Schedule
All reading and writing assignments are due on the days listed. (remember though, that all blogs must be posted the night before the class they are due)
Additional short readings will be added throughout the semester to supplement the texts listed here.
You will notice that some days are devoted entirely to discussing reading, some days are devoted entirely to discussing writing, and some days we will discuss both reading and writing. Some classes require a heavy amount of reading and/or writing, so I encourage you to plan ahead.
*Always consult this dynamic schedule on our OpenLab site (under Course Info., Schedule) for the most up-to-date version of the schedule, access to readings, and more detail about assignments.
| Date | Focus | Reading/Writing (Due on Date Listed) |
| Th 8/29 | Introduction to Course, Learning Community, and OpenLab | Read: Barbara Ann Kipfer, 14,000 Things to Be Happy About, excerpt |
| Tu 9/3 | Writing Workshop: blogging; description; narrative; using concrete details | Blog: Introductions; Happiness Archive #1 (Personal Vision of Happiness)Due: 1) register for OpenLab account, join our course site, and familiarize yourself with its content (especially the Blogging Guidelines) and navigation2) Review syllabus |
| Th 9/5 | NO CLASSES SCHEDULED | |
| Tu 9/10 | Writing Workshop: active reading (vocabulary; identifying claims and evidence); summary, paraphrase, quotation, citation | Read: “How Happy Are You? A Census Wants to Know”Blog:detailed revision/expansion of “Personal Vision of Happiness,” post from 9/3, using concrete details, description, narration, and multimedia (“Edit” your previous post and, without deleting changing the original post, include your new post, clearly labeled, underneath)Due: 1) summary of “How Happy Are You? A Census Wants to Know” (post to blog, categorize as “Summarizing” + bring three printed copies to class)2) Register for Dropbox account and accept my invite to our shared class folder |
| Th 9/12 | Writing Workshop: summarizing (continued) | |
| Tu 9/17 | Sara Ahmed’s “happiness archive” and the performative/normative nature of happiness + Ruth Levitas’s notion of utopia as methodWriting Workshop: making claims and providing evidence to support these claims | Read: 1) Watch the complete victory speeches from the night of the NYC mayoral primary for both the Democratic nominee, Bill de Blasio and the Republic nominee, Joe Lhota 2) Guidelines for Writing a Summary (from Hunter College Reading/Writing Center)3) Re-read/annotate “Why Conservatives Are Happier Than Liberals” (distributed in class on Th 9/12) and come to class ready to discuss it in detailBlog: Happiness Archive #2: Visions of Well-Being in NYC Mayoral Candidate Speeches. Discuss each speech separately (first summarizing it and then analyzing its rhetoric/vision of well-being for the city/New Yorkers), and then compare/contrast. This post will need to be significantly longer than the standard 250 words. Make sure to provide evidence (details, quotes) from the speeches, citing by using time–minutes + seconds–from video links above.In this blog, I am not interested in what others have said about these candidates, their speeches, or their policies. Your goal is not to read other texts and see what either experts or ordinary people have said about their visions for the city. Your goal is to read these speeches (texts) closely/actively, and from what is explicitly (or implicitly) said, articulate their visions of happiness for New Yorkers. You will need to read between the lines to see what is said, and also what is not said, about well-being in NYC. |
| Th 9/19 | In-Class Writing: Essay #2, Summarizing (5%)Professor Belli away at conference (class will be held: Professor Pawlukewicz will be subbing) | Due: Review strategies for summarizing (and practice summarizing) in preparation for in-class essay |
| Tu 9/24 | Writing Workshop: tools for persuasion (ethos, logos pathos) | Read: Re-watch speeches from 9/17Blog: Revise Happiness Archive #2, focus more on analysis, making claims, providing evidence) – create an entirely new post, also categorized as “Happiness Archive #2” |
| Th 9/26 | Writing Workshop: peer review (how to respond to others’ writing); in-class peer review of Essay #2 first drafts | Due: Essay #2 First Draft (submit to Dropbox and bring three printed copies to class) |
| Tu 10/1 | Read: ‘The Secret’ (Rhonda Byrne), excerpts*You can find this reading in our class Dropbox folder, in the “Readings” folder. Please note that, while you do not need to print out the entire text, you should come to class prepared with notes on particular sections, quotes you want to discuss, etc.Blog: Happiness Archive #3 (The Secret) | |
| Th 10/3 | Writing Workshop: developing arguments/thesis statements | The Secret (continued)Due: Essay #2 Final Draft (submit to Dropbox and bring one printed copy – stapled with all pre-drafts – to class) |
| Tu 10/8 | Writing Workshop:1) paragraph structure and development (topic sentences, transitions, claims, evidence)2) strategies for revision (reverse outlining, color-coding) | Due: Essay #3 First Draft (submit to Dropbox and bring four printed copies to class) |
| Th 10/10 | Writing Workshop: in-class peer review of Essay #3 first drafts | Due: detailed comments on two of your group members’ essays |
| Tu 10/15 | NO CLASS (classes follow a Monday schedule) | |
| Th 10/17 | Blog: Happiness Archive #4 (advertisement) | |
| Tu 10/22 | Read: The Happiness Project (Gretchen Rubin), excerpt*You can find this reading in our class Dropbox folder, in the “Readings” folder. Please note that you must print out the entire excerpt and mark it up/annotate it as you read, you should come to class prepared with notes on particular sections, quotes you want to discuss, etc.Blog: Happiness Archive #5 (The Happiness Project)Due (*extension – original due date Th 10/17): Essay #3 Final Draft (submit to Dropbox and bring one printed copy to class) | |
| Th 10/24 | The Happiness Project (continued) | |
| Tu 10/29 | Writing Workshop: comparative analysis ; in-class Essay #4 pre-draft work | |
| Th 10/31 | The “quantified self,” sentiment analysis, and opinion mining | Read: 1) H(app)athon Project 2) “An App for Happiness? Somerville to Test it Out” 3) Hedonometer4) “The Happiest and Saddest Places in NYC, According to Twitter”
Blog: Happiness Archive #6 (happiness apps and big data) |
| Tu 11/5 | Writing Workshop | Blog: Happiness Archive #7 (your experiences at City Tech)*Collaborate with your Final Project group members and brainstorm possible “sites” for your final project
Due: Essay #4 First Draft (submit to Dropbox and bring four hard copies to class) |
| Th 11/7 | Writing Workshop: in-class peer review of Essay #4 first drafts | Due: detailed comments on two of your group members’ essays |
| Tu 11/12 | Writing Workshop: creating research proposals | Blog: Happiness Archive #8: Happiest Places in NYC |
| Th 11/14 | Conduct Fieldwork at City Tech
Professor Belli away at conference (class will be held: Professor Pawlukewicz will be teaching class) |
Due: Essay #4 Final Draft (submit to Dropbox and bring one printed copy to class) |
| Tu 11/19 | Writing Workshop: conducting research; evaluating sources; creating annotated bibliographies | Blog: draft of research proposal + fieldwork write-up (Happiness Archive #9) |
| Th 11/21 | ||
| Tu 11/26 | Library Session (class will meet outside of the library entrance, 4th floor Atrium) | |
| Th 11/28 | NO CLASSES SCHEDULED (college is closed) | |
| Tu 12/3 | Writing Workshop: in-class peer Review of research proposals and annotated sources | Due: Draft of revised research proposal and three annotated sources (submit to Dropbox, post to OpenLab course site, and bring four printed copies to class) |
| Th 12/5 | Writing Workshop | Due: Research Project First Draft (submit to Dropbox and bring four printed copies to class) |
| Tu 12/10 | Writing Workshop: in-class peer review of Research Project First Drafts | Due: detailed comments on two group’s Research Projects |
| Th 12/12 | Review for Final ExamWriting Workshop: how to create/give effective presentations | |
| Tu 12/17 | In-class Final Exam, Part One (summary) | Due: Research Project, Final Draft (submit to Drobpox and post on our collaborative City Tech Well-Being OpenLab site) |
| W 12/18 | Final Project Presentations + course wrap-up + end-of-the-semester party*We will meet during Professor Pawlukewicz’s HUS 1101 class (11:30am-2:00pm, Namm 419B) | Due: Final Project Presentations (submit to Dropbox and post on our collaborative City Tech Well-Being OpenLab site) |
| Th 12/19 | In-class Final Exam, Part Two (response essay) |
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