Hunting and Conservation

Since we discussed the importance of hunting in society as part of our stage 3 connections to "How Siegfried Was Slain," I thought you might find the recent National Geographic article on hunting interesting.

Click here to read the article that discusses how important hunters are to the balance of our ecosystem and the conservation of our lands.

If you failed to make a positive contribution today during the Siegfried discussion, you may wish to comment here about hunting and society.

"Infant Prodigy" Discussion and Journal Entry

If you are absent for the discussion on Thomas Mann's "The Infant Prodigy" or were not able to comment during the live classroom discussion, you should leave a comment here that addresses the following two questions:

1. How would you describe Mann's style? You may wish to comment on how Mann portrays his attitude, how the details affect the story, and on the ending. You may also wish to discuss how Mann's style is illustrative of the Modern Age (around WWI and WWII).
2. What themes is Mann developing about the artist and society?

Everyone needs to write a journal entry of at least one notebook page on one of the following prompts:

1. How does music impact our humanity?
2. What are the connections between music and literature?
3. Do you agree or disagree with James McBride that we are living on a Hip Hop planet.
4. What evidence do you see that the appreciation of The Arts is eroding in today's society?

Bryonn Bain: Roehl's Favorite Hip Hop Artist

My favorite Hip Hop artist is Bryonn Bain, Brooklyn's Famed Spoken Word Poet. Bain currently teaches at Columbia University and at Riker's Island Prison. The Utne Reader claims that Bryonn Bain is one of 30 visionaries under 30 who are changing your future. Bain first came into the national spotlight when he was falsely imprisoned by the NYPD during his second year at Harvard Law School. Following his false imprisonment, Bain wrote the article "Walking While Black" for The Village Voice, and that article earned him a Mike Wallace interview on 60 Minutes.

I took a class from Bryonn last year about the importance of Hip Hop to youth culture. Here are some ideas from my notebook:

1. Many Hip Hop artists incorporate socially responsible themes into their music; however, the music industry capitalizes on stereotypes of gangs, guns, drugs, and misogyny.
2. 70% to 80% of Hip Hop consumers are white, suburbanites.
3. Rap is something you do. Hip Hop is something you live.
4. The components of Hip Hop are the DJ, the graffiti artist, the B-Boy or B-Girl breakdancer, and the emcee (also known as the spoken word poet or rap artist).
5. Bain's Hip Hop lesson ideas for schools have been greatly influenced by Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. For an excerpt of Freire's book, click here.

Click here to watch a five-minute clip about Bryonn Bain.

View a music video of Byronn's song "Ancestor's Watching."

For more information about Bryonn, visit his website bryonnbain.com.

Hip Hop in the World

James McBride, author of The Color of Water, discussed the importance of Hip Hop in the world today in the April 2007 issue of National Geographic. McBride's article traces Hip Hop back to its African roots and proposes that music is a great equalizer among people.

We will discuss McBride's article as part of our discussion on music's impact on our humanity.

How Siegfried was Slain

During our brief unit about the connections between music and literature and how music is an essential component of being human, we will read a selection from the German epic The Nibelungenlied. The selection in World Masterpieces in entitled "How Siegfried was Slain." You may read the selection online. The translation varies slightly from the World Masterpieces version; however, the length is relatively the same.

German Composer Richard Wagner (1813-1883) transformed The Nibelungenlied into the four-part Ring cycle, which World Masterpieces claims is Wagner's "finest work."

After reading and analyzing "How Siegfried was Slain," we will view a clip of the opera to compare and contrast the literature with the musical interpretation of it.

To watch and hear Siegfried's death from a production of Richard Wagner's opera, click here.

You can also check out the operatic selection of Siegfried's funeral by clicking here.

If you were absent during the Siegfried discussion or did not comment in class, please let the class know what you are thinking by commenting here on the following two questions:

1. What flaw ultimately leads to Siegfried's death? Why do you think so? What evidence do you have for this tragic flaw in the text?
2. Describe the ideal hunter and discuss how Siegfried illustrates that ideal. What place do you feel hunting plays in society, and why do you think it has that place?