Hi Everyone,

Thanks for working through the Lukianoff/Haidt chapter today. For those of you who want to read more about their arguments and research take a look here (there’s also a link here to all of their endnotes).

For our next meeting, please either continue the description you started writing in class today or start a new description of a thing/phenomenon/place/idea using Karl Ove Knausgaard’s essay as your guide (click here to take at it again). Here’s the specific prompt I’d like you to respond to in this description:

What is one thing/phenomenon/place/idea that is particularly interesting or important to you? Attempt to describe this thing/phenomenon/place/idea in as much detail as you possibly can in a two-three paragraph essay. You may want to describe your subject only using some casual research, like google, the dictionary, or wikipedia, or you may prefer to just use your own memory as your “source.” Whatever you chose to do, write a list of all your sources at the end of your essay like this:

Sources: google, wikipedia, my own brain, a conversation with my mom, and so on…

You’ll read your description to a small group so make sure to tailor your writing to a group of readers who may not know as much about your subject as you do. This is a thought experiment. I won’t collect or grade it. So just enjoy the process. AND please bring it to class!

Hi Everyone,

Click here to download the reading for Wednesday’s class. You do not have to print it but you need to at least download and read it closely for Wednesday’s class. In preparation for our discussion of this text, please write two brief responses to these prompts and bring your responses to class:

1. Locate one claim that you found especially convincing or interesting and describe why it was convincing/interesting. Was it the supporting evidence the authors used? Their rhetorical approach? Both? Something else? Be specific.
2. Locate one claim that you found confusing, unconvincing, or problematic in some way. Was the supporting evidence not strong enough? Was the claim too broad? Did the authors not sufficiently contextualize the claim? Be specific.

That’s it for now! See you on Wednesday.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for a lively discussion today. I hope everyone gets home safe tonight. And good luck finishing your essays!

To turn in your essay before 11:59pm on Friday, please click here. Remember to submit your essay as a PDF. And please put your name in the file name like “Cwroweessay1.pdf.”

For Monday, please click here to download and actively read Tommy Orange’s prologue to his 2018 book There There.  You can print it out but you do not have to. Most importantly, I want you to read this excerpt a if it was a creative and eloquent research essay (which I think it is). After you read it, write a brief response to this topic: what is the value of a research essay written in this style compared with a research essay written in a “traditional” academic style?

We’ll talk in detail about this essay and its relation to the research process on Monday. So make sure to bring it.

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for a good discussion today. For our next meeting, your only task is to write a draft of your creative analysis/attentional narrative essay and bring a printed copy of this draft to class on Wednesday. I recommend that you trick yourself into believing that your creative analysis/attentional narrative essay is actually due in class on Wednesday (even though it is actually due on Friday, February 22nd at 11:59pm). If you trick yourself into believing it is due on Wednesday then you’ll have from Wednesday afternoon through Friday evening to revise your essay.

You’ll work with a peer on Wednesday for an informal peer review of your essay, then you’ll have some more time in class to begin revising your essay.

Finally, remember that this essay should be an enjoyable experiment for you to write. It is an “informal” formal essay. So do your best to enjoy the process. Have a great week!

Hi Everyone,

I forgot to post the assignment yesterday. Click here to see it! I’ll bring hard copies to class tomorrow too.

Hi Everyone,

It was great to hear about the texts you analyzed over the weekend. Keep up the great work!

I’ll pass out your first writing assignment in class on Wednesday but before then please take a look at it here. After you read the assignment, please roughly decide what you want your topic to be. Be prepared to discuss your rough plan for your essay with a partner on Wednesday. In addition, make sure to bring composition materials, like a pen/paper, pencil/paper,  or a laptop. You’ll have some time in the second half of class to “ideate” on your own.

In addition, please either print or download (just make sure to bring your print-out or download to class) Camille Paglia’s creative analysis of “Woodstock” here. Read it closely and write down brief responses to these prompts:

-What are her analytic techniques? You don’t have to know the technical terms. Just make note of her strategies like “She alludes to the Bible” or “She analyzes a phrase in the poem for an entire paragraph” Write down at least 3 examples.
-Describe her analytic style. Is she subjective or objective? A little bit of both? Easy to read or difficult to read?
-If you had to steal one technique or stylistic feature of her writing (to use in your own writing), what would it be?

Finally, click here for the Joni Mitchell version and here for the Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young version of “Woodstock” if you want more context for Paglia’s analysis.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for another engaging discussion today! A reminder about your work for our next meeting:

1. Pick a short text that you think is particularly interesting/meaningful/lovable/hatable/funny/weird. It should be a text that interests you AND a text that you could convince a small group of your peers to be interested in.
2. Write a brief creative analysis of this text. What’s it about? (Themes/hidden meanings/social context and so on…) What exactly is its genre? (Meme/poem/song/instagram post/newspaper article and so on) What is your experience with it? (When did you discover this text? How many times have you listened to this song? And so on…)
3. Bring your text and creative analysis of it to class.
4. Have fun with this. It is not for a grade. It is just practice for you.

Remember, a “text” means, in the most broad way, “the thing being interpreted.” So feel free to pick anything. Just remember that this a short exercise so you should avoid picking a novel, a movie, or other longer form genres.

Finally, I forgot to give you the information about the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal. Click here for instructions on how to get your free NYT account and click here for the same info about your free WSJ account. These subscriptions are expensive in the real world, so take advantage now while you have them.

Hi Everyone,

For our next meeting, please actively read the Wordsworth poems and write a brief response to the prompt below.

First, a brief summary of the poems (spoiler alert!):
In “Expostulation and Reply” William’s friend Matthew argues that book learning (can we say “academic learning”?) is the only path to enlightenment. In the second half of “Expostulation and Reply” and in all of “The Tables Turned,” William argues that book learning is a waste of time. Instead of academic learning, “let Nature be  your teacher” instead.

Here’s the prompt:  Why do you think William is arguing for the ethical/intellectual value of “non-book” learning? And, can you relate to his argument?

Bring the poems and your response to class on Wednesday. Thanks!