Narratives and Politics

William Safire discusses how politicians try to capture the persuasive power of narratives in his New York Times Magazine article this week.

Thus has political science dipped into the latest terminology of literary criticism to explain an election. In 1966, the essayist Roland Barthes declared, ''Numberless are the world's narratives,'' and his structural analysis of stories helped give birth to the discipline of narratology. In that year, Prof. Robert Scholes of Brown, now president of the Modern Language Association, co-wrote a book with Prof. Robert Kellogg titled ''The Nature of narrative,'' defining the word as ''all those literary works which are distinguished by two characteristics: the presence of a story and a story-teller.'' Reached at Brown, Scholes updates his brainchild: ''Right now there are competing narratives of actual events that go on. It's what we call 'spin' and 'spin doctoring.' After an event, there are people who want to control the perception of that event, and the way they do that is by intervening with a narrative.''

Safire's comments might be useful as folks are preparing for revisions of the narrative of citizenship paper.

Portfolio Workshops

As indicated on our syllabus, I have scheduled two portfolio workshops according to the final exam schedule:

8:00am December 9 in H&SS 106 (section 16--portfolios due at noon December 9)
8:00am December 14 in H&SS 106 (section 15--portfolios due at noon December 14)

Please include the reflective paper assignment sheet/syllabus with your signature on the back with your completed portfolio.

Paragraphing Fun Tomorrow

As part of our review/workshopping sequence, sections 15 and 16 will have some fun with paragraphs during class tomorrow. In short, we will work on transitions and unity and discuss topic sentences.

Checking Web Sources

I know we discussed your use of source material from the web, especially the expertise of the source. Well, apparently, we need a reminder. Many students used less-than-authoritative web sources. In fact, one person cited this guy as an expert on college athletics.

Some Editing Fun

During class tomorrow, Sections 15 and 16 will play with the mangled sentences I saved from your first case studies. While we're doing so, I will show you a nifty little trick in MSWord you can use while editing. You will want to shower me with gifts and money, but I, ever humble, will only accept a heartfelt "thank you." I know you're looking forward to tomorrow morning as much as I am.

Library Tomorrow

I want to remind sections 15 and 16 that we will be meeting in the classroom on the second floor of the library tomorrow morning. In preparation for tomorrow's class, think about how you want use use your source material and what kind of source material is best for your purposes. That is, consider the relative advantages and disadvantages of using the databases in DISCUS, the internet, print journals, government documents, etc. Then, depending upon the points you would like to make in your paper, where should you be looking for the sources that most effectively support your points?

Strongbad Writes an Engli(l)sh Paper

A student sent me Strongbad's approach to writing an English paper last fall, and I thought it might be time to post it here for inspiration as the stress of the end of the semester begins to wear us down.

Support Your Fellow Students . . . And Receive Extra Credit!

Students in sections 15 and 16 can earn up to two extra credit points by attending and analyzing the student debate tonight at 7pm in Pacer Commons Room 4C. Your analysis should discuss the different appeals the debaters use to support their claims and assertions in much the same way you developed your analyses of Susan B. Anthony's speech and the blogs.

Writing Room Workshop

I've been a little remiss in posting reminders of the Writing Room workshops here. Here is this week's workshop:

Sex, Profanity and Diction
Wednesday, November 3: 3:00pm to 3:50pm: H&SS 214
Dr. Sue Lorch

Don't forget to vote tomorrow.

Resource

The NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER FOR THE FIRST-YEAR EXPERIENCE AND STUDENTS IN TRANSITION at the University of South Carolina should have some useful stuff for folks considering papers about "working while in college" and "getting involved on campus."

Images and Documents, Anyone?

Some you may have noticed that Emily Johston has a couple images on her blog. Although blosgspot does not support images, Emily has discovered an external server to upload and display the images she has.

In what will certainly be a futile atttempt to learn more about this web and blogging stuff, I have gone ahead and retained my own external server. If you want to upload images and documents, please let me know. We can meet for a couple minutes, and I will gladly host your blog for the rest of the semester on the server I have retained. That way, when you post, you can simply click on the image icon and upload an image or a document. Email me if you are interested and have a great rest of the weekend.

Conferences

I have been plugging away at your mid-semester portfolios using the grade sheet we designed. The conference schedule is posted outside my office door, so please sign up for a conference if you haven't already done so. When you do, though, please be sure to sign up for a time at least twenty-four hours in advance. Doing so will allow me time to make sure I have your portfolio complete.

The Bedford/St. Martin's Workshop on Plagiarism

The Bedford/St. Martin's Workshop on Plagiarism is a straightforward discussion of plagiarism, academic honestly, and the development of an academic voice.

Grading Scale

As promised, I've uploaded the grading scale that we developed during class today. I'm pretty happy with it.

Remember to have your completed portfolios with you in class on Tuesday, October 4. I will then distribute the next assignment and syllabus. I hope you decide to post later versions of your blog analyses to your blogs, and, well, I hope you get some useful comments on them.

Tony-Nominated Playwright Accused of Plagiarism

According to an article in the New York Times a playwright nominated for a Tony Award (arguably the highest honor in drama) for the play Frozen has been accused of plagiarism by a psychiatrist and a columnist

The Candidates, Seen From the Classroom

Dr. Stanley Fish from the University of Iliinois, Chicago has an interesting article in the New York Times about how the two presidential candidates fared when he had his English 101 class compare excerpts from their speeches. Thanks to Dr. Hampton for pointing out the article.

Dr. Fish and his students take John Kerry to task for not clearly articulating his ideas. Dr. Fish then goes further, claiming that "if you can't explain an idea or a policy plainly in one or two sentences, it's not yours; and if it's not yours, no one you speak to will be persuaded of it, or even know what it is, or (and this is the real point) know what you are."

Hmmmmmm. . . . That sounds a lot like what I was saying about thesis statements the other day, eh?

Oops and Yippee

A big fat "Oops!" goes out to the lecture yesterday when I said that men were more likely to vote than women. In fact, since 1980 (I think) women are more likley to vote than men.

A hard-earned "Yippee!" because I think I managed to get the links to the blogs for sections 10, 13 and 25 back up on the course blog. (Harley and Riley still need to email me.) If the link to your blog is not working, please let me know.

"Framing" Your Analysis

I wholeheartedly concur with Paperwight's suggestion to read Mixing Memory's discussion of frames. A close look at how people frame their arguments can provide an excellent way to analyze those arguments.

By the way, Paperwight took the time to comment on the initial analyses from folks in sections 15 and 16. (Thanks, Paperwight!) Whether you received a comment or not, you should read everyone's blogs and consider Paperwight's comments as you continue drafting. As always, feel free to comment on any of the blog posts you come across as you are working on your analyses, whether those posts belong to other students, Paperwight, The Poorman, AmericaBlog, etc.

Thursday Reading, Plagiarism and the Course Blog

The link below to Thursday's reading seems to be working again. We will be discussing that reading as a class.

I also got started on links for a discussion of plagiarism and placed them in the left hand column.

Our course blog (this site) crashed this afternoon. I was able to salvage the left hand column and the middle column, but much of the right hand column was lost, including the links to Dr. Rhodes' sections. Please email me with your name, your blogspot address (URL), and the section in which you are enrolled. I will get everything straightened out as soon as possible.

Reading For Thursday

Here's the reading for Thursday. It's in "pdf" format, so you might need Adobe Reader in order to download and view the document.

Writing Room Workshop Re-scheduled

I created a scheduling conflict with this week's Writing Room Workshop and had to re-schedule. The new information is below.

The Timed Essay
Tuesday, September 21: 4:30pm to 5:20pm: H&SS 109
Prof. Karl Fornes

Blogs for Analysis

I've created links to two political blogs that you may wish to peruse as you complete your blog analysis--The Poorman and Paperwight. Feel free to choose your own blog for analysis, but you must meet with me to have it approved. The links will be on the left hand column for the rest of the semester.

Writing Room Workshop

Each semester, the Writing Room sponsors writing workshops led by English Department faculty. Many of the workshops will be useful for AEGL 101 students. See the announcement below:

Formal Writing Guidelines
Wednesday, September 8: 3:00pm to 3:50pm: H&SS 214
Prof. Vicki Collins

Analyzing Arguments

Dr. Andrew Cline put together a nifty little primer for analyzing arguments using Aristotle's proofs as a part of the Rhetorica Network. We will discuss Aristotle's proofs and the resources available at the Rhetorica Network in class on Tuesday.

The Candidate Viewer's Guide

I will be distributing this during class on Tuesday, but for those who would like a preview and others in Dr. Rhodes' sections, here is a viewer's guide to The Candidate. Enjoy.

Watching a movie is often an enjoyable and relaxing couple of hours. We eagerly pay ten dollars or more for tickets, popcorn, Junior Mints, a cold drink, etc. to have the opportunity to kick back and let the film come to us. Studying films, though, requires more energy on our part. When we study films, we are required to situate ourselves as active and critical participants in the viewing rather than passive receptors. The reward is a much deeper understanding of the film and appreciation of the work of the actors, directors, screenwriters, etc. Great films, like The Candidate, can be entertaining to watch passively but are best understood and appreciated through active and critical study. As you watch The Candidate (and the other films in the American Democracy Project Film Series), be prepared to take notes and pay attention to the subtleties of the acting, filmmaking, script, etc.

To assist you in doing so, I've put together this "Viewer's Guide to The Candidate" to serve as a framework for viewing the film. Of course, this is only a guide; Dr. Botsch and Dr. Dyer will also have important things to say about the movie. In short, I hope Thursday's discussion will include your observations and interpretations based upon your viewing of the film and the discussion afterward.

The Candidate is the second of two movies (The first movie is Downhill Racer in 1969.) in which actor Robert Redford and director Michael Ritchie collaborate to study the notion of "winning" in American society. As you watch, consider what the movie says about "winning" and the "American Dream."

HINTS:
o The "American Dream" is often associated with material prosperity and social success. Keep an eye on the sets--particularly homes and offices--and personal and professional relationships.

o Consider how Robert Redford's character is positioned in relation to different automobiles, especially how that position evolves over the course of the movie.

The screenwriter for The Candidate, Jeremy Larner, served as a speechwriter for U. S. Senator and presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy. Consider what the movie says about political campaigns, specifically the role of in-depth discussion and developed argumentation versus sound bytes and sloganeering.

HINTS:
o Consider how Robert Redford's character reacts to the lights, sound equipment, crowds, etc. in the various scenes in which he is giving a speech. In fact, try to keep track of how Redford’s character’s relationships with and reactions to all sorts of machines develop over the course of the movie.

o Although Howard K. Smith's (the television anchorman) commentary is most obvious, note the more subtle nuances in the script, especially when different characters discuss communicating (or not communicating) a message.

We will discuss the following questions in class on Thursday:
o What is the "turning point" of the film and why is it significant?

o What is the last line of the film and why is it significant?

o Is Robert Redford's character a "hero"?

Blogging The Convention

Dave Winer has put together a list of Weblogs from the 2004 Republican National Convention.

Abolish the Electoral College

It appears that the editorial staff at the New York Times would like to Abolish the Electoral College, and they have developed a compelling argument for doing so. What do you think?

More Background for the Declaration of Independence

As you read the section in Composing a Civic Life that describes the writing process, you might find "The Rocky Road to Revolution" from the July 2004 issue of the Smithsonian magazine useful as further context for Thomas Jefferson's challenges when writing the Declaration of Independence. (The document linked to above is a "pdf" file, so you might need Adobe Reader to be able to open it.)

Anzia Yezierska Notes

Here are some notes on Anzia Yezierska that Dr. Randy Bass of Georgetown University compiled as part of the Electronic Resources for the Heath Anthology of American Literature (3rd ed). Among other useful information, Bass implies some difficulties in understanding Yezierska's narratives as "strictly autobiographical."

100 Typical Questions

The document above was prepared by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service and includes 100 sample questions for prospective immigrants preparing for the history and civics test as part of their application for citizenship. (Twenty of the questions can be found on page 11 of Composing a Civic Life.)

For more immigration and citizenship resources, go to the "Resources for Further Inquiry" for Chapter One of the Composing a Civic Life companion web site above.

Welcome and Textbok Update

Welcome to the course blog for sections 10, 13, 15, 16 and 25 of AEGL 101. We will use this blog as a resource for course announcements and advice. The columns of this blog will also contain links to the student blogs organized by section.

Textbook Update

I spoke with the folks at the USCA Bookstore and they assured me that, as of 11am yesterday (8/19) there were some copies of Composing a Civic Life on the shelves. The bookstore also expects more copies to arrive on Monday. In the meantime, don't hesitate to check online booksellers such as Amazon for the text.