The Language of Resistance by Emily DeVoe

Areas of Exploration

edevoe2 — 2020-07-04 02:19:04 UTC

Readers, writers, and texts

Why and how do we study language and literature?
How are we affected by texts in various ways?
In what ways is meaning constructed, expressed and discovered?
How does language use vary amongst text types, and amongst literary forms?
How does the structure or style of a text affect meaning?
How do texts offer insights and challenges?

Time and space

How important is cultural or historical context to the production and reception of a text?
How do we approach texts from different times and cultures to our own?
To what extent do texts offer insight into another culture?
How does the meaning and impact of a text change over time?
How do texts reflect, represent or form a part of cultural practices?
How does language represent social distinctions and identities?

Guiding Concepts / Lines of Inquiry

edevoe2 — 2020-07-04 02:19:19 UTC

Transformation: How might texts borrow from one another and what are the effects of this? How are we as readers being transformed/changed when we engage with a text?

Culture: How does this poem relate to the context of its production and reception, and to the respective values, beliefs and attitudes of the writer and reader?

Communication: What is the relationship that is established between a writer and a reader by means of this poem? Consider how the poet’s choices of style and structure facilitate communication with the reader.
Creativity: What role does creativity play in the development of the text?

Questions for Conceptual Exploration

edevoe2 — 2020-07-04 02:20:32 UTC

How can art and creativity serve as catalysts for social and personal change?

How might a poem be art for art’s sake, and also personal, and also political?

How do we approach texts from different times and cultures to our own?

What is unique about poetry that allows it to convey messages that other genres cannot?

Do you believe that poetry can be an effective form of resistance? Why or why not?

How do we as readers transform the meaning of a text through our own interpretations?

How does the concept of "home" depicted, and what is the significance?

Global Issues

edevoe2 — 2020-07-04 02:22:56 UTC

Internal & External Imprisonment and Freedom
Oppression, Racism and “Otherization”
Protest & Revolution
Beauty, Creativity, Joy
Concept of Home

Skills & Knowledge Developed

edevoe2 — 2020-07-04 02:29:34 UTC

- Contextual understanding of South African History, including imperialism & Apartheid
- Comparison & contrast with American Jim Crow; connections to US current events and government response
- Basic biographical information about the poet
- Poetic devices, tone, satire

Body of Work: The poetry of Sydney Sipho Sepamla

edevoe2 — 2020-07-04 02:35:47 UTC

Students will engage with a selection of 16 poems. Here are links to a few examples:
"To Whom It May Concern"
"Pimville Station"
"Nibbling"
"I Remember Sharpeville"
"The Soweto Blues"

edevoe2 — 2020-07-04 02:46:43 UTC

edevoe2 — 2020-07-04 02:47:32 UTC

Music by Miriam Makeba & Hugh Masekela

edevoe2 — 2020-07-04 02:50:48 UTC

Shosholoza

edevoe2 — 2020-07-04 02:52:37 UTC

Art by David Koloane

edevoe2 — 2020-07-04 02:54:10 UTC

How do Sepamla & Koloane explore the concept of space and its relationship to identity in Apartheid South Africa?

Dance as Protest: Toyi-Toyi

edevoe2 — 2020-07-04 02:55:23 UTC

Steve Biko & the Black Consciousness Movement

edevoe2 — 2020-07-04 02:56:42 UTC

“Black consciousness is, in essence, the realization by the black man of the need to rally together with his brothers around the cause of their subjugation--the blackness of their skin--and to operate as a group in order to rid themselves of the shackles that bind them to perpetual servitude. It seeks to demonstrate the lie that black is an aberration from the “normal” which is white...It seeks to infuse the black community with a new-found pride in themselves, their efforts, their value systems, their culture, their religion and their outlook to life. The interrelationship between the consciousness of self and the emancipatory programme is of paramount importance. Blacks no longer seek to reform the system because so doing implies acceptance of the major points around which the system revolves. Blacks are out to completely transform the system and to make of it what they wish.”

-Steve Biko, I Write What I Like

Learning Engagements & Learner Portfolio Activity Ideas

edevoe2 — 2020-07-04 03:00:33 UTC

- contextual explorations, including timelines and Google Earth "tour"
- students will explore art, music, and dance further, and curate their own examples (share via Padlet)
- online discussions of the poems & guiding questions; collaborative annotations
- personal reflections & asynchronous seminar via Flipgrid
- explore both connections and distinctions between South Africa and the United States (including both history and current events)
- write a protest poem based in our own context in 2020 California
- visually map out concepts & poetic devices used
- record questions & connections in the Learner Portfolio; practice framing good research questions and finding quality sources

Thinking Ahead to Assessments

edevoe2 — 2020-07-04 03:01:30 UTC

- In this unit, students will practice close reading skills using a variety of genres, developing skills they will need for Paper 1.
- Sepamla's body of work offers many opportunities for further exploration in the HL essay (which we will introduce after this unit).
- There are also contextual, conceptual, and thematic links with our other works (Beloved by Toni Morrison & The Thief and the Dogs by Naguib Mahfouz), making Sepamla's work a good option for Paper 2.

To Consider:

edevoe2 — 2020-07-29 18:14:15 UTC

Can we–hampered by our Western vision–appreciate the inherent beauty of a culture so different from our own, or does our perception of the wrongness of human oppression blind us to this?

Anti-Apartheid Posters

edevoe2 — 2020-08-14 00:38:55 UTC

Two resources with collections of protest posters: Medu Art Ensemble + Northwestern University’s Library of African Studies

Protest / Protest Art / Art

edevoe2 — 2020-08-24 16:07:25 UTC

How do we define these terms?

Moving Beyond a Single Story

edevoe2 — 2021-05-11 16:32:54 UTC

"Black Privilege" slam poem

edevoe2 — 2022-05-20 20:37:56 UTC

Clint Smith, How the Word is Passed, Goré Island

nvaughan2 — 2022-06-20 18:34:50 UTC

https://twitter.com/ClintSmithIII/status/1399731889309634561?s=20&t=b8bRMWh6qIhiMb6NqCMYHA

NY Times + Dakar

nvaughan2 — 2022-06-20 18:46:25 UTC

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/01/world/africa/dakar-biennale-senegal-art.html?smid=url-share

Black Consciousness and Steve Biko

nvaughan2 — 2022-06-20 18:48:01 UTC

ICP: Rise and Fall of Apartheid

nvaughan2 — 2022-06-20 18:50:06 UTC

https://www.icp.org/exhibitions/rise-and-fall-of-apartheid

South African Artists

nvaughan2 — 2022-06-20 18:53:11 UTC

Smithsonian South African Exhibits

nvaughan2 — 2022-06-20 18:53:36 UTC

https://africa.si.edu/?s=south+africa

Koleka Putuma "Water"

nvaughan2 — 2022-08-02 03:41:13 UTC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dfq3C8GNrE&ab_channel=InZyncPoetries

Koleka Putuma "Voices from within--poems for her"

nvaughan2 — 2022-08-02 03:42:54 UTC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5LRPY_lmmw&ab_channel=TEDxTalks

Land Redistribution in SA

nvaughan2 — 2022-08-02 03:51:40 UTC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2beMMv5anw&ab_channel=TEDxTalks

Contemporary South African Art

nvaughan2 — 2022-08-02 03:53:25 UTC

https://www.contemporary-african-art.com/south-african-art.html

Thebe Kgositsile aka Earl Sweatshirt's "Nowhere, Nobody"

nvaughan2 — 2022-08-02 04:23:08 UTC

https://www.okayafrica.com/earl-sweatshirt-nowhere-nobody-bra-willie/

A reading by Keorapetse Kgositsile

nvaughan2 — 2022-08-02 04:27:17 UTC

https://youtu.be/4f8OAtKgNfo

Collector of Treasures by Bessie Head

edevoe2 — 2022-09-07 16:16:11 UTC

jrutigliano — 2022-09-09 22:14:15 UTC

jrutigliano — 2022-09-10 16:00:03 UTC

jrutigliano — 2022-09-10 18:14:28 UTC

South African House Music! INSPO

jrutigliano — 2022-09-10 18:37:33 UTC

Google Earth Views of South Africa

jrutigliano — 2022-11-05 17:53:24 UTC

This will help see some of the places of interest in South Africa, mentioned and alluded to in Sepamla's work.

Anti Apartheid Art: Resistance

jrutigliano — 2023-09-02 15:46:42 UTC

South African Jazz Intro

edevoe2 — 2024-06-06 15:59:43 UTC

"How might music help to shape our identities so as to construct new sorts of human connectedness?"

Descriptions and links to audio for a curated selection of 16 tracks

South African Visual Artist Zanele Muholi

edevoe2 — 2024-08-19 17:34:02 UTC

The Blue Train: Cape Town to Pretoria

edevoe2 — 2025-03-31 22:07:54 UTC