English
1006T
Prompt #3
23 September 2003
Exploring some texts
In class today
We'll begin by seeing whether there are issues about English 1006T
that need to be further discussed or clarified, on the basis of your
(re)reading of the English Department statement of goals and the
collection of emailed questions about the course. Then we'll go a
little further into "The Missing News," looking at some further
examples of passages where what the writers say
is a lot less important
than how they choose to say it. The aim is to help you develop the
habit of looking for "spin" in texts -- for places where alternative
ways of saying the same thing might invite a reader to feel differently
about the subject, or might suggest something different about how the
writer felt about it.
Moving on to some other texts
I went back through the "Article Box" looking for the texts that were
identified last time as ones groups thought we might profitably spend
some time looking at. A number of them weren't there, and most of
the ones I could find turned out to be either interviews with Chomsky,
or articles by him, both of which seem to me sort of limited in the
kinds of things they give us occasion to talk about. So I gave up
and picked four articles that weren't mostly Chomsky's words.
I'm going to set up four random groups, give each groups copies of one
of the pieces (at random, as well), and ask each group to be prepared,
on Thursday, to do three things:
- Explain basically what your article is, what its point and
purposes seems to be, and how it sounds
- Explain where your article originally appeared and tell us what
you've been able to find out about it (this may involve some research;
do what you can in an hour or so and report back with whatever you were
able to learn)
- Choose, and present to us, three passages in the article where
you think "alternative ways of saying the same thing might invite a
reader to feel
differently about the subject, or might suggest something different
about how the writer felt about it." and suggest at least one
alternative.
In your groups you can do whatever you need to be ready by Thursday
afternoon; my expectation is that you might divide up some of these
tasks, do them independently, and arrange a time on Thursday morning,
or just before English class, to do the final agreement on what you're
going to say. You can start working now; I'll be here to help until
about a quarter to four, but you can continue working as you need to.
On Thursday
We'll begin by hearing from each group. I'll have copies of the
articles to refer to.
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