love of learning talk: write your love story

Every couple has a story they tell themselves and others, their original tale of how they met.

Today, we'll discuss how to take your oral story and write it down for each other, future generations, movie executives, etc.

As I tell my English composition students, you have four questions to ask yourself when you begin writing:

1. Who is my Audience?

2. What is my Purpose?

3. What is my Persona?

4. What is my Message?

Your answers to these questions will help you decide how to write your story.

There are several writing exercises that can help you recreate the memories of your first meeting and courtship. Check out the handouts of exercises from Julia Cameron, Natalie Goldberg, and Twyla Tharp. How might you use these exercises, alone or together, to craft your story?

You'll also need to consider whether you want to write your version of the story, write one story together, or craft some kind of collaborative, back-and-forth story.

And, you'll need to decide how much of your story you want to tell. Do you want your story to be told in an essay format? Through letters? Incorporating mementos from your time together? On a blog? You have so many exciting options!

My favorite movie, When Harry Met Sally, includes many examples of couples sharing their "meet cute" stories. You'll notice that each couple has their own storytelling dynamic.

wom 203: domestic violence

Some feminist readers critique the Twilight series on the grounds of domestic abuse--they claim that Edward Cullen displays attributes that are common among men who commit acts of violence against women.

The issue of violence and romantic relationships was prominent in pop culture last spring, when Chris Brown beat Rihanna. Reactions to this situation were varied. This New York Times article discusses some disturbing fan reactions to the incident. Recently, both Chris Brown and Rihanna gave interviews to discuss the incident. Watch snippets here.

I'm curious to see what connections you see between the popularity of the Twilight series and the views of relationships it includes with issues of domestic violence. I'm also curious to see how you might connect these issues to the Chris Brown/Rihanna incident, as well as to our previous discussion of rape culture.

wom 203: reading for monday, november 9, 2009

Hi All!

For next Monday's class, I'd like you to read the first four chapters of Stephenie Meyers' draft of Midnight Sun. Of course, you can read more, but we'll talk about the first 89 pages or so.

While reading, I'd like you to consider how the story shifts when told from Edward's point of view. How do we view Edward and Bella's characters differently? How do we make sense of the relationship and the attraction between these two characters? Does Edward's behavior make more or less sense? And, how is gender constructed for both Edward and Bella?

Personalized Teen Vampire Novel - First Bite - Now Twilight and Vampire Diaries Fans Can Star In Their Own Vampire Book

Personalized Teen Vampire Novel - First Bite - Now Twilight and Vampire Diaries Fans Can Star In Their Own Vampire Book

Posted using ShareThis

wom 203: vampire diaries

In the wake of Twilight, teen vampire series--both textual and visual--have proliferated. 

On Monday, we're going to watch an episode of The Vampire Diaries, a new series on the CW, which is based on the novels written by LJ Smith. The first trilogy was originally published in 1991, and in 2009 a related trilogy was published. 

I wanted to show you the first episode in the series, but it is not currently available. Instead, we will jump into the middle of the season with episode six. 

While watching, consider how the male and female characters compare to Edward and Bella. Compare the relationships, how each gender is portrayed, the scary/creepy/sexy aspects of the vampire in particular, and anything else of interest. 

After class, write a one page freewrite building on a feminist comparison of the two series. We'll discuss on Wednesday, and I'll collect the freewrites. 

wom 203: feminism + music from the 1970s and 1980s

Helen Reddy's "I am Woman" (1972)

Pat Benatar's "Shadows of the Night" (1982)

Madonna's "Like a Prayer" (1989)

wom 203: feminism and philosophy

For a solid overview of feminist history, but particularly the history of feminist ideals and philosophy, check out the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.