link to SCD #1
link to SCD #2
SHORT CRITICAL DISCUSSION #3 -TEXT(UALITY)
Due 4/3/15 4/5/15 by 5:00 p.m. to Blackboard to (Bb) "Assignments" (note the slightly extended deadline)
(Note: if you are submitting SCD #3 as your third submission, please upload it to the SCD Assignment slot whose score you would like it to replace, either "Your First SCD" or "Your Second SCD," and I'll find it there. -Prof. G)
PURPOSE AND TASK
For the final short critical discussion, I will ask you to put two or more theoretical texts into conversation with each other and with other texts in order to build an argument that is inspired by our discussions of Text(uality) as a critical dilemma. As before, putting them into conversation requires that you do more than simply comment on them, compare them, dis/agree with them, or formulate an opinion about them. It generally requires that you carefully and expertly synthesize them into a clear, thesis-driven discussion.
I think you will enjoy the readings in this unit, because they most likely will echo other topics, themes, or questions that you have become accustomed to in the EWM major. They all deal with some tension or dissonance between form and function, or medium and message—and in some cases, they may disrupt any clear distinction between form/function or medium/message. As well, each reading is typically dedicated to unpacking a single concept. Depending on your interests, you will connect more strongly with some concepts than with others. However, as before, I think our case studies will help ground you, and inspire you to take up old concepts in new and interesting ways, especially as you anticipate the final project.
Remember that your aim with SCD #3 is three-fold:
- to craft an interesting and coherent argument based on some curiosity, question, or problem that arises from reading a couple of our texts or theorists together;
- to demonstrate a nuanced (even sophisticated) understanding of theorists and their texts; and
- to hone your critical writing skills in the essay format.
PROMPTS
I offer some prompts to help you get started, but please remember that the prompts are just that—suggestions, inspirations, or jumping-off points that will eventually lead you to a more specific realization. That more specific realization (a.k.a., thesis statement) should not simply answer the prompt; it should reflect a discovery that advances your thinking.
- Discuss how at least two of the theorists below are concerned (explicitly or implicitly) with this question: “What is genre?” Although the question seems easy, I'd like you to complicate it through your discovery. (Note: you are not limited to texts that only have the word “genre” in their title.) For example, do the writers treat genre as form over function, or as some aspect of function? Do they imply that only certain combinations of texts, signs, or agents can be considered “genres”? What differentiates genre from “discourse” or “text” in their arguments? Who determines which genres circulate and how they evolve? This is just an assortment of questions, but you are not bound by them. Once you have decided on how to put both theorists into conversation, feel free to demonstrate your discovery on a case, especially to help explain to your reader why it matters. It should have some significance beyond just this assignment.
- Discuss how two of our theorists from this unit invite the growth or extension of another theorist’s concept from our earlier units: for example, agency, author-function, audience construction, language, signification, symbol, icon, differance, heteroglossia, or anything else you choose! It is highly unlikely that all of these concepts will be explicitly mentioned in the texts we read in this unit. So, you will need to make it clear whose definition of the concept you are putting into conversation with the theorists from this unit. Draw on reference texts and cases as needed.
- If there is one thing that all of these authors address, to one extent or another, it is the possibilities and constraints of form. What (new) meaning does “form” take on in this unit? For example, what values—contingent or stable—get assigned to various textual forms? How do our theorists revise or expand their own notions of traditional forms of writing? When does the form become the function, or vice-versa? Does creation precede form, or do forms help creations be realized? (Note that "form" may be interpreted as "picture" or "design" depending on which texts you use.) Using at least two of the critical texts below—and drawing on reference texts or cases as needed—discuss how your authors might answer (or fail to fully answer) this question about form.
Here are your options for critical texts:
Deleuze and Guattari “Introduction: Rhizome” (3-25)
Hum “Racialized Gaze as Design” (191-215)
Landow “Hypertext and Critical Theory” (33-48)
Liu “Information is Style” (195-230, optional, since we dropped it from our reading)
Longinus “From On the Sublime” (344-358)
Miller “Genre as Social Action” (151-169)
Mitchell “Metapictures” (35-64, 82)
Ridolfo and Rife “Rhetorical Velocity” (223-243)
Here are some reference pages you may find helpful:
Relevant pages from The Bedford Glossary
Richter background on “Reader Response Theory” (962-965)
Richter background on “Marxism” (1198-1201)
Here are your options for cases:
Briggs When the Wind Blows
CHNM's September 11 Archive
Daniel “Public Secrets”
El-Rassi Arab in America (if you are in the 2:00 section)
Johnsen and Christensen Good Copy Bad Copy
Satrapi Persepolis (if you are in the 11:00 section)
Spiegelman Metamaus
a case of your own choosing (as long as you make it available to me)
Relevant pages from The Bedford Glossary
Richter background on “Reader Response Theory” (962-965)
Richter background on “Marxism” (1198-1201)
Here are your options for cases:
Briggs When the Wind Blows
CHNM's September 11 Archive
Daniel “Public Secrets”
El-Rassi Arab in America (if you are in the 2:00 section)
Johnsen and Christensen Good Copy Bad Copy
Satrapi Persepolis (if you are in the 11:00 section)
Spiegelman Metamaus
a case of your own choosing (as long as you make it available to me)
CHARACTERISTICS AND EVALUATION CRITERIA
This assignment is worth 150 points. Here are some specific criteria I will use to evaluate:
Argument and Thesis
For these assignments, “argument” does not necessarily mean “position” (as in, the traditional pro/con, agree/disagree, good/bad, right/wrong sense of argumentation). It does mean a realization that can only be arrived at through careful synthesis. Your argument should be interesting, worthwhile, and specific. Your argument should be guided by an original and clear thesis statement that represents the discovery, is not simply a summary of the texts’ main purpose or theme, and does not simply state the obvious about the texts you are reading. In other words, your thesis statement should provide us the result of all your thinking and analyzing, rather than just telling us broadly what you hope to think about or analyze, and it should not simply answer the prompt. If your thesis is complex, it may take a few sentences to articulate all of its points. This is perfectly natural.
Textual and Contextual Evidence
You’ll want to develop your argument by drawing heavily on the critical text(s) you have chosen, and you’ll want to use examples accurately and well, using in-text (parenthetical) citations throughout your discussion where needed, especially where you paraphrase concepts. Feel free to use examples drawn from class, but please do not just echo the examples back to me without demonstrating that you can extend them. Rather than just relying on what you think is “common knowledge,” use the reference texts to provide essential background. Please cite specific incidents, images, and other textual details. In a discussion this brief, please try to avoid extensive block quoting!
You’ll want to develop your argument by drawing heavily on the critical text(s) you have chosen, and you’ll want to use examples accurately and well, using in-text (parenthetical) citations throughout your discussion where needed, especially where you paraphrase concepts. Feel free to use examples drawn from class, but please do not just echo the examples back to me without demonstrating that you can extend them. Rather than just relying on what you think is “common knowledge,” use the reference texts to provide essential background. Please cite specific incidents, images, and other textual details. In a discussion this brief, please try to avoid extensive block quoting!
Specificity and Situatedness
Some of our collective goals, as a class, are to learn to argue specifically, to question our own assumptions, and to strike a balance between letting the theorist speak to us and speaking back to the theorist. This means making careful observations, providing context details, and avoiding broad generalizations or vague claims (e.g., “Nowadays, things are much better for women writers,” or “In 2015, all genres are complex.”). It also means finding ways to engage with ideas and texts other than merely reacting to them or merely editorializing about them. Instead, I'm asking you to make situated observations (e.g., “In the kind of standpoint feminism that Seyla Benhabib writes about,” or “Ellen Barton was critical of one of the United Way's campaigns based on its flattening of disability”), and this may seem difficult at first if you've never before been asked to justify your claims in terms of the text.
Some of our collective goals, as a class, are to learn to argue specifically, to question our own assumptions, and to strike a balance between letting the theorist speak to us and speaking back to the theorist. This means making careful observations, providing context details, and avoiding broad generalizations or vague claims (e.g., “Nowadays, things are much better for women writers,” or “In 2015, all genres are complex.”). It also means finding ways to engage with ideas and texts other than merely reacting to them or merely editorializing about them. Instead, I'm asking you to make situated observations (e.g., “In the kind of standpoint feminism that Seyla Benhabib writes about,” or “Ellen Barton was critical of one of the United Way's campaigns based on its flattening of disability”), and this may seem difficult at first if you've never before been asked to justify your claims in terms of the text.
You are writing for a reader (or group of readers) who needs to see that you can carefully handle textual evidence, so be sure to educate them wherever possible by taking the time to define key terms. While I fully expect and fully encourage you to make use of the Oxford English Dictionary, it is not enough to simply justify a claim by saying “According to theOxford English Dictionary …” You are also writing for a reader (or group of readers) who needs to know by the end of your introduction what their investment is in reading. Try hooking your reader(s) with a critical and imaginative beginning, i.e., a sense that you know what you want to say, and not a vague or wandering or philandering opening. Your introduction should help us understand the specific dilemma that prompted you to write.
Organization and Coherence
How you organize your critical discussion should ultimately reflect the argument you want to make. This includes a clear introduction and conclusion, useful transitions, and adequate development of each point. Your thesis may act like a “thread” for your main and supporting points, and each paragraph should be well focused and guided by something like a topic sentence that helps your thesis to unfold.
How you organize your critical discussion should ultimately reflect the argument you want to make. This includes a clear introduction and conclusion, useful transitions, and adequate development of each point. Your thesis may act like a “thread” for your main and supporting points, and each paragraph should be well focused and guided by something like a topic sentence that helps your thesis to unfold.
Language and Style
Your discussion can be confident and still carry a balanced tone, with neutral language and strong sentences. Your use of terms should be thoughtful, even elegant. You should not need to rely on excessive metadiscourse, “I think/feel/believe,” or “In my opinion” statements to carry your argument forward. It should always be clear who is saying what. Try putting dense or complicated language into your own words, and be sure to report names and titles accurately. No patterns of sentence- or paragraph-level error should get in the way of meaning. Spelling and punctuation should be precise.
Your discussion can be confident and still carry a balanced tone, with neutral language and strong sentences. Your use of terms should be thoughtful, even elegant. You should not need to rely on excessive metadiscourse, “I think/feel/believe,” or “In my opinion” statements to carry your argument forward. It should always be clear who is saying what. Try putting dense or complicated language into your own words, and be sure to report names and titles accurately. No patterns of sentence- or paragraph-level error should get in the way of meaning. Spelling and punctuation should be precise.
Discourse Conventions and Formatting
Your title should reflect what you are trying to argue and may even contain layers of meaning. Citation conventions should be accurate. Aim for ~3 pages single-spaced with your “Works Cited” in MLA format. This means that the final draft should be: Word-processed in a legible 11- or 12-point serif font, and formatted to include 1-inch margins. No cover sheet is necessary, but your name, due date, and course information should appear at the top left of the first page. Please create a header or footer with your last name and page number on all remaining pages.
Please feel free to ask questions if any part of the assignment is unclear, or if you become stuck while working through an idea.
Your title should reflect what you are trying to argue and may even contain layers of meaning. Citation conventions should be accurate. Aim for ~3 pages single-spaced with your “Works Cited” in MLA format. This means that the final draft should be: Word-processed in a legible 11- or 12-point serif font, and formatted to include 1-inch margins. No cover sheet is necessary, but your name, due date, and course information should appear at the top left of the first page. Please create a header or footer with your last name and page number on all remaining pages.
Please feel free to ask questions if any part of the assignment is unclear, or if you become stuck while working through an idea.
