Project #3: Outsider to Insider

S. Schuetze ENG 104.045 Project 3

Project #3: Outsider to Insider

In discussing Project 2, we asked questions about communities we belong to and how they connect to our identities. As you’ll remember, it is important to consider the position of outsider versus insider when analyzing communities. In the coming classes, we will read and discuss how authors like Barbara Ehrenreich, Lars Eighner and Seth Riker write about becoming insiders. For the next unit, you’ll be asked to consider the transition from outsider to insider (or vice versa) by experiencing it firsthand. For two weeks, adopt or omit a practice that connects you with a particular community. Keep a journal (hand-written, blog, audio journal, etc.) to document your observations. You are creating primary research in this project; the additional research you do will provide you with context and perspective.

Prompt:

Write an 8-page essay (2500 words) investigating the implications of a change in day-to-day habits that brings you in touch with a new community. You could change a practice, method, use, etc. Last semester, students wrote about topics like exercise, religion, food, even Facebook! When choosing your topic, just make sure you make a change that you will notice and that will connect you to a new community. In other words, don’t give up something that is not already part of your daily life. Your essay should include details and reflection from your experiment, but also textual support and background for your thoughts and observations. As your experiment develops, pay attention to the issues, questions, concerns that develop and use those to guide more textual research.

Getting Started:

¨Choose a change that you can actually make for two weeks straight. This is a great time to try something you’ve been curious about or wish you did differently.

¨Before beginning, set the parameters of your experiment and define the terms. For instance, if you’re going to “eat healthy,” what does that entail? How are you defining that term? If you are going to watch the news everyday, what news source will you use? What time will you watch? These parameters and definitions might mutate in the course of your experiment, but it’s important to set the boundaries early; that way, when you do cross the boundaries, you’ll be aware of it and can explore why and how that happened.

¨Consider the community of people who participate in this practice regularly. To what extent does being an “insider” inform their identities? What are the characteristics or marks of an insider? How does this group perceive outsiders? What rituals or requirements are there to become an insider? When do you know you’ve become an insider?

¨How has your perspective, day-to-day life, interests, beliefs, etc. changed through the process of this experiment? Will you continue the practice? Why or why not?

¨In addition to the research you create through documenting your experiment, use research to inform yourself and your reader about the following:

The historical context

Arguments for and against

Other people’s narratives

Positive or negative effects

Guidelines:

Write a minimum of 8 complete pages (minimum of 2500 words), double-spaced, single-sided, 12-point font, Times New Roman, MLA format. Drafts will be due for an in-class workshop on Nov. 4. A hard copy and an emailed electronic copy of the final will be due on Nov. 12.

Evidence:

Use at least seven sources. One of these will be your research journal. Three should be from academic journals. One should be from the course readings. The other two (or more!) are up to you. When using Internet sites, you must first evaluate the source for potential biases, agendas or shortcomings. You will create an Annotated Bibliography that will be handed in with your final paper and journal. Details about this will be discussed in class.

Evaluation:

This essay will make up 20% of your final grade. I will evaluate essays according to the “Grading Criteria in UK Writing Courses” outlined in The St. Martin’s Handbook on pages UK-18 through UK-22.The final should be at least 8-full pages in length (excluding Works Cited page).

Late Work:

Your final paper will be due at the beginning of class on Nov. 12. Late papers will be reduced by a third of a grade per day. Extension requests must be made in writing by Nov. 11th.