Mohja Kahf + Suheir Hammad questions

Serena writes:

Mohja Kahf, "The Spiced Chicken Queen..."

Why does Kahf include the Altonjays’ in the story? Why is it important to show a much earlier representation of immigrants?

 

Why does Kahf keep providing the instant contrast between Rana’s life and Mzayyan’s?

“Appaled, Rana did not translate ‘She’s not dropping charges,’ she said to Hecotr a little curtly. Then she went home and climbed into the dual-control fully adjustable king-sized bed with Emad, who was ling since sound asleep.” (page 147)

Suheir Hammad, "First Writing Since"

These lines stood out...

• “I’ve never been so hungry as to yield hunger.”
• “This was bound to happen, lets not forget U.S. transgressions. Hold up, I live her. These are my friends and fam, me in those buildings, and we’re not bad people, do not support America’s bullying.”
• “Big white woman and her embrace only people with flesh can offer”
• “One more person asked me if I knew the hijackers.”
• “In America, it’ll be those amongst us who refuse blanket attacks on the shivering, who work towards social justice and opposing hateful policies.”
• “Never felt less American and more Brooklyn these days.”
• “Affirm life. Affirm life. We got to carry each other now. You are either with life or against it”

Discuss!

Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears questions

Jatnna writes:

1)Why have Stephanos's ambitions changed since he came to America? "I was poor, black and wore the anonymity that came with that as a shield against all of the early ambitions of the immigrant, which had long since abandoned me, assuming they had ever really been mine to begin with." (41)

2) Is Stephanos considering going back to his country?  Does he feel satisfied with what he has accomplished in the United States?  Why do Stephanos, Kenneth and Joseph identify themselves as "children of the Revolution"?

3) What were Judith's intentions when she invites Stephanos for dinner on November 28?  Why does Naomi see herself as an adult and not as a child?  She is 11 years old.  How can she understand what is happening around the world with that age?

The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears Questions:

Could the Loneliness that Sepha feels be due to the fact that in America he has completely removed himself from anything that reminds him of his homeland?

Is this a story of immigration or displacement?

Is race an underlying factor in the stagnation Sepha is experiencing in America?

Questions - The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears

Komal S writes:

1. How does the political aspect of the novel make it different from the previous works that we have read?

2. How does the game that Sepha Stephanos and his other Ethiopian friends play contribute to their ideas regarding the place they immigrated from? Does it portray a sense of mockery or a sense of nostalgia?

3. Why does Stephanos choose to remain resistant to change and growth despite living in America for seventeen years? 

Questions for Jamaica Kincaid's Lucy, 11-16-16

1) On page 96, Mariah says to Lucy,"You are a very angry person, aren't you?" and Lucy replies with, "Of course I am. What do you expect?" Why is Lucy such an angry person? Is she angry at the fact that she left the West Indies to come to North America and her immigrant experience has been hard, or is it something else? 
 
2) Lucy forms her own opinion of Dinah and isn't very fond of her. But on page 105, Lucy was overcome with jealousy when Myrna tells her her story with Mr. Thomas. Lucy wishes she were in Myrna' s place. She thinks to herself, "Why had such an extraordinary thing happened to her and not me?" In what ways are Dinah and Lucy similar? 

3) Peggy and Lucy always talk about men and look at the size of their hands a lot; and when Lucy meets Paul, Peggy warns her that he is a pervert. Lucy claims she likes Paul and thinks to herself that she wants to be alone in a room with him naked. What is a possible reason that this is one of the first things that comes to her mind? Earlier on in the book, Lucy has an encounter with Hugh, and speaks about Tanner and their relationship. Does Lucy feel love, lust, or both? 

Questions on Jamaica Kincaid's Lucy

1) How does romanticization of both the past and the future influence Lucy's immigrant experience?

2) In what ways do Mariah and Lucy differ? How do these differences contribute to their seemingly opposite world views?

3) Lucy speaks of tongues with such detail and frequency in the third chapter. What do they represent to her?

Listening Project Assignment

Eng 3165/AmSt 3004 The Immigrant Experience in Fiction, Film, & Photography, Fall ’16 Listening Project, due Tue. Dec. 20

Assignment

Identify two people willing to talk with you about their experiences as immigrants to the U.S. and record your conversations with them as .wav files.  If your interview subjects consent, you may upload the recording to the Brooklyn College Listening Project, an oral history archive.  If not, you may simply submit the recording to me.  Each interview should be at least 20 minutes.  Along with these two audio files, please submit a reflection of 3-4 typed, double-spaced pages in which you summarize what you heard and offer your thoughts about how the interviews resonate with or diverge from other materials we have studied this semester.

There are three main steps to completing this project. Each will be discussed in class on Nov. 29.

1.      Identify your interview subjects, schedule a time & place to conduct the interviews, and prepare your questions. 

2.      Conduct the interviews and obtain signatures on the consent form.  If submitting to the BC Listening Project, also complete two deed-of-gift forms for each interview: one for you, and one for your interview subject.

3.      Upload the interview to a computer, so that you can submit it to me as an audio file.  If submitting to the BC Listening Project, complete the Interview Log Form, make pdf scans or jpg photos of the consent and deed-of-gift forms.  These should be submitted to me, too.

Resources and Support: https://brooklynlistening.wordpress.com/project-documents/

FAQ

How do I record the interviews?  Use either a smartphone or a Tascam DR-5 recorder, available from the BC New Media Center (Library, 2^nd floor).  Be sure to record using .wav format.

What should I ask?  Ask questions that invite your interviewee to discuss his or her experiences as a newcomer to NYC, reasons for the move, aspects of the transition, the adjustments, hopes, dreams, and challenges.  Questions should be specific enough for your interviewee to address without feeling lost, but they should be open-ended rather than yes/no questions.  See the document entitled “Pointers-Strategies About Interviewing” at https://brooklynlistening.wordpress.com/project-documents/

How do I submit the recording to my professor?  From your smartphone or Tascam DR-5 recorder, upload the recording to a computer.  Then go to http://wetransfer.com, upload your audio file, and enter my email address when prompted.

Can I listen to other examples of interviews by BC students?  Go to http://www.sscommons.org/openlibrary/welcome.html#1, click BROWSE Collections, and double-click Brooklyn College Listening Project from the alphabetical list that appears.