Seriously Funny              

Don’t forget the double-entry journal for “Arguing” and “Evaluating Logic of Argument,” also due on Monday.

Mudpit:

What does your text or artifact say about what we value (and don’t value)?  What does it say about how we see things?

How is this text or artifact representative of us?  What truths does it tell—or—what myths does it perpetuate?

Look at it through the lens of race, class, age, gender, or sexuality (e.g. In Superman I and II, Lois Lane is an ambitious reporter, nervy enough to get herself into enough trouble, but not strong enough to get out without the help of a (super)man.  The movie, filmed during the conservative backlash of Reagan’s 1980’s, serves as a rebuke to feminism.)

WWKS?*

*What would Klosterman say?

Mudpit

For your last 750, you spent some time in phase 1 of analysis on your text or artifact: naming & noticing. Now you’ll either want to spend more time in this phase, or proceed to phase 2: making connections. Here are some questions to help you in phase 2:

Do any of the components relate?  Do you see any patterns? Can they be grouped in any meaningful ways?

Do any of the components remind you of anything else?  What associations can you make?

Personal connection: what is your reaction to the text? How might you explain that reaction?

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“Porn” in Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs

Think about the way that your generation uses the Internet. What does it say about your generation? What can it “teach us about ourselves?” (Klosterman 112) What is it that you all want?

Is it different from what you all want in real life (like Klosterman’s example on page 113 of the guy in the bar)? If so, how do you account for the difference? What does the difference say about the internet and/or your generation?

Pornography was a big driver of internet growth in its first decade. Social media has driven the better part of the last decade. In the way that Klosterman “reads” internet porn, read social media. What does it say about us? About what we want? Focus on developing your ideas with this.

Mudpit: Naming & Noticing:

Your small-groupmates helped you get a start on this phase of analysis on your text or artifact. Now you’ll extend this phase in your mudpit by adding a whole bunch of concrete, specific things you notice about your thing.

It’ll help to have your text or artifact in front of you. If it’s a show, watch it, pausing frequently to take notes. If it’s a toy, get it in front of you and examine it closely. You get the idea.

Remember to slow down & pay attention to each detail. Resist making judgments or jumping ahead to conclusions now, because they’ll most likely be pretty obvious, shallow interpretations. Remember, too, that the more time and energy you sow in the early stages of analysis, the more goodness you’ll be reap in the meaning-making phase.

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“Billy Sim” from SEX, DRUGS, AND COCOA PUFFS (remember to bring your annotated copy to class so you can refer to it in discussion)

Mandatory one: From p. 16: “Clearly, video technology cages imagination; it offer interesting information to use, but it implies that all peripheral information is irrelevant and off-limits. Computers make children advance faster, but they also make them think like computers.” Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Why? Back up your claims with specific evidence.

In what ways is this essay bigger and broader than The Sims and Chuck Klosterman? How (and where) does this connect to something larger?

How do Klosterman’s ideas develop as the essay goes on? How are they challenged (by himself and others)? Does he seem to change his mind about anything? Is your mind changed about anything?

What is Klosterman doing in this essay that you’d like to try in your own work?

Invention Work:

List TV shows, cartoons, video games (new or old) that you’ve enjoyed.

List board games or toys (new or old) that you’ve enjoyed.

Required: choose a cultural artifact from your lists, or from some other part of your brain, by Friday’s class. Write a bit in this 750 about why you chose this particular artifact.

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Content:

Pretend you’re Steve Almond, and fire back at the writer of “The Great Escape.”

(10 point assignment)

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First, look at your data. Read your log entries, looking for patterns, connections, holes or missed opportunities.

Write a one or two page summary, using the guiding questions below as a springboard. Specific detail, good use of concrete evidence to support your claims, and honest self-reflection will be appreciated (see? this uses the same skill set as essay-writing). Vagueness and grade-grubbing will make me feel like we’re all wasting our time here.

Formatting and narrative design is largely up to you; my only request is that this summary has at least two separate sections: one for contribution and one for learning.

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Some guiding questions:

What have you learned in this last unit? Did you make any breakthroughs? Did you run up against any brick walls?

What kind of progress have you made toward the goals you outlined in your writing autobiography?

A seminar is an ongoing project, built and powered by students. Describe your contributions to our ongoing project.

What will you do differently in the future? In terms of contribution and learning, what are your goals for the next unit?

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Post your C&L summary to the end of your running record on GoogleDocs (all in the same document as your writing autobiography and guided reflection letter; don’t create a new doc) before the beginning of your class on Monday.