Look over each post on the blog and comment on a few of them with criticism and/or praise. If you like any of the posts, consider adopting them to create your own course blog content. You may want to consider effectiveness as a teaching tool, the rhetorical competencies, layout and format, and potential student engagement with the lesson.
We've Come a Long Way: Student Interaction and Creativity in Composition Courses
When you think of the word agent, it's likely you think of a spy in a suit, but have you thought of how written compositions can act as agents too? In what ways are compositions or "texts" like agents from the movies?
THE CLASS HAS BEEN SENT AN EMAIL WITH A PDF ATTACHED; it is a critical article on Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove.
We will discuss the article and the film together on Monday. Pick out key themes, moments, and compositional modes (camera angles, lighting, mise en scene, etc.) that you noticed during our viewing or through the critical essay. Be prepared to discuss the material on Monday and note that there will be a writing assignment for the film later in the week. Feel free to write general questions or statements about the film on the comment function. What did you think of the scenes below?
The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre: one of five high pressure zones in the earth's oceans where large swaths of plastic accumulates
Following our class discussion: Please post comments about the text (perhaps themes or issues it evokes) and answer the following questions. Also, Free write for at least five minutes about something in the article that you think is important (something the article discussed or possibly left out).
Can we survive without plastic? What sorts of plastic are necessary or essential? What sorts of plastic can we live without?
Finally, a bit of rhetoric...how does Susan Casey appeal to audience? List how she appeals to ethics, logic and emotion. What are other ways an author might try to appeal their audience within this topic?
The titles and authors of the new sources you are integrating into your research (If none yet, topic or possible journal name).
Sections of your paper from essay #2 that you may want to develop more, or even build on with your new research sources.
Aspects of #2 you are most concerned with improving and how you will go about making that happen.
A recommendation for the issue your #2 is on besides the ol' "further research needs to be done," one that describes specific advice, specific action; perhaps an anecdote could cement this for you?
Now, answer the following questions.
If you move to take a certain side on an issue in essay #4, what supports of the counter-argument do you think will be the best to refute? How can you contrast the strengths of your argument with the weaknesses of the counter-argument while remaining diplomatic?
Is there anything Else you want to free write about regarding your essay #4?
For your comment: list a few passages where you think Dr. King effectively appeals to ethos and pathos and explain why. How is this example useful to you for composing essay #3?
Finally, write down ways you can appeal to logos in discourse.
Left to Right: Plato and Aristotle -Really old rhetoricians!
There are four journal prompts regarding the reading
section in this post. Please respond to at least two of them in your comment.
What are the Novums in this novel (technologies, abilities, or phenomenon our world doesn’t share)?
1.Re-animation (Awakening)
2.Lilith’s Food, her edible bowl (4)
3.Lilith’s jaket and pants (4)
4.Humanicide (6)
Ch 1 – Captivity
CHARACTERS
Lilith Iyapo – She remembers being 26, but she doesn’t know how long she’s been captive or how long she’s been dead prior to “Awakening” (5). Her immediate family died before the nuclear war on earth.
Sharad – A boy placed in the cell with Lilith (8). Lilith enjoys his company. Sharad learns her songs, but Lilith is slower to catch on.
Captors – “only to captured by heaven knew who and imprisoned” (6). They give her Sharad and then take him away
Plot Summary:
Lilith Iyapo finds herself in captivity. She struggles to recount her past, and she fights to get out of her cell in vain. Lilith's family members have died and Earth has been rendered volitile to humans because of nuclear war. By the end of the chapter, Lilith Awakens with a boy in her cell who is very reluctant to interact with her. The boy, Sharad, eventually warms up to her. Her captors take her away.
Journal Prompts 1 and 2:
(P 3-5) Lilith finds herself in a state of powerlessness and her “only currency is cooperation” (6). Write about a time when you felt powerless and cooperation was your only currency.
(P 7) Being in captivity has given Lilith a renewed sense of gratitude for simple pleasures (songs, books, etc.) Write about a traumatic moment or epiphany that made you re-think your gratitude for simple pleasures such as songs, books, being with loved ones, etc. OR Write about a time you were alone for a while and it led to a re-evaluation of something or a new sense of gratitude.
Ch 2 – A Close Encounter
CHARACTERS
Oankali - “I’m not a man,” he said. “I’m not a human being.” (10).
Jdahya – explains to Lilith they are on a “ship” orbiting Earth outside of the moon’s orbit. Also tells her the destiny of Earth and the Oankali attempt to reclaim the living humans.
Lilith – She has many questions, especially “what do you want of us?” which do not get answered by Jdahya (14).
Plot Summary:
Lilith encounters an Oankali male named Jdahya whose purpose it is to acquaint her to interacting with Oankali. Jdahya tells Lilith what has happened to Earth: how they are orbiting it, how the Oankali have been reclaiming humans, and how Lilith has been asleep for 250 years (16). Jdahya tells Lilith about the Oankali’s failed attempts at Awakening humans, especially when they Awoke humans together at the same time who turned violent. Furthermore, we find out that someone is listening in from above on their conversation (17). Jdahya tells Lilith that once she is comfortable with him, he will take her outside.
Ch 3 – Jdahya Catches Lilith up on the Past 250 Years
Novums
Ooloi, who are neither male, nor female and referred to as “its” (20).
Oankali are intergalactic “traders” of genetic material
Plot Summary:
Jdahya continues to stay in Lilith’s cell with her and persists in forcing her to stay close to him and get used to looking at him. She learns from him that she had a cancer and it was removed by their doctors, Ooloi, who are neither male, nor female and referred to as “its” (20). Jdahya tells Lilith that they have worked with many humans before her and about a doctor who lived with them and cooperated with them until she died at the age of 113. Finally, Lilith finds out that she is 28 years old now because she had been Awake for two of those last 250 years; Jdahya reveals that “this room will be nothing more than a memory for you soon” (25).
Journal Prompts 3 and 4:
(P 3-5) Lilith finds herself in a state of powerlessness and her “only currency is cooperation” (6). Write about a time when you felt powerless and cooperation was your only currency.
In discussing the nature of the Oankali as genetic traders with Jdahya, Lilith notes that "we used to do that to animals" (21). Lilith is anything but comfortable with being tinkered with by the Oankali, but they do remove her cancer for her. Does anything disagree with you in this situation? How do we have to trust others in this way in our own lives? Are the Oankali out of line in any way? Why or why not?
After reviewing your notes, briefly comment on a two songs we listened to in class.
Make sure you cover these questions:
Which songs interested you the most? Why?
Which songs prompted the most interesting discussions for you?
In your mind, which song had the most effective argument? What did you like regarding how the message(s) were conveyed? What strengths can you list from that argument? What could be improved?
Can you identify any appeals to the sources of persuasion (ethos, pathos, logos)? Pathos is usually pretty easy to locate in lyrics, but you may have to think longer about ethos and logos.
What is your reaction to this video? What do you agree/disagree with? What are some things you learned from it? Are any questions arising from this for you?
Keep these questions in mind when commenting:
Although the Web provides us with an abundance of helpful information, can we trust all of it?
Do we need to slow down? Why should we be critical of our sources of information? Who are the experts? Who are the amateurs? When do we need to make sure who provided the information?
How big will Wikipedia get? What does the future look like for Wikipedia?
Perhaps there needs to be better configuration and classification of information. What sort of re-structuring could improve the issue at hand? Is Wikipedia hampered by the fact that it is taking on such copious information?
Is Wikipedia a good place to start research?
Is there is room for both camps of thought presented in the video?
How does composition lead to action? What texts have inspired you to take action in your life? Why?
What are some ways that a text can be particularly persuasive?
