Thursday, 9/7

Starter 6
Is there something you believe in strongly enough that you would be willing to sacrifice your freedom in order to fight for it?  What?  If NOT, try to reflect on why you think that is.  
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Class Biz

• You will have time in class tomorrow to read, in case you are behind in the play.  You should DEFINITELY be done with the play by Tue. 9/13
• The New Yorker's satire of the Jefferson County School Board controversy
• If you are not going to be here tomorrow, you should get a copy of the reading from me today! It is posted on the homework page in digital form too.
• HONORS-- you do have  an additional reading assignment due Tuesday. Let's meet during reading time today or right after class to go over it.

Agenda
1. Share starter responses

2.  What is the individual's role in creating a just society??  Let's read aloud pages 55-67  and discuss that afterwards!

• Waldo, Lydian, Henry, Bailey, Sam,  Ball, "Voice",  the Drunk, Farmer,

3.  Come up with a class definition of Transcendentalism

• At your tables, try to define it and be as all-encompassing as possible.  Write your definition down on the whiteboard.
• We'll compare definitions and pick one (or combine some) to get to one we feel is best!

4. Discussion of similarities/differences with Transhumanism (WATCH YOUTUBE VIDEO ABOVE!)
"Transhumanism" (From Wikipedia)Transhumanism (abbreviated as H+ or h+) is an international cultural and intellectual movement with an eventual goal of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to greatly enhance humanintellectual, physical, and psychological capacities.[1] Transhumanist thinkers study the potential benefits and dangers of emerging technologies that could overcome fundamental human limitations, as well as the ethics of developing and using such technologies.[2]They speculate that human beings may eventually be able to transform themselves into beings with such greatly expanded abilities as to merit the label "posthuman".[1]

​5. Class Discussion

• What elements of transcendentalism showed up here (in the pages we acted out)? 
• What about civil disobedience?
• On page 62, Henry summons the Battle of Concord- WHY? (READ THIS PAGE)
• On last page of Act 1, Henry accuses Waldo- WHY? How does their relationship shift here?
• Do you agree with HDT's methods? If not, what other ways do you think citizens SHOULD act (if at all) to fight for justice? 
• Do you personally feel empowered to make a change in our political system? 

5. Time to read (aim to get through page 79 by beginning of class tomorrow)