Monday, January 19, 2009

Today is a federal holiday in honor of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

There will be various celebrations all around Central Florida to commemorate the vision and work of this dynamic civil rights leader. Soapbox moment: I think our culture still has a long way to go in the respect department--respect for each other, regardless of race, gender, etc.--but I can't imagine the disorder and chaos we would have without the Civil Rights Movement of the previous generation. So take a moment today and think about the various freedoms you have, and be grateful to live in a time period and a country in which you can pretty much do and say whatever you want. (Despite our challenges, I can't imagine living anywhere else.) So, a friendly salute to Dr. King.

Now on to academics:

What can YOU do this long weekend to ameliorate your life?

SOPHYS: If you desire a copy of Othello for annotation/simplicity, please go get one this weekend. We will be finishing the film Julius Caesar this week, and planning our Lupercal festival, and working on a focus paper, but you'll need it in a week or so. I have a class set of the play for reading-in-class purposes, but if you desire your own go get it, tiger. ALSO--we will be doing more intensive grammar work this quarter and you will need to get a copy of The Elements of Style by Strunk and White--both books together should be no more than ten bucks. If this is a problem, come find me. Check the syllabus if you need ISBN numbers.

APees: Our next novel is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, and I have several copies. If you'd like your own, the Barnes and Noble Classic edition is under four dollars and has nice margins for annotation. We will be working with Frankenstein this week in and out of class, and our next focus paper is Franken-focused, but JE is coming up and is a lengthy read. PLAN AHEAD.