You have now read the first five chapters of this book.

Write a blog post where you comment on:

• your impression of the story so far. Remember that you are allowed to be negative, but no matter what your thoughts are so far – try to explain and give examples of what you like or dislike.
• what impression you get of the company Underwood Samson.
• describe how Changez feels about America and find quotes to support this.
• how  Erica is described. Find a quote to underline your opinion.
• 9-11 and Changez’ reaction to it (chapter 5).

Deadline: Monday, October 24

Welcome to English 2:) This English course includes social studies as well as literature and we aim to look at the importance of literary works in a societal context.

First topic this year is therefore Freedom of Expression and the novel Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. When the book was published in 1988, it sparked outrage among some Muslims, who considered its content to be blasphemous and the Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the writer’s death in 1989. Many people have been killed or injured because of this, including the Norwegian publisher of the book, William Nygaard. In August of this year, Rushdie was stabbed and seriously injured at a literary event in New York.

So what is the role of writers when it comes to free speech and freedom of expression?

Accordian to the Guardian journalistCRobert McCrum , “Rushdie has again instructed us in a profound lesson: great literarure will always be a matter of life and death”

This autumn has flown by, and I have failed miserably at maintaining this blog. And that is quite a sad accomplishment given everything that has happened in the world, the UK and not least in the USA since August. Taking into consideration the curriculum in this subject, could you help me sum up events and incidences that should have found their way to this blog? What have we been working on in class, and what are simply events that we should follow in the news, giving us a broader understanding of the British and American societies?

Try to think of such events, people and incidences, and prepare to talk together in groups on Friday to compile a list then.

Hilde

The Coronavirus has not left anyone or any sector unaffected in 2020, perhaps particularly not American politics. Both the Democratic and the Republican National Conventions are now over, and the presidential race is about to enter its final stage.

Write a blog entry in which you describe some of the usual stages in American presidential elections, and compare the 2016 and the 2020 nomination processes to look for evidence of whether Covid-19 has impacted the 2020 campaigns significantly or hardly at all.

Hilde

Welcome to a new school year at Fagerlia!

I am excited to have this class with you and hope we can all learn a lot and have some fun throughout the school year.

Most of you will already have your blog from last year (International English) and may continue to use this. If you don’t have a blog, or would like to create a new one, we will set aside some time on Friday to do so. Use wordpress.com and choose a free account. When making your account you can choose whether to have a public, private or hidden blog, but no matter which you choose you have to share the link with me. Remember, this is an educational blog, which will be evaluated, so keep it tidy and professional. I will read all your blogs and they will count towards your final grade, but you will be notified which assignments will be graded. These you always have to hand in on itslearning as well.

Your first blog assignment will be to create a text in which you discuss what “politics” means to you, and where you mention some of the political events and developments in the USA and the United Kingdom that you are already familiar with. Do some of these intrigue you, and what would you like to learn more about?

Good luck with the new school year! Make new friends and broaden your horizons:)

Hilde

For overview, read the chapter on Electing a President p. 203-208 in your book. Make sure you can explain these terms: primaries, national convention, Electoral College

Pick one of the candidates (either Republican or Democrat) and write short presentation of him/her.