Author: Professor Sean Scanlan (Page 2 of 3)

Essay 2 peer review on Wednesday:

Please bring at least two typed pages of Essay 2 to class for our peer review.

If you have not already done so, get your photos approved. Also, try to work on your quotations (minimum of 4). The final draft will require a Works Cited.

Here are my findings on Essay 1:

-Avoid overusing “you”

-Thesis statement: While X, I think Y.

-Topic Sentences need to be stronger.

-Method—a strong method statement helps with organization and can help your thesis.

-Reflect on the end of your analytical paragraphs.

-Paragraphsstructure. We will cover this on Wednesday.

-Quotations-work on introducing each quote smoothly.

Here’s my example:

The Famous Lawrence, 2016

Use at least three of our photo terms to describe the action photo.

Hi Class,

For the 17th:

Read Parla, Anastasio (both in Dwell), and Teju Cole’s article in Readings menu tab.

Then post a photo (your own), give it a title, and use three of our photo terms to describe it. Chose the terms that make sense for the image. When you post your photo, try to make it about the size of my image below:

Homework for Thursday, Oct 6th:

1. Print out and read over Essay 2 details
2. Print out and read John Berger’s essay: “Understanding a Photograph”
3. Prepare for Thursday’s Quiz 2 on Sontag and Berger
4. **Take 4 photos: 2 macro and 2 your choice

Depth of Field:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_field

More on taking better photos with your cell phone:

Hi Class…lot’s of information today!

Homework for next Wednesday!!!: Read Sontag and write  a four-point summary (300 words) = Journal 4.

VIDEO CLIPS:

1. How does a digital camera work?:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic0czeUJrGE

2. How to develop film using coffee and vitamin C:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYjOqcbBEco

3. A Darkroom in Use:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nue495wxlXo

4. Five tips for taking your own digital photographs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YroMyQJ-GMQ 

——————–

Here’s a written description of a store:

“It was a narrow room, with a rather high ceiling, and crowded from floor to ceiling with goodies. There were rows and rows of hams and sausages of all shapes and colors–white, yellow, red, and black; fat and lean and round and long–rows of canned preserves, cocoa and tea, bright translucent glass bottles of honey, marmalade, and jam; round bottles and slender bottles, filled with liqueurs and punch–all these things crowded every inch of the shelves from top to bottom. “

-Thomas Mann

What is the dominant impression of this scene?

For Homework: Journal 3:

300 words on which photo is your favorite and a brief explanation of the Studium. Select the photo from pages 143-152.

Hi Class,

Essay 2 is about taking photos, reading them, and writing about them.

These questions will help us as we move toward Essay 2:

1. What is a photograph? What is the history of photography?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photography

2. Why do we take, keep, share, and discard photographs?

3. How should we make sense of photographs?

The French sociologist and critic Roland Barthes wrote about photography, and he came up with two useful terms for studying photographs.

1. Studium: The studium of a photograph is the public and historical background of a photo. The studium is the photo’s context and its general understanding which includes the precise time and place and weather. The studium of a photo must be visible, and it is the cultural reading of faces, gestures, buildings, clothing, and actions within a photo.

2. Punctum: The punctum of a photograph is highly individual, not public. The punctum pierces the viewer in a particular, private way. The punctum, which must be visible,  pierces the viewer like a arrow, raising certain individual memories and consciousnesses to the surface. The punctum bruises me but not you. The punctum is about loving, while the studium is about liking.

*These definitions are from Barthes’ Camera Lucida (New York: Hill and Wang, 1981)

Barthes’ example of punctum:

“What I stubbornly see are one boy’s bad teeth…”

Hi Class,

Essay 1 is due on Monday afternoon at 2:30 at the beginning of class (please be on time).

In your paper folder (with your name on it) please include:

-Final Draft

-Prior Drafts (at least 2)

-Two Completed Peer Reviews

-Assignment Details

Proofreading Advice for Monday’s Due Date:

1. Read over your own draft several times
2. Read your own draft out loud
3. Have a friend read your draft. Perhaps exchange essays.
4. Read “backwards”

Email any  questions,

Best wishes,

Prof. Scanlan

Conjuction Junction:

Purdue OWL on conjunctions:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/3/4/76/

Hi class,

For homework: Read these three articles in our textbook: Wallis and Steptoe, Powell, and Lubrano. All are in Chapter 3. Then, in your notebook, write a sentence or two that nails down the main idea of each article. In addition, you might want to consider what you think each author’s Intellectual Home might be.

Also, please change the due dates for Essay 1. First draft is due in class on Wednesday, Sept. 21. Final draft is due in class on Monday, Sept 26.

Cheers,

Prof. Scanlan