Please take a moment to fill out the official Baruch Course Evaluation. This anonymous evaluation will help the department and myself to get a better sense of your reaction to this semester’s coursework.

http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/ote/evals/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGoBJphmcd0

Answer the following prompt in at least 1 page double-spaced. Print out and bring to class.

Do not use first person. Write in a formal way. Make sure you have a strong thesis.

How does the Schoolmaster justify the town’s decision? Why is this important, and how might it be ironic?

Good news! Not only is the Whitney Museum now free for CUNY students, but so is El Museo del Barrio, located on the UES.

One thing is necessary above all if one is to practice reading as an art in this way, something that has been unlearned most thoroughly nowadays […] something for which one has almost to be a cow and in any case not a ‘modern man’: rumination. 

Friedrich Nietzsche, Preface to On the Genealogy of Morals, 1887

In a clear and concise blog post (at least 400 words = 1 page double-spaced) describe the role of the friend in St. Petersburg in Kafka’s story. Make sure to include a strong thesis statement early in your post; that is, state what you think this friend represents in a way that gives a strong indication to your reader what it is you will be explaining to her or him. In the body of your post, make sure to cite specific examples from the text.

The idea is for you to reformulate what we’ve discussed in class into a tightly written text. Your notes will be valuable here.

Love is never directed toward this or that property of the loved one (being blond, being small, being tender, being lame), but neither does it neglect the properties in favor of an insipid generality (universal love): The lover wants the loved one with all of its predicates, its being such as it is.

— Agamben, The Coming Community.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdY0hX68psI

In a bit of a longer blog post (to make up for our missed class) please address the following questions. Make sure to use complete sentences and polish your post. Due by noon, Tuesday, Sept 15. 

1. Give a brief introduction to the text, situating it historically.
2. Who is the author(s)? What is their situation?
3. Summarize in your own words the main argument of the piece you’ve chosen.
4. What is strong about it? What is weak?
5. Do you think it is successful in conveying its message?
6. Looking back from 2015, do you think progress has been made?