Activity 1
Read “The Handsomest Drowned Man” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, linked here in PDF format.
Handsomest Drowned Man
Activity 2
Click this link to arrive at a user-friendly website that contains fascinating information about Magical Realism, “The Most Handsome Drowned Man,” and themes that pervade this haunting story.
Activity 3
I think you will love the mysterious, beautiful story of the week. As you read, try to see how the appearance of the drowned man in the remote and desert-like village changes the people who live there. What was life like B.E. (Before Esteban) and A.E. (After Esteban)? What was it that brought about the change in the village?
This link will lead you to an intriguing piece of literary criticism by literary critic and scholar Dean Rader. I think it will shed light on the story—and the importance of storytelling— as well as on the reasons I chose this story as the first work of literature for our course.
If you are unable to open this link, be sure that you have access to the BMCC library. In the meantime, I have attached a PDF file of the article.
Activity 4
Please review this short PowerPoint presentation on thesis statements. It includes exercises that test your skill at writing a good thesis statement. This is the first exercise in preparation for the upcoming writing assignment, which will be assigned in Week 3. There will be a quiz in Week 2 that includes the identification of good thesis statements.
Activity 5
Quiz 2
This is a practical 10-question multiple-choice quiz in which students must demonstrate an understanding of the form and function of a thesis statement and an ability to select good thesis statements for hypothetical essays. Quiz will be available from 9:00 a.m. Monday, February 1 to 5:00 p.m. Sunday, February 7. Quiz must be taken in one setting, and students have 90 minutes in which to complete it. Study materials for this quiz can be found in Activity 4 above.
To access the quiz, navigate to your Blackboard course. On the dark grey navigation panel to the left, click “Links to Quizzes.” Then click “Quiz 2.”
Activity 6
Click this link to access the Week 2 Discussion Board.
As I’m sure you can understand that, with over 75 participants in our OpenLab group, it is not possible for me to respond individually to every single post. However, I assure you that I do read every post. I will, of course, be jumping into the forum from time to time, usually in the first few days of the week. This discussion board really belongs to you.