For Monday: Stanton, Humans of New York (last questions!)

Remember, Paper #1 is due next Friday! Our next two classes will give you some last-minute tips to write that paper. The questions below are designed to help you get 'inside' the paper, so you might use some of it in your final paper. 

Choose ONE image from the book, preferably one you haven't written about yet. Then answer Q1 and ONE other question beneath it: 

Q1: Describe the picture is enough detail that we could reasonably imagine what t looks like. Try to go beyond, "It's a picture of a guy wearing a suit." Tell us what he looks like, what kind of suit, the background, the colors, the time of day, etc. Imagine that your really needed to help someone find this picture in the book.

CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING: 

Q2: If the picture has a caption, explain how the caption changes how we see the image, or what we see in the image. Make sure we understand the significance of the caption, especially if it's not immediately apparent. 

Q3: If your picture doesn't have a caption, or only has a very short one, add your own to the image. What do you think this picture should say about itself? How would you want other people to view this picture, and what words could you add to make sure we see that?

Q4: Discuss one small detail in the picture that most people probably won't notice, but that you think is actually important to the image. What does this add to the picture? Why should people notice it? 

For Wednesday: Stanton, Humans of New York

Answer TWO of the following for Wednesday's class: 

Q1: Though primarily a book of portraits, Stanton includes a few longer stories in the book to complement one or two images. Focus on one of these longer stories and explain why you think he gives us the extra information. What does knowing this person's story add to our perception of the "human" behind it? 

Q2: Why do you think Stanton shows so many pictures of people with their dogs and other pets? Are there actually more people in relationships with their pets than other people in NYC, based on these photos? Why might this be significant? 

Q3: What strikes me most about Humans of New York is the portrait it paints of "your" generation (meaning high school and college-aged). Do you think it's an accurate portrait? Do you identify with many of these people and their struggles and desires? What could older people (like me) learn about your generation from this book?

Q4: If you could put one of these images in a time capsule, to be opened up in 50 years, which one would it be? What would you want this image to communicate to future ECU students about our world? 

For Monday: Stanton, Humans of New York

Answer TWO of the following questions by reading through the book and finding the pictures that help you answer them! 

Q1: Find one picture that you feel represents who you are right now. It doesn't have to look like you or even be the same sex/age as you, but how do they somehow embody your own identity at this moment in time? It could be their style, clothing, attitude, or what they're communicating in the caption.

Q2: Find one picture that you feel represents who you most hope to be 10-15 years from now. Again, it can be a different age/sex than you, but what about them seems to represent an identity you hope to attain or realize in the future. Why is this? How might this person underline the connotation of "success" or "happiness" or even "being an adult" for you? 

Q3: A lot of these photos are about people's personal struggles, even if they don't explicitly say what these are. What struggles seem to be the biggest ones for the poeple in the book? Do you feel that most people can relate to this, or is it unique to a certain age or group? 

Q4: Discuss a photo where you think, "that could only happen in New York"! What makes this photo so unique to that city/environment? Why wouldn't we see this here or in our hometown? Why might New York City create the kindn of environment that would showcase the people or situations in this photo? 

BONUS: Who can find the one person who appears in two different photos in this book? As far as I can tell, there's only one. :) 

Paper #1 assignment: "Acting Human in Public" due February 4th

See the due date below...this is NOT due next class period. I want you to spend some time working/thinking about this. We'll do some in-class writings to help you with this paper as well, so don't feel you have to rush on this. Let me know if you have any questions! 

Paper #1: Acting Human in Public

INTRO: In Brandon Stanton’s book, Humans of New York, we meet dozens of New Yorkers (and some from out of town) going about their daily business. Some pose for pictures, others wait for loved ones, some give advice, while others are lost in the moment. Yet all of them are in some way relatable, and they all say something about who we are as human beings, in any city, in any country, trying to figure out the greatest question of all: why am I here?

PROMPT: For this assignment, I want you to choose THREE photos that you feel answer the question, “this is what being human means to me.” The photos should be related in some way, and you need to help us see how they’re related in your paper (especially if it’s not obvious). In your paper, you need to use the photos to help us understand how you define the idea of being a ‘human,’ and how these people represent your ideas, emotions, and experience. Think about which pictures moved you, inspired you, surprised you, or made you laugh. Why did you connect with them? What do they say about you and your own journey as a human being?

REQUIREMENTS: Your paper should do all of the following:

• Introduce the book and the author for your reader. Remember, most people probably don’t know what Humans of New York is, or where these pictures come from. (Don’t write to me, in other words).
• Briefly describe each picture so we can see the people you’re talking about, what they’re doing, what they’re saying, etc.
• Quote from some of the pictures: respond to what they say or what Stanton says about them. Cite them according to MLA format (see below).
• Explain why you connect with each image, and how you understand who these people are. Don’t assume your reader sees the same things that you do: show us!
• Be at least 3-4 pages double spaced, though you can do more.

MLA FORMAT: When you quote from a picture in your paper, it should look something like this: Before taking the girl’s photo, Stanton asked her, “Do you mind if I take your photo, just like that?” Her response was simply, “I don’t know” (Stanton).

Also include a WORKS CITED PAGE, which lists the book each photo comes from like so:

Stanton, Brandon. Humans of New York. New York: St. Martins Press, 2013.

NOTE: Paper #1 IS DUE IN TWO WEEKS: FEBRUARY 4^th, BY 5PM (you can drop it in the box on my door, HM 348, or e-mail it to jgrasso@ecok.edu).

For Friday: Writing Workshop #2 (see below)

 There is no reading or questions for Friday: instead, we're going to do in-class writing that will lead to your Paper #1 assignment, which I will hand out in class. If you don't have the book and haven't done the questions yet, this is a great opportunity to catch up! The last set of questions are in the post BELOW this one.

Let me know if you have any questions, and as always let me know if you get sick or have any other problems. 

For Wednesday: Stanton, Humans of New York

For your first reading assignment, there are no set number of pages to read from the book. Just flip around and read casually, and don't try to read every page. Look for pictures that interest you and stories that surprise you. We'll read more in-depth later, but for now, just flip around...

Then answer TWO of the questions below:

Q1: As you flip around, which pictures immediately grab you? Why? Is it because of the person's style? Their expression? The way the photograph is taken? Or the words that accompany the image?

Q2: What seems to most interest Stanton as a photographer or as a fellow human? What kinds of people is he most drawn to, or what aspect of people does he like to focus on? Give an example from the book.

Q3: If you didn't know anything about New York, what impression might you walk away with after reading many of these pictures and captions? What might Stanton want you to think about the "humans" of New York?

Q4: Many of the pictures have captions that the subjects revealed to him as he took the photograph. Which caption most changes the picture for you? How did it help you see a different person than you initially saw? 

Welcome to the Course!

 Welcome to the class website for our Freshman Composition II course: this will be used instead of Blackboard, though you won't have to post or submit anything to this site. Instead, I'll post all our daily readings and work here, along with paper assignments and other announcements. Be sure to bookmark it so you can find it when you need it! 

Be sure to buy the 3 books for class as soon as possible, though the ECU bookstore has a delay in getting the first two books (they should be here by Thursday or Friday). The books are:

Required Texts:

• Stanton, Humans
• Schmeid, Edward Hopper: Portraits of America
• Capote, In Cold Blood

We'll be reading Humans first, starting this Friday, but if the bookstore doesn't have it in by Thursday don't worry about it. Just get it as soon as you can, and I'll keep checking the bookstore to let you know when it's arrived.

Please e-mail me with any questions or concerns, especially if you have to miss class or quarantine for the required number of days. See you in class!