Assignment for Friday, Nov. 30

Complete the annotated bibliography. Turn it in as one document that includes all five annotation entries. Be sure to include a proper heading. In class, we will resume our investigation of narrative and reality.

Assignment for Friday, Nov. 30

Complete the annotated bibliography. Turn it in as one document that includes all five annotation entries. Be sure to alphabetize your sources by the author's last name, and include a proper heading. In class, we will resume our investigation of narrative and reality.

Assignment for Wednesday, Nov. 28

Write a third annotated bibliography entry. This one should be for a book. If you're in Google Classroom, turn it in there; otherwise, share it with me as a Google Doc.

In-Class Reading and Work

Here is a back-to-basics refresher exercise. Read the two obituaries linked below about the great magician Ricky Jay. Then, compare and contrast their essential rhetorical qualities. Start with their rhetorical situations, and then get into more specific rhetorical features. Feel free to draw on the SOAPSTone and DIDLS schemas. Share your comparison with me in a Google Doc.

New York Times obituary on Ricky Jay.

Slate.com obituary on Ricky Jay.

Assignment for Thursday, Nov. 15

Write one more annotated bibliography entry, preferably from a JSTOR source. For Thursday, you should be up to two annotated bibliography entries. See my comments on your first entry before you write the second one.

Assignment for Tuesday, Nov. 13

Read Salman Rushdie's Truth, Lies, and Literature. You will eventually be assigned this piece, but if you want to take advantage of the long weekend and read it now, go ahead.

In addition, prepare one entry for the annotated bibliography. It will be more manageable to begin with a shorter source, probably from GaleNet.

Assignment for Thursday, Nov. 8

Read the handout distributed in class on evaluating sources (focus on pp. 68-69, and 76-82). Also, see this handout on the STP annotated bibliography that is due on Friday, Nov. 30.

Then, watch this TED talk on the nature of objective reality. Before watching, ask yourself if there is a reality that is objective and the same for all of us.

Lastly, read this interview with Jaron Lanier, an influential pioneer of virtual reality technology, and important thinker about all things related to digital technology.

Assignment for Friday, Nov. 2

Update 2: Here are the assignments, but you don't have anything due for tomorrow. We'll go over them in class, and you'll have class time to work on it.
[Update: Some changes to the following are coming. Don't worry . . . ]
Prepare one page, or about a third, of your final assignment on Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1. If you're in Google Classroom, submit this work there, or email it to me. (If it's a visual assignment, turn in a picture of your work-in-progress.) Either way, bring it to class; you will have time to work on it.

Assignment for Wednesday, Oct. 31

In Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, read Act 5, scenes 1 and 3; skip scene 2 (you're reading pp. 96-101 and 108-114). Prepare and turn in two potential culminating assignments for our reading of Henry IV, Part 1. Don't hesitate to think out of the box. If you're in Google Classroom, turn them in there; if not, email them to me.

Assignment for Monday, Oct. 29

In Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, read Act 4, scenes 2 and 3 (pp. 87-94). Although Hal and Hotspur are essentially doppelgangers, Falstaff contrasts most strongly with Hotspur. In one efficient paragraph (4-6 sentences), compare Falstaff's and Hotspur's concerns about the impending battle in these scenes. Email your response by the start of class. If you're in Google Classroom, submit it there.

Assignment for Wednesday, Oct. 24

In Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, read Act 3, scene 3. We will act out lines 74-158 (to the Hostess's exit). Act 3, scenes 2 and 3, show further stages in Hal's progress toward "glittering o'er [his] fault." Write a well-developed paragraph that explains whether Hal persuades you that he will indeed "throw off" his "loose behavior." Be sure to refer to both Act 3, scene 2 and scene 3. If you are in Google Classroom, submit your assignment there; otherwise, email it to me.

Assignment for Thursday, Oct. 18

Write two paragraphs comparing and contrasting Hal's and Falstaff's humor in the previous reading assignment (Act 2, scene 4, lines 1-300). Decide which structure works best for your analysis; you can do one paragraph on each character, or you can devote each paragraph to a specific aspect of their humor. If you aren't in Google Classroom, email your response to me by the start of class.  If you're in Google Classroom, only submit your response there; do not email it to me.

Assignment for Tuesday, Oct. 16

In Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, read Act 2, scene 4, ll. 1-300 (pp. 38-50). As you read, pay attention to the differences between Hal's and Falstaff's humor. (Skip Act 2, scene 3; we will return to it when we encounter the rebels again.) Be sure to annotate, and pay close attention to rhetorical choices characters make given their audience and purpose.