Vocabulary: Vershawn Ashanti Young

1. Vocabulary: Vershawn Ashanti Young

2. A little bit about the author • Vershawn Ashanti Young earned a PhD from the Department of African American Studies and English at the University of Illinois. • He is an expert on the modern African American experience, especially in relation to language, black culture and gender (masculinity). • He is the author of several books and is considered an expert in his field.

3. Annotating Young’s Text: Read with a pen/ pencil • Read with intention. What does this text add to the LGC conversation? Comment in the margin: • Points you find especially moving or important • Sections you find confusing and questions that arise • Sections you disagree with or want to discuss further • Include icons such as: • After annotating: turn to your team and discuss your reactions, questions and confusions

4. Teams: Create a Conversation • Think about the perspectives of the four authors whose texts we have read in this unit (Tannen, Brooks, Young and Butler) so far and imagine they are being interviewed by a talk show host (Ellen, Oprah, Dr. Phil, Queen Latifah, Steve Harvey, Stephen Colbert, etc.) about the relationships between language, gender, identity and/or culture. • Write what they would say to each other as part of an interview with your talk show host (the host asks questions/ the authors respond to the questions and to each other). • Write what they would really talk about, and include their unique voices and styles as you write. • Make sure each of your authors has a chance to speak with intelligent insights at least 2 times (preferably 3)!

5. Sample Format for your conversation Oprah: Thank you all for joining us today on the show. We are grateful to have such a variety of experts to discuss the heated topics of language, gender, and culture. Let’s start with you, Ms. Tannen. What would you say are the biggest issues facing American men and women today when it comes to communication? Tannen: I think it’s clear that the biggest issue we are facing as a society is that men devalue women’s speech. In fact, anywhere one looks in the world, women’s way of speaking is seen as in some way less important and powerful than men’s way of speaking. Young: I think Tannen has a point, but the bigger issue is… Make sure each of your authors has a chance to speak with intelligent insights at least 2 times (preferably 3)!

6. Vocabulary: Audre Lorde

7. A little bit about the author • Audre Lorde earned an MA from Columbia University in Library Science. • She is deeply concerned with issues of class, race, age, gender and health, particularly as they related to the experiences of women in the 1960s. • She is a librarian, writer, poet, teacher, feminist and lesbian who has won numerous awards, including a National Endowment for the Arts grant.

8. Annotating Lorde’s Text (Speech) • Make a prediction about this text based on the opening paragraphs. Write it down. • Read Lorde’s speech, annotating points of interest and confusion. • How accurate was your prediction? If your prediction was inaccurate, what words or phrases in the text mislead you? • Write a single sentence in your own words that states Lorde’s argument.

9. 2nd Reading: Reread Lorde’s speech, marking it as follows • Draw a line across the page where the introduction ends. Remember, it may not be after the 1st paragraph; it may even be in the middle of a paragraph. How do you know? • Draw a line across the page where you think the conclusion begins. How does the author use language, punctuation or other text features to indicate the conclusion? • At the end of each section, summarize the content and the rhetorical purpose