Author: Professor Sean Scanlan (Page 2 of 3)

Here are two classes that created some fine photo essays:

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/scanlan-eng1101-d334-s2017/

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/scanlan-eng1101-d391-fall2016/

Scroll down to find the photos and the linked essay.

Best,

Prof.  Scanlan

Hi Class,

I think everybody had a great time looking at (really seeing) all those photos this week–I can’t wait to talk about your photos! And, I thought of a way to award participation points for looking at each other’s photos. If you comment on another photo, I will give you points! Be positive and write over 20 words, and points are yours.

For Monday: Take photos and post to OpenLab; make sure to include a title, your name, and a 100 word description. Also, read Joseph Anastasio in Chapter 4. In preparation for Quiz 2 (Wednesday), you might want to refresh your memory on Sontag, Parla, and Cole.

Have an photo-tastic weekend. And if you want to get photos approved for Essay 2, you can email them to me–please keep the size small.

Lastly, you may rewrite Essay 1 to improve your grade (I take an average of the two scores). Any rewrites are due by October 31.

Best,

Prof. Scanlan

Photo:

Description: Sean Scanlan’s photo titled: “A Frolic on the Beach in Winter” (2017). In this photo that I took while on a visit to Antarctica, we see three adult Yellow-Throated Laughing penguins doing their breakfast dance. The three penguins are in focus, but the background is blurred because I used shallow depth of field.

Essay: Essay 2

Dear Students,

Follow this link for directions for writing a new post:

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/blog/help/writing-a-post/

Follow this link for directions for posting a photo (or other media) into a post:

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/blog/help/adding-images-to-your-site/

Best wishes,

Prof. Scanlan

Hi Class,

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

Here are two more questions will help us as we move toward Essay 2:

1. What is the history of photography?

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

2. Why do we take, keep, share, and discard 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 people (their faces and clothing), gestures, buildings, trees, 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:

Little Italy. New York, 1954. Photo by William Klein

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

Hi Class,

I hope that you gained some valuable experience with the thesis round-table and the peer review. Here is the peer review worksheet: PeerReviewComp1-Essay-1-fall2017 copy

At the end of class we were working on this paragraph in terms of topic sentences and transitions. Feel free to imitate certain sentence structures that appeal to you:

My porch is an important half of my intellectual home. My porch has a swing, two chairs, and a tiny wooden table. The railing is a bit rickety, and two bright lights allow me to read there at night. Honestly, it is one of my favorite places to study. I can read there, and I can write there. And I can keep my eyes on the street, making me feel part of the neighborhood. Okay, truthfully, I cannot study for a chemistry exam because it is often too noisy. But, I do like to read and think there.

My room is just as important as my porch. The first half of my intellectual home is my porch; the second half is my room. In fact, I often begin studying on the porch, and then I move to my room to finish the hardest homework that I have. My room is painted white and my small desk and chair are tan and made of wood. I’ve got a few sports and band posters about that make me feel this is my space. My bed takes up most of the room and a tiny window lets in a sliver of light. I always sit at my desk to handwrite and work on math problems, but I like to lie on my bed with my laptop to type. Though these two places are places, they also are part of a process.

• For Wednesday: Turn in Essay 1 in a paper folder with your name on it: All drafts, peer review worksheet, assignment description.

Best,

Prof. Scanlan

Walt Whitman

English 1101

Fall 2017

Essay 1

My Synthesizing Life

Reading not only unlocks the world around me, it can also help me to attain my career goals. My desire to become a certified public accountant has led me to select Gardner’s essay as my favorite article about reading and education. In fact I think my intellectual home is similar to the idea of synthesizing. While synthesizing is an important concept to many college students, both Gardner and I believe it is the best way to approach writing a research essay, managing an office, and making a career in a globalized world. In order to prove this, I will explore Gardner’s intellectual home, then I will describe mine, and lastly I will devise a future intellectual home.

Hi Class,

I hope everybody is having a good week.

Here’s what’s going on for the next two classes:

For Wednesday, Sept. 13: Read Rahmani and Santiago in Chapter 3 of our textbook (take notes as needed). Then prepare for a short vocabulary quiz over the Rahmani article. Please bring your book to class.

For Monday, Sept. 18: We will have a reading quiz covering all the readings up to this point (not including Lubrano).

Also: Purdue OWL has good information on writing thesis statements and quoting–check it out by going to the Helpful Links menu tab.

Best,

Prof. Scanlan

Hi Class,

I’ve posted the directions for Essay 1 titled “Education and My Intellectual Home” in the Assignments menu tab.

Best,

Prof. Scanlan

Hi Class,

I fixed the Salvatore Scibona essay “Where I Learned to Read.”

Now it is a PDF file, so it prints easily.

See you on Wednesday.

Best,

Prof. Scanlan