In Class Today: Bork

Last time, we focused on some specific passages in Bork's piece on civil liberties, and talked about how some of them functioned to convey, or embody, some of Bork's assumptions and values. Those phrases are boldfaced in the online version of the text, here. Between then and now you were to have a look at those pages and pick some you thought worth talking about.  We'll take the first part of class today to discuss any of those that seem helpful.

In Class Today: Monbiot

You were also to pick one passage of no more than 50 words from "Left Behind to Starve," copy it out, and rewrite it to convey the same information or use the same facts, but to have a different "spin."   In groups of four or so, read each other's and then pick one to consider at more length.  We'll talk about some of these today, and possibly some more a week from today.

For Next time

There won't be any meeting on Thursday, as I'll be out of town.  Between now and Tuesday, here is a challenge: I have a set of cards, each with a question about one or the other of those articles on it.  I'll deal the cards out at random, and your challenge is to answer the question as best you can, on the Web or in the library. But here's the main thing: you should keep a detailed log of every single thing you do to find an answer to the question.  Make it absolutely detailed: if you go to the library, explain where you went and precisely you did; if you do a Web search, keep track of every keystroke: what did you use, what searches did you conduct and exactly how were they phrased, etc.

Work at this for at least a couple of hours, and find what you can. Check the articles first and see the way things are referred to, and remember to look for information that is relevant to the article. Think of the question not as one that asks for a one-sentence answer, but one that's phrased "what can you find out about X that will help illuminate the article?"

This isn't so much about finding things as it is about learning how to look, and we're going to be more interested in what people did than what they find. Bring your log, and your answer (whatever it is) to class Tuesday.