At-Home Activity (due 9 AM 4/21)

Group, here's the survey I told you about. I'm trying to collect some data regarding what you know about MLA and how you use your sources. I'm also curious to see if you have ideas for the new project before we meet again on Thursday. Thanks!

At-Home Activity (due 8 AM Thurs., 3/24)

For Thursday, here's a survey that will allow me to see what your plans are for the Photo Essay!

Remember, we'll be in D133 again.

At-Home Activity (due 9 AM Thursday, 3/10)

I know you're busy tonight with finishing up your profile drafts for our deadline, but before we leave for Spring Break I really need us to start our next unit. In preparation for that I have an article for you to read. It provides an overview of a book called On Looking: Eleven Walks with Expert Eyes, by cognitive scientist Alexandra Horowitz. Rather than read the book, this article will give us a quite in-depth discussion of what it's exploring.

I will warn you that it's not something to scroll through; nor is it something you can zip through in a few minutes. Mentally prepare yourself. That said, it's fascinating, and it's about psychology: and how our brains notice (or not) the world around us. In the book, Horowitz takes a walk around her New York block, and in each chapter, she brings along a different expert--one is her toddler! and one is an artist. Others include a a geologist, and a graphic designer. In each case, that expert notices completely different things. So you'll read about some of those differences (and what's going on that our brains work that way).

Here's the survey, due 9 AM Thursday. Do the reading. We're shifting gears, slowly, away from merely writing about ourselves or writing in more popular genres, and toward the more intellectual pursuits we arrive at in college.

And here's where we're heading with this. You'll be touring your own neighborhood and putting together a photo essay. Just like the experts in Horowitz's book have a "perspective" that allows them to notice certain things, we'll define a perspective for you to have on your own walk. I'll have that assignment posted for Thursday's class, and then you'll have time over break to do some initial thinking, planning and exploring.

What You Should Do for Tuesday, 2/23

There's no survey for next class, but I want you to continue with the work we started today. Given that it would be ideal to interview someone next week or next weekend at the latest, you should consider:

• The time frame for the project (in fact, READ the project now, posted under "Project Requirements" in the menu above, if you haven't already). 
• Your possible interviewee's and your schedule—can you make it work, given the deadlines?
• What focus you'd have with that person. If it's their job or some other activity they do, is there a chance you could interview them at that location? It would be helpful for some of the observable details you'd have for inclusion in the piece.
• How close you are to the interviewee. That is, be forewarned that interviewing a significant other, a parent, a sibling . . . can be a challenge. Sometimes the piece ends up being more about YOU and how much you love/admire them. A profile isn't about you. Sometimes the piece ends up being unfocused, because you're so close to the person you can find a focal point, and so write about everything. If you interview someone close, try to be as objective as you can, and still set up a formal interview time. Also, word of advice: keep yourself out of the essay. 
• Get working on writing questions. In fact, I'd like you to BRING A DOZEN QUESTIONS, TYPED. I'LL BE COLLECTING THEM AND COUNTING THEM AS AN ACTIVITY. If it helps, here are the sample Q's we looked at in class, and here is the slideshow, too.

At-Home Activity (due 8AM Thurs., 2/18)

So, we spent Monday talking about biography VERSUS profile, in order to understand what profile is all about. But we've also been working with VIDEO versions of the form. What's a WRITTEN profile look like?

Well, here's an example of a written profile. It's a profile of Al Yeganeh, who ran a very popular New York City soup restaurant. In fact the place was so popular (and he was so interesting as a person) that he was the inspiration for the "Soup Nazi" character on Seinfeld.

Read the piece (it's short!) for Wednesday, but just as important, head over to the survey to start thinking about the piece. 

At-Home Activity (due 9 AM Tues., 2/16)

This task will help get us ready for a new unit, which will be about writing a PROFILE of a person. Over the weekend, you're going to start thinking about what that IS exactly by watching a visual version of one . . . and contrasting that with a visual version of another kind of exploring people's lives, the BIOGRAPHY. You'll see some obvious differences between the two, differences that are important (and useful) as we switch over to the written version of the form.

So, here's what to do before 9 AM Tuesday!

• Start off by going here, to a search I set up for A&E Biography videos. Pick one, and watch the first ten minutes of it. I want you to think about how that film attempts to present a person's life . . . How does the piece begin? Why are they talking about the person you chose, anyway? What kind of info do we get so far?
• The thing I need you to watch in its entirety is a short film by Errol Morris (he's one of the most significant filmmakers of our time, and I LOVE HIM OKAY). Morris is a documentary filmmaker, and he did a tv series called First Person, where he PROFILES people. You're going to watch his profile of Joan Dougherty called "Soaking in It." View the film below; it's in three parts. I will warn you that Joan's job, which is a focal point, is pretty gruesome (she's a crime scene cleaner, so she deals with death). But she's an amazing and interesting person, and my students usually really, really like the video. As you watch, think about how different the piece is from the BIOGRAPHY example you saw. 
• As always, I've got a survey for you. It's short, and mostly I want to make sure you're seeing the differences between these two ways of documenting people's lives!

Please note that if there's something going on right now with you that makes the idea of watching a video about a crime scene cleaner particularly challenging, e-mail me (just don't wait too long). We can try to find another vid for you. But honestly, my students really like learning about Joan's life.

At-Home Activity: Survey on Your Project's Progress (due 9 AM Tues., 2/1)

For Tuesday's class, keep working thinking about (and even generating some writing for) our first project. It's fine to use Google Drive and type some description of your object, or try to tell a story you associate with it. Don't worry about whether the writing is "any good." Just get some text there. Time yourself if you like. Make yourself write for 15 minutes on the above, and that's that. Then at least when we get to the lab Tuesday you'll have *something*.

In addition, I'd like you to respond to this survey by 9 AM that day. Thanks very much!

At-Home Activity: Writing and Objects (Due Thurs., 1/27)

For Thursday's class, we're going to move on from seeing examples of photographs about objects to reading some examples of writing about them.

Just so you know, you have the ability to view the first project's official requirements. They are posted under the menu at the top of the blog: Project Requirements, but you can read them right here, too. So please, take a look at that first, and then move on to these two readings:

• "Ode to an Orange," by Larry Woiwode
• "Life without Go Go Boots," by Barbara Kingsolver

There will be no survey, but I want you to bring some writing to class. For both of these pieces, I want you to write down the following (and typing it would really be helpful):

• For each essay, what are some of the most vivid details (the ones you could really picture in your mind and "see")?
• For each essay, what do you think the writer was trying to focus on, exactly? There are lots of details and bits used for different reasons, but what do you think the "real" subject matter was that the writers were exploring here?

That's it: read the assignment, read the pieces, and bring writing to class in response to the above. See you Thursday!

At-Home Activity: On Photography (Due Tues., 1/26)

Here's what I'd like you to work on for Tuesday's class, as we delve more deeply into the idea of composition—regardless of whether it's visual or written (heck, we should think about music, too, don't you think?). The reading material I talked about in class Wednesday is HERE. It's from a book on photographic composition by photographer Jim Miotke.

I recommend right-clicking and choosing to download the reading, since it's nearly 3MB, but try clicking anyway, and just be patient if you have a slow connection. The file is a PDF. You should be able to view it, but if for some reason you can't, it's possible you don't have Adobe Reader (a free download). That's the way it goes sometimes as we get started with tech things :D By all means print up the reading (it's only 15 pages, much of it photographs) so you can mark it up with your own notes and comments. You can bring that to class next time, too, so you can reference it if necessary. It's not a requirement to print it, but marking it up physically helps you engage with and remember things better, and that's a good strategy.

We'll also do what is ultimately Survey #3 this time, too, which you can find HERE. Remember that this needs to be completed by 9 AM Tuesday.

FINALLY. I'd like you to come to class with a photograph on your phone. Use Miotke's advice, and take a photo of some OBJECT of yours. It doesn't have to be special. It could just be something that is interesting-looking to you. It can't be a living thing. Take as many versions as you need in order to find your favorite to share in class.

So to recap, you have READING to do, a SURVEY, and a PHOTO to take. It's not a lot, and you'll likely enjoy it all a great deal. Have fun!

The First At-Home Activities (Due 1/21)

Ok, so mostly I need to get some information from you—but you've also got some work to do with the course syllabus.

Start here, with a technology survey. In fact, this will be the first of many surveys this term: it's my primary way of finding out what you're understanding so I can best prepare for class. Typically, I'll tell you in class about the surveys (I don't have every one planned out). The survey's remain "open" until the morning of our next class, until 9AM.

The surveys aren't optional: they're how I log your At-Home Activities for the contract, and they're simply part of "doing the work" of the course.

After you finish the tech survey, read the syllabus. It's in the menu bar at the top of the screen. You'll notice that I have quicker links in the menu bar to some segments of the syllabus, like the contract and schedule, for future reference.

When you're done with the syllabus, I've got another survey for you. Again, keep in mind that I will shut off responses at 9 AM on Thursday.

Finally, be ready for Thursday by making sure you have a camera handy. Ideally, it will be a phone camera, but bring what makes sense for you. See you then!