Updates & Links & Bonus Posts

For the week of May 24th, begin your essay #3 draft. See the guidelines below and the example from class. If you're doing option one, you'd want to start by editing your interview Terkel-style.

Try posting your first paragraph: see if you can succeed in catching your reader's attention and bringing them into your topic.

Here's is a source that might be useful:

Here, here, and here are three parts of a question and answer with Joshua Freeman, a historian (and CUNY professor!) about working class history in New York.

And now, some bonus posts:

Schlosser's article "The Most Dangerous Job" ends with Kenny's story. What did you make of Kenny's attitude towards his job and the company he works for? How does it compare to your experience and that of people you know?


Here is an article about how enforcement of imimgration laws have changed things since Schlosser's article. Notice the testimonials along the side. Describe how you would follow up on Schlosser's article if you were writing it now. How do you think current anti-immigrant laws and sentiments will affect coditions for workers?



Here is a long interview with Studs Terkel - thanks to Mwani for the link! Share your responses!

Step Three: Essay #3

Once you have done steps one and two (posted about the archives, posted about the interviews you read from Terkel, and come up with your research question), you'll begin the process of gathering sources.

For option one, this means choosing the person you'll interview and coming up with research questions. You can see some student posts of interview questions here and here.

For option two, that means selecting two course texts to help answer your question and using databases to find periodical sources (or book chapters) and selection course texts. Then you'll put together an annotated biography. Course texts can include anything we've read or watched over the course of the semester. You can find some examples of student annotated bibliographies here and here, and some guidelines here.

Once you've completed this step, for option one, you'll next conduct the interview. For essay two, you'll begin your draft. Think of the bibliography as a kind of pre-writing that suggests how each text will help answer your question.

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Let's say your research question is: What long-term impact does emotional labor have on workers, the workplace and American culture as a whole?

Some preliminary database searches might take you to these three sources.

In the comments, answer the following questions for your source.

1) What *kind* of source are you looking at? Who is its audience?

2) Briefly summarize the source (you should be able to do this without reading the whole thing, at least for the first two).

3) What database do you think this writer used to find this? Why?

4) Do you think it will be a useful source for this writer? Why or why not?
1) http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=11&did=391729811&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1242161905&clientId=13053


2) http://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/12/business/when-may-i-help-you-is-a-labor-issue-the-customer-service-assembly-line.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/S/Strikes&scp=1&sq=emotional%20labor&st=cse

3) http://tigger.uic.edu/~mastracc/EL.htm

Essay #3 Outline

For your last essay, you'll have a chance to go a bit more in-depth, explore your interests in a more open ended way, and do a little of your own research - this means seeking out or creating sources as well as using the ones we've been discussing in class.

Because this essay is a little longer, it's broken down into steps. Your grade on the essay will depend on your work on each of the steps, not just the final product. All the steps except the final essay will take place on the blog. So it's especially important that you check in. Read your colleague's blogs and leave comments and suggestions. I'm working to arrange some lab time so we can use some class time to work with these essays.

There are two main options for the final essay. With option one, you'll interview someone of about their experiences with work. Your final essay will include the notes or transcript from the interview, and edited version, and your reflections drawing connections between the interview, your own experiences, and our course text and themes.

With option two, you'll use your reading of the archive interviews and those from Terkel to select a work-related topic that's of interest to you. Then you'll do research using periodical databases to find current articles that discuss the state of this issue today. With this option, you'll do more of a traditional essay than with option one, but you will also have the opportunity to draw on your own experiences.

Step one: (Due on May 5th or 6th): Archive Blog Post (see below.)

Step two: (Due on May 10th or 11th): Select two interviews from Terkel that interest you. In a blog post of at least 250 words, discuss the issues that these interviews raise. What do they tell us about the factors that shape the experience of work? What questions does it lead you to? Draw connections to other course texts and to your own experiences. Then select a central research question you'd like to know more about.

Step three: (Due on May 17th or 18th): For option one: Select your interview subject and post your list of interview questions. Draw on the archive interviews, Terkel, and the link to the Spring 2009 blog for ideas. For option two: Find at least two outside sources from periodical databases that address the current state of your topic. Some good options: articles from the New York Times, The Daily News, or New York. In your blog post, do an annotated bibliography of your sources, which should include at least two course texts and two outside sources.

Step four: (Due May 24th or 25th) Draft of Essay. For essay one, conduct your interview and write the edited version and your reflections. For essay two, use your course and outside texts to write a text-based essay of at least 1200 words. Respond to at least two colleague's drafts by May 26th/27th.

Final Essays Due on Friday, June 4th, 5PM in my mailbox.

Post your questions in the comments!

Post #5: Working with Interviews/Links and Bonus Posts

For the week of May 3rd, you'll visit the archives to look at some documents I've put together from the collection. There are some photos, Mayor Wagner's speech that we looked at during our visit, and the trasncripts of interviews.

Choose one of the interviews from the packet. In a blog post of at least 250 words, respond to the following questions:

- What is the interviewer trying to find out?
- How much insight do you think you get into the personality and experiences of the interviewee?
- What can you figure out about the historical context of the interviewee's experiences?
- How do the interviewee's experiences relate to the themes we've been discussing? Refer to at least one other course text.

This will be an important step in your work towards essay #3.
What can interviews do? Here are some recordings by the master, Studs Terkel.

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Following up on our class discussions, here is an interview about how some are talking about standing up to the new anti-immigrant law in Arizona.

And here is a recent news story about the sex discrimination case against Wal-Mart.

For an extra credit/make up post, discuss either of these links and what the tell us about the themes we've been discussing in the comments.

Announcements and Links!

Looking for scholarships? Did you know that you can apply online for scholarships from the CUNY foundation, and that international students are eligible to apply? Go to the foundation website

to apply.

What can be done to address some of the issues of discrimination and inequality we've been discussing?

Next Monday LaGuardia will be having a day-long event about community organizing: what people do to make change about the issues that are affecting them day to day. Here is the schedule. If you can attend any of the events, post your thoughts for extra credit.

One of the issues touched on will be the DREAM act - one proposal to credit more equity in education. Learn more about it here.

TUTORING UPDATES!

Please note: Wednesday 8AM tutoring is currently not taking place as that time didn't seem to work for people.

Tutoring is still taking place on:

Wednesday at 1 PM (C415)
Thursday at 3:25 (C410)
Friday at 2:15 (C410)

If you would like to go to tutoring but can't make any of these times, please email Nilo at nabermeo@netzero.net.

Remember that attending tutoring will raise your parcipation grade, and is very like to improve your grade on our essays.

In-Class Work: Week of 4/19

Working with evidence:

Look at the New York Times article you read for today and especially the chart that goes with it.

With your group, based on the chart, is each one of these statements TRUE, FALSE, or is there not enough information to tell?

1) Regardless of your race or gender, graduating from high school and/or college helps your chances of getting a job.

2) The recession of '08-'09 has made it harder for all groups to find work.

3) The recession of '08-'09 has affected all groups equally.

4) As of '09 women, are doing better and making more money than men.

5) Currently in the United States blacks face higher unemployment because of differences in education, not because of discrimination in hiring.

Turning evidence into writing: Rewrite the following paragraph with a sandwich to make it make more sense:

Another way that discrimination happens as Luo says on page 1, "There is also the matter of how many jobs, especially higher-level ones, are never even posted and depend on word-of-mouth and informal networks, in many cases leaving blacks at a disadvantage." It's really not fair to have job and not even post an ad this just shows Luo's point.