ENG1101 COMP 1, S2016, Scanlan

Manhattan-Stonehenge, 2011 by Sean Scanlan

Here is where I will type my one-paragraph description.

Hi Class,

In reference to our discussion on Tuesday:

Art is a diverse range of human activities in creating visual, auditory or performing artifacts – artworks, expressing the author’s imaginative or technical skill, intended to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power. In their most general form these activities include the production of works of art, the criticism of art, the study of the history of art, and the aesthetic dissemination of art.

The oldest form of art are visual arts, which include creation of images or objects in fields including painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and other visual media. Architecture is often included as one of the visual arts; however, like the decorative arts, it involves the creation of objects where the practical considerations of use are essential—in a way that they usually are not in a painting, for example. Music, theatre, film, dance, and other performing arts, as well as literature and other media such as interactive media, are included in a broader definition of art or the arts. Until the 17th century, art referred to any skill or mastery and was not differentiated from crafts or sciences. In modern usage after the 17th century, where aesthetic considerations are paramount, the fine arts are separated and distinguished from acquired skills in general, such as the decorative or applied arts. (Wikipedia)

Further questions:

1. What is a photograph?

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

3. How should we make sense of photographs? What methods can we use to understand photos better?

We will learn several ways to read and make sense of photos. Below are some specific terms that will be important for Essay 2.

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

1. Studium: The studium of a photograph is the public and historical background of a photo. The studium is context and it is the general understanding. The studium of a photo must be visible, and it is the cultural reading of the faces, the gestures, the buildings, the actions within a photo.

2. Punctum: The punctum of a photograph is highly individual, not public. The punctum pierces the viewer in a particular 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.

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Homework for Tuesday, March 8: Take a few photos and chose one that has a geometric composition. Post that photograph (make sure that the image size is under 1 Mb) that you have taken to our OpenLab site then describe it under the photo in terms of subject, setting, light, color, and any filter you used. Make sure to proof and edit your writing because this is a public site!

Hi Class,

For Tuesday please sign up and register for our class website. Go here and follow the instructions:  https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/blog/help/openlab-help/

The most important thing is to make sure that your City Tech email is working.

Second, prepare Essay 1 for Tuesday’s turn-in. In a paper folder, please have the following: final draft, all previous drafts, assignment details, and both peer reviews.

Before you print out the final draft, make sure to revise, edit, and proofread. Make sure to use spell/grammar check. Make sure to have someone read over your final draft. Make sure to read over your changes and edits. Make sure to proofread by reading  out loud and by reading backwards.

Best,

Prof. Scanlan

Hi class,

I feel good about delaying the final draft of Essay 1, and I hope that you all do too.

So, please work as hard as you can to revise, edit, and proofread your essay for a SECOND draft peer review on Thursday. And bring in your questions.

Here are two samples of Thesis statements:

Example 1: While I agree with Asimov that test taking and test making are both important for considering varying types of intelligence, I disagree with his treatment of the auto mechanic. In my essay I want to explore his ideas of hand work and language work in order to claim that one’s intellectual home could be either under the hood of language or under the hood of a car.

Example 2: I share two characteristics with Asimov. We both have verbal talents and we both love to avoid working with our hands (especially on cars). One major difference is that while he excels at taking tests, I do not. Another major difference is that while Asimov couldn’t see a joke if it hit him between the eyes, I have the ability to sense jokes and humor from around the corner. Clearly, our intellectual homes are on the same street, but they are made from different materials.

Lastly, student might think about using an idea on home from the post below this one.

Cheers,

Prof. Scanlan

Four Ideas on Home:

Maya Angelou (American Author and Poet): “I believe that one can never leave home. I believe that one carries the shadows, the dreams, the fears and the dragons of home under one’s skin, at the extreme corners of one’s eyes and possibly in the gristle of the earlobe.” (from Letter to My Daughter, by Maya Angelou. New York: Random House, 2009).

Gaston Bachelard (French Sociologist): The home is our “first universe” and our “first world.” Such space is important, but size does not matter; a simple hut has more dream potential than a mansion. What matters is the degree of intimacy and intensity of our experience there. (from The Fate of Place, by Edward S. Casey. Berkeley: U of California P, 1998. 290)

Svetlana Boym (Russian-American Literary Critic): “To feel at home is to know that things are in their places and so are you; it is a state of mind that doesn’t depend on an actual location.” (from The Future of Nostalgia, by Svetlana Boym. New York: Basic, 2001. 251)

Immanuel Levinas (Lithuanian-French Philosopher): “The privileged role of the home does not consist in being the end of human activity but in being its condition, and in this sense its commencement.” What is accomplished by the home? These four: our ability for recollection, our ability to have intimacy, our ability to work, and our ability to make representations of the world. (from Totality and Infinity, by Immanuel Levinas. Pittsburgh: Duquesne UP, 1969. 152-4.)

Hello Students!

This site will grow and develop during the semester, just like you will grow and develop as critical readers and writers.

As we get to know each other, I believe that you will find that I am very fond of reading, and I am interested in new digital technologies. In particular, I like to examine digital tools that can help students work more efficiently. One such digital tool is Wikipedia. Hardly a week goes by when a friend, or a parent of a college student, or a colleague rips into Wikipedia (a new digital research tool) for its flimsy research, its weak documentation, its biased approach. Well, I’ve always thought that Wikipedia keeps gaining ground on other encyclopedias, and it looks like it has truly reached the tipping point, especially when esteemed historian William Cronon gives it the thumbs up:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/02/one-of-the-nations-top-historians-decides-its-time-to-embrace-wikipedia/252576/

Try this exercise: look up the terms “immigration”and “Brooklyn Bridge” on Encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia and tell me which one is more complete with more footnotes and more resources.

Next, here is a small photo of the textbook that we will use this semester:

Please use the ISBN to get the correct version of this book (third edition, published in 2014).

ISBN: 978-1-4652-2831-4

If you have any questions, please let me know via email:

sscanlan@citytech.cuny.edu

Best wishes,

Prof. Scanlan