Composition 1
We will be thinking more in the weeks ahead about why it will be good for you to add information from another “more scholarly” article or two to your Essay 2. With that in mind, in Packet II, read Nijhuis’ “The Pocket Guide To Bullshit Prevention.”
Also read “Do Sex-bots Have Rights?” by Slavoj Zizek (in Packet II).
1) Finish the online library orientation (see link in assignment for 10/29).
2) Write a paragraph consisting only of questions about your Essay 2 topic. These can be all sorts of questions—both questions you think you can answer (and want to answer) using research and also questions that are rhetorical or which you have no intent of answering.
Post this series of questions here and bring it with you to the Library on Tuesday. This is where our class will be held—meet us outside the library on the (4th floor of the Atrium (glass roofed) building.
EX: Why do some people think that violent video games make people more violent in real life? Do they think gamers identify too much with the characters and roles they play when gaming? What other theories might there be of how a violent video game could make someone more violent in reality? Are there theories that propose the opposite—that violent video games might make people LESS violent in real life? What do psychologists say about violent video games? Is there psychoanalytic theory that might help explain the effects of violent video games? Do computer scientists and game designers have answers to any of these questions? What role does mental illness play in the video-game-violence question? What role does mental illness play in the gaming community more broadly? Is gaming itself a kind of therapy—or could it also be a kind of illness in itself?
2. In preparation for our library session in a week and a half, review the Library Orientation page and complete the library orientation quiz.
Read Block’s “Issues for DSM-V: Internet Addiction” and Lane’s “Addicted to Addiction” (handouts). While reading, underline and/or make notes on the following:
–Key Points for Summarizing Block’s View. What do you think Block’s main points about internet addiction are?
–Key Points in Lane’s Critical Summary of Block’s View. In Lane’s response article (“Addicted to Addiction”), which of Block’s points does the author address? How does Lane respond? Does he agree with Block? What is his thesis?
Feedback from Monroe:
Ashley,
This is a really poetic, detailed narrative about the struggle of growing up gay in a strongly Christian community in Jamaica. I like your writing style—and attention paid to small things—a lot. I would suggest going back over this and reworking some of the details to make sure they all contribute to the reader’s awareness of the conflict you’re dealing with. You might also add sections that could help us see a bit more how gayness was viewed in your community Jamaica—and then, later on, in your communities in NYC (and how this changed you). Thanks for this.
M
Monroe’s feedback:
Danny (is that how you spell it?),
This is an interesting narrative that presents your own subjective experience of the drugs, surgery and other phenomena related to your knee injury. What’s missing is a bit more detail on the events outside of your mind that actually happened. What’s going on in your mind is VERY interesting, and I’m glad it’s in your current draft. But we need also to show the reader what happened to you in the “outside world” so that they can have an even clearer sense of how your “interior world” was responding to this experience. With that in mind, I’ve made several notes above about where you could expand on the details relating to certain important events in your story.
Thanks,
Monroe
The OpenLab is an open-source, digital platform designed to support teaching and learning at City Tech (New York City College of Technology), and to promote student and faculty engagement in the intellectual and social life of the college community.
