Assignment for Friday, Feb. 5

In Freud's Civilization and Its Discontents, read ch. 3. In the blue edition, this reading goes from pp. 37-53; in the black and white book, it goes from pp. 57-75.

Assignment for Wednesday, Feb. 3

Read Ch. 2 of Civilization and Its Discontents. In the blue edition, this reading goes from pp. 22-36; in the black and white edition, from pp. 39-56. Also, in class you will have to write about the following prompt: What is the relationship between Chapter 1 and Chapter 2? How does Chapter 1 set up Chapter 2? How does Chapter 2 build on Chapter 1?

Assignment for Monday, Feb. 1

In Civilization and Its Discontents, read and annotate pp. 10-21 in the blue edition or pp. 23-37 in the black and white edition. Come to class with at least two written questions about the reading.

For Wednesday, Jan. 27

Since you had homework over the weekend, but it was the end of the semester, you do not have an assignment due on Wednesday. During Wednesday's class, we will introduce Freud's Civilization and Its Discontents. If there is anything of interest that you have come across recently, you may share it with the class on Wednesday.

Assignment for Monday, Jan. 25

Prepare for the synthesis essay on Press's Beautiful Souls, Poitras's Citizenfour, and Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. Refresh your memory about the figures discussed in Beautiful Souls, and go over the material (posted below on Dec. 11) about Edward Snowden and Citizenfour. Also, read the sample synthesis prompt and essays distributed in class. Be sure to read the scoring commentary to take special note of the highest scoring essay and avoid the weaknesses of the lower scoring essays.

Assignments for Tuesday, Jan. 19, and Thursday, Jan. 21

For Tuesday, finish reading and annotating Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four (to p. 308). You may read the Appendix on the principles of newspeak, but it is not required. In class, we will discuss the end of the novel, and look at two previously adminstered AP synthesis essays.

On Thursday, you will write a synthesis essay about Beautiful Souls, CitizenFour, and Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Here are the links to the videos on North Korea that we viewed in class:
North Korea - A Day in the Life
10 Days in North Korea

Assignment for Tuesday, Jan. 12

Read and annotate to p. 204 in Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Assignment for Monday, December 21

Either read in George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four or work on your exploratory essay. Also, come to class prepared to discuss the following questions in relation to the Edward Snowden documentary Citizenfour. Consider, too, how the film's visual strategies contribute to its rhetorical agenda. 

 

Who is the audience for this film? 

What kinds of rhetorical appeals do the filmmakers employ? 

What is the film's argument? Is that argument persuasive? 

What kinds of evidence are provided to support that argument? 

Are any counterarguments presented? If so, what are they? 

Assignment for Thursday, December 17

If you didn't take notes while watching Citizenfour, you should record some responses to some of the questions I asked you to think about while watching Citizenfour. At the start of Thursday's class, we'll talk about your observations of the film's rhetoric. Also, you should work on your exploratory essay, or you should begin reading George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. To avoid spoilers, do not read the inside of the book jacket and skip the Foreword. Simply begin with Chapter One.

Also, for more context and background on domestic surveillance in the United States, you might be interested in watching this Frontline documentary, The United States of Secrets.

Assignment for Tuesday, December 15

Read this article about Edward Snowden's revelations.. In class, we will watch the Academy Award-winning documentary Citizenfour, which is about Snowden.

For further, non-required but essential reading on Snowden and the NSA, read the articles listed below:
This is the first article based on information from Snowden.
Edward Snowden Timeline
Book Review of The Snowden Files, by Luke Harding (long)
Boundless Informant: The NSA's Secret Tool to Track Global Surveillance Data
No Warrant, No Problem How the Government can Your Digital Data
Revealed: How US and UK Spy Agencies Defeat Internet Privacy and Security
The Crux of the NSA Story in One Phrase: "Collect It All"
The Top-Secret Rules That Allow the NSA to Use US Data without a Warrant

Assignment for Friday, December 11

Finish reading and annotating (or preparing for a quiz on) Press's Beautiful Souls (pp. 155-183, which includes the Epilogue). We will discuss the book in class.

Also, type your multiple-choice questions and answers about Beautiful Souls and email them to me as Word document.

Note that the Exploratory Essay assignment that was handed out in class is posted to the right.

Assignment for Wednesday, December 9

In Press's Beautiful Souls, read (and annotate) pp. 131-155. (If you don't annotate, you will take a quiz on the reading.)

In class, you will continue working on your AP multiple-choice questions about Beautiful Souls.

Assignment for Monday, December 7

Read and annotate p. 104-129 in Beautiful Souls. I will check annotations, or you will take a quiz.