Socratic Seminar date: 11/5/15
1)
fault finding (n)—continual criticism, usually over trivial things. I figured out what the word meant by background knowledge of the two root words, however the dictionary provided me with the word’s use of negative connotation. I see how the author’s contribution of this word incorporates with the character’s persona, adding more dimension to her.
assalamualaikum (n)—a greeting used by Muslims. “And to you be peace together with Allah's mercy.” The dictionary provided me with a basic understanding of this word, because throughout the passage I was lost with the foreign word.
Johnny Carson (n)—an American host, comedian, and actor. The host of The Tonight Show. I wasn’t previously acknowledged with Johnny Carson’s history, after this story, and after looking up his name, I am now familiar with Mr. Carson and his past achievements. This helped me gain more older popular culture references. It also helped me create a vision of what the mom thought was generic in the time period. This brought me closer to the character.
2)
Use of examples of movies—We discussed movies as references to relate to the text. We took apart the movie to find relevance to the meaning of the overall passage. The use of outside examples helps connect universal concepts, and make our peers more comfortable with the subject at hand.
Use of background knowledge of history—We discussed the history of racial tendencies. Shaige and Emile brought up background of Africans culture comparing with African American culture here in U.S. This brought up the differences in perspective of mother and daughter, and how they view their cultures in their own minds. This was clear for us to understand what engendered conflict, and where their conflict is going, bringing upon more in depth discussion
Use of personal experience-- We noted on previous experience which could allow us to relate to the character in discussion, and put ourselves in their footsteps. The concept at hand was the abstract perception of not being happy with what we have. We talked about how we visited other countries and were exposed to this concept by others and ourselves.
3)
My individual performance during the Socratic seminar reflects on my preparation. While reading the selected literature, I bold and write notes on important concepts. Also, I take in notes of the author’s use of literary devices that point to further meaning in the theme and universal concepts. Moreover, my performance is reflected on my activity throughout the seminar. I comment as much as I can in the allotted time for each questions either introducing a resolution to the question asked, or expanding/ correcting my peer’s contribution. I take my time on each selection, allowing my response to be meaningful rather than just words.
The teamwork throughout the inner circle however is competitive. There is no suggestion from my peers for others to contribute. As a circle, we somewhat compete for the time given to speak. Also, the contribution as an outer circle is distracted and hurried to finish ratings.
4)
Thesis:
Throughout the text of Everyday Use, there are universal concepts with mother and daughter issues, and the abstract perception of not being satisfied with what you have.
General terms: main points explained
The mother and daughter, Dee, express tension throughout the story in the mother’s narration. This is relatable to the reader who have been through the parenting conflicts prior. This can input interpretation for the reader to extend the text, and creates dimension in the characters solely alone with the reader’s background experience. Moreover, Dee openly rejects her life at home, craving a culture that isn’t hers. This ties back to the abstract perception of not being satisfied with what we have. There is the constant desire to have and be better, which can contribute to unhappiness.
Paragraph: connections b/w content and our own life.
The story Everyday Use really compliments what humanity experiences “everyday” in “use” with these concepts. There will always be constant mother/ daughter issues, and the sin of being insatiable with our culture. For example, I wish I could be in Spain rather than America, but only because of their architecture and culture. America is greater than great, but I forget to be happy with the wonderful privilege of living in this nation.
No comments:
Post a Comment