Thesis Workshop

1. Thesis Workshop a silent discussion

2. Omaha World Herald Article • Read the article at your table • Answer these question: Did anything in this article surprise you? Do you agree with the first sentence? Why does writing matter to you? What kind of “register” do you like to write in?

3. Where are we going? • Mini literary analysis: • "I don't write any book that doesn't ask a deep question.” –Gregory Maguire • Goal is to examine and evaluate a work of literature • We are still going to develop a thesis statement but the literary analysis will look a little bit different

4. In his book Blending Genre, Altering Style, Tom Romano explains, • “After junior high—sometimes before—school is devoted to teaching students to think paradigmatically. The predominant mode of writing is exposition. There is little sanction in expository school for narrative knowing, unless it is written by someone published. Many teachers do not consider writing poetry or fiction cognitively rigorous. So the irony persists that while teachers might read plenty of imaginative literature—even revere it as some of the best word work people have produced—they funnel students writing in its opposite direction. I am an agent against such thinking (22).

5. Fortunate learners! Journalism: • Newspaper article • Obituary • Editorial • Letter to the editor • Advice column • Magazine article Visual with Words: • Advertisment • Cartoon • Wanted poster Visual Display: • Artwork • Collage • Object that relates to a character Informational: • Interview (like People or Rolling Stone) • Trivia game • Timeline • Doctor’s Report • Playlist Creative Writing: • Play or scene • Song • Poem/Sonnet • Short story • Diary entry from character/author • Found poem • Court documents • Letter from one character to another

6. Where have we been? • Critical Theories • Deconstruction • Gender/Feminist • Social Class/Marxist • Post-colonialism (coming soon)

7. Thesis Workshop • Statement should bring your argument into focus • Advances an opinion about which your readers can disagree • Narrow your topic down to specific

8. Examples • Attempted Thesis 1: Marge Simpson is important to the plot of The Simpsons. This statement is vague and obvious. It’s readily apparent to anyone who has watched The Simpsons that each character adds a vital element of chemistry to the show, so no one would argue with this statement of fact. • Attempted Thesis 5 (best):Despite her role as a seemingly submissive housewife and mother, Marge Simpson functions for the audience of The Simpsons as a subversive feminist force against “middle class” values. Indeed, you may not agree with the statement, which is a good sign for its argumentative nature (some people, for instance, see the show as demeaning to women). Terms like “middle class values” and “feminist” will need to be defined precisely in the introduction or shortly after the thesis is stated. Additionally, this statement will require you to provide specific interpretations of The Simpsons to prove your case

9. Need to be sitting at a table of at least four. • Pass your thesis to the right. • Read the thesis and try to identify at least TWO possible objections to it and write them underneath the original thesis.If you can’t find anything to argue with in the thesis, that may indicate that the paper is going to be making claims that are too obvious. • In that case, suggest TWO ways to make the thesis more arguable. How could you complicate it…provoke the necessary sense of argument?

10. Pass paper to the right again • Recall the Deconstruction Lens? • When we deconstruct a piece of literature, we realize that there is something wrong or incomplete or dishonest or unintended with how it was put together in the first place. • Deconstruct the new thesis • Guiding Questions: What message is the thesis attempting to get across? Note specific places where the text, or the “thesis”, may fall apart? What are its weaknesses? • Write a question, comment, connection, or rewrite

11. Pass paper to the right again • Gender/Feminist Lens • When we use the gender lens, we examine patterns of thought, behavior, value, and power in interactions between the sexes. • Also consider context (time period, social expectations, etc.) • You may *CCQ-R* their thesis or pose a question about the book which may help build their thesis • How is the relationship between men and women portrayed? • What are the power relationships between men and women (or characters assuming male/female roles)? • How are male and female roles defined? • What constitutes masculinity and femininity? • How do characters embody these traits? • Do characters take on traits from opposite genders? How so? How does this change others’ reactions to them?

12. Pass paper to the right again – Should be back at original own? • Marxist literary theory • Asserts the importance of paying attention to class conflicts, power struggles, and how we place ourselves within the particular social structure in which we find ourselves. • Guiding Questions: • How and why is power gained/used/justified? • Who has the power/money? • Who does not? • What happens as a result? • CCQ-R on thesis or book

13. Look through all the CCQ-R’s • Find the one you feel is most important/enlightening/helpful • Discuss finding at your table • Rewrite thesis one last time, taking into account all of your peers’ comments/suggestions • Now….RELAX