Eh 200 Spring 2011: Week Twelve Class Three

Unit Three:

We’ve already talked a bit about the American Dream, but I’d like us to take a few more moments to cement some general definitions for the term.

1)  Journal: (Suggested: 5 Minutes)

a.   What is the American Dream?

2) Group Work: (Suggested: 5 Minutes)

a. Share and defend your definitions with each other.

3)  Class Discussion: (Suggested: 5 Minutes)

Class Definition: (Lecture)

• I am going to provide a definition, which is not perfect, but which represents a place for us to begin our common conversation on this subject:

The American Dream:

The American Dream is the desire to grow and develop as an individual by expanding your awareness of social and economic possibilities as they exist within an American context.

• It recognizes that, just as America is a vast landscape with numerous and unique physical characteristics – the grand canyon, the gulf of Mexico, the forests of the Northeast and Northwest – our social and economic landscape is similarly nuanced and diverse and _intrinsically meaningful_.

• However, an “American” is not unique simply because he or she has a desire to explore and experience the fullness of his or her culture.

Most people have such desires.

What makes the American unique is the belief that he or she _can_ actually do this.

Many other cultures do not have this intensely optimistic – sometimes almost foolishly optimistic – belief.

• I would also argue that when Americans lose sight of the American dream, they lose something vitally important, and tend to become deeply confused about what they are and what it is they want to do.

(So…why is American Literature important? Well, among other things, it reminds us of the American dream. That’s why! Next time someone asks you that, there’s your answer!)

So let’s work with this idea:

The American Dream is the desire to grow and develop as an individual by expanding your awareness of social and economic possibilities as they exist within an American context.

Journal: (Suggested: 10 Minutes)

Have we seen evidence of the American Dream in the stories we have read this semester? If so, where and when – defend your observations with our class frames

Group Work: (Suggested: 10 Minutes)

Share your findings

Group Presentations: (Suggested: 5-10 Minutes)

Unit Three Paper: Literary Connections To Your Life

You will be asked to take up a social issue addressed in two readings we have considered this semester and contrast it with your understanding of the same issue as it will relate to your intended field of study and/or work.

This work will culminate in a 6-8 page research paper, which will represent the final written product of the Eh 123, 124, 200 sequence.

After this paper has been completed, we will be using it as a foundation for our concluding presentations, which will take place during the final two weeks of class.

Format:

Papers must be typed in 12 point, Times New Roman font, using black ink and double spacing.

Audience:

You are writing this paper for your peers and your instructor, as well as other students and instructors at Husson. Use language and expressions that are appropriate for this audience and explain your ideas in enough depth so that someone who is not familiar with them can understand them as well as you do.

Purpose:

The purpose of this paper is to inform your audience. In order to accomplish this, you will need to plan your points, gather support for them, establish your credibility, and appeal to your audience in a variety of ways using your knowledge of rhetorical strategies. Secondary purposes include development and support of a thesis and the smooth integration of source material.

Structure:

Your knowledge of rhetoric should guide your organizational decisions, but some items are crucial. Your paper will need to include both introductory and concluding sections, as well as a thesis statement that frames your argument, but examples and claims should all be supported with evidence from your source texts.

Sources:

5-7 Scholarly Secondary Sources. No Wikipedia. No digests. No causal news periodicals (Newsweek and the like). No newspapers. Juried scholarship only.

Homework

1) What is your intended field of study? Describe in a one-page blog post. Next, tell me where you can find resources that relate to your intended field of study.