Unit Intro English 9 Honors September 2016 Goals Analyze the impact of language on how we understand a text censor a text or discuss a text Understand Twains intent in writing Huckleberry Finn ID: 524871
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Slide1
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Unit Intro
English 9 Honors
September
2016Slide2
Goals
Analyze the impact of language on how we understand a text, censor a text, or discuss a text.
Understand Twain’s intent in writing
Huckleberry Finn
and the reasons behind his treatment of race in
Huck Finn.
Research and discuss the controversy around
Huck Finn
and society’s use of racial slurs.Slide3
Background – A brief History of Language & the Controversy of
Huck Finn
Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) began writing
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
in July 1876 and published it in 1885.
The novel is set in the pre-Civil War south, in Missouri near the Mississippi River.
Published 20 years after the end of the Civil War. By that time Congress had passed the 13
th
Amendment (abolishment of slavery), the 14
th
Amendment (the guarantee of citizenship to every person born in the U.S.), and the 15
th
Amendment (granting the right to vote to all citizens regardless of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”)
However, by 1877, many states had passed laws segregating schools, restaurants, restrooms, cemeteries, parks, and other public facilities.
Twain’s theme of racism was part of current culture at the time. Slide4
Where it gets complicated…
Critics during Twain’s time criticized the novel because it was “coarse”
Today, commentators have deemed the novel as racist for its “stereotypical” portrayal of slavery and use of racial slurs.
What many fail to understand is that
Huckleberry Finn
is a SATIRE
What is a satire?
What is Twain satirizing?Slide5
Language & Huckleberry Finn
In
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
the “N-word” is used more than 200 times.
How should we teach the novel and its use of pejorative slang?
pejorative: expressing contempt or disapproval
Our goal is to discuss the issues and tension surrounding this word before we read it.
In class, the texts we read will contain the word, you will be saying it in your head and thinking it, but we will use a euphemism (“the n-word”) to discuss it in class out of respect to your peers and the community here at the high school.Slide6
Language & Huckleberry Finn
In
the United States, "nigger" was first regarded
as pejorative (
expressing contempt or
disapproval
)
in the early nineteenth century.
In
the era of enslavement, the words "nigger" or "black" were inserted in front of a common American first name (e.g., John), given to a slave to distinguish the slave from any local white person with the same name.
While
usage of the word in African American culture is complex in that it can be used affectionately, politically, or pejoratively, the epithet is considered an abusive slur when used by white people.
The word has gained more acceptance in recent years in youth culture through song lyrics and stand-up comedy.
Some
claim that the word can be defused through reclaiming it. However, most adults continue to view the word as offensive and harmful.Slide7
Language & Huckleberry Finn
Pre-Reading Questions:
Have you ever been called a “name,” a derogatory label that signaled someone’s prejudice toward you? How did that act make you feel?
Why do people call others “names”? What are the implications of labeling people in such ways?Slide8
Your Assignment
Read and annotate the texts in the packet
Come prepared to discuss the different perspectives in class FRIDAY!
Note: These texts include the use of the n-word. Be prepared to encounter many different perspectives on its use in popular culture.
Have an open mind, but also be mindful and mature in your approach.
Ask Questions!Slide9
English 9 Honors
Socratic CirclesSlide10
What does “Socratic” mean?
The word “Socratic” comes from the name Socrates (ca. 470-399 B.C.), a Classical Greek philosopher who developed a Theory of Knowledge. Slide11
What was the Theory of Knowledge?
Socrates
believed that the answers to all human questions and problems reside within us. Unfortunately, as human beings we are often unaware of the answers and solutions we
possess.
Socrates
was convinced that the surest way to discover those answers and attain reliable knowledge was through the practice of disciplined conversation.
He
called this method the dialectic. Slide12
What does dialectic mean?
Dialectic is the art or practice of examining opinions or ideas logically, often by the method of question and answer, so as to determine their validity. Slide13
How did Socrates use the dialectic?
Socrates
believed that through the process of dialogue, where all parties to the conversation were forced to clarify their ideas, the final outcome of the conversation would be a clear statement of what was meant.
The
technique appears simple but it is intensely rigorous.
Socrates
would feign ignorance about a subject and try to draw out from the other person his fullest possible knowledge about
it.
Socrates
’ assumption was that by progressively correcting incomplete or inaccurate notions through discussion, one could coax the truth out of anyone. Slide14
What is a Socratic Circle?
A
Socratic circle (also called Socratic seminar) is a process to try to understand information by creating the dialectic in class in regards to a specific text.
In
a Socratic circle, participants seek deeper understanding of complex ideas in the text through thoughtful dialogue, rather than by memorizing bits of information.
A
Socratic Circle is not debate.
The goal of this activity is to have participants work together to construct
meaning
and arrive at an answer, not for one student or one group to “win the argument.” Slide15
Steps to the Socratic Seminar
1. At
the beginning of
class,
students are randomly divided into two concentric circles: an inner circle and an outer circle.
2
.
Students in the inner circle read
a question or passage
aloud and then engage in a discussion of the text for approximately ten minutes, while the outer circle observes the human behavior and performance of the inner circle.
3
.
Following this discussion of the text, the outer circle then assesses the inner circle’s performance and offers ten minutes of feedback for the inner circle.
4
.
Students in the inner and outer circle now exchange roles and positions within the classroom.
5
.
The new inner circle (the students who began in the outer circle) holds a ten-minute discussion and then receives ten minutes of feedback from the new outer circle. Slide16
The Opening Question
A
Socratic Circle opens with a question either posed by the leader or solicited from participants.
An
opening question has no right answer; instead it reflects a genuine curiosity on the part of the questioner.
A
good opening question leads participants back to the text as they speculate, evaluate, define, and clarify the issues
involved.
Responses
to the opening question generate new questions from the leader and participants, leading to new responses. Slide17
Class Discussion – the N-Word
What did you connect with in each article?
What articles were antithesis to each other? How do you know?
What does each say about context?
How would each author react to the censorship of
Huck Finn
?
Do you think there is a standard or a double standard for who can use the word? What do our authors think?