New discussion board software has been installed. Mr. Graham’s Year 10 English class will be the first students using it. They have been studying The Merchant of Venice and the graphic novel Maus, by Art Spiegelman. A series of five questions have been posted. The questions are designed to help the students come to a shared understanding of deep issues through group discussion. An OPLE page has also been posted that draws together many good links on related topics. If you’re interested, here are the questions:

1) How do Maus and The Merchant of Venice resonate? How are they similar and different in their treatment of the Jewish people?

2) How do Art Spiegelman’s life and art merge in Maus? If Maus is something of a self-portrait or at least an introspection, what is Spiegelman saying about himself?

3) How do people find meaning when life is confronting in its unreality? In other words, how can people survive unthinkable cruelty and still engage in life positively? Or can they? You may consider Shylock, Vladek, the Jewish race, Viktor Frankl, etc.

4) What is the real history of Jewish persecution? Trace key milestones in history and look closely at the details of what happened, the justifications and the longterm outcome. Why do you think Jews have suffered so greatly at the hands of others?

5) The graphic novel has emerged as a force in publishing. Is it art? If yes, what are the distinctions between an entertaining comic (Tintin) and a graphic novel that you think stands as a work of art (Maus).

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 4th, 2007 at 5:20 am and is filed under Activities, updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.