ESSAY 2
Densho/Interview/Prisoners
Without Trial
This
essay may be a collaborative effort. If
you and your partner(s) write one paper, you all get the same grade.
This
essay requires two prewriting steps:
1) Listen to
several interviews of the incarcerated on the Densho website. Write
down the names and take notes.
2) Interview a
non-Japanese American who was living on the West Coast during the incarceration
of the Japanese Americans during World War II and who was old enough at that
time to remember events about his or her perceptions and actions regarding the
Japanese Americans.
If you do not know anyone in your
family to interview, go to your neighbors or ask a friend or classmate for help
in finding someone. If you do not know a
neighbor who would be appropriate, go to an seniors home. There are people there who would love to talk
about their lives and feel like they have something of value to impart to a
younger person.
Tape this interview.
Be sure to prepare some questions
before going into the interview.
However, do not stay glued to your questions; listen carefully and be
prepared to reformulate your questions depending on the direction your
interview is taking. In your
preparation, you may want to consider some questions that come up for you when
you listen to the Densho interviews or read Prisoners or Emperor. Stay open-minded and compassionate. Try to understand the reality being
expressed, but also focus on what you really want to know about back then. Be
prepared for possible resistance or anger.
For
your essay, draw conclusions from and respond to the above research. Incorporate ideas and information from When
the Emperor Was Divine and Roger Daniels’ book to focus your interview and
your essay. Make a point (your thesis)
with these conclusions.
Refer
to specific names and quotes from both the Densho interviewees and your
non-Japanese American interviewee. The
strength of this essay will lie in the details to substantiate your
conclusions.
Due Dates
First
Draft Thurs., May 26 Bring 3 copies for workshop group.
Hand
one copy in to Nancy for feedback.
May 26 - 27 Workshops and short
conferences.
Revised
Draft Tues., May 31 Editing Workshop. Bring Handbook. No grammar
feedback from
Nancy.
Edited
Draft Thurs., June 2 Hand in for preliminary
grading. Turn in interview tape.
General
Requirements
MLA
label includes—Essay 2, Edited Draft—Densho/Interview
Title
centered—see Essay 1 directions regarding MLA format
Type
and double space; use Arial or another clear font; size 12 print
Length: minimum 3 pages
To Use the
Densho Website
Your
user name: BCC-library
Your
password: BCC-library
Steps
to use the Densho Archive:
·
Install the RealMedia Player.
(You will need the RealMedia Player to
play the video or audio streams. You can
get a free RealMedia player at www.real.com.)
·
Optimize screen resolution for the Archive (optional).
The
archive application works best in 1024 by 768 resolution (or higher).
To
change your resolution in Microsoft Windows:
1. Right-click on
the desktop
2. Click
properties
3. Click the
settings tab
4. Move the
slider bar in Screen area to 1024 by 768.
5. Click OK,
click OK, click Yes
To
change your resolution on a Macintosh:
1. Click on the Apple logo in the top
menu bar.
2. Click on
"Control Panel"
3. Click on
"Monitor"
4. Click on
"1024 X 768"
5. Click OK
·
Enter the Archive
Enter the archive by going to the
Densho website (www.densho.org).
Go to the "Archive" section of the site, and click on
"Enter the Archive" in either the left- or right-hand navigation
panels.
·
Navigating to the Densho Content
Click on "Topics in the Selection
Navigator (left-hand portion of the screen)
Read the terms and conditions for using
the archive in the Content Frame (to the right of the Selection Navigator). You
agree to the terms and conditions by entering:
-Your
user name
-Your
password
-Clicking
on "I Agree to Densho's Terms and Conditions"
-Clicking
"Immigration" in the Selection Navigator.
A
table will appear in the List Frame (lower right corner of the screen). Click on
one of the titles and an image will
appear in the content frame.
·
Tips for Using the Archive
Maximizing
Window Size
The Archive works best if you
maximize the window size.
Resizing
Frames
To resize frames, place the curser
between frames until you see a double-headed arrow.
Click and drag to resize.
Playing
Video
For the interview clips, the default
setting is to play RealMedia Audio. To
play video, click
on the up/down arrows under the picture
of the narrator until it says RealMedia Video.
For both RealMedia Audio and Video, it
should take 20-30 seconds before the media
begins to stream.
1.