously to defy stereotype, I became a slave to
it” (263). How does his essay serve this purpose?
Marking the Text: Alcazar
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Return to Alcazar’s exploration of Assimilation in Liu’s Text
How does Alcazar examine the evidence?
Logos (Green)
Pathos (Yellow)
Ethos (Pink)
AP Extensions: Peer Sketch of
Argument
Extension 2: Argument Analysis
In order to develop his ideas about race and culture, Liu returns to a use of common elements of life and culture (food,
etiquette, academic achievement, bi-cultural vs. omni-cultural vs. quasi-kinship groups, attempts to fit in, dating). What is the
purpose and effect of such elements? How do they serve his argument?
Extension 3: AP Synthesis Essay
Tan writes, “I happen to be rebellious in nature and enjoy the challenges of disproving assumptions made about me” (422).
Compare Tan’s attitude here with Eric Liu’s in “Notes of A Native Speaker” as he defines “white” (p. 251-2). Are they facing the
same challenges or responding in the same way? How do the excerpts from “Becoming American-The Chinese Experience”
reflect in their narratives?
M/C Questions
Homework
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Read “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria Anzaldúa (in 50 Essays and on
the website)
Thoughts about Reading a text with untranslated Spanish:
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Spanish words will not be interpreted, because they are not intended by the
author to be interpreted. If you do not understand them, don't worry. You will
still understand the majority of the essay. Please allow yourself to consider how
NOT understanding the language makes you, the reader, feel. Think about how
that helps you relate to the author's experience of being an isolated by the
way she uses language. If you do understand the Spanish, you will be at an
advantage during the reading of this text. Consider how being "in the know" as
you read helps you identify with the author.
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As you read, you will fill in the chart in the Reader Response.
Anzaldua: Quick Write Questions
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Start by making a list of the contexts that have helped shaped your sense of
self. For example, what role does your family play in your formation of an
identity? Your friends? Your town? Your language(s)? Your ethnic
backgrounds? Your sexual orientation? Your religion? Your musical tastes? etc.
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After you’ve made your list, try to figure out where aspects of your identity
appear to be in conflict. For example, were you raised as an evangelical
Christian, but you are pro-choice? Do you identify as “white and middle class”
but your favorite music is gangsta rap? Is your ethnic background Korean but
your first language is English?
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Finally, answer the following question:
-“How do you think you are able to maintain a coherent sense of self when you
are host to so many internal contradictions? What strategies do you use to
reconcile these competing backgrounds?”
Etienne Balibar: “Fictive Ethnicity”
In Etienne Balibar’s Race, Nation, Class: Ambigious Identities, he develops the
construction for what he calls, “the nation form.”
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He notes that the nations develop a “civil religion”/”state religion” which
create illusions of a common origins and aspirations of “its people.”
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Nations create a collective narrative, emphasizing common name and
common traditions to create a “community” and “a sense of belonging”
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Balibar calls this a “fictive ethnicity” which is reinforced through “popular”
institutions—schools, media,sports—which seeks to unite the populace
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Balibar notes that this “fictive ethnicity” can be easily challenged, because
often its creation can be a re-writing of origins (when nationhood is connected
to the land) or no longer fits the globalization within nations through increasing
immigration which challenge outmoded ideas of nationhood defined strictly
through language, race or ethnicity.
Loaded Language
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The Reader Response for Anzaldúa begins with a number of terms that can
be applied to her discussion of self, ethnicity, and navigation between
multiple forces.
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Considering the “loaded” terms and Balibar’s “fictive identity”—select 5
words which you think develop the complexities of identity as expressed by
both authors.
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Peer Discussion: Share the words you chose and why you think they are
important to the discussion
Guided Reading Attack: Questions for
Discussion
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http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/0072469315/student_view0/gloria
_anzaldua/_nbsp_.html
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You will assigned a letter (a-e) for each section, content and style. Post
your response into the google group and present to the class.
Power of Three Peer Discussion:
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How and why did Chicano/Chicana Spanish arise? How does the author
use it? How does it differ from other kinds of Spanish?
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Explain the author's concept of "linguistic terrorism." According to
Anzaldúa, what repercussions has this trend had for Chicana feminists?
Engaging the Text: Anzaldúa
Select 1 of the following prompts and brainstorm/bullet your ideas and then
share with a peer
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Recall a time someone made an assumption about you based solely upon
the language you used. How did it make you feel? Explain. How can you
relate these feelings to your reading?
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Should non-English speaking people intending to live in the U.S. learn
English? Why or why not? Is English your first language? What impact does
the answer to that last question have on your answer to the first two? How
might have these factors in your life affected your reading of this essay?
Staking a Claim: Handout
Creating a complex analysis requires developing complex relationships.
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Examine the Staking a Claim handout
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What are the claims being made?
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What evidence from Anzaldúa’s text would you use to develop these
claims?
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What evidence from other readings could you use?
Rodriguez’s Aria Part 1
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How does Rodriguez create his early experiences of education?
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How does he create the sense of “belonging”?
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How does he contrast the public vs. private identities?
As we read the text, select 2 quotes for each question in part 1.
Annotations for Reading (Using the Comment Tool make these annotations):
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changes the author undergoes;
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general conclusions that can be made about the author’s attitude toward English and Spanish;
and
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the author’s ultimate argument against bilingual education.
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the role of language in integration
Rodriguez: Aria Part 1 Peer Discussion
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How do language and a change in language affect family dynamics and one’s
sense of belonging to a culture?
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What are the author’s overall feelings and associations with English and Spanish?
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Why is it telling that his family calls “the others” by the term “los americanos”?
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Why is it significant that his siblings don’t talk about school when they get home each
day?
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In what ways is the author’s family integrated? In what ways are they not fully
integrated?
Rodriguez: Aria—Quick Write
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What role does language seem to play in integration?
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Why is Rodriguez upset when his parents speak to him in English?
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Why has Rodriguez described his family as “foreigners”, and how has his
understanding changed in this second part of the text?
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What does the author gain and what does he lose when he begins to
achieve proficiency in English?
Peer Share—Select 2 of your responses to share
Aria-A Close Look: Questions and
Hinge Moments
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What does the author gain and what does he
lose when he begins to achieve proficiency in
English?
Why are these Hinge (key) moments?
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Dad’s “shyness”
Does he lose his intimacy and belonging when
he speaks another language? Does he betray
his culture? Does he gain a new identity?
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Private loss and public gain
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The reactions of his relatives—“pocho”
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His gradual realization about intimacy
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Argument against bilingual education
Does one have to lose one’s belonging to a
culture when one integrates?
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What is the author’s argument against
bilingual education? Do you agree with him?
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Discuss to what degree members of his family
have achieved integration and why you think
so.
Extension Activities: Select 1 and Bullet
Prove or refute the following claim, using
support from the text: The author believes
he has lost his connection to his family as
he has adopted English.
Discuss whether someone can truly
belong to a culture if he/she does not
comfortably speak the language.
Marking the Text: Iraq Aftermath
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Richard Rodriguez often provides editorial pieces for the PBS Newshour.
Highlight Rodriguez’s claims about the impact of the war (Pink).
Highlight Rodriguez’s evidence (Green)
Return to Unit Questions on your agenda—which questions does Rodriguez
respond to?
Consider Said’s discussion of “Clashing Civilizations?” and how this essay relates.
Synthesis Essay
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Using at least three authors essays and two literary criticism articles,
develop a discussion of the one or more of the themes of assimilation,
alienation, cultural vs. national identity ,diversity, belonging, etc.
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4-5 pages, MLA, double-spaced.
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Due May 8th.