Students are exploring addiction, and class conversations have centered on Lauren Slater's "Rat Park: The Radical Addiction Experiment," a secondary source that summarizes an interprets a 1981 study by Bruce Alexander, et al.  I've linked the original study below, as students may use it (but not the Slater article) in their final paper. Adrienne is a huge proponent of scholarship as conversation, and the class spends a lot of time exploring and discussing competing perspectives on the causes of addiction, and how different perspectives about causes means different perspectives about prevention/treatment.

The students explore the Slater article in-depth, and really spend the entire semester deep diving into the models/theories of addiction, and how different approaches to the problem shapes both public perception and public policy.  Peek really likes the Slater perspective (if people have their needs met, they won't be addicts) and has a bias toward it, a fact she happily shares with students. As it may come up with students, Adrienne also shares that her son is an addict and as a result she is raising her grandchildren. She also shares the fact that there are many critics of this study, and how hard it is for her to accept the challenges they lob at the methodology of this study. 

STEP ONE: CONNECT WITH A LIBRARIAN: 

Students can come in, email, chat, or make an appointment, but she really wants them to connect with a librarian. She loves librarians and thinks that once students realize how helpful and knowledgeable we are, they will become forever library kids. Their first assignment is to find a background article that explore the causes of addiction. Take this opportunity to promote Gale eBooks as a good source of background research. I usually demo (or explain) two searches to them: addiction and addiction models. I'll show them one of the Gale encyclopedias (just about every Gale article on addiction is written by the same author, so they are remarkably similar) and draw their attention to how much useful information is contained therein (definition, statistics, risk factors, causes, treatment options, bibliography). I show them how to download, email, print, and cite.  Then I do the second search just so I can show them my favorite article from the  Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol & Addictive Behavior titled "Models of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse." They only need to find and cite one article for this step.

STEPS TWO & THREE: RESEARCH TWO OR MORE THEORIES/MODELS OF ADDICTION. COMPILE AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY AND THEN AN ESSAY IN WHICH YOU ARGUE FOR WHAT YOU THINK IS THE MOST LIKELY CAUSE.
Essay four is her attempt to have students explore, on their own, some of the competing perspectives on addiction. There are a LOT of them to choose from, and Peek recognizes the task is complex. It's not like there are a list of six perspectives for students to choose from. There are many perspectives to be found. Some of them are broad:  biological, social, psychological. Some of them are narrow: Drug abuse as learned behavior. Often it seems similar theories are given different names depending on the discipline. Biological model or medical model or disease model? Social model or learned behavior? 

I'm including some links I went over with students in the face-to-face sections that name some of the theories.  Students are to pick at least 2 theories to compare, contrast, analyze. IT REALLY DOESN'T MATTER WHICH ONES. Peek wants them to a) take a deep dive into understanding some of the theories being floated b) understand there is no "one" answer to complex issues like addiction and, c) make a reasoned argument supporting/challenging various perspectives.  

Students need 8 sources on an Annotated Bibliography. They need to use at least six of these on the final paper. All sources should be from databases, though they can use .gov sites for background info. RECENTLY ADRIENNE HAS USED THE TERM "SPECIALIZED SOURCE FROM EBSCOHOST DATABASES." SHE MEANS AN ACADEMIC JOURNAL OR REPORT. SOMETHING BEYOND A MAGAZINE/NEWSPAPER. DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PEER REVIEWED, AND ANYTHING LISTED AS A REPORT, CONFERENCE PROCEEDING, DISSERTATION IS OK.

Also, if a student finds a good source somewhere else (I'm sure I'll be looking at Google Scholar for these students) they can make a case to Adrienne. I plan on taking full advantage of this. I think Adrienne wants to avoid "my addiction journey" sites and drug treatment program sites, so is sort of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, but at least their is a way for baby to get back in. lol
 

I've provided instruction in Adrienne's two face to face classes. The instruction has emphasized:

SCHOLARSHIP AS CONVERSATION: Don't bother looking for a simple answer. There isn't one. Lots of competing perspectives that you weigh against each other as you are figuring out where you stand on this issue. 

STARTING EARLY AND KEEPING A NOTEBOOK for sources, ideas, and terms. This isn't going to be easy. A librarian can help find sources for the paper, but background reading to find interesting perspectives is on them.
PRELIMINARY READING to identify and understand the basic working of their 3 theories and to collect related terms.
TERMINOLOGY is crucial because it's not standardized. Keep a running list of terms (eg. psychological, psychodynamic, self-medicating). Plan B and Plan C scenarios will likely need to be employed.
SCAFFOLDING. They don't have to use scholarly sources, but the nature of the topic and the database requirement means they likely can't avoid them.
HOW TO READ A STUDY
In my example I used the rat-park perspective: self-medication, my least favorite perspective: moral, and the my favorite catchall: biopsychosocial (yes, it exists!).  I did suggest they pick one they love, one they hate, and one they can find a lot of stuff on! lol

Get the student to open Week 8 in their Canvas shells for the full instructions. They are not all on one page, but are embedded in text, slide shows, etc.

See also LibGuide for assignment: https://libguides.mjc.edu/selfawareness

Essay 3: Personal-Interest Research Paper 

This essay is due at the end of week 11, and the smaller assignments we do along the way in weeks 7-11 are designed to help get you where you want to be by then. You'll find the essay submission spot, along with the essay rubric, in our Week 11 module. The rubric there will mirror the content, approach, and writing goals detailed below.

General Instructions:

• Using the feedback from your proposal paper as well as required class materials and research sources, create an engaging essay that explains why your personal interest topic matters (especially to you).

In your essay, you want to show that you care, showcasing your connections to your topic and making readers feel connected with it. You'll show you care by discussing and demonstrating the following:

• engaging writing strategies,
• appealing to common interests,
• the importance of personal background,
• and the value of not only sharing main (often familiar) ideas but also going beyond what audiences already know.

To help go beyond what audiences already know, share relevant details about yourself as well as interesting information you found in your research about how your topic contributes to your well-being.

In short, in Essay 3, keep in mind the main goals above and concentrate on answering the question below:

Why does your topic matter (especially to you), and how does it relate to your well-being?

Sources: 10 (6 from research (including 2 from library databases) and 2 very recent--2021 or later--from the web), 2 from class readings, 2 from class videos

Results from librarians' brainstorming on the prompt:

Kathleen: It seems like Op wants students to think about their everyday lives in a bigger context. Like, what does gaming teach you about life? Or using IG filters, or curating your life on social media. What do you learn about love and acceptance from your dog or cat?   I'm trying to think of things our students do that they could use. I just surveyed my CMPGR263 students about what they like to do and it's a lot of gaming, social media, pets, and – for a few – fitness. If they could start with something they know well it might be easer.

Kathleen's ideas if she was writing this paper: 

1. I might consider doing something on Bikram yoga. Because there are a million lessons to be learned in that hot room that apply to the world at large. Mindfulness, developing strength through flexibility (if you come to the practice bendy) or developing flexibility through strength (if you come to the practice strong), endurance and overcoming obstacles, blah blah blah.
2. Walking my dog the same place every day and how it never gets boring because every day is different. The river is at a different level, more leaves are on the ground, or are starting to come out on the trees. The sky is different, the people I pass by are different. I might work that into an essay about routines, and finding the balance between routines and discovery and how they aren't mutually exclusive.

Note that the annotated bibliography asks for 3 scholarly articles, an article from the class readings, and one book, but the actual paper may include additional credible sources.

"You will support your argument using 5-6 credible sources. Your sources should include most of those listed in your annotated bibliography. However, you may find that you need to obtain additional credible sources. Furthermore, at least one of your sources must present a 'counterargument' to your argument."

Chandra says:

I've assigned the annotated bibliography for my ENGL 101, as usual, and so hopefully​ students will start coming to talk it over with tutors and librarians. 

I'm attaching the prompt here for your files and the share with others, but also thought I would include a video I made for Canvas that hopefully​ students watch: https://youtu.be/AuIrxtRGE-0?feature=shared

Research Papers:

Chandra has different prompts for each of her ENGL 101 sections this term. The online one is doing protest art. LibGuide with prompt included is here: https://libguides.mjc.edu/ProtestArt

Her 101-3089 is choosing a topic related to the film Pleasantville. LibGuide and Prompt are below:

https://libguides.mjc.edu/Pleasantville

Her 101-2343 is researching topics related to The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. LibGuide and Prompt are below:

https://libguides.mjc.edu/PartTimeIndian

Jason says: About half of my English 101 students are writing on the topic of immigration. The rest are writing on topics such as these: 

Police reform

Abortion laws

Homelessness

Child trafficking 

Clean-energy policies (gas cars / electric vehicles)

Ocean pollution

Education reform

Health-care reform

Minimum wage 

Sexism in the workplace

Bullying policies

Animal-testing laws

Genetically modified foods

Salaries for college athletes

 

Prompt and brainstorm for annotated bib being worked on now (11/3/22)

CLASS BRAINSTORM:

 

Questions:

How has our country’s history of racisim and slavery led to the specific kinds of problems and issues that Brandon Leake discusses?

How is history connected with the present (with issues involving race and racism towards people of color)? 

• Powerlessness - during slavery, based on laws (voting, education, housing, relationships, housing, incarceration, violence)

• Lack of control

• Being blamed, innocence, unjust, unfair

• Bias ideology

• The affect of being surrounded by racism

• Offended by history - how it affects self worth, identity

• Educational opportunities in history and now

• Poverty - history and now

• Cycle of poverty, education

• Recovering from trama - or just living in the result of trama: mental health, anxiety and depression– drugs

• Racism in law enforcement (then and now)

• Held down by society, fairness,

• Worry, fear for loved ones

>>>>>>>Any of these ideas can be used as you work on research for this essay!

Please see the LibGuide for this assignment:

https://libguides.mjc.edu/cancel_culture

Essay is due Nov. 13

Is cancel culture a danger to American society? For this assignment, you will write a cause-and-effect essay analyzing the effects of cancel culture.

The paper should cite (in-text and on Works Cited page) at least five credible sources.

• • Two sources must be from scholarly articles from the MJC library databases (such as EBSCO and Gale). Highlight the two citations of scholarly articles from the MJC library databases on your Works Cited page.
  • The other three sources may be from more popular credible sources (such as credible periodicals such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, Psychology Today)
  • Use logic and rationality to support your claims including a combination of different types of evidence such as established facts, case studies, statistics,  and logical reasoning.
  • Use authority to support your claims drawing from different sources as evidence for your claims including citation of recognized experts on the issue, and illustration of deep knowledge on the issue.

The paper should be a minimum of 2,000 words long, not counting the Works Cited page.

Three assignments:

Annotated bib with one non-scholarly article and three scholarly.

Rhetorical Analysis essay on the non-scholarly article (see box below)

Synthesize and Inform essay on the topic students chose the previous two assignments. Here's the brief prompt for that:

Part Three: Synthesize & Inform Essay This assignment is your opportunity for you to synthesize the information you gathered for your annotated bibliography to inform your audience. You are not limited to the sources from your annotated bibliography. Your essay should include a clear thesis/research question, a brief history of the topic, summary of the current research, and the future direction of research in this area. Requirements: Narrow your topic to a specific research question/thesis A informational essay and next steps for research purposes Audience clarity - It should be clear in your tone and the information you provide if your audience is the general public or an informed person in your field. A reference list which includes all your sources in alphabetical order that informed you as you conducted research on your topic Your essay should be typed, double-spaced, 12 point font and minimum of 2,500 words RubricLinks to an external site. Due: 11/20/22

 

Additionally, they need to writeup their chat with a librarian using the IL framwork: 

The MJC library has a great "Ask a Librarian" feature. After you have chatted with a librarian, write 5-6 reflective sentences about your experience. How did you apply the IL Framework lens Research as Inquiry and Searching as Strategic Exploration? What did you learn? How did connecting with a librarian help with your research? Research as Inquiry - Research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions whose answers in turn develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field. Learners who are developing their information literate abilities: Formulate questions for research based on information gaps or on reexamination of existing, possibly conflicting, information; determine an appropriate scope of investigation; deal with complex research by breaking complex questions into simple ones, limiting the scope of investigations; use various research methods, based on need, circumstance, and type of inquiry; monitor gathered information and assess for gaps or weaknesses; organize information in meaningful ways; synthesize ideas gathered from multiple sources; draw reasonable conclusions based on the analysis and interpretation of information. Searching as Strategic Exploration Searching for information is often nonlinear and iterative, requiring the evaluation of a range of information sources and the mental flexibility to pursue alternate avenues as new understanding develops. Learners who are developing their information literate abilities: determine the initial scope of the task required to meet their information needs; identify interested parties, such as scholars, organizations, governments, and industries, who might produce information about a topic and then determine how to access that information; utilize divergent (e.g., brainstorming) and convergent (e.g., selecting the best source) thinking when searching; match information needs and search strategies to appropriate search tools; design and refine needs and search strategies as necessary, based on search results; understand how information systems (i.e., collections of recorded information) are organized in order to access relevant information; use different types of searching language (e.g., controlled vocabulary, keywords, natural language) appropriately; manage searching processes and results effectively.

 

Students are assigned to analyze their chosen article according to the Information Literacy framwork. Note in the prompt that the teacher asks a series of questions. If students answer those questions, they have basically analyzed their article according to the IL framework.

Here is a link to the Chat I had with the student who provided the assignment: https://libanswers.mjc.edu/admin/chat/thread/8326207

Here is the link to the framework:  https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework

Here is the link to RSR Visualized, which organizes the framework into graphics: https://libguides.mjc.edu/visualized

--Susan

Essay #3 is on a Social Movement, due Nov. 4. Research Assignment is linked below. For a Research Guide, she is using the Solutions to Oppression page from the ELIC 140 guide: https://libguides.mjc.edu/c.php?g=905597&p=7769248

Essay #4 is on an Unjust Law.Due Dec. 2. Prompt is below, and here is the Research Guide: https://libguides.mjc.edu/craane

~Susan

Essay 4

To prepare for writing Essay 4, you have read about unjust laws from famous civil disobedience activists, Martin Luther King Jr., and researched an unjust law in 2021.

For this assignment, in a 6-page essay, you will synthesize the ideas from the readings, your own ideas and experiences, and researched sources (finally, research is allowed!) to answer the following prompt:

What is an example of unjust law in 2021? Why is it unjust? Why should the law be changed and/or annulled?

Create a specific and well-articulated thesis statement that answers the prompt. Support that thesis with arguments and evidence (personal experience, general examples and facts, and specific examples and textual citations from at least 3 researched outside sources and any of the course readings from units 1 through 4.

For more details on essay requirements, submission, and grading see the below instructions AND the assignment rubric.

 

Email from teacher:

"This Annotated Biblio assignment is due for Engl 101-8382 on Sunday 3/28.  My 20 students have been strongly encouraged to enlist your support for completion.  Thank you so much for guiding them!  

Student topics and focus for the upcoming expose/report have all been preapproved, and they will stick with the topic they have.

I prefer they use their textbook for citation info.  They all have an eBook.  They have been working with this skill nearly every week for the past 7 weeks. 

They know I would like them to at least try Gale AcademicOneFile, and they have had video instructions about how to do that. 

All of them have completed the 901-903 LIBR series."

 

"Yes, evaluative.  This is part of the instructional material in the module.  The links have to be live, and they've had instruction and practice about how to download, save as a pdf, then upload the document in case it's in a database."

 

According to Mike's quick glance at a students Canvas, students need one "academic" source from the databases.  Searching for the term "cultural legacy" is not helpful, but  there are articles about proverbs and what they reflect about cultural norms or values is in EBSCOhost.  Susan has contacted Clanton for clarification.

What we have of the prompt:

 

Inquiry Question: How do you think a cultural legacy can impact the degree of a person’s success?

Background:

Proverbs are popular sayings which contain advice or state a generally accepted truth. Proverbs function as “folk wisdom,” general advice about how to act and live. And because they are folk wisdom, they often strongly reflect the cultural values and physical environment from which they arise. For instance, island cultures such as Hawaii have proverbs about the sea; Eastern cultures have proverbs about elephants, and American proverbs, many collected and published by Benjamin Franklin, are about hard work bringing success. Proverbs are used to support arguments, to provide lessons and instruction, and to stress shared values.  

In chapter 9 nine of Outliers, “Rice Paddies and Math Tests”, Gladwell provides some examples of proverbs that Chinese rice farmers would often recite such as “Farmers are busy; farmers are busy; if farmers weren’t busy, where would grain to get through winter come from?” and “In winter, the lazy man freezes to death” (238).

Prompt:

Gladwell uses these examples of proverbs from Chapter 9 to help explain the concept of cultural legacy. In Chapters 6, 7, and 8 Gladwell argues that understanding cultural legacy can impact a person’s success. Write a well-developed essay in which you define the term ‘cultural legacy’, discuss its impact, and discuss the role that proverbs play in keeping a cultural legacy alive. In this essay, you can either support Gladwell’s notion that cultural legacy has a profound impact on success or argue against itIn the essay’s introduction, give some background to Outliers. Then come to terms with Gladwell by explaining what he means by ‘cultural legacy.’ In your thesis, answer this question: What kind of impact does cultural legacy have on a person’s life? Can the impact be positive, negative, or both?

 

 

Students are assigned to meet with a librarian (appointment, chat, email) during the week of October 25-31). Here are the instructions she posted for students:

 

Preparing for Next Week's Consultation with a Research Librarian 

Hello!
I'm writing to provide you with information that will be helpful to you as you are scheduling time next week to consult with a research librarian about your research project.

First, here's what you'll need to do to prepare for the consultation:
1. You'll need to know what topic you have chosen for your research so you can discuss it. You'll need to be able to say why you've chosen this topic and what interests you most about it. 
2. You will need to have some "research questions" ready to discuss and get help refining. The questions you develop for Discussion Activity #3 will be helpful here, so make sure you have them handy when you have your consultation. Also, your classmates' will be adding research questions in their responses to your original post, so you might want to add those to your list as well.

And here's what you will get from the research librarian:
1. You will be taught how to search one database for an article on your topic (you'll actually come away from your consultation with an article to read and annotate).
2. You will learn how to generate a correct MLA citation for any articles you find in the library databases (this is ENORMOUSLY helpful!).

--------------------------------------------------

Also, here is her prompt (more info including source requirements is on the attached pdf):

For your research paper, you will need to choose some aspect of SOCIAL JUSTICE to learn about through your research. In order to maintain your focus on SOCIAL JUSTICE, though, think of the term meaning FAIRNESS for all members of society. There are many ways to approach this paper, but the bottom line to consider regardless of your topic is this: Who benefits? Who loses?

You may choose from any of the following topics:  

§  How have federal, state, or local government policies made it nearly impossible for some groups in our society to achieve homeownership and through it, economic mobility?

§  Why do we have unequal funding for public schools?

§  What are the inequalities present in our criminal justice system?

§  In what ways does our society systematically deny equal opportunities to some groups in our society?

§  What is the "achievement gap" in our public education system?

§  What is the "school-to-prison pipeline"?

§  What is the “wealth gap” in our society?

§  In what ways does our healthcare structure systematically deny equal access to quality healthcare to some groups in our society?

§  In what ways is racism alive and well in this country?

§  In what ways has the COVID-19 pandemic unfairly impacted certain groups, and what are the causes of this disproportionate impact?

 

Class was directed to the Art Research LibGuide

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE APRIL 28

Before the paper is due, students must complete an annotated bibliography. The sources they put in their AB MUST be the sources they ultimately use in their paper. So students really need to be sure they have a good outline and that the sources they find help them communicate the points they will make in the paper. 

RESEARCH PAPER OUTLINE ALSO DUE APRIL 28

04/15/20: Adrienne has replaced the research paper with a Researched Essay Outline. The outline Adrienne is using is attached above box.
 

For this paper, you will choose some aspect of SOCIAL JUSTICE to learn about through your research. In order to maintain your focus on SOCIAL JUSTICE, though, think of the term meaning FAIRNESS for all members of society. There are many ways to approach this paper, but the bottom line to consider regardless of your topic is this: Who benefits? Who loses?

You may choose from any of the following topics:

• How have federal, state, or local government policies made it nearly impossible for some groups in our society to achieve home ownership and through it, economic mobility?
• Why do we have unequal funding for public schools?
• What are the inequalities present in our criminal justice system?
• In what ways does our society systematically deny equal opportunities to some groups in our society?
• What is the "achievement gap" in our public education system?
• What is the "school-to-prison pipeline"?
• What is the “wealth gap” in our society?
• In what ways does our healthcare structure systematically deny equal access to quality healthcare to some groups in our society?
• In what ways is racism alive and well in this country?
• In what ways has (will) the recent spread of the COVID-19  unfairly impacted certain groups?
• Pandemics: Medical aspects
• Pandemics: Social/Psychological aspects
• Pandemics: Political Aspects

 

Requirements for a grade of “Complete:"

• You’ll want to make sure your essay meets the minimum length requirement of 2,000 words (not including the Works Cited page);

• You’ll want to make sure you have used a minimum of SIX substantive and/or scholarly sources in your paper.
  • At least ONE of your sources must be a scholarly source (peer-reviewed journal article).
  • All six of these required sources must be sources YOU found on your own or with the help of a research librarian.
  • You are allowed to use other sources, but they don't count in the SIX REQUIRED sources described above. 

• You’ll want to make sure you have followed MLA rules for formatting your paper;
• You’ll want to make sure you have followed MLA rules for integrating quotations and providing parenthetical citations for all source material (whether summarized, paraphrased, or quoted directly);
• You’ll want to make sure you have followed MLA rules for formatting your Works Cited page;
• You’ll want to make sure you have followed MLA rules for formatting each entry on the Works Cited page; and
• You’ll want to make sure each of your body paragraphs follows the “quotation sandwich” format from "They Say / I Say." 

From an email from Jim 3/30:

"Attached is my slightly tweaked research paper topic. Please disseminate. The main thing now is that the students don’t have to use both of the American histories. I sent them a link to Zinn’s book (compliments of Mike), but they are not so much contrasting the two books’ perspective on a personage, event, etc. but just trying to look for biases in any number of historical perspectives and trying to get the clearest, fairest picture thereof."

LibGuide for original prompt, which was to compare the way People's History of the United States and Patriot's Guide to American History treat a historical event/person/etc : https://libguides.mjc.edu/differenteyes

New prompt below.

SPRING 2020 update from Nancy:

All topics must be approved by instructor.

Sources expected:

• Substantive and/or Scholarly Articles and documents from most MJC databases except CQ Researcher, Opposing Viewpoints, and Pro/Con. Do not use these databases for sources.
• Thoroughly evaluated substantive and/or scholarly electronic articles from Google Scholar or other Internet sources  (it's okay to ask me)
• Appropriate books by experts in the field
• Must use a minimum of 4 appropriate sources in the essay

Fall 2019: Susan emailed Nancy and got this response in relation to acceptable topics.

Hi Nancy,

We’ve seen a lot of your students today who are struggling to come up with a topic that meets your approval, and we are working to understand what you are looking for. When we look over your list of suggested topics, we are confused about how one could form an argument about some of them using the sources in our databases alone (and one student told us news sources were not allowed—is that true?).

I know that the date for topic approval has passed, but I also know not all your students have approved topics yet as I was just working with one of them. I’m also the only librarian on duty tomorrow, and I’d love some guidance that I could pass on.

If you could send me a specific topic for each of your broader categories, that would be a big help. For example, can you give me an idea that would fall under International Travel Issues and Complexities? Also, I’m not sure what “Social Movements like calls for reform (not media)” means. I’m sure you’ve gone over all this in class, but we need a bit more information in order to best help your students.

Thanks so much,

Susan

Hi Susan,

Yes, they all know and have seen examples, but some of them want you to think for them because they didn't do the week of research on the suggested topics that I assigned.

 

I appreciate the position you are in.  Some of the topics approved so far are:

 

Militarization of police is necessary/unnecessary

Drone surveillance should not be part of public peace keeping

Hipster culture

Underground Radio

Hydrogen cars

Deaf culture is ruined by cochlear implants (!)

Jamaica should hols the Olympics

Cows milk is the best for babies

Central valley farms replace by almond orchards

Water allocation

Fracking

Fine arts in schools

Technology not needed in education

Cameras create public safety

All students should do military service

Don't impeach the president

Kids need better phys ed in schools & more

AI is out of control

US should ban same food additives as the EU does

Marriage culture

Keto diet is good long term

Common core is bad

Female mutilation should be banned in Africa

Insanity defense should never be allowed

Raise the age of majority

There are more, too, but you get the idea

Does this help, rather than explaining the thinking behind each broad topic suggestion?  I hope so.

And no, they do not have to use databases at all.  

I have asked them to use substantive sources and said that if they already know how to use a database, then they can, but that won't be taught or required until the next essay.

They are right about no news.

There are a lot of students this term who are uninformed about the world.  Getting the concrete thinking to expand at this age is pretty difficult.  Thank you for helping them and me, too.

 

Nancy Wandell

 

Jacob Eckrich has had this prompt for a few semesters. I don't think we get a lot of his students in, but those we do get will be confused. Here's the LibGuide: http://libguides.mjc.edu/satire

In the BI I emphasized that they could approach this two ways--from the facts about the issue>satire  or satire on the issue>facts. I showed them how to find opinion pieces in the databases and how to evaluate web sources. The guide has lots of links to political satire, so hopefully finding the satire itself won't be too hard (assuming they stick to current controversial issues)!

Prompt: Writing Project #3: Satire and American Culture

For this writing project assignment, you will research an issue that explores humor and its use/effect in modern society. Being an educated member of society also brings with it a responsibility for civic community participation, and one element of this is knowing what the current issues are, knowing where you stand on those issues, and being willing to participate in the conversation about these issues. So, first of all, you need understand what you will be responding to. For this research paper, you will be addressing the question: “What effect(s) is/are political satire having on American society?”

Then you need to write a researched argument about this issue. This means that you will need to

1.            Define the issue from a primary source (this means the piece of satire--SC)

2.            Describe the conversation about this issue: What are people saying? How does the issue affect different groups in different ways? 

3.            Analyze the language that people are using to talk about the issue so you can understand the bias that is brought to discussions about this issue.

4.            Take a stand on this issue

Specifications: 8-9 pages double spaced, 12 point font, Times New Roman, MLA

5-6 sources: You cannot count dictionaries or encyclopedias as any of the five sources (you can certainly use these in your paper if you need to, but they will be in addition to the five sources required). Sources may be texts from the RoH anthology, texts I’ve made available online, academic/scholarly texts you find in databases, or sources written by comedians/humorists (such as interviews or essays where they discuss the nature or use of humor/satire) or other scholars. *At least 3 sources must be researched*

First of all there is a Libguide for this, linked below.

I led 85 minute BIs for all three sections using the steps in the libguide.

The emphasis of this paper is personal narrative and self-exploration. Op loves to teach autobiography and has had several autobiographical essays published. It's his thing. The text is Gretchen Rubin's Better Than Before, a fun and accessible self-help book that serves as a springboard for folks wanting to create positive change in their lives. It encourages them ask what kind of people they are in terms of their general relationship to adopting new habits (tendencies).  What immutable personality traits do they have that might help or hinder their progress (distinctions). What motivates them to maintain the change (pillars). They must then choose a new habit to adopt and write a paper on how this habit will improve their lives, how they plan on tackling it, maintaining it, and what they think their obstacles might be. 

They only need (and can use no more than) TWO outside sources, plus the text. . Op wants one outside source from an MJC database (ANY MJC database including eBooks and videos) plus one  peer-reviewed source from an MJC database. YES! HE FINALLY GAVE UP ONE PEER REVIEWED SOURCE!

I encouraged them to have fun with the the text...treat the tendencies and distinctions and pillars like a horoscope. I encouraged preliminary reading on their habit before they turn toward more formal database sources.  I showed students the video on peer review, and demonstrated how to find the substantive sources and then the peer-review sources. We talked about using primary data from the peer-reviewed source to back up the question: What can I benefit from adopting this new habit?

The actual assignment is linked at the top of the libguide. Op has LOTS of requirements (snappy title, one simile per page, one one-sentence, stand-alone paragraph) I recommended students use his list as a checklist and make sure they include all those elements. A visit to the writing center with that rubric in hand wouldn't hurt. 

The book is on my desk if you want to read the three chapters students have to touch upon. It is a really east-to-read and easy-to-relate-to book and the students should enjoy the opportunity to bring so much personal stuff into their paper.

One more time: In the end students should only have three sources on their Works Cited list: The textbook, the peer-reviewed source, and the "any database" source. Extra sources make some instructors happy, BUT NOT OP!

There is a link to the full assignment attached. Basically:

• 6-8 pages, MLA
• Minimum of 6 sources (no Wikipedia or general encyclopedias)
• Choose from the following prompts:

1. Does racism play a major role into how businesses operate today? (For example, do you think there are any businesses/industries that are racists towards specific races/skintones?
2. How can we as a society can stop racism from continuing during our lifetime or at least in future generations? Write a paper in which you discuss whether we can get rid of racist behaviors.
3.  Has the phrase “culture appropriation” been blown out of proportion just because  individuals want to complain about racism or does it have a legitimate leg to stand on?
4. Why are humans racist? This is one question that has been bothering many academicians,  researchers, and scientists for years. Write a research paper in which you answer this difficult question.

Dimitri is explicit that these papers are a combination of PERSONAL EXPERIENCE and research. They will all begin their essay with a personal experience of racism or racist behavior. If they don't have one, they are to use the experience of someone they know. He is adamant they examine the issue of racism and come to a personal understanding.

One of Dimitir's online Summer 2019 sections is composed of Trio students who are largely first generation high school sophomores and juniors. They are taking this ONLINE, 5-WEEK course as a cohort. I (Kathleen) did a BI for them on June 12 and wildly encouraged them to come consult with Michael Leamy. I used prompt number 3, about cultural appropriation, and worked around personal experiences I had at UMOJA conference, taking my African American history class, and watching Albert Jaffa's short film, Love is the Message, the Message is Death. I also used Amanda Stenbert's "Cash Crop My Corn Rows." The Stenbert video is on YouTube and is a great source for this prompt. 

Prompt: Argue for how you do, would like to, would have liked to, or will raise your children. Use at least two of our readings from The Little Norton Reader or Jordan Peterson, plus six additional sources. This is a huge subject, so you must limit your topic in one or both of two ways: to a particular age range, such as the teen years or toddlerhood, or to an aspect of parenting, for example, bedtimes and curfews, religious instruction, awareness of family cultural or ethnic identity, nutrition and health (a very incomplete list). At least 1750 words. Due April 17 (MW class) or April 18 (TTh classes).

Hopes: I want students to be creative researchers. I think students doing curfews, for example, look for books and articles on curfews, not thinking of or willing to dig into books and articles on responsibilities, boundaries, teenagers. Also: going beyond page 1 of a source, finding the juicy quotations, synthesizing (I get a lot of papers in which all the body paragraphs make use of one source each).

NOTE: there is a LibGuide for this assignment, too.

Narcissism Essay:

Prompt is below. Students are being asked to work with a librarian to find four credible sources. There is a sheet for the librarian to sign after the student fills out the sources. The first draft is due November 18 and the sheet with the sources is due November 13.

There is a LibGuide for this assignment, too. http://libguides.mjc.edu/narcissism

Assignment

Choose a writer from our textbook and write an essay which answers at least four of the following questions, including both the why and how questions: To whom did he or she write? What did he or she write? Where did he or she write? When did he or she write? Why did he or she write? How did he or she write? (For simplicity, these questions are all in past tense, but many of the writers in the Norton are still living.)

 You'll note that several of the questions can be interpreted multiple ways. For example, does 'where' mean in what state or city? In what periodicals did his or her work appear? Did he or she write in coffee shops, or bars, on the subway (like John Grisham), or on top of a refrigerator (like Thomas Wolfe)? You may interpret the question in any or all of these ways. Likewise, the 'how' question may refer to the writer's product, meaning his or her style, or his or her process—whether she wrote on a strictly disciplined schedule or when the spirit moved her, whether she hand-wrote on napkins and then typed, etc.

 Your essay should be at least 1250 words. All borrowed material should be properly documented. Writer choices will be granted on a first-come, first-served basis. Tentative due date, depending on your class: February 22-23.

 

Sources I showed in the BIs I did in 3 classes

DATABASES

• Biography in Context (I spent a lot of time on this one)
• Kanopy
• Films on Demand
• GVRL

REFERENCE BOOKS AT EAST CAMPUS L&LC

• Current Biography (we have volumes 1940-2009)

CIRCULATING BOOKS

• Check our WorldCat catalog for books about authors and others works by the authors—don’t forget that we can ILL titles that MJC doesn’t own if students allow enough time.
• Public library for full length biographies of more famous authors

WEB

• Authors’ personal websites (for living authors)
• Authors' Twitter feeds and/or Facebook pages (for living authors)
• YouTube

SOURCES I DIDN'T SHOW BUT WILL BE USEFUL FOR SOME STUDENTS: 

• Literary Reference Center Plus
• Nineteenth Century Literary Criticism
• Twentieth Century Literary Criticism
• Novels for Students

 

Notes from instructor:

This week I went over in detail with my students their English 101 research paper topics. I am strongly encouraging them to coordinate small groups and to request a workshop in order to familiarize themselves with research strategies, use the research databases, and locate secondary sources for their essays. I have told my students to request workshops in small groups with others who are are doing the same prompt. I also have told them to have a thesis formulated, and have specific questions for you so that they are not coming in unprepared.

I also mentioned to the students that if they commit to scheduling a workshop, that I would give them some kind of a extra credit towards their paper. Would you be willing to give my students a signed slip which they might give back to me to confirm that they have successfully attended and completed a scheduled workshop with you? 

Notes on sources for prompts

Topic 1:

• GVRL articles on Imperialism
• "Clash of Civilizations" and "Roots of Muslim Rage" are available through WorldCat
• eBook The Social and Political Thought of George Orwell: a Reassessment has a discussion of imperialism and "Shooting an Elephant"
• There's a copy of Orwell's Burmese Days at Columbia (and a lengthy discussion of it in the book above).
• British Troops in Burma, 1944 is a two part propaganda film available through WorldCat/FOD--total of about 5 minutes.

Topic 2:

• CQ Researcher: Housing the Homeless, Poverty and Homelessness
• Issues and Controversies: Homelessness: Is the housing first approach the best way to fight  homelessness?
• LibGuides: Local Sources, Statistics
• Print books HV 4504  HV 4488
• Down and Out in Paris and London and "On Dumpster Diving" are on reserve

Topic 3:

• Without knowing which specific claims the students will focus on, it's difficult to find relevant articles, but check CQ and I&C for info once students have a topic.
• Sherry Turkle TED talk on YouTube: Connected but Alone
• 2 books by Marshall McLuhan at MJC
• FOD film "End of Education" by Neil Postman
•  

For this assignment, you will be practicing your research skills.  Here are your five steps:

1.       Connect with either Brian or any of the other Librarians at MJC.  

2.       Find an scholarly article or an e-book that you can use that aligns with the theme of our course and in particular with the theme of this week's and last week's content: educational systems as a form of oppression.

3.       After you have located your scholarly source, upload a short paragraph summarizing the author's main idea.

4.       List the citation for your source using MLA 8th edition guidelines.

5.       Finally, please indicate the name of the Librarian you worked with after you cite your source. 

NOTE: Per Shirley, credible sources are okay, but guide them to look for peer-reviewed articles. 

I wanted to let you know that I have strongly encouraged my English 101 students to get in touch with you for help regarding their research paper.

 To date we have discussed, or are discussing, their primary source material, and they have been steadily building towards proficiency in MLA Format and the documenting of a Works Cited page.

 However, they also will need help in the research process for identifying a relevant peer reviewed academic journal. I have let them know that they should request an on demand workshop with either one of you. I have also told them that they should approach you with their questions only after they have formulated a tentative thesis to work with, and done some focused brain storming about their paper.

 I am sure several of them have already reached out to you, but I have included for your reference our three main research topics (attached) in anticipation of my students' questions.

 Please let me know if you have any questions for me, and thank you both for sharing your expertise with us!

From an email from Dr. Beggs:

About 75 of my students (English composition) are writing an essay over the next few weeks on the topic of pressures faced by community college students. One source they will be using is a famous essay by William Zinsser called "College Pressures." It is an excellent piece, but it is also over thirty-five years old and focuses on Yale University students. I have presumptuously suggested that all of you have expert perspectives, and also hopefully a willingness to share them, on the pressures our students face, particularly those unique to junior college students.

 As is usually the case, a small percentage of students will take this opportunity, but if you hear from some of mine, I hope you can take a few minutes in person or by email to answer a few questions or direct them to useful source material.

I tried to focus this email on certain areas--Veterans, Counseling, Health Services, for example--but many of these areas don't have distribution lists.