Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to everyone! And thank you to the Wednesday student who had his entire posse do a "drive by" Merry Christmas while I was outside doing pullups.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
To Give Up My Seat Or Not...
So I was sitting on a regular seat (not a priority seat) on the MRT.* I had my backpack, my basketball, and a hot coffee with me. (I was not drinking the coffee. I see people bring drinks onto the MRT all the time, so I assume drinks are okay as long as you don't drink them while you are on the MRT.)
On the way home, an older man and his wife entered the train. The old man was wearing a shirt and pants that were made of the same material. The shirt and pants both were black with grey stripes, and like many old people (and one of my students), his pants were pulled way up, past his navel. He looked kind of funny. He had a piece of luggage on wheels. I would guess that he was in his mid- to late 60s at most. He didn't seem physically decrepit. His wife seemed a bit less rugged physically. One of her eyes didn't work well.
The old man stood in front of me for one stop, and then he moved to the glass partition next to my seat and leaned against it. I wondered if I should offer my seat. His wife was far away; she was standing and holding onto the bar on the ceiling. She seemed fine with where she was. I thought that I posed a significant risk to other train riders if I were to stand up. There was a good chance that I would drop my basketball or spill my coffee. Comparatively, the old man didn't seem at risk of falling down or getting tired.
The two women next to me on the row of seats talked to each other animatedly. The woman right next to me had two bags full of bakery goods. The woman to her right was unencumbered. The man in the seat across from me was studying; all he had was a book and a small bag.
Despite the inconvenience it would have caused me, I strongly considered giving my seat to the old man. Should I have? Should someone near me have offered the seat instead of me? It's strange that a situation like this can seem so difficult. (I also felt bad when I got up to leave, for the old man immediately took my seat, as if he were waiting all the time for me to get up.) I'm sure, though, that, had I given the man my seat, I would have spilled hot coffee on his wife and perhaps hit her in the face with my basketball on accident, so I think I made the right choice.
*Starting a sentence with "so" is a form of storytelling "in media res" or "in the middle of things." This mean you start telling the story after things have already started to happen. In this case, I start my story after already getting on the MRT; normally, I would start by telling you, "I got on the MRT."
On the way home, an older man and his wife entered the train. The old man was wearing a shirt and pants that were made of the same material. The shirt and pants both were black with grey stripes, and like many old people (and one of my students), his pants were pulled way up, past his navel. He looked kind of funny. He had a piece of luggage on wheels. I would guess that he was in his mid- to late 60s at most. He didn't seem physically decrepit. His wife seemed a bit less rugged physically. One of her eyes didn't work well.
The old man stood in front of me for one stop, and then he moved to the glass partition next to my seat and leaned against it. I wondered if I should offer my seat. His wife was far away; she was standing and holding onto the bar on the ceiling. She seemed fine with where she was. I thought that I posed a significant risk to other train riders if I were to stand up. There was a good chance that I would drop my basketball or spill my coffee. Comparatively, the old man didn't seem at risk of falling down or getting tired.
The two women next to me on the row of seats talked to each other animatedly. The woman right next to me had two bags full of bakery goods. The woman to her right was unencumbered. The man in the seat across from me was studying; all he had was a book and a small bag.
Despite the inconvenience it would have caused me, I strongly considered giving my seat to the old man. Should I have? Should someone near me have offered the seat instead of me? It's strange that a situation like this can seem so difficult. (I also felt bad when I got up to leave, for the old man immediately took my seat, as if he were waiting all the time for me to get up.) I'm sure, though, that, had I given the man my seat, I would have spilled hot coffee on his wife and perhaps hit her in the face with my basketball on accident, so I think I made the right choice.
*Starting a sentence with "so" is a form of storytelling "in media res" or "in the middle of things." This mean you start telling the story after things have already started to happen. In this case, I start my story after already getting on the MRT; normally, I would start by telling you, "I got on the MRT."
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Discussion / Writing Topic
A lot of students introduce "pop music" as their favorite music. The "pop" in pop music simply means popular. So, in essence, "pop music" simply means "music that is popular". Do you think that "pop music" can be a genre? Or does a song belong to another genre and is then also popular? Do popular songs--regardless of the other genre they belong to--all have similar characteristics?
Consider how to argue in favor of "pop music" as a genre; then think about how to argue that "pop music" is not a genre but simply a description of a song's popularity.
If you say, "My favorite music is pop music," are you saying, "I like what everyone else likes"?
Consider how to argue in favor of "pop music" as a genre; then think about how to argue that "pop music" is not a genre but simply a description of a song's popularity.
If you say, "My favorite music is pop music," are you saying, "I like what everyone else likes"?
Friday, November 28, 2008
Social Awkwardness, Social Rudeness
It's very easy to get embarrassed during one's day-to-day life. For example, I was walking through campus a few weeks ago, and I saw one of my students. The student looked right at me. I raised my hand to wave, but it soon became clear that he was not going to wave back. I guess I worried about looking like a fool--it's silly to wave to someone who doesn't wave back--because without thinking about it, I moved my hand up to my head to make it look like I wasn't waving but actually just scratching my head. Why was I so worried that someone would see that I waved to someone who didn't want to wave back? (By the way, I'm going to find a way to get revenge on the student who didn't wave back.)
Think about a time when you were embarrassed in public. Why happened? Why were you embarrassed? How did you respond?
Think about some embarrassing situations. I shared one good example with my Friday class: a very embarrassing situation is when a person goes up to a woman and asks her, "When are you going to have your baby?" only to have the woman reply, "I'm not pregnant."
Social rudeness: We have certain expectations of social interaction, and we don't even care about the sincerity of those actions. For example, if we pick up a book that someone dropped, we expect that person to say, "Thank you." If the person says, "thank you" in a way that says, "I'm only saying 'thank you' because I have to," it doesn't bother us too much; however, if the person says nothing, we might get very upset. The other day on campus, I picked up a basketball that had rolled into the street. The person didn't thank me when I threw it back to him. I wanted to go get the ball back and throw it into the field.
Think of a time when someone was rude to you in public: perhaps they took your seat or bumped into you hard without saying, "Excuse me." How did you respond? Why did you feel the way you feel?
Think of something about public interaction that upsets you. Why does it upset you? For example, I always get upset when I hold the door open for the person behind me but the person doesn't thank me. Some women feel it is chauvinistic for a man to hold a door open for a woman: it is kind of saying, "Women are too delicate to open a door, so a man should do it for her." So I understand why a woman might not want to thank me. But I want to yell to her, "I hold the door open for men, too!"
Think about a time when you were embarrassed in public. Why happened? Why were you embarrassed? How did you respond?
Think about some embarrassing situations. I shared one good example with my Friday class: a very embarrassing situation is when a person goes up to a woman and asks her, "When are you going to have your baby?" only to have the woman reply, "I'm not pregnant."
Social rudeness: We have certain expectations of social interaction, and we don't even care about the sincerity of those actions. For example, if we pick up a book that someone dropped, we expect that person to say, "Thank you." If the person says, "thank you" in a way that says, "I'm only saying 'thank you' because I have to," it doesn't bother us too much; however, if the person says nothing, we might get very upset. The other day on campus, I picked up a basketball that had rolled into the street. The person didn't thank me when I threw it back to him. I wanted to go get the ball back and throw it into the field.
Think of a time when someone was rude to you in public: perhaps they took your seat or bumped into you hard without saying, "Excuse me." How did you respond? Why did you feel the way you feel?
Think of something about public interaction that upsets you. Why does it upset you? For example, I always get upset when I hold the door open for the person behind me but the person doesn't thank me. Some women feel it is chauvinistic for a man to hold a door open for a woman: it is kind of saying, "Women are too delicate to open a door, so a man should do it for her." So I understand why a woman might not want to thank me. But I want to yell to her, "I hold the door open for men, too!"
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Paper 2 Introduction
The paper two introduction should answer two questions.
1. What are you observing?
2. Why do you want to observe it?
You can include the thesis statement either at the end of the introduction or the beginning of the body.
Example:
I observed the clientele at Hong Kong Disneyland during the weekend of October 24. I was interested in Hong Kong Disneyland because its visitors come from a wide variety of places. There are Southeast Asians, Mainland Chinese, Hong Kongese, Taiwanese, Australian, etc. I'm interested in how the park is able to entertain this many different types of people, and I'm interested in how people behave in large groups at a family theme park, especially when the people are from varied backgrounds.
Thesis statement example: Hong Kong Disneyland is able to entertain a wide variety of clients because it is well organized and because it concentrates on extralinguistic forms of entertainment: all of the park visitors can enjoy the attractions in the same way no matter what language they speak.
1. What are you observing?
2. Why do you want to observe it?
You can include the thesis statement either at the end of the introduction or the beginning of the body.
Example:
I observed the clientele at Hong Kong Disneyland during the weekend of October 24. I was interested in Hong Kong Disneyland because its visitors come from a wide variety of places. There are Southeast Asians, Mainland Chinese, Hong Kongese, Taiwanese, Australian, etc. I'm interested in how the park is able to entertain this many different types of people, and I'm interested in how people behave in large groups at a family theme park, especially when the people are from varied backgrounds.
Thesis statement example: Hong Kong Disneyland is able to entertain a wide variety of clients because it is well organized and because it concentrates on extralinguistic forms of entertainment: all of the park visitors can enjoy the attractions in the same way no matter what language they speak.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Comma Rules and Notes on the Paper 1 Re-Write
The Comma
1.
A comma separates items in a list.
--I invited Sean, John, and Don to the party.
2.
A comma comes after an introductory clause or word.
When I was young, I was always sick. However, I still had good school attendance.
3.
A comma precedes a coordinating conjunction.
--John is very strong, yet he is not very aggressive.
4.
A comma separates an appositive from the rest of the sentence.
--Sean, my teacher, thinks he is funny and smart and handsome.
--NTU, a major University in Taiwan, is located near Gongguan station in Taipei City.
5.
A comma separates the addressee from the rest of the sentence.
--Did you know, Steve, that there is a basketball game tonight?
--“Comma splice”: A mistake in which you use a comma when you should use a period.
--Ted is very funny, he is always telling jokes.
“then” “and then”
-He went to the movies, then to the grocery store. <--Okay (Should be, “He went to the movies, and then he went to the grocery store.”)
Next Week: Paper 1 Rewrite
--Turn in the entire paper 1.
--Do not expect a lot of corrections from me.
--If your rewrite grade is better than your previous grades, you will get the new grade. If your rewrite grade is not better, you will keep the original grade.
--Do not commit these errors:
Mislabeling titles
--Awkward spacing. Format 12 font, double space.
--An introduction that is a list instead of a paragraph.
The director is Mike Nichols. The stars are Jay Chou and The Rock. (Yes!)
Director: Mike Nichols
Cast: Jay Chou
The Rock (No!)
Have a clear thesis statement at the end of the introduction.
Evaluative language, Evidence in Support of an Idea: Show why you make a claim. If you claim something is sad, say how it is sad.
--“This is one of the greatest movies of all time.” <--Too vague
--“I highly recommend this to anyone who likes action movies.” <--Better but still vague
--The audience expects the main character to be successful, so when the main character dies unexpectedly at the end of the movie, the audience cannot help but shed tears. <> (This explains that the movie is sad because we expected the character to succeed, but instead he dies. So this evaluation answers the "how" and "why" question well.)
1.
A comma separates items in a list.
--I invited Sean, John, and Don to the party.
2.
A comma comes after an introductory clause or word.
When I was young, I was always sick. However, I still had good school attendance.
3.
A comma precedes a coordinating conjunction.
--John is very strong, yet he is not very aggressive.
4.
A comma separates an appositive from the rest of the sentence.
--Sean, my teacher, thinks he is funny and smart and handsome.
--NTU, a major University in Taiwan, is located near Gongguan station in Taipei City.
5.
A comma separates the addressee from the rest of the sentence.
--Did you know, Steve, that there is a basketball game tonight?
--“Comma splice”: A mistake in which you use a comma when you should use a period.
--Ted is very funny, he is always telling jokes.
“then” “and then”
-He went to the movies, then to the grocery store. <--Okay (Should be, “He went to the movies, and then he went to the grocery store.”)
Next Week: Paper 1 Rewrite
--Turn in the entire paper 1.
--Do not expect a lot of corrections from me.
--If your rewrite grade is better than your previous grades, you will get the new grade. If your rewrite grade is not better, you will keep the original grade.
--Do not commit these errors:
Mislabeling titles
--Awkward spacing. Format 12 font, double space.
--An introduction that is a list instead of a paragraph.
The director is Mike Nichols. The stars are Jay Chou and The Rock. (Yes!)
Director: Mike Nichols
Cast: Jay Chou
The Rock (No!)
Have a clear thesis statement at the end of the introduction.
Evaluative language, Evidence in Support of an Idea: Show why you make a claim. If you claim something is sad, say how it is sad.
--“This is one of the greatest movies of all time.” <--Too vague
--“I highly recommend this to anyone who likes action movies.” <--Better but still vague
--The audience expects the main character to be successful, so when the main character dies unexpectedly at the end of the movie, the audience cannot help but shed tears. <
Paper 1 Intro, Summary and Analysis example
--Introduction Example
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American film. It was directed by Nicholas Ray. The cast includes James Dean, Sal Mineo and Natalie Wood. It is a good film because it looks intelligently at the emotional struggles of teenagers.
Summary Example
Jim Stark (James Dean) is a new High School student in Southern California. His family moves a lot because Jim gets in trouble often. He goes to a new High School, where he becomes friends with Plato (Sal Mineo), a shy boy whose parents have abandoned him. (His father does not live with him. His mother leaves for long periods of time. Only his mother’s black servant seems to care about him.) Jim gets in trouble with a gang during a school trip to the Planetarium. After a knife fight, Jim agrees to race the gang’s leader, Buzz, that night.
Buzz dies during the race. Jim takes Buzz’s girlfriend, Judy (Natalie Wood), home. Jim wants to turn himself in to the police, but his parents don’t want him to do that.
Jim goes to the police station, but the cop that he trusts is not there, so he goes back home. Judy is waiting for him. They go to an old house that Plato told Jim about. Plato meets them there, and for a time they pretend to be a family. Some of the gang comes to get them, and a frightened Plato takes a gun and starts to shoot at them.
The police come. Plato, still frightened, starts to shoot at the police as well. Jim tries to save Plato, but Plato is shot outside the Planetarium.
Analysis examples
The movie shows how teenagers feel helpless emotionally. One interesting example is the Planetarium’s show about the Earth. It is a very strange presentation about how the Earth will be destroyed and how the Universe will not care that the Earth is gone. We see that some of the students are scared by the show. Plato is especially scared: he even hides before the show is over. The Planetarium’s show is a metaphor for how teenagers feel. They think that they are alone and that no one understands them or cares about them.
Plato’s fear of the light show allows Plato and Jim to start talking about what they are afraid of. “What does he know about ‘Man alone’?” Plato says to Jim. This idea that no one understands Plato’s sense of loneliness again illustrates a common fear that young people have.
The movie also looks at teenagers’ need to have a sense of belonging. When Plato and Jim and Judy are all at the abandoned mansion, they pretend that they are a family, with Plato the son. But before they pretend to be a family, Plato pretends to be a real estate agent trying to rent the mansion to Jim and Judy. The three of them make jokes about how adults don’t like to listen to children. These scenes show that teenagers desire to have a sense of “family,” yet they feel that adults are not interested in making children part of their family.
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American film. It was directed by Nicholas Ray. The cast includes James Dean, Sal Mineo and Natalie Wood. It is a good film because it looks intelligently at the emotional struggles of teenagers.
Summary Example
Jim Stark (James Dean) is a new High School student in Southern California. His family moves a lot because Jim gets in trouble often. He goes to a new High School, where he becomes friends with Plato (Sal Mineo), a shy boy whose parents have abandoned him. (His father does not live with him. His mother leaves for long periods of time. Only his mother’s black servant seems to care about him.) Jim gets in trouble with a gang during a school trip to the Planetarium. After a knife fight, Jim agrees to race the gang’s leader, Buzz, that night.
Buzz dies during the race. Jim takes Buzz’s girlfriend, Judy (Natalie Wood), home. Jim wants to turn himself in to the police, but his parents don’t want him to do that.
Jim goes to the police station, but the cop that he trusts is not there, so he goes back home. Judy is waiting for him. They go to an old house that Plato told Jim about. Plato meets them there, and for a time they pretend to be a family. Some of the gang comes to get them, and a frightened Plato takes a gun and starts to shoot at them.
The police come. Plato, still frightened, starts to shoot at the police as well. Jim tries to save Plato, but Plato is shot outside the Planetarium.
Analysis examples
The movie shows how teenagers feel helpless emotionally. One interesting example is the Planetarium’s show about the Earth. It is a very strange presentation about how the Earth will be destroyed and how the Universe will not care that the Earth is gone. We see that some of the students are scared by the show. Plato is especially scared: he even hides before the show is over. The Planetarium’s show is a metaphor for how teenagers feel. They think that they are alone and that no one understands them or cares about them.
Plato’s fear of the light show allows Plato and Jim to start talking about what they are afraid of. “What does he know about ‘Man alone’?” Plato says to Jim. This idea that no one understands Plato’s sense of loneliness again illustrates a common fear that young people have.
The movie also looks at teenagers’ need to have a sense of belonging. When Plato and Jim and Judy are all at the abandoned mansion, they pretend that they are a family, with Plato the son. But before they pretend to be a family, Plato pretends to be a real estate agent trying to rent the mansion to Jim and Judy. The three of them make jokes about how adults don’t like to listen to children. These scenes show that teenagers desire to have a sense of “family,” yet they feel that adults are not interested in making children part of their family.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Fall 2008 Syllabus
Sean Allan
Fall 2008
Office: 121 DFLL Building
Office Phone: 3366-3960
Office Hours: To be announced. (No office hours for the first week.)
E-mail: allans@ntu.edu.tw
English for Non-Majors
This course will improve students’ aural, oral, reading and writing skills. Students will review basics of English grammar and syntax. Students will improve their ability to think critically in English and argue in English in a rhetorically effective way. Students will cultivate the skills of summary, analysis, observation, and research presentation in the expository essay format necessary for college-level work and beyond. When appropriate, course material will take a media ecology approach (i.e. it will look at the way visual media and the internet affect language and life). The course will work to improve speaking and listening skills, as well as knowledge of vocabulary and vernacular expressions, for practical purposes. (We will try to have fun with the vocabulary and vernacular expressions as well.) The course will be entirely in English. TAs can assist you in Mandarin when necessary, and the instructor will occasionally use Mandarin and Taiwanese expressions for effect. Please do not laugh at his accent.
Fall Semester Course Objectives
1. Reading texts at a college level; writing about texts at a college level.2. Writing expository essays with a clear focus.3. Learning to use others’ ideas to create one’s own ideas.4. Learning to use in-text citation (through various citation methods, including MLA, APA, etc.)5. Reviewing how to recognize and use rhetorical and grammatical conventions in written and spoken English.
Grades
Papers: 1/3 of Final Grade
Oral training, Oral exams: 1/3 of Final Grade
Midterm and Final Grammar Exams, Weekly Participation and Assignments: 1/3 of Final Grade
Textbooks:
--To be announced.
Papers:
You will write three papers over the course of the semester. Every paper should be at least two pages and not more than three pages long. The first paper is a movie review. I will discuss the other papers later in the semester.
Each paper is divided into three sections: introduction, body, and conclusion. You will write a paper over the course of three weeks. In the first week, the introduction is due. In the second week, the body is due. In the third week, the conclusion is due. Introductions should be at least 1/2 page long. Bodies should be at least one page long. Conclusions should be 1/2 page long. We will discuss how to write each section of the paper early in the semester, and we will review how to write each section for each paper.
Attendance:
Attendance is mandatory. If you cannot attend a class, be sure to inform me or the TA. Medical and family emergencies are acceptable reasons for absences. I will tolerate absences due to some school related events, but you should not miss class for something like a department basketball game very often.
If you have more than three unexcused absences, I have the right to fail you. (I.e. I will give you a score of less than 60 for the semester.)
The oral-aural training hour is the most important hour, for it covers the ‘aural training’ component of the course, a component that relies on oversight from the professor and his TAs. If for some reason you cannot attend a full class one week, try at least to attend the oral-aural training hour. The TA will take attendance during that hour.
During the oral-aural training hour, you will work with a group of students. You will be given a topic, and the group will be asked to have a conversation about the topic. The TA will supervise the groups. Each week, ten students will be asked to work with the teacher during the oral-aural hour. When you work with the teacher, you will be asked to tell a story on a certain topic. You will listen to the teacher’s story and the other students’ story. The teacher will grade you on your speaking ability when you tell your story. You also will have to turn in a description of everyone else’s story at the next week’s class.
Class Structure
This is a typical class:
One hour: Oral and aural training.
One hour: Lectures on reading, writing, grammar, and syntax.
One hour: vocabulary building; additional aural training.
In some weeks, we will not use this structure. We will have a long exam or a long movie viewing instead.
Out-of-Class Work
There will be a number of assignments to complete each week. Usually, the major assignment will be one section of a paper. Other assignments include reading an article and individual oral and aural training. If you are assigned out-of-class work, you are expected to complete it before you come to class.
Course Website
There will be a course website provided through the University server. I will mirror the site at www.ntuenglishnonmajors.blogspot.com for now. The mirror site is up; the University-provided site will be up soon.
TA
Each class will have an assistant. The assistant will work with students during the oral-aural training hour. Students may feel free to ask the TAs questions during the class break and other appropriate times. TAs will help manage the class, keep a grade book for the teacher, help the teacher prepare lessons, and provide some help to students outside of class. TAs should use English whenever possible, but they are there to help you if you are struggling with a language barrier.
Please note that TAs will help you in some ways outside of class, but your primary resource still is the professor. Your questions should be addressed to me during my office hours. Don’t talk to the TA because you are afraid of me. Overcome your fear by talking to me directly.
Itinerary
A reminder: any assignment should be completed before you come to class.
Week One: --Introduction to the course. --Teacher introduction. Student introductions. TA introduction. –Introduction to aural and vocabulary training. –Independent and dependent clauses. –Introduction to first paper.
Week Two: --Read “Why Do People Love Horror Movies?” at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070725152040.htm
(This is a complicated article. Do your best to read and understand its argument.) --Short writing assignment. Answer the question, What kind of movies do you like and why do you like them? --Choose the movie you will watch for Paper 1.
In class: Oral-aural training (getting to know someone)
Grammar lecture (Active and passive voice)
Vocabulary and aural training.
Week Three:
Paper 1 Introduction due
–Read “Do Men Secretly Like Romantic Movies?” at http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2007/02/do_real_men_lik.html
--Short Writing Assignment. Answer the question, What kind of movies do you not like and why don’t you like them?
In class: Oral-aural training (describing hobbies)
Grammar lecture (parts of speech)
Vocabulary and aural training
Fall 2008
Office: 121 DFLL Building
Office Phone: 3366-3960
Office Hours: To be announced. (No office hours for the first week.)
E-mail: allans@ntu.edu.tw
English for Non-Majors
This course will improve students’ aural, oral, reading and writing skills. Students will review basics of English grammar and syntax. Students will improve their ability to think critically in English and argue in English in a rhetorically effective way. Students will cultivate the skills of summary, analysis, observation, and research presentation in the expository essay format necessary for college-level work and beyond. When appropriate, course material will take a media ecology approach (i.e. it will look at the way visual media and the internet affect language and life). The course will work to improve speaking and listening skills, as well as knowledge of vocabulary and vernacular expressions, for practical purposes. (We will try to have fun with the vocabulary and vernacular expressions as well.) The course will be entirely in English. TAs can assist you in Mandarin when necessary, and the instructor will occasionally use Mandarin and Taiwanese expressions for effect. Please do not laugh at his accent.
Fall Semester Course Objectives
1. Reading texts at a college level; writing about texts at a college level.2. Writing expository essays with a clear focus.3. Learning to use others’ ideas to create one’s own ideas.4. Learning to use in-text citation (through various citation methods, including MLA, APA, etc.)5. Reviewing how to recognize and use rhetorical and grammatical conventions in written and spoken English.
Grades
Papers: 1/3 of Final Grade
Oral training, Oral exams: 1/3 of Final Grade
Midterm and Final Grammar Exams, Weekly Participation and Assignments: 1/3 of Final Grade
Textbooks:
--To be announced.
Papers:
You will write three papers over the course of the semester. Every paper should be at least two pages and not more than three pages long. The first paper is a movie review. I will discuss the other papers later in the semester.
Each paper is divided into three sections: introduction, body, and conclusion. You will write a paper over the course of three weeks. In the first week, the introduction is due. In the second week, the body is due. In the third week, the conclusion is due. Introductions should be at least 1/2 page long. Bodies should be at least one page long. Conclusions should be 1/2 page long. We will discuss how to write each section of the paper early in the semester, and we will review how to write each section for each paper.
Attendance:
Attendance is mandatory. If you cannot attend a class, be sure to inform me or the TA. Medical and family emergencies are acceptable reasons for absences. I will tolerate absences due to some school related events, but you should not miss class for something like a department basketball game very often.
If you have more than three unexcused absences, I have the right to fail you. (I.e. I will give you a score of less than 60 for the semester.)
The oral-aural training hour is the most important hour, for it covers the ‘aural training’ component of the course, a component that relies on oversight from the professor and his TAs. If for some reason you cannot attend a full class one week, try at least to attend the oral-aural training hour. The TA will take attendance during that hour.
During the oral-aural training hour, you will work with a group of students. You will be given a topic, and the group will be asked to have a conversation about the topic. The TA will supervise the groups. Each week, ten students will be asked to work with the teacher during the oral-aural hour. When you work with the teacher, you will be asked to tell a story on a certain topic. You will listen to the teacher’s story and the other students’ story. The teacher will grade you on your speaking ability when you tell your story. You also will have to turn in a description of everyone else’s story at the next week’s class.
Class Structure
This is a typical class:
One hour: Oral and aural training.
One hour: Lectures on reading, writing, grammar, and syntax.
One hour: vocabulary building; additional aural training.
In some weeks, we will not use this structure. We will have a long exam or a long movie viewing instead.
Out-of-Class Work
There will be a number of assignments to complete each week. Usually, the major assignment will be one section of a paper. Other assignments include reading an article and individual oral and aural training. If you are assigned out-of-class work, you are expected to complete it before you come to class.
Course Website
There will be a course website provided through the University server. I will mirror the site at www.ntuenglishnonmajors.blogspot.com for now. The mirror site is up; the University-provided site will be up soon.
TA
Each class will have an assistant. The assistant will work with students during the oral-aural training hour. Students may feel free to ask the TAs questions during the class break and other appropriate times. TAs will help manage the class, keep a grade book for the teacher, help the teacher prepare lessons, and provide some help to students outside of class. TAs should use English whenever possible, but they are there to help you if you are struggling with a language barrier.
Please note that TAs will help you in some ways outside of class, but your primary resource still is the professor. Your questions should be addressed to me during my office hours. Don’t talk to the TA because you are afraid of me. Overcome your fear by talking to me directly.
Itinerary
A reminder: any assignment should be completed before you come to class.
Week One: --Introduction to the course. --Teacher introduction. Student introductions. TA introduction. –Introduction to aural and vocabulary training. –Independent and dependent clauses. –Introduction to first paper.
Week Two: --Read “Why Do People Love Horror Movies?” at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070725152040.htm
(This is a complicated article. Do your best to read and understand its argument.) --Short writing assignment. Answer the question, What kind of movies do you like and why do you like them? --Choose the movie you will watch for Paper 1.
In class: Oral-aural training (getting to know someone)
Grammar lecture (Active and passive voice)
Vocabulary and aural training.
Week Three:
Paper 1 Introduction due
–Read “Do Men Secretly Like Romantic Movies?” at http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2007/02/do_real_men_lik.html
--Short Writing Assignment. Answer the question, What kind of movies do you not like and why don’t you like them?
In class: Oral-aural training (describing hobbies)
Grammar lecture (parts of speech)
Vocabulary and aural training
Friday, June 13, 2008
Updates
I've sent some courtesy notes to students whom I believe would benefit from the amnesty oral exam. I didn't send these notes to everyone who needs them: some of you should know that you should take it.
I am getting a lot of late papers that do not fulfill the length requirement. It's been long established that papers should be 2-3 pages long total (all three parts). If you turn in all of Paper 5, for example, and it is only 1.5 pages long, I will give you two scores based on the quality of your writing. The third score will be "Zero". Make sure to correct the error this week if you turned in a paper that isn't long enough.
There are more posts in the website addendum (see link below). You can read these posts for reading practice or to prepare for the Final Exam Extra Credit questions.
Sean
I am getting a lot of late papers that do not fulfill the length requirement. It's been long established that papers should be 2-3 pages long total (all three parts). If you turn in all of Paper 5, for example, and it is only 1.5 pages long, I will give you two scores based on the quality of your writing. The third score will be "Zero". Make sure to correct the error this week if you turned in a paper that isn't long enough.
There are more posts in the website addendum (see link below). You can read these posts for reading practice or to prepare for the Final Exam Extra Credit questions.
Sean
Saturday, June 7, 2008
This Week
Class:
If you have not taken the 3rd oral exam, you should make sure to do so this week. You can take the exam during one of the class breaks, or you can take it in my office. You have to have a good reason to take the oral exam during the final exam week--a car accident, for example. Don't flake on this exam. (If you were in an accident, make sure to contact me. Also, if you say that someone will come to class on your behalf, and that person doesn't come to class, I have to punish both of you.)
You can retake the 3rd oral exam if you think you can do better than you did last week. Again, take time during a break or an office hour. I will have to talk to people who have not taken the test yet first, of course.
Next week we will review for the final and watch several episodes of The Simpsons. I will also announce in class the names of students who need to speak with me.
I will talk to students who have missed a lot or class or students who have had other problems. If I do need to talk to you, make sure that you come to class this week; otherwise you miss your chance to mitigate circumstances that might reduce your participation grade.
If there is something that I need to know in order to grade you fairly, make sure that I know about it (e.g. you missed a lot of class because of a serious illness, etc.).
Remember that I am offering an Amnesty conversation to ease your participation grade; some of you really should take advantage of it. If you've missed class, if you haven't worked hard during the oral/aural training, if you have misbehaved in class and made it harder for me to teach, you should consider the Amnesty conversation for the sake of your grade.
This week you should turn in your Oral Exam paper that describes other students' ideas about the movie. At the Final Exam, you can turn in a rewrite of one section of Paper 6; if you want to rewrite all of Paper 6, you need to talk to me first.
Let me add that you all are doing a good job of improving your vocabulary. I've heard many of you say and seen many of you write some of the words you learned from The Simpsons, and I think half of you used the word "inveterate" in the last paper, which I believe I used in the paper prompt. Great work.
Best of luck on all of your other final exams.
Sean
If you have not taken the 3rd oral exam, you should make sure to do so this week. You can take the exam during one of the class breaks, or you can take it in my office. You have to have a good reason to take the oral exam during the final exam week--a car accident, for example. Don't flake on this exam. (If you were in an accident, make sure to contact me. Also, if you say that someone will come to class on your behalf, and that person doesn't come to class, I have to punish both of you.)
You can retake the 3rd oral exam if you think you can do better than you did last week. Again, take time during a break or an office hour. I will have to talk to people who have not taken the test yet first, of course.
Next week we will review for the final and watch several episodes of The Simpsons. I will also announce in class the names of students who need to speak with me.
I will talk to students who have missed a lot or class or students who have had other problems. If I do need to talk to you, make sure that you come to class this week; otherwise you miss your chance to mitigate circumstances that might reduce your participation grade.
If there is something that I need to know in order to grade you fairly, make sure that I know about it (e.g. you missed a lot of class because of a serious illness, etc.).
Remember that I am offering an Amnesty conversation to ease your participation grade; some of you really should take advantage of it. If you've missed class, if you haven't worked hard during the oral/aural training, if you have misbehaved in class and made it harder for me to teach, you should consider the Amnesty conversation for the sake of your grade.
This week you should turn in your Oral Exam paper that describes other students' ideas about the movie. At the Final Exam, you can turn in a rewrite of one section of Paper 6; if you want to rewrite all of Paper 6, you need to talk to me first.
Let me add that you all are doing a good job of improving your vocabulary. I've heard many of you say and seen many of you write some of the words you learned from The Simpsons, and I think half of you used the word "inveterate" in the last paper, which I believe I used in the paper prompt. Great work.
Best of luck on all of your other final exams.
Sean
Music Paper Example
--Here's the beginning of a paper about a song with lyrics. I don't expect your in-class essay to be this long or polished, but you can get some examples of how to talk about lyrics and explain them. This is also good reading comprehension practice.
Black Star's "Astronomy"
I think rap music is interesting because it takes popular culture references and turns them into poetry and figurative language. It's fun to figure out the references to movies and songs and people in rap songs, and the ideas in rap music can be very interesting and moving.
One song I enjoy is the rap group Black Star's record "Astronomy (8th Light)". The first interesting aspect is the group's name. "Black Star" refers to the rappers themselves: they are two black men (Mos Def and Talib Kweli) who are famous. "Black Star" also refers to a famous ship: in the early 20th century, an African-American man named Marcus Garvey argued that African-Americans should return to Africa because America would not give them the freedom they deserve. So the name "Black Star" also refers to African-American history. Also, the "Black Star" is a celestial event, so the band is also connected to space and the univserse. The multiple meanings of the names show how complex rap music lyrics and names can be.
The song is built around references to American cultural uses of the word "black." One common perspective is that the term "black" is usually negative, and this negativity reflects negative attitudes toward African-American, or "black," people. For example, Mos Def says, "Black like my baby girl's [girlfriend's] stare": a "black stare" is an angry look, so "black" is a negative word in this case. Other uses of "black" are positive, positive uses that reflect support for the black community specifically and peaceful coexistance generally. For example, Talib Kweli raps, "Black is the color of my true love's hair," a reference to a famous song by black singer Nina Simone. In this case black is something beautiful about the person whom you love.
Talib Kweli has a verse that looks at perceptions of African-Americans in American culture. He raps, "Deep on the front lines, and blacks is all there. / Black like the perception of who, on welfare / Black like faces at the bottom of the wellI've been there before / To bring the light and heat it up like 'la cocina' / Make without imagine happen but maybe i'm just a dreamer / I love rockin tracks like John Coltrane love Naema." The first line references how black people (and other minorities) are the ones most commonly on the "front lines," or the most dangerous places, in a war. This is literally true (most foot soldiers in the U.S. military are ethic minorities) and also reflects the idea that black people are on the "front lines" of the "war" of life. The second line refers to the prejudicial perception that most welfare (Governmental monetary support for the poor) recepients are black people. Statistics show that the typical welfare recipient is a white woman who has been abandoned by her husband, but the prejudice that most welfare recipients are black is often thought to be used as a way to think that black people behave badly. Next, he reflects on his wish to make relieve people "at the bottom of the well" (those destitute and in trouble) through his music and his love. He worries that he is "just a dreamer" and can't help anyone, but he knows that he is committed to art because he "loves [rap music] like John Coltrane loves Naema," a reference to a famous jazz musician and one of his songs.
Links:
song: http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=4-hVkorqicw
lyrics: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/black+star/astronomy_10040228.html
Black Star's "Astronomy"
I think rap music is interesting because it takes popular culture references and turns them into poetry and figurative language. It's fun to figure out the references to movies and songs and people in rap songs, and the ideas in rap music can be very interesting and moving.
One song I enjoy is the rap group Black Star's record "Astronomy (8th Light)". The first interesting aspect is the group's name. "Black Star" refers to the rappers themselves: they are two black men (Mos Def and Talib Kweli) who are famous. "Black Star" also refers to a famous ship: in the early 20th century, an African-American man named Marcus Garvey argued that African-Americans should return to Africa because America would not give them the freedom they deserve. So the name "Black Star" also refers to African-American history. Also, the "Black Star" is a celestial event, so the band is also connected to space and the univserse. The multiple meanings of the names show how complex rap music lyrics and names can be.
The song is built around references to American cultural uses of the word "black." One common perspective is that the term "black" is usually negative, and this negativity reflects negative attitudes toward African-American, or "black," people. For example, Mos Def says, "Black like my baby girl's [girlfriend's] stare": a "black stare" is an angry look, so "black" is a negative word in this case. Other uses of "black" are positive, positive uses that reflect support for the black community specifically and peaceful coexistance generally. For example, Talib Kweli raps, "Black is the color of my true love's hair," a reference to a famous song by black singer Nina Simone. In this case black is something beautiful about the person whom you love.
Talib Kweli has a verse that looks at perceptions of African-Americans in American culture. He raps, "Deep on the front lines, and blacks is all there. / Black like the perception of who, on welfare / Black like faces at the bottom of the wellI've been there before / To bring the light and heat it up like 'la cocina' / Make without imagine happen but maybe i'm just a dreamer / I love rockin tracks like John Coltrane love Naema." The first line references how black people (and other minorities) are the ones most commonly on the "front lines," or the most dangerous places, in a war. This is literally true (most foot soldiers in the U.S. military are ethic minorities) and also reflects the idea that black people are on the "front lines" of the "war" of life. The second line refers to the prejudicial perception that most welfare (Governmental monetary support for the poor) recepients are black people. Statistics show that the typical welfare recipient is a white woman who has been abandoned by her husband, but the prejudice that most welfare recipients are black is often thought to be used as a way to think that black people behave badly. Next, he reflects on his wish to make relieve people "at the bottom of the well" (those destitute and in trouble) through his music and his love. He worries that he is "just a dreamer" and can't help anyone, but he knows that he is committed to art because he "loves [rap music] like John Coltrane loves Naema," a reference to a famous jazz musician and one of his songs.
Links:
song: http://tw.youtube.com/watch?v=4-hVkorqicw
lyrics: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/black+star/astronomy_10040228.html
Friday, June 6, 2008
Final Exam Requirement
You must write questions correctly. No longer is there an excuse to leave out a "do" or "does" or forget to rearrange words for a question. You all use English well enough that this mistake will confuse people with whom you are talking.
"Why is the sky blue?" --If you write, "Why the sky blue?" <--Fail
"How does Homer keep his job at the Nuclear Power Plant?" --If you write, "How Homer keeps his job at the Nuclear Power Plant?" <--Fail
Etc.
(I won't really fail you, but I have talked about this problem a lot and I still see the mistakes with each assignment. Make it a priority to check for the problem.)
"Why is the sky blue?" --If you write, "Why the sky blue?" <--Fail
"How does Homer keep his job at the Nuclear Power Plant?" --If you write, "How Homer keeps his job at the Nuclear Power Plant?" <--Fail
Etc.
(I won't really fail you, but I have talked about this problem a lot and I still see the mistakes with each assignment. Make it a priority to check for the problem.)
New Posts on Both Blogs
I will include some new posts on both this blog and its addendum. http://ntuenglishnonmajors2.blogspot.com/
These posts can be used for reading practice. I'll write some personal narratives so students can practice understanding unusual diction and written humor. (Maybe my sense of humor is better written down; sometimes if you don't understand my jokes when I say them out loud, it might sound like I am being mean for no reason. Actually I'm being mean for a specific reason: to be funny.)
I will also write some posts about some of the material we have covered in class, so it might provide some useful review for the final exam or just for some general English practice.
S.
These posts can be used for reading practice. I'll write some personal narratives so students can practice understanding unusual diction and written humor. (Maybe my sense of humor is better written down; sometimes if you don't understand my jokes when I say them out loud, it might sound like I am being mean for no reason. Actually I'm being mean for a specific reason: to be funny.)
I will also write some posts about some of the material we have covered in class, so it might provide some useful review for the final exam or just for some general English practice.
S.
Affects
The American scholar Silvan Tomkins is regarded as one of the great writers on affect. He approached the subject through cybernetics and systems theory. He thought the following were the human affects:
Interest-Excitement
Enjoyment-Joy
Surprise-Startle
Distress-Anguish
Shame-Humiliation
Contempt-Disgust
Anger
Fear-Terror
Some quotes from "What Are Affects?" in the book Shame and Its Sisters.
"All animals 'want' but only man concerns himself with the nature of his own wants. He wants to know what he is really concerned about, why he is concerned, and even what should concern him" (33).
"Man is neither as free as he feels nor as bound as he fears" (33). (In other words, we only have some much control over our emotional responses, but neither are we computers that cannot change or manage our feelings.)
--I found the topic interesting here because I think people are more attuned to their affective responses in Taiwan than they are in America. People (particularly young people) act out their feelings in Taiwan, whereas Americans hide how they feel. Perhaps some of that comes from the "stiff upper lip" tradition of the West (a British tradition of heroism whereby a man does not draw attention to the pain of his experience--e.g. "Oh dear. It appears my arm has been chopped off" as opposed to "Ahhhh! My arm!!!")
Interest-Excitement
Enjoyment-Joy
Surprise-Startle
Distress-Anguish
Shame-Humiliation
Contempt-Disgust
Anger
Fear-Terror
Some quotes from "What Are Affects?" in the book Shame and Its Sisters.
"All animals 'want' but only man concerns himself with the nature of his own wants. He wants to know what he is really concerned about, why he is concerned, and even what should concern him" (33).
"Man is neither as free as he feels nor as bound as he fears" (33). (In other words, we only have some much control over our emotional responses, but neither are we computers that cannot change or manage our feelings.)
--I found the topic interesting here because I think people are more attuned to their affective responses in Taiwan than they are in America. People (particularly young people) act out their feelings in Taiwan, whereas Americans hide how they feel. Perhaps some of that comes from the "stiff upper lip" tradition of the West (a British tradition of heroism whereby a man does not draw attention to the pain of his experience--e.g. "Oh dear. It appears my arm has been chopped off" as opposed to "Ahhhh! My arm!!!")
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Final Exam Format: In-Class Essays
The Final Exam format will include two essays to be written in class. You can use your dictionary, and you can bring a vocabulary list (for words we've learned in class that you want to try to use in the final exam) and a set of notes. (Your notes should fit on one side of one page of notebook paper. Do not write part of your essay as your notes.) The essay has to be written in class, though.
--You should plan to write for an hour for each essay, but you have all three hours to complete the exam. There will be an extra credit in-class essay for those who have the time and inclination to write one.
Here is the first exam prompt: Music
Earlier, you were asked to describe a piece of music or a type of music that you enjoy as part of your oral exam. Now, you will write about a piece of music or type of music that you enjoy. Preferably, you should write about music with lyrics, but if you prefer classical music or do not care at all about lyrics, you can write just about the music.
Your paper should concentrate on the power of the lyrics: why are the song lyrics good? What metaphors and images do they use? You will need to talk about the lyrics in English, but the song does not have to be in English. You may translate the song at home and bring a translation of the song lyrics to the final exam.
If you don't want to write about lyrics, your paper should follow a similar format as the second oral exam: describe what the music sounds like, and describe what effect the music has on you and how it creates that effect.
Second Paper Exam Prompt: Media
Choose one of the following prompts
1. Although The Simpsons is a cartoon, it is surprisingly vulgar. A lot of the jokes on the TV show are about taboo issues such as sex, death, drug use, etc. Does the type of humor used in The Simpsons reflect a fundamental difference between American and Taiwanese cultures? Can Taiwanese television and cinema use similar types of humor? If American and Taiwanese culture are very different, how are you able to understand the jokes on The Simpsons and enjoy them?
To write this paper, describe some of your favorite jokes or events from the Simpsons episodes that we watched this semester. Describe an episode that you thought was funny, or describe a set of jokes over several episodes that you thought were funny.
After these descriptions, answer some more abstract, difficult questions: Why did you enjoy these things? What about the show reflected some truths about American culture or the differences between Taiwanese and American culture?
--Try your best to answer all of these questions. Your score depends on how clearly you write, how well you describe the aspects of The Simpsons that you enjoyed, and how well you answer the more abstract questions. You can still get a very good score if you are able to describe what you liked but don't have the time or language skills to answer the more abstract questions.
2. Yi Yi
Write a clearly structured (Intro, Body, Conclusion) brief essay about the film Yi Yi. You can follow any of the questions that I asked in the course handout, you can continue with some of the thoughts that you had at the third oral exam, or you can discuss something new. You may talk about the film, or you might compare the film to another Taiwanese film or book or television show that addresses similar issues (family, maturity, regret, death, etc.). Decide what you will write about before class, bring an outline of the essay to the final, and write the essay.
--Your score depends on how clearly you write and how thoroughly you describe your ideas and observations about the movie.
Conclusion
Over the next week, I will post some Simpsons vocabulary and some short paragraphs and essays on the course website. The paragraphs and essays can be used for reading practice or to give you some ideas about what to write at the final exam; you are free to ignore these if you want.
--You should plan to write for an hour for each essay, but you have all three hours to complete the exam. There will be an extra credit in-class essay for those who have the time and inclination to write one.
Here is the first exam prompt: Music
Earlier, you were asked to describe a piece of music or a type of music that you enjoy as part of your oral exam. Now, you will write about a piece of music or type of music that you enjoy. Preferably, you should write about music with lyrics, but if you prefer classical music or do not care at all about lyrics, you can write just about the music.
Your paper should concentrate on the power of the lyrics: why are the song lyrics good? What metaphors and images do they use? You will need to talk about the lyrics in English, but the song does not have to be in English. You may translate the song at home and bring a translation of the song lyrics to the final exam.
If you don't want to write about lyrics, your paper should follow a similar format as the second oral exam: describe what the music sounds like, and describe what effect the music has on you and how it creates that effect.
Second Paper Exam Prompt: Media
Choose one of the following prompts
1. Although The Simpsons is a cartoon, it is surprisingly vulgar. A lot of the jokes on the TV show are about taboo issues such as sex, death, drug use, etc. Does the type of humor used in The Simpsons reflect a fundamental difference between American and Taiwanese cultures? Can Taiwanese television and cinema use similar types of humor? If American and Taiwanese culture are very different, how are you able to understand the jokes on The Simpsons and enjoy them?
To write this paper, describe some of your favorite jokes or events from the Simpsons episodes that we watched this semester. Describe an episode that you thought was funny, or describe a set of jokes over several episodes that you thought were funny.
After these descriptions, answer some more abstract, difficult questions: Why did you enjoy these things? What about the show reflected some truths about American culture or the differences between Taiwanese and American culture?
--Try your best to answer all of these questions. Your score depends on how clearly you write, how well you describe the aspects of The Simpsons that you enjoyed, and how well you answer the more abstract questions. You can still get a very good score if you are able to describe what you liked but don't have the time or language skills to answer the more abstract questions.
2. Yi Yi
Write a clearly structured (Intro, Body, Conclusion) brief essay about the film Yi Yi. You can follow any of the questions that I asked in the course handout, you can continue with some of the thoughts that you had at the third oral exam, or you can discuss something new. You may talk about the film, or you might compare the film to another Taiwanese film or book or television show that addresses similar issues (family, maturity, regret, death, etc.). Decide what you will write about before class, bring an outline of the essay to the final, and write the essay.
--Your score depends on how clearly you write and how thoroughly you describe your ideas and observations about the movie.
Conclusion
Over the next week, I will post some Simpsons vocabulary and some short paragraphs and essays on the course website. The paragraphs and essays can be used for reading practice or to give you some ideas about what to write at the final exam; you are free to ignore these if you want.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Sorry, and Final Exam
Classes:
I was caught in the rainstorm on Friday. I had my backpack on. In the backpack were the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday papers. They are a little wet. Sorry for the trouble.
I will announce the structure of the Final exam in the next few days on this site. I will also start a two week study guide to help you prepare (like I did for the midterm).
Sean
I was caught in the rainstorm on Friday. I had my backpack on. In the backpack were the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday papers. They are a little wet. Sorry for the trouble.
I will announce the structure of the Final exam in the next few days on this site. I will also start a two week study guide to help you prepare (like I did for the midterm).
Sean
Friday, May 30, 2008
Paper 6 Conclusion Examples
Manners:
It would seem wise if we separated "procedure" and "essence." People who follow the proper "procedures" are thought of as good-mannered even if they are not good people: they might be firmly shaking your hand in order to make it easier to steal your wallet. Contrariwise, many people who behave oddly or who generally do not follow polite "procedures" well cannot immediately be dismissed as "impolite" or "bad" people. We need to reconceive what are good manners and what makes a good person, for bad people have long figured out how to use traditional good manners to hurt people.
Prejudice:
It is up to teachers to understand their students' needs and attitudes. Students also should learn more about teachers and behave more reasonably with regard to class participation and interaction with the teacher. However, teachers are by definition the more responsible group, and teachers should not use bad student behavior as an excuse not to fulfill their obligations as teachers. To treat students badly only reinforces some of the negative ideas students have about education--namely, that it is a four-year jail term that doesn't really teach students anything.
Besides, a teacher should recognize that there is more to a student's life than your class. (We can understand the vanity of a teacher thinking that students are stupid if they don't like his class, but that is still a prejudice that should be eliminated.) Teachers need to learn to be sympathetic to students, and when students do not behave appropriately, teachers need to find ways to mete the proper punishments without allowing anger and prejudice to creep in.
It would seem wise if we separated "procedure" and "essence." People who follow the proper "procedures" are thought of as good-mannered even if they are not good people: they might be firmly shaking your hand in order to make it easier to steal your wallet. Contrariwise, many people who behave oddly or who generally do not follow polite "procedures" well cannot immediately be dismissed as "impolite" or "bad" people. We need to reconceive what are good manners and what makes a good person, for bad people have long figured out how to use traditional good manners to hurt people.
Prejudice:
It is up to teachers to understand their students' needs and attitudes. Students also should learn more about teachers and behave more reasonably with regard to class participation and interaction with the teacher. However, teachers are by definition the more responsible group, and teachers should not use bad student behavior as an excuse not to fulfill their obligations as teachers. To treat students badly only reinforces some of the negative ideas students have about education--namely, that it is a four-year jail term that doesn't really teach students anything.
Besides, a teacher should recognize that there is more to a student's life than your class. (We can understand the vanity of a teacher thinking that students are stupid if they don't like his class, but that is still a prejudice that should be eliminated.) Teachers need to learn to be sympathetic to students, and when students do not behave appropriately, teachers need to find ways to mete the proper punishments without allowing anger and prejudice to creep in.
Yi Yi Questions
What parts of the film do you relate to? What parts of the film do you understand even if you don’t relate to it? Are there parts of the film that the think are ineffective or that make incorrect observations about people?
Is there a connection between Yang-Yang’s teacher’s young female assistant’s and Lili’s English teacher’s relationship with Lili?
If you are from a big city, does this film reflect how people feel and how people experience things in big city life? If you are not from a big city, how does the city affect people differently than a smaller place? How would Ting-Ting and Yang-Yang learn about love differently in a smaller town?
News mentions of Wen-Ho Lee and Matra
“Thunder created all life on Earth”
“How can I know what you see?”
“Can we only know half the truth?”—Yang-Yang
“Every day in life is a first time. Every morning is new. We never live the same day twice…”—Ota—How is the film hopeful? We see that Ota understands life well even when his life is difficult. We see that Ting-Ting has some sense of hope: she feels that her grandmother has forgiven her, and her plant has blossomed. Yang-Yang seems to be doing fine in his attempts to understand life. What about the other characters? Are they hopeless?
“Young people always find their own way.”—Ota. Ota says this to NJ and Sherry. How are NJ and Sherry still “young”? How does this quote reflect Ting-Ting and Yang-Yang’s experiences? They have to “find their way,” and they don’t seem to get a lot of help or support from the adults.
--What characters did you like the most? Why? What characters did you dislike the most? Why? Think of the least sympathetic characters and try to think of something positive about them that we see in the move. (Example: After A-Di’s suicide attempt, we see that Xiao Yan seems really to love A-Di.)
What scene did you most enjoy, or what scene affected you the most? Why did you enjoy it? How did it affect you?
Why does the movie have Yang-Yang learn about love in a “cute” way while Ting-Ting learns about love (and sex) in a very scary way?
Why do some people always fail to make good decisions or be good people no matter what opportunities they have? A-Di is so lucky, yet he makes so many mistakes, and he continues to act badly and lie. Can we understand why he acts the way that he does? Can we be sympathetic to him? Does he remind us of ourselves or people we know?
--Why do people imitate the behavior that upsets them? Lili is disgusted by her mother’s promiscuity, yet she shows her disgust by being promiscuous herself.
A major theme in the film is sexual awakening. Yang-Yang starts to like a girl. Ting-Ting starts to develop feelings of love and desire, and she discovers that love and sex are very complicated, painful, and disturbing things.
A lot of the movie looks at major themes—birth, death, love, pain—in very subtle ways. Yet near the end Fatty murders the English teacher out of sexual jealousy. This is very shocking, and it is very different from the rest of the movie. Why include this event in the movie? What might it mean?
Why do we learn about Fatty’s murder through a news story? What does that mean? What does it say about the media’s obsession with violence and sensation? (Contrast the news about violence and sensation to the Jians’ lives, which are not at all sensational.)
Can we understand why Fatty would murder the English teacher? Do we understand his feelings? Have we had similar feelings before ourselves? (The German writer Goethe said, “I can imagine myself committing the greatest crime. Nothing human is foreign to me.”)
The movie talks about “violent and killing videogames” early on: Mr. Ota says that video games tend to be violent not because computer technology is limited, but because humans don’t understand themselves. Later, we see Fatty’s murder of the English teacher recreated as a violent video game. Why do this?
Is it important to be happy? How can we be? What does this movie say about happiness?
--Does NJ love his wife? Why is it so hard to tell? Is it still hard to tell whether or not adults love each other?
--Can we be sympathetic to Min-Min even though she abandons her family during an important time?
Yun-Yun continues to love and support A-Di after A-Di has married someone else. What makes people carry a torch for others? Why do we continue to love someone long after they should no longer be part of our lives?
Are you too young to understand NJ and Sherry’s regret over the decisions they’ve made in their lives? What if one of your parents left the family to be with his or her “true love” from the past? Obviously, you would be upset, but could you understand why he or she might make such a decision?
Think of family members who work. How hard is their job? Are they happy? What does NJ’s unhappiness with the business world tell us about how much work can hurt our mind and soul?
A lot of the movie looks at major themes—birth, death, love, pain—in very subtle ways. For example, in most movies or television shows, a mother who does not want to attend her son’s wedding would make a very angry speech. In Yi Yi, the mother simply says that she doesn’t feel well and wants to go home. It is such a quiet event that we might forget how powerful it is for a mother to not stay at one of her children’s weddings. Why does the movie look at serious issues in such quiet ways? Is that how we learn about and experience things in real life?
The movie is “realistic” at first in the way that it shows slow and ordinary and banal events. But near the end, it has more “movie” events. There is a murder (we know this is a “movie” event because we don’t normally have a close experience with murder; also, Fatty talks about how movies “show us what it’s like to kill someone"). There is a fantasy sequence (Ting-Ting imagines that her grandmother has woken up). What’s the effect of the movie being mostly slow and quiet, yet near the end having violence and fantasies like in many other movies?
Is there a connection between Yang-Yang’s teacher’s young female assistant’s and Lili’s English teacher’s relationship with Lili?
If you are from a big city, does this film reflect how people feel and how people experience things in big city life? If you are not from a big city, how does the city affect people differently than a smaller place? How would Ting-Ting and Yang-Yang learn about love differently in a smaller town?
News mentions of Wen-Ho Lee and Matra
“Thunder created all life on Earth”
“How can I know what you see?”
“Can we only know half the truth?”—Yang-Yang
“Every day in life is a first time. Every morning is new. We never live the same day twice…”—Ota—How is the film hopeful? We see that Ota understands life well even when his life is difficult. We see that Ting-Ting has some sense of hope: she feels that her grandmother has forgiven her, and her plant has blossomed. Yang-Yang seems to be doing fine in his attempts to understand life. What about the other characters? Are they hopeless?
“Young people always find their own way.”—Ota. Ota says this to NJ and Sherry. How are NJ and Sherry still “young”? How does this quote reflect Ting-Ting and Yang-Yang’s experiences? They have to “find their way,” and they don’t seem to get a lot of help or support from the adults.
--What characters did you like the most? Why? What characters did you dislike the most? Why? Think of the least sympathetic characters and try to think of something positive about them that we see in the move. (Example: After A-Di’s suicide attempt, we see that Xiao Yan seems really to love A-Di.)
What scene did you most enjoy, or what scene affected you the most? Why did you enjoy it? How did it affect you?
Why does the movie have Yang-Yang learn about love in a “cute” way while Ting-Ting learns about love (and sex) in a very scary way?
Why do some people always fail to make good decisions or be good people no matter what opportunities they have? A-Di is so lucky, yet he makes so many mistakes, and he continues to act badly and lie. Can we understand why he acts the way that he does? Can we be sympathetic to him? Does he remind us of ourselves or people we know?
--Why do people imitate the behavior that upsets them? Lili is disgusted by her mother’s promiscuity, yet she shows her disgust by being promiscuous herself.
A major theme in the film is sexual awakening. Yang-Yang starts to like a girl. Ting-Ting starts to develop feelings of love and desire, and she discovers that love and sex are very complicated, painful, and disturbing things.
A lot of the movie looks at major themes—birth, death, love, pain—in very subtle ways. Yet near the end Fatty murders the English teacher out of sexual jealousy. This is very shocking, and it is very different from the rest of the movie. Why include this event in the movie? What might it mean?
Why do we learn about Fatty’s murder through a news story? What does that mean? What does it say about the media’s obsession with violence and sensation? (Contrast the news about violence and sensation to the Jians’ lives, which are not at all sensational.)
Can we understand why Fatty would murder the English teacher? Do we understand his feelings? Have we had similar feelings before ourselves? (The German writer Goethe said, “I can imagine myself committing the greatest crime. Nothing human is foreign to me.”)
The movie talks about “violent and killing videogames” early on: Mr. Ota says that video games tend to be violent not because computer technology is limited, but because humans don’t understand themselves. Later, we see Fatty’s murder of the English teacher recreated as a violent video game. Why do this?
Is it important to be happy? How can we be? What does this movie say about happiness?
--Does NJ love his wife? Why is it so hard to tell? Is it still hard to tell whether or not adults love each other?
--Can we be sympathetic to Min-Min even though she abandons her family during an important time?
Yun-Yun continues to love and support A-Di after A-Di has married someone else. What makes people carry a torch for others? Why do we continue to love someone long after they should no longer be part of our lives?
Are you too young to understand NJ and Sherry’s regret over the decisions they’ve made in their lives? What if one of your parents left the family to be with his or her “true love” from the past? Obviously, you would be upset, but could you understand why he or she might make such a decision?
Think of family members who work. How hard is their job? Are they happy? What does NJ’s unhappiness with the business world tell us about how much work can hurt our mind and soul?
A lot of the movie looks at major themes—birth, death, love, pain—in very subtle ways. For example, in most movies or television shows, a mother who does not want to attend her son’s wedding would make a very angry speech. In Yi Yi, the mother simply says that she doesn’t feel well and wants to go home. It is such a quiet event that we might forget how powerful it is for a mother to not stay at one of her children’s weddings. Why does the movie look at serious issues in such quiet ways? Is that how we learn about and experience things in real life?
The movie is “realistic” at first in the way that it shows slow and ordinary and banal events. But near the end, it has more “movie” events. There is a murder (we know this is a “movie” event because we don’t normally have a close experience with murder; also, Fatty talks about how movies “show us what it’s like to kill someone"). There is a fantasy sequence (Ting-Ting imagines that her grandmother has woken up). What’s the effect of the movie being mostly slow and quiet, yet near the end having violence and fantasies like in many other movies?
New Blog to Replace Locked Blog
I've added an addendum blog: http://ntuenglishnonmajors2.blogspot.com/. I've put some Yi Yi material there, and later you can check for some other written material that can help you prepare for the final exam. I hope this one doesn't get locked.
Sean
Sean
Film Summaries
Well, it looks like they locked my other blog because they thought it was spam. So you won't be able to access the movie summaries. I'll repost the questions and summaries on this blog, and I'll hope that they don't shut down this blog too.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Mid-Term Part 1 Re-Take
I forgot today (Thursday) to hand out the Mid-term retake after the movie. Probably I was distracted by the student who came in and started talking to some other students during the last scene of the movie! If you planned to retake the midterm, please email me.
On a related note, if you for some reason did not take the new (or old) midterm and still would like to, please let me know.
On a related note, if you for some reason did not take the new (or old) midterm and still would like to, please let me know.
Yi Yi Summary and Commentary
Since the Friday class still hasn't seen it, and because there is a lot of material that could overwhelm the blog, I've put the Yi Yi material in a new blog.
http://frogurtalsocursed.blogspot.com/
(The name is a Simpsons reference.)
I will post questions related to Yi Yi, a summary in English, and some material from the TAs (including a summary in Chinese).
http://frogurtalsocursed.blogspot.com/
(The name is a Simpsons reference.)
I will post questions related to Yi Yi, a summary in English, and some material from the TAs (including a summary in Chinese).
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Amnesty
Those who have missed a lot of class, or those who fear that their participation grade might be low, may come to my office hour for a conversation with me.
You have to have a discussion topic ready.
We will have a short conversation. I will give you some feedback on your speaking and listening ability, and I will raise your participation grade.
Sean
You have to have a discussion topic ready.
We will have a short conversation. I will give you some feedback on your speaking and listening ability, and I will raise your participation grade.
Sean
Article Links
Here are the article links again. Now you have less of an excuse not to read them. :-)
This is an essay about some Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirts released in 2002. Many people thought that the shirts were racist against Asians.
http://www.alternet.org/story/13294/
Here are two other links that explain the 2002 Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirts.
http://modelminority.com/article21.html
http://modelminority.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=22
--Please have a one-half page response to the article for this week. You may turn it in late if you need to. There are questions you can answer in an earlier post if you don't know what to say about the article.
Sean
This is an essay about some Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirts released in 2002. Many people thought that the shirts were racist against Asians.
http://www.alternet.org/story/13294/
Here are two other links that explain the 2002 Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirts.
http://modelminority.com/article21.html
http://modelminority.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=22
--Please have a one-half page response to the article for this week. You may turn it in late if you need to. There are questions you can answer in an earlier post if you don't know what to say about the article.
Sean
Reminder: Midterm Part I Retake
Students:
If you scored less than 60 points on the midterm, you may retake the midterm during the third class hour next week. After the movie is finished, you will receive the test.
The maximum retake score will be 65 points.
Sean
If you scored less than 60 points on the midterm, you may retake the midterm during the third class hour next week. After the movie is finished, you will receive the test.
The maximum retake score will be 65 points.
Sean
Friday, May 23, 2008
Paper 6 Body Examples
--These are just one paragraph examples. The body should be about a page long. These examples show you how to make a single argument in the space of one paragraph.
Manners:
The traditional view is that good manners create a good person. Contemporary life seems to prove otherwise: it seems good manners are used to hide bad character. A businessman who smiles, shakes your hand firmly, and maintains eye contact does not necessarily have a good sense of business ethics. Businesses that offer "special deals"--which sound more special than they really are--rely on the persuasiveness of good manners to get people to sign up for six months of yoga or three bottles of a supplement. When I collected baseball cards, I remember one seller told me, "Look: I'm a good Christian gentleman. I would never rip anyone off." After I sold him my rare but damaged baseball card, I saw later that he was selling it for ten times more than he bought it for.
On the other hand, one can witness someone with bad manners who has a good heart. Do we dismiss someone who says, "'Sup?" instead of, "It is an honor to meet you?" without getting to know the person better first?
What are manners, then? What are they supposed to be? Do we care more about "good manners" or "good people"? And if we are looking for "good people," do we need to change the way we look for them?
Prejudice:
When I graded papers for a remedial (i.e. below the standards of college) level English exam, the teachers would write sentences that they found funny on the board. This was to provide relief from the stress of grading so many papers, and yes, often the sentences were very funny. However, it is very inappropriate to laugh at a students writing in a group situation, for it only encourages additional prejudice against students, and it fosters an "us against them" mentality. Worse, some of the things that were written on the board reflected some ignorance of what students need. One teacher wrote a sentence with the phrase, "he suicided." The school at which I worked was 40% Asian, and many of these students were immigrants. It is the teacher's responsibility to know that students who speak another first language have certain mistake tendencies. "Suicide" is a verb in Chinese, so many students will write, "He suicided" instead of "He committed suicide." Teachers should know to teach their students what mistakes they need to look out for; instead, this teacher showed ignorance of her own students' needs.
Another teacher did not write on the board, but she often read out loud students' political arguments. The teacher was liberal; she always read conservative arguments by students. This being written work from a remedial class, of course many of the arguments were bad. But some were good. It seemed that the teacher thought this was "bad writing" only because she disagreed with the political argument.
While I understand the need to relax, and I understand why teachers sometimes laugh at students' work, I think it behooves teachers to take time regularly to reflect on their attitudes toward students. Without this reflections, the teachers might be blind to a prejudice against students that affects a teacher's ability to teach and students' ability to learn.
Manners:
The traditional view is that good manners create a good person. Contemporary life seems to prove otherwise: it seems good manners are used to hide bad character. A businessman who smiles, shakes your hand firmly, and maintains eye contact does not necessarily have a good sense of business ethics. Businesses that offer "special deals"--which sound more special than they really are--rely on the persuasiveness of good manners to get people to sign up for six months of yoga or three bottles of a supplement. When I collected baseball cards, I remember one seller told me, "Look: I'm a good Christian gentleman. I would never rip anyone off." After I sold him my rare but damaged baseball card, I saw later that he was selling it for ten times more than he bought it for.
On the other hand, one can witness someone with bad manners who has a good heart. Do we dismiss someone who says, "'Sup?" instead of, "It is an honor to meet you?" without getting to know the person better first?
What are manners, then? What are they supposed to be? Do we care more about "good manners" or "good people"? And if we are looking for "good people," do we need to change the way we look for them?
Prejudice:
When I graded papers for a remedial (i.e. below the standards of college) level English exam, the teachers would write sentences that they found funny on the board. This was to provide relief from the stress of grading so many papers, and yes, often the sentences were very funny. However, it is very inappropriate to laugh at a students writing in a group situation, for it only encourages additional prejudice against students, and it fosters an "us against them" mentality. Worse, some of the things that were written on the board reflected some ignorance of what students need. One teacher wrote a sentence with the phrase, "he suicided." The school at which I worked was 40% Asian, and many of these students were immigrants. It is the teacher's responsibility to know that students who speak another first language have certain mistake tendencies. "Suicide" is a verb in Chinese, so many students will write, "He suicided" instead of "He committed suicide." Teachers should know to teach their students what mistakes they need to look out for; instead, this teacher showed ignorance of her own students' needs.
Another teacher did not write on the board, but she often read out loud students' political arguments. The teacher was liberal; she always read conservative arguments by students. This being written work from a remedial class, of course many of the arguments were bad. But some were good. It seemed that the teacher thought this was "bad writing" only because she disagreed with the political argument.
While I understand the need to relax, and I understand why teachers sometimes laugh at students' work, I think it behooves teachers to take time regularly to reflect on their attitudes toward students. Without this reflections, the teachers might be blind to a prejudice against students that affects a teacher's ability to teach and students' ability to learn.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Abercrombie and Fitch T-Shirts: Some Questions
Do you find the t-shirts offensive? Why or why not?
Could you accept someone having a different perspective on the t-shirts? (That is, if you find them offensive, do you understand why someone else might not? And vice versa.) Why or why not?
Would you support a ban on the Abercrombie and Fitch brand because of these t-shirts?
Consider this "argument": "These shirts came out six years ago. The company removed the shirts. This is no longer important." How is this a good argument? How is this a bad argument?
--Try to think of something in popular culture (an advertisement, a product, etc.) that might be offensive to certain groups of people. What is the benefit of thinking about these things? Why do some people or companies seem blind and deaf to the feelings of certain groups? Do these things reflect an inveterate prejudice in the culture?
Could you accept someone having a different perspective on the t-shirts? (That is, if you find them offensive, do you understand why someone else might not? And vice versa.) Why or why not?
Would you support a ban on the Abercrombie and Fitch brand because of these t-shirts?
Consider this "argument": "These shirts came out six years ago. The company removed the shirts. This is no longer important." How is this a good argument? How is this a bad argument?
--Try to think of something in popular culture (an advertisement, a product, etc.) that might be offensive to certain groups of people. What is the benefit of thinking about these things? Why do some people or companies seem blind and deaf to the feelings of certain groups? Do these things reflect an inveterate prejudice in the culture?
Itinerary
Week of May 19:
--Simpsons episode "Duffless." Discussion: Is alcoholism a disease?
--Discussion: prejudice (Abercrombie and Fitch article, etc.) and abstract ideas
--Film, Yi Yi
Paper 6 Introduction Due
Week of May 26
--Simpons episode and discussion.
--Finish Yi Yi
Paper 6 Body Due
Week of June 2
--Discussion
--Logical fallacies
--Oral exams: Discuss your feelings about the film we watched in the previous two weeks.
Paper 6 Conclusion due
--Simpsons episode "Duffless." Discussion: Is alcoholism a disease?
--Discussion: prejudice (Abercrombie and Fitch article, etc.) and abstract ideas
--Film, Yi Yi
Paper 6 Introduction Due
Week of May 26
--Simpons episode and discussion.
--Finish Yi Yi
Paper 6 Body Due
Week of June 2
--Discussion
--Logical fallacies
--Oral exams: Discuss your feelings about the film we watched in the previous two weeks.
Paper 6 Conclusion due
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Paper 6 Introduction Examples
Paper 6 Example: Abstract Concept
"Manners" are an important idea in any culture. There have always been traditional codes of behavior dictating how people should behave in public and how people should behave toward one another. The last century has challenged "traditional" behavior, so it is difficult to define what "good manners" are today. Furthermore, many people behave politely, but polite behavior does not necessarily mean that the person is good or trustworthy. If good manners do not make good people, then what is the point of them? Also, what does it mean when people are offended by "bad manners"? If someone behaves badly in public, does it always indicate bad character? And if someone is offended by another's actions, to what degree is the offending person at fault, and to what degree might the offended person simply be too sensitive?
Paper 6 Example: Prejudice
It can be difficult to be a teacher. Teaching requires a commitment of long hours. The pay is usually not good. Peers and students might appreciate hard work and dedication, but that appreciation is fleeting. Students--sometimes understandably, sometimes not--make teaching difficult because they are uncomfortable with the class or with schooling in general. It is not a surprise that a teacher might become frustrated, yet it is not acceptable for a teacher to develop negative attitudes toward students. Teachers' discrimination against students might help relieve teachers' stress, but more importantly it makes teachers care less about their students, treat students with less respecct, and work less hard on their teaching. This paper will look at personal experiences with discrimination against students to try to understand how this prejudice works.
"Manners" are an important idea in any culture. There have always been traditional codes of behavior dictating how people should behave in public and how people should behave toward one another. The last century has challenged "traditional" behavior, so it is difficult to define what "good manners" are today. Furthermore, many people behave politely, but polite behavior does not necessarily mean that the person is good or trustworthy. If good manners do not make good people, then what is the point of them? Also, what does it mean when people are offended by "bad manners"? If someone behaves badly in public, does it always indicate bad character? And if someone is offended by another's actions, to what degree is the offending person at fault, and to what degree might the offended person simply be too sensitive?
Paper 6 Example: Prejudice
It can be difficult to be a teacher. Teaching requires a commitment of long hours. The pay is usually not good. Peers and students might appreciate hard work and dedication, but that appreciation is fleeting. Students--sometimes understandably, sometimes not--make teaching difficult because they are uncomfortable with the class or with schooling in general. It is not a surprise that a teacher might become frustrated, yet it is not acceptable for a teacher to develop negative attitudes toward students. Teachers' discrimination against students might help relieve teachers' stress, but more importantly it makes teachers care less about their students, treat students with less respecct, and work less hard on their teaching. This paper will look at personal experiences with discrimination against students to try to understand how this prejudice works.
Monday, May 12, 2008
A Discussion on "Dignity"
http://www.tnr.com/story_print.html?id=d8731cf4-e87b-4d88-b7e7-f5059cd0bfbd
Here is an essay about bioethics. The author's claim is that there is too much talk about "dignity" in the discussion of bioethics. (Bioethics=a discussion of whether it is right or wrong to experiment with and change the human body. An example: should we study stem cells or cadavers [dead bodies] or etc. to look for cures for human disease, or does it violate the dignity of life to make these studies?) This is a challenging read, but if you want to try to read it, go down about 70% of the essay to the paragraph that begins with "To be fair...." At this point in the essay, the author talks about how abstract the idea of "dignity" is, how much the concept of "dignity" has changed over time, and how useless "dignity" is as an idea for discussing bioethics because of its abstractness.
This can give you a good example of how to discuss an abstract idea and how to make complex arguments. I will try to post more information to help you understand the essay, but you don't have to read it.
Here is an essay about bioethics. The author's claim is that there is too much talk about "dignity" in the discussion of bioethics. (Bioethics=a discussion of whether it is right or wrong to experiment with and change the human body. An example: should we study stem cells or cadavers [dead bodies] or etc. to look for cures for human disease, or does it violate the dignity of life to make these studies?) This is a challenging read, but if you want to try to read it, go down about 70% of the essay to the paragraph that begins with "To be fair...." At this point in the essay, the author talks about how abstract the idea of "dignity" is, how much the concept of "dignity" has changed over time, and how useless "dignity" is as an idea for discussing bioethics because of its abstractness.
This can give you a good example of how to discuss an abstract idea and how to make complex arguments. I will try to post more information to help you understand the essay, but you don't have to read it.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Paper 6
Choose one of the following two paper prompts.
1. Analyzing an abstract concept.
--Choose an idea that is important but is hard to define. Examples include things like "love," "freedom," and "honor." Love is important for all of us, but what is love?
In the introduction, show us what idea you will talk about. Briefly state why it is important. In the body, make an effort to define thoroughly what the word means; keep in mind that these ideas have many forms: there are many kinds of "love"; there are many kinds of "freedoms". Try to define all of them, and try to show why so many different ideas are contained within one word.
In the conclusion, make some general statement about the importance of abstract ideas, using the topic of your paper as a starting point.
You can use a word/concept from another language, but be sure to define that word carefully.
2. Discrimination
Discrimination is a very powerful force. Arguably all of us discriminate against some group or type of people. Choose a form of discrimination to write about. Possibilities include the following: age discrimination, gender discrimination, class discrimination (against the poor or rich), racial and/or ethnic discrimination, sexuality discrimination, etc. You are free to write about the concept within whatever scope you wish--for example, you could write about discrimination against women in general or discrimination against women in Taiwan. You may use personal observation in the paper.
The introduction should show the reader what your topic is. What will you write about? Why?
The body should analyze the extent of the discrimination you analyze. You should also make an effort to understand what the discrimination "means" and why it exists. Try to look at subtler forms of discrimination, forms that are harder to notice and harder to define as discrimination.
The conclusion should discuss why discrimination is such a powerful force in people's lives. Also, you should suggest ways in which we can deal with (bear) discrimination against ourselves and how we might reduce the amount of discrimination in the world.
The paper can take a personal bent (approach) if you'd like. Feel free to discuss personal observations or experiences with discrimination, or think about the ways in which you discriminate against others.
1. Analyzing an abstract concept.
--Choose an idea that is important but is hard to define. Examples include things like "love," "freedom," and "honor." Love is important for all of us, but what is love?
In the introduction, show us what idea you will talk about. Briefly state why it is important. In the body, make an effort to define thoroughly what the word means; keep in mind that these ideas have many forms: there are many kinds of "love"; there are many kinds of "freedoms". Try to define all of them, and try to show why so many different ideas are contained within one word.
In the conclusion, make some general statement about the importance of abstract ideas, using the topic of your paper as a starting point.
You can use a word/concept from another language, but be sure to define that word carefully.
2. Discrimination
Discrimination is a very powerful force. Arguably all of us discriminate against some group or type of people. Choose a form of discrimination to write about. Possibilities include the following: age discrimination, gender discrimination, class discrimination (against the poor or rich), racial and/or ethnic discrimination, sexuality discrimination, etc. You are free to write about the concept within whatever scope you wish--for example, you could write about discrimination against women in general or discrimination against women in Taiwan. You may use personal observation in the paper.
The introduction should show the reader what your topic is. What will you write about? Why?
The body should analyze the extent of the discrimination you analyze. You should also make an effort to understand what the discrimination "means" and why it exists. Try to look at subtler forms of discrimination, forms that are harder to notice and harder to define as discrimination.
The conclusion should discuss why discrimination is such a powerful force in people's lives. Also, you should suggest ways in which we can deal with (bear) discrimination against ourselves and how we might reduce the amount of discrimination in the world.
The paper can take a personal bent (approach) if you'd like. Feel free to discuss personal observations or experiences with discrimination, or think about the ways in which you discriminate against others.
Vocabulary Sample Sentences
I will unveil the last section of the syllabus soon.
The teacher's grading system is diabolical.
It is hard to be happy when one sees all of the human misery in the world.
Dude, I'm trying to watch The Simpsons. Be quiet!
Every month my co-workers and I go to the union meeting to discuss work.
An embassy contains representatives of a foreign country.
She signed a contract to be a model for Chanel perfume.
He went to Macao and won a lot of money gambling. But he got too greedy, kept gambling, and lost all of the money that he won.
When my daughter was young, I would shake a rattle to make her stop crying. She was interested in the sound the rattle made.
Whoever said McDonald's made good food is a liar.
That guy is a speed freak: he always drives his car very fast.
The president of the union is a firebrand: when he gives a speech, everyone listens.
The rain thwarted my effort to take my wife out for a picnic. [Picnic: a meal eaten outside in a park.]
The bank manager is crooked; he steals money from the bank.
I wanted more money at my job, but I'm not a good negotiator, so I couldn't convince my boss to give me a raise. [raise=increase in salary]
I periodically clean the house so it won't get too dirty.
My apartment predates the three prong electrical outlet: there are only two holes in each plug.
I have decided that the girl who gets better grades on all the tests is my adversary. I have to beat her score on the final exam!
The baseball player entered into negotiation with the team to determine how much money he would make next year.
He does not seem friendly. Every time I talk to him, he is very impersonal.
He is a computer wizz. He saved my hard drive after I thought it was destroyed. He is the number one computer repair person in the country!
I know you are mad at me, but hear me out. I am sorry for what I did.
She decided she didn't like her job, so she resigned.
Some people think Asian men have girlish figures.
After the beautiful girl said she would date him, Tom proceeded to strut down the street.
I don't understand all of this foofaraw about Global Warming.
She went on a tirade about how angry she was at the way she is treated at work.
An Inconvenient Truth is a chilling look at the effects of Global Warming.
Genghis Khan was a brilliant tactician who conquered a large part of Asia with his army.
The teacher's grading system is diabolical.
It is hard to be happy when one sees all of the human misery in the world.
Dude, I'm trying to watch The Simpsons. Be quiet!
Every month my co-workers and I go to the union meeting to discuss work.
An embassy contains representatives of a foreign country.
She signed a contract to be a model for Chanel perfume.
He went to Macao and won a lot of money gambling. But he got too greedy, kept gambling, and lost all of the money that he won.
When my daughter was young, I would shake a rattle to make her stop crying. She was interested in the sound the rattle made.
Whoever said McDonald's made good food is a liar.
That guy is a speed freak: he always drives his car very fast.
The president of the union is a firebrand: when he gives a speech, everyone listens.
The rain thwarted my effort to take my wife out for a picnic. [Picnic: a meal eaten outside in a park.]
The bank manager is crooked; he steals money from the bank.
I wanted more money at my job, but I'm not a good negotiator, so I couldn't convince my boss to give me a raise. [raise=increase in salary]
I periodically clean the house so it won't get too dirty.
My apartment predates the three prong electrical outlet: there are only two holes in each plug.
I have decided that the girl who gets better grades on all the tests is my adversary. I have to beat her score on the final exam!
The baseball player entered into negotiation with the team to determine how much money he would make next year.
He does not seem friendly. Every time I talk to him, he is very impersonal.
He is a computer wizz. He saved my hard drive after I thought it was destroyed. He is the number one computer repair person in the country!
I know you are mad at me, but hear me out. I am sorry for what I did.
She decided she didn't like her job, so she resigned.
Some people think Asian men have girlish figures.
After the beautiful girl said she would date him, Tom proceeded to strut down the street.
I don't understand all of this foofaraw about Global Warming.
She went on a tirade about how angry she was at the way she is treated at work.
An Inconvenient Truth is a chilling look at the effects of Global Warming.
Genghis Khan was a brilliant tactician who conquered a large part of Asia with his army.
Link to Essay
This is an essay about some Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirts released in 2002. Many people thought that the shirts were racist against Asians.
http://www.alternet.org/story/13294/
This essay will be very challenging to read. Do your best to try to read it this week. I will send some notes on the website to help you understand it. Try to identify the arguments that the author, Mimi Nguyen, is making.
Notice that there are two pages.
Here are two other links that explain the 2002 Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirts.
http://modelminority.com/article21.html
http://modelminority.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=22
http://www.alternet.org/story/13294/
This essay will be very challenging to read. Do your best to try to read it this week. I will send some notes on the website to help you understand it. Try to identify the arguments that the author, Mimi Nguyen, is making.
Notice that there are two pages.
Here are two other links that explain the 2002 Abercrombie and Fitch t-shirts.
http://modelminority.com/article21.html
http://modelminority.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=22
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Vernacular Expressions
Nice to see you: This is a formal greeting to someone you have already met.
So glad you could make it: This is a polite expression that you say to someone who has appeared at a gathering or party.
real life: A common phrase that refers to "realistic" issues and concerns. You might watch a movie and say, "In real life, that would never happen."
fair and equitable: This refers to the treatment of someone, or it refers to the value of something. "Although women have historically been treated badly, the law now tries to give women fair and equitable treatment."
Bosh, flimshaw: Both terms are old expressions that meant, "nonsense" or "ridiculous."
walling up: If you "wall up" someone, you build a wall around him while he is still alive. He will die inside the wall.
dental plan: In some countries, teeth are separate from other medical concerns. In America, we have Health Insurance AND Dental insurance. A dental plan is one's dental insurance program.
"Painless": This is a common expression used for dentists. People in America are afraid of dentists and the pain caused by work on one's teeth. Many dentists try to gain customers by promising to be "painless." Technically "painless" means "without pain."
House of lies: An idea that is formed by a lot of different lies. "Our relationship is a house of lies."
"That's enough!": This means your patience has run out (you are annoyed) or that someone is hurting you. "That's enough! The foot rub hurts too much!" "That's enough! Stop talking!"
strike: A strike is when a group of workers stop working because they feel they are treated badly at work. The idea is that the employers will meet with the workers and give them better treatment (more money, a dental plan, etc.)
equitable: Again, equal. "The punishment should be equitable with the crime." "Equity" means "value."
management: The management is the group of people that makes sure the regular workers are efficient, are given a certain amount of hours, etc. If you work at McDonald's, for example, the management assigns your work hours and makes sure that you are doing your job correctly.
"[He'll] turn up soon.": If a person is missing, you might show that you hope to see that person again by saying something like, "He'll probably turn up soon." I might say that about a student who isn't in class.
keg: A keg is a large container of beer that people have at large parties or at bars.
"So long": Good-bye.
fair shake: Again, this means that one is being treated in an acceptable way. "I work hard; I graduated from college. I deserve a fair shake in the business world."
Stainless steel: This is a type of metal that does not stain or rust.
"If you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.": If you do something for me, then I will do something for you.
"Slip something into your pocket.": Give you a bribe.
"strange bedfellows": Friends or lovers who are very different. "Politics make strange bedfellows": It's common for different kinds of people to spend time together in politics.
"Let's get down to business": Let us do or talk about something important.
"You've won this round": You beat me in an argument or competition. If a student beats me in arm wrestling, I might say, "You've won this round, but I will win the next time."
"share it with the world": Show everyone what skills you have. "You are a great singer. Share it with the world by singing in the choir."
"fold like umbrellas": This is a simile that means, "Give up". "The baseball team has talent, but it they are intimidated by another team, they will fold like umbrellas."
bust heads: This means to beat people up, or it means to be tough. "He is going to bust heads in the next soccer game." "The test is in two weeks. It's time to bust heads and work hard."
"The style at the time": This means the thing that was popular. It usually refers to clothing or behavior. "In the early 2000s, it was the style at the time to say, ''Sup' to your friends." "White pants were the style at the time."
Lumbering dinosaur: This is something that is very old and awkward. "I need a new computer. Mine is a lumbering dinosaur."
folk music: This is a type of music that sings about problems in society. It is usually performed just with an acoustic guitar and a voice.
protest song: This is a song about something bad that is happening in society. It can be a general problem (e.g. the death penalty), or it can be something specific (e.g. one particular person in jail who is innocent of any crime).
So glad you could make it: This is a polite expression that you say to someone who has appeared at a gathering or party.
real life: A common phrase that refers to "realistic" issues and concerns. You might watch a movie and say, "In real life, that would never happen."
fair and equitable: This refers to the treatment of someone, or it refers to the value of something. "Although women have historically been treated badly, the law now tries to give women fair and equitable treatment."
Bosh, flimshaw: Both terms are old expressions that meant, "nonsense" or "ridiculous."
walling up: If you "wall up" someone, you build a wall around him while he is still alive. He will die inside the wall.
dental plan: In some countries, teeth are separate from other medical concerns. In America, we have Health Insurance AND Dental insurance. A dental plan is one's dental insurance program.
"Painless": This is a common expression used for dentists. People in America are afraid of dentists and the pain caused by work on one's teeth. Many dentists try to gain customers by promising to be "painless." Technically "painless" means "without pain."
House of lies: An idea that is formed by a lot of different lies. "Our relationship is a house of lies."
"That's enough!": This means your patience has run out (you are annoyed) or that someone is hurting you. "That's enough! The foot rub hurts too much!" "That's enough! Stop talking!"
strike: A strike is when a group of workers stop working because they feel they are treated badly at work. The idea is that the employers will meet with the workers and give them better treatment (more money, a dental plan, etc.)
equitable: Again, equal. "The punishment should be equitable with the crime." "Equity" means "value."
management: The management is the group of people that makes sure the regular workers are efficient, are given a certain amount of hours, etc. If you work at McDonald's, for example, the management assigns your work hours and makes sure that you are doing your job correctly.
"[He'll] turn up soon.": If a person is missing, you might show that you hope to see that person again by saying something like, "He'll probably turn up soon." I might say that about a student who isn't in class.
keg: A keg is a large container of beer that people have at large parties or at bars.
"So long": Good-bye.
fair shake: Again, this means that one is being treated in an acceptable way. "I work hard; I graduated from college. I deserve a fair shake in the business world."
Stainless steel: This is a type of metal that does not stain or rust.
"If you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.": If you do something for me, then I will do something for you.
"Slip something into your pocket.": Give you a bribe.
"strange bedfellows": Friends or lovers who are very different. "Politics make strange bedfellows": It's common for different kinds of people to spend time together in politics.
"Let's get down to business": Let us do or talk about something important.
"You've won this round": You beat me in an argument or competition. If a student beats me in arm wrestling, I might say, "You've won this round, but I will win the next time."
"share it with the world": Show everyone what skills you have. "You are a great singer. Share it with the world by singing in the choir."
"fold like umbrellas": This is a simile that means, "Give up". "The baseball team has talent, but it they are intimidated by another team, they will fold like umbrellas."
bust heads: This means to beat people up, or it means to be tough. "He is going to bust heads in the next soccer game." "The test is in two weeks. It's time to bust heads and work hard."
"The style at the time": This means the thing that was popular. It usually refers to clothing or behavior. "In the early 2000s, it was the style at the time to say, ''Sup' to your friends." "White pants were the style at the time."
Lumbering dinosaur: This is something that is very old and awkward. "I need a new computer. Mine is a lumbering dinosaur."
folk music: This is a type of music that sings about problems in society. It is usually performed just with an acoustic guitar and a voice.
protest song: This is a song about something bad that is happening in society. It can be a general problem (e.g. the death penalty), or it can be something specific (e.g. one particular person in jail who is innocent of any crime).
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Sentence Pattern Review, Day 3
Appositive After a Colon or Dash
"You need only one thing to succeed: determination."
"Christianity believes that one man redeemed humanity--Jesus Christ."
Interrupting Modifier
"George, my teacher, is often in a bad mood."
"The fruit juice one finds at the 7-11, containing a lot of added sugar, is less healthy than fresh fruit."
Participial Phrases
"Determined to do well on the test, Wendell followed all of Sean's sentence pattern reviews."
[Types of participals:
Present: -ing "Looking to succeed in school, Joe promised to himself that he would study every day."
Past: -en or -ed "Driven to succeed in school, Joe promised to himself that he would study every day."
"Determined to succeed in school, Joe...."]
Emphatic Modifier
"As a whole, people are nice."
Prepositional Phrase First
"After class, he went to lunch."
Passive Voice and "Object First"
"The ball was hit by Ichiro."
"Famous as Jay Chou Sean will never be."
Paired Constructions
"Just as Chien Ming-Wang is a hero in Taiwan, so too Ichiro is a hero in Japan."
"Not only am I a good student, but also I am a good athlete."
"Neither science nor math interests me."
Dependent Clause as Subject or Object
"I didn't know that he likes to watch baseball games." [Object is a dependent clause.]
"How he failed the test I don't understand." [Subject is a dependent clause.]
[These dependent clauses are long nouns. Each one will start with one of the following words: who, whom, which, what, why, where, when, how, that.]
"I don't know who would love such a greedy person."
"Do not ask for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for you."
"She could not decide which shoes to buy."
"What he could do was go to sleep and study in the morning."
"Why he cried at the end of the soap opera I will never understand."
"He doesn't know where his roommate has been."
"Why weren't you here when the test started?"
"Can you show me how to turn on the computer?"
"That someone like you could get a job at an important company is disturbing."
Absolute Construction
"His team having lost, Ervin went home and cried."
"Ruth, her patience having been used up, quit her job at the 7-11."
--Now go ace the midterm.
S.
"You need only one thing to succeed: determination."
"Christianity believes that one man redeemed humanity--Jesus Christ."
Interrupting Modifier
"George, my teacher, is often in a bad mood."
"The fruit juice one finds at the 7-11, containing a lot of added sugar, is less healthy than fresh fruit."
Participial Phrases
"Determined to do well on the test, Wendell followed all of Sean's sentence pattern reviews."
[Types of participals:
Present: -ing "Looking to succeed in school, Joe promised to himself that he would study every day."
Past: -en or -ed "Driven to succeed in school, Joe promised to himself that he would study every day."
"Determined to succeed in school, Joe...."]
Emphatic Modifier
"As a whole, people are nice."
Prepositional Phrase First
"After class, he went to lunch."
Passive Voice and "Object First"
"The ball was hit by Ichiro."
"Famous as Jay Chou Sean will never be."
Paired Constructions
"Just as Chien Ming-Wang is a hero in Taiwan, so too Ichiro is a hero in Japan."
"Not only am I a good student, but also I am a good athlete."
"Neither science nor math interests me."
Dependent Clause as Subject or Object
"I didn't know that he likes to watch baseball games." [Object is a dependent clause.]
"How he failed the test I don't understand." [Subject is a dependent clause.]
[These dependent clauses are long nouns. Each one will start with one of the following words: who, whom, which, what, why, where, when, how, that.]
"I don't know who would love such a greedy person."
"Do not ask for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for you."
"She could not decide which shoes to buy."
"What he could do was go to sleep and study in the morning."
"Why he cried at the end of the soap opera I will never understand."
"He doesn't know where his roommate has been."
"Why weren't you here when the test started?"
"Can you show me how to turn on the computer?"
"That someone like you could get a job at an important company is disturbing."
Absolute Construction
"His team having lost, Ervin went home and cried."
"Ruth, her patience having been used up, quit her job at the 7-11."
--Now go ace the midterm.
S.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Sentence Pattern Review, Day 2
A Sentence With One Semicolon
"Some people dream when they sleep; other people dream when they are awake."
Semicolons With Connecting Words
"Sean has a PhD; however, he doesn't seem to be very smart."
Sentence With Omitted Verb
"Leonard likes classical music; Luda, hip-hop."
[Remember: the omitted verb has to be the same verb from the first independent clause; in the above case, the omitted verb has to be 'likes.']
Series With 'And' or 'Or'
"A doctor should be educated and dedicated and compassionate."
"After a good movie, I might cry or laugh or call my friends to tell them about it."
Balanced Pairs
"College is a time of freedom and restriction, happiness and stress, boredom and exhilaration."
Introductory Appositives
"Handsome, brilliant, funny--all of these traits are what you would want in an ideal man."
Appositives in the Middle of the Sentence
"The skills needed for basketball--shooting, passing, and dribbling--must be practiced every day."
A Single Appositive
Nike's slogan--"Just Do It"--is very famous.
[Note that you can use commas, dashes or parentheses.]
"Some people dream when they sleep; other people dream when they are awake."
Semicolons With Connecting Words
"Sean has a PhD; however, he doesn't seem to be very smart."
Sentence With Omitted Verb
"Leonard likes classical music; Luda, hip-hop."
[Remember: the omitted verb has to be the same verb from the first independent clause; in the above case, the omitted verb has to be 'likes.']
Series With 'And' or 'Or'
"A doctor should be educated and dedicated and compassionate."
"After a good movie, I might cry or laugh or call my friends to tell them about it."
Balanced Pairs
"College is a time of freedom and restriction, happiness and stress, boredom and exhilaration."
Introductory Appositives
"Handsome, brilliant, funny--all of these traits are what you would want in an ideal man."
Appositives in the Middle of the Sentence
"The skills needed for basketball--shooting, passing, and dribbling--must be practiced every day."
A Single Appositive
Nike's slogan--"Just Do It"--is very famous.
[Note that you can use commas, dashes or parentheses.]
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Studying Sentence Patterns for the Midterm: Day 1
Class:
Here is a three day plan for reviewing for the midterm. The Monday class should start today or early tomorrow. Look at the names and the examples of the sentence patterns. Go back to your notes if you still do not understand. Study these patterns a few times a day, a few minutes at a time. Practice writing sentences that use these patterns.
Day One Pattern Review
A Short Sentence for Effect:
“This is true.”
“All attempts failed.”
A Short Question for Effect:
“Why ask this?”
“Why be afraid?”
A Short Sentence Fragment for Effect:
"Fair enough."
"Enough already." (This means, “I am tired of listening to this idea/subject.”)
Resumptive modifier:
“White collar crime is a serious problem, a problem that doesn't get enough attention in the courts or the media.”
"Sean complements the weekly class with a blog, a blog that features review material and annoying youtube links."
A List without a Conjunction:
“He is kind, compassionate, giving.”
Multiple Semicolons in a Single Sentence:
“Joy is friendly; Roger is shy; Victor is bashful.”
Interrupting Sentence
"Sean’s education history—He has a B.A. in English, American Studies and Religious Studies at Chico State and an M.A. and PhD. in English from U.C. Davis—is impressive."
"Steve’s legal troubles (He went to jail for a year for robbery) make it difficult for him to get a job."
Emphatic Modifier
"Quickly, Steven ran to class."
"His face covered in sweat, Leonard continued the stressful workout."
Using a Colon to Go From the General to the Specific
"Confucianism has one goal in mind: social harmony."
"Football has a simple scoring system: a touchdown is worth six points; a field goal, three; a safety, two; an extra point, one." [This sentence also shows how you can “drop the verb” when you use semicolons.]
Here is a three day plan for reviewing for the midterm. The Monday class should start today or early tomorrow. Look at the names and the examples of the sentence patterns. Go back to your notes if you still do not understand. Study these patterns a few times a day, a few minutes at a time. Practice writing sentences that use these patterns.
Day One Pattern Review
A Short Sentence for Effect:
“This is true.”
“All attempts failed.”
A Short Question for Effect:
“Why ask this?”
“Why be afraid?”
A Short Sentence Fragment for Effect:
"Fair enough."
"Enough already." (This means, “I am tired of listening to this idea/subject.”)
Resumptive modifier:
“White collar crime is a serious problem, a problem that doesn't get enough attention in the courts or the media.”
"Sean complements the weekly class with a blog, a blog that features review material and annoying youtube links."
A List without a Conjunction:
“He is kind, compassionate, giving.”
Multiple Semicolons in a Single Sentence:
“Joy is friendly; Roger is shy; Victor is bashful.”
Interrupting Sentence
"Sean’s education history—He has a B.A. in English, American Studies and Religious Studies at Chico State and an M.A. and PhD. in English from U.C. Davis—is impressive."
"Steve’s legal troubles (He went to jail for a year for robbery) make it difficult for him to get a job."
Emphatic Modifier
"Quickly, Steven ran to class."
"His face covered in sweat, Leonard continued the stressful workout."
Using a Colon to Go From the General to the Specific
"Confucianism has one goal in mind: social harmony."
"Football has a simple scoring system: a touchdown is worth six points; a field goal, three; a safety, two; an extra point, one." [This sentence also shows how you can “drop the verb” when you use semicolons.]
Midterm Exam
Class:
I thought we had one more week before the midterm, but I was wrong: it is next week. Next week I will test you with transcriptions and sentence patterns. I will give you an extra week to study vocabulary.
So, here is the itinerary:
Next Week's Midterm:
--Transcription: Write down a sentence that I say out loud; answer questions about the sentence (e.g. "What does this word mean?")
--Sentence Patterns: You will write sentences using the patterns learned in class.
Example: I ask you to "Write a sentence with a list that does not have a conjunction." You might write, "He is kind, intelligent, honest."
In Two Weeks:
--Vocabulary:
Write down from memory 20-30 vocabulary words or vernacular expressions. Write down the definitions of each word or expression.
I thought we had one more week before the midterm, but I was wrong: it is next week. Next week I will test you with transcriptions and sentence patterns. I will give you an extra week to study vocabulary.
So, here is the itinerary:
Next Week's Midterm:
--Transcription: Write down a sentence that I say out loud; answer questions about the sentence (e.g. "What does this word mean?")
--Sentence Patterns: You will write sentences using the patterns learned in class.
Example: I ask you to "Write a sentence with a list that does not have a conjunction." You might write, "He is kind, intelligent, honest."
In Two Weeks:
--Vocabulary:
Write down from memory 20-30 vocabulary words or vernacular expressions. Write down the definitions of each word or expression.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
Vernacular Expressions
--I'm in a pickle: my midterm is in two hours and I can't find my class notes.
--Where are you going for summer vacation now that school's out?
--[Two people bump into each other] "Watch where you're going!" "Up yours!"
--The police have an informant on the inside.
--That's it! I'm quitting this game because I can't get past this part.
--Go home, kid. You're too young to play basketball with us.
--"You guys read these papers and I will read these papers." "Who died and made you boss? I don't want you to tell me what to do!"
--"Did you know I'm Vice President of a company?" "Quit milking it. You only got the job because your dad is the President."
--"I'm going to go home. See ya." "Goodbye."
--I'm in a jam: I have to take my pregnant wife to the hospital and my car won't start.
--I'm sorry you lost your job, dear. Just remember, we still have each other, and you'll get a new job soon.
--The best way to have dignity is to be yourself. If you act like someone else, you won't believe in yourself.
-- [You are late for class.] Where the hell is my wallet!?
--Hey you! Come here! [The person comes to you so you can talk to him.] You are Charles' brother, right?
--I want to go to a fashion show dinner featuring Lin Chi-Ling, but I have to pay $125,000NT in advanced to get a plate. ("Get a plate" means have a reservation at the dinner.)
--I was at the night market with my friends, but they ditched me. Now I am alone.
--"'Sup?" "Nothing. How are you?"
--Although he is a bookworm, the girls like him a lot.
--McDonald's french fries rock!
--The teacher's attempt to seem cool by mentioning the term "Ding Ding" smacked of effort.
--You won't be successful unless you stand up for yourself when others criticize you.
--All he does is play with his computer. He's a real Poindexter.
--Your friend's room is over here. Follow me [to the room].
--If you want to join the bowling group, you have to take a loyalty oath swearing that bowling will always be your favorite sport.
--I went to buy a new shirt, but the store was fresh out of my favorite style of shirt.
--I was joking. I didn't mean to make you angry. Don't have a cow.
--He was punished at school for pulling a stunt involving throwing waterballoons at the teacher.
--That kid pretended to be very friendly, but then he complained about me to my boss. What a little sneak.
--NTU rules! It's the best college in the world!
--Where are you going for summer vacation now that school's out?
--[Two people bump into each other]
--The police have an informant on the inside.
--That's it! I'm quitting this game because I can't get past this part.
--Go home, kid. You're too young to play basketball with us.
--"You guys read these papers and I will read these papers." "Who died and made you boss? I don't want you to tell me what to do!"
--"Did you know I'm Vice President of a company?" "Quit milking it. You only got the job because your dad is the President."
--"I'm going to go home. See ya." "Goodbye."
--I'm in a jam: I have to take my pregnant wife to the hospital and my car won't start.
--I'm sorry you lost your job, dear. Just remember, we still have each other, and you'll get a new job soon.
--The best way to have dignity is to be yourself. If you act like someone else, you won't believe in yourself.
-- [You are late for class.]
--Hey you! Come here! [The person comes to you so you can talk to him.]
--I want to go to a fashion show dinner featuring Lin Chi-Ling, but I have to pay $125,000NT in advanced to get a plate. ("Get a plate" means have a reservation at the dinner.)
--I was at the night market with my friends, but they ditched me. Now I am alone.
--"'Sup?" "Nothing. How are you?"
--Although he is a bookworm, the girls like him a lot.
--McDonald's french fries rock!
--The teacher's attempt to seem cool by mentioning the term "Ding Ding" smacked of effort.
--You won't be successful unless you stand up for yourself when others criticize you.
--All he does is play with his computer. He's a real Poindexter.
--Your friend's room is over here. Follow me [to the room].
--If you want to join the bowling group, you have to take a loyalty oath swearing that bowling will always be your favorite sport.
--I went to buy a new shirt, but the store was fresh out of my favorite style of shirt.
--I was joking. I didn't mean to make you angry. Don't have a cow.
--He was punished at school for pulling a stunt involving throwing waterballoons at the teacher.
--That kid pretended to be very friendly, but then he complained about me to my boss. What a little sneak.
--NTU rules! It's the best college in the world!
Logical Fallacies For This Week
Poisoning the Well:
When you "poison the well," you say negative things about a person or thing, so that everything that that person or thing does becomes suspect.
Example:
A person says about her cousin, "My cousin is a jerk. He doesn't care about people."
The person then sees her cousin give money to a homeless man. She responds to this by saying, "He's just giving the homeless man money to look like he's nice. He's really a jerk who doesn't care about people." By poisoning the well, the person makes it impossible to see anything good about her cousin.
Think of someone you don't like. Nothing he or she does will seem like a good thing, right?
Another example:
Hitler is evil.
Hitler says the world is round.
Therefore, the world must be flat.
--Because we recognize that Hitler is evil, we feel we have to "poison the well" and disagree with everything that he says, even if he says, "Ice is cold."
False Dilemma:
A "false dilemma" is a claim that if we do not do X, then Y will happen, or it is a claim that we can only do 'X' or 'Y'. The dilemma is false because X does not cause Y, or it is false because we have more choices than 'X' or 'Y'.
Examples:
Either Taiwan is independent, or it is part of China. <--We know this is a false dilemma because right now it is (politically and legally) neither.
If you don't study every day, you will fail your classes. <--You know people who do well in school even though they don't study very often. (It is okay to hate them.)
Either you are a good student, or you are a bad student. <--There are more categories than 'good' or 'bad'.
Straw Man
A "straw man" is an inaccurate characterization of someone's argument. The "straw man" is easy to argue against while the person's real argument is more difficult.
Example:
Person A says, "We should reduce the military's budget."
Person B says, "Person A wants to make the military weak. We need a strong military, so Person A's idea is bad."
Wanting to reduce the military's budget does not mean that you want to make the military "weak"; it just means that you want to spend less money. Now, you could argue that giving the military less money could weaken the military, but what Person B says is a "straw man" because it isn't really what Person A said.
Person A says, "We need higher taxes."
Person B says, "Person A wants to take food out of your child's mouth."
Yes, higher taxes will mean less money for people, but does Person A really want your child to starve? Is somebody thinking of the children?
When you "poison the well," you say negative things about a person or thing, so that everything that that person or thing does becomes suspect.
Example:
A person says about her cousin, "My cousin is a jerk. He doesn't care about people."
The person then sees her cousin give money to a homeless man. She responds to this by saying, "He's just giving the homeless man money to look like he's nice. He's really a jerk who doesn't care about people." By poisoning the well, the person makes it impossible to see anything good about her cousin.
Think of someone you don't like. Nothing he or she does will seem like a good thing, right?
Another example:
Hitler is evil.
Hitler says the world is round.
Therefore, the world must be flat.
--Because we recognize that Hitler is evil, we feel we have to "poison the well" and disagree with everything that he says, even if he says, "Ice is cold."
False Dilemma:
A "false dilemma" is a claim that if we do not do X, then Y will happen, or it is a claim that we can only do 'X' or 'Y'. The dilemma is false because X does not cause Y, or it is false because we have more choices than 'X' or 'Y'.
Examples:
Either Taiwan is independent, or it is part of China. <--We know this is a false dilemma because right now it is (politically and legally) neither.
If you don't study every day, you will fail your classes. <--You know people who do well in school even though they don't study very often. (It is okay to hate them.)
Either you are a good student, or you are a bad student. <--There are more categories than 'good' or 'bad'.
Straw Man
A "straw man" is an inaccurate characterization of someone's argument. The "straw man" is easy to argue against while the person's real argument is more difficult.
Example:
Person A says, "We should reduce the military's budget."
Person B says, "Person A wants to make the military weak. We need a strong military, so Person A's idea is bad."
Wanting to reduce the military's budget does not mean that you want to make the military "weak"; it just means that you want to spend less money. Now, you could argue that giving the military less money could weaken the military, but what Person B says is a "straw man" because it isn't really what Person A said.
Person A says, "We need higher taxes."
Person B says, "Person A wants to take food out of your child's mouth."
Yes, higher taxes will mean less money for people, but does Person A really want your child to starve? Is somebody thinking of the children?
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Vocabulary Sample Sentences
--He lets his friends make fun of him because he has no dignity.
--I will go to Malaysia for summer vacation.
--I will immortalize my trip to Malaysia by taking many pictures.
--My awkward phase was when I was 13: I had a lot of acne and was very tall and skinny.
--I can't return the broken DVD because I don't have the receipt.
--He hates school, so he didn't buy a yearbook to immortalize his High School years.
--You were one of the most popular boys in school, but now you have no friends.
--That was a corker of a midterm! I don't think I answered any of the questions correctly.
--I missed work for three weeks because I had jury duty; I was on the jury for a theft case.
--She loves the ocean, so she enrolled at the Maritime Academy.
--The septic tank was broken, so we couldn't use the toilet.
--Her dog is her faithful companion; the dog goes wherever she goes.
--Your daughter has many cute stuffed animals to play with.
--He is such a nerd; he only plays with his computer and works on his math homework.
--The teacher thinks he isn't paying attention because he can't sit still; he's always fidgeting.
--He scooped the mud with the shovel and put the mud in the crudbucket.
--He puts notes around his room to remind him what to do, but he just ends up ignoring the notes.
--She said something that her friend thought was rude, so she said to her friend, "Sorry. I was only joking."
--Because the team did not run the play correctly, Tim had to improvise.
--I fell off the swing and landed hard on my fanny. It hurt to sit down for a long time.
--High tide is the best time to go surfing.
--It is nerdy of her to collect so much Full Metal Alchemist memorabilia.
--Didn't I see you sleeping in the Periodicals Section of the library? You were drooling on one of the magazines.
--It is hard to be sincere when everybody speaks in a sarcastic way. Don't people get tired of sarcasm?
--The cops confiscated his car after he was pulled over for speeding.
--He didn't know that school had be canceled because of a typhoon; the campus was virtually deserted when he got there.
--It is unlikely that I will pass the test; I didn't study at all.
--My twelve year-old brother says that Jay Chou is a rad singer.
--I like to wear fashionable clothes; these old clothes that my grandmother gave me make me feel dorky.
--Although Brad Pitt is in his forties, he is still a dreamboat.
--This bag of spicy hot chips that I bought is a dud; the chips weren't hot at all.
--The fireworks at 101 are very beautiful.
--I invited all of my friends to the beach party. Unfortunately it rained that day and we couldn't stay on the beach.
--The expression on her face was one of fear when the teacher told her to speak in front of the class.
--He felt nauseous after getting off the roller coaster.
--I like to play the ring toss game at the carnival.
--A carney who operated a Merry-Go-Round once put out a lit cigarette on one of my friend's skin.
--I will go to Malaysia for summer vacation.
--I will immortalize my trip to Malaysia by taking many pictures.
--My awkward phase was when I was 13: I had a lot of acne and was very tall and skinny.
--I can't return the broken DVD because I don't have the receipt.
--He hates school, so he didn't buy a yearbook to immortalize his High School years.
--You were one of the most popular boys in school, but now you have no friends.
--That was a corker of a midterm! I don't think I answered any of the questions correctly.
--I missed work for three weeks because I had jury duty; I was on the jury for a theft case.
--She loves the ocean, so she enrolled at the Maritime Academy.
--The septic tank was broken, so we couldn't use the toilet.
--Her dog is her faithful companion; the dog goes wherever she goes.
--Your daughter has many cute stuffed animals to play with.
--He is such a nerd; he only plays with his computer and works on his math homework.
--The teacher thinks he isn't paying attention because he can't sit still; he's always fidgeting.
--He scooped the mud with the shovel and put the mud in the crudbucket.
--He puts notes around his room to remind him what to do, but he just ends up ignoring the notes.
--She said something that her friend thought was rude, so she said to her friend, "Sorry. I was only joking."
--Because the team did not run the play correctly, Tim had to improvise.
--I fell off the swing and landed hard on my fanny. It hurt to sit down for a long time.
--High tide is the best time to go surfing.
--It is nerdy of her to collect so much Full Metal Alchemist memorabilia.
--Didn't I see you sleeping in the Periodicals Section of the library? You were drooling on one of the magazines.
--It is hard to be sincere when everybody speaks in a sarcastic way. Don't people get tired of sarcasm?
--The cops confiscated his car after he was pulled over for speeding.
--He didn't know that school had be canceled because of a typhoon; the campus was virtually deserted when he got there.
--It is unlikely that I will pass the test; I didn't study at all.
--My twelve year-old brother says that Jay Chou is a rad singer.
--I like to wear fashionable clothes; these old clothes that my grandmother gave me make me feel dorky.
--Although Brad Pitt is in his forties, he is still a dreamboat.
--This bag of spicy hot chips that I bought is a dud; the chips weren't hot at all.
--The fireworks at 101 are very beautiful.
--I invited all of my friends to the beach party. Unfortunately it rained that day and we couldn't stay on the beach.
--The expression on her face was one of fear when the teacher told her to speak in front of the class.
--He felt nauseous after getting off the roller coaster.
--I like to play the ring toss game at the carnival.
--A carney who operated a Merry-Go-Round once put out a lit cigarette on one of my friend's skin.
Paper 5 Conclusion
The conclusion of Paper 5 should talk about why cultural metaphors exist and why people should study them.
In the introduction, you shared some metaphors with the reader.
In the body, you explained the metaphors.
Now, tell us why people would call the new generation "strawberries" instead of just saying, "The younger generation is weak." Next, tell us why it is important to study cultural metaphors. Do cultural metaphors explain how a culture thinks and what a culture thinks about? How?
I will include a sample Paper 5 soon to help you with your Paper 5 rewrite.
Sean
In the introduction, you shared some metaphors with the reader.
In the body, you explained the metaphors.
Now, tell us why people would call the new generation "strawberries" instead of just saying, "The younger generation is weak." Next, tell us why it is important to study cultural metaphors. Do cultural metaphors explain how a culture thinks and what a culture thinks about? How?
I will include a sample Paper 5 soon to help you with your Paper 5 rewrite.
Sean
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sample Works Cited Page Link on Facebook
Class:
The "Sean's NTU Classes" group on Facebook now has a good link for a sample Works Cited page. This includes unusal examples (i.e. internet site sources, sources without an author, etc.). I will open the group so anyone can join if you aren't already a member.
Sean
The "Sean's NTU Classes" group on Facebook now has a good link for a sample Works Cited page. This includes unusal examples (i.e. internet site sources, sources without an author, etc.). I will open the group so anyone can join if you aren't already a member.
Sean
Extra Credit/Support Your Teacher Opportunity
Students:
This Wednesday afternoon I am giving a talk for the Foreign Languages and Literatures Department. You can watch me talk and be bored--just like in class! Here is the information.
Obviously I can't give you extra credit just for coming, but if you do show up, I will give you a brief assignment related to my talk that you can complete for course credit. This is a good opportunity if you want to boost your score a little, and it's a great idea for making up for absences, bad classroom behavior, etc.
I start the talk with a quote from a Simpsons episode that we watched in class.
Here is the information.
The Conatus of Obsolescence:
A.R. Ammons' Garbage and Other Studies of the Aged Male Subject
Speaker: Dr. Sean Allan (DFLL Project Instructor)
演講人：項亞倫博士（臺大外文系專案計畫講師）
Moderator: Dr. Bennett Yu-hsiang Fu (DFLL Assistant Professor)
主持人：臺大外文系傅友祥助理教授
Time: 3:30 ~ 5:00 pm, Wednesday, April 23, 2008
時間：2008年4月23日週三下午3:30-5:00
Venue: DFLL New Conference Room, 1F Old Main Library
地點：臺大舊總圖一樓外文系新會議室
This Wednesday afternoon I am giving a talk for the Foreign Languages and Literatures Department. You can watch me talk and be bored--just like in class! Here is the information.
Obviously I can't give you extra credit just for coming, but if you do show up, I will give you a brief assignment related to my talk that you can complete for course credit. This is a good opportunity if you want to boost your score a little, and it's a great idea for making up for absences, bad classroom behavior, etc.
I start the talk with a quote from a Simpsons episode that we watched in class.
Here is the information.
The Conatus of Obsolescence:
A.R. Ammons' Garbage and Other Studies of the Aged Male Subject
Speaker: Dr. Sean Allan (DFLL Project Instructor)
演講人：項亞倫博士（臺大外文系專案計畫講師）
Moderator: Dr. Bennett Yu-hsiang Fu (DFLL Assistant Professor)
主持人：臺大外文系傅友祥助理教授
Time: 3:30 ~ 5:00 pm, Wednesday, April 23, 2008
時間：2008年4月23日週三下午3:30-5:00
Venue: DFLL New Conference Room, 1F Old Main Library
地點：臺大舊總圖一樓外文系新會議室
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Bibiliography and Works Cited Pages/ In-text Citation
Here is an example of a book entry.
--Please Note that Blogger does not let me indent. You should indent every line after the first line.--
Last Name, First Name. Book Title. Edition Number. Publication City: Name of Publisher,
Year of Publication.
Kirschten, Robert. Approaching Prayer: Ritual and the Shape of Myth in A.R. Ammons and
James Dickey. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1998.
Here is an example of an entry for an essay or story that is part of a book
Chang, Eileen. "Sealed Off." In Chang, Eileen. Love in a Fallen City. Karen S. Kingsbury,
trans. New York: New York Review Books, 2007: 235-252.
--In this second case, this entry means that I discussed only the story "Sealed Off" in my paper. (Love in a Fallen City is a story collection.) This book is translated from Chinese into English by Karen Kingsbury. Here is the template.
Last name, First name. "Title." In Last name, First name. Title. Translator. City of
Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication: Page Numbers for the Story.
--Please Note that Blogger does not let me indent. You should indent every line after the first line.--
Last Name, First Name. Book Title. Edition Number. Publication City: Name of Publisher,
Year of Publication.
Kirschten, Robert. Approaching Prayer: Ritual and the Shape of Myth in A.R. Ammons and
James Dickey. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1998.
Here is an example of an entry for an essay or story that is part of a book
Chang, Eileen. "Sealed Off." In Chang, Eileen. Love in a Fallen City. Karen S. Kingsbury,
trans. New York: New York Review Books, 2007: 235-252.
--In this second case, this entry means that I discussed only the story "Sealed Off" in my paper. (Love in a Fallen City is a story collection.) This book is translated from Chinese into English by Karen Kingsbury. Here is the template.
Last name, First name. "Title." In Last name, First name. Title. Translator. City of
Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication: Page Numbers for the Story.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Some More Metaphor Examples, and Paper 5 Body
If you were in my class last semester, recall the Simpsons episode "A Streetcar Named Marge." Recall the head of the nursery school. "What is a baby saying when she asks for a bottle?...She's saying, 'I am a leach'." "I am a leach" is an interesting conceptual metaphor. A leach is a creature that lives in certain types of waters. It attaches to animals and people and sucks out the blood of what it attaches itself too. How does that animal work as a metaphor? (The nursery school head means that a baby who uses a bottle will never learn to feed him- or herself.)
My wife today mentioned the "red cord" in Chinese mythology that is a metaphor for the way in which two people are connected by love. A couple has an "invisible red cord" that connects them.
In the introduction of Paper 5, most of you did a good job describing a metaphor or a group of related metaphors. If you just made a list, think about writing the introduction again, and concentrate on writing about just one or two metaphors.
For the body of Paper 5, you should explain why the metaphor makes sense. For example, "My love is a red, red rose." Why does this metaphor make sense? Red is a bright, beautiful color. Love is also bright and beautiful. The color red stands out; it is easy to notice. Likewise, it is easy to notice people who are in love, and if you are in-love, you notice everything about the person whom you love? Why a rose? Why not a different flower? A rose is considered an especially beautiful and valuable flower, and love is considered especially valuable and "beautiful". In a culture that thinks another flower is more beautiful than a rose, you are less likely to see the conceptual metaphor, "My love is a rose." (Perhaps instead you will see something like, "My love is a cherry blossom.")
My wife today mentioned the "red cord" in Chinese mythology that is a metaphor for the way in which two people are connected by love. A couple has an "invisible red cord" that connects them.
In the introduction of Paper 5, most of you did a good job describing a metaphor or a group of related metaphors. If you just made a list, think about writing the introduction again, and concentrate on writing about just one or two metaphors.
For the body of Paper 5, you should explain why the metaphor makes sense. For example, "My love is a red, red rose." Why does this metaphor make sense? Red is a bright, beautiful color. Love is also bright and beautiful. The color red stands out; it is easy to notice. Likewise, it is easy to notice people who are in love, and if you are in-love, you notice everything about the person whom you love? Why a rose? Why not a different flower? A rose is considered an especially beautiful and valuable flower, and love is considered especially valuable and "beautiful". In a culture that thinks another flower is more beautiful than a rose, you are less likely to see the conceptual metaphor, "My love is a rose." (Perhaps instead you will see something like, "My love is a cherry blossom.")
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Vernacular Expressions
1. "I will only open the door if you use the secret knock."
2. "That does it! Go to your room!" yelled my father.
3. At the gay rights march, the group chanted the well-known chant: "We're here, we're queer. Get used to it."
4. You won't be able to eat at the restaurant if you don't phone ahead and make a reservation first.
5. We need to make violent video games illegal. Please think of the children. Do you want them to grow up with violence?
6. "Down with homework!" chanted the grammar school children.
7. After the High School student pushed the Grammar School student, another High School student yelled to the bully, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size!"
8. Most of my family members are regular joes: they work at restaurants or factories.
9. Thank goodness no one stole my bike over the summer.
10. A good personality is important when persuing romantic conquest.
11. She was one of the good ones. We will miss her.
12. "I will give you a Big Mac if you give me your sandwich and apple." "Deal."
13. "Thank you for helping me with my homework." "Hey, can the courtesy. You know I'm always willing to help you, and I don't expect to be thanked."
14. For some elders, a young man with long hair arouses suspicion.
15. "How's it hanging?" is a common expression that one young man would ask a male friend. Women can use it ironically. It is a vulgar expression, but it is so common that it doesn't usually bother people. It might even appear on a cartoon show.
16. I plumb forgot about the paper due today. I hope the teacher will give me an extension.
17. Most college students in Japan take a relaxed attitude toward studying because High School was the more important academic period in their life.
18. To be a good teacher, you must have and teach infinite compassion.
19. Hinduism has over 1 million Gods, but one of the most popular Gods is Ganesha.
20. You are always talking. Don't you ever shut up?
21. Because of a grandfather clause, the landlord is not allowed to raise his rent.
22. I know this is not a good school because the classes use out-of-date textbooks.
23. Well, everyone is here. We have to go now to make it to KTV before 8p.m. Let's roll.
24. "Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free" says the plaque on the Statue of Liberty.
25. Derek Jeter is the glue that holds the Yankees together as a team, but my favorite Yankee is, of course, A-Rod.
2. "That does it! Go to your room!" yelled my father.
3. At the gay rights march, the group chanted the well-known chant: "We're here, we're queer. Get used to it."
4. You won't be able to eat at the restaurant if you don't phone ahead and make a reservation first.
5. We need to make violent video games illegal. Please think of the children. Do you want them to grow up with violence?
6. "Down with homework!" chanted the grammar school children.
7. After the High School student pushed the Grammar School student, another High School student yelled to the bully, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size!"
8. Most of my family members are regular joes: they work at restaurants or factories.
9. Thank goodness no one stole my bike over the summer.
10. A good personality is important when persuing romantic conquest.
11. She was one of the good ones. We will miss her.
12. "I will give you a Big Mac if you give me your sandwich and apple." "Deal."
13. "Thank you for helping me with my homework." "Hey, can the courtesy. You know I'm always willing to help you, and I don't expect to be thanked."
14. For some elders, a young man with long hair arouses suspicion.
15. "How's it hanging?" is a common expression that one young man would ask a male friend. Women can use it ironically. It is a vulgar expression, but it is so common that it doesn't usually bother people. It might even appear on a cartoon show.
16. I plumb forgot about the paper due today. I hope the teacher will give me an extension.
17. Most college students in Japan take a relaxed attitude toward studying because High School was the more important academic period in their life.
18. To be a good teacher, you must have and teach infinite compassion.
19. Hinduism has over 1 million Gods, but one of the most popular Gods is Ganesha.
20. You are always talking. Don't you ever shut up?
21. Because of a grandfather clause, the landlord is not allowed to raise his rent.
22. I know this is not a good school because the classes use out-of-date textbooks.
23. Well, everyone is here. We have to go now to make it to KTV before 8p.m. Let's roll.
24. "Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free" says the plaque on the Statue of Liberty.
25. Derek Jeter is the glue that holds the Yankees together as a team, but my favorite Yankee is, of course, A-Rod.
Vocabulary Sample Sentences
1. "Stop panicking and start studying for your midterms."
2. "After you graduate from college, you will have to find employment."
3. "You need to calm down so you can tell us what happened."
4. "Good night. Sweet dreams."
5. "In the 1950s, it was common for housewives to use tranquilizers during the day because they found their lives to be so boring."
6. "He was charged with two counts of armed robbery."
7. "The parents couldn't believe that their intelligent son could be an accessory to murder."
8. "Don't watch that movie. It's horrible."
9. "I am tired of the teacher's constant stupid jokes."
10. "The bears hibernate during the winter."
11. "All of those night market game people are a bunch of hucksters. You can never win the best prize."
12. "His argument that McDonald's food was healthy was based on specious reasoning."
13. "Sean accused his students of ducking responsibility by not coming to class when they didn't finish an assignment."
14. "If my roommate and I stay until after our ARC cards expire, we will become illegal immigrants in Taiwan."
15. "The city passed a referendum outlawing fireworks within the city limits."
16. "He couldn't take the job handing out flyers on the street because he has too much dignity."
17. "The government enforces strict immigration laws. Only a few people can enter the country for temporary residency."
18. "The store manager was made into a scapegoat and blamed for the owner's mistakes."
19. "The traditions of the Dragon Boat festival are alien to me."
20. "He is shy because he does not speak English well. His shyness is understandable."
21. "He was arrested because his Passport was found to be fraudulent."
22. "She is a humble person who never talks about her awards or her success."
23. "It is a common courtesy to hold the door open for someone."
24. "In air combat, an air force is divided into squadrons consisting of three to eight jets each."
25. "She majors in Social Work because she has a lot of compassion for the poor."
26. "I will charge this expensive dress to my father's credit card."
27. "I can't believe what they charge for a hot dog at the movie theater!"
28. "There have been numerous complaints about the dirty library bathrooms."
29. "The welfare of the students is very important to the University."
30. "He is a native of Taichung."
31. "I can't go to class because I was selected for jury duty."
32. "My wife wants to become a citizen of the United States."
33. "Many older professors feel that students are by and large ingrates who don't appreciate the hard work of schoolteachers."
2. "After you graduate from college, you will have to find employment."
3. "You need to calm down so you can tell us what happened."
4. "Good night. Sweet dreams."
5. "In the 1950s, it was common for housewives to use tranquilizers during the day because they found their lives to be so boring."
6. "He was charged with two counts of armed robbery."
7. "The parents couldn't believe that their intelligent son could be an accessory to murder."
8. "Don't watch that movie. It's horrible."
9. "I am tired of the teacher's constant stupid jokes."
10. "The bears hibernate during the winter."
11. "All of those night market game people are a bunch of hucksters. You can never win the best prize."
12. "His argument that McDonald's food was healthy was based on specious reasoning."
13. "Sean accused his students of ducking responsibility by not coming to class when they didn't finish an assignment."
14. "If my roommate and I stay until after our ARC cards expire, we will become illegal immigrants in Taiwan."
15. "The city passed a referendum outlawing fireworks within the city limits."
16. "He couldn't take the job handing out flyers on the street because he has too much dignity."
17. "The government enforces strict immigration laws. Only a few people can enter the country for temporary residency."
18. "The store manager was made into a scapegoat and blamed for the owner's mistakes."
19. "The traditions of the Dragon Boat festival are alien to me."
20. "He is shy because he does not speak English well. His shyness is understandable."
21. "He was arrested because his Passport was found to be fraudulent."
22. "She is a humble person who never talks about her awards or her success."
23. "It is a common courtesy to hold the door open for someone."
24. "In air combat, an air force is divided into squadrons consisting of three to eight jets each."
25. "She majors in Social Work because she has a lot of compassion for the poor."
26. "I will charge this expensive dress to my father's credit card."
27. "I can't believe what they charge for a hot dog at the movie theater!"
28. "There have been numerous complaints about the dirty library bathrooms."
29. "The welfare of the students is very important to the University."
30. "He is a native of Taichung."
31. "I can't go to class because I was selected for jury duty."
32. "My wife wants to become a citizen of the United States."
33. "Many older professors feel that students are by and large ingrates who don't appreciate the hard work of schoolteachers."
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Paper 5: Conceptual Metaphor
Paper 5: Conceptual Metaphor
Most people only think about metaphor when they think about literature. You can see the power of metaphor in a poem: “My love is a rose.” However, if we look at the language that we use everyday, we will notice that metaphor is very common, and in fact, metaphor affects the way that we think.
Here is an example of a metaphor in everyday English. If you are visiting a friend, and you need to leave, you might say, “I have to take off.” This is an airplane metaphor. You have to “fly” away from your friend’s house to somewhere else.
Metaphor can be even more important. If I say, “Taipei is the heart and soul of Taiwan,” I am using two metaphors to describe what Taipei’s relationship to Taiwan is. What does it mean to say that Taipei is the “heart” and the “soul” of Taiwan? How is that different from saying that Taipei is the “brain” of Taiwan?
For this paper, you will discuss a common metaphor in either English or Chinese or Taiwanese or Cantonese or Hakka (you will have to translate, of course). You will analyze how the metaphor affects the way people think. A famous example by Lakoff and Johnson is the metaphor, “Argument is war.” In American English, we say things like, “He destroyed my argument” or “I couldn’t defend myself against his argument.” How does that metaphor affect Americans? Because we see argument as a war, we see argument as something that we “win” or “lose;” we can’t look at an argument as a way of sharing ideas because two parties at war do not share: they only attack each other.
There are a number of ways to approach this paper. First, you can look at just one metaphor in one of the languages that you speak if you can write enough about just one metaphor. Second, you can look at a series of related metaphors to look at patterns. (For example, you could look at metaphors that compare people to food. Young people in Taiwan are sometimes called “strawberries,” for example. Are there similar “people=food” metaphors? What do they mean?) Third, you can analyze the conceptual metaphors in a work of popular media; you could look at a popular song or a television program.
Your introduction will name the metaphors that you want to discuss. Your thesis statement will briefly say what you think is special or important about these metaphors. In your body, you will talk about these metaphors, and you will prove that your ideas about them are correct. In the conclusion, you will discuss why it is important to be aware of how language affects the way that people think.
Most people only think about metaphor when they think about literature. You can see the power of metaphor in a poem: “My love is a rose.” However, if we look at the language that we use everyday, we will notice that metaphor is very common, and in fact, metaphor affects the way that we think.
Here is an example of a metaphor in everyday English. If you are visiting a friend, and you need to leave, you might say, “I have to take off.” This is an airplane metaphor. You have to “fly” away from your friend’s house to somewhere else.
Metaphor can be even more important. If I say, “Taipei is the heart and soul of Taiwan,” I am using two metaphors to describe what Taipei’s relationship to Taiwan is. What does it mean to say that Taipei is the “heart” and the “soul” of Taiwan? How is that different from saying that Taipei is the “brain” of Taiwan?
For this paper, you will discuss a common metaphor in either English or Chinese or Taiwanese or Cantonese or Hakka (you will have to translate, of course). You will analyze how the metaphor affects the way people think. A famous example by Lakoff and Johnson is the metaphor, “Argument is war.” In American English, we say things like, “He destroyed my argument” or “I couldn’t defend myself against his argument.” How does that metaphor affect Americans? Because we see argument as a war, we see argument as something that we “win” or “lose;” we can’t look at an argument as a way of sharing ideas because two parties at war do not share: they only attack each other.
There are a number of ways to approach this paper. First, you can look at just one metaphor in one of the languages that you speak if you can write enough about just one metaphor. Second, you can look at a series of related metaphors to look at patterns. (For example, you could look at metaphors that compare people to food. Young people in Taiwan are sometimes called “strawberries,” for example. Are there similar “people=food” metaphors? What do they mean?) Third, you can analyze the conceptual metaphors in a work of popular media; you could look at a popular song or a television program.
Your introduction will name the metaphors that you want to discuss. Your thesis statement will briefly say what you think is special or important about these metaphors. In your body, you will talk about these metaphors, and you will prove that your ideas about them are correct. In the conclusion, you will discuss why it is important to be aware of how language affects the way that people think.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Vernacular Expressions
field trip: going somewhere to learn something for school.
"We took a field trip to the Acer factory to learn how computers are made."
out of commission: broken or somehow unable to work/do anything.
"This flu has put me out of commission for the last two weeks."
in perpituity: forever
"If you take out this bank loan, you will owe money in perpituity."
road trip: a vacation in which you travel by car.
"We took a road trip from Los Angeles to Denver."
jive: nonsense
"Don't give me this jive about how you didn't know where my office was."
fossil: old
"Lee Tung-Hui? That guy's a fossil!"
funk: a bass and drums heavy form of rock and roll music; also, "coolness."
"Bootsy Collins proposed 'the Pinocchio theory': If you fake the funk (if you act cool when you aren't), your nose will grow."
This rocks: I enjoy whatever I am doing right now.
"This Taiwanese game show rocks!"
Don't stop rocking: Don't stop doing what you are doing.
"Your guitar playing is great! Don't stop rocking!"
Last ____ on Earth: an insult
"I wouldn't listen to Jay Chou if he was the last musicican on Earth."
"It's a scientific fact": Either a sarcastic or earnest assertion that your opinion is correct.
"Everyone knows Metallica is the best band ever. It's a scientific fact."
Rockin' out: having fun; dancing
"He's over there, rockin' out to his i-Pod."
"with it": Cool; makes friends easily; knowedgable
"He seems weird, but he's really with it when it comes to music."
get funky: An imperative to dance and enjoy yourself.
"Come on, it's a party to celebrate the end of the school year. Let's get funky!"
rock out: party, dance
"Nothing to do tonight; time to rock out."
Freak Show: a display of unusual looking people, or a metaphor for something strange.
"Have you ever been to Yuba City, California? That place is a Freak Show."
hate crime: an act of violence inspired only through the aggressor's irrational anger.
"He killed a man just because he was Mexican, so his murder charge carries hate crime stipulations"
"like shooting fish in a barrel": very easy
"Getting dad to loan me money is like shooting fish in a barrel."
pissed off: angry
"I worked all week on that paper, but Sean didn't mark it at all and gave me a bad grade. That pisses me off."
fatso: A fat man.
"Sean was a fatso when he started teaching. Now he's only kind of fat."
"make a difference": change things that have been bad for some time.
"I joined the environmental group because global warming is getting worse and I want to make a difference."
"stone groove": a desirable, cool thing.
"Getting a day off from school would be a stone groove."
"Don't fear the Reaper": Don't be afraid of death. Also, a famous song by Blue Oyster Cult.
"Why doesn't your car have seatbelts?"
"You know what they say: Don't fear the Reaper!"
"Appetite for Destruction": You enjoy destructive things. Also a famous rock album by Guns 'N Roses.
"He doesn't like the mundane work world, so he joined a gang to feed his appetite for destruction."
yellow-bellied: cowardly
"He a yellow-bellied fool who won't talk to someone who yells at him."
square: not cool
"He's so square. He's always talking about Jay Chou."
lame: stupid. The word shows disapproval of something.
"Did you see the new Stephen Chow movie? It was so lame."
wussed out: got scared and decided not to do something.
"He was going to smash a piece of cake into Sean's face for Sean's birthday, but he wussed out and just handed Sean the cake instead."
"We took a field trip to the Acer factory to learn how computers are made."
out of commission: broken or somehow unable to work/do anything.
"This flu has put me out of commission for the last two weeks."
in perpituity: forever
"If you take out this bank loan, you will owe money in perpituity."
road trip: a vacation in which you travel by car.
"We took a road trip from Los Angeles to Denver."
jive: nonsense
"Don't give me this jive about how you didn't know where my office was."
fossil: old
"Lee Tung-Hui? That guy's a fossil!"
funk: a bass and drums heavy form of rock and roll music; also, "coolness."
"Bootsy Collins proposed 'the Pinocchio theory': If you fake the funk (if you act cool when you aren't), your nose will grow."
This rocks: I enjoy whatever I am doing right now.
"This Taiwanese game show rocks!"
Don't stop rocking: Don't stop doing what you are doing.
"Your guitar playing is great! Don't stop rocking!"
Last ____ on Earth: an insult
"I wouldn't listen to Jay Chou if he was the last musicican on Earth."
"It's a scientific fact": Either a sarcastic or earnest assertion that your opinion is correct.
"Everyone knows Metallica is the best band ever. It's a scientific fact."
Rockin' out: having fun; dancing
"He's over there, rockin' out to his i-Pod."
"with it": Cool; makes friends easily; knowedgable
"He seems weird, but he's really with it when it comes to music."
get funky: An imperative to dance and enjoy yourself.
"Come on, it's a party to celebrate the end of the school year. Let's get funky!"
rock out: party, dance
"Nothing to do tonight; time to rock out."
Freak Show: a display of unusual looking people, or a metaphor for something strange.
"Have you ever been to Yuba City, California? That place is a Freak Show."
hate crime: an act of violence inspired only through the aggressor's irrational anger.
"He killed a man just because he was Mexican, so his murder charge carries hate crime stipulations"
"like shooting fish in a barrel": very easy
"Getting dad to loan me money is like shooting fish in a barrel."
pissed off: angry
"I worked all week on that paper, but Sean didn't mark it at all and gave me a bad grade. That pisses me off."
fatso: A fat man.
"Sean was a fatso when he started teaching. Now he's only kind of fat."
"make a difference": change things that have been bad for some time.
"I joined the environmental group because global warming is getting worse and I want to make a difference."
"stone groove": a desirable, cool thing.
"Getting a day off from school would be a stone groove."
"Don't fear the Reaper": Don't be afraid of death. Also, a famous song by Blue Oyster Cult.
"Why doesn't your car have seatbelts?"
"You know what they say: Don't fear the Reaper!"
"Appetite for Destruction": You enjoy destructive things. Also a famous rock album by Guns 'N Roses.
"He doesn't like the mundane work world, so he joined a gang to feed his appetite for destruction."
yellow-bellied: cowardly
"He a yellow-bellied fool who won't talk to someone who yells at him."
square: not cool
"He's so square. He's always talking about Jay Chou."
lame: stupid. The word shows disapproval of something.
"Did you see the new Stephen Chow movie? It was so lame."
wussed out: got scared and decided not to do something.
"He was going to smash a piece of cake into Sean's face for Sean's birthday, but he wussed out and just handed Sean the cake instead."
Vocabulary Sample Sentences
After I was caught cheating, I felt great shame.
I screwed-up the laboratory report, so my entire group failed.
I need more information before I can make a decision.
I don't understand my dad's dinosaur music.
The band is very good in concert.
I will never set foot in this McDonald's again!
I like the oldies radio station because contemporary music sucks.
I saw many interesting movies at the Taipei Golden Horse film fesitval.
If you buy a meal, you get a 10% discount on the bill.
He says he got to second base, but she says he's never even talked to her.
I find men with long hair irresistible.
He is cool under pressure; he doesn't get scared.
I wish I was as cool as Jay Chou.
I don't like scary movies; I get too scared.
The lack of news coverage about Burma upsets me.
I'm in a rut lately, so I haven't been able to get a lot of work done.
I'm going to get out of this rut and back into the groove!
He doesn't go to his office for office hours because he is forgetful.
What is all the hullabaloo outside?
I have two tickets to see A-Mei at the Taipei Amphitheater.
It's bad karma to go to a store for a long time and leave without buying anything.
You should always give money to a beggar. It's good karma.
Burning Spear is a famous Rastafarian and Reggae artist.
People don't like him anymore because he narced on his best friend.
This mistake destroys his chance to get a good grade in the class.
She is depressed because she has a bleak worldview.
He doesn't like school because every day is mundane, and he likes excitement.
I had the opportunity to meet Hou Hsaio-Hsien.
I would like to read the following statement about my role as a narc.
She is depressed because her bleak worldview gives her a gloomy outlook on life.
He can't say anything without sounding sarcastic, so people think he is always being either funny or mean.
(If you say, "How are you?" sarcastically, it means you either don't care how the person is, or it means that you are making fun of people's tendency to greet one another with "How are you?")
I screwed-up the laboratory report, so my entire group failed.
I need more information before I can make a decision.
I don't understand my dad's dinosaur music.
The band is very good in concert.
I will never set foot in this McDonald's again!
I like the oldies radio station because contemporary music sucks.
I saw many interesting movies at the Taipei Golden Horse film fesitval.
If you buy a meal, you get a 10% discount on the bill.
He says he got to second base, but she says he's never even talked to her.
I find men with long hair irresistible.
He is cool under pressure; he doesn't get scared.
I wish I was as cool as Jay Chou.
I don't like scary movies; I get too scared.
The lack of news coverage about Burma upsets me.
I'm in a rut lately, so I haven't been able to get a lot of work done.
I'm going to get out of this rut and back into the groove!
He doesn't go to his office for office hours because he is forgetful.
What is all the hullabaloo outside?
I have two tickets to see A-Mei at the Taipei Amphitheater.
It's bad karma to go to a store for a long time and leave without buying anything.
You should always give money to a beggar. It's good karma.
Burning Spear is a famous Rastafarian and Reggae artist.
People don't like him anymore because he narced on his best friend.
This mistake destroys his chance to get a good grade in the class.
She is depressed because she has a bleak worldview.
He doesn't like school because every day is mundane, and he likes excitement.
I had the opportunity to meet Hou Hsaio-Hsien.
I would like to read the following statement about my role as a narc.
She is depressed because her bleak worldview gives her a gloomy outlook on life.
He can't say anything without sounding sarcastic, so people think he is always being either funny or mean.
(If you say, "How are you?" sarcastically, it means you either don't care how the person is, or it means that you are making fun of people's tendency to greet one another with "How are you?")
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