Last Class and Potluck Tomorrow

Dear Class,

Tomorrow is our last class, a continuation of final presentations, and a potluck! Please bring some food/refreshments to share if you are able to and be on time or even early, prepared to start asap so we can make sure we get through everyone’s presentation.

Important: if you have only uploaded your essay to your blog, please also upload it to D2L.

It has been a nice semester working with you all and seeing your writing process, progress, and journey. Cheers to the last week and to summer. Good work and congrats for making it this far! Keep going! You’ve got this.

Best,

Janel

End of Semester Reflection

Please respond to each question with 1-2 paragraphs and post on your blog.
1. Take time to look over your writing throughout the course (on your blog). How has it changed?
2. What have you learned throughout the course? About your writing? About your thinking?
3. What are your strengths as a writer? Also, write about at least one weakness you would like
to continue working towards strengthening.
4. What has your writing process been throughout the semester? Has it changed? What about
your process helps you? What might you change to aid you in WRT 102?
5. The best teacher is practice. What are ways you engage with writing outside of the classroom?
Where do you see yourself using writing skills in the future?
6. When and where do you feel that your voice has or can have value?

Word Clouds

Class Values Word Cloud (I used TagCrowd)

MLK’s “I Have a Dream” Speech

JFK’s Civil Rights Address

Obama’s Inauguration Speech

Trump’s Second State of the Union Addresss

Popular Views – Memes

Event and Scholarship Opportunities

Dear Class,

I’m posting another upcoming PCC event (April 26) and scholarship opportunities (due April 15). Feel free to spread the word. The scholarships are based off creative writing, essay, and visual arts prompts.

4th Annual Ethnic, Gender & Transborder Studies Summit, April 26
Sign up now for The Maya-Maíz Roots of Raza Studies, a collaborative conference between Pima, the University of Arizona and Arizona State University.

The conference is free and open to the public. The event is 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Friday, April 26, in the Amethyst Room at Downtown Campus.

There will be panels, storytelling, performances, and art presenting diverse, indigenous perspectives from Mexico and the United States. Featured speakers, including “La Bamba” filmmaker Luis Valdez, will share their work and talk about our strengths, connections and shared struggles.

Please advise students of the related EGTS Summit scholarship contest (essay, creative writing and visual arts categories). The deadline is April 15. See the guidelines. Staff continuing education units also are available. For more information, call 206-7181.

The event sponsors are, Pima’s Department of Ethnic, Gender & Transborder Studies/Sociology, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Center for International Education and Global Engagement, Office of the Provost, Office of the Campus Presidents of Downtown and West campuses, Division of Social Sciences, Division of Communication, Division of Arts and Student Life. Outside sponsors include Arizona State University, the University of Arizona Department of Mexican American Studies and Tucson Unified School District Mexican American Student Services.

Analyzing Satirical Illustrations

Satire: the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues

Choose a pair of images and answer the following questions on your blog for today’s in-class writing. You may work in groups.

What is/are the topic(s) of the pieces?

What might the possible argument(s) of each image be? Write out sub-claims and main arguments for both images. How are they similar/different/the same?

What evidence is presented? Is it figurative and/or does it point to a reality/real incident to support its case? Does the visual evidence reflect reality or is it exaggerated? What is the reality? If exaggerated, how does the exaggeration work to persuade the audience?

What does it assume? What other possibilities does it not consider?

How does the illustration appeal to pathos? How does it make the audience feel? Does the feeling they evoke help make their argument?

Which audience(s) does this speak to? How do you know? Is one more or less persuasive; why or why not; to which audience(s)? How might the visual persuade wider audiences? Which audience(s) does it alienate/ignore?

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2/28 In-Class Updated with Powerpoint

Dear Class,

Thank you for working and thinking hard. Unit 1 (Narrative Argument) is over and we are beginning to discuss rhetorical analysis (Unit 2). I’ve included the PowerPoint from today’s lecture on the class blog (“In-Class and Homework”) and here: Understanding Knowledge and Bias.

This is just a reminder that you don’t have any homework this weekend; enjoy yourselves. I’ll be busy grading your final drafts of Essay 1! Let me know if you have any concerns or questions.

See you in class on Tuesday,

Janel

Consider Submitting Your Story to Sandscript

Sandscript is Pima Community College’s student literary magazine. Stories, poems, and visual art are due for the next issue by 5pm on March 1. Consider submitting your work: http://aztecpressonline.com/sandscript/.

Hills Like White Elephants Alternate Conclusion

“I feel fine,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel fine.”

“Do you really?” he asked.

“No, not really. But we never talk about it. Not really. We never talk about anything real.”

She crossed to where he had dropped off her bags as he watched. An earlier train obscured his view of her. He took another drink of his beer.

The train came and gone, and she was nowhere in sight.