Wednesday, April 8th

Today's Topics: Nuclear Power and Mutation

Starter (Journal #5)

• What is your gut reaction to nuclear power? Do you think we should invest in nuclear energy production? Why or why not?

Agenda:
LINK TO THE IMAGES FOR JOURNAL #7  OR USE THIS ONE

1. Nuclear Power and Mutations Powerpoint

2.  Introduction to Creative Writing and Journal Prompts # 6 and 7

3. Review Inspiration Journal Requirements (due Tuesday, April 20th) 

4. Read and annotate "Rediscovery of America" (Need to make up if absent!)
GOAL:  Understand Barry Lopez's critique of American society and the consequences Columbus's incursion on modern society AND solutions Lopez proposes to transform this acquisitive paradigm.


Discussion Questions:

•  Why does Lopez begin this essay by depicting the atrocities of Columbus and early Spanish explorers in the "New World"? (p 10)
  

• On page 11, what does Lopez mean when he says of the Spanish conquest that it was an "incursion of will"?
• Why would acknowledging interdependence with the land and other people be a good thing according to Lopez AND do you agree? (12, paragraph 1)
• In what ways does this essay compare with Aldo Leopold's "Land Ethic"?
• What does Lopez claim was the true wealth that America offered? (12-13)
• How should we come to really know a land? How does this relate to Leopold's ideas? (13-14)
• What is the original definition of "querencia" and how does Lopez apply it to our modern world? (14)
• How could a search for querencia be "both a response to a threat and a desire to find out who we are"? (14) Think about how a connection to a place influences your identity. Why is understanding this important for our own personal sense of well being?
• Why does Lopez say that the environmental crisis is a "culture crisis" (15)
• How does Lopez distinguish between two types  or definitions of independence? (15)
• Why does Lopez suggest we might face a crisis of character if we don't act AND what is his solution at the end of the essay? (16)