TASKS Why men should listen
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In 2019, the historian Kimberly Probolus wrote a letter to the New York Times in which she urged women to write more Letters to the Editor in order to make their voices heard. The NYT published the letter, and responded by publishing more Letters from women. In early 2020, Probolus wrote another letter, following up on the first, in which she suggested that the problem is not so much that women don't make their voices heard, but rather that men often don't listen!
Reading
> Open the file below, and read the text.
> Reflect about what it has to say.
> You may make some notes to remember what you have thought about, so as to be prepared to comment in class.
Handout
Men should listen Quiz - detailed reading & structural analysis
> Carry out the exercise below.
> Note that the exercise has two parts -
- Questions 1-7 require you to think carefully about the precise meaning of words in the context, which in turn affects your overall idea of what the text has to say.
- Question 8 requires you to think carefully about organisation of meaning in the text.
> When you have finished, Check your answers. If need by, try to work out why you've got some wrong.
Detailed reading & precise meaning
1. “gender parity” (line 7) in the New York Times’ letters page means that
2. “one last shot” (line 10) means that the author decided to
3. “to lean in” (line 18) suggests that women should
4. In this particular context, “at face value” (lines 29-30) means that men should
5. “your own agenda” (line 30) means that men often
6. “flourishing” (line 40) means
7. “identities that exist at the intersection” (lines 44-45) refers to people who
Structural analysis
8. Study the text entitled 'Men, You Need to Listen to Women' - and think about its structure. In particular, what is the function of each paragraph? What is its message, and what does it do ?
Each paragraph is identified with a letter. Below, there is a list of functions for the paragraphs in the text.
Write, in the spaces provided, the identifying letter (or letters) for the paragraph (or paragraphs) which fit each function in the list.
Direct address to the target audience … ……
A personal anecdote … ……
A concluding summary / overview … ….
Specific practical proposals … ….
General areas for change … …
An assessment of progress … …..
Critical thinking
> Pick out between 4 and 6 statements in the text, which caught your attention.
> What questions would you ask about those statements?
> For each statement, write out 2 or 3 questions, using critical thinking
> Remember that 'critical thinking questions' may be based on...
- disagreement with the statement (but the question should explore why you disagree)
...but also they may be based on...
- a need for more precise explanation
- a need for more background information
- an attempt to see the statement from a different angle
- a questioning of the assumptions behind the statement
Writing
The task below requires that you use the 'journal entry' text type. Remember that a journal is mainly concerned with recording your ideas - as opposed to a 'diary', which is mainly concerned with recording your experiences.
You can find more about how to approach the task in the page Diary (private) / journal
On the basis of the critical thinking questions you thought out in the exercise above, write a journal entry in which you deal with these questions, or at least two or three of the most important of them. You should explain your thinking in relation to each question - i.e. what sort of answer you consider - and then aim to express your overall opinion about the whole subject. Aim to be as honest and clear-thinking as possible.