World Literature II Course Portfolio

Brought to you by Joshua DeLeon (Spring 2015)

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This is a Tumblr page of my thoughts, discussions, and creations about German Literature. The purpose of this Blog is to present my reflections and work from the course, World Literature II, and how they connect to my own journey. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about anything you might find, please don't hesitate to email me or leave me a message in my inbox. Enjoy!

Production Links: 

Connections 

Discussion Post

Journal Entry

Tuesday Class Projects

Pop Culture Connections

Reflections 

I have also organized my works by Modules too. 

Modules Links:

Module 1

Module 2

Module 3

Module 4

Module 5

Module 6

Module 7

Module 9

Module 10

Module 11

Module 12

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Course Reflection

Over the course of this semester in Dr. Delony’s World Literature class, we have had a strong emphasis on German literature that highlighted some of the innovative themes and concepts from the peaceful and dark parts of history. In comparison to my previous World Literature course with Professor Elliott, I have enjoyed my learning experiences and have learned much more than I have in other literature classes. Reflecting on my learning experience, Dr. Delony had a uniquely different teaching approach and style that I have not been familiar with, but I learned to quickly adapt to this environment and grew a liking to this type of learning experience. Meeting one day a week was very different for me, but I had no issue with this setup, as it was very convenient for my schedule. Since we only meet once a week and did a lot of our interactions from behind a computer screen, I appreciate how we did group work, discussions, and projects with the time we spent in the classroom. With concern for the weekly Canvas posting, at the beginning of this semester, I saw it as tedious and trivial, but as the class progressed, I enjoyed what my classmates had to say and doing the work that went along the readings because it really helped shape my understanding about the selected pieces and allowed me to reflect on my own life to draw connections or to be made aware of certain worldly issues and themes. This hybrid course has many aspects of technological communication while also having the physical collective learning occurring that makes this such an admirable class that I will definitely recommend to other students. Dr. Delony is a very exceptional professor who has a well-designed course that I hope to experience again in the future. This semester, I have learned a lot about the German, WWI, and Vietnam culture; to highlight a few, the romanticism era was one memorable module that will stick with me. I would classify myself as a romantic after learning about this era. This era was an artistic, literally, and intellectual movement that may have lasted for only a few decades, but is still evident in our pop culture and everyday lives. Another feature of this class that I enjoyed was the ability to learn about World War II through German literature. This part of history has always intrigued my interest, which is why I am pursuing a degree in Global Studies (European emphasis) and communication. In general, I am interested in anthropology and intercultural communications, so this class was a great resources to help me develop my knowledge, further my growth, and entertain my interests. If asked to offer any suggestions to the professor regarding the course, I might add that students should have more diverse selection of topical discussion and postings to respond to, because some of the discussion boards got a bit repetitive and tedious to post and respond to. Over all this course has uniquely enhanced by knowledge about the world, history, and literature. I am truly sad to see this course come to an end, but I am very grateful and appreciative that I choose this class and was given the opportunity to be a part of the learning experience.

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Reflections

Discussion Posting Reflection

Reflecting back on the discussion board conversations and insightful interactions, I have become well informed about the issues, themes, and other circumstances that have been involved in the German literature we have focused on. These discussion topics have helped my understanding of the works and have offered me new viewpoints and perspectives that worked against or confirmed my own thoughts about the pieces. Offering insight and reflections from different sets of eyes from students from diverse walks of life, these conversations have increased my knowledge and created a collective learning environment for not only me but for each and every student. Although these postings appeared repetitive at times and a bit tedious, it was a great way to introduce and discuss the concepts, themes and conflicts that were major players in this course. One discussion post that I found very intriguing was the German Romanticism: Goethe & Schiller posting. This is because I remember being so fascinated, and how it was radical for romanticism at the beginning of its time, and then to reflect on it now and see how prominent it is in our everyday pop culture. It was just something that I have over-looked because it was so common to me. Another discussion posting that I found extremely useful and applicable in our lives was the Power of Story one. Learning about the story soup was so eye-opening to me, that I began to see stories that have been familiar to me with a new pair of opened eyes. The way I create and analyze literature have been forever changed by this story soup theory. My thoughts about story telling have changed throughout this course; Stories have so much influence and power than they ever had in history, it is amazing just how well they have been passed down through numerous generations and have crossed so many cultural boundaries.

Journal Entry

As a more personal weekly reflection about the modules and selected reading, the journal assignments have been truly expressive for me. Each week we were asked to offer personal reflections and thoughts about the current module’s topics, themes, and issues that were dealing with German literature. I personally did not mind telling Dr. Delony personal details or stories about my life and experiences, and these journal assignments offered a safe and secure channel to do so. When I was working on the entries, I enjoyed recording my own thought process and analyzing what these topics really meant for myself and our society. These weekly self-reflections really put things into perspective and has helped me better understand the German literature. One journal entry that I recall is the one where I was asked to explain how the experiences that someone had can shape their understanding and opinion on a certain topic. So I reported on my Grandfather’s opinion of the Vietnam war. I have had this conversation with him a few years ago, and it helped me get a clear picture of the circumstances and conditions that were in place during that era. It viewed this conversation as an interview with a piece of history, as I felt that I have reached a true connection to someone who was around during the time, which made for a more personal connection to the topic. Another journal entry that had my mental gears grinding was the WWII: The Book Thief Part 2 discussion post. This entry made me think of how I might feel if I was in the situation where books were being destroyed and death was working overtime. This made me open my mind to the possibility that history could repeat itself and we ought to not take things such as stories, books, and freedom of expression for granted.

Connections

Connections are all around us, we just have to make them. As Umberto Eco, an Italian writer, will tell you, “Any fact becomes important when it's connected to another.” There is a lot of truth in that statement; We never really know how much literature is influenced and evident in our lives until we draw the connections to our everyday lives. This is just what we did when we made the twenty-first century connections to our selected module readings. These everyday realizations about our pop culture and local culture help make these German literature pieces more applicable and personal to our lives. Drawing connections and making comparisons to aspects of our current events and popular media has enhanced our comprehension of the stories and concepts. Although it was at times hard to come up with a creative and original connections, I have actually enjoyed my classmates worldly connections to the literature we have processed. The romanticism module was perhaps the easiest connection for me. When we covered the romanticism era, I simply put my iPod on shuffle and selected an appropriate song to connect to. Another module that I easily connected too was the Book Thief Part II. Books have always played a significant role in my life, in many ways they are a part of me. Throughout my life, books have enhanced my vocabulary, entertained, and developed a wide range of topical knowledge, personal development, and spiritual growth. That being said it was easy to make a personal connection to this module, let alone a twenty-first century connection. Lastly, these connections have proven that these issues, concepts, and themes from the selected German literature are still evident in our current lives just as they were in their eras, furthermore, opening our eyes to the surroundings of our everyday lives dealing with German literature.

Tuesday Class Projects

Our one-week class time is where the true group collective learning happens. Real interaction instead of behind a computer screen are important, so the in-class participation in projects and discussions were much appreciated and valued to me. I also appreciate the brief lectures that leaves us to do group assignments and discussions. Interacting in new people in groups allowed me to meet new classmates, liberate my inter-artist and create some exciting comic strips and group projects. Group projects helped create a collective environment where students discussed their thought about the topic module and contribute to the learning experience by working on short productions. My classmates have some very insightful knowledge regarding their travel experiences and knowledge about German culture and literature. A few projects that I really liked were the fake twitter tweets, and the Night in-class project. The twitter post were very funny to read from the perspective of the Grimm fairy tale characters. They had me on the edge of my chair laughing! The night project where I made a digital comic strip of a traumatic event with pictures from the internet. I like how I was able to creatively make a PowerPoint to illustrate how I broke my leg trying to learn to ride a bike. Overall, Dr. Delony has done an exceptional job planing the projects and discussions that relayed the messages of the modules.

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All these pop culture icons illustrated in one picture is timeless to me. Pop culture has always been the newest and most popular thing around. So it is fitting that metamorphosis is changing just as pop culture is changing throughout time. 

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Old books reborn as art

a Ted Talk by Brian Dettmer

This is a great video that gives books (even older, and obsolete books) new meaning and purpose in our lives. This transforms art from the literature spectrum to that of the visual arts. 

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In light of all the events going on in Baltimore, even though history is recorded, history can still repeat itself.

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A German guard holds an MTV umbrella on the Berlin Wall just before its fall in 1989.

“In 1989, MTV stole a march on news channels when they broadcast the fall of the Berlin wall”

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Hoodwinked! 2005

Shrek 2 2004 

These are a free well-known fairy tale adaptions where many older tales are morphed into one major production for the whole family to enjoy. 

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Rainer Maria Rilke's views on gender equality in his letters to a young poet, had some very progressive ideals that are still issues in today’s society. Also this is significant because many women entered the workforce after men were drafted into the major wars.

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A piece from our own modern day romantic era.  Cold Play- A Sky Full of Stars

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Module 1:  In-Class Group Project – Story Archetypes

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Module 11: Book Thief Discussion/Project

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Module 9: Night In-Class Activity 3/34/15

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Hansel vs. Gretel 2015: When Gretel falls under a dark spell and organizes a coven of witches, Hansel must find the courage to fight his twin sister and the sinister forces controlling her.

Tim Burton’s 1982 Adaptation: it includes all the “bones” we mentioned and captures the “creepiness” in a new way.

Hello Kitty Hansel and Gretel: This clip has japanese characters which show that these stories are told around the world, but keeps the same “bones” for the fairy stories.

Neil Gaiman Graphic Novel: Retells the classic fairy story through a graphic novel. http://www.brainpickings.org/2014/10/28/neil-gaiman-hansel-gretel-lorenzo-mattotti/

Group 1:  Hansel and Gretel Leader:  Madeline Jordan Recorder:  Joshua DeLeon Reporter:  Lindsie Lawson Researcher:  Jiang Zhu Researcher:  Brooke Mosley

1. Bones: boy & girl, siblings, witch, abandoned/lost, temptation, poverty, fear, good vs. evil, woods

Module 4: Fairy Tale Adaptions 

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Module 3: Grimm Project

Feb. 9, 2015

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Journal Entry 6

This was a new twist on World War II literature, Zusak’s decision to humanize Death as the narrator of this novel was innovative and uncommon in comparison to other works. Humanizing the concept of a Grim Reaper, was new and insightful. For most, Death is their biggest fear, so hearing a story from the other side of the spectrum offered some compassionate understanding of his job by offering a release from their lives and gracefully doing so. “Please believe me when I tell you that I picked up each soul that day as if it were newly born. I even kissed a few weary, poisoned cheeks. I listened to their last, gasping cries. Their vanishing words. I watched their love visions and freed them from their fear” (Zusak, 350). Understanding what death actually does and his thoughts about the process was eye-opening and allowed me to see another side of death. Death is a significant part of the living world, so it was appropriate for the aspect of death to be a recognizable theme and character throughout the novel. Although the thoughts and viewpoint from death can at times be distracting or unpleasant, this is the sad truth that we must come to realize. My understanding of the German experience during the Nazi regime was confirmed by the events in the novel. Hiding a wanted fugitive in their basement and living secret lives from the German government, the Hubermanns did not like Hitler, but had to pretend to be obedient citizens in public. Which I feel that most German families who did not approve of his actions thought but felt scared to voice their opinion. The environment that was created by the Nazi regime made citizens feel unsafe and persecuted, something that is the opposite of what a government should do.

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Journal Entry 5

For one of my high school courses, I had to create a presentation covering the Vietnam War, so while doing so I talked to my grandfather who was around during that era. First, we should acknowledge the fact that my grandfather was a hippy, but has since reformed. This conversation happened a few years ago but there is a few things I remember him directly saying. When I asked him how he would describe the Vietnam War, he answered with: “Protest, Flag burnings, and of course the Rolling Stones.” He was in his mid or late twenties during the time, and a part of the hippie movement and went through phases of the drug culture that came with the movement. I recall all the thoughts I had about how one instance can effect his view of politics and foreign affairs. America’s involvement in this war forever changed my grandfather’s view on american government, he sometimes saw our forces as a global threat to peace. For reasons unknown, he was not drafted, (I think it was because he did not meet the physical requirements.) but instead stood along side public opinion on this topic. He did not partake in any anti-war marches or protest but he strongly disapproved and disagreed with America’s decision to bomb North Vietnam. Although leadership and policies have since been changed in America, my grandfather is still to this day extremely skeptical and defensive when it comes to American involvement in foreign affairs as the events of the Vietnam war have shaped his viewpoint and thoughts on the subject. For my mother, his oldest daughter, she saw first hand his rejection to authority and lived through his long rants and speeches filled with liberal rhetoric.