your memoirs... published?!

Students of English I,

Each year the English Department publishes Telling Our Stories, Sharing Our Lives, a collection of writing inspired by the common summer reading and generated by students of English I. We are excited to be beginning this process again and will be sending out details about submissions in the near future, so be on the lookout for forthcoming information from your professor. In the meantime, we wanted to send along a link to the new (and not entirely finished) webpage to accompany the publication.

http://www.thenextinline.com/tos3/index.html

This link allows you the opportunity to view the work of students from previous years. While, most of the entries fall under the category of memoir, we welcome new and creative approaches too!

essay #1

This rubric has been ever so slightly revised in order to clear up the few typos I mentioned in class. So please read over it thoroughly. And, as always, email me with questions and/or concerns regarding this assignment.


• Due Date: 9/23/09
• Length: three to six typed and stapled pages
• Formatting: one-inch margins; 12pt. font, Times New Roman; MLA citation
• Grade: a standard letter grade will be given

For this assignment I ask that you choose one of the two following options; you may choose only one: (1) write a memoir/autobiography of your own life, or the life of an immediate family member or close relative; (2) write a formal essay which compares and/or contrasts at least two of the readings from segment one, these include Du Bois, Obama, and Washington.

Tips for Option 1:
• Choose to focus on one specific event, or series of inter-related events that illustrate or discuss a similar theme, issue, problem, or challenge that you and/or your family has encountered
• Tell a story of emigration, travel, quest, pilgrimage, or journey
• Share your religious beliefs and how they have affected your life
• Discuss a hobby, passion, ritual, or habit that has helped shape you as an individual
• Celebrate a family member or close friend of yours that has either passed or is alive
• Discuss a moment of particular strife or challenge; that is, offer details concerning a life-lesson, if you will

Tips for Option 2:
• Theme(s) or issue(s) that you have discovered to be common between the authors and/or texts you have chosen is a good place to begin your comparison
• To contrast, offer the ways in which the authors are different; focus on their overall argument, goals, desires, etcetera…
• Use class notes to supplement your evidence and support, if need be
• It would behoove you to read the following post, regarding formal essay/paper descriptions. I posted this early in the term. It describes how your essays and papers will be graded, based on their qualities, aspects, and characteristics.


General tips:
In your introductory paragraph:
-- Be sure to introduce the overall point(s) or purpose of the memoir or essay; that is, what is it that you are trying to share with your audience, what are you trying to argue, and why?
-- You may wish to identify who your possible audience may be in this introduction, and how this memoir or essay will affect them should they read it.
-- Remember, you are not writing this essay for me, your professor. Imagine that you will “publish” it via one form or another to an imagined audience outside of this classroom.

In your body:
-- Be sure that each paragraph is following the “course” or “path” set by the introduction; that is, ask yourself: how does each body paragraph highlight and expand upon the main idea or thesis offered by the essay’s beginning? How does each body paragraph provide further evidence in support of your argument or purpose?

In your conclusion:
-- Be sure to summarize your paper’s main point(s)
-- Also, you may wish to offer “what’s next”; that is, ask yourself, what are the implications of the memoir or essay that you have written? How can/will the things you discuss be implemented in the future? What is the next step you will take? How will this writing affect the larger, greater world?

VIP! Should you quote any reading or text we have read thus far, be sure to properly cite each source using parenthetical citation. Use the handout on citation for assistance. You may also use the MLA section within Hacker’s Writer’s Reference for further assistance with this necessary requirement. A “Works Cited” page or bibliography is not needed for this paper.

Note: You will have the option to revise this first essay, due at the time of Essay #2. The revised grade with be averaged with the first grade to obtain a mean score which will be recorded as your final grade for this paper. This revision option remain for each paper submitted for this course!

reading for 9/14 and journal #3

For Monday please read Chapter XIV of Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery. This chapter is vital because it includes the "Atlanta Exposition Address", which Washington delivered at the Cotton States and International Exposition in September of 1895. During this speech Washington outlines his philosophy regarding "the great and intricate problem" of Negros in the post-slavery South. To help you complete this journal assignment, I've offered some guiding questions and comments below. Use them if you'd like or follow your own direction...

Pay attention to Washington's overall argument and how it is supported. How does he mean to "cure" the Negro problem of the late 1800's? What does he advocate for? What is his attitude, his mood, his means of approach? Compare and contrast your observations with those made when reading WEB Du Bois and Barack Obama's memoir. How do these three social advocates differ? How are they the same? Which author and/or text do you find more compelling? Why?

Remember to parenthetically site any quotations that you offer!

Monday's reading passage can be found on the web here. If you're interested in the other chapters contained within Washington's autobiography look for the following link-bar located towards the top of the page:

Booker T. Washington > Up from Slavery > XIV. The Atlanta Exposition Address

Click the title and you're off to the beginning, with information about the author and the text. It even includes a table of contents.

If you're interested in downloading and printing a Word Document version of the Washington selection, you can do so here.

You may also find Chapter III of Du Bois's Souls to be illuminating... as it is a direct response to Washington's social theories.

journal #2 (9/9)

After reading the Du Bois selection, consider responding to some or all of the following questions in this journal entry:

What is the argument that Du Bois is trying to make in "Of Our Spiritual Strivings"? How do you think Du Bois's concept of double-consciousness applies to Barack Obama's text? Think about the way Obama describes his feelings, thoughts, and emotions throughout the first section, "Origins". In what ways does Obama react to the various life-changing situations he experiences? What events in Obama's life relate to some of the things that Du Bois discusses nearly a century earlier?

Do you think that double-consciousness, as described by WEB Du Bois, can be extended beyond the" polarized" races of black and white? Is there the possibility of a triple-, multi-, or poly-consciousness? How does this "fragmented" consciousness affect the individual? How does ownership and/or possession factor in here?

Explain your answer using either course text, if not both, as support. Draw from personal experience too, if you can, when answering these questions. Be sure to cite the appropriate page numbers if you quote something!

WEB Du Bois - The Souls of Black Folk

For this upcoming Wednesday, 9/9, please read the first chapter "Of Our Spiritual Strivings" in Du Bois's text The Souls of Black Folk, which I will distribute during our class meeting today, 9/2. I have included a link to the entire text, should you be interested in reading further. I would highly, highly recommend that you read the next two chapters "Of the Dawn of Freedom" and "Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others". You'll find many things illuminated between Du Bois' words, feelings, and argument with that of Obama's sentiments and general narrative in his text Dreams.

While the document may indeed be read below, perhaps it would be easier to find the book in the original context on Google Books... To do this click on the "More about this book link". Follow that to pop-up page. There you should see a headline named "Book overview". You're going to click the link titled "Read this book". Also, conveniently you can download the book, in its entirety, as a PDF document.

Enjoy!

new hw/assignment shortcut added & library reminder

Hey everyone. Just some vip fyi...

I've added a new shortcut to the schedule of readings and written assignments to the right-hand side taskbar. It's right under the email roster and syllabus shortcuts. I will be vigilant in keeping this schedule current, so check the blog frequently for reading homework and the due dates of written assignments and journals.

Also, don't forget tomorrow 9/2/09 we meet in the library, room 242 at our regularly scheduled meeting time.

journal #1 (9/2)

What are some expectations and goals that you have for this first semester? Describe your feelings about your upcoming college experience, or your college experience thus far. We’ll revisit these at the end of the term.

important dates this fall term and disabilities disclaimer

1. Thursday, September 3 - Last day to add a course
2. Thursday, September 10 - Last day to file Pass/Fail application
3. Thursday, September 17 - Last day to drop a course without a grade
4. Thursday, October 15 - Last day to file for Fall 2009 Graduation
5. Wednesday, November 11 - Last day to apply for withdrawal from a course with a W (non-penalty) grade
6. Thursday, November 12 - Last day to resolve Spring/Summer 2009 Incomplete grades
7. Thursday, November 12 - Last day to resolve Spring/Summer 2009 ABS grades


Statement in reference to the Center for Student Disability Services:

In order to receive disability-related academic accommodations students must first be registered with the Center for Student Disability Services. Students who have a documented disability or suspect they may have a disability are invited to set up an appointment with the Director of the Center for Student Disability Services, Ms. Valerie Stewart-Lovell at 718-951-5538. If you have already registered with the Center for Student Disability Services please provide your professor with the course accommodation form and discuss your specific accommodation with him/her.

formal essay/paper descriptions

The descriptions below detail the qualities of certain “types” of papers. These are for your benefit. They were adopted from descriptions published by Princeton University and Harvard College.

The Unsatisfactory Paper. The D or F paper demonstrates that the writer does not understand the relevant text(s) at hand. There is no thesis, or the thesis is not clearly defined. Overall, this type of paper is underdeveloped, disorganized, and it does not fulfill the requirements of the assignment. This type of paper is filled with mechanical, grammatical and spelling errors, indicating that the writer did not proofread or revise their work. The result is unsatisfactory.

The Mediocre Paper. The C paper shows that the writer has a limited grasp of the text(s) at hand. The thesis is usually broad, vague, or obvious. The thesis does not advance an argument that anyone might care to debate. The paper does not show that the writer is interacting with the text(s) because it fails to offer any quotations and/or textual evidence. While there may be some organizational structure to the paper, it does not demonstrate that the writer has complete control over this structure. This type of paper meets some of the assignment’s requirements, but not all. There are some mechanical, grammatical and spelling errors. The paper may have been proofread; however there is little evidence that suggests it was revised. The result is mediocre.

The Acceptable Paper. The B paper illustrates that the student has a strong understanding of the text(s) at hand. The thesis is developed, meaning that it is narrow in scope and worth arguing. There are numerous quotations present within the body of the paper, and the writer demonstrates a thoughtful analysis of the things being quoted. This textual evidence is relevant and it advances and supports the thesis. The paper is well organized, and the reader can easily follow the flow of the paper. This type of paper meets all of the assignment’s requirements. There are no mechanical, grammatical and spelling errors. Furthermore, the paper suggests that the writer has proofread and revised the work. The A paper has all of the qualities of the B paper, but in addition this type of paper is lively, well paced, interesting, and even exciting to the reader! The thesis is fully developed and is completely fulfilled by the body of the paper. By reading an A paper, the reader gets the sense of the writer’s mind at work, engaging with the text(s) to create a piece of writing that fulfills the assignment at hand while, importantly, going beyond those requirements to offer something more. This result is acceptable.

intro: how to join and participate

As a member of Prof. D'Amato's English I course it is your responsibility to join this e-journal blog and, crucially, to participate throughout the semester. You will do this in two ways: (1) submitting comments to posts of at least 150 words, and (2) sometimes writing your own posts.

Importantly, this site will also serve as a message board from me to you. I will most likely have to pass on important information regarding class meeting times, assignment deadlines, changes in the syllabus, etc. throughout the term. Therefore, be sure to check this site frequently, if not at least once daily, to be sure you are current with the goings-on of the class.


Okay, so what's next?
Below I am going to detail how to join this blog and how to contribute. If you are unfamiliar with using blogs have no fear, Blogger is quite user-friendly in my opinion and you should catch on quick. Remember you can always email me with questions and you should email me immediately if you are having trouble with the site. For those who are quite internet savvy, disregard this most-likely redundant information; you may wish to glance in brief, however, to see how things will specifically function on this site.


How to Join
Email me, (prof.damato@gmail.com), with your email address so that I can invite you! From there you'll receive a link allowing you to gain authorial access. Follow the link and you'll have the opportunity to use an existing online identity (e.g., an email account) or to create a new username and password and officially join Blogger and the course e-journal.

If you have one of the various online accounts which qualify as OpenID you can join Blogger effortlessly, just use your existing account's log-in information.

This webpage offers some comprehensive information on OpenID, as does this one. But the long and short of it is this: "OpenID allows you to use an existing [online] identity to sign into multiple websites, without needing to create new passwords [or usernames]." Some of the OpenID identities accepted by Blogger are: AOL/AIM, LiveJournal, TypeKey, Wordpress, and Gmail or any other Google-related identity.

From now on you'll use the username and password you select or create to log into this blog before you add a comment or a post. So write it down or email it to yourself so you do not forget this information.


How to Comment & Post
First, you must log in.

To comment to any post click on the post's title or on the "## comment" link at the bottom of the post. You can also click on the post's title found under the archive tree on the right side of the site. At the bottom of the post you'll find an editable text box. Remember to write at least 150 words! You can offer something in response to the main post thread, or you can reply to a comment written by another student. If the debate gets intense enough then you, or I for that matter, may decide to move the discussion into a new thread all its own.

To post a new topic or thread once logged in, go to the top of the site and at the right of your email address/username on the navbar you'll see a link titled "new post". This is your ticket. Once you've arrived at the post-editing screen you'll notice it's a bit more complicated than the comment box; yet, think of it like a word document screen and you'll catch on quickly.


More Editing & a Disclaimer
If you happen to know html and/or java scripts you can use these to edit your posts to a greater degree---adding images, video, links, and more.

If a student should choose to add media to a post, keep in mind that inappropriate material will be subject to immediate removal. Depending on the level and degree of inappropriateness, the student faces disciplinary action such as receiving a zero on the assignment (minimum) or being reported to the Dean of Student Affairs (maximum). Please see the Division of Student Affairs website concerning the disciplinary process and other such information.


In Closing...
Be sure to bookmark this site on your personal computer so that you can check the blog frequently. As I recommended above, at least once a day you should be visiting. While you are required to only submit one writing per e-journal assignment, you may write as much at you wish on this blog. Contributing more does not necessarily guarantee you "bonus points" or "extra credit", but extra effort certainly weighs heavily on your overall class participation.

Remember, the point of this blog is not only for you to submit a weekly journal entry, it serves as a birthplace for written ideas. The things discussed and argued here will undoubtedly come up in class, and should, so feel free to reference the blog's content while we are in the classroom. Paper topics and angles of argumentation will also present themselves here. This is a vital component and goal of this site: for students to test and share ideas with one another, furthering understanding of specific subject matter thereby deepening one's ability to discuss the course's texts and topics.

I hope to get an email from you soon so that you can join our community to a further extent by contributing commentary and content to our blog!