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Apr. 16th, 2009 08:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wellownedbkupso it seems that winter has just not left yet. *is freezing* i keep shivering and can't stop.
also, i'm hungry and not having money sucks.
but i guess i should say, more importantly, that i'm procrastinating on papers. i should really be writing right now, but i can't bring myself to do so. it's something about how 13 pages sounds really really long in my head, even if that's the bare minimum between three papers. but still. ugh. i hate writing. i was really spoiled, what with my slacking off for X years in school. *headdesk*
but at least i know what i'm planning to write.
french: 3 pages: Crisis in the Banlieues (suburbs/projects)
french wiki on 2005 crisis english wiki on 2005 crisis
french wiki on 2007 crisis english wiki on 2007 crisis
english wiki on Banlieues
social situation in the Banlieues
basically i'm writing about the 'burbs, which pretty much equates to the projects in the states. it's full of lots of immigrants from north africa who don't fit in anywhere; they're too french to be considered north african, and too north african to be considered french. there's a lot of crime and social unrest, especially as it concerns the youth and their interactions with the cops. a lot of the riots come from the deaths of youths at the hands of cops (especially when it's an accidental death).
so, yeah. talking about life in the projects, as well as the social unrest inherent in low income housing.
poetry: 7 pages: [insert plan here]
my two plans include a look at the use of the Odyssey and other myths in substantiating Louise Glück's "Meadowlands" and Robert Olen Butler's "Severance" as epic poetry.... or the use of children in both "Meadowlands" and Marilyn Hacker's "Love, Death and the Changing of Seasons" as a mirror on the relationships therein (with a possible side discussion about the children in Galway Kinnell's "Book of Nightmares" as a foil).
i'm vacillating between the two. i don't know enough about the Odyssey (or any myth, really) to really fill up 7 pages. but, then again, i dont' think there's enough range in the latter to show different aspects of the whole. i'll feel repetitive either way. i should probably sit down with all four books tonight and figure what i'm gonna do there.
though, if i did the first, i could totally ply dani's brain for info on the roles of women in greek mythology and discuss Penelope, Circe, and the Siren (in "meadowlands) and Medusa (in "severance") with a possible side note to the dragon from 'st. george and the dragon' (also in "severance") especially because of the way Butler makes the dragon female. and then somehow make the connection from that to modern day views of women? the epic poem being a part of modern life because of the use of characterization that's been around since grecian epic poets??
ok. so i may have a better idea of what i want to do than i thought.
hip-hop: 3 pages: Comparison of Other People's Property and Can't Stop, Won't Stop
or, rather, a look at outsiders and insiders in hip hop, and how those views mesh.
it shouldn't be difficult, actually. the books are very distinct in their views. Tanz (OPP) references CSWS a lot, but feels that hip hop appeals to everyone and should pretty much be available to all. whereas Chang (CSWS) feels that you can't possibly understand hip hop if you don't understand all the history behind, if you haven't lived it. very exclusionary/ inclusionary work. OPP talks about wiggers and wegroes, nerdcore rap and how hip hop has evolved to be more than itself. i don't think that CSWS has that same glowing feeling. it kinda wants everyone to reach back and be more radical.
i sorta agree with both. i feel like current hip hop is watered down and white-washed for the public, especially as it concerns mainstream music. i like old hip hop, the stuff from the late 80s, early 90s. there was a message then. but i also feel like, as a genre, it should appeal to more than just black people. there are other oppressed people who know what it is to be poor, what it is to struggle against oppression and profiling (nerdcore!). hip hop's the voice for those people. why shouldn't everyone have a piece for themselves so they can get the message out?
so. you know. at least i have a clue the direction i'm headed in.
also, i'm hungry and not having money sucks.
but i guess i should say, more importantly, that i'm procrastinating on papers. i should really be writing right now, but i can't bring myself to do so. it's something about how 13 pages sounds really really long in my head, even if that's the bare minimum between three papers. but still. ugh. i hate writing. i was really spoiled, what with my slacking off for X years in school. *headdesk*
but at least i know what i'm planning to write.
french: 3 pages: Crisis in the Banlieues (suburbs/projects)
french wiki on 2005 crisis english wiki on 2005 crisis
french wiki on 2007 crisis english wiki on 2007 crisis
english wiki on Banlieues
social situation in the Banlieues
basically i'm writing about the 'burbs, which pretty much equates to the projects in the states. it's full of lots of immigrants from north africa who don't fit in anywhere; they're too french to be considered north african, and too north african to be considered french. there's a lot of crime and social unrest, especially as it concerns the youth and their interactions with the cops. a lot of the riots come from the deaths of youths at the hands of cops (especially when it's an accidental death).
so, yeah. talking about life in the projects, as well as the social unrest inherent in low income housing.
poetry: 7 pages: [insert plan here]
my two plans include a look at the use of the Odyssey and other myths in substantiating Louise Glück's "Meadowlands" and Robert Olen Butler's "Severance" as epic poetry.... or the use of children in both "Meadowlands" and Marilyn Hacker's "Love, Death and the Changing of Seasons" as a mirror on the relationships therein (with a possible side discussion about the children in Galway Kinnell's "Book of Nightmares" as a foil).
i'm vacillating between the two. i don't know enough about the Odyssey (or any myth, really) to really fill up 7 pages. but, then again, i dont' think there's enough range in the latter to show different aspects of the whole. i'll feel repetitive either way. i should probably sit down with all four books tonight and figure what i'm gonna do there.
though, if i did the first, i could totally ply dani's brain for info on the roles of women in greek mythology and discuss Penelope, Circe, and the Siren (in "meadowlands) and Medusa (in "severance") with a possible side note to the dragon from 'st. george and the dragon' (also in "severance") especially because of the way Butler makes the dragon female. and then somehow make the connection from that to modern day views of women? the epic poem being a part of modern life because of the use of characterization that's been around since grecian epic poets??
ok. so i may have a better idea of what i want to do than i thought.
hip-hop: 3 pages: Comparison of Other People's Property and Can't Stop, Won't Stop
or, rather, a look at outsiders and insiders in hip hop, and how those views mesh.
it shouldn't be difficult, actually. the books are very distinct in their views. Tanz (OPP) references CSWS a lot, but feels that hip hop appeals to everyone and should pretty much be available to all. whereas Chang (CSWS) feels that you can't possibly understand hip hop if you don't understand all the history behind, if you haven't lived it. very exclusionary/ inclusionary work. OPP talks about wiggers and wegroes, nerdcore rap and how hip hop has evolved to be more than itself. i don't think that CSWS has that same glowing feeling. it kinda wants everyone to reach back and be more radical.
i sorta agree with both. i feel like current hip hop is watered down and white-washed for the public, especially as it concerns mainstream music. i like old hip hop, the stuff from the late 80s, early 90s. there was a message then. but i also feel like, as a genre, it should appeal to more than just black people. there are other oppressed people who know what it is to be poor, what it is to struggle against oppression and profiling (nerdcore!). hip hop's the voice for those people. why shouldn't everyone have a piece for themselves so they can get the message out?
so. you know. at least i have a clue the direction i'm headed in.
