The End of Geoff Klock’s Spring 2020 Classes!

These are three goodbye videos I made, so you can choose your own ending to the class! These have nothing to do with your grades so you can also ignore them!

The Meaning of Life:

(also in this video I ended by saying it doesnt matter what you pay attention to but don’t pay attention to racists and anti-Vaxxers and flat-earthers and 9/11 “truthers” and MRA people and stuff that is generally inimical to life).

Stay in Touch:

A poem, because I like poetry and how are you going to stop me from reading a poem in my own house if I want to?

The End: Shakespeare!

For my students that read Shakespeare this term I thought I would end by reading a Short Story about Shakespeare — this is “Everything and Nothing” by Borges

Tips for all my students writing papers!

To all my students, this is a quick note to say that the syllabus has a page about tips and tricks for doing well on papers for me — as this is the time of year to turn things in maybe find that in the syllabus (and if you can’t find it you can email me and I will email it to you).

How to do Research for Paper 4

You have a fourth paper in ENG201 which involves comparing something we looked at in class to something you like — and you only have to compare some PART of a thing we looked at in class to a PART of a thing you like (for example just compare two characters, one from each story). More info can be found in the syllabus. This fourth paper also needs a bit of research so here are some videos about doing research.

Problem Fixed!

There was a problem with the videos where you could not play them but that problem has now been fixed!

LET’S FINISH THE TEMPEST!

Let’s reach the end of the Tempest, our final class text for ENG201! Plus an exciting new location!

CREDIT/NO-CREDIT AKA PASS FAIL

So these links have an insane amount of information — too much really — but basically the way this works is if at the end of term you do not like your grade you have 20 days to go into CUNYFirst and change your grade to PASS/FAIL so that the class grade will not effect your GPA. But if you got above an F you can make the class PASS which means you in addition to not effecting your GPA you will get credit toward graduation and not have to take the class again and if you needed to pass the class to get into other classes you will be able to do that and if the class fulfills a requirement you can consider the requirement fulfilled! 

Policy: www.cuny.edu/coronavirus/credit-no-credit-policy/
FAQs: www.cuny.edu/coronavirus/credit-no-credit-policy/faq/

Empire Building and the Tempest!

Paper 3 assignment

Paper 3b — due by May 14 (earlier if you want a second draft)

The following is a speech from the play we read. I want you to tell me about it using the terms we use in this class: tell me what the speech is about, and tell me about irony, metaphor, and theme, including author and audience. 

This are the final words of the play — Prospero is alone on stage and speaking directly to the people in the audience. 

EPILOGUE

SPOKEN BY PROSPERO

Now my charms are all o'erthrown,                Charms = spells, but also other things

And what strength I have's mine own,

Which is most faint: now, 'tis true,                 faint = weak

I must be here confined by you,

Or sent to Naples. Let me not,                        see note

Since I have my dukedom got

And pardon'd the deceiver, dwell

In this bare island by your spell;

But release me from my bands                       bands = rope (he is not visibly tied up)

With the help of your good hands:

Gentle breath of yours my sails

Must fill, or else my project fails,

Which was to please. Now I want                  want = lack

Spirits to enforce, art to enchant,                    art = spells, but also other things

And my ending is despair,

Unless I be relieved by prayer,

Which pierces so that it assaults

Mercy itself and frees all faults.

As you from crimes would pardon'd be,

Let your indulgence set me free.                    Indulgence = forgiveness 

Notes

·      Naples is where Prospero is leaving the island to go to at the end of the play. Prospero will be a duke there, sort of like a governor.

·      Prayer: in the Christian tradition people pray by putting their hands together

IMPORTANT COVID-19 NOTE: this was originally supposed to be an in-class essay where I could make sure you didn’t use the internet for your first draft. Because of COVID I can’t do that. I considered making the assignment here very unusual so that it would be impossible for you to plagiarise, but I don’t feel like twisting this into knots to defeat you, because being unable to do the wrong thing is not the same as deciding to to the right thing (and that is a whole philosophical issue on its own so have fun thinking about that). 

So I am just asking you, as a personal favour to me, to use your brains and not the internet to do this assignment — and if you do use the internet you need to be clear where you are using it with phrases such as “According this This Expert Guy on This Website” and then you can say what he said before coming back to say what you want to say. If you need help with this check out the MLA Citation guide in the syllabus. 

One thing I would love to see here, and that would help me see that this was really your work would be if you could connect this speech to anything in modern society or movies, TV shows, comic, music etc that you are interested in and if you could use anything from my videos in your paper just to show me that you learned something from them. 

Make this 1000 words long and in MLA format and email it to me at gklock@bmcc.cuny.edu

Prospero: the good and the bad

Lets finish up talking about how good Prospero is and talk about how bad he also is!

Plagiarism

I am already getting plagiarized papers from students. I know this is a stressful time. I am going to grade as generously as I can. I want to pass you. I am looking for an excuse to pass you. If you can just have a point and some evidence and like 60% of the word count and you will at least pass — make the class CREDIT/NO-CREDIT and no one will see your barely passing grade, they will only see that you passed. But if you plagiarize I CANNOT PASS YOU. I cannot tell you how much smarter it is to turn in bad work that you did yourself rather than things you stole off the internet. There is a global pandemic. Don’t add to my bad feelings by putting your name on top of a paper that you didn’t write. I am FUCKING BEGGING YOU. Do you own work. Quote whatever you want — as long as you tell me where it is coming from and which part is someone else’s idea and which part is yours. I CANNOT EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH DO YOUR OWN WORK DURING THE GLOBAL CATASTROPHE I LOVE YOU ALL GIVE ME AN EXCUSE TO PASS YOU AND I WILL BUT I CANNOT PASS YOU IF YOU DO NOT DO YOUR OWN WORK.

BEGGING HERE. LITERALLY BEGGING.

Forgiveness in the tempest

Lets talk about Prospero as a Metaphor for Shakespeare and also forgiveness!

Credit/NoCredit AKA PASS/FAIL

I have emailed you info on the Credit/NoCredit AKA PassFail option this term — if you did not get that email me and I will email you!

ENG201: Let’s Start the Tempest!

Ok I started the Tempest! I will email it to you!

If you want to watch the Tempest movie it is 3 bucks to rent on youtube:

https://youtu.be/W8gGvsK_ibc

It is the same price on Amazon Prime — the version of the Tempest I recommend is directed by Julie Tamor and stars Hellen Mirren and is from 2010. I don’t recommend watching any other version because they are TERRIBLE I am pretty sure.

Spring Break?!

Guys I am gonna sort of observe Spring Break by not putting up any videos for a week. This will give you a chance to catch up if you are behind and MAKE COMMENTS ON ALL THE VIDEOS EVEN THE OLD ONES. You can also do papers that you need to get to me by May 14. Or you can just take the whole week off and do nothing related to my class.

BUT I am not GONE! I am still here to answer emails, I can Skype if you want to have like an electronic face to face and in this post I am going to say this — ASK ME ANYTHING IN THE COMMENTS!!!!!

Good luck everyone!!!!! You have done great things and are going to continue to do great things.

201: The end of Iago

I don’t know if I am done talking about Othello (I might be) but I am done talking about IAGO. I will put up other videos after spring break but maybe those will be on THE TEMPST, our next and final work.

201: HOW TO PASS THE CLASS

This class has four essays — to pass you have to do all of them by May 14. The good news is you already did one. These essays should be about 750-1000 words long.

1. The Kafka essay which you already did in class (feel free to email me your second draft on that if you want to raise your grade)
2. The Othello essay which you can find here: https://geoffklockbmcc.blogspot.com/2020/03/eng201-paper-2-due-may-14.html
3. The Tempest essay which I will put up soon
4. The research paper, which you can find on like the fourth page of the syllabus (email me if you need it). An upcoming video will teach you how to do research.

There is advice in the syllabus about how to do well on papers — read it!

Any of these essays can be re-written for a higher grade. The highest grade I can give you on a first draft is a B.

I recommend making this class CREDIT / NO CREDIT (also known as PASS/FAIL).

Commenting on this blog is class participation so do that!

Any questions — ask them below or email me.

ENG201: IAGO! Dangerous Conceits are in their natures poison.

Guys! More stuff on Iago! Plus my outfit is rad! Also one of these videos came out weird but I AM NOT GOING TO DO IT AGAIN so you just gotta deal with it.

A quick video about CREDIT/ NO CREDIT

Credit / no credit AKA pass / fail — this is a quick video about that option which i HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

201: Iago’s big scene in Othello

These videos take a look at Shakespeare’s best scene — act 3 scene 3 of Othello. This is Iago at his best (meaning most evil)