#homeworkjournal

[professorclaman-blog]

for Tuesday

we are starting by looking at the way basic arguments work, whether they are the sort we might use as a thesis, or the sort we use in everyday life.  to that end, as i stated in class, i want you to think about a conviction you hold dear, and i want you to have a go at applying reason to that conviction.  

consider the example i gave you in class, wherein i built up an argument regarding our founding principles in conjunction with the reality of our country’s incarceration rates; you will essentially be doing the reverse for homework: you will write down a belief (not religious, just something you feel strongly about, which pertains to life, and is not a mathematical formula), and then you will have a go at writing down some of the premises/facts-as-reasons that wold make your belief an arguable position.  

this is an informal exercise, and i absolutely do not expect you to write an essay.  homework journal entries are to be 150 words, so not even a page of double-spaced writing; keeping them short and informal, allows us to focus on the content of our ideas, as we learn to express them in more formal and lengthy formats.

[eveningdreamers]

Assignment 2

Please watch the State of the Union address (link provided in next post), and read the Bill of Rights (link provided in post after that).

You will respond to Obama's speech, and you will also print out the Bill of Rights, and bring it with you to class (complete with underlines/highlights and comments indicating that you read the piece and thought about it--make sure to mark and look up words you don't understand).

I would like your written response (aka your homework journal entry that you will be posting on your Tumblr page) to reflect on a specific issue brought up by President Obama.  I want you to take your chosen issue and link it to a reality in your life or lives around you.

[black-quose]

Who is the world’s famous person I want to meet? Sure! It has to be my forever idol. He was one of the best artists in golden age of arts. He was skilful and expert in arts’ way; moreover, once was main engineer of Milan. Even he was a person in 564 years ago; his inventions such as the winged gilder, scuba gear and the self-propelled car still make everyone feel surprising. The man was called as the genius person of renaissance age and was known as great soul of interdisciplinary. He was full of talent, effort and aspiration. The one who can combine arts and science together. He is Leonardo Da Vinci.

[black-quose]

journal#2

Then, what is the topic of this journal? Well, this's my first journal, let me start with something easy... What's about my favorite sport! That's sound nice, I have a lot of things to write about it.

I love many kind of sports, but the most favorite sport is Basketball. I'm not good at playing but I love it! I love when I'm in the gym covered by sportsman's tension, hearing ball's bouncing and sport shoes's creaking sound.

In the game, sure! everyone want to win, they have to practice so long ,maybe 3 or 4 months, to play and try all their best in just 40 minutes. I can't even blink during the game, cause basketball game's so fast! You can win or lose in just a second! what's exciting sport it is! 

[black-quose]

journal#1

good morning teacher, or should I say good afternoon? ah, how should I start this journal? I'm not good at writhing. I should say that i'm bad at writing, especially in English language. Actually, I love writing in Thai language, but I can't translate it all to English Language. Some words or phrases are very 'special', they have a spacial meaning that only Thai language can expose their truly deep meaning. This's my obstacle of writing in English language.  

[eveningdreamdetritus-blog]

Assignment 6

Write a second draft of your thesis (the thesis of your first paper assignment), as well as ideas you'd like to include in your paper, that incorporate some of the tactics employed in the essays you read for Monday.  In addition to tactics you observed on your own, I would suggest you use more imagery, make unexpected connections and references, include yourself as both the person providing facts AND the person feeling deeply.

Let yourself go down the rabbit hole.  Think of this as more of an experimental draft of your thesis and ideas to be explored in your paper.  I want you to go wild, or as wild as you are comfortable going, in considering the idea of the American Dream arrived at through various experiences belonging to you, and to those you interviewed.

Please submit this assignment by 9am Wednesday morning.

[eveningdreamdetritus-blog]

Assignment 3

Pick one of the three pictures above, then set to writing (please title your post the picture you have chosen).  Ideally you will try out what is often called “automatic writing” and you will just keep your hands on the keyboard typing away until you are done.  I think it would be useful to keep the picture open in a window while you write, and keep in mind ideas from our discussions (materialism, the state of the American Dream [intact or degraded], self-improvement, opportunity, never settling, feeling that what you have is never enough, etc.).  Please post your assignments on your tumblr accounts by 4pm Wednesday.  

  —EC

[eveningdreamdetritus-blog]

Assignment 3

As we discussed at length in class on Wednesday, for Monday you will be turning in an interview.  You will have conducted this interview with someone belonging to an older generation, be it your parents' generation, or grandparents'.  You will post your interview on your tumblrs.  You will have transcribed a minimum of five questions which you have asked your subject.  There will be at least a substantial paragraph before the interview in which you will set the scene, provide basic background information, and display your own voice as a writer.  Your writing can be inserted elsewhere in the interview as you see fit so long as it continues to enhance the interview in its presentation, and in the context of the American Dream.  Other requirements and suggestions for the interview, the sorts of questions you should ask, how to navigate potentially difficult subject matter, etc., were discussed in class, and you were asked to take notes, so I will not be recounting that information.  I am relying on you to use your own notes, talk to classmates if necessary, etc.; I am expecting you to show that you are responsible and resourceful.  If you have questions, by all means email me, but if the answers were explicitly discussed in class, I will direct you to your classmates for those answers.  

I want you to realize the amazing opportunity this assignment is granting you.  I expect you to approach and address your subjects with the utmost respect.  You have a chance to learn a great deal, and to form an important bond, or new facet of a preexistent bond, so get excited; this is more than just some required homework assignment, this is an opportunity to do and compose something truly meaningful.  And it might not be so bad to make a habit of embarking upon meaningful and engaging endeavors...