Just some things I noticed in reading the first 12 papers...
1) Specific facts and interpretations need to be cited from specific sources. You can't just paraphrase ideas at will for a whole paper and then slap a bibliography at the end. As for the format of the citations, you can basically choose from footnoting versus parenthetical. This is how I like to do mine with footnotes. (Article I wrote several years ago that sucks... do not use as a model for good writing.) You need to know how to use MS Word a little bit. For parentheticals, see the chapter on MLA style in Easy Writer and/or the sample papers I sent you for the peer review. Choose the style that you think best suits your essay and be consistent with it.
2) Even if you have a footnote or a parenthetical citation, you still need to introduce secondary sources at the beginning of a direct quotation.
WRONG: The Lakers are "a force of pure evil" that "must be stopped" (Winter 9).
RIGHT: As Aaron Winter argues, the Lakers are "a force of pure evil" that "must be stopped" (Winter 9).
SAMPLE: A few pages from my dissertation, showing how primary and secondary quotations can be incorporated into sentences properly.
3) Your paper needs a thesis, not just a topic or question.
TEMPLATE: Aristotle says banana, and Descartes says apple, but I argue that the truth is really orange.
4) Title format... the essential part is a specific description of your project. Almost like a miniature thesis. You can put a jokey/creative part in front of that if you want.
WRONG: "Yo Mama So Fat!"
WRONGISH: "African-American Insult Humor"
RIGHT: "The Globalization of African-American Insult Humor in the 1990s"
RIGHT: "Yo Mama So Fat!: The Globalization of African-American Insult Humor in the 1990s"
5) There will come a point for most of you, I hope, when you actually have too much research to fit in your paper. The HumCore website says 8-10 pages for the final draft. I think you should go for that 10. But you know, some of you are already pushing past that and may have to cut some. Some facts, concepts, quotations, etc. in your paper are simply going to be more important than others, and you need to work in your second draft to decide which, and make it clear to your reader.
AN ANALOGY:
1 Kobe
4 more starters (Kobe, Gasol, Ariza, Fisher, Bynum)
5 more rotation guys (Odom, Farmar, Walton, Vujacic, Brown)
? total scrubs who never get to play (Powell, Mbenga, Morrison, etc.)
1 thesis
2-4 main sections or sub-topics
2-5 examples, evidence, or concepts within those sub-topics
? material that gets relegated to your footnotes
Friday, May 29, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Research Paper Draft Peer Review Instructions
This goes for both the Friday conferences and the Monday conferences. It's important that you all do this... it will help your partner, obviously, but it will also benefit you in terms of getting a sense of the nuts and bolts of how this type of paper works.
(Monday conference people... you will hear from me soon about the times; I'm still waiting to hear back from three of you.)
You need at least SIX different pen/marker colors to complete this assignment. Either that, or you need to use the color highlight feature on Microsoft Word. Or you need to devise some kind of coding system to differentiate waves, squiggles, slashes, dashes, etc.
This will take you at least 90-150 minutes, so schedule your time accordingly.
---------------------
1. Print your partner's paper, and print the sample paper I email you. (See next email.)
2. Read through both papers without marking anything.
3a. What are two things that the sample paper does more effectively than your partner's paper?
3b. What are two things that your partner's paper does more effectively than the sample paper?
4. Read through your partner's paper a second time... this time you are marking on it.
5a. These are very long papers, and they're about subjects their reader knows very little about. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively has your partner used the introduction paragraph(s) to create a bridge to the topic, by using comparisons and broader concepts, from HumCore or elsewhere? Make one suggestion for how this could be done more effectively.
5b. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively has your partner indicated what the paper is _not_ about, i.e. what falls outside its scope, what has already been done to death by previous researchers, what cannot be known, etc..
5c. Underline the sentence(s) that you take to be your partner's thesis using COLOR A. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively does your partner communicate a clear, specific, and arguable thesis? As a test, reverse the argument of the thesis and write down the resulting sentence(s). Lack of a reversible thesis indicates that this paper is (currently) a "book report" rather than an academic argument.
5d. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively has your partner used the introductory paragraph(s) to map out or preview the sections, stages, etc. of the pages that follow? Make one suggestion for how this could be done more effectively.
5e. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively has your partner defined key terms that the paper will use or contest?
5f. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively has your partner given a justification for why her research/paper is relevant/important?
6a. Underline the sentence(s) that you take to be your partner's paragraph topic sentences using COLOR A.
6b. Draw a happy face by the two most effective paragraph topic sentences.
6c. Draw a frowny face by the two least effective paragraph topic sentences.
7a. Using COLOR B, underline when your partner refers to her most important primary source. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively does your partner incorporate this source, _conceptually_? Ask one question or make one suggestion about using the source.
7b. Using COLOR C, underline when your partner refers to her most important primary source. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively does your partner incorporate this source, _conceptually_? Ask one question or make one suggestion about using the source.
7c. Using COLOR D, underline when your partner refers to other primary sources. Designate two primary sources that the partner should analyze more (you can even suggest one that isn't referred to in the paper), and two primary sources she should analyze less.
7d. Draw a happy face by the two sentences in which your partner has most effectively incorporated a primary source quotation or paraphrase _grammatically_.
7e. Draw a frowny face by the two sentences in which your partner has least effectively incorporated a primary source quotation or paraphrase _grammatically_.
8a. Using COLOR E, underline when your partner refers to her most important secondary source. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively does your partner incorporate this source, _conceptually_? Complete the following sentence: "My partner is using this source in order to _________."
8b. Using COLOR F, underline when your partner refers to her most important secondary source. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively does your partner incorporate this source, _conceptually_? Complete the following sentence: "My partner is using this source in order to _________."
8c. Using COLOR G, underline when your partner refers to other secondary sources. Designate two secondary sources that the partner should utilize more (you can even suggest one that isn't referred to in the paper), and two secondary sources she should utilize less.
8d. Draw a happy face by the two sentences in which your partner has most effectively incorporated a secondary source quotation or paraphrase _grammatically_.
8e. Draw a frowny face by the two sentences in which your partner has least effectively incorporated a secondary source quotation or paraphrase _grammatically_.
9. Cross out the conclusion. These are almost never any good in first drafts. Write the following in giant capital letters: "SO WHAT?" Give three possible answers to the question, on your partner's behalf.
10. Are citations usable, consistent, and reasonably close to one of the standard citation formats? Rate on a scale of 1-10.
(Monday conference people... you will hear from me soon about the times; I'm still waiting to hear back from three of you.)
You need at least SIX different pen/marker colors to complete this assignment. Either that, or you need to use the color highlight feature on Microsoft Word. Or you need to devise some kind of coding system to differentiate waves, squiggles, slashes, dashes, etc.
This will take you at least 90-150 minutes, so schedule your time accordingly.
---------------------
1. Print your partner's paper, and print the sample paper I email you. (See next email.)
2. Read through both papers without marking anything.
3a. What are two things that the sample paper does more effectively than your partner's paper?
3b. What are two things that your partner's paper does more effectively than the sample paper?
4. Read through your partner's paper a second time... this time you are marking on it.
5a. These are very long papers, and they're about subjects their reader knows very little about. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively has your partner used the introduction paragraph(s) to create a bridge to the topic, by using comparisons and broader concepts, from HumCore or elsewhere? Make one suggestion for how this could be done more effectively.
5b. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively has your partner indicated what the paper is _not_ about, i.e. what falls outside its scope, what has already been done to death by previous researchers, what cannot be known, etc..
5c. Underline the sentence(s) that you take to be your partner's thesis using COLOR A. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively does your partner communicate a clear, specific, and arguable thesis? As a test, reverse the argument of the thesis and write down the resulting sentence(s). Lack of a reversible thesis indicates that this paper is (currently) a "book report" rather than an academic argument.
5d. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively has your partner used the introductory paragraph(s) to map out or preview the sections, stages, etc. of the pages that follow? Make one suggestion for how this could be done more effectively.
5e. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively has your partner defined key terms that the paper will use or contest?
5f. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively has your partner given a justification for why her research/paper is relevant/important?
6a. Underline the sentence(s) that you take to be your partner's paragraph topic sentences using COLOR A.
6b. Draw a happy face by the two most effective paragraph topic sentences.
6c. Draw a frowny face by the two least effective paragraph topic sentences.
7a. Using COLOR B, underline when your partner refers to her most important primary source. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively does your partner incorporate this source, _conceptually_? Ask one question or make one suggestion about using the source.
7b. Using COLOR C, underline when your partner refers to her most important primary source. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively does your partner incorporate this source, _conceptually_? Ask one question or make one suggestion about using the source.
7c. Using COLOR D, underline when your partner refers to other primary sources. Designate two primary sources that the partner should analyze more (you can even suggest one that isn't referred to in the paper), and two primary sources she should analyze less.
7d. Draw a happy face by the two sentences in which your partner has most effectively incorporated a primary source quotation or paraphrase _grammatically_.
7e. Draw a frowny face by the two sentences in which your partner has least effectively incorporated a primary source quotation or paraphrase _grammatically_.
8a. Using COLOR E, underline when your partner refers to her most important secondary source. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively does your partner incorporate this source, _conceptually_? Complete the following sentence: "My partner is using this source in order to _________."
8b. Using COLOR F, underline when your partner refers to her most important secondary source. On a scale of 1-10, how effectively does your partner incorporate this source, _conceptually_? Complete the following sentence: "My partner is using this source in order to _________."
8c. Using COLOR G, underline when your partner refers to other secondary sources. Designate two secondary sources that the partner should utilize more (you can even suggest one that isn't referred to in the paper), and two secondary sources she should utilize less.
8d. Draw a happy face by the two sentences in which your partner has most effectively incorporated a secondary source quotation or paraphrase _grammatically_.
8e. Draw a frowny face by the two sentences in which your partner has least effectively incorporated a secondary source quotation or paraphrase _grammatically_.
9. Cross out the conclusion. These are almost never any good in first drafts. Write the following in giant capital letters: "SO WHAT?" Give three possible answers to the question, on your partner's behalf.
10. Are citations usable, consistent, and reasonably close to one of the standard citation formats? Rate on a scale of 1-10.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Class #23 postgame
Thanks for a fun afternoon, and I hope you feel "pretty good" about the Exam and the Project now, or at least gooder.
I may write some more clarifications or reminders here tomorrow, but the only thing that occurs to me now is to say that the Revolting German Peasants and Martin Luther are potential characters for your exam. I'd forgotten about them.
I went back and commented on all the the "change" dialogues in the next post.
Reminder: In-class part of the exam is on Friday. Bring a bluebook and notes on a small index card.
Reminder: Take-home part of the exam is due to TurnItIn on Sunday night. Whatever time it says on the review sheet. The classID is 2698576. I think the password is ignite ... or maybe ignite!
Reminder: 5 more annotated bibliographies. Dropbox on Sunday.
Random: Story about how to memorialize mass killings, except this one's about the Soviet Union.
I may write some more clarifications or reminders here tomorrow, but the only thing that occurs to me now is to say that the Revolting German Peasants and Martin Luther are potential characters for your exam. I'd forgotten about them.
I went back and commented on all the the "change" dialogues in the next post.
Reminder: In-class part of the exam is on Friday. Bring a bluebook and notes on a small index card.
Reminder: Take-home part of the exam is due to TurnItIn on Sunday night. Whatever time it says on the review sheet. The classID is 2698576. I think the password is ignite ... or maybe ignite!
Reminder: 5 more annotated bibliographies. Dropbox on Sunday.
Random: Story about how to memorialize mass killings, except this one's about the Soviet Union.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Class #22 postgame
I really love this class... I'm pleased how engaged your are with this Kluger book even though it's getting sandwiched in with so many other assignments.
Reminder: Mammoth review session Wednesday afternoon, from 1:00-whenever. Most of you will be around after class from 2:00-4:00, so that might be the best time to come. I'll announce the location in class... most likely in the park so we can all sit and have pizza or some such. Bring questions.
Post: your Kluger vs. X vs. Y dialogue on the question of "what causes historical/social change?"
Reminder: I need a status update from all four of the Projects on Wednesday. Meaning that I'll ask you about it in class. Progress of your planning, and/or your vision of how I should assess your grade.
Proposal: an alternative end-of-quarter Project available only to up to two defectors from the veterans' hospital team and up to four defectors from the beach team. You could go to the Museum of Tolerance in LA and write some kind of response that compared it to Kluger's theory of museums. This would work for either version of the exam.
New Polls: answer on the right
Random: article about a staging of Mel Brooks' The Producers in Germany... can Germans laugh at "Springtime for Hitler"? Should they?
Reminder: Mammoth review session Wednesday afternoon, from 1:00-whenever. Most of you will be around after class from 2:00-4:00, so that might be the best time to come. I'll announce the location in class... most likely in the park so we can all sit and have pizza or some such. Bring questions.
Post: your Kluger vs. X vs. Y dialogue on the question of "what causes historical/social change?"
Reminder: I need a status update from all four of the Projects on Wednesday. Meaning that I'll ask you about it in class. Progress of your planning, and/or your vision of how I should assess your grade.
Proposal: an alternative end-of-quarter Project available only to up to two defectors from the veterans' hospital team and up to four defectors from the beach team. You could go to the Museum of Tolerance in LA and write some kind of response that compared it to Kluger's theory of museums. This would work for either version of the exam.
New Polls: answer on the right
Random: article about a staging of Mel Brooks' The Producers in Germany... can Germans laugh at "Springtime for Hitler"? Should they?
Friday, May 15, 2009
Class #21 postgame
I've gotten a little behind on the blog... I'll definitely go back and comment on the community dialogues, and on the remaining Kluger questions from Monday.
Homework: Read to pg. 170 of Still Alive... we're not going to read the rest, actually. Annie, Kiyomi, Marcee, and Sarah Devine should each come up with a kickoff question for us to discuss. Consult Hart's questions for inspiration if needed.
Research: With the exception of one person whom I instructed otherwise, you all need to email me 5 additional annotated bibliographies by next Sunday (5/24). Don't make this busywork; you all have gaps in your research that call for specific kinds of sources. Remember, the first draft of the research paper is due the night of Thursday 5/28.
The Project: I'm not doing any handholding here. Time is short if you're going to get this done by the end of the quarter, so you need to divide responsibilities and get started immediately. I expect a progress update by Wednesday. You also need to help me figure out how I am supposed to assess you in terms of grades.
Exam: Regardless of whether you are eating the chocolate or elephant flavor of the exam, now is a good time to select which questions you want to answer in-class vs. take-home, etc. (The three questions are what is doing, what is a community, and what causes social/historical change... or was the first question about the ends justifying the means? We'll have to settle this on Monday.) And select the three people/positions you are going to compare for each dialogue or essay (two per question from this quarter, and a third one from previous quarters.) The in-class component will be on Friday, and the take-home component will be due by Sunday night (5/24).
Homework: Read to pg. 170 of Still Alive... we're not going to read the rest, actually. Annie, Kiyomi, Marcee, and Sarah Devine should each come up with a kickoff question for us to discuss. Consult Hart's questions for inspiration if needed.
Research: With the exception of one person whom I instructed otherwise, you all need to email me 5 additional annotated bibliographies by next Sunday (5/24). Don't make this busywork; you all have gaps in your research that call for specific kinds of sources. Remember, the first draft of the research paper is due the night of Thursday 5/28.
The Project: I'm not doing any handholding here. Time is short if you're going to get this done by the end of the quarter, so you need to divide responsibilities and get started immediately. I expect a progress update by Wednesday. You also need to help me figure out how I am supposed to assess you in terms of grades.
Exam: Regardless of whether you are eating the chocolate or elephant flavor of the exam, now is a good time to select which questions you want to answer in-class vs. take-home, etc. (The three questions are what is doing, what is a community, and what causes social/historical change... or was the first question about the ends justifying the means? We'll have to settle this on Monday.) And select the three people/positions you are going to compare for each dialogue or essay (two per question from this quarter, and a third one from previous quarters.) The in-class component will be on Friday, and the take-home component will be due by Sunday night (5/24).
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Questions for Class #20
Does suffering bring out the best in people, or the worst? Why/how?
Is it the responsibility of victims to tell their story, and if so, why?
Why is the Holocaust such a big deal to Americans? (Why so many movies, etc. etc.)
Is there a way to remember things that isn't "sentimental"? How?
Are some events impossible to tell/represent? If so, how do you represent them?
Reminder: post your group's response here if we didn't get a chance to talk about it yet
Reminder: Research prospectus to EEE dropbox--> Shared Student Files, Thursday 10:30 p.m. Either that or you need to put it in the Assignment Submission dropbox and email it your partner.
I will notify you of your conference time as soon as everyone signs up. For those who are doing Monday/Tuesday conferences, your prospectus is due Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. and I will notify you of the time, probably tomorrow.
Is it the responsibility of victims to tell their story, and if so, why?
Why is the Holocaust such a big deal to Americans? (Why so many movies, etc. etc.)
Is there a way to remember things that isn't "sentimental"? How?
Are some events impossible to tell/represent? If so, how do you represent them?
Reminder: post your group's response here if we didn't get a chance to talk about it yet
Reminder: Research prospectus to EEE dropbox--> Shared Student Files, Thursday 10:30 p.m. Either that or you need to put it in the Assignment Submission dropbox and email it your partner.
I will notify you of your conference time as soon as everyone signs up. For those who are doing Monday/Tuesday conferences, your prospectus is due Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. and I will notify you of the time, probably tomorrow.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Class #19 postgame
Read 15-69 of Kluger's Still Alive. Stephanie (lecture) and Elim (book) will do the kickoff.
You and your partner(s) should post 10-12 lines of dialogue below for your assigned characters on the subject of "what is a community/city/family/nation/swaraj/etc?"
Sign up for a Friday prospectus conference here. Please do this a.s.a.p!
Random: A new article about Jane Jacobs. One about cell phone usage in contemporary India. A radio broadcast about the politics of naming. A summer job for students interested in political doing. And an excellent lecture at UCI on Tuesday afternoon about "Asian-American Rhetoric."
Research Prospectus (due Thursday night at 9pm):
Write your prospectus in paragraph form. These are guidelines for what you should try to accomplish in each paragraph, but they're not necessarily in order, and they don't necessarily require equal space. You may notice that the sample prospectus I gave you before does all of these things, but in a completely different order. The purpose of this exercise is simply to create a preview of your research project so that you and I both know what we're getting into. You might also consider this. Shoot for 1 to 1.5 pages single-spaced.
Paragraph 1
-your topic (one aspect of this might be clarifying what your topic ISN'T)
-how it relates to the theories we've studied in Core this year
-the key research questions you will answer
-your preliminary hypothesis for answering them
-you might include some kind of section outline (in my first section, I will focus on X, in my second section on Y, in my third section on Z, etc.)
Paragraph 2:
-Summarize existing research on the topic
-Focus in particular on your shovel(s), since you won't have read most of the rest
-Even without having read all of the sources, indicate which you think will be most useful
-It might be appropriate to use short quotations from the shovel(s) here
Paragraph 3:
-Gaps in existing research (you don't need to have read everything to get a sense of this)
-Flaws/mistakes in existing research
-Disagreements in existing research
-It might be appropriate to use short quotations here
-How your paper will address these gaps/flaws/disagreements (model: think about how Savarkar does this)
-Your general timetable and plan of action (what's next, etc.)
Paragraph 4:
-Why is your research timely or important?
-Why should anyone care about your research?
You and your partner(s) should post 10-12 lines of dialogue below for your assigned characters on the subject of "what is a community/city/family/nation/swaraj/etc?"
Sign up for a Friday prospectus conference here. Please do this a.s.a.p!
Random: A new article about Jane Jacobs. One about cell phone usage in contemporary India. A radio broadcast about the politics of naming. A summer job for students interested in political doing. And an excellent lecture at UCI on Tuesday afternoon about "Asian-American Rhetoric."
Research Prospectus (due Thursday night at 9pm):
Write your prospectus in paragraph form. These are guidelines for what you should try to accomplish in each paragraph, but they're not necessarily in order, and they don't necessarily require equal space. You may notice that the sample prospectus I gave you before does all of these things, but in a completely different order. The purpose of this exercise is simply to create a preview of your research project so that you and I both know what we're getting into. You might also consider this. Shoot for 1 to 1.5 pages single-spaced.
Paragraph 1
-your topic (one aspect of this might be clarifying what your topic ISN'T)
-how it relates to the theories we've studied in Core this year
-the key research questions you will answer
-your preliminary hypothesis for answering them
-you might include some kind of section outline (in my first section, I will focus on X, in my second section on Y, in my third section on Z, etc.)
Paragraph 2:
-Summarize existing research on the topic
-Focus in particular on your shovel(s), since you won't have read most of the rest
-Even without having read all of the sources, indicate which you think will be most useful
-It might be appropriate to use short quotations from the shovel(s) here
Paragraph 3:
-Gaps in existing research (you don't need to have read everything to get a sense of this)
-Flaws/mistakes in existing research
-Disagreements in existing research
-It might be appropriate to use short quotations here
-How your paper will address these gaps/flaws/disagreements (model: think about how Savarkar does this)
-Your general timetable and plan of action (what's next, etc.)
Paragraph 4:
-Why is your research timely or important?
-Why should anyone care about your research?
Friday, May 8, 2009
Class #18 postgame
Post your research follow-up question to your name story here. (For example... my last name is Winter, which is a German name. I had always assumed this was because my folks were Polish Jews and at some earlier time they had a German landlord... i.e. that they were basically serfs owned by that landlord. But apparently it was very unusual for Jews to be serfs in their area; often they were small farmers or ran small businesses in town. So where does the name come from? I would want to follow up on who owned land in that part of the world, what the basic economic and legal structure was, etc.)
Annotated bibliographies due Sunday night via email... see instructions a couple of posts back
Read ch. 28 & 29 of the Course Guide, about research methods
The next kickoff will be Priya & Monique, about Chaturvedi's lecture on Monday.
You might also consider getting a head start on the Ruth Kluger book, as we will start reading it next week.
Annotated bibliographies due Sunday night via email... see instructions a couple of posts back
Read ch. 28 & 29 of the Course Guide, about research methods
The next kickoff will be Priya & Monique, about Chaturvedi's lecture on Monday.
You might also consider getting a head start on the Ruth Kluger book, as we will start reading it next week.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Class #17 postgame
-Check your sample set of annotated bibliographies against the works cited templates in EZ Writer (to make sure the citations are correct).
-Read Chaturvedi's essay about his first name Vinayak (CR 170-84).
-Find out a story about your first, middle, or last name or that of a family member. Better yet if the story reveals something about political/historical doing.
-Steve & Ivan will kickoff something about the essay, perhaps using one of these discussion questions if they like.
-And your annotated bibliographies are due on Sunday night (see next post below for instructions).
These are the HumCore writing director's comments about the ABs we read. (I shall have to endeavor to be a better person, but as for now I do in fact lack the trust requisite to giving 22 of you the password to the entire HumCore instructor webpage.)
Bibliography 1 (about Arnold Schwarzenegger):
There are ways that it could be argued that body building could serve as a kind of counterpublic (maybe) and that physical culture does tie to course themes (Swaraj as self-improvement, Hindutva on physical readiness, and Nazi body-consciousness). However, this student seems to be struggling without a well-defined central primary source or a sense of how to read a source like the film Pumping Iron rhetorically or as an implicit argument or a set of images that can be deconstructed. Given the fact that the student did find some scholarly sources, there might be hope for this project nonetheless. I'd grade it around the middle of the HCC grading continuum at a B-.
Bibliography 2 (about genetically modified foods):
Not only does this student seem to lack a set of texts or objects of study to interpret, this student also seems to want to write a policy paper and has merely assembled pro and con arguments. Even taking "making" as broadly defined as possible or treating food activists as a counterpublic, the paper seems borrowed from another context (perhaps a research paper from high school). I would want to discourage this student by giving a non-passing grade on this mini-assignment. No higher than a C-.
-Read Chaturvedi's essay about his first name Vinayak (CR 170-84).
-Find out a story about your first, middle, or last name or that of a family member. Better yet if the story reveals something about political/historical doing.
-Steve & Ivan will kickoff something about the essay, perhaps using one of these discussion questions if they like.
-And your annotated bibliographies are due on Sunday night (see next post below for instructions).
These are the HumCore writing director's comments about the ABs we read. (I shall have to endeavor to be a better person, but as for now I do in fact lack the trust requisite to giving 22 of you the password to the entire HumCore instructor webpage.)
Bibliography 1 (about Arnold Schwarzenegger):
There are ways that it could be argued that body building could serve as a kind of counterpublic (maybe) and that physical culture does tie to course themes (Swaraj as self-improvement, Hindutva on physical readiness, and Nazi body-consciousness). However, this student seems to be struggling without a well-defined central primary source or a sense of how to read a source like the film Pumping Iron rhetorically or as an implicit argument or a set of images that can be deconstructed. Given the fact that the student did find some scholarly sources, there might be hope for this project nonetheless. I'd grade it around the middle of the HCC grading continuum at a B-.
Bibliography 2 (about genetically modified foods):
Not only does this student seem to lack a set of texts or objects of study to interpret, this student also seems to want to write a policy paper and has merely assembled pro and con arguments. Even taking "making" as broadly defined as possible or treating food activists as a counterpublic, the paper seems borrowed from another context (perhaps a research paper from high school). I would want to discourage this student by giving a non-passing grade on this mini-assignment. No higher than a C-.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Class #16 postgame
It seems like every week we have one of those classes where we mostly just figure out what our upcoming schedule is. But those are useful days too. Anyhow, our next class on Wednesday will be half Virod and half annotated bibliographies. (It occurs to me that I should teach you how to do a proper works cited entry.)
Sample annotated bibliographies. We'll look at these in class on Wednesday. Click on the blue text for the annotations.
Basic guidelines for ABs: Summarize the thesis of the source in 1-3 sentences. Summarize its audience and purpose in 1 sentence. Discuss its relationship to your paper in 1-2 sentences (secondary source? primary source? how central? context? model? how does it relate to other sources... agrees? disagrees? reframes? etc.) Do this for at least one major primary source, two major secondary sources, and three secondary articles. But this may vary somewhat depending on your topic.
Read: C.R. 167-69 and answer your study question.
Note: In case this was bugging you, we are not going to do Discovery Task #6. It totally slipped my mind... turns out it's basically the same thing we did the day we were in the library.
Bonus: I recommend this excellent Malcolm Gladwell piece about strategies that underdogs use to defeat the more powerful (his examples range from David & Goliath to the full-court press in basketball)... I think this can relate to Gandhi & Savarkar.
Calendar:
5/10 = Sunday p.m. = Annotated Bibliographies due (email)
5/14 = Thursday p.m. = Research Prospectus (eee dropbox)
5/22 = Friday in class = Exam (substitute teacher)
5/27-6/5 = The Project = See reply below to view/add brainstorms
5/28 = Thursday p.m. = Working Draft of Rsch. Paper (dropbox)
6/13 = Saturday a.m. = Final Draft of Rsch. paper (turnitin.com)
Sample annotated bibliographies. We'll look at these in class on Wednesday. Click on the blue text for the annotations.
Basic guidelines for ABs: Summarize the thesis of the source in 1-3 sentences. Summarize its audience and purpose in 1 sentence. Discuss its relationship to your paper in 1-2 sentences (secondary source? primary source? how central? context? model? how does it relate to other sources... agrees? disagrees? reframes? etc.) Do this for at least one major primary source, two major secondary sources, and three secondary articles. But this may vary somewhat depending on your topic.
Read: C.R. 167-69 and answer your study question.
Note: In case this was bugging you, we are not going to do Discovery Task #6. It totally slipped my mind... turns out it's basically the same thing we did the day we were in the library.
Bonus: I recommend this excellent Malcolm Gladwell piece about strategies that underdogs use to defeat the more powerful (his examples range from David & Goliath to the full-court press in basketball)... I think this can relate to Gandhi & Savarkar.
Calendar:
5/10 = Sunday p.m. = Annotated Bibliographies due (email)
5/14 = Thursday p.m. = Research Prospectus (eee dropbox)
5/22 = Friday in class = Exam (substitute teacher)
5/27-6/5 = The Project = See reply below to view/add brainstorms
5/28 = Thursday p.m. = Working Draft of Rsch. Paper (dropbox)
6/13 = Saturday a.m. = Final Draft of Rsch. paper (turnitin.com)
Friday, May 1, 2009
Class #15 postgame
Post your Gandhi vs. Savarkar opinions here. (Which can make other intellectual comparisons like Luther vs. Kohlhaas, Guantanamo Bay, your revenge against the people who threw eggs at your dorm, whatever.) The question is whether the ends justify the means.
You should also read ch. 25-27 of the Course Guide, which will pertain to your research paper.
Over the weekend, I recommend that you skim through your top few research books and crack the best best one or two open and read them. Your research prospectus is due on Friday; see instructions below.
Rosa & Yen will do the next kickoff, about Chaturvedi's Monday lecture or something in the Savarkar text.
This book review gives some background on Indian religious history, specifically the idea that "Hinduism" is not one religion like Christianity or Islam, but rather a broad set of overlapping traditions.
Oh, and I am desperate for more suggestions for the Doing project. Thanks.
Research Prospectus (due Friday)
Write your prospectus in paragraph form. These are guidelines for what you should try to accomplish in each paragraph, but they're not necessarily in order, and they don't necessarily require equal space. You may notice that the sample prospectus I gave you before does all of these things, but in a completely different order. The purpose of this exercise is simply to create a preview of your research project so that you and I both know what we're getting into.
Paragraph 1
-your topic (one aspect of this might be clarifying what your topic ISN'T)
-how it relates to the theories we've studied in Core this year
-the key research questions you will answer
-your preliminary hypothesis for answering them
Paragraph 2:
-Summarize existing research on the topic
-Focus in particular on your shovel(s), since you won't have read most of the rest
-Even without having read all of the sources, indicate which you think will be most useful
-It might be appropriate to use short quotations from the shovel(s) here
Paragraph 3:
-Gaps in existing research (you don't need to have read everything to get a sense of this)
-Flaws/mistakes in existing research
-Disagreements in existing research
-It might be appropriate to use short quotations here
-How your paper will address these gaps/flaws/disagreements (model: think about how Savarkar does this)
-Your general timetable and plan of action (what's next, etc.)
Paragraph 4:
-Why is your research timely or important?
-Why should anyone care about your research?
You should also read ch. 25-27 of the Course Guide, which will pertain to your research paper.
Over the weekend, I recommend that you skim through your top few research books and crack the best best one or two open and read them. Your research prospectus is due on Friday; see instructions below.
Rosa & Yen will do the next kickoff, about Chaturvedi's Monday lecture or something in the Savarkar text.
This book review gives some background on Indian religious history, specifically the idea that "Hinduism" is not one religion like Christianity or Islam, but rather a broad set of overlapping traditions.
Oh, and I am desperate for more suggestions for the Doing project. Thanks.
Research Prospectus (due Friday)
Write your prospectus in paragraph form. These are guidelines for what you should try to accomplish in each paragraph, but they're not necessarily in order, and they don't necessarily require equal space. You may notice that the sample prospectus I gave you before does all of these things, but in a completely different order. The purpose of this exercise is simply to create a preview of your research project so that you and I both know what we're getting into.
Paragraph 1
-your topic (one aspect of this might be clarifying what your topic ISN'T)
-how it relates to the theories we've studied in Core this year
-the key research questions you will answer
-your preliminary hypothesis for answering them
Paragraph 2:
-Summarize existing research on the topic
-Focus in particular on your shovel(s), since you won't have read most of the rest
-Even without having read all of the sources, indicate which you think will be most useful
-It might be appropriate to use short quotations from the shovel(s) here
Paragraph 3:
-Gaps in existing research (you don't need to have read everything to get a sense of this)
-Flaws/mistakes in existing research
-Disagreements in existing research
-It might be appropriate to use short quotations here
-How your paper will address these gaps/flaws/disagreements (model: think about how Savarkar does this)
-Your general timetable and plan of action (what's next, etc.)
Paragraph 4:
-Why is your research timely or important?
-Why should anyone care about your research?
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