Common Reading 2004-2005
The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman
Discussion Guide for Faculty-led Student Groups at the Opening Sessions for Students

Thank you so much for volunteering to meet with a group of new students to welcome them into the intellectual life of the college. Students consistently evaluate the faculty-led discussions as one of their favorite portions of the Opening Sessions program. We appreciate your energy and enthusiasm!

Day’s Libretto: For your session, you will have one hour, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Prior to your session, students will attend a plenary from 10:15 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. in the Mainstage Theater. There, we will begin a discussion of the play by framing the Common Reading and the major themes and issues in the play. We will focus specifically on the idea of “moments” and their importance in revealing the divergent views within a democracy. Students will also see a brief portion of the play performed by actors starring in the upcoming spring production of the Laramie Project produced by Professor Will Koolsbergen. After your session, students will proceed to one of three special orientations for our new First Year Academies beginning at 12:30 p.m. The program ends with lunch at 1:30 p.m. and optional tours of the college. Students who are interested can also attend Leadership and Diversity programs beginning at 1:30 p.m. Please feel free to join us for any of these other activities during the day.

Organizing Your Session: What makes the faculty-led discussion sessions such a rich experience for students are your creativity and the variety of approaches to leading discussion on the common reading. This year is no exception. What follows is a brief list of ideas for leading discussion on the play. Feel free to devise your own session plans. These suggestions simply serve as a possible springboard for your own ideas; please feel free to borrow liberally or to go in another direction entirely. You may want to begin your session by determining how many students have read the play; usually, many students have read the Common Reading in its entirety. Sometimes, groups of students receive the book at Opening Sessions, so you should prepare for a mixed group. Most of all, have a fun and engaging session with the students!

General Themes in Laramie Project: This year’s common reading focuses on many different issues such as homophobia, community, sexual politics, class differences, dialogue, hate crimes, religion, justice, and tolerance vs. acceptance.

Approaches to Discussing Laramie Project:

1. Associative Exercises (helpful for groups who haven’t read the entire play)

Role play/discussion: As Laramie Project is a play, you might choose to have students read certain scenes out loud and to discuss them. Suggested scenes: “Moment: Alison and Marge” (14-17), “Moment: Matthew” (18-20), “Moment: The Gem City of the Plains” (46-49), and “Moment: Homecoming” (62-64).

Intolerance discussion: Try one of two interactive exercises to help students connect homophobia to other forms of intolerance. Here’s the first: hang blank banner paper around the room. Provide markers and pens. Invite students to write “hate words” and “slang.” Then, as a group, discuss the history and significance of the words. Help students to make connections between homophobia, racism, sexism, classism, and ableism.

The second is a variation on this exercise. Obtain photographs of different moments of intolerance in American history. I sometimes create a “gallery” of photographs around the room with images of the Ku Klux Klan, the Japanese-American internment camps, signs for “Colored Water Fountains,” the Civil Rights movement, child labor, Native Americans—particularly images from reservations, women engaged in “traditional” forms of domestic labor, and the fence from Laramie. I ask students to identify the images and then, as with the exercise above, connect different forms of intolerance and prejudice to homophobia.

Hate Crimes Discussion: In the past several years, there have been a number of widely publicized hate crimes. Here in the New York area, you might consider finding articles (available on Ebsco through our library) on hate crimes such as those regarding Sakia Gunn and Jessica Horatio Mercado (you can also find a helpful article on-line.

A variation on this exercise would be to connect homophobia and assumptions about people to racism. You might extend the discussion to include police “profiling” in its most extreme cases such as Abner Louima and Amadou Diallo.

Universal Human Rights Discussion: You might ask students to think about Hate Crimes in the context of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Provide students with a copy of the declaration and, as a group, use it to talk about homophobia and prejudice.

2. Textual Analysis (useful with groups who have read the play in its entirety)

In his introduction to the play, Kaufman writes “There are moments in history when a particular event brings the various ideologies and beliefs prevailing in a culture into sharp focus. At these junctures the event becomes a lightning rod of sorts, attracting and distilling the essence of these philosophies and convictions. By paying careful attention in moment’s like this to people’s words, one is able to hear the way these prevailing ideas affect not only individual lives but also the culture at large” (v). As you lead students in discussion, you may want to use this idea as a touchstone for your larger conversation. Given that you will have students of mixed skill levels in the same group, you may want to integrate strategies like free writing, key words on the board, and direct textual reference in your discussion.

• Why do the Tectonic Theater Project cast members interview so many different people in Laramie?
• How many different views do we hear in the play?
• What are the different constituencies represented in the play?
• Is it important to understanding the story that you hear so many different views of Matt and what happened that night?
• In what ways are the multiple viewpoints confusing?
• Whose story impacts you the most? Why?
• What is the significance of breaking the story into “moments”?
• In what ways do the Laramie community members characterize Matt Shepard’s death?
• How is Matt characterized in the play? How does that characterization change depending on the person talking?
• What is the importance of the setting of the play?
• What does the play say about the role of religion in Laramie? In the United States?
• What does the play say about the role of class in Laramie? In the United States?
• What does the play say about the role of education and the university in Laramie? In the United States?
• What does the play say about the role of medicine in Laramie? In the United States?
• What does the play say about the role of the media throughout the crime and the trial?
• What is the significance of the “journal entries” in the play?
• What assumptions do people outside of Laramie make about the community? How is this expressed throughout the play?
• What does the play say about Laramie? About Wyoming? About the West? About the United States?
• Are there any “truths” in this play?
• Are there any redemptive moments in the play?
• Given the multiplicity of viewpoints portrayed in the play, what do you take away from reading the play?

Helpful Resources:

• Will Koolsbergen created this year’s Common Reading website.
• The Library of Congress’ American Memory Collection has an extensive photography collection. You can download images or print them out.
• The Matthew Shepard Foundation
• GLSEN: Gay, Lesbian, Straight Educator’s Network provides lesson plans, topics for discussion, and pedagogical strategies.
• Losing Matt Shepard: Reflections, Observations, Analysis, and Interviews written by University of Wyoming professor Beth Loffreda in response to Matt’s murder and the ensuing attention Laramie received (thanks to Gail Green-Anderson for bringing this book to my attention).
• Hate Crimes Legislation: The Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project offers a useful overview on Hate Crimes.
• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) is available at the United Nations’ web site.

Please feel free to be in touch with any questions or concerns. I will be happy to provide any support you need in preparing your session. I can be reached by e-mail at lclark@lagcc.cuny.edu or by phone at 718.482.5665.

As always, thanks for your commitment to our first year students.

Best,
J. Elizabeth Clark

**Discussion Guide for Student Openings Sessions created by J. Elizabeth Clark

J. Elizabeth Clark, Ph.D. (lclark@lagcc.cuny.edu)
Professor of English
Office: E-103 H in The Department of English
Phone:718.482.5665
Summer 2009 Office Hours

Site Credits: This site was last updated on 13 May 2009. Site designed and maintained by J. Elizabeth Clark. Technical Assistance provided by Delwar Sayeed and Priscilla Stadler.