FOR OCTOBER 30

Find information about the BOOK OF JOB (part of the biblical text). Post a comment: Don't do a book report: rather, mention doubts, perplexities or other questions about the meaning of this biblical tale -- and if you want, give you interpretation on how it relates to Christ.

FOR OCTOBER 30

1) REPLY to the comment immediately above yours. Avoid the "agree/disagree" bit: did the comment say something you had not thought about? Or, you had reached the same conclusions?
The first student to post will have the luxury of not having to reply to anyone.

2) From the list of quotations I selected for the assignment, CHOOSE A QUOTE different from the two quotes in your assignment. Explain the reason of your choice and what it means for you. Please, try to choose a new quote, something that has not been posted here by someone else.

For Oct 28

I am glad I said that!

OR

I wish I had said.........

If you participated in the discussion in class this past THU (Oct 23), tell us: what is the thing you said that you are proud or happy about?

("Prof. Carasi! What a sloppy way to ask a question!")

I agree. Let me try again. Today (THU Oct 23) we had a great discussion in class. Did you participate? Are you happy about your "performance?" Did you say something valuable? Were you able to articulate your thoughts the way you wanted? Are you happy about what you said?

Conversely, if you did not participate with comments: do you wish you had said something? WHY didn't you speak up (please, no excuses like "somebody else said what I wanted to say.") What were you about to say before you decided to keep quiet?

FOR THU OCT 23

WEB SEARCH on one of the following topics:

1) The political climate at the times of Sacco and Vanzetti and the RED SCARE (please, do no discuss the trial per se or the issue of innocence/guilt). 

2) ITALIAN therefore ANARCHIST: in the first part of XX century, the trope of "violent, passionate, out-of-control Italians" switched from the personal to the political: at first they were seen as dangerous and volatile foreign element (see The Italian), but once they started integrating into society, they were still seen the same way, but in an even more dangerous role, that of "enemies" of the establishment within the realm of political struggle. The settings changed but the plot remained the same.    

3) ARTURO GIOVANNITTI: a young Anarchist, accused of murder during a violent labor strike, he defended himself in court. It was the first time he spoke in English in public: his closing argument was so eloquent that he literally saved his own life with words. He was acquitted. His speech (and subsequent literary work, poetry etc.) is easily available online.  

DIRECTIONS Premise:

READ your classmates' comments. I will remove comments that do not conform to the directions, and I will also post POSITIVELY REPLIES to comments that you can use as examples of a good job.

WARNING: If you write too much, your classmates won't read the whole thing. If you write too little, they won't think you are giving them enough information. It's the Goldilock dilemma.

i) The first student will do research on topic n. 1. Second student, topic n. 2, and so on. Obviously, student n. 4 will start over from n.1. I

i) Post the link of the website(s) you consulted. NO WIKIPEDIA. Avoid using the previously mentioned sites.

iii) Do not do a summary of the website content. Rather, EVALUATE the information CRITICALLY. What does it mean? It means you have to decide if the site is worth recommending.

FOR INSTANCE (but you don't have to address every suggestion in this list):

How is the quality of the info?
What about the quantity of information? Enough? Too much? Would you have liked more information or more links to other sites with additional information? Was there an overt political bias?

Is the website useful to learn things (well organized etc.)

DUE OCTOBER 16 [dont' forget the poll]

Quote a dialogue line or a statement from Christ that you found particularly important for you and explain why it grabbed your attention.

It must a quote nobody else has mentioned before.

Reply to other quotes that, for whatever reason, you found worth noticing.

DUE OCTOBER 9 [and don't forget the poll]

  
Read the assignment for today on the homepage: COMPARE THE QUALITY OF ONE OF THE EXAMPLES TO YOUR WORK IN GENERAL.

DID YOU LEARN ANYTHING VALUABLE?

PICK a passage that has not yet been chosen and WRITE A COMMENT according to the assignment's directions.

There are 10 passages: that means that the first 10 people will each choose a different one. The second 10 people will start over; and so the 3rd 10 people.
(When you write a comment, start with your comment's number -- if you are the first person or the second etc. Then CLEARLY INDICATE THE NUMBER OF YOUR CHOSEN PASSAGE.)

SKIP THE USUAL "I AGREE" "I DISAGREE". It is irrelevant. Look at the quality of argument and the quality of style in supporting the arguments. WRITE COMPLETE SENTENCES not fragments. REVIEW before you click "send".

Feel free to engage each other with replies etc.

One task of next week's writing assignment will be to copy-and-paste your comment (for grade.)

For Tue October 7

Please follow these steps.

1) Do not read your classmates comments.

2) Choose a photo from the slideshow Italian Immigrants.  Add your comment explaining why you chose that particular photo.

4) Return here and read your classmates' comment. Write a reply to the comments you liked the most.