class meeting Wednesday Feb 9

What do we value? What do we find useful? Introduction to Portrait of a Word assignment. What’s a discourse community.

due by Saturday Feb 12 end of day

  • OpenLab or Google Drive: Finish and either leave it in the Google Drive or create an OpenLab post and paste it in there. If you create an OpenLab post, the category is: What matters.
  • Perusall: Read and annotate “What is a discourse community?”
  • Perusall: Read and annotate the Junot Diaz Oscar Wao excerpt. Highlight something that catches your eye — a place you’re confused, something that reminds you of something in your own life, a connection to something you learned somewhere. Then write a comment or question about it when the conversation pane pops open. Reply to each other, add links or images, whatever! Let’s get involved with the text and each other.

due by Tuesday Feb 15 end of day

  • OpenLab post: Write a post of at least 300 words about the Junot Diaz excerpt from Oscar Wao. What do you find difficult or confusing? Be specific! Point out particular passages that confused you and explain why you were confused.  What do you think the writer may have been trying to do?  Find a particular passage that was difficult and explain specifically where you got caught up and why. I get it. This seems like a really strange thing to do– but there’s a point to it!  The places you have difficulty are where you’re doing your best thinking.  The places you struggle are the places PhD students struggle, too.  Difficulties aren’t walls to stop you but obstacles that you can (and will) overcome!
    • CATEGORY: Diaz