19:30:52 tichure : hey now folks

19:31:05 tichure : how are things going

19:31:09 RZ : Hi Professor Eiland

19:31:46 tichure : did you submit an annotated work cited?

19:32:06 RZ : Good! How about for you? I have a few questions on the response #2. Yes I did

19:32:39 tichure : Excellen.t okay. before we get a response number two, I want to ask both a question which actually refers to response number two

19:32:45 tichure : what is your topic for the research paper

19:33:24 RZ : Dear Mama by Tupac Shakur

19:33:31 tichure : Nicholas?

19:34:17 tichure : RZ, go ahead and ask a question about response two. Remember that response to is a sample body paragraph from your first paper. That means you’re going to give me a three paragraph response, but the body paragraph from the response is going to be in your paper as well

19:34:30 tichure : is my opportunity to give you feedback on your paper before I  get the whole thing

19:35:14 tichure : go ahead RZ

19:37:03 RZ : Okay so in regards to the body paragraph, does it have to be identical to the paragraph in my paper? Is there a certain length/size of the body paragraph I should be trying to write?

19:38:06 tichure : good question

19:38:20 tichure : in short, the answer is yes.

19:38:24 tichure : Hey there Annabelle.

19:38:32 tichure : We are discussing response number two and the research paper

19:38:40 Annabel : hello!

19:38:44 Annabel : perfect

19:39:18 tichure : in the body paragraph of response number two, you are giving me one of your body paragraphs from the research paper. For most people that is you go to the Marxist (explaining what the author intended to say) historical (explaining the historical information that is relevant to the work itself) or a cultural criticism (explaining how a specific culture that YOU identify would respond to the work.

19:39:42 tichure : Because your first paper needs to be about 4 to 6 pages and it’s only four paragraphs, a short introduction, a short conclusion and two long body paragraphs, figure that that body paragraph needs to be about page or more by itself

19:39:58 tichure : you need to have multiple quotations from the primary source, which is either the story or poem or movie or whatever in the body paragraph.

19:40:11 tichure : You need to have multiple quotations from at least two or more secondary sources, and for this paper, I would expect more like three or four different resources.

19:40:20 tichure : You’re developing the analysis as much as possible.

19:40:24 tichure : Nicholas are you back?

19:40:31 tichure : Annabelle, what is your research paper going to be on

19:41:03 tichure : Rz, do you know what two critical perspectives are going to apply on the first paper

19:41:20 Annabel : So in the research paper we are going to be analyzing a piece using more than one perspective correct?

19:41:38 tichure : by the way folks, I use Dragon speak, which means it doesn’t always type what I needed to say. If anything comes out looking gibberish, asked me and I will clarify.

19:41:51 Annabel : I chose “Dear Mama” as my topic.

19:42:09 tichure : Annabelle, that is exactly correct. The first two critical perspectives cannot be the same argument. In other words, if you’re doing  “dear mama” you cannot do a Marxist criticism any cultural criticism from an impoverished young African-American man. They are too close

19:42:17 tichure : so let’s talk about dear mama


19:42:25 tichure : what critical perspectives are you going to apply?

19:43:01 tichure : Remember you only need two for the first paper. You will add two 
more for the final draft at the end of the semester

19:43:16 tichure : if you don’t know, say that you don’t know and we can talk about it

19:43:27 RZ : I am going to cover feminist perspective and in opposition to dear mama I chose an andocentric view.

19:43:29 Annabel : I know I would like to do the historical perspective as but not to sure what to do for my second perspective

19:43:55 tichure : okay. Let’s talk about historical first

19:44:07 tichure : remember that historical criticism is not going to discuss the author personally

19:44:17 Nicholas : Hello I just got off work. I was able to get out early. I am trying to touch up on the first response. Arielle made some comments on it so I am redoing those areas.

19:44:31 tichure : historical criticism is going to use statistical information on young African-American man raised by single mothers in poverty during the 80s and early 90s.

19:44:58 tichure : You would discuss things like dropping out of school, homelessness, the use and sale of drugs, arrests and imprisonment, gang affiliation, lack of a father figure, single mothers on welfare etc.

19:45:02 tichure : Those elements are all in the song

19:45:12 tichure : Annabelle, have you found information for this kind of analysis?

19:45:39 tichure : No problem. You can read to catch up or you will see this posted on 
the website later. If you’re doing dear mama, this will be especially helpful


19:45:40 Annabel : I was able to find quite a few secondary sources that discussed most of the topics you have mentioned and those are the ones I put in my annotated works cited page.

19:46:06 Annabel : I guess I am kind of stuck on how to incorporate a different perspective as well.

19:46:07 tichure : excellent. The only time that you’re going to mention the author specifically is citation of the primary source.

19:46:21 tichure : Well let’s see what RZ is doing and maybe that might trigger some ideas

19:46:36 tichure : RZ, You said feminist and androcentric.

19:46:43 RZ : Correct

19:46:44 tichure : let’s talk about feminist criticism first

19:46:46 Annabel : He mentioned feminist perspective.

19:46:54 Annabel : how could that be incorporated?

19:46:58 tichure : is the feminist going to agree that what is portrayed actually happens to women?

19:47:11 Nicholas : Yes I am doing Dear Mama. I am only familiar with that one so that is why I chose that, but are there any other topics that we can chose from beside the list posted?

19:47:38 tichure : no Nicholas. But the one you’re choosing is an excellent choice. You 
will see that in the chat we’re having now

19:47:51 Nicholas : Okay,

19:48:00 tichure : does the feminist agree that women are often left to raise children 
alone? Without the help of men

19:48:32 tichure : does the feminist degree that women who raise children alone are likely to be poorer than women who do not and are actually likely to be the poorest segment of the population?

19:48:32 Nicholas : I think I am struggling to figure out the meanings of everything. My last English class was last year so I forgot a lot of stuff.

19:48:46  tichure : That’s why we practice Nicholas. That’s why I allow you to revise.

19:49:08 tichure : Does the feminist agree that single mothers often rely on public assistance?

19:49:17 tichure : Does the feminist agree that single mothers also will try and find jobs as well?

19:49:28 tichure : And finally,

19:49:40 tichure : does the feminist degree with the narrative in the song that says that the woman described deserves respect?

19:49:51 tichure : Does the feminist agree

19:49:53 tichure : sigh

19:50:31 Annabel : uhmmm I would say yes

19:50:44 tichure : RZ Did you find direct analysis of the song from a feminist viewpoint

19:50:51 RZ : Yes I believe a feminist would believe that she’s a strong woman and took on the role of both masculine and feminine

19:50:54 tichure : in which women said that they like the song because it sends a good message

19:50:59 tichure : yes

19:51:08 tichure : what other elements of the song might they like

19:51:15 tichure : or agree with

19:51:35 Nicholas : Thank you, in a easier way to explain it, what exactly needs to be done? How will I know what I am writing about. For my response one when I sent it, you mentioned it would be a Marxist criticism. When I sent it to Arielle to check it for me she took it as a biography which is what I first wrote it off as. I guess I am getting confused with exactly what all the stuff is.

19:51:54 tichure : Would they agree with the narrator’s assessment that the missing father was a coward?

19:52:15 Annabel : I feel like a point from the song would be when Tupac states, mama made miracles everything thanksgiving.

19:52:24 tichure : I can see why. Here’s the basic distinction. If you are simply explaining that everything that the author depicts in the song happened to him and you are using biographical information to validate that, it is indeed biographical.

19:52:56 tichure : However, once you start explaining the authors message directly, and once you start focusing on his method and once you start explaining how he FEELS about his mother, how he FEELS about his father, you are doing Marxist criticism. It is still going to use biographical information because it’s an autobiographical song. Do you see the distinction?

19:53:18 Annabel : I feel like that may be a point feminist would agree with because women always find ways to make things work out no matter the difficulties they are facing

19:53:24 Annabel : if that makes sense

19:53:32 Annabel : I hope I interpreted that correctly

19:53:36 tichure : What types of resources that you would use for a feminist criticism are going to be either direct analysis of the song by a feminist critic,

19:53:38 tichure : or

19:53:54 tichure : discussions of feminist ideas and beliefs about the things that plague women, especially mothers, that are discussed in the song.

19:54:00 tichure : So yes Annabelle, you are doing it correctly

19:54:06 tichure : in some ways, it is that simple

19:54:15 tichure : you’re simply identifying what the feminist thinks about issues that the author brings up

19:54:21 tichure : and telling us what they like and what they don’t like

19:54:26 tichure : what they agree happens and what they don’t agree happens

19:54:39 tichure : like you were historical criticism, the feminist criticism is not going to be discussing the author specifically.

19:54:52 Annabel : Ok I’m understating this a little better now

19:55:04 Annabel : Ok I’m understating this a little better now

19:55:08 tichure : They don’t support to Tupac Shakur as much as they support the woman described in the song. In other words, they don’t care who the author is. They don’t care that this is autobiographical.

19:55:29 tichure : They like the song because it sends the message that women are oppressed and that women go to extra lengths to make good things happen despite the elements that are against them

19:55:36 tichure : does that make sense?

19:55:49 Annabel : Yes it does

19:56:03 tichure : so you can find articles and websites… Feminist websites… In which feminists explain how women make less money than men

19:56:08 Annabel : thank you for the explanation

19:56:09 tichure : how women are often left to raise children

19:56:23 tichure : how women will struggle but still managed to maintain a certain level of stability

19:56:35 tichure : and how women rely on public assistance and therefore public assistance is important.

19:56:42 tichure : And of course statistically, which you’ll find in your historical analysis Annabelle,

19:56:49 tichure : the primary group that relies on public assistance are single mothers

19:57:10 tichure : there are certain elements of the song that the feminist may not have an opinion about

19:57:14 tichure : such as the drug issue

19:57:21 tichure : that means you don’t mention it

19:57:28 tichure : they may or may not have a comment about dropping out of school

19:57:43 tichure : although they made mention that women who are raising children alone often struggle with behavioral issues because there’s nobody at home

19:57:53 tichure : and so they may mention that there are higher rates of school dropout, gang affiliation etc. for the children of these women

19:57:58 tichure : that depends on your resources

19:58:04 tichure : if the feminist does not have an opinion about the issue, don’t discuss it

19:58:17 tichure : does that make sense?

19:58:25 RZ : Yes

19:58:38 tichure : finally, and you may see this in some of the direct analyses of the song, the reason that many feminists like the song is because it is NOT like much of hip-hop, in that it does not denigrate women at all

19:58:41 tichure : it has no profanity

19:58:42 Annabel : yes

19:58:49 Annabel : yea

19:58:51 tichure : it does not mention women as sexual objects

19:59:05 tichure : any questions about feminist criticism?

19:59:19 tichure : something you may want to include or something you think may not apply?

19:59:46 RZ : So far I like the ideas you’ve mentioned.

19:59:46 tichure : by the way, if the answer is no, let me know and then we can move on

19:59:57 tichure : thanks RZ

20:00:12 tichure : so let’s talk about the androcentric view

20:00:19 tichure : remember that the androcentric view is basically a male centered view

20:00:36 RZ : As far as the things a feminist wouldn’t agree with like the drugs, drop out of school, etc. can I attack those issues from an andocentric perspective?

20:00:44 tichure : while feminist criticism is largely an argument that says that women should have equal opportunities and have many of the equal skills to men, androcentric criticism is actually a critical perspective that says that men are better at things than women.

20:00:59 tichure : Well here’s what we get to go, RZ

20:01:08 tichure : what elements of the song with the androcentric perspective LIKE and agree with

20:01:16 tichure : according to the song, who ends up paying the bills?

20:01:25 tichure : According to the song, who is taking care of the sister?

20:01:39 tichure : according to the song, who teaches the narrator about life on the streets?

20:02:02 tichure : in other words, from androcentric perspective, is the mother really that effective?

20:03:24 tichure : Like the feminist criticism, the androcentric criticism is not going to be discussing the authors personal life. It is going to be saying that an individual in the situation, from the male view, is either somebody that they like or something that they dislike; someone that they respect or someone that they don’t respect. You would be using androcentric or patriarchal/religious resources that discuss how men are best at taking care of families, solving problems, making money, and keeping things under control

20:03:43 RZ : The andocentric view might think that she didn’t do a good job because he’s not doing what he’s supposed to I think.

20:04:21 tichure : yes, but does the androcentric person necessarily focus on the mother, or does it focus on what the narrator, who is male, did to survive and solve these problems

20:04:24 tichure : and by the way,

20:04:36 tichure : there is no specific correct answer here. I’m just looking for the way that you’re going to approach this to help you to create your argument as strongly as possible

20:05:57 RZ : I was going to approach it with an andocentric view because Tupac mentions him being a coward but he never had kids or knows what its like to be a dad. Also that he isn’t in school, he’s selling drugs and is running from the police and maybe an andocentric view might see this as him needing guidance or support

20:06:16 tichure : now if either of you three were raised in a strong patriarchal religion (Catholicism, especially Latinx; conservative Islam, conservative Judaism, etc) what do they think about mothers? Do they respect them?

20:06:27 tichure : Well, RZ,

20:06:29 tichure : that’s a good argument

20:06:36 tichure : but think about it from a more male centered perspective

20:06:52 Annabel : I’m sorry I know this is too about this critical perspective but for the final paper are we just building off of this paper? or is it going to be on a completely different piece?

20:07:23 tichure : same paper with two ADDED  perspectives, annabel

20:07:40 Annabel : thank you for the confirmation

20:08:24 tichure : one of the differences between men and women, and this is a very broad generalization here, is that when there is an issue, very often women want to discuss it in order to share ideas and share emotions etc. and men want to FIX them. Sometimes one is more effective than the other. The androcentric perspective is carried by men who believe that they are the ones who are going to swoop in and solve the problem

20:08:33 tichure : does the narrator in the song solve problems?

20:08:41 tichure : Is he a victim or is he helping people who are victimized

20:09:07 tichure : in other words, would a man respect the narrator

20:10:02 RZ : I guess a man would try and fix the issue because the narrator is simply 
sharing his emotions now that you mention it

20:10:17 tichure : RZ, you are absolutely correct in asserting that the androcentric perspective would claim that the mother is ineffective. They would likely DISAGREE with the narrator’s assertion that the woman being described is someone who deserves respect.

20:10:53 tichure : However,They may disregard the narrator’s point and focus on the 
narrator himself and say “I don’t  agree with his argument, but I like this guy and I respect this guy”

20:11:07 tichure : remember that a critical perspective does not have to either 
completely like or completely dislike something

20:11:20 tichure : they can have a mixed viewpoint

20:11:26 tichure : they like some stuff and they agree with some stuff

20:11:32 Nicholas : I am behind in reading the messages. I don't know what a critical perspective would be

20:11:33 tichure : and they dislike other stuff and they disagree with other stuff

20:12:07 tichure : the critical perspectives are the lenses through which we translate a work. For example, right now we are talking about androcentric criticism, which is reading something and evaluating it through a very strongly male centered perspective.

20:12:32 tichure : So the androcentric perspective might say that it likes the song because of what the narrator does and how the narrator deals with his issues

20:12:40 tichure : but disagrees with the narrators argument that the woman deserves respect

20:12:52 tichure : and that would be an excellent complex analysis of the song from the androcentric perspective

20:13:11 tichure : also, many androcentric viewpoints revered mothers even if they have 
less respect for other women, especially those they consider to be sexual objects

20:13:17 tichure : and this is very common in particular cultures

20:13:30 tichure : the Madonna/whore complex

20:13:51 tichure : in which women are either highly revered nonsexual nurturers who are  defended vigorously

20:13:54 tichure : or

20:14:12 tichure : they are objects for sexual conquest but  regarded fairly low

20:14:30 tichure : bros before hoes kind of thing

20:14:43 tichure : it depends where you get your resources for the androcentric argument.

20:14:54 tichure : Does that make sense?

20:15:06 RZ : Yes it does

20:15:09 tichure : Any questions about the androcentric perspective

20:15:57 tichure : the one critical perspective that no one has mentioned, which is actually probably the most common critical perspectives not only across the  options that I gave you but also is especially common for this particular paper because it’s autobiographical is Marxist criticism.

20:16:04 RZ : Not at this moment, You helped me get a better understanding for the andocentric view! I was having a difficult time with that perspective.

20:16:19 tichure : Marxist criticism is a critical perspective that, on one level, focuses on the authors message, the method by which the author gives that message across, and even discusses the intended audience.

20:16:39 tichure : Well, RZ, as you look into it, you’ll see whether or not you can find the appropriate resource material, and of course when you read the viewpoints from that perspective, it may give you more ideas

20:17:03 tichure : Marxist criticism is especially useful for an autobiographical piece. The Marxist criticism is the specifically and link what he says in the song to himself and his own experiences as well as those for his mother and his sister

20:17:10 Nicholas : So for the paper we have to pick one only of biography or Marxist then do two critical perspectives?

20:17:18 tichure : it would be a very long paragraph because he mentions many issues, 
all of which are highly and well-documented

20:17:22 Annabel : Could Marxist perspective be used with historical perspective?

20:17:32 Annabel : Could Marxist perspective be used with historical perspective?

20:17:40 Annabel : or are they too similar?

20:17:50 tichure : you can use Marxist criticism with historical. You can use Marxist criticism with feminist. You can use Marxist criticism with any cultural criticism other than that of the culture from which the author comes

20:18:01 tichure : Folks, the questions that you’re asking me privately are actually good questions so you can send them out to the group.

20:18:25 tichure : your essay will be two Body paragraphs. Each body paragraph is going to be single critical perspective.

20:18:33 tichure : you can do Marxist and historical

20:18:37 tichure : historical and feminist

20:18:40 tichure : feminist and androcentric

20:18:44 tichure : Marxist and androcentric


20:18:46 tichure : Marxist and feminists

20:18:49 tichure : etc. etc.

20:19:02 tichure : and the Marxist criticism allows you to use the biographical information, as well as interview with the author and his mother, found everywhere on YouTube

20:19:15 tichure : to establish that not only what he saying is correct factually but also to discuss his FEELINGS and what he’s trying to say in the song

20:19:33 tichure : you would establish that his mother had a crack habit

20:19:56 tichure : you would establish that she was a leader in the Black Panthers, which is referenced in the song with “black Queen”

20:20:08 tichure : you would establish that he went to jail prior to writing the song

20:20:15 tichure : you establish that she kicked him out of the house when they argued 
about her drug issues

20:20:23 tichure : you establish that he did contribute to the family financially

20:20:29 tichure : but you would not mention his music career because that’s not in the song

20:20:42 tichure : you had mentioned that he is a musician because that’s his method 
for reaching his mother, but he does not mention making any money from that

20:20:56 tichure : he did try to sell narcotics, but the local gang members told him that he was lousy at it that he needed to find a better means of income

20:21:02 tichure : in the song, he claims that he uses that to help pay the bills

20:21:08 tichure : he did not know his father was alive at the time he wrote this

20:21:14 tichure : is mother had told him that he was dead

20:21:20 tichure : it wasn’t until he was shot that his father Billy Garland showed up

20:21:22 tichure : and that was after the song

20:21:34 tichure : so for all intents and purposes, his father is not in the picture as is described in the song

20:21:42 tichure : he did have a sister

20:21:45 tichure : his mother was on welfare

20:21:49 tichure : she also did odd jobs

20:21:53 tichure : all of that is in the song

20:22:15 Nicholas : That is all in which I am doing or trying to do, but I guess I am not understanding on how to really do it'

20:22:30 tichure : and you would use biographical information to support that analysis.

20:22:34 RZ : Could I use feminist, andocentric, biographical, historical and marxist criticism in my final draft?

20:22:44 Nicholas : I don't know the correct way or format of how all that would be.

20:22:56 tichure : Actually, Nicholas, the way you do it is you start with a line from the 
song and then you explain it using the research to establish that what he’s claiming is true

20:23:09 tichure : will, you only need for critical perspectives for the final paper RZ

20:23:20 tichure : and biographical criticism and Marxist criticism for a work like this are very close

20:23:31 tichure : biographical criticism is a critical perspective that establishes that what is claimed in a work happen to the author

20:23:33 tichure : but

20:23:43 tichure : unlike Marxist criticism, it does not focus on the author’s message, the method or his feelings

20:23:58 tichure : it simply uses statistical information about the author to explain that he indeed was kicked out at 17, he did drop out of school, he was incarcerated etc.

20:24:02 tichure : but you would not discuss that he respects his mother

20:24:11 tichure : you would not discuss that he feels bad for his sister

20:24:16 tichure : you would not discuss how he feels about his father

20:24:24 tichure : you would not discuss that song was intended for his mother

20:24:35 tichure : because biographical criticism is simply a statistical argument that says “this happened”

20:24:54 tichure : and doing both biographical and Marxist for work like this would be essentially the same paragraph with the Marxist having the additional elements of how he feels about these people and these events

20:25:05 tichure : so androcentric, feminist, Marxist and historical would be great

20:25:14 tichure : you would not need the biographical

20:25:30 RZ : Okay thank you for the feedback!

20:25:55 Nicholas : So I can use all of those or still would need to chose one?

20:26:16 Nicholas : I am still trying to correct response one.

20:26:16 tichure : Nicholas, you can use all of those. You only need two for the first draft

20:26:24 tichure : you will add two more for a total of four on the final draft

20:26:29 tichure : right now, you’re only going with two of them

20:26:32 Nicholas : What is the difference from response one and response 2?

20:27:01 tichure : response one is any poem from the calendar I gave you. Response two is a sample body paragraph from your research paper in the form of a three paragraph response

20:27:15 tichure : in other words, when I’m giving you feedback on response number two, I’m also giving you feedback on your paper

20:27:27 Nicholas : Can I add you in the response one or send it to you? I think I am fixing it or doing it correctly, but it seems like I still may be confused with it.


20:28:19 tichure : just post it.  call it marxist.  i will remember we talked

20:28:32 tichure : also,

20:28:36 tichure : everybody in this room right now

20:28:39 tichure : with the exception of me

20:28:50 tichure : writing research papers on the same topic

20:29:06 tichure : if you look at the end of the canvas modules, there is a group chat for each of the assigned works

20:29:13 tichure : I always encourage students to work together

20:29:17 tichure : finding resources

20:29:24 tichure : sharing ideas and giving feedback

20:29:36 tichure : then I would encourage you to do the same.

20:29:47 tichure : You’re not required to, but it’s an option

20:30:06 tichure : obviously, you’re doing your own paper

20:30:33 tichure : but the reality is, most people end up using 5 to 7 resources from the same 15 that everybody else uses for any given analysis

20:31:00 tichure : also, the further you go in your college career, you’ll find that there is 
more and more collaborative learning, which is exactly what that is

20:31:09 tichure : like i said, it’s optional

20:31:13 tichure : finally,

20:31:20 tichure : and you don’t necessarily need to do this for your first draft but it’s something to think about

20:31:36 tichure : can you think of a culture or group that would disagree with just about 
everything that the narrator says and claims in this song

20:31:46 tichure : who would say that this person described is a bad mother

20:31:52 tichure : based on legal or moral issues

20:31:57 tichure : that the narrator himself is a bad person

20:32:01 tichure : based on legal or moral issues

20:33:00 RZ : I don’t see the drop chat for dear mama

20:33:13 tichure : let me look

20:33:31 RZ : I actually can’t find the group chats all together


20:33:49 tichure : they are called paper discussion groups

20:33:52 tichure : check again

20:33:57 tichure : I reloaded it

20:34:17 tichure : thanks for the heads up RZ

20:35:09 RZ : Great thank you! Well I appreciate your help. I have to get going. Ill be back next week!

20:36:13 tichure : sounds good RZ. I will post this chat later if you folks want to review it

20:36:21 tichure : Nicholas, Annabelle, any questions

20:36:24 tichure : any issues

20:36:30 tichure : I’m here to answer those questions and get you moving

20:36:34 Annabel : thank you for all the help!! I don’t feel as nervous for this paper or 
this class now!

20:36:48 Annabel : I will check in again next Wednesday night. thanks again!

20:36:58 tichure : sounds good Annabelle. Take care

20:41:08 tichure : Nicholas, any other questions

20:41:12 tichure : or should I let you go

20:45:21 Nicholas : I will give it try and submit and see how it goes. Hopefully I was able to comprehend it well. If not when I submit I will follow the feedback given.

20:45:24 Nicholas : Thank you

20:46:10 tichure : That’s what it’s all about. That’s why I give you options to revise.

20:46:13 tichure : You’ll get it.

20:46:37 tichure : hang in there.

20:48:04 tichure : poof