Post the links for your 4 articles in a comment here. Run your searches in Galvin library’s online newspaper databases, not just on the open web using Google. Be sure the articles come from reputable news sources like major newspapers (New York Times, Washington Post, Wall St. Journal) or news magazines (The Economist, Wired, Newsweek). As a reminder, the topics are:
1) Dumpster diving
2) Timothy Jones, an expert on food waste and former head of the Garbage Project at the University of Arizona
Today in class you will think about these two events to try to come up with potential solutions to the problems presented. The catch is that the solutions cannot rely solely on the action of national governments, or on the actions of consumers (in other words, a “buyer beware” model). You should also include a brief explanation of why those two models of solving the problem wouldn’t be ideal.
Before you present that orally in class, however, I would like you to fire up your neurons by posting a brief paragraph (no more than 4 sentences) on how the podcast and the article are related. The goal will be to post that quickly enough so that your classmates can read it while they’re working on the rest of the assignment.
Note: if you were not present in class today, you should write out an answer to all of the above and post it in the comments in order to get credit for the 4th blog assignment.
Note: This post represents a live-blogging experiment in class. I put up the prompt during class and students worked in teams of 2 to come up with an argument, for which they got online and IRL feedback from me and other students, before posting their final collaborative essays.
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Last class we ended by discussing Nader’s and Carson’s insights together. We came up with the idea that sometimes culture, government, and industry are in a causality loop and that infrastructure, perhaps counterintuitively, cannot be effectively planned, but can only respond to problems and disasters–“real life testing” in a sense. But, this idea is not really going to work for the Bhopal disaster. Think about how to create a new insight that has explanatory meaning for Bhopal.
Bhopal Memorial Statue: http://www.mp.gov.in/bgtrrdmp/
Your comment should answer the following:
How does the Bhopal disaster differ from the environmental and public health disasters described by Ralph Nader and Rachel Carson? In your answer, have a clear argument and address how infrastructure and government play a role. The key here is to come up with a new insight, being mindful of what we’ve already gone over during last class. It may help to begin with clearly, concisely defining and characterizing each specific “disaster” Nader and Carson brought to light, and then move on to discussing Bhopal. Try to keep it to no more than 3 paragraphs.
Work in groups of 2 and post a first comment that clearly states your argument in no more than 1 to 2 sentences. If your argument is replicated by someone else’s group, both groups will have to change their arguments, to make it less obvious and more original. In order to share your arguments and posts, I will approve the comments in real time. Once your argument is approved verbally or online by me, you will do a finalized comment with your whole essay. The deadline on the syllabus still applies. Be sure that your single comment has both of your wordpress handles on it so I know who worked on which entry.
After watching the Pruitt Igoe Myth documentary, directed by Chad Friedrichs (a professor of film at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri) answer the following in a blog comment of no more than 3 paragraphs:
The documentary explodes the myth that Pruitt and Igoe failed because of modernist architecture or the people who lived there. It does this by showing us the “bigger story” that has been boiled down–or disregarded– to create these reductive myths.
What was one element that you found surprising about this “bigger story” and how might it help us understand the perils of urban development more broadly? Use examples from previous class units that deal with the history of urban development in your answer and focus on systems. In addition to having a clear argument that teaches us something new and interesting about urbanization, try to show change over time in your answer.
For more information about what the film covered, see the official website.
Due by 10 pm (not 10 am as it says on your syllabus) on Oct. 4. No credit given for comments submitted late.
In one concise paragraph, discuss one technical advance that we’ve learned about since Sept. 3 and why that advance was important. It can be a machine, a technique (like a programming technique), or a specific idea. Your response should show us its importance in a broad sense: this is your opportunity to answer the “so what?” question of why a particular historical event matters. Be original and creative: your response should tell us something non-obvious about the advance you choose.
Grace Hopper with the UNIVAC I, from the Computer History Museum’s website: http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/?year=1952 Collection reference: 102635875 (Courtesy Gwen Bell)
Please use formal English and write your response as you would a short academic paper. Keep it to one concise paragraph, and make your point as well as you can in that space.
Your comment will not show up right away: I will approve the best 5 or so comments after the deadline.
As noted on your syllabus, your comment is due by 10pm on Thursday, Sept. 20. There will be no credit given for late responses.
Students, comment on this post by writing a three-paragraph response to the following:
So far, we’ve discussed the precursors to electronic computing. What are the three most important things we’ve learned?
Please use formal English and write your response as you would a short academic paper. Include relevant, specific historical details to make your points, but remember to keep it concise: this should only be three paragraphs.
Fanny Bindon Bailey, a clerk at the US Coastal and Geodetic Survey Office, with her Remington No. 2, c. 1909. From: http://www.officemuseum.com/typewriters_office_models.htm
Your comment will not show up right away: I will approve the comments after the deadline, once everyone’s had a chance to respond, so as not to bias your answers.
As noted on your syllabus, your comment is due by 10pm on Thursday, Sept. 6. There will be no credit given for late responses or technical difficulties (so don’t leave it until the last minute).
Have fun.
Note: If you see bracketed text in the comments, that represents text I added or text I corrected–in other words, alterations from the student’s original essay. My objective in correcting your posts is to make your blog comments a useful learning resource for the class and anyone else on the web who may come across them later. I want to ensure we put as little misinformation out on the web as possible.
