Multimedia projects

If you want to take a closer look (or another look) at some of the projects we're seeing in class, here is a link to the video of Ethan's song, "Just Say Hi," to Bridget's comic on the joys of thrifting, and to Samaia's graphic memoir/story on affirmative action.

Letter writing!

Here are the tips for letter writing I shared in class yesterday and a few more Reasons We Should Write More Letters. And if you get really interested in letter writing, you can check out the Letter Writers Alliance (which you can also join––only $5 for a lifetime membership!)

Real Life Writing

Today I'm sharing with you my brief "writing resume," a list of the many roles that writing plays in my life as an adult. I often share some bit of "real life" writing when I talk about this in Nonfiction Writing, and in recent weeks, my real life writing has mostly been centered around memorial writing to remember and honor my dad after his death. If you're interested, you are welcome to read the obituary I wrote for my dad (with some research help from my aunt and a bit of collaboration from my husband), published in print and online in The Sheboygan Press. I'm also sharing the eulogy/reflection I wrote and delivered at my dad's memorial service.



Also, I'm playing a short video with some comments from Aiyishat Akanbi. She's a "cultural commentator, artist, and stylist." If you're interested in learning more about her, here's a brief interview with her.

Tuesday's reading

For tomorrow, please read "I Was the Mob Until the Mob Came for Me" by the pseudonymous writer "Barrett Wilson."

After you read this short essay, jot a few notes in your notebook in response to (or at least think for a couple minutes about) the following questions:

• Which of this essay's points do you find persuasive?
• What is less than persuasive about this essay?
• What ideas seem important or wise here? What seems well expressed?
• What ideas, examples, or turns of phrase do you question or resist?
• Is this a strong personal essay? Why and/or why not?

Link to Email Notes & Essay Options for next Tuesday

If you want to revisit any of the tips or advice I covered regarding writing email, here's the text. There are a couple of resources mentioned at the end, but because I turned the document into a PDF, the links don't work, so here they are: Re: Your Recent Email to Your Professor  and Email Etiquette from Purdue’s OWL.

Here are the four essays we'll be choosing from for our reading next Tuesday:

"I Choose to Be Fat"

I might as well tell you now that this essay won’t end with a scene from that brighter, happier life: an image of a newly svelte me out hiking or auditioning a red dress for a hot date, reflecting that I’d never known the beauty of the world — and of myself — until I’d lost the weight. This is not that kind of essay. It’s an explanation and a celebration of a single decision: Even if I never lost a single pound, I’d be just fine. I’d be better than fine.


"I Was the Mob Until the Mob Came for Me"

In my previous life... I would use my mid-sized Twitter and Facebook platforms to signal my wokeness on topics such as LGBT rights, rape culture, and racial injustice. Many of the opinions I held then are still opinions that I hold today. But I now realize that my social-media hyperactivity was, in reality, doing more harm than good.

Within the world created by the various apps I used, I got plenty of shares and retweets. But this masked how ineffective I had become outside, in the real world. The only causes I was actually contributing to were the causes of mobbing and public shaming. 


"In Praise of Incompetence"

Perhaps the one act of rebellion I’ve made in a life full of obeisance to my internal gods is to reject the genius mandate and opt instead for competence. This has freed me on the one hand, and made a drone of me on the other. I do not allow myself to expect brilliance; I attempt to squelch even the slightest longing for it. But I do allow myself to strive for paragraphs as well made — if I may say, as masterful — as any solid piece of furniture constructed by a skilled carpenter.


"What Sharp Teeth You Have"

I would rather be killed by a lion than by a man. When lions attack, it’s not personal. You’re either food or a perceived threat, and there’s nothing more to it—no basis in psychopathology or hatred or jealousy, no motivation to manipulate, no “mommy issues,” no rejection of moral standards, no intra-species betrayal. Lions are guileless. We accept that they are killers. 

[With men of my own species,] Distinguishing who presents a danger can be difficult, even among the familiar....

Presentation sign-up (plus, important poll)

Fourth period students, after you've given your classmates with special project needs time to sign up for their presentations, please sign up for your presentation time here.


Also, please take this poll before the end of the period today.

Workshopping your multimedia projects in progress

Get into groups of three and share your multimedia project with your small group, using this handout to guide your discussion. When it's your turn to be a responder, answer the questions on a sheet of notebook paper, which you will then give to the writer/creator after you finish your workshop discussion.