For Wednesday, March 26 (by the start of class at 4:00 pm) I am asking that you compose and publish a blog post comparing the text of Barack Obama's 'A More Perfect Union Speech' to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Both are available on the D2L Content page under 'Assignment #2: Arg. Synthesis.' The King letter is also on page 245 of your purple 80 Readings book.
You can choose to compare the two texts in any appropriate way that helps you look at the concept of argumentation and the issue of race relations in America. Consider these questions: What are the strongest and weakest points of each? What issues of race are still relevant today as they were in King’s time? Which is the more effective argument? Which techniques does each employ? What do you think about the ways each discusses race and prejudice?
To receive credit for this blog, compose an average length post (at least 2 well-developed paragraphs). You have the option to make this post lengthier and more in-depth to receive credit for up to 2 additional blogs (for a total of three). This could serve as a buffer for you if you have already missed 1 or 2 classes, or as insurance if you foresee missing class later in the semester. It will be nice padding for the blog portion of your final grade when the end of the semester comes. I will have to see a blog twice as long as average for it to count as 2 blogs, and 3 times as long as average for it to count as 3 blogs (if that helps you think about what I expect for length).
Let me know if you have any questions.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Monday, March 3, 2008
The color of shame is = denim (+ turquoise)
Some of you may perhaps be spending time with your families during Spring Break. I happen to be going on a ... family vacation. Very retro, I know. Compose and publish a blog post about your family by 6:00 pm on Monday, March 17. Talk about your whole family or just one or two members. Tell me anything you want about him/her/them. Maybe it's a funny story or just a description of them. You can relate it to a family vacation or one of your family's traditions if you want to. See my sample below...
I guess I tend to think immediately about my two sisters when I think about family. I feel especially tied to them because I’m in the middle of the three of us as far as age goes. I have 5 other siblings, but to me, Laura, Erin, and I are the most fundamental of family units.
I think we carry the stories and traditions of our family more than anyone else, even our parents. Or maybe they just don’t want to remember…
One of our favorite stories centers on my dad’s infamous “painting shorts.” We grew up in a huge three-story house, and one summer when I was young, my parents wanted to paint it from sea foam green to something like “Rocky Mountain blue.” This was quite an endeavor, and my dad was especially invested in the project.
Picture this: a man wearing a pair of short-short cut-off denim shorts. A grown man. A man with children old enough to feel shame. Being his painting shorts, he would inadvertently get paint on said shorts. Understandable. But then things go horribly wrong. Rather than abandoning the shorts, putting them to rest, he just cut them shorter and shorter as they became more frayed and paint-stained.
What's the worst that could happen, you ask? At their best (or worst), these shorts were short enough for the bottom of the pockets to hang below the shorts. To be fair, my dad has always been slim and handsome, definitely at that time (the early 90s) the picture of an 80s soap opera star. However, under no circumstances does an adolescent child want to see their father in these shorts. At their best (or worst), he would also pair them with a turquoise Nike muscle tank. Yes, the very same one worn by Emilio Estevez in The Breakfast Club.
Ah, the painting shorts. Grateful am I for my sisters for many reasons, but mainly so that I need not bear the legacy of the painting shorts alone.
I guess I tend to think immediately about my two sisters when I think about family. I feel especially tied to them because I’m in the middle of the three of us as far as age goes. I have 5 other siblings, but to me, Laura, Erin, and I are the most fundamental of family units.
I think we carry the stories and traditions of our family more than anyone else, even our parents. Or maybe they just don’t want to remember…
One of our favorite stories centers on my dad’s infamous “painting shorts.” We grew up in a huge three-story house, and one summer when I was young, my parents wanted to paint it from sea foam green to something like “Rocky Mountain blue.” This was quite an endeavor, and my dad was especially invested in the project.
Picture this: a man wearing a pair of short-short cut-off denim shorts. A grown man. A man with children old enough to feel shame. Being his painting shorts, he would inadvertently get paint on said shorts. Understandable. But then things go horribly wrong. Rather than abandoning the shorts, putting them to rest, he just cut them shorter and shorter as they became more frayed and paint-stained.
What's the worst that could happen, you ask? At their best (or worst), these shorts were short enough for the bottom of the pockets to hang below the shorts. To be fair, my dad has always been slim and handsome, definitely at that time (the early 90s) the picture of an 80s soap opera star. However, under no circumstances does an adolescent child want to see their father in these shorts. At their best (or worst), he would also pair them with a turquoise Nike muscle tank. Yes, the very same one worn by Emilio Estevez in The Breakfast Club.
Ah, the painting shorts. Grateful am I for my sisters for many reasons, but mainly so that I need not bear the legacy of the painting shorts alone.
Post due Friday 3/7 at 3:00 pm
After our independent library work day (Wed. 3/5), please compose and publish a blog post detailing your progress on this new paper, the Argumentative Synthesis. Talk about what you’re concerned about and how your topic and research are moving along. Give it the amount of time we would in class (15-20 minutes) so I have a sense of how we’re doing as a class. Make sure this blog is posted by 3:00 pm on Friday (3/7) to earn your participation points for that class session.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Write me a song...
Hi, students! In a further effort to get to know you all and learn a little bit more about your personalities, I'm asking that you introduce yourself to me and the class by naming and describing a song that has particular meaning to you. Maybe it makes you think of a specific event in your life or is just a song that has always struck a chord with you. Maybe it's one you just really like. Be as creative as possible with your descriptions. If you are musically inclined, by all means, illuminate us in your description of the song. You can also talk about the band/artist. Feel free to quote specific lyrics. I expect at least a couple of good paragraphs. See mine below. We'll share these when everyone is done writing.
"Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" by Counting Crows
I could never pick just one favorite Counting Crows song; they’ve continued to be one of my favorite bands through every album. But I will say “Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby” is one that always pulls me in. It’s mellow but upbeat, unlike some of the Crows’ more melancholy songs, but that in no way means it’s a shallow “good times” tune. One thing I love is that it’s never been a truly mainstream hit. “Lullaby” is one of the marathon songs that I could listen to anytime, anywhere, despite its length at almost 8 minutes. I don’t attach it to one specific event in my life; it usually just sneaks up on me and manages to influence my mood.
The lyrics strike me as simultaneously thoughtful and strange, and that’s what makes this song quietly powerful. It’s not the chorus, which is in itself infectious, but the many verses that truly make the song. I like that I can’t ever quite pin down what it’s about. It seems to tell a collection of short stories with lines like “If dreams are like movies, then memories are films about ghosts.” I get a different vibe every time I listen to it. Perhaps the line “There’s a piece of Maria in every song that I sing” refers to the song’s namesake, Mrs. Potter. Another of the varied storylines just strikes me: “And when the last king of Hollywood shatters his glass on the floor and orders another, well I wonder what he did that for.” I can’t quite put into words what feeling this song stirs up in me; it’s something subtle and simple. I think it takes listening to it for yourself to understand.
"Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" by Counting Crows
I could never pick just one favorite Counting Crows song; they’ve continued to be one of my favorite bands through every album. But I will say “Mrs. Potter’s Lullaby” is one that always pulls me in. It’s mellow but upbeat, unlike some of the Crows’ more melancholy songs, but that in no way means it’s a shallow “good times” tune. One thing I love is that it’s never been a truly mainstream hit. “Lullaby” is one of the marathon songs that I could listen to anytime, anywhere, despite its length at almost 8 minutes. I don’t attach it to one specific event in my life; it usually just sneaks up on me and manages to influence my mood.
The lyrics strike me as simultaneously thoughtful and strange, and that’s what makes this song quietly powerful. It’s not the chorus, which is in itself infectious, but the many verses that truly make the song. I like that I can’t ever quite pin down what it’s about. It seems to tell a collection of short stories with lines like “If dreams are like movies, then memories are films about ghosts.” I get a different vibe every time I listen to it. Perhaps the line “There’s a piece of Maria in every song that I sing” refers to the song’s namesake, Mrs. Potter. Another of the varied storylines just strikes me: “And when the last king of Hollywood shatters his glass on the floor and orders another, well I wonder what he did that for.” I can’t quite put into words what feeling this song stirs up in me; it’s something subtle and simple. I think it takes listening to it for yourself to understand.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Welcome to the blog world, class
Compose your first blog (just a brief paragraph or two) on your favorite place (the most favorite place you have encountered so far in your life, in your travels or somewhere closer to home). Then make sure to email me the http address to your blog so I can link them here to my blog page.
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