Here it is: Essay 2

Here is the Essay 2 assignment, pretty much completed. The only thing missing I can think of is a handout I want to include on analytical summary (by Jeffrey Klausman); for now, here's a link to it:
The Analytic Summary:More Than a Trip to the Grocery Store

Hey Y'all, for the official, printable version of this essay assignment, go back to my web, 'nkay?--Thanks, Ms. Rushing

English 101 / Winter 2007 / Ms. Rushing

Essay 2: U.S. in Iraq: Perspectives

Steps leading up to your essay (required):

Write analytical summaries of at least two sources that you will cite in your essay, which give a perspective of American involvement in Iraq. The summaries can be based on films (Iraq in Fragments, Gunner Palace*, Voices of War*, Iraq for Sale*, The Ground Truth* are some I know about), on websites, on current news and "views" articles, or on any combination of sources. Possibly, choose one source that reflects or informs your current perspective on the situation.

* Available to rent on DVD.

** Note: If you are planning to use a blog, the panel 101-T visited (Iraq Vets against the War) or personal interviews as sources for your essay you may, but you should choose other types of sources for your summaries.

Prolific writing One of my writing books names what we’ve been calling “free writing” prolific writing. It is also referred to as focused free writing. Prolific means “producing in large quantities or with great frequency; highly productive: a prolific writer” (from Dictionary.com); in focused free writing your writing is driven by a particular focus—for example, a question, quotation, image or idea. Produce several pages of focused writing connected with either your sources or your own perspective on American involvement in Iraq. Remember in some of your writing to consider what informs your perspective.

Your Working Thesis:
Once you have chosen your sources to analyze and done some extensive writing about your own view, you should be able to write a working thesis that can guide your essay. This working thesis (and hence, your essay) might contrast two ways of thinking, OR it might explain in a nutshell one prominent view, OR it might highlight your own view and how it has been shaped or influenced. There are other possibilities, I’m sure; the main thing is that in your working thesis, you present some of your own original thinking that connects somehow with your analyses.

Peer Review:

Bring three copies of at least the first 3 pages of your draft to class on:

Final draft (4 full pages) due on:

The Essay

Topic—U.S. in Iraq: Perspectives

“What is the difference between opinion and perspective?” A student asked this question when we began looking at this topic. Here are definitions for each culled from dictionary.com :

opinion: “A belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof: ‘The world is not run by thought, nor by imagination, but by opinion’ (Elizabeth Drew).”

perspective: The state of one's ideas, the facts known to one, etc., in having a meaningful interrelationship: “You have to live here a few years to see local conditions in perspective.”

I also like the definition given for perspective in terms of drawing, because I think it gets at this topic with which we’re grappling; it reminds us that perspective depends on where you stand, in this case, whether you stand here or in Iraq:
“the appearance of things relative to one another as determined by their distance from the viewer.”

Approach—Your essay will include both analysis of others’ perspectives on the situation in Iraq and reflection on, as well as analysis of, your own perspective

• If you are as objective and analytical as possible in looking at both your own and others’ perspectives, your essay won’t become a “rant,” but will inform your readers and perhaps persuade them.

• Consider looking at the perspective you held both before and after being exposed to others' views.
• Examine as well what informs (and formed) the perspectives you present.

Organization—Whichever organizational strategy you use, remember when using your sources not to just "say what they say," but also to "say what they mean" and say why it’s important within the context of your essay.

• One choice in organizing this essay would be to give an overall introduction, present your two analytical summaries, and end with the reflective part of your essay. If you choose to do this, remember that you will still need to provide a context for these sources, and transitional sentences in between the different parts of your essay.
• You can instead choose to blend the summary and analysis of your sources with your reflection throughout your essay—quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing from your sources.

Hello to Students who happen to want to take a moment to read my brainstorming for your Essay 2.

I've been looking around the web, using the search terms: Iraq & perspective. This has proved interesting; most sites I get still lean left, e.g. progressive. I'm interested in gathering a variety of perspectives, so that you can work with a view that you are interested in, perhaps one that is different from your own.

Remember that I'm defining perspective as that place from which you view things--U.S. citizen (or not), age group, male or female, from a family with views supporting or opposing the current political agenda in Iraq, etc., rather than opinion.

In other words, it's easy to have an opinion, but it's much harder to listen to, investigate, and try to interpret or analyze someone else's perspective. Actually, I suppose it's impossible--we can ultimately only see from our own very unique point of view, in a sense, but we can try to think about another's perpsective without putting up a defensive barrier formed out of our pre-determined opinion.

Questions: What does it mean to have a perspective, and to know what forces shape and color that perspective? How can we listen to, examine, investigate another, especially differing, perspective without our own opinion or view creating an immediate defense?
I would like students to use this opportunity--the "opportunity" of this essay--to find and use reliable sources (including the ones that we have experienced together--the Vets against the War talk; Gunner Palace, Iraq in Fragments-- investigate them and be able to write something of an analysis as well as perhaps a response. Just as we can look at what informs our own views of what's going on in Iraq, we can ask what informs others' views.

A colleague asked me: "Do you think you are actually making a dent in students' perceptions of what "perspective" is?

Parting thoughts: When we find a source, such as the one I found on forbes.com saying "The Best War Blogs," we have to ask questions. "Who says they're the best?" Forbes... "Who/what is Forbes? What perspective do they represent? What criteria did they use to decide on 'the best'?"