Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

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eumaas
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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by eumaas »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
08 Oct 2017, 9:34am
eumaas wrote:
08 Oct 2017, 9:12am
Just did my book analysis of Class, Race, & Worker Insurgency: The League of Revolutionary Black Workers by James A. Geschwender. God but it's probably trash. I have no instinct for writing history, and I am so low-confidence when I try to do it.
My quick and dirty guide for writing a critical book review:
• Intro, which summarize the book's argument and its significance plus your evaluation of the same in no more than a half page
• Summary paragraph that expands the description of the argument
• What's good about the book?
• What's bad?
• Anything else?
• Conclusion, which should not contain any new thoughts, but reinforce your evaluation

What's good, bad, and else will have fluctuating emphases, and what else might be skipped (it's for noting any photos, the quality of the prose, and other significant aspects not related to the argument). I'd say a person should shoot for the intro and conclusion taking up no more than 25% of the word count and the three analysis sections should make up at least 50%.
I only had five double-spaced pages. He wanted us to address the main argument, how it was supported, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses, and then if we had room, relate it to our projects. I wrote the paper more or less in that order, but had to skip out on relating it to my project. I will let you know if he likes it!

That's good advice for the future, I suppose, if I have to do another one.
I feel that there is a fascistic element, for example, in the Rolling Stones . . .
— Morton Feldman

I've studied the phenomenon of neo-provincialism in self-isolating online communities but this place takes the fucking cake.
— Clashy

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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by Dr. Medulla »

eumaas wrote:
08 Oct 2017, 9:45am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
08 Oct 2017, 9:34am
eumaas wrote:
08 Oct 2017, 9:12am
Just did my book analysis of Class, Race, & Worker Insurgency: The League of Revolutionary Black Workers by James A. Geschwender. God but it's probably trash. I have no instinct for writing history, and I am so low-confidence when I try to do it.
My quick and dirty guide for writing a critical book review:
• Intro, which summarize the book's argument and its significance plus your evaluation of the same in no more than a half page
• Summary paragraph that expands the description of the argument
• What's good about the book?
• What's bad?
• Anything else?
• Conclusion, which should not contain any new thoughts, but reinforce your evaluation

What's good, bad, and else will have fluctuating emphases, and what else might be skipped (it's for noting any photos, the quality of the prose, and other significant aspects not related to the argument). I'd say a person should shoot for the intro and conclusion taking up no more than 25% of the word count and the three analysis sections should make up at least 50%.
I only had five double-spaced pages. He wanted us to address the main argument, how it was supported, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses, and then if we had room, relate it to our projects. I wrote the paper more or less in that order, but had to skip out on relating it to my project. I will let you know if he likes it!

That's good advice for the future, I suppose, if I have to do another one.
His format is pretty much what I recommend. The chief thing that students often miss is not citing evidence in their evaluations. If an argument is persuasive or not, can't just so, give examples to illustrate the point. It's the key difference between being analytical and being reportage. And, holy moly, the number of students who think all books are novels.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

eumaas
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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by eumaas »

Seminar professor decided to make the five page prospectus due *during* fall break next week, and I don't even have my research question yet, so I guess that won't be much of a break.
I feel that there is a fascistic element, for example, in the Rolling Stones . . .
— Morton Feldman

I've studied the phenomenon of neo-provincialism in self-isolating online communities but this place takes the fucking cake.
— Clashy

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

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eumaas wrote:
09 Oct 2017, 6:14pm
Seminar professor decided to make the five page prospectus due *during* fall break next week, and I don't even have my research question yet, so I guess that won't be much of a break.
Is he/she changing the syllabus mid-term? If so, that's seriously unethical. A syllabus should be treated as a contract, and if the instructor has to make a change, it can't be to disadvantage students. Last year, I fucked up reading the calendar when I made my syllabus and the second assignment ended up due during fall break, so I was obliged to move it back to the week when they came back. As is, I'm pretty sure we're prohibited from making any assignment due during break week.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by eumaas »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
09 Oct 2017, 6:28pm
eumaas wrote:
09 Oct 2017, 6:14pm
Seminar professor decided to make the five page prospectus due *during* fall break next week, and I don't even have my research question yet, so I guess that won't be much of a break.
Is he/she changing the syllabus mid-term? If so, that's seriously unethical. A syllabus should be treated as a contract, and if the instructor has to make a change, it can't be to disadvantage students. Last year, I fucked up reading the calendar when I made my syllabus and the second assignment ended up due during fall break, so I was obliged to move it back to the week when they came back. As is, I'm pretty sure we're prohibited from making any assignment due during break week.
Nah, it's on the syllabus that way. I thought maybe he would change it since it basically means none of us are gonna have a break, but he decided against that and told us we could just try to get it to him sooner than the due date.

It's a bit awkward because I only just did the book analysis yesterday, a book which managed to answer my research question so thoroughly that I dead-ended and have to find something new to look into re: the League of Revolutionary Black Workers. Kim also already took time off for my break. I am going to try to scramble and do it before the break in order to get something out of Kim being off work, but I will probably have to skip sleep a couple nights in order to rush read another book or two and trawl through the League archives again to push out this prospectus.
I feel that there is a fascistic element, for example, in the Rolling Stones . . .
— Morton Feldman

I've studied the phenomenon of neo-provincialism in self-isolating online communities but this place takes the fucking cake.
— Clashy

eumaas
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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by eumaas »

I used to be able to read very quickly (easily a few hundred pages in a day) but my ability to do so has declined recently.
I feel that there is a fascistic element, for example, in the Rolling Stones . . .
— Morton Feldman

I've studied the phenomenon of neo-provincialism in self-isolating online communities but this place takes the fucking cake.
— Clashy

Dr. Medulla
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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by Dr. Medulla »

eumaas wrote:
09 Oct 2017, 6:45pm
Nah, it's on the syllabus that way. I thought maybe he would change it since it basically means none of us are gonna have a break, but he decided against that and told us we could just try to get it to him sooner than the due date.
That's still pretty shady. Break is break. If classes aren't being held, assigning work is really poor form (if not against university rules).
I used to be able to read very quickly (easily a few hundred pages in a day) but my ability to do so has declined recently.
If you do decide to continue on to grad school, you'll get that back. I was a good decade between grad school stints and had settled into a nice and leisurely reading pace in that gap, but it didn't take long to get to speed and assimilate a fuck-ton quickly and regularly.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

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I've pretty much given up hope that I have any critical thinkers in my group this year. Largely nice kids, but no consideration of the implication of their statements. Just reaction, mostly from personal experience and desire. So we just read a Marxist account of punk, metal, and other angry music since the late 60s. Meaning, of course, material conditions—i.e., neoliberalism—inspires art. Everyone was officially on board with that argument. Yup, it all makes sense, they agreed. Economic and social norms that dehumanize and make us see each other as competitors/predators first and foremost manifests amongst the "losers" a music of frustration and anger. All these budding Marxists under my nose all along! Anyway, I ended by asking, "If western nations are emerging from neoliberal dominance, whether it's a return to most welfare state capitalism or some kind of fascism, whereby the material conditions could change markedly, could that mean an end to punk?" Nope—there'll always be angry music like punk and metal. Which is to say, it exists outside of material conditions, that it's transhistorical. So then they don't buy the book's argument? Oh, yeah, they do. *sigh* I didn't want to end the class on a scolding note, but what the fuck? They'd make good proles, grateful that the chocolate rations have been raised from 75 grams to 65 grams.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by Wolter »

eumaas wrote:
09 Oct 2017, 6:47pm
I used to be able to read very quickly (easily a few hundred pages in a day) but my ability to do so has declined recently.
Same. I used to read at a phenomenally fast rate and now it feels like a crawl.
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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by JennyB »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
14 Oct 2017, 8:11am
I've pretty much given up hope that I have any critical thinkers in my group this year. Largely nice kids, but no consideration of the implication of their statements. Just reaction, mostly from personal experience and desire. So we just read a Marxist account of punk, metal, and other angry music since the late 60s. Meaning, of course, material conditions—i.e., neoliberalism—inspires art. Everyone was officially on board with that argument. Yup, it all makes sense, they agreed. Economic and social norms that dehumanize and make us see each other as competitors/predators first and foremost manifests amongst the "losers" a music of frustration and anger. All these budding Marxists under my nose all along! Anyway, I ended by asking, "If western nations are emerging from neoliberal dominance, whether it's a return to most welfare state capitalism or some kind of fascism, whereby the material conditions could change markedly, could that mean an end to punk?" Nope—there'll always be angry music like punk and metal. Which is to say, it exists outside of material conditions, that it's transhistorical. So then they don't buy the book's argument? Oh, yeah, they do. *sigh* I didn't want to end the class on a scolding note, but what the fuck? They'd make good proles, grateful that the chocolate rations have been raised from 75 grams to 65 grams.
You should play them the "I Wanna Job" song from Sid and Nancy. That should help. :shifty:
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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

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JennyB wrote:
17 Oct 2017, 9:49am
You should play them the "I Wanna Job" song from Sid and Nancy. That should help. :shifty:
I'm entertaining fantasies of throwing chalk at them. This week might well be the class where I do snap if the quality of effort doesn't improve.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by JennyB »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
17 Oct 2017, 10:06am
JennyB wrote:
17 Oct 2017, 9:49am
You should play them the "I Wanna Job" song from Sid and Nancy. That should help. :shifty:
I'm entertaining fantasies of throwing chalk at them. This week might well be the class where I do snap if the quality of effort doesn't improve.
Please record this.
Got a Rake? Sure!

IMCT: Inane Middle-Class Twats - Dr. M

" *sigh* it's right when they throw the penis pump out the window." -Hoy

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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

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JennyB wrote:
17 Oct 2017, 10:22am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
17 Oct 2017, 10:06am
JennyB wrote:
17 Oct 2017, 9:49am
You should play them the "I Wanna Job" song from Sid and Nancy. That should help. :shifty:
I'm entertaining fantasies of throwing chalk at them. This week might well be the class where I do snap if the quality of effort doesn't improve.
Please record this.
I don't yell when I snap. I go quiet. As long as I'm talking, things are okayish. My quiet can turn the air black around me. So it'd likely just be me stating matter-of-factly that if nobody is willing to make an effort, we're done for the day and that I'm hoping for better next time.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by JennyB »

Dr. Medulla wrote:
17 Oct 2017, 10:45am
JennyB wrote:
17 Oct 2017, 10:22am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
17 Oct 2017, 10:06am
JennyB wrote:
17 Oct 2017, 9:49am
You should play them the "I Wanna Job" song from Sid and Nancy. That should help. :shifty:
I'm entertaining fantasies of throwing chalk at them. This week might well be the class where I do snap if the quality of effort doesn't improve.
Please record this.
I don't yell when I snap. I go quiet. As long as I'm talking, things are okayish. My quiet can turn the air black around me. So it'd likely just be me stating matter-of-factly that if nobody is willing to make an effort, we're done for the day and that I'm hoping for better next time.
That actually sounds terrifying.
Got a Rake? Sure!

IMCT: Inane Middle-Class Twats - Dr. M

" *sigh* it's right when they throw the penis pump out the window." -Hoy

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Re: Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School

Post by Dr. Medulla »

JennyB wrote:
17 Oct 2017, 11:15am
Dr. Medulla wrote:
17 Oct 2017, 10:45am
I don't yell when I snap. I go quiet. As long as I'm talking, things are okayish. My quiet can turn the air black around me. So it'd likely just be me stating matter-of-factly that if nobody is willing to make an effort, we're done for the day and that I'm hoping for better next time.
That actually sounds terrifying.
Ask this missus how awful it/I can be. It's a lousy approach and quality (inherited/learned from my dad) because it drags out a conflict and lets it fester when one person just withdraws and won't talk. It also means that when I don't have much on my mind and don't talk, B asks whether I'm pissed off at her.
"I never doubted myself for a minute for I knew that my monkey-strong bowels were girded with strength, like the loins of a dragon ribboned with fat and the opulence of buffalo dung." - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft

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