Harris/Englsh 101: LESSON PLANS SUMMER 2003



Harris/Englsh 101: LESSON PLANS SUMMER 2004

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June 8 tu.

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|Course introduction. Atomic Cafe. Get acquainted interviews. Oral reports. Review of the |Ch. 1, 6, 16; A29-37. Interview family, friends, or |

|writing process. Response paper 1. Frequently misused words. T* |co-workers, etc., about knowledge of nuclear war. |

Course Introduction

This is Engl. 101, Composition. For the next five weeks we will concentrate on your writing. This composition course also has a theme, and all the work you’ll be doing will be on that theme. The theme is nukes, which is slang for all things nuclear: energy, war, power plants, etc.

Let’s first go over the course materials. This packet contains the course description, the syllabus, the grade computation sheet, and the topic handouts for the three essays you’ll be writing.

1. for course description, point out grading and attendance policies. Also mention late paper and missing exercises done policy.

2. go over syllabus, pointing out due dates, assignment types, evaluation group dates and number of copies of rough draft needed, and oral report dates. Mention the grade computation chart.

3. review the topic handouts, briefly mentioning audience and purpose and listing them and underlining the thesis. All papers should be done on computer, 12 point font and double spaced with one staple in the upper left corner, identifying information in the upper right corner.

Nuclear Background Lecture

So in this course, you are going to write about nukes from a fiction as well as a non fiction perspective. We’ll be watching both movies and documentaries that focus on nukes so that you can learn some of the history and understand how it is incorporated into fiction. You will also be doing an oral report on a novel that uses nukes in some way.

In looking at nuclear movies, there are several points that become clear: nukes appear as a major plot point or as the McGuffin. Alfred Hitchcock defined the McGuffin as “the thing that the spies are after but the audience don’t care.” So nukes are interchangeable with any top secret, stolen jewels or money: these are plot points that get the movie and its conflict moving.

We will be watching movies that show nukes in these ways. In some, they are the major focal point with the distinct possibility of total annihilation.

We’re going to begin our movie viewing with the documentary Atomic Café. This documentary is a compilation of news reports, advertising, public relations exercises, for instance, how do you sell the public on the possibility of living through a nuclear explosion?

The Atomic Café" provided the founders of this site with an exceptional roadmap of how to blend pop cultural artifacts, satire and information to form new entertainment - or in the vernacular of the Internet - "content." With a tip of the old CONELRAD fedora, then, this page gratefully acknowledges a great film, soundtrack, and book.

THE FILM

The idea for this unique and innovative documentary began in a San Francisco bookstore in 1976 when one of the film's co-producers (Pierce Rafferty) found a thick catalogue of U.S. government films. That same day Rafferty envisioned a project that would utilize some of these titles to create a satirical documentary on the subject of American propaganda. The concept of crafting a visual montage out of long forgotten government training movies took six years and $300,000 to finally be realized on the screen in 1982. Along the way Rafferty enlisted his brother, Kevin, and shortly thereafter, New York film teacher Jayne Loader to join him in making the film.

"Atomic Café" is ultimately a post-modern masterpiece that is different from any documentary that came before it or has been released since. One of the reasons the film is such an artistic success is because the filmmakers were daring enough to eschew narration and rely solely on their source footage. This footage - edited for maximum irony and backed by a phenomenal soundtrack - evolved into a completely fresh and original work. And with the Reagan administration's re-energized arms race in full swing (with complimentary plans for "continuity of government"), the film achieved currency with its wicked satire of Truman/Eisenhower era designs for winning World War III.

You can learn more about the making of the film and read the contemporaneous reviews at Jayne Loader's Public Shelter web site.

THE SOUNDTRACK

Like its film counterpart, the "Atomic Café" soundtrack is an ingenious blend of music and documentary news clips. It is also the single greatest collection of Atomic Music ever assembled and released. The pre-Internet methodology employed by the producers to locate these wonderful songs was simple: They went to the Library of Congress music copyright file and looked under "Atomic." From this search they produced a "want list" of 200 titles. This list was sent out to various collectors who would invariably reply with even more suggestions. From the master tape, they elected to include 17 tunes mixed with radio broadcasts and newsreel audio*. Lamentably, this atomic anthology is long out-of-print with no active plans of a reissue. This is due in part to copyright difficulties Rounder Records experienced in releasing the album in the first place. If you would care to gently nag the company, please e-mail them.

Album Liner Notes [Excerpt]:

"Bomb songs expressed people’s political hopes and fears, their religion, and even their sexual fantasies. People boogied with the Bomb, and they prayed with the Bomb. Here is a cross-section of the best of that music, interspersed with short documentary news clips from the time. It is a reflection of an earlier, more innocent America trying to come to grips with the new atomic era. Just as important, it is a collection of seldom-heard vintage music which remains exciting and dynamic today."

- Charles Wolfe

SIDE ONE:

1. ATOM AND EVIL by the Golden Gate Quartet

2. Audio Clip: Maj. Thomas Ferebee, "Enola Gay" bombardier, 08/15/45

3. WHEN THE ATOMB FELL by Karl and Harty

4. Audio Clips: President Harry S Truman, 08/09/45; Capt. Kermit Beehan, "Great Artiste" bombardier, 08/15/45

5. WIN THE WAR BLUES by Sonny Boy Williamson

6. Audio Clip: David E. Lilienthal, the first Chairman of the A.E.C.

7. ATOMIC POWER by the Buchanan Brothers

8. Audio Clip: Winston Churchill, 03/31/49

9. JESUS HITS LIKE AN ATOM BOMB by Lowell Blanchard and the Valley Trio

10. Audio Clip: Rep. James E. Van Zandt (Republican), Penn., 05/08/53

11. WHEN THEY DROP THE ATOMIC BOMB by Jackie Doll and His Pickled Peppers

12. ATOMIC SERMON by Billy Hughes and his Rhythm Buckeroos

13. OLD MAN ATOM by Sons of Pioneers

SIDE TWO:

1. URANIUM by The Commodores

2. 50 MEGATONS by Sonny Russell

3. ATOM BOMB BABY by The Five Stars

4. SATELLITE BABY by Skip Stanley

5. ATOMIC COCKTAIL by Slim Gaillard Quartette

6. ATOMIC LOVE by Little Caesar with the Red Callendar Sextette

7. ATOMIC TELEPHONE by Spirits of Memphis Quartet

8. RED'S DREAM by Louisiana Red

for more information, including lyrics, of songs used in the documentary.

The Songs That Got Away:

Jayne Loader: "There were some (songs) we never could find: "Atomic Polka" and "Atomic Boogie" and one amazing song called "Fallout Shelter," in the "Tell Laura I Love Her" genre; the father tells the son that he can't bring his girlfriend into the family fallout shelter, so the boy and girl leave the shelter and die in the streets**"

CONELRAD owes a great debt to the producers of "Atomic Café" (the film, the soundtrack AND the tie-in book) as it was a major inspiration to our drive to plumb the depths of Atomic Culture and start this site. Therefore, if we ever do find "Fallout Shelter," a copy will be shipped to Ms. Loader immediately.

THE BOOK OF THE FILM

A wonderful tie-in book to the film featuring some of the remarkable images from this nation's atomic heritage. Some great photographs include the original "Atomic Café" sign as well as an odd picture of a man getting into a box labeled "Atomic Bomb Protective Device." The Atomic Café book of the film can be found in used bookstores, EBAY and the Advanced Book Exchange.

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NOTE: In 1994 Jayne Loader released a wonderful (Windows only) CD-ROM titled Public Shelter. This disc is chock full of Atomic info, pictures and sound and is available through her Public Shelter site.

* Rolling Stone [06/10/82] Pg. 54, interview conducted by Fred Schruers)

** Ibid

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After viewing the material, you will write a response paper. This is your personal opinion of the work, your evaluation of it. You can focus on one or several of the elements of fiction I have discussed when writing about the movies; you can focus on the historical accuracy of the documentaries. The response paper will be due the class when we discuss the work. Your opinions thus expressed will be important to our class discussions of the works. And our discussions will help with the specifics that you need to include when you write your formal papers on these works. For instance, one paper is a comparison/contrast of two of the movies/documentaries we’ve viewed, focusing on the plot, characters, setting, or theme.

Because this class is only six weeks long, we won’t be doing a formal research paper. However, we will cover the basics of documentation. You will be expected to supply the correct bibliographic information for any work you quote, summarize, or paraphrase. For instance, the paper on the nuclear web site should give the correct bibliographic format for electronic sources. Within the essay, you should use parenthetical citations containing the author’s name and page number for the work. Writing about Atomic Café, you would use this form for its bibliographic information:

Atomic Café. Directors/Producers Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty, Pierce Rafferty. Independent. 1982.

We will also be working on the elements of composition: content, organization, style and mechanics. There will be five quizzes on the points of grammar which cause the most problems to students and exercises for effective use of language.

Instead of a final in-class essay, you will present an oral report on a novel or work of nonfiction that again contains nukes in some way. For instance, you could read Fail-Safe, which is about preventing a nuclear war that was caused by an accident. Or you might read The Stand, where nukes are mentioned briefly. Again, you’ll be examining the way nukes are used in the work.

If you’re interested in watching other movies containing nukes, here is a list of the top 100 nuke movies:

Get Acquainted Interviews

For the next ten minutes, you will be paired with another student. Your task is to interview each other, to learn something about all the members of this class. Typical questions to ask:

1. why did you choose Catonsville?

2. what is your major?

3. what are your plans after leaving Catonsville?

4. describe your family. Do you have any brothers or sisters? Any children?

5. what are your hobbies/interests?

6. if you’re working, where do you work and what is your job?

7. how old are you?

8. what’s your sign? Use your imagination to come up with other questions. Steer clear of questions about political or religious beliefs. Don’t ask anything offensive.

Take the information you learn about your classmate, and write an organized essay about him/her. During the next class, you will read your interview results to the rest of the class.

Frequently Misused Words

Go over the glossary in the textbook and point out which terms are the ones to study. Explain the plan for working on grammar: lecture, exercise, quiz, make-up quiz. Remind class to study the list to prepare for the exercise in the next class. Tell them about the practice quiz given that same day to prepare them for the official quiz.

Homework

Read the assigned chapters in The Bedford Guide, and choose your interview subject, setting up an appointment for the interview, preferably this weekend, but definitely by next Tuesday. When reading ch. 6, answer the questions at the end of both essays.

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