April assignment

In April, we will ditch the internet and return to the technology of the early 1900s, the time of Clara and Esteban and magic.

Instead of keeping a blog, you will track The House of the Spirits in a log. (A blog, in case you didn't know, is just a web-log, as it was originally called.)

On Wednesday, April 4, have a log prepared, following these instructions:

• Take five sheets of paper* and fold them in half. You now have a small, 20-page log.
• On the cover, neatly write your name (in small print) in one of the corners.
• On the inside front cover, neatly write "Quotations" (in small print) centered at the top .
• Leave the next page blank. This will be your title page.
• On the first interior page, neatly write "Rosa the Beautiful" (in small print) centered at the top.
• Continue neatly with all the chapter titles on subsequent pages, ending with "Epilogue."
• You should have two pages remaining: the inside back cover and the back. Leave those blank for now.

* use either lined paper or blank printer paper, but understand that you will write inside this log; if you use lined paper, you will have to write sideways.

Further instructions will follow. If you have questions about the above, ask before Wednesday.

March assignment

Every week, you will write two response-style argument essays. I will post multiple links to articles or prompts here; you must do the following:

1. Read an entire linked piece.
2. On your blog, write a one-sentence summary of the writer's central argument.
3. Write an essay (~500 words) defending, challenging, or qualifying that argument. You should not do any additional research before writing the essay; instead, the supporting evidence must come from your own knowledge or reading.
   

For full credit: Complete two essays per week; include context and your thesis in your introductions; include two or three body paragraphs with evidence; wrap up with a conclusion.

Week 4 readings: The last week of this assignment! Hopefully next month will be easier.

Prompt 1: "Learnt in Godhra, forgotten in Jaipur" by Aakar Patel (LiveMint)

Prompt 2: "Why We Like What We Like" by Alva Noe (13.7 Cosmos and Culture)

Prompt 3: "Please Read This Story, Thank You" by Linton Weeks (NPR)

Prompt 4: "Has the Sexual Revolution Been Good for Women? Yes" by Ann Patchett (Wall Street Journal)

Due Friday, March 30.

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Week 3 readings are, on the surface, easier, but hopefully the ideas will be challenging enough.

Week 3, Prompt 1: "What Does It Mean To Be Cool?" by Thorsten Botz-Bornstein (Philosophy Now)

Week 3, Prompt 2: "Does Surveillance Make Us Morally Better?" by Emrys Westacott (Philosophy Now)

Week 3, Prompt 3: "The Limits of Science" by Anthony Gottlieb (Intelligent Life)

Week 3, Prompt 4: "The Rise of 'Awesome'" by Robert Lane Greene (Intelligent Life)

Bored? Here's a bonus article to review logical fallacies (Philosophy Now).

Week 3 posts are due on Saturday, March 24.

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For Week 2, all the prompts are from the same author, Sir Francis Bacon -- an English lawyer, statesman, essayist, historian, intellectual reformer, philosopher, champion of modern science, and contemporary of Shakespeare. You can read about him at the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. I've selected four short essays by Bacon -- the language might be challenging, but if you go slow (and maybe read aloud), you should be able to understand his point.

Week 2, Prompt 1: "Of Marriage and Single Life"

Week 2, Prompt 2: "Of Atheism"

Week 2, Prompt 3: "Of Youth and Age"

Week 2, Prompt 4: "Of Studies"

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Week 1, Prompt 1: "TV Is Good for You" By Joel Waldfogel (Slate)

Week 1, Prompt 2: "Rick Santorum, Meet My Son" by Emily Rapp (Slate)

Week 1, Prompt 3: "Thinking vs. Feeling: The Psychology of Advertising" by Derek Thompson (The Atlantic)

Week 1, Prompt 4: "Why Good Advertising Works (Even When You Think It Doesn't" by Nigel Hollis (The Atlantic)

Please post week 1 essays on March 9.