Thank you for a great class!

I had a nice time and I hope you did, too.

Grades should be done and posted no later than this Saturday. Email me if you have any questions.

Have a great summer. Please keep in touch.

-D

World News 05.08.13

• ITALY: Benetton admits its role in the Bangladeshi factory disaster (Atlantic)
• MEXICO: Mysterious orbs discovered under ancient temple (Huffington Post)
• SAUDI ARABIA: Girls playing sports is now permissible (Gawker)
• SYRIA: Government halts all Internet traffic for nearly 20 hours (BBC News)
• FRANCE: Secret entrance into the Louvre revealed (Le Michaux)
• INTERNATIONAL: A look at breakfasts from all around the world (imgur)

Week 16: The United Kingdom

WEEK 16: THE UNITED KINGDOM
 

Tu 05.07

Grade Updates; Presentations

Th 05. 09
Course review

 

Fr 05.10

Due: PROCESS ANALYSIS ESSAY (Email to dhdelao@gmail.com by 5 PM)

Reflection 11-B: We are the World—How We Can Help Make Things Better

Note: If you were unable to complete Reflection 10, you have two options. Choose either Reflection 11-A or Reflection 11-B. Do only one.

While learning more about the world can be interesting, it can also be overwhelming, even a bit depressing. War, poverty, natural disasters—it seems our planet is plagued by an endless string of life and death challenges. It's enough to make you throw up your hands and give up on humanity. But sometimes it can be easy to forget that there are a whole lot of people out there working to make the world a better place. From poaching to HIV to human rights, everyday millions of people are join to combat some of our most pressing problems. For this reflection, profile three of the following international aid organizations. What do they do and why? Who or what benefits from their work? And finally, which organizations most draw your attention? What are some of the ways you could help?

Write about three of the following:

• Habitat for Humanity
• Oxfam
• UNICEF
• Freshwater Action Network
• The Clinton Global Initiative
• Human Rights Watch
• Kiva
• Oceana
• International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
• The Peace Corps
• 10x10
• The Global Fund for Women
• Plan
• The International Ant-Poaching Foundation 
• Free the Slaves
• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Wildlife Conservation Society
• Amnesty International 
• UNAIDS
• Doctors Without Borders
• Conservation International 
• Cousteau
• The Jane Goodall Institute
• The International Lesbian and Gay Organization
• UNWomen
• World Wildlife Fund
• ONE
• The Prince's Trust
• Greenpeace 
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
• Sea Shepard International 

Requirements:

• MLA Style
• Two full pages in length
• Works cited page

Due: Th 05.09

Reflection 11-A: The Straight Dope—Understanding International Drug Laws

Note: If you were unable to complete Reflection 10, you have two options. Choose either Reflection 11-A or Reflection 11-B. Do only one.

We are all familiar with drug laws in the United States. On the federal level, 100% of all  recreational drugs are illegal. It's roughly the same at the state and local level, with the exception of marijuana, which is medicinally available in several states (i.e. California, Maine, Hawaii) and legal only in Colorado and Washington. And while opposition to America's "War on Drugs" is growing, our country is unlikely to dramatically change course anytime soon. How do international laws and attitudes on drugs compare to our own? What countries take a different approach to illegal drugs than us? What can we learn from other countries and what can some from the United States? Finally, what should tourists know about drug laws in certain countries? For example, how can a seemingly drug-accepting society actually spell trouble for tourists engaging in narcotics?

Include at least three of the following pieces in your discussion:

• "Drug Use Map of the World" (Guardian)
• "How Latin America May Lead the World in Decriminalizing Drug Use" (Time) 
• "Drugs in Portugal: Did Decriminalization Work?" (Time) 
• "The World's Scariest Places to be Busted for Drugs" (The Fix)
• "World's Best Places to Get High" (Salon)
• "UAE: Death Sentence Handed Down to Briton Convicted on Drug Charges" (Huffington Post)

Requirements:

• MLA Style
• Two full pages in length
• Works cited page

Due: Th 05.09

Process Analysis Essay

For this assignment, you are being asked to write a process analysis of how your writing has changed during this course. The goal is to discover something about yourself as a writer and thinker. Along with the process analysis, you will need to embed relevant examples that highlight your process in writing an essay and evaluating, workshopping, editing, and revising that same essay. These examples must be included in the paragraphs in your essay, not attached as an appendix. Remember, the focus here is on the process and not the product. Consider your strengths and weaknesses as a writer when you began English 1A. Think about what you learned over the semester and what skills you will use in future coursework and beyond.

Requirements:

• MLA Style
• 4 pages minimum (1000 words minimum)
• Word count at end of document

Note: Your response must be in standard essay format, NOT numbered or Q&A format. You can address the topics in any order that helps you make your point.

Item 1 (Writing Habits), must be addressed; after that, address any other two areas of reflection:

AREA OF REFLECTION	QUESTIONS TO PROMPT YOUR THINKING
REQUIRED:
1. Writing Habits	You must reflect on your writing habits. Where do you do your best work? What tools are helpful when writing? What time of day or under what conditions (i.e. at home, in the library, at a cafe) do you write best? Analyze what you think these preferences say about you as a writer and a learner.
CHOOSE TWO OF THE FOLLOWING:
2. Writing Strategies	Identify writing strategies and practices you’ve learned in this course that work well for you and that you will continue to use in your future writing. Illustrate with samples from your semester’s writing.
3. Feedback	What advice did you receive (from peer review, tutoring, workshop, instructor feedback) that was particularly helpful when revising your work? Illustrate using at least two examples from past assignments, including the comments. How can you apply that advice to future writing?
4. Revision	Analyze how you revised a specific paragraph. Include the paragraph in the paper. Describe the choices you made and why.

You are being graded on the following:

• Did you answer three questions and include appropriate examples?
• Does your reflection demonstrate serious consideration of your writing process?
• Do the examples you include support your reflection?
• Is the overall presentation of the reflection clear and professional?
• Does your writing reflect college-level syntactic variety and diction and demonstrate your fluency with the competencies established in first-year composition (grammar, mechanics, usage, etc.)? 

Also, look for the rubric on which your grade will be calculated in the Dropbox section of this website. The reflective analysis counts for 10% of your final grade.

Due: Fri 05.10 (Email to dhdelao@gmail.com by 5 PM; No late papers)

World News: 04.29.13

• BANGLADESH: Stepped up pressure on Walmart, Gap, H&M, other Western retailers, after Dhaka factory disaster (Yahoo! Australia News)
• UNITED KINGDOM: Sex experts say British kids should learn "how to view porn" (BBC News)
• VIETNAM: "My Best Gay Friends" a surprise Internet hit (AFP)
• ANTARTICA: Dramatic orca attack on a sperm whale caught on tape (Wired)
• IRAN: Men dress in drag in solidarity with women's rights (BuzzFeed)
• ITALY: Activists let loose scores of lab animals at the University of Milan (Daily Beast)

WEEK 15: SAUDI ARABIA

WEEK 15: SAUDI ARABIA

Read: GOOD—pg. 301 ­ 416

Tu 04.30
Reading discussion; Presentations

Th 05.02

SHORT ANSWER RESPONSES
Due: REFLECTION 10

 

Upcoming:

WEEK 16: THE UNITED KINGDOM
 

Tu 05.07

Grade Updates; Presentations

Th 05. 09
Course review

Due: PROCESS ANALYSIS ESSAY

 

Reflection 10: What's on Telly Now?—More Televison From Around the World

For your tenth and final reflection, you'll take one final trip around the world to sample more television from our English-speaking cousins in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia/New Zealand. As before, examine the differences and similarities between our countries, such as tone, language, subject matter, and humor. Again, do any of the shows you watched have any potential for mainstream success in America. Why or why not?
 
Look for an email with the links in your inbox now.

Don't forget: Broadcasting standards in these countries are different than those in the United States, so you may find more profanity, violence, even nudity, in these shows.

Requirements:

• Be in MLA Style
• Be two full pages in length
• No works cited page necessary for this reflection

Due: Th 05.02

World News 04.23.13

• UNITED STATES: Boston bombing suspect to be tried through civilian courts, not as an "enemy combatant" (NBC News)
• CZECH REPUBLIC: Government clarifies that "the Czech Republic and Chechnya are two very different entities—the Czech Republic is a Central European country; Chechnya is a part of the Russian Federation." (Yahoo! News)
• CANADA: Major terrorist attack on Toronto thwarted (CBC News)
• INDIA: Tensions rise in New Delhi after a five-year-old girl is allegedly raped and tortured (Yahoo! News)
• INTERNATIONAL: UNICEF study says Canadian kids smoke the most marijuana of Western nations (Huffington Post)
• CHINA: Chen Ying, just moments from being married, effortlessly slides into journalist mode after a massive quake hits (Telegraph)

WEEK 14: SPAIN

WEEK 14: SPAIN

Read: GOOD—pg. 126 – 300  

Tu 04.23

Reading discussion; Presentations

Th 04.25

Watch—Paradise Now (2005)

Due: REFLECTION 09

Upcoming:

WEEK 15: SAUDI ARABIA

Read: GOOD—pg. 301 ­ 416

Tu 04.30
Reading discussion; Presentations

Th 05.02

SHORT ANSWER RESPONSES
Due: REFLECTION 10

WEEK 16: THE UNITED KINGDOM
Tu 05.07

Evaluations

Due: PROCESS ANALYSIS ESSAY

Th 05. 09
Course review

World News 04.17.13

• AFGHANISTAN: Taliban official says “You won’t find any link with Afghanistan to the Boston attack. The Taliban neither has the inclination nor the capacity for such an attack on the West.” (Daily Beast)
• NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand becomes thirteenth country to legalize same-sex marriage (Slate)
• SAUDI ARABIA: Saudi prince tweets support for women driving (CNN)
• IRAN: Dozens dead after massive quake hits Iran-Pakistan border (Huffington Post)
• CUBA: Guantanamo prisoner hunger strike gaining stream (NPR)
• THE NETHERLANDS: Outrage after Justin Bieber says he hopes Anne Frank "would have been a belieber." (Time)

Reflection 09: Fire in the Sky—Understanding the Predator Drone Debate

Since 2002, American tactical operations in the Middle East have utilized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly referred to as "predator drones." Predator drones were used increasingly by the Bush Administration through 2007. However, it has been the Obama Administration that has aggressively expanded the program. The current administration argues that these high-tech drones are an effective and precise weapon in the war against terrorism. They also point to a number of high-ranking al-Qaeda and Taliban officials that have been killed as a result of the program. Additionally, predator drones allow the Unites States to carry out significant tactical operations without the use of soldiers on the ground, something the American public has lost its appetite for after a decade of war. Opponents argue that the program is immoral because it allows the United States to keep its hands clean while unleashing terror on foreign populations. Critics also point to the increasing number of civilian causalities. These deaths, they argue, are significantly damaging to our efforts to win over "the hearts and minds" of the Arab world. The fact that the program is operated (largely in secret) by the CIA, and not the military, is another point of contention. Here at home, drones remain popular with Americans despite increasing liberal and conservative resistance in Congress. What do you believe should be the American policy on predator drones? Are drones simply as an efficient means of carrying out American military objectives or are we now responsible for our own weapons of terror in the Middle East? Is it realistic for America to expect to both achieve ambitious military goals and keep our troops at home?

Include at least three of the following pieces in your discussion:

• "Drones: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know But Were Always Afraid to Ask" (Mother Jones)
• "Are Drones Any More Immoral than Other Weapons of War? (Guardian)
• "Drones Save Lives, American and Other" (New York Times)
• "Why Our Drone Warfare Campaign is Right and Moral" (Daily Beast)
• "In Swat Valley, US Drone Strikes Radicalizing a New Generation" (CNN)
• "The View From the Wreckage' (New York Times) 

Requirements:

• MLA Style
• Two full pages in length
• Works cited page

Due: Th 04.25

BREAKING: Twin bombs detonate at Boston Marathon

Live updates:

• The New York Times
• ABC News 
• The Guardian 

 

WEEK 13: AUSTRALIA

“The people are immensely likable—cheerful, extrovert,
quick-witted, and unfailingly obliging. Their cities are 

safe and clean and nearly always built on water. They have
a society that is prosperous, well ordered, and instinctively 

egalitarian. The food is excellent. The beer is cold. The
sun nearly always shines. There is coffee on every corner.
Life doesn't get much better than this.”

                                                                                               ―Bill Bryson, In a Sunburned Country

WEEK 13: AUSTRALIA

Read: GOOD—pg. 1 – 125

Tu 04.16
Reading discussion; Presentations
Due: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ESSAY

Th 04. 18
Reading discussion; Presentations
Due: REFLECTION 08

Upcoming:

WEEK 14: SPAIN

Read: GOOD—pg. 126 – 300  

Tu 04.23

Reading discussion; Presentations

Th 04.25

Watch—Paradise Now (2005)

Due: REFLECTION 09

 

Reflection 08: Trending Now—Yahoo! Around the Globe

Yahoo! is currently the fourth most popular website in the world (and the second most popular for homepages). In the United States, it remains the go-to page for what the country is talking about. In addition to roundups of national and international news, sports, and business, Yahoo! prominently features a variety of water cooler topics, such as celebrity gossip and human interest stories. And as many of the top items trending on Yahoo! quickly make their way onto Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, etc., it is an interesting way to track what Americans are talking about at any given moment. For this reflection, you will visit at least three international Yahoo! sites to assess their national discussions. For example, what stories are most prominently featured? How do they balance hard news with lighter fare? How do they compare to what we would (or wouldn't) see in America?

Choose from three of the following Yahoo! sites:
Russia
Germany
Mexico
UK & Ireland 
Singapore
Greece
China
Argentina
Italy
Australia
Japan
India
The Netherlands
Vietnam
Brazil
France
Spain 
Canada: English / Quebec 
Sweden
Philippines

Clearly, not all these pages are in English. So, follow the directions below for your browser of coice:
Internet Explorer
Safari
Mozilla
Chrome automatically provides translation options.

Requirements:

• MLA Style
• Two full pages in length

Due: Th 04. 18

World News 04.10.13

• UNITED KINGDOM: "Dong Dong! The Witch is Dead" poised to hit number one on charts following Margaret Thatcher's death (Independent) 
• CUBA: Did Beyoncé and Jay-Z break US law by traveling to Cuba? (USA Today)
• JAPAN: Obama Administration poised to select Caroline Kennedy as ambassador, the first female for the position (Bloomberg) 
• NEW ZEALAND: "Wellywood" reaped $3 billion in 2012 (New Zealand Herald)
• CHINA: McNugget prices plummet amid a new bird flu outbreak (International Business Times)
• CHILE: New documentary claims to include footage of a genuine humanoid alien (Huffington Post)

Comparative Analysis Essay: How the French Invented Love

In How the French Invented Love, Marliyn Yalom examines nearly a millennium of Franco concepts of love and sex. As Yalom points out, "For hundreds of years, the French have championed themselves as guides to the art of love through their literature, painting, songs, and cinema." Indeed, French culture has so embraced sensuality that it is solidly embedded in their national identity. But, can American culture be similarly characterized? Are we Americans as comfortable with sensuality as the French? For example, are there celebrated American equivalents to Abélard and Héloïse, or even Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre? In a concise comparative analysis essay, examine the similarities and difference between the two cultures' concepts of love and sex. Where do the two cultures align on these issues and where do they deviate? Cite from How the French Invented Love to support your thesis.

Requirements:

• MLA Style, including parenthetical citation
• 3-page minimum
• Include a works cited page

The best papers:

• Have a title that articulates the essay's point of view
• Stay within the parameters of the subject matter
• Have a concise thesis which clearly illustrates the contrast between the two cultures' views on love and sex
• Clearly support their thesis with evidence from How the French Invented Love
• Conclude with a summation of the argument
• Properly cite evidence using MLA's parenthetical citation method
• Are in compliance with MLA Style

Due: Tu 04.16

Reflection 07: La Préservation de la Liberté?—France and the Politics of the "Burqa Ban"

Largely unbeknownst to Americans, a fierce battle has been raging in France over what must or mustn't cover their heads of French Muslim women. The implementation of a 2011 law that banned Islamic headwear, from the hijab to the shalya to the burqa, has sent shock waves across Europe and the Middle East alike. Officially, the French law does not name Islamic practices per se. In fact, it is so broad that all religious imagery is banned in certain French public spaces, such as schools. Still, no one is under any illusion that the motivation for the law was the Islamic practice of female head coverings, as well as the growing Arab immigrant presence in French society. From the French perspective, the practice of religious scarves on women is said to be incongruent with the country's values of "liberté," "égalité," and "fraternité"—though it is believed that less than three thousand of the country's five million Muslims actually wear traditional head coverings. Meanwhile, French Muslims feel the ban is nothing short of a government-sactionioned persecution of their faith. (It  also bears mentioning that the Qur'an does not officially require women to cover their heads and/or faces.) Should France ban Islamic headwear for women? Does France have a right to infringe on the religious freedoms of an immigrant culture if it finds some of their values do not align with their own? Does the headwear ban protect, even liberate, Islamic women or might it violate their basic human rights? Finally, could such a ban ever happen in the United States? Why or why not?

Include at least three of the following pieces in your discussion:

• "In Graphics: Muslim Veils" (BBC News)
• "Notes on France’s Ban-the-Burqa Debate" (Reuters)
• "The French, the Veil, and the Look" (New York Times)
• "Opinion: France's Burqa Ban: A Brave Step that We Muslims Should Welcome" (Christian Science Monitor)
• "US Report Criticises French Islamic Veil Ban" (France24)
• "Muslims Worry About Broader France Headscarf Ban" (Associated Press)

Requirements:

• MLA Style
• Two full pages in length
• Works cited page

Due: Th 04.11

BREAKING: Margaret Thatcher, first female prime minister of Great Britain, dead at 87

• "Margaret Thatcher, 'Iron Lady' of British politics, dies" (PBS News) 
• "Margaret Thatcher, who remade Britain, dies at 87" (New York Times) 
• "Margaret Thatcher vs. Pop Culture" (Slate)  

WEEK 12: JAPAN

WEEK 12: JAPAN

Read: FRENCH—“11: Love Between Men ­- Verlaine, Rimbaud, Wilde, and Gide,” “13: Lesbian Love ­- Colette, Gertrude Stein, and Violette Leduc” – “14: Existentialists in Love ­- Simone de Beauvoir and Jean­Paul Sartre,” “16: “Love in the Twenty­first Century” – Epilogue

Tu 04.09
Reading discussion; Presentations

Th 04.11
Reading discussion; Presentations
Due: REFLECTION 07  

Upcoming:

WEEK 13: AUSTRALIA

Read: GOOD—pg. 1 – 125

Tu 04.16
Reading discussion; Presentations
Due: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ESSAY

Th 04. 18
Reading discussion; Presentations
Due: REFLECTION 08  

World News 04.02.13

• CHINA: Alternate Chinese cut of Iron Man 3 to debut (Wired)
• PAKISTAN: A look at the Pakistani shrine that celebrates male/male love (PRI)
• VATICAN CITY:  On Easter, Pope prays for a "political solution" in Syria and for "reconciliation" on the Korean peninsula (AFP)
• RUSSIA: Vladmir Putin bans adoptions by foreign same-sex couples (RT News)
• INDIA: In the aftermath of the Delhi gang rape, foreign tourism drops 25% (Hindustan Times)
• ITALY: Inside Italy's most violent and racist soccer club (Guardian)

WEEK 11: GERMANY

"Germany is a queer country: one can’t regard 

it dispassionately. I alternate between hating it 

thoroughly, stick stock and stone, and yearning 

over it fit to break my heart. I can’t help feeling 

it a young and adorable country—adolescent—

with the faults of adolescence."

—DH Lawrence

WEEK 11: GERMANY

Read: FRENCH—“Prologue: Abélard and Héloïse, Patron Saints of French Lovers” – “2: Gallant Love – La Princesse de Clèves,” “4: Seduction and Sentiment – Prévost, Crébillon fils, Rousseau, and Laclos” – “5: Love Letters – Julie de Lespinasse,” “8: Love Among the Romantics - George Sand and Alfred de Musset,” “10: Love in the Gay Nineties - Cyrano de Bergerac”

Tu 04.02

Reading discussion; Lecture—“Paris on Film”

Th 04.04

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY
Due: REFLECTION 06

UPCOMING:

WEEK 12: JAPAN

Read: FRENCH—“11: Love Between Men – Verlaine, Rimbaud, Wilde, and Gide,” “13: Lesbian Love ­– Colette, Gertrude Stein, and Violette Leduc” – “14: Existentialists in Love Simone de Beauvoir and Jean­Paul Sartre,” “16: “Love in the Twenty­first Century” – Epilogue

Tu 04.09

Reading discussion; Presentations

Th 04.11

Reading discussion; Writers workshop

Due: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ESSAY (DRAFT 1; BRING 2 COPIES)