Class Reflection

Focus on one part of this class (an aspect of one paper, one exercise, or one lesson) where you feel you received the most benefit. Discuss in 200 or so words. This can be something you struggled with or succeeded at. This is practice for your final on Monday, so be certain you give this some thought. Look at the goals on your assignment sheet, if you need inspiration. Just the initial post is worth the full 10 blog points. The blog needs to be fully posted by Friday at midnight. Responses to classmates will be ungraded, but feel free to discuss and comment as you wish.

Week 13: Claim/Reason/Evidence/Analysis

I will present the following in class (posted here for those who will not be there--if you have questions, please email me):

This video was supposed to have a flow-chart explanation, but it did not copy over. Look on D2L under Unit 4 and look at the Synthesis assignment. Find one piece of evidence you have for your argument for each claim that you wish to share with the class and put that up for your peers here.

Make whatever evidence you have relevant to your claim through the analysis.

Now, create your own sort of flow-chart for your essay, or an outline of sorts. Imagine the the objections are me asking: "explain this quote/summary/paraphrase," or, "show me how this information strengthens your overall thesis." You might set yours up like this:

Claim #1 (should be the problem):
Reason/Evidence for #1:
Analysis of reason/evidence for #1:

Claim #2 (should be the cause):
Reason/Evidence for #2:
Analysis of reason/evidence for #2:

Claim #3 (should be the solution):
Reason/Evidence for #3:
Analysis of reason/evidence for #3:

Your job, and the job of your peers, is to raise their own objections to your reason/evidence and analysis. This is a good way to crowd source for your paper. Your paper, the blog, and the synthesis assignment are all to help you write your paper, and the claims should be from your thesis.

Week 12 - In class

Think about your audience and how you are going to approach that audience:

Goal: to connect with your reader and get your point across.

Defining the following are ways to reach your goal.

Define audience (me, class, someone who will receive this essay once it is complete)

Define purpose (what do you hope to accomplish with your paper? How will the sources you choose aid you in this purpose?)

Define method (how will you address your audience to achieve your purpose? Think about rhetoric: logos, pathos, ethos; what kind of combination would best suit your purpose? What kind of research will support your method? Will you use data tables, anecdotes--personal stories, news reports, events--where your opinion has occurred been observed and recorded, expert opinion, studies, the constitution or laws, etc.)

Last: How will you find sources that will work together in order to reach your goal?

Week 10: Music and Politics

The question I want you all to ask yourselves when answering this post is: what is music's role in American politics?

For your post: Choose a song, explain your take on the meaning, look at some of the history behind the song, and the era in which it was sung and written (was the person who wrote the song different from the person who sang it? If so, list both people/groups in the creation of the song). Why was the song written (what was its purpose?)? Then analyze whether or not you believe this song created any political change (or success for a candidate). Why or why not? Did it create change later (was it covered by other artists?)?

The following are suggestions of artists and songs to explore, but you can choose something from your favorite genre of music, so long as it has a political message of some kind (even if its just a commentary on a war, on government power, etc.).

Francis Hopkinson, Seven Songs Dedicated to George Washington

James Hewitt, The Battle of Trenton

George Root, The Battle Cry of Freedom (and other Civil War songs)

Marc Blitzstein, The Cradle Will Rock

Virgil Thomson, The Mother of Us All

Woody Guthrie, This Land Is Your Land

Duke Ellington, Black, Brown, Beige

Irving Berlin, Mr. President

Billie Holiday, Strange Fruit

Aaron Copland, A Lincoln Portrait

Charles Mingus, Fables of Faubus

Various artists, We Shall Overcome

John Cage, Songbooks

Phil Ochs, I Ain't Marching Anymore

Nina Simone, Why? The King of Love is Dead

Anthony Davis, X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X

The Dead Kennedys, Holiday in Cambodia

Prince, Ronnie Talk to Russia

John Adams, Nixon in China; The Death of Klinghoffer

Various artists: No Nukes; Live Aid; Farm Aid

Carla Bley, Looking for America

Laurie Anderson, United States I-IV

Various by Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, etc.

Gil-Scott Heron, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Ani DiFranco and Utah Philips, various

Steve Earle, Christmas in Washington

A popular sub-genre of political music is the Protest Song. Many of the above are such. Bob Dylan is somewhat famous for these. Green Day released American Idiot in 2004. You could also look at Springsteen and Rage Against the Machine. Again, these are just suggestions, but try to stick to Americans speaking out for or against American politics. Many foreign bands/singers/song writers (Lennon, Morrissey, Bowie) have sung about on our politics, but the causes behind those songs are probably different than the causes behind a native group of people commenting on their own government (and by native, I mean someone who grew up in the United States). Please provide a link to your song, either on youtube or another free site where a classmate could listen to the song. Also, provide links to any sources you used. If you feel confident in your MLA skills, you can include works cited rather than links.

Week Nine: fracking

For those of you BSG fans, forget all you think you know about fracking. Please look at the following three sources, determine your own thesis based on these ideas, and offer some supported opinion (also known as analysis): quotes, summary, paraphrasing. Cite the sources, even if you don't have page numbers (because one is an article, and another is a video), just so your reader will know which information came from which article. Please endeavor to be as scholarly as possible, and remain objective. Should you choose this topic  for your paper, you already have a wealth of collaboration, and food for thought.

Hilcorp Fracking Gazette article

Fracking in Colorado - springsgov.com

Interview with Governor Hickenlooper:

Some things to keep in mind (only mention them in your response if they enhance your argument/thesis):

What is the agenda of the writers/politicians/etc.?

What is the credibility of each person/article?

Who is the audience of each person/article?

 Keep in mind that this is good practice for writing your research paper. I made sure to keep the articles and the video short, for your convenience, so, if you would like, you may go to other sites, and other sources of information, and put them on your blog to inform your classmates.

Week 7: please read the instructions carefully

I have seen many posts that assert that certain papers or videos do not have an argument. The purpose of this class is to realize that everything is an argument, that we all have our prejudices, and that people use different tactics and reasoning when constructing and supporting their beliefs.

Your goal for this week's initial blog:

1) Identify the thesis of both people in the following video.

2) Identify which person you believe used the best tactics and supported his argument the best (not necessarily the viewpoint you agree with), and describe what those tactics were, and how they were supported.

3) Make a counterargument to the point of view that you believe was best supported, and identify how the opponent in the argument could have better supported his side.

I know that both men have decent arguments, but you must do more than acknowledge this perspective.

As a trial, rather than responding to three people, respond to one person (someone who has no other comments, preferably, unless that is not possible), and engage with that person's point of view. Remain respectful. Then, each student must also respond to the comment(s) on their initial blog. This will encourage meaningful dialogue rather than a quick, "You made a good argument, &tc."

Please use support in your response to your classmate: from the video, from other sites, and/or from that classmate's initial post. Because you must give your classmates a chance to engage in the conversation, please 1) post initially by Monday, 2) construct your one response by Wednesday, and 3) post the final response by Friday, midnight. If you have questions, please let me know.

Week 6

Sorry, again, for the lateness of this post. All I want you to do this week is compare and contrast two websites:

http://www.peta.org and http://www.humanesociety.org

Read the About Us page for each, and then browse the websites, watch some videos, read some articles, and answer the following questions:

1. Who is the audience for each website?
2. What gives each website its credibility?
3. How do these websites compare with each other in their audiences, goals, and rhetorical approaches (logos, pathos, ethos)?
4. How do the websites compare with what you thought about these organizations in the past?

Please be thoughtful in your answers.

As usual, your first post is due by Monday. Try to get the post done before class, and then respond to three of your classmates by Friday. Please try to give reasons for agreeing and disagreeing with evidence from the website, or any personal experience you have with these organizations. Stay academic and professional.