Thinking some more about Thoreau

Random Picture: Don't you feel better knowing
there are moths bigger than your head?
I bet they didn't have these at Walden Pond.

Still working with Where I Lived, and What I Lived For on page 276 of your books, search Thoreau for the following assertions we worked with in class today. They are all there. Most are explicit and some are implied.

1. You can never truly know anything without experiencing it for yourself.
2. We have very little control of our lives.
3. Most people move through life half asleep, as if they were on autopilot.
4. The reality of a thing or situation is often different than our initial impressions of it.
5. Truth is something that exists far away (in time and/or space) that we will come to know someday in the future.
6. In order for true community to take place, individuals must know themselves and have something to contribute.
7. Our lives will never have meaning until we know ourselves deeply.

The last couple are more implied in the passage. Rather than finding a single reference for those, you'll likely need to combine a few references. Oh, and blog them once you find them. ;)

Just in case you didn't notice the shadow of its
wing on her face in the picture above, here's another to
establish size perspective. That moth is on the same side
of the door as the person taking the flash picture.
Moths seek the light, right?

Where I lived, and what I lived for

Walden Pond

First, in the spirit of Thoreau, turn off all your electronics: phone, TV, radio, iPod, etc.
Second, annotate the heck out of that first paragraph. Look for antitheses, diction (look up words you don't know and write down the definitions), opinions and attitudes (look for layers and subtleties), etc., etc. Wrestle with the first paragraph for half an hour. Suck the marrow out of it.
Third, read the rest of the passage found on page 276 of your book.
Fourth, blog Question on Rhetoric and Style numbers 1-2, 4-9
Finally, reflect on his ideas. Do you agree? Are they extreme? To what purpose might they be extreme? What would it mean for you to do something similar to Thoreau? Reflect on the value in Thoreau's ideas and their practice.

Research Synthesis Paper

This paper is going to be a lot more independent than the pop culture paper. You have 13 choices with a number of sources provided for each. One difference is that you are required to use at least two outside sources of academic quality.

 Requirements

• 1500 words long 
• Full MLA format (see MLA OWL link to sample pages on the blog) 
• Use at least three sources from the conversation section that corresponds to your topic 
• Use at least 2 outside sources – acceptable sources include: 
• Books 
• Reputable periodicals such as Harpers, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Seattle Times, etc. 
• Any ProQuest resource (User name: W417CFIFED Password: welcome) 
• Many websites are questionable sources and Wikipedia is verboten.

Due
May 24, 2012

These papers will graded with the concerns of the AP synthesis rubric in mind, though since this is not a rough draft an increased emphasis will be placed on format and conventions.

Alternate Technology Option

Enjoyed the Hunger Games? Check out this interview with Suzanne Collins.

The bird in the machine

Read the essay on page 601 in your books and come up with one discussion question you'd like to discuss in class.

Papers

______________'s paper

A number of people spent much of Sunday stranded in a foreign land. Given my heartfelt aversion to reading poorly thought through and constructed papers and the decided pleasure that comes from reading papers that are buoyed by creative vision and honed by ruthless revision, I have offered those that were on the Jazz trip an extra 24 hours.

If those of you who were not stranded outside a bus that was in no danger of catching on fire want to put your papers through an extra round of revision, you may turn your papers in on Tuesday as well. If you'd rather not look at it anymore, you may turn it in whenever you like before the deadline. Well, it is a free country so you could in fact turn it in after Tuesday, but then it would be late of course. (<--- humor)

Citing Sources
Remember when you're citing the essays from our textbook, they are sections/essays in an anthology. The three people on the cover are the source editors, and whoever actually wrote the article is the section author.

No Unmarked Woman

Charge of the jumpsuits!

So, this idea of marked and unmarked gender styles is interesting. The more I think about it, the more I think it is true. But Deborah Tannen's article is constructed in an interesting manner as well. To examine that structure and the techniques she used to get her point across, blog the questions 1-8 on page 393. Due Wednesday.

For your papers, remember to review the research paper resources and let me know if you have questions on Wednesday about how to format your papers and cite sources. Also see the MLA links in the right link column. 

Lastly please remember your books tomorrow. You'll be reading About Men and Being a Man and doing the group work we discussed in class: compare the essays in terms of their argument and their rhetorical approach.