Assignment for Thursday, Sept. 18

Come to class on Thursday with at least twenty sources available only at Bird Library (http://library.syr.edu). Maintain a list of the sources that you can refer to easily when you arrive at the library. With books, the call number should be sufficient, but make sure you write it accurately. With journal articles, write the title of the article, the publication, and the date of publication. You should have a healthy mix of books and journals (one kind of source shouldn't make up more than two-thirds of your list). Mix in other materials (recordings, original documents, government reports, and so on) as needed. 

Assignment for Tuesday, Sept. 16

Because of the late posting of this assignment (apologies), just do the reading that is not crossed out below. We will look for sources for your paper in class. Notice, too, that the permission form for the library field trip is posted to the right. Please print it out, have a parent sign it, and give it to me by Thursday.

1. Find five more sources from SU's Bird Library for your research paper.
2. Read Ch. XVII of Hobbes's Leviathan (available here--scroll down), and Chs. II, V, and VII of John Locke's Second Treatise on Government (available here, here, and here).

Assignment for Friday, Sept. 12

Read Chs. XIII and XIV of Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan (available here and here). This is a very challenging reading. Don't wait until Thursday night to read it. You will have to write a response to Hobbes in class. Also, bring your Pocket Style Manual and The Craft of Research to class.

Assignment for Wednesday, Sept. 10

Read and annotate pp. 16-27 in The Craft of Research ("Connecting with Your Reader"). Do not stop at the black box on p. 25; continue reading through the next two pages, to p. 27. In class, you will answer the questions on pp. 26-27, but you will find them helpful for thinking about the following writing assignment: In one page or so, describe the ideal reader for your research paper, describe your role as a researcher (based on pp. 18-20), and describe the reader's role in developing your research (based on pp. 20-24). Even if you send the homework as an attachment, please email it to mrmontasmph@gmail.com. Do not send homework to my MPH email address or my other Gmail address. Do not print the homework, either. Email it to mrmontasmph@gmail.com.

Also, look for your Pocket Style Manual. You do not have an additional. The other reading I mentioned on social obligation will be given to you in class on Wednesday, and you'll read it during class.

Assignments for Thursday, Sept. 4, and Monday, Sept. 8

For Thursday, Sept. 4: Part 1 of the Summer Assignment is due.

For Monday, Sept. 8: Read and annotate the handout distributed in class from The Craft of Research. Write at least one well-developed paragraph that describes or explains any concerns you have about conducting research for your senior thesis.Your paragraph may be improved if you reflect on how The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking might help you write the senior thesis. Email this assignment to me as a Word document or share it with me via Google Docs (mrmontasmph@gmail.com).

Summer Assignment

Welcome to The Senior Seminar! I hope your summer is off to a great start. Click here for the summer reading and writing assignment. (It's also posted to the right.) If you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with me via my school email. Have a great summer, and see you in September!

Prompts for Monday's Essay

Here are the prompts you designed for Monday's essay on Jaron Lanier's You Are Not a Gadget. I will modify the language, and I will incorporate a reviewer's statement into the prompt. You will see just two of these topics on Monday, so if you only prepare one of them, you are taking a significant risk.

1. How does technology affect what it means to be human?
2. Are technological advancements worth the constraints they put on us?
3. What are the mindsets that foster or undermine a humanistic approach to technological interaction?