Friday, January 20, 2012

Class Notes on January 20th - E-book and "Howl"

E-book Discussion

Oral Presentations

· Only one chance to get your message right

· Need to practice a lot

· Stay calm and make it like a conversation

· Having visuals/audio helps guide the presentation

Group Presentations

· Make sure everyone puts in equal effort and knows all of the material

· Need to have smooth transitions between speakers

“Howl”

· The Beat Movement

o Fragmented

o Stream of consciousness

o Experimentation

o Alienation

o Tradition

§ antagonistic

o Cultural context

§ Post-WWII

§ Conformity

§ Red Scare - Constant threat of Communism

· Always on the watch for Communism

· House Un-American Activities Committee

· McCarthyism

· Had to exert Patriotism to make sure people didn’t accuse you of being Communist

§ Materialistic/Consumer Driven society

§ Capitalism

o Appealed to the masses

o Cynical

o Countercultural Movement

§ Alternative tradition

§ Very cynical

§ Suspicious of state authority

§ Asserted individuality over homogeneity

§ Hedonism – open about drug use and sexuality

§ Meant to shock /offend

§ Expression: cultivate your eccentricities

o Great minds “destroyed”

§ Drugs

§ Madness

o “Moloch”

§ Semitic god that wanted children to be sacrificed to him

§ Form of idol worship

§ Signified capitalism, war, etc

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