For Tuesday: Humans of New York, last questions

NOTE: Be sure to see the Paper #1 assignment two posts down if you missed class on Thursday, as several of you did! 

Answer two of the following...

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 5-10 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: If you had to choose ONE of these images to be on the cover of the book, which one would you choose? Would it be more because of the picture itself, or the story it tells? Why might it best represent all that Humans of New York offers to the reader?

Q4: Which person or which person's story in the book would make a good movie or TV show? Even with only a small story, why might it hold an entire story behind it? What kind of show/movie do you think it would be? 

NOTE: Class Resumes on Thursday (tomorrow): see below

 Two quick things to remember:

1. We'll resume Tuesday's class tomorrow, on Thursday. See the post 2 posts down about the in-class writing and some ideas we might discuss in class.

2. Also, I posted the Paper #1 assignment which I planned to assign on Tuesday. Since we're doing it a day later, I pushed the due date back as well. So you'll still have the same amount of time to write it.

See you tomorrow hopefully! 

Paper #1: The Human Conversation, due Thursday, Feb.9th (revised date)

English 1213

Paper #1: Human Conversations

INTRO: For your first paper, I want you to focus on the idea of writing a ‘conversation,’ which means a paper that brings in other voices than your own. Instead of writing a paper that says “I think this, and I think that, and I also think this,” I want you to introduce other people’s ideas and thoughts, and explain why they’re significant before you weigh in with your own ideas. Good writing is always writing that responds to a conversation and shows us why things matter. If you find yourself unable to explain the importance of a topic or idea, you’ve simply left out too much of the conversation. How to find the conversation? Find who else is talking about it, and let them discuss it.

PROMPT: Find THREE people in the book who share the same basic conversation. This could be a conversation about education, having a family, losing a job, finding happiness, losing hope, falling in love, etc. They don’t all have to talk about it the same way, or even agree with each other, but it should be clear from your paper that they’re each talking about the same basic thing. Introduce each person by briefly describing them and then quote something significant of what they bring to the conversation. Explain how each one adds or seems to respond to the other, and what we learn from hearing these three people share their discussions with the audience.

OUTLINE: Your INTRODUCTION should open “in the middle” (we’ll discuss that in class) with one of the ‘humans’ in the book, using their story or picture to introduce the topic. The rest of the paper should be their discussions and your responses to them (what makes them significant, why they’re important/interesting, etc.). Your CONCLUSION should explain why this, to you, is one of the most important conversations we can have as human beings. What do you, personally, learn from this conversation that others can benefit from?

INTRODUCING A SOURCE (an example):

On page 213 of Humans of New York, we see an intense-looking young man staring at the camera with blue eyes and a blue-green hoodie. It’s clearly winter in the photo, as we see snow in the background and barren trees. The man is photographed in the act of talking to the photographer, and tells him that “You have to network and create opportunities, but I’m not really good at that because I get nervous and overly quiet in social situations” (Stanton). This is important because…

REQUIREMENTS:

·       Use three people from the book in your discussion

·       Be sure to briefly describe each person and QUOTE from their stories (you don’t have to quote the entire story, esp. if it’s long)

·       Cite all quotations according to MLA format (author and/or page number)

·       The paper should have a clear Introduction, Discussion, and Conclusion

·       Be sure to include a Works Cited entry with our book

·       Due Thursday, February 9 [We WILL have class on this day, but there won't be any other work due] 

Tuesday class cancelled for weather: see post below

 I went ahead and cancelled class on Tuesday since many people have to commute and the roads could be iffy. So we'll pick up on Tuesday's reading/in-class writing on Thursday. See the post below this one for details. 

See you on Thursday! 

For THURSDAY (rescheduled): Humans of New York, pp.150-250 (roughly)

I've given you a big range of pages to read for next time, but again, you don't have to read this book exactly like a book. Feel free to read the entire range of pages, or skip around, or just find 10-15 pictures that you really connect with. There's no right way to read this book.

I won't give you questions this time, since we'll do an in-class writing once we come to class on Tuesday. However, here are some things to think about/look for as you read:

IDEAS TO CONSIDER AS YOU READ (don't answer these): 

* What are some of the recurring conversations that keep coming up with the "humans" in the book? For example, bad parents/childhood abuse, divorce, loneliness, etc. 

* Think about some of the differences between what younger people say vs. older people. Is it simply age and experience that changes their perspective? Or something else?

* Are there certain kinds of people Stanton is attracted to? Is there a 'type' that shows up more often than others?

* Is there anyone you particularly identify with? Someone you feel like represents who you are at this moment?

* What are some recurring regrets that people have in these stories? 

* Do you think these are 'big city' stories, or could they happen even here in Ada? To people here also feel this way, do you think? 

For Thursday: Humans of New York, pp.1-150

Be sure to buy the book so you can answer these questions for Thursday. If the bookstore is still out by Wednesday, let me know and I might be able to give you an alternative (but I won't know unless you reach out). Read the first 150 pages or so, and then answer TWO of the questions below. Bring these questions to class on Thursday if you can, but they're not technically due until 5pm on Thursday. 

Then answer TWO of the questions below:

Q1: Whose aesthetic in these pictures immediately grabs you or interests you? What do you think makes it so striking or unique? Does the story add to this aesthetic or change it in any way? 

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 a specific example. 

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: Somewhat related to Q1, which story changes the picture the most for you? Why is this? Would the picture be as powerful or meaningful without the story--or vice versa? 

For Next Week: Humans of New York

 Remember to check the bookstore next week if you still don't have the books for class, since they promise to have all the books re-stocked no later than Wednesday. On Tuesday, we'll do some in-class writing about several of the images in the book, as a way to get us started reading/thinking about it. Then for Thursday's class, I'll assign some reading and questions, so again, be sure you have the book. I'll discuss the questions in class on Tuesday, and post them on this blog soon afterwards. 

Let me know if you have any questions in class or by e-mail at jgrasso@ecok.edu.