Introduction to the Humanities-Reading Journal 5

Please begin by reading the excerpts from Clap When You Land in the module and then watching the recording of the Elizabeth Acevedo lecture. Links to an external site.

LEARNING FROM THE 2024 BAUDER LECTURE WITH ELIZABETH ACEVEDO

HCC’s Bauder Lecture Series brings the author of that year’s chosen book to our campus for a keynote lecture and moderated conversation. The books are chosen with great care based upon their literary quality, the current resonance of their topic or theme, and their accessibility and relevance for the diverse readers on campus and in our community.

The 2024 Bauder Lecture features Elizabeth AcevedoLinks to an external site., author of the chosen book Clap When You LandLinks to an external site., a novel in verse that tells the stories of two young women, one in the Dominican Republic and one in New York City, who lose their father in a plane crash and only then discover the existence of each other.  Acevedo remembers the American Airlines Flight 587 crash in November 2001 and the loss of the many people of Dominican descent and wanted to create “a larger narrative that commemorated that moment in time.” Clap When You Land, she says, provides an “intimate portrayal of what it means to discover secrets, to discover family, to discover the depths of your own character in the face of great loss – and gain.”  You can hear more from the author hereLinks to an external site..

As Acevedo delivers the Lecture and then converses with writer Celeste Doaks, listen for ideas, statements, and/or themes that resonate with you, that seem most interesting or significant.

• How did the Lecture event and/or the excerpt from the novel help you understand or discover an insights about family, secrets, identity, or loss in your own life?

After reading the excerpts from Clap When You Land, answer the following questions:

• In the verses, the two young women each tell us about themselves, their circumstances, how they feel, and what’s important to them. Did any particular lines, images, or passages resonate with you and your own emotions or experiences? Can you relate to the humanity of these characters in any specific ways?
• See Acevedo’s “Author’s Note” for this novel. To what extent do you think Acevedo succeeded in illuminating the significance of the actual Flight 587 crash, in showing the event’s impact and the extent of the loss?
• If you were to take one image or line from the excerpt of the novel and expand upon it to tell your own story, either in writing or through some kind of artistic expression, where would you begin? What story would you tell?

Additional Opportunity (optional):

All HCC credit students who have read Clap When You Land and/or have attended or viewed the 2024 Bauder Lecture are eligible to submit responses to the novel or its themes, in the Essay and/or the Creative Expression categories, for the opportunity to win monetary prizes of up to $750. The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2025. Click here for more information (HCC login required).Links to an external site.

Success in Reading Journals:

• Answer the prompt completely – read instructions and make sure you’re giving the assignment what it asks for
• Support your thinking – make sure to use and directly cite your source (using direct quotations and paraphrases from the text – see your MLA Resource Page)
• Proofread – turn in the best quality response you can without spelling/grammar/citation errors
• Do honest work – show your own thinking, and remember that these assignments are submitted to Copyleaks to screen for plagiarism and/or AI content

Note: Reading journals must be submitted on time, and the lowest score in this assignment category will be dropped.

Answer Preview-Introduction to the Humanities-Reading Journal 5