V4 - Literature lesson 9: The 21st Century - ROZK

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 4

Literature: the 21st Century

21st Century in short:

• 9/11 & war of terror + Islamofobia
• Recession of 2008
• Rise of Internet / social media & going viral
• LGBTQI+ acceptance & BLM
• Global politics shifting
• Climate change
• Technological advances including the Mars spacerace
• Pandemic

9/11

Defined a generation of people and 20 years of global politics, spearheaded by 'war on terror' & a rift between two cultures.

This dominated international relations for most of this century. 

List of “Don’t Forgets” and “Remembers”

We were eight.

Before September 11th, we would wake up with a list of “Don’t Forgets”

Don’t forget to wash your face

Don’t forget to brush your teeth

Don’t forget to do your homework

Don’t forget to wear your jacket

Don’t forget to clean your room

Don’t forget to take a bath

After September 11th, we wake up with a list of “Remembers”

Remember to greet the sun each morning

Remember to enjoy every meal

Remember to thank your parents for their hard work

Remember to honor those who keep you safe

Remember to value each person you meet

Remember to respect other’s beliefs

Now we are nine.

.

Randy Forbes

What strikes you about this poem?

Do you feel like you are expericiencing something similar these days?

How much do you actually pick up about global politics in your daily life?

Spoken word & slam poetry

• New genre in poetry. It has a free form and had become popular as these poems 'go viral' online. 
• Poetry that is performed & read out loud.
• Slam poetry is performed at a competition between poets
• Oldest from of literature but given new life.
• About the struggles of modern life and society, and the injustices people experience within it. 

What is the first thought/feeling you have now?

Do you recognize the 'performance' in this poem? How?

What is the message of Alex's poem/performance?

Can you link his work to the anti-Asian hate that erupted during the pandemic?

What is the first thought/feeling you have now?

Do you recognize the 'performance' in this poem? How?

How does he use humour in his poem?

What is the message of Jesse's poem/performance?

21st Century literature

Many different genres

New and diverse writers, poets & readers

Stories for young and old

Global audiences for writers

Literature of acceptance & understanding 

Where do you think storytelling
will go in the future?

What do you take away
from the reader/lessons?

Final assignment

• Do some digging and look into the literary movement or genre of your choice and pick a novel, short story or poem not mentioned in the Reader or Lesson Ups.
  
• Explain in 200-250 words why this particular work not only belongs in this chapter, but why you believe it is literature.
  
• Name some of the particulars of the literary movement/genre and provide examples from the work you’ve chosen. It can of course be a work you are already familiar with.

• Hand it in online (Magister - Opdrachten) for review and make sure you list your name and word count. You will have until the end of the spring holiday to hand it in.
  
• Make sure you hand in all the lesson assignments as well for that bonus on your test.