You’ll notice that these readings continue on with the theme of higher education, academic inquiry, and civic engagement, but for a very specific social and political situation. Tell us a little about what you learned as you read through McAvoy et al., and Hayes’ arguments.
Feel free to answer as many of the questions I provided as possible. Feel free to say what you didn’t understand or what academic concepts that you read about, such as audience and purpose, didn’t become clear to you in the readings.
Who is is the audience for each essay? How do you think that informs and shapes how the authors make their arguments and what kind of language they use?
What are the arguments? What claims to the authors of each article make?
Why do you think these authors felt compelled to make these arguments? Do you think there are conditions or issues that are going on in their world that might have prompted them to write these essays?
After you write an original response to this prompt, post a response to another student’s post. Remember to check back often, in case one of your peers has asked you a question requiring an answer.
Your original post needs to be at least 150-200 words. Your claims should be supported by evidence from the texts in the form of paraphrases and quotes, followed by an in-text citation. (You do not need works cited for the discussions, just the in-text citation).
In order to get credit for your response to another post, your answer must be at least 50 words long and make a substantial contribution to the conversation that the original poster started. Don’t just say “great point!” or “I totally agree!” Add to their point, ask questions, offer a different perspective.
Your post must be coherent, use complete sentences, and be carefully proofread for spelling and grammar.
Read the following chapter by Scott Peters, which may shed a bit of light on the history of the Land-Grant college.
Scott Peters, Democracy’s College Tradition
Using the Credo Reference in our Jackson State Library, search for some of the terms you encountered in the chapter and that you’ve found yourself writing about quite a bit these past couple of weeks, such as “politics” or “higher education” or “argument” or “liberal arts” or “democracy” or “civics” or “citizen”.
Go to the discussion to explain what you learned about those terms and concepts and how those terms might have a different meaning–or a more complex one–than you originally thought.
(I will ask you to share what you learned in the discussion questions for this module, so take notes on them as you read!)
Practice With an Argument
Read closely the essays by McAvoy et al., and Hayes. You’ve already read McAvoy et al. (last week), but take a look at it with fresh eyes. And yes, the Hayes reading is the one that McAvoy et al.’s essay refers to at the beginning! We will work together to understand the argument, audience, and purpose of these two essays through a process called annotation, or reading critically through notetaking.
To help us annotate, we will be using the program Perusall. (Information on how to get started in Perusall is at the bottom of this page under Writing Assignments). When you click on the article link you will be directed to Perusall where you can read the article and participate in annotating. My instructions for the assignment will be on the right-hand side of of the screen when you click on the link. Keep in mind that this is a graded assignment, so you want to follow all of the instructions.
Reading these two essays together will give us a common text to help us learn and discuss the elements of argument over the next couple of modules. I’ve provided a few questions to think about and respond to as you read.
Paula McAvoy, et al., “The Relationship Between Liberal Arts Education and Democratic Outcomes”
PERUSALL: Click on the link above and select the assignment “Week 3 Perusall Activity.” Follow the instructions for annotation on the site.
Nigel Hayes, “Don’t Just Shut Up and Play”
PERUSALL: Click on the link above and select the assignment “Week 3 Perusall Activity.” The Hayes article is in Part 2 of the assignment and follows the McAvoy article. Follow the instructions for annotation on the site.
Questions to consider as you’re reading:
Who is is the audience for each essay? How do you think that informs and shapes how the authors make their arguments and what kind of language they use?
What are the arguments? What claims to the authors of each article make?
Why do you think these authors felt compelled to make these arguments? Do you think there are conditions or issues that are going on in their world that might have prompted them to write these essays?
(I will ask you to answer these questions in the discussion questions for this module, so take notes on them as you read!)
Writing Assignments
Complete the Perusall Activity above for both essays. Complete the Discussions in Week 3. This discussion will ask you to apply your understanding of the elements of argument listed in the precis instructions to the this week’s readings.
To set up Persuall:
1. Go to www.perusall.com
2. Create a Perusall account and enter your course code ESQUIVEL-MR2EH upon registration
3. Begin any assignment by clicking the link to the corresponding reading. Additional instructions for the assignment will be visible to the right of the article.
4. You may not see any comments from other students immediately, if they haven’t posted yet. Please revisit the assignment so that you can read and respond to your group members annotations.
Last Completed Projects
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