Networking the Boss

Now that you’ve had a chance to listen to Darkness on the Edge of Town and now that we’ve discussed the album, let’s figure out how Springsteen’s 1978 album “fits” with the rest of our syllabus.

The goal of this exercise is to connect the songs on Darkness to other texts we’ve read this semester and to explain how Springsteen both repeats and develops motifs, themes, conflicts, characters, and narratives that we’ve encountered in the books, movies, poetry, etc. on our syllabus.  By doing this, you’ll show me how well you know the literature of labor.

Here’s what you want to do:

• Make sure you’ve created an account on hypothesis and are familiar with how to make digital annotations.
• Take a quick look at our course syllabus to recall the stuff we’ve looked at over the semester.  Then, listen to Darkness on the Edge of Town again and/or review the lyrics.
• You’ll want to make at least six (6) nice, juicy annotations that connect the album to at least four (4) texts we’ve previously read/watched.  Probably, each annotation should be equivalent to a rich, concise paragraph (typically 100 – 200 words).  Your annotations should consist of clear, correct prose. You’ll make your annotations on our album page.
• Annotate the album lyrics to point to and explain how particular moments on the album connect to particular motifs, themes, conflicts, characters, events, etc. that we’ve seen before in London, Davis, Levine, Ma, etc.

Nota Bene: try to be as specific as possible when you make your connections.  Don’t just highlight a whole song or even a whole verse from Springsteen’s album.  Instead, annotate specific words or lines. Avoid annotations like this: “This line reminds me of the kind of stuff Martin Eden says because London’s character is also frustrated.”  Instead, point to specific moments, events, dialogue, etc. in texts.  Quote, cite, or paraphrase from the texts you connect to.  Your goal ultimately is to make Darkness on the Edge of Town richer by embedding it within the context of the literature of labor.

Bonus points: You’ll get bonus points for any hyperlinked or video/visual annotations you make.

Due: Tuesday, May 10, at noon.