Making some choices
"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men . . .
. . . aft gang agley" (by the 18th century poet whose birthday is today (he'd have been 253 if he'd lived).
I said this, last time: "I've received a few emails letting me know that the writer's Swift position paper has been edited, and asking more-or-less specific questions about it. I'm planning on reading those and getting responses back by Wednesday." But it hasn't happened.
Today
We have a number of recommendations to read and consider. I don't see that there is much to be added to them orally.
There isn't as wide a variety of writers as I'd expected. So here's what I propose: read all the ones that are there now. It won't take awfully long: though many of them are impressively thoughtful and solid, even the best are not especially lengthy. Make a decision about which one of the writers you'd most like, right now, to know more about. It might be one you recommended, or it might be -- possibly even should be -- another. Your aim now isn't to persuade us to look at a writer, but actually to start looking at one.
Between now and Monday, spend some time finding out what you can, and write a more extended explanation of what you found -- it might be biographical information, it might be what people have said about the works, it might be descriptions of works. Use references -- at least a couple, preferably more. Quote from them. And, finally, create a specific, concrete list of works you think we ought to read -- in this case, not just the names of the works, but in the case of the longer ones, specify what parts you'd assign. Your report should have three sections:
Remember that the rule for time you should budget for this course is about eight hours a week, total. So don't do more than you have time for (but do do that much). Start now; count the hour or so we'd have spent in class toward your work on this.