First-Person Representations In order to represent the voices of poor and working class individuals in our conversations that are

too rarely present in traditional academic writing, we'll be considering "First Person Representations" via poetry, song, narrative, and short-story at each class session. You will be responsible for choosing one of the following texts to present at your assigned class session (all are on electronic reserve). You will read all or part of the selection to the class, and then, to spark our discussion, pose questions and offer insights into the perspectives offered by these authors as they represent their experiences in imagining dreams while living within their realities, in straddling the social worlds of the educated and the less -educated and in managing lives on the economic margins. Your goal is to engage us in questions about what this author wants us to understand in this piece. Focus your time on looking closely at that, rather than telling us a lot about the authors background or otherwise presenting ideas to us via Powerpoint or background handouts. Some of the questions of issues that you might want to consider include: How did the authors learn to dream dreams? Where do the authors find joy and hope? Where does formal education fit in the search for joy and hope? How do they learn about which dreams we have the right to dream? What limits dreams? What are some differences between the people in the world of the author and the people in those worlds that they may dream of? What are the tensions in their lives? What do they see about how to get from their starting points to other worlds? You should carefully time your presentation to take no longer than 15 minutes. You may divide the work in any way that works for your pair. If theres any reason that the two of you should receive different grades, let me know immediately after your presentation, and make a compelling argument.

Note: If you would like to present materials that are not on this list, please clear with me at least two weeks before your presentation. Rules for going beyond this list: Im unlikely to approve authors that go more than 2 social degrees beyond your own experiences. Im defining social degree as ethnicity, urbanicity, gender, and class. So, for example, if youre a white male who has always lived on a farm in North Dakota, you may not bring in the voice of an urban Latina and speak on her behalf, but writing by a rural Latino would be OK. You must verify that the author is speaking in the first person. A songwriter, for example, must be from the poor or working class. Anyone wanting to do Billy Joels Allentown must pair it with Bruce Springsteens Youngstown (the live version) for comparison

The Selections Alexie, Sherman. (2001). Indian Education. Short Story from Robert Coles, Randy Testa, and Michael Coles (editors), Growing up Poor: A Literary Anthology. New York: The New Press. Castillo, Ana. (1988). Red Wagons. c. 1958. Poem published in My Father Was a Toltec: Poems by Ana Castillo. Navato, CA: West End Press. Christopher, Renny (1995). A Carpenter's Daughter. Narrative In C.L. Barney Dews and Carolyn Leste Law (editors) This Fine Place So Far From Home: Voices of Academics from the Working Class. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Dobler, Patricia. (1986). Field Trip to the Mill. Poem, published in Talking to Strangers. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Dobler, Patricia. (1986). What Mother Wanted for Me. Poem, published in Talking to Strangers. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Dobler, Patricia. (1986). Uncles' Advice. Poem, published in Talking to Strangers. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.

Gilgun, John. (1998). Counting Tips. Poem published in Women's Studies Quarterly, 26, p. 26. Hicks, Heather. (1995). Paper Mills. Narrative In C.L. Barney Dews and Carolyn Leste Law (editors) This Fine Place So Far From Home: Voices of Academics from the Working Class. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Hughes, Langston. Dreams Deferred (poem). Levine, Phillip. (2004). When the Shift was Over. Poem in Breath: Poems. New York: Alfred Knopf. Levine, Philip. (1999). Among Children. Poem in What Work Is: Poems by Phillip Levine. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Levine, Philip. (1999). M.Degas Teaches Art and Science at Dufree Intermediate School. Detroit, 1942). Poem in What Work Is: Poems by Phillip Levine. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Olson, Tillie. (1956). I stand here ironing. Short Story from Tell Me a Riddle. New York: Delta Publishing. Overall, Christine. (1995). Nowhere at Home: Toward a Phenomenology of WorkingClass Consciousness. Narrative In C.L. Barney Dews and Carolyn Leste Law (editors) This Fine Place So Far From Home: Voices of Academics from the Working Class. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Pappas, George. (1984). Narrative from Jake Ryan and Charles Sachrey (editors) Strangers in Paradise: Academics from the Working Class. Boston: South End Press. See, Patti. (1998). My Mother, According to Me. Poem published in Women's Studies Quarterly, 26, p. 27. Springsteen, Bruce. (1998). The Promised Land. In Bruce Springsteen, Lyrics. New York: Avon Books. Audio Recording: Darkness on the Edge of Town, 1978.

Springsteen, Bruce. (1998) Factory. In Bruce Springsteen, Lyrics. New York: Avon Books. Audio Recording: Darkness on the Edge of Town, 1978. Sprinsteen, Bruce, (1998). Mansion on the Hill. In Bruce Springsteen, Lyrics. New York: Avon Books. Audio Recording: Springsteen, Bruce (1998). No Surrender. In Bruce Springsteen, Lyrics. New York: Avon Books. Audio Recording: Born in the U.S. A., Springsteen, Bruce. (1998). Youngstown. In Bruce Springsteen Lyrics. New York: Avon Books. Audio Recording: The Ghost of Tom Joad, 1995. Springsteen, Bruce. (1998). Born to Run. In Bruce Springsteen. Lyrics. New York: Avon Books. Audio Recording: Born to Run. 1975. Vande Zande, Jeff. (2000). Layoff. Short story in Bonnie Jo Campbell and Larry Smith (editors) Our working lives: Short stories of people and work. Huron, Ohio: Bottom Dog Press.