City Tech OpenLab



Aaron’s AssignmentsLiteracy: Reading Your Neighborhood. Words cover where you live and what you do there—and are a huge part of how you negotiate your streets. Today, there is another level, too: we even use words and images as an interface as we walk, ride and drive. It can seem that our smartphones with texting, cameras and GPS overlay our every movement. Using your smartphone, take pictures of your neighborhood and make notes of the words you see around you, on the street, and in the businesses you frequent. Placing your pictures and notes next to your computer, write an essay about the things you see every day and the words associated with them, concentrating on the relations between the things and places and the words, and describe how the words enhance relations with the things. That is, what would you know because of the words that you wouldn’t if they weren’t there. In your final paragraph, describe how your pictures and notes have enhanced your process of writing.Ethnographic Research: Who Do They Say They Are? We know a great deal less about the people around us than we believe we do, especially when they come from ethnic or religious backgrounds differing from our own. Using your phone, interview three people in your neighborhood who come from a single background different from your own asking at least five questions (the same ones) of each along with impromptu follow-up questions. Transcribe those interviews. Examine them for similarities and identify one issue all three respond to similarly. Then interview the three people a second time, asking three new identical questions on the one identified issue. Again, transcribe the interviews. Though this sample is too small to have any real validity, use the information you have gathered to write a paper describing the concerns of members of this group on the one issue, quoting from the interviews and citing information you find about the group from your library research (conducted after the interviews).Call to Action: What’s Wrong that Could Be Righted? What do you and your friends complain about the most? Listen as people you know talk and note what is bothering them most. Identify who could possible do something about the situation (an employer, a landlord, a college administrator, a politician). Research their position, identifying the limits of their responsibility on the particular issue. Write a paper with two purposes: First, to convince others to join you in advocating for change and, second, showing the responsible person a way of making that change.Multimodal Presentation: Putting It Together. Out of all the things you have done so far and from the pictures, notes, and recordings you have created, organize your information into a presentation highlighting your most important point from #2 or #3. Incorporate media from other sources as well so that you both inform and entertain your audience.Portfolio: What Have I Done This Semester? Organize all of your notes, your pictures, your drafts and your sources into a portfolio that clearly shows the progression of your work over the semester. Include an introduction, a table of contents, and a conclusion.Hi Robert,Great to see you and the ENG 1121 Pilot Group yesterday! I've typed up the rest of my draft assignments for the ENG 1121 pilot course we are discussing (and re-thought them a bit in light of the revised learning outcomes), and am attaching them here. Also, just reflecting on the "generalized" assignments from ENG 1101 that you and Carrie talked about, I was thinking about something similar for ENG 1121... I know we're heading towards these in the meetings, but here are a few preliminary ideas:"Generalized" ideas for 1121:Assignment 1 - A reflective and/or collaborative assignment about literacy growth over time (and possibly what was learned in ENG 1101), perhaps with consideration of genre or discourse communitiesAssignment 2 - Ethnographic field research assignment involving discourse communities and analysisAssignment 3 - Argumentative essay assignment involving a call to action, civic component, and a variety of different types of research - as well as consideration of audience and stakeholders (who has the power to take action on a solution?)Assignment 4 - Multimodal Transfer/Translation project, involving composing across a variety of genres, transfer, metacognition, and possible collaboration - perhaps with a reflection paper on transfer and/or rhetorical analysis of genresAssignment 5 - Portfolio?Hope you have a good week and looking forward to seeing everyone next Thursday morning!Best,Kim--------------------Draft Assignment Sketches for Pilot 1121 Spring 2019 Kim LiaoA loose course theme of “The Individual’s Role in Society”Assignment 1: Collaborative Literacy NarrativeReadings: Literacy: A Lineage (student example text)Literacy Narratives (from Everyone is an Author)Maybe something like “The Art of Nonfiction: Interview with John McPhee” from The Paris Review or other interview/conversation style writing piece about both author and writing choicesObjectives:Students examine their own metacognitive approaches to writingPractice using language to tell a compelling and logical storyCollaboration to interrogate each other’s experiences, practices, and synthesize ideas into a group-written merged textExplicit attention to playing with voice (one voice or many), consideration of audience, and what’s the point? – getting to an implicit claim or message about literacyRhetorical Situation/Jumping off question: What are best practices for reading and writing analytically to succeed in your academic environment? (What is needed to join a college discourse community?)Genre(s): Literacy Narrative, Collaborative Writing piece, writing in one voice or many voices (could even be done in an “interview” or “conversation” form)Prewriting Assignments: (taking place over 3-4 weeks of class meetings and hw)Define “literacy” for you – consider 3 formative literacy experiences and write at least one paragraph about each oneWrite a 3 page personal literacy narrative, tracing your journey to be the writer and student you are now, considering elements of reading, writing, and communication, and what practices you adopted to help you succeedShare in groups, and merge your best practices and voices into one 4-5 page collaborative narrative – define the form to make the most sense about the point you want to makePeer Review – maybe a kind of collaborative editing process within each group that we model as a full class – looking at “macro level ideas revision” vs “paragraph level” vs “sentence/word level”Final Drafts – perhaps read aloud to peers to share in the class discourse community?Assignment 2: Rhetorical Analysis of a Discourse CommunityReadings: something defining discourse communitiessomething offering a framework for rhetorical analysisone or more example textsObjectives:Define a discourse communityUnderstand and practice primary field research such as ethnography and/or interviewsUnderstand and use terms to analyze the rhetorical effectiveness, claims, and moves of a given speaker, writer, or communityDevelop a critical lens for analyzing the rhetorical claims of a discourse community across a variety of written/spoken/multimedia genresRhetorical Situation/Jumping off question: How do discourse communities make claims that situate them in relation to society, and to what extent are those claims effective? (For example: how does a special interest group or a cultural minority, professional association, or demographic group sway political leaders or influence elections, policies, or laws? i.e., labor unions, LGBT groups, cultural minorities, etc)Genre: Analytical academic paper, with a social “fieldwork” research component, could draw from conventions in both comp/rhetoric and also social science fields (possibly even APA style/citations etc). Ultimately, students will produce an evaluative essay making a claim about the extent to which a discourse community’s claims are effective, and how they are being madeSub-Tasks of Assignment:Define a discourse communityDo research – in the field, interview, ethnography, etcPick a claim or argument that someone from this community is making – or that the community as a whole is advancing – and analyze its effectivenessPrewriting Assignments: (taking place over 3-4 weeks, perhaps overlapping with all of the collaborative work of the former assignment sequence)Define Topic: Pick a discourse community – either a cultural group, religious group, political group, advocacy group, nonprofit organization, or other group linked by commonalities, interests, language, and literacy. Explain who and what this community is as you understand it – in a paragraph or two – and your relation to it. Why is it interesting to you? What aspects of this group are you interested in researching? How do you think they draw power in society? Brainstorm 5 research questions about this community to pursue in your research.Perform Research: Do an ethnography, field research visit, and/or interview with a member of the community. First, brainstorm a list of questions and then go into this community, and conduct a 30-60 minute interview, exploration, or visit into this group. Either record or transcribe your interview, or take detailed notes and type up a 2-3 page report of the research notes you captured in this community. Introduce your notes with a one-page letter to me. What happened? What were your impressions? Why? What other questions were raised by this encounter that you want to address?Analyze a Claim: Rhetorical Analysis Exercise – break down a claim or written text from the discourse community – what is their audience, how are they establishing credibility, using what types of rhetorical moves, ethos/pathos/logos, etcSynthesize Analysis into an Evaluative Essay: Write a Rhetorical Analysis Working Draft of 3-4 pages – addressing the question of how does this community fit into our society, and how does it situate itself? What kinds of claims is it making, and what is effective or not effective about these appeals? How does this community use its discourse to further an agenda on behalf of its members?Peer Review with Descriptive Outlining – what is being said and what is happening in each paragraph. Withhold judgment until the end of the critiqueFinal Draft should include a portfolio of Working Draft, Field Research Report, and Definition of Discourse Community.Assignment 3: Position Paper – Call to ActionReadings: excerpts from The Imaginative Argument, Frank CioffiTwo Op-Eds in the New York Times by Parkland survivors, “Don’t Let My Classmates’ Deaths Be in Vain” by Christine Yared and “A Young Activist’s Advice: Vote, Shave Your Head and Cry Whenever You Need To” by Emma GonzálezSomething specifically about calls to actionObjectives:develop arguments based on researchunderstand social and ethical consequences of writing – civic componentdefining problems and creating a research space for new ideas to be formedproblem – solution writing, and developing a strong research-based thesisRhetorical Situation/Jumping off question: What problems or issues within a given discourse community or in its relation to society need to be remedied with urgent action? What can we do to define and address pressing issues for our communities and those around us with less cultural capital or agency? (For example, consider issues such as voter suppression, low voter turnout within certain groups, empowerment of different communities, or defining an otherwise highly politicized problem in such a way that a productive conversation can take place…)Genre: Argumentative academic essay, considering audience – who has the ability to solve this problem, and who are we calling to action? (Consider how to reach these audiences, and what other genres might be useful forms – prelude to next assignment and multimodal transfer) How are you defining this problem and your call to action for an academic community of educated scholarsPrewriting Assignments:Pick an issue or problem that exists either for discourse community you analyzed in the previous assignment or for a different group within society. Consider how this problem exists either within a given community or stemming from its relation with society. Define this problem in 1-2 pages of low stakes writing: who is being affected? How? What are the stakes? Has this been going on for some time (many years or generations) or is this a relatively new issue, and what will happen in the coming years or generations if it is not addressed? Why are you interested in this problem and what are 5 research questions you have about it?Perform primary and secondary research do some kind of low-stakes writing putting sources in conversation with one another (like a more active Annotated Bibliography, or a chart of sources, claims, useful quotes, and analysis of agenda/credibility/etc of source)Brainstorm some solutions to this problem – what additional sources do you need to support the feasibility of this call to action, either by proposing a solution or establishing the dangers of inactionWorking Draft of Position Paper, Peer Review, Revision -> to a “Finalish” draft (perhaps option to revise as part of portfolio or after multimodal transfer project)Assignment 4: Multimodal Translation – Group Multimedia ProjectReadings: something on genresomething on visual/digital rhetoricmaybe something on podcasts or the resurgence of audio means of reaching audiences (like, “Podcasting is Getting Huge. Here’s Why” on Vox)Objectives:translate the arguments from argumentative call to action into two or more genres of multimodal writing and rhetoricreflect on the effectiveness of argument across different media and genres, addressing different audiences or prioritizing different facets of argumentcompose in a variety of genres – civic and public writing alsocompose in 21st century environmentsRhetorical Situation/Jumping off question:How can you reach audiences in the public sphere (outside of the academy) through different genres and media that reach audiences in different ways? How does your argument or call to action change when it is translated into new media? How does a given genre change the voice or persona of a writer? (consider transfer to writing situations beyond this class… projecting forward into the rest of college and beyond)Genre: Choice of two or more genres – anything from a podcast, PSA, video, commercial, website, interview, campaign, proposal, Op-Ed article, letter to the editor, open letter, feature magazine article, poster, brochure, speech, etc…Prewriting Assignments:In your group, read and review everyone’s Call to Action Position Papers. Take one argument from the previous assignment, and consider which audiences you want to reach beyond an academic audience. Which communities and stakeholders do you want to persuade? Write a brief plan for translating this argument into two or more different media or genres – discussing why you think these genres will be effective means of reaching your audiencePerform additional research – whether to deepen the argument or research on the conventions, style, features and voice of your particular chosen genresWith your group, produce these genres and present them to the class in an oral multimedia presentation, providing examples of the genres, and what choices were made to translate an academic argument into multimodal formsEach individual group member turns in a genre reflection paper, considering how arguments change through transfer to new media, genres, and appealing to different audiences. Consider how your own voice changed, and what appeals were most successful, in your opinion (kind of a mini rhetorical analysis of their own genre productions). How can addressing new audiences change the structure of an argument?Leigh D Gold Assignments for 1121:The Literacy Assignment:Students reflect/write a short essay about a transformative experience with reading or writing or an experience with writing or reading that taught them something—this can include an academic “lesson” learned or one of a more personal nature. This assignment can be connected to a text about reading and writing that the class read together. Students can be asked to find connections or differences between their own experiences and texts that they read. This can also work as a group project—students can be asked to compare their experiences with classmates in a group and then together present or write about the group's approach to reading and/or writing strategies.Another option: Read several texts on writing and reading: students choose one that most reflects their own experiences. Students then are asked to compare their own experiences with the text that they have chosen.Another option: Choose a literary text (one that the class has perhaps read together) and reflect on the experience of writing about and/or reading the text. This can also be linked to a response to a text on reading or writing—the goal here could be to think about how one can apply others' ideas about literacy to one's own experience with a text/s.Rhetorical/Ethnographical Analysis of an advocacy or discourse community:One assignment option: find a controversial figure/person in your academic field OR an important thinker/theorist/contributor in your academic discipline/field. Students can then do research about this person/figure including analyze a work, text, or theory. Students can explore why or how the person has made an impact in their field. Students can also be asked to write a text or create a work that imitates or models itself after the person whose work they chose to study.Another option: find a person in your field or profession to interview—this can be a field or profession that the student is hoping to pursue in the future, or, the field of the student's major. The student will have to write and plan the interview—students should also be able to reflect on why their interview questions are important to them and can also reflect on the interview experience. This could take place in several steps/can be spread out in several assignments.Another option: Student finds a lecture, talk, visual exhibit, religious event/sermon, or performance to attend—these can be related to political or social issues, political groups, or advocacy of some kind. Students can also choose a political debate or some kind of public meeting, forum, or political demonstration. Before choosing the event, the student might have options to not only choose the media/genre, field, political concern, etc., but also can do research about the artist, scholar, or, about related topics. The assignment can involve a review of the performance, a response to the lecture, or other types of written analyses of the event. (This could also expand into multimodal projects/responses to the experience)Rhetorical Analysis/Position Paper:One option: this can be linked to the above assignment that involves attending an event, lecture, performance, etc. The student can research the area/topic further that is linked to the event and choose a problem or controversy that is tied to the topic/field, or even to a particular individual/thinker/activist. The student can advocate for one particular side of this issue or present responses or even solutions to questions or problems raised.Another option: Student either reads or watches a televised political speech. The student then can discuss one aspect of the speech including do research on some or one of the issues that the speaker/speech discusses/raises. The student can respond to the speech in several ways: this can entail arguing against or for specific arguments or concepts. This can also involve researching connections to to other writers, theories, or texts—for example Emerson's influence on political theorists and civil rights leaders, etc. The assignment can include the writing of one's own speech to present in front of the class.Another aspect of this might be designing an assignment that can lead to a debate—students can be grouped based on topic/side of argument/s, or other relevant factors.Multimodal Project:Students can read an article or articles from magazines, newspapers, or academic journals (book chapters perhaps or other types of texts—autobiographies, memoirs, or ficitional works, etc.) related to one of the topics that they focused upon in one of the projects/assignments throughout the semester. Students can then choose one of these types of texts to model their own writing after—their task would be to present their opinions on the topic/controversy/person/figure, etc. following one of these rhetorical styles or genres. Or—students can choose visual or other media to present their ideas on the topic/s based on their other assignments.Another option here might be to take the discourse community project further and find a literary text that somehow connects or responds to the topic or person (important figure from an academic field or discipline—for ex: Einstein or Alan Lightman if one were studying physics, Karl Marx economics, Basquiat if one were studying art or design, Frank Gehry architecture, Kendrick Lamar, Mercedes Sosa music, etc).Students can then pair a text by Ursula K Le Guin such as “Schroedinger's Cat” with a text by Einstein or a poem by Langston Hughes can be read and researched after attending a Black Lives Matter rally, or after going to a talk about police brutality, “The Veldt” can be paired with a talk on technology dependency, etc.Another possible assignment: pairing a visual work with a literary text: this can also emerge from or be connected to a project that involves advocacy or a discourse community.CARRIE HALL-1121 UNITS DRAFTUnit 1 is attached below. Robert sent out Unit 2 (Beyonce rhetorical analysis) Unit 3: Call to action—Magazine Article. This is pretty much a rip-off of Nelson Graff, but here I would work with the class to brainstorm a series of problems in the community (not ONLY the MTA) that we need to write about. I would ask students to find three sources—one visual (youtube video, comic, etc,) one imaginative (short story, film, etc) and one non-fiction about the topic. Possibly substitute an interview for the imaginative category. Students find a “mentor article.” This is an article in the publication they wish to write for, written for the audience they wish to write for, written in a style they admire. Students do an informal rhetorical analysis of the mentor article—and also answer the questions: what is this writer doing that I want to emulate? Why? How will I do that? What is this writer doing that I do not want to emulate? Why? How will I avoid writing in this way?Students will write an article, with at least two images for the publication they have chosen using their rhetorical analysis of their mentor article as a guide. Unit 4: Multimodal/ Metacognitive unit—How-to Writing TutorialStudents research any number of how-to genres (the YouTube tutorial, a how-to website, a brochure) Students (maybe in groups?) produce one of these artifacts—about how to write a particular type of document.Unit One: Education Part One: Students read “Hidden Intellectualism” by Gerald Graff and “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” by Gloria AnzalduaStudents write Education narratives of their own (assignment sheet attached)Students’ narratives are compiled into a cool-looking ebook. I will put them in groups. They will each be responsible for reading approx. 4 other narrativesPart Two:Students read a 5 page excerpt from Friere (“The Banking Concept of Education”) and write a low-stakes “difficulty paper” on what, specifically, they found difficult or confusing about the text. In class, we talk about difficulties, and we also talk about vocab strategies. We come up with a plan for rereading.Students must REREAD Friere. They write another low-stakes assignment “What they learned from rereading.”In-class, we develop essay questions about Friere. Historically, I have Christenbury questioning circles (attached) but I may see where we get from asking them what they learned from rereading and what they still want to know. The point here, however, is that I want STUDENTS to help me come up with essay prompts that incorporate both Friere and the education experiences of themselves and other writers. Part Three:I look over the essay prompts students have written and pick the 3-4 I think they could really write an essay on. I talk to them about why I have chosen these prompts. Students write a paper in which they discuss Friere, themselves, and their peers in relation to education. ................
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