Week 10: Introduction to Unit 3 (Capital Economies)

Hi Class

Today, we begin our third unit by focusing on articles written on the topic of Capital Economies. Interestingly enough, you will be reading a range of articles written about issues of capitalism and economics, yet none of them are from an Economics or Business perspective. Often, we assume there is only one field from which we can appropriately analyze certain topics. Your work with the past two units has proved to you that various disciplines have insight on single topics, and that there are perspectives from which any topic can become interesting. Consider, for instance, topics from our last unit: we may have assumed that there would be important ideas about marriage developed in the field of Sociology, but it may have been surprising to read articles from the perspective of the Sciences that made arguments about the naturalness of marriage. In this way, you'll be reading perspectives from various fields that weigh in, in legitimate ways, on issues that relate to Capital Economies, without narrowing our scope of inquiry to the fields of Business or Economics themselves.

To begin, you'll read literary accounts that develop descriptive and reflective insight about the nature of capitalism. On Tuesday, you will write your own narrative account, and might try to use an effective ironic tone as you craft your blog post (this can be hard to pull off, but it's fun to try). Personal narrative can sometimes be a persuasive tool that builds pathos for readers of academic writing, however, it's not acceptable to use personal narrative in all academic situations. You may want to check with professors on an assignment by assignment basis.

On Thursday, you'll read writing from the field of Popular Music Studies that discusses the corporatization of music. You may be surprised to learn about the power hierarchies that exist in the music industry and about ethical dilemmas that have arisen as a result.

I'll look forward to reading your thoughts on both. :-)

Also, remember to finish a revised copy of Essay 2. I contributed critique to your discussion board threads last night.

Some of you seem unclear about the quality or content of the essays that you're meant to write for this assignment. If you would like to view examples of writing that are best meeting the requirements of academic argument writing in their rough draft stage, view the essays written by Darien, Hilary, Amity, Jacqueline, and Amber. Though each of those essays could be improved, those five are currently displaying the level of thought and quality of writing that are typical of great student papers written for college courses. Reading those essays (along with my critique of them) as examples should help you become more familiar with the sort of writing strategy that you, too, should use.

I've noticed that students are a bit overwhelmed with their workload lately. For that reason, I'd like to grant all of you an extension with this particular paper. Feel free to turn it in anytime between today and Friday at noon, and it will be marked as an on-time submission. Hopefully this will help you during a stressful time in the semester. It was around this time last year that a student committed suicide on campus in the architecture building, and it's not uncommon that pressures of school become overwhelming for students through midterm and finals. I'm thinking of all of you and encourage you to prioritize your personal wellness. It's never wrong to seek out support, and even if you're doing generally well with the workload, perhaps you know of someone who could use the assistance of a counselor. Take care of yourselves, take care of each other, and be well as the semester finishes out.

Wishing you a beautiful week.

-AP

Week 8: What the Sciences Have to Say About Love

Hello class!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Mine was nice, and also involved some ENG 215 binge-grading. :-) Your grades for Essay 1 are now posted to the Grade Center on Blackboard. You should also have received critique via email; if you didn't, let me know and I will re-send the note. Review the critique and let me know if you have any questions so I can support you in doing the best possible job with Essay 2. Since we're mid-way through the semester, I understand if you'd like to check in with me once again, via phone or in-person, to learn about your progress.

As for last week's blog posts, they were a blast to read!

Here are some that caught my eye (Greatest Hits):

Mary's blog post describes a personal story in which there's a communication gap between herself and her brother. Since Tannen primarily details communication differences between couples who are romantically involved, it's interesting to read about similar differences in the context of a family relationship: http://siliboble.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-7-directed-free-write-pg-246.html.

Visit Jessica's blog for some wonderful analysis of a personal situation, based on her reading of Tannen. She includes specific details about a mundane event, which teaches us that Tannen's theories might hold water even in less-than-cataclysmic situations :
http://jlchee.blogspot.com/2010/09/28-september-2010-page-246-directed.html

See, also, Amity's post, which contains delightful storytelling and excellent writing. She integrates textbook sources seamlessly to create a masterful informal article all her own:
http://amity215.blogspot.com/2010/09/meet-me-halfway.html

As for the evolutionary biology perspective on love and marriage, there were so many interesting perspectives! Read Ricky's response before or after April's response to observe both argument and counterargument about the same topic.

Ricky: http://richardkriebel2.blogspot.com/2010/09/whats-up-with-marriage.html

April: http://aprilpage333.blogspot.com/2010/09/marriage-will-fight.html

This week, you'll continue to read scientific perspectives that argue about the nature of relationships. I find these accounts to be fascinating and hope you will too! Continue to read, write, and offer peer review on your blogs. I'm around if you could use some assistance.

Happy writing!

-AP