yes, today! free samples! they've been there, lurking in the sidebars. but NOW!! you can take a moment to look over some of the sample rational arguments posted at the blog.
oh sure, you can go with the VERY ROUTINE (kinda dull) option, but how about reading a sample from a former student of mine, the lovely Ashley Nelson, who has so graciously allowed us to review her work?!!
@ right, you will find both an early and revised version of Ashley's essay. keep in mind that she was not in a themed course, so her topic has little to do with slacktivism (as your essay will!). it's just such a solid essay -- fun, interesting, full of Ashley's voice, and very balanced in its approach to explore the problem and look at a variety of perspectives.
do yourself a favor! read the samples!!
happy drafting, and happy halloween!!
We are just beginning to work on the development of a Rational Argument (see prompt @ the course blog). Recall that I added the initial component of finding an image -- from your daily life, not necessarily downloaded) as a point of departure for your thinking. Wednesday, we did some work discussing how to evolve the image into a research question by using the structure of the Microtheme to get us thinking in a focused but generous way. Continue this work today.
Here is a Critical Reminder: Some of you shared very interesting pictures, but I was not in every case sure that they had to do with our course theme of "Slacktivism" and related questions about smartphones, digital technology, social media, and screen culture. You should change course if you are not on this path.
I was hoping that your found image might "connect" you to some thinking about our digitally mediated lives. If not, get going (sans image) with a slacktivism related question. So many things to choose from!! Political uses of social media; cultural uprisings and response, charities and social causes, connectedness and/vs ambivalence that may be related to the speed and ease of changing focus from one minute to the next (so "thinking" about poverty, for example, is easily dispensed). Open your search with a big, fat Google search. USE Wikipedia! Just start finding ideas. Collect links to articles, images, videos, anything that seems relevant to your thinking. We can sort it out in our process.
For Monday, you should have your image, a rough version of a Microtheme that begins to get after your potential research question, and AT LEAST one article from a very highly reputable source (an academic journal article or book is the ideal, but a NYT story or book review could do, as could key information from websites that are specifically focused upon the issue -- think "Doctors Without Borders" website for info on the refugee crisis). You should be able to tell us the key info from your article by having prepared a basic summary of it before Monday's class. Bring a copy to hand in, along with the draft of your Microtheme.
Write a blog post that identifies the direction you are taking. Be as polished as you can be, adding references to your sources (as you find them -- so you might, for example, avoid "publishing" but simply saving as a "draft" until Monday).
Remember -- truly engaged research should follow your genuine interest in the spirit of inquiry, NOT as a hunt for everyone who agrees with your initial bias. Stay open to improvisation, play, worry, and discovery!
