Task One
Watch
the video clip from Othello
(Act I:3, 76-93) and consider the following:
Task Two
(Act I:3, 76-93) and consider the following:
- How does Othello claim he is different from the people he addresses?
- How does he address the council members? Is he arrogant? Humble? Why do you think he takes this stance?
- What does he say about the “world”?
Task Two
Read
the passage from Othello
(Act I:3, 114-273) and consider the following:
Task Three
(Act I:3, 114-273) and consider the following:
- How does Othello explain Desdemona’s attraction to him?
- Why does Brabantio ask Desdemona to choose between him and Othello? Is this a matter of family loyalty? Racial loyalty? Whom does she choose?
- What impact does Desdemona’s choice have on her father?
- Consider where the Duke suggests Desdemona should reside while Othello is at war. Who objects to this idea? What position is Desdemona in, because of these objections?
- How does Othello characterize his wife’s desire to follow him to war?
- What is the difference between Othello’s world and what you know of Desdemona’s world?
- What is the Duke’s attitude toward the marriage, and toward Desdemona’s request to travel to Cyprus?
Task Three
(Note: this is a large file, and the audio program is about 30 minutes
in duration. If you have attempted to download it more than once, and cannot
access it, I will lend you a CD ROM of the audio file, which you can play
in any computer with a CD ROM drive)
Listen to the audio-essay from the National Public Radio Program, This American Life (listen to the introduction and Act I, only). Take notes while you are listening, and consider the following :
Task Four
Listen to the audio-essay from the National Public Radio Program, This American Life (listen to the introduction and Act I, only). Take notes while you are listening, and consider the following :
- Why were the couple in the story attracted to each other? How did they meet?
- Did the political climate of the 1960s contribute to their desire to build a relationship?
- What were some of the early hurdles in their relationship?
- How would you characterize the “worlds” from which the husband and wife came?
- In which community did the couple feel most comfortable? Why?
- What issues contributed to their divorce?
- What impact did community segregation have on their relationship?
- How does the child of this marriage, the narrator, characterize himself racially?
- Within which community, if any, does he, the narrator, feel most comfortable?
Task Four
Read
the two newspaper articles about contemporary interracial couples and
discuss them with your classmates using the on-line bulletin board (the link
is on the resources page). I will begin the discussion with one or two topics.
Please feel free to add your own topics.
Important: Racist, sexist, or otherwise offensive comments will not be tolerated. Anonymous postings will be deleted.
Consider the following as you read the articles:
Important: Racist, sexist, or otherwise offensive comments will not be tolerated. Anonymous postings will be deleted.
Consider the following as you read the articles:
- How have American attitudes toward interracial couples evolved in the last 50 years?
- Do the couples interviewed refer to prejudices within their families? Their communities?
- Do the partners in these unions consider that they’ve come from “different worlds?” How do they characterize these worlds?
- What role has government policy/law played in the conditions faced by interracial couples?
- What are the attitudes of individual races/ethnic groups toward interracial marriage?
- Where do the
children of these relationships find themselves?