MON APRIL 7
Final Draft Essay 2 due in folder.

In class – introduce next essay sequence

WED APRIL 9
Read chapter introductions (280-82 & 536-38) & “Reading Visual Texts” (644-647).

Read Mo Tzu (283-88)

Bring your ideas for the cultural text you might use in your essay.

Bring & post 2 questions prompted by the preliminary work for essay 3; these may focus primarily on Mo Tzu.

FRI APRIL 11
Response 5 due in class & posted online.

Read Plato “From Gorgias” (539-49)

Bring 2 questions

Revisions of Essay 1 due in folder with original & grade sheet

MON APRIL 14
Read Achebe (592-600)

Decide on your cultural text and draft your appendix materials.

Bring this draft to class & post online.

WED APRIL 16
Read Han Fei Tzu (557-62) & Cicero (570-75)

Response 6 due in class & posted online

FRI APRIL 18
Proposal due

Read Paz (346-52)

MON APRIL 21
Draft 1 of Essay 3 – bring 3 copies to class

WED APRIL 23
Draft 1.2 – bring 3 copies to class

FRI APRIL 25
Essay Sharing

Sign up for optional conferences in class

Commented first drafts will be returned.

MON APRIL 28
Draft 2 of Essay 3 – bring 3 copies to class

Essay Sharing

WED APRIL 30
NO CLASS – CONFERENCES

FRI MAY 2
NO CLASS – CONFERENCES
Peer letters due for extra credit.

Final Draft of Essay 3 is due by 10am on Tuesday 6 May in my office or mailbox.

RESPONSES are open-ended this time so that you can truly use them to address issues important to your essay. Some possible ideas may be mentioned in class. You must discuss at least one class text in each. You may find this a useful forum for exploring your understanding of the ideas in the class texts, for comparing and contrasting ideas (those of Han Fei Tzu and Cicero on understanding audience, for example), for arguing with the authors, etc. As always, these must be at least one page, double-spaced, but can be longer. These should have your ideas and fledgling interpretations and should not be merely summary. Both responses must be posted by midnight on the days they are due.

RESPONSE 5 – Due Fri 11 April (texts: Mo Tzu & Plato’s Gorgias)

RESPONSE 6 – Due Wed 16 April (texts: Achebe, Han Fei Tzu, Cicero)

APPENDIX MATERIALS – Draft due Mon 14 April
This paper will be required to have at least one appendix wherein you include any necessary visuals, summary, plot synopsis, character list, or other background or trivia of your chosen cultural text which would enable one not familiar with the original to get a grasp on it in order to better understand your analysis because your essay should not be filled with summary. A draft of these materials including a list of sources is due on April 14th. The final version should be 1-3 pages of written material, double-spaced plus any useful visual materials. The draft should be at least 1 page.

PROPOSAL – Due Friday 18 April
The format for this is open to allow you to use the writing preparation methods that work best for you but should answer the following questions and should be one page minimum:
- the cultural text and aspect of it will you analyze
- working thesis
- what is it that you want to say about this cultural text – one main thing and three supporting points
- what two class texts do you plan to use and how, including potential quotes to use
- why understanding your analysis of this text important for your reader

PEER LETTERS are optional and will earn you extra credit if done well and thoroughly. These will be due Friday 2 May by midnight.

CONFERENCES are also optional. Sign-up will be in class as usual.

ESSAY 3
Draft 1 should be at least 3 pages; all format and specifications are as with previous essays. This draft should have a working thesis and use at least one class text in your analysis of a cultural text. This should begin to be focused and narrow enough to cover well. Due Monday 21 April. Bring 3 copies to class.

Draft 1.2 will include revisions based on in-class comments from your peers and any other work you have done on the essay. Due Wednesday 23 April. Bring 3 copies to class.

Draft 2 should be at least 4 pages and include the use of at least two class texts. Your support should be quite thorough at this point. Due Monday 28 April. Bring 3 copies to class.

Draft 3 – the final final draft of the class! – should be at least 5 full pages plus the appendix (1-3 pages) and meet all expectations of a formal, persuasive, analytic essay. Due Tuesday 6 May by 10am in my mailbox or office. This does NOT need to be in a folder. I only need your final draft. If you would like this graded essay returned to you, please bring me a SASE which will fit the essay. Otherwise, I will only grade and not comment.

For this essay, you must use at least one cultural text or practice (film, book, story, poem, song, album, painting, sculpture, photograph, building, website, video game, television show, advertisement, holiday, policy, media treatment of a news or celebrity story, etc. – check with me if you are concerned about the appropriateness of your selection) and two class texts. You will be analyzing the cultural text in light of the ideas from the class texts on Wealth, Poverty, and Social Class and Language and Rhetoric.

First, it will be helpful to isolate one aspect or element of the text, whether a subplot, character, scene, or image. Use this to focus your analysis.

What message – intentional or unintentional, obvious and subtle – is your cultural text conveying or attempting to convey? What role does the chosen element play? How does it do this? How well does it do it? What does this text do for the culture that produced and/or consumed it? If you see that it may be causing harm (misrepresentation, misunderstanding, sowing of hatred or prejudice, for example), describe what kind of harm you think it might be doing, why you think this is harmful, what kinds of effects (both long and short term) it might have, how it does this, and what might be ways to counteract it. If you see that it may have positive results, do a similar kind of analysis. What does your text say about the culture which produced it? consumes it? How does this text use elements of language (in the broadest sense) and rhetoric to communicate its point?

You may also want to consider the role of cultural productions in wealth, poverty, and social class. Do they work to create, maintain, and/or subvert the status quo? How do they influence people’s attitudes and actions? How do cultural productions communicate social or economic class? What kinds of messages do these texts communicate about social class systems or the classes themselves? How do they communicate this without being didactic or overt? What is the role of art for society?

Also, consider how cultural productions get their messages across? What happens when a text ends up being received differently than it was intended to be? What role can/might/should (if at all) the intention of the creator play in the reception of his or her creation? Can we control a message once it has left us? How do we interpret the many messages we are receiving all of the time? How do we decide what to pay attention to and what to ignore? How conscious are we in our cultural consumption? What is the power of language, art, and media? What happens when this power is misused?

Some other possible ways to approach this essay include:

Consider arguing for or against a particular cultural text being taken seriously or being censored or being a negative influence that many people do not realize.

You could write an essay that agrees or disagrees with Mo Tzu (“Defend music against Mo Tzu’s attacks. Construct an argument about the value of music to either the individual or society” or “Choose a symbol of unfettered luxury from your own culture and write an essay attacking it in the style of Mo Tzu” [Austin 288].), or you could write an essay that analyzes a cultural practice as Octavio Paz does with the Day of the Dead. What is the social value of art or other seemingly non-essential cultural practices?

“Drawing on Achebe’s belief that myths have linguistic properties, examine a myth, folktale, or other common story that is important to your cultural heritage. What values does this narrative communicate?” (Austin 600)

“Use Achebe’s view of the disastrous effects of abusing language to analyze a political or commercial text that, in your opinion, misuses language. What are the social consequences of the misuse you see?” (Austin 600)

Read Kenneth Burke’s “From A Rhetoric of Motives,” and “Write an essay reflecting the ways that you have been persuaded to identify with something else – a person, an institution, a product, a political position. What part, if any, has manipulation played in this process, and how do you separate manipulation from a legitimate appeal for understanding?” (Austin 591)

“Use Socrates’s arguments against rhetoric to analyze a television commercial or other advertisement. In what ways might the advertiser have focused on persuasion at the expense of truth? Does the advertisement seemed [sic] aimed at producing knowledge or belief?” (Austin 549)

“Choose a contemporary film, painting, photograph, or literary work that depicts poverty an urban decay. Compare this contemporary source with Gin Lane. How do the concerns, elements, and treatments differ? How are they similar?” (Austin 308). One caveat of this question is that you must go beyond comparison and contrast and have an argument. You might consider posing an answer to the question of why the elements are similar or different: What has changed?

“In light of Paz’s view of the fiesta, examine a party or cultural celebration you have attended. How does Paz’s model work as a way to interpret your own experiences?” (Austin 352)

Essay 2 Assignment Schedule

This essay will allow you to examine the role of law and government in human society, the social contract, the challenges in balancing rights and responsibilities, freedom and regulation.

Some topics raised in Friday’s class include:  care & protection; public works and infrastructure; expert opinion vs. general consensus; true democracy vs. democratic republic; checks and balances; the majority vs. the minority.  Other questions to consider include: How should the social contract be constructed? What happens when it is breached?  How (or if) the social contract is to be renegotiated.  How are interests to be balanced between individuals? between an individual and the group? between groups?  Should people be given what they want or what is best for them?  Who decides?

FINAL DRAFT OF ESSAY 3 WILL BE DUE DURING FINALS WEEK.All page lengths are for double-spaced and are minimum.  I will accept longer works but not shorter.  Please use Times New Roman font size 12 and MLA format.  To receive credit, all work must be turned in on time; this includes both in-class and web-based assignments. Responses should be thoughtful and concise, demonstrating critical thinking and engagement with the texts.  Please be specific and use short quotes when necessary; page numbers must be cited in parentheses for all quotes.  You must discuss the texts assigned to receive credit.  Stylistically, these may be more casual than a formal essay because I expect you to use them to “process” the ideas in the texts and to explore possible points of discussion for your essays. (1 page each)Response 3 – Due Monday 25 February

Using at least two recent class texts (1 Samuel, the Aganna Sutta, Aung San Suu Kyi, Bolivar), explore the question of why people might choose to give up freedom (whether for government or other reasons).

Response 4 – Due Monday 3 March

What is the role of human self-interest in governments or other social contracts?  Draw on at least two of the following texts:  Hobbes, Rawls, Machiavelli.

 Proposal – Due Friday 7 March

“Map” your essay using the model from the Essay Structure handout.  Be sure to include which texts you will be using and how they provide essential support for your thesis.  It may be helpful to start your thinking with the question you want to answer in your essay and then to turn your answer to that question into the thesis that you intend to argue in your essay.

 Essay 2 Prompt

Draft 1 – Due Wednesday 19 March – bring three (3) paper copies to class (minimum length: 3 full pages)

Draft 1 should use at least two class texts for support and should contain a workable thesis with at least two supporting points.

Here are some themes and questions to consider as you develop a thesis pertaining to the role of government in human society or the idea of the social contract.  

• What are the challenges in balancing rights and responsibilities or freedom and regulation?  
• What is needed for effective leadership (can be at a government or other organizational level, including the university)?  What should be expected of leaders? Of citizens? 
• How should government balance: care and protection; expert opinion vs. general consensus; true democracy vs. democratic republic; checks and balances; the majority vs. the minority. 
• How should the social contract be constructed? What happens when it is breached?  How (or if) the social contract is to be renegotiated. 
• How are interests to be balanced between individuals? between an individual and the group? between groups? 
• Should people be given what they want or what is best for them?  Who decides?

Draft 2 – Due Friday 28 March – bring three (3) paper copies to class (minimum length: 4 full pages)

This draft should use at least three class texts for support, should have substantially revised introduction and conclusion, and should be well on the way to a solid final draft.

Draft 3 – Due Monday 7 April – bring one (1) copy in folder with previous drafts and response papers (minimum length: 5 full pages); must be proofread and include a Works Cited.

This draft should use at least three class texts for support, should clearly set up and support a narrow thesis in an organized and thorough fashion, should have no more than one grammar, punctuation, or spelling error per page.

For Wednesday 20 February

Read “From The Aganna Sutta” by Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha (100-103)

For Friday 15 February

Read the introduction to the section “Law and Government” (77-79)

AND read the selection from the Hebrew Bible 1 Samuel 8-10 (94-99).  We will be talking about the role of law and government and the idea of the “social contract.”

Essay 1 Assignment Schedule

**Subject to change** CLASS IS CANCELLED ON WED 30 JAN DUE TO INSTRUCTOR ILLNESS. THUS, THE CALENDAR WILL BE ADJUSTED FORWARD ONE CLASS DAY THROUGH THE 11TH. I WILL TRY TO GET US BACK ON TRACK SO THAT THE FINAL DRAFT WILL STILL BE DUE ON FRI 15 FEBUARY. PLEASE USE THIS EXTRA TIME TO COMPOSE YOUR BEST POSSIBLE WORK.

All assignments are available on the class website. Posting assignments may only be available here. All page lengths are for double-spaced and are minimum. I will accept longer works but not shorter. Please use Times New Roman font size 12 and MLA format. To receive credit, all work must be turned in on time; this includes both in-class and web-based assignments.

RESPONSES

Responses should be thoughtful and concise, demonstrating critical thinking and engagement with the texts. Please be specific and use short quotes when necessary; page numbers must be cited in parentheses for all quotes. You must discuss the texts assigned to receive credit. Stylistically, these may be more casual than a formal essay because I expect you to use them to “process” the ideas in the texts and to explore possible points of discussion for your essays. (1 page each)

Response 1: Compare and contrast the philosophies of Hsun Tzu and Rousseau. You may choose to focus on a theme such as education or human nature or another which you detect.

Response 2: How does Freire’s view of the potentially liberating nature of education compare with that espoused by Douglass? You may also discuss your own views and experiences in light of theirs.

PROPOSAL for Essay 1

May be casual, even with lists or bulleted points, but must include all of the following (1 page):

1. Brief description of personal experience for draft 1.
2. Which texts and which aspects of those texts do you plan to use in draft 2? How do these texts help you think about your personal experiences in education?
3. Briefly, explain what you think it means to be educated. Which text and which aspect of it do you plan to use in draft 3?
4. If you were to boil the point of this essay down to a thesis, what might that be?

Newman posting assignment due Wednesday 6 February by 8am.

This post should be a casual response to Newman, working to connect it with the other ideas and texts we have discussed. A thoughtful and probing response should take at least 5 interesting sentences to accomplish. You do not have to bring a paper copy to class, but you might find it helpful in reminding you of your thoughts in order to meaningfully contribute to class discussion.

Please choose one of the following sets of questions to focus your response. I will also accept responses which do not answer any of these specifically but which do carefully engage Newman’s text and ideas. If you choose to write sans prompt, find another way to focus your writing so that it does not try to deal with this whole text in one paragraph and so that it expresses a useful understanding of these ideas. Do not summarize.

1. What are some of the practical applications of different kinds of knowledge? Is Newman correct in saying that knowledge need not serve any “useful” social purpose to be worth acquiring? Why or why not?

2. In Newman’s opinion, what role does enjoyment play in the motivation to acquire knowledge? In your opinion, is learning most enjoyable for its own sake or for its use value? Explain your answer.

3. Compare Newman’s view of education with Rousseau’s. In what ways does Rousseau mirror Newman’s contention that education does not need to be useful?

4. Compare Douglass’s experience of education himself with Newman’s understanding of “liberal education.” How well does Douglass’s learning correspond to the kind of education that Newman advocates? How “useful” to Douglass are the things he learns?

5. Select a short passage from Newman’s piece and respond specifically to that passage. Please copy the passage as the first part of your response so that your readers can immediately see what you are responding to.

Posting 4 – Response to Peer Post – Due Mon 11 Feb by 5pm

Please select one of your classmates’ posts and thoughtfully respond to it. Your response may involve asking questions of the original author which would deepen his/her argument concerning or understanding of the texts. You may add something to or disagree with something in a post so long as you are respectful in your comments.

 

Your post should not be entered as a “Comment” but should be its own post with a title such as “Response to James D. on Freire’s Classroom Model.” Copy and paste the relevant portion of the post to which you are responding at the beginning of your post. Suggested length is 1-2 paragraphs (5-10 sentences) of critical response (not merely critique or summary and containing substance).

PEER LETTER ASSIGNMENT – DUE WED 13 FEB

You will write TWO 1 page, single-spaced letters, one for each of your peers. Email a copy of the letter to the recipient and to me (at arianajp@aol.com) at the same time. Also bring a paper copy to me (place it in my mailbox, on my desk, or in my hand). Letters are due no later than Wednesday, February 13^th by 5pm. No exceptions. Write detailed responses, in the form of letters, for the papers you take home from class today (Friday 8 February). The goal is to give feedback that will be helpful for the composition of the third drafts, so this means that you will have to think critically and write clearly. Keep the assignment, the rubric, and comments I have made in class in mind. Remember that the first priority with these papers is always ideas; after that pay attention (in this order) to focus (This includes thesis. Is there a recognizable point to the essay which is maintained throughout?), support (including examples and quotes), organization (including paragraph structure, logical ordering of ideas, transitions, introduction, and conclusion), and style/grammar. Address each letter directly to the author. You do not have to answer all of the following questions, but they should be useful to you in reading the paper critically. I do not have a script for you regarding which issues you should take up, though I would prefer that you resist critiques of a writer’s grammar (if, however, mechanical and grammatical errors make a paper difficult to read, it is appropriate to point out). You should be emphasizing issues that the writer could productively take up to improve the paper for the third draft.

• What is the writer trying to convey that is interesting to you? Where might the writer develop ideas to make them more interesting?
• Do these ideas make sense? Do you understand what the writer is trying to say?
• Does the paper have a clear, specific guiding idea, and does it take a position? If it does, you should be able to state what it is clearly. If not, how might the writer make that more clear?
• Is the essay narrowed and focused or is it trying to cover too much? Is it vague or general? Encourage the author to be specific, including sufficient detail where helpful.
• As a reader, does it seem that the writer is attempting to engage you in any particular way? How? Where do you see evidence of this? If not, what might have worked to involve you and to make you care?
• How convinced were you by this paper? Why?
• Does the paper have enough support? What other sorts of support do you think the writer could use? How might you challenge the claims the writer is making? Is there a balanced blend of textual analysis, example, and clear reasoning?
• Is the structure of the paper clear and interesting? Does the writer use a variety of sentence styles? Are the paragraphs/ideas presented in a logical order? Does the writer move smoothly from point to point or does it jump around? (Are there transitions?)
• How effective are the introduction and conclusion? What might the author do to improve them?
• In what ways do you think this paper is complex? How do you think the writer could make it more complex?
• What is extremely interesting about this paper? What parts surprised you or got you thinking about new ideas?
• Does the writer use quotes effectively, including his or her use of introduction, incorporation, and explanation? Do the quotes appropriately support the author’s point? Are the texts used responsibly and appropriately? Do you see other ways the writer could interpret what he or she is citing? Does the writer’s choice of quotations leave out critical information? Are the passages quoted accurately? Are they cited correctly?
• Stylistically, what might you say about this writer? What is the most interesting phrase, sentence, and/or passage, and why? Was anything confusing or awkward?
• Read the questions for revision in the text (735-36), and use these if they are helpful.

It is important that you be specific in your comments, referring to particular parts of a paper. Indicate specific paragraphs, sections, or sentences in your comments. In other words, cite the author you’re writing to, because this will make your comments more concrete and useful. Remember that criticism is only helpful if it can lead to potentially productive changes. Also, it’s not terribly helpful to write “I really liked your paper!” and leave it at that. Again, you need to be specific.

ESSAY 1 PROMPT

Draft 1 – Write a personal essay about an early experience that significantly influenced your education. How and why do you think this was influential? If appropriate, describe how something that you read had an impact on you and your course(s) of study. (2-3 pages)

Draft 2 – Expand your personal essay (Draft 1) by incorporating discussion (analysis and application) of at least two of the texts we have read (Hsun Tzu, Rousseau, Newman, Douglass, Freire). (3-4 pages)

Final Draft – Expand your essay further by incorporating discussion of what it means to be an educated person including discussion of a third class text. Some questions to consider include: What is (or should be) the purpose of education? What, in your opinion, qualifies one as educated and why? What distinguishes an educated person from an uneducated person and why? Why is education important? (4-5 pages) The final draft should be polished in its development and presentation of ideas, in style, mechanics (grammar, spelling, punctuation), and appearance (cleanly printed and stapled).

 

FINAL DRAFT SPECIFICATIONS

• Due Friday 15 February IN CLASS in a folder with all previous drafts (marked-up copies are fine), proposal, and response papers.
• Minimum length of 4 FULL pages, not counting the works cited.
• MLA formatted works cited
• Header with your last name and the page numbers
• Heading with your name, class information, “Essay 1 Final Draft,” and date you turned it in
• Title - this should really grab your reader’s attention
• Introduction, Body, Conclusion – but avoid the classic high school 5 paragraph essay
• Thesis or narrow focus of your argument. Must be arguing something.
• Should carefully analyze (take apart), synthesize (put together), and apply ideas from the texts with your own ideas
• Should not have substantial summary or comparison/contrast
• Polished: free of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and word choice issues.
• Style: Formal (no casual or slang language or phrasing; no contractions; no “you,” “we,” “us”). Limited use of “I” is acceptable.
• Text use: must quote from and discuss at least three of the following class texts: Hsun Tzu, Rousseau, Douglass, Freire, Newman. All quotes should have appropriate introduction, integration, citation, and analysis.
• Your paper should be narrowly focused and fully supported using examples, reasoning, and text use.

 

*********All assignments contribute to the grade for this segment of class. You must complete all drafts of the essay in order to receive a grade for this segment.*************