Carl Mason
College Writing A
Fall 2009
Look Again
Reading:
Jennifer Steinhauer, "When the Joneses Wear Jeans”
Anticipated Learning Outcomes:
• Read and write demonstrating the ability to engage with a reading, recognize both the denotation and connotation of specific words, reassess one’s initial impression of the essay’s principal theme, and apply what one has learned in one’s own writing.
• Use comparison and contrast todetermine how Jennifer Steinhauer constructs and supports her argument and how students view these same issues in the world around them.
• Determine what comprises a concrete idea regarding wealth and what comprises an abstract idea.
• Write a simple but detailed argument that discusses the ideas located in Steinhauer’s article.
Introduction to the Assignment:
Onethemelocated in Class Mattersfocuses onhow we perceive wealth, status, and/or success. In addition to considering this particular theme, this assignment will build upon previous assignments that seek to foster each student’s ability toengage with a reading, recognize both the denotation and connotation of a word, reassess one’s initial impression of an essay’s principal theme, and apply what one has learned towards one’s own writing.
The groundwork for this assignment will begin at the beginning of the semester. Starting from Plato’s Cave, we will engage with the question of how we perceive the world around us. How is it framed through various lenses of culture, media, technology, and education? If we seek to define “wealth,” which lens do we choose? Is this choice rational or irrational? Is this choice based on intrinsic or syntheticfactors? How do these determinants establishthe quality of wealth?
From there, we will examine varying perceptions of wealth, ranging fromDavid Brook’s examination of how wealth fosters “pillars of cultural capital” in emerging college students. We will then consider Dana Thomas’Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster, examining how the fashion industry markets appearance over material quality. We will also consider Harriet Rubin’s article, “C.E.O. Libraries Reveal Keys to Success,” which examines how venture capitalists both embrace and employ literature and poetry asa means to both generate and appreciate wealth. This article is especially useful in that it not only challenges assumptions of how wealth is generated, and what it is, it argues against common assumptions regarding the uses of poetry.
In addition to reading comprehension and grammar skills, poetry is introduced as a way to instill the qualities of patience and persistencecritical to developing university level reading and writing skills, It also encourages a practiced reassessment of the very language that surrounds each student. For this particular assignment, students will examine varying understandings of wealth as described byJennifer Steinhauer in her article. In addition, they will consider examples from their own experience.
The Assignment:
Consider aquote by Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet Oscar Wilde:
“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”
Read and evaluate Jennifer Steinhauer’s "When the Joneses Wear Jeans” and address the following two prompts in a brief essay.
1 - How do the people in Steinhauer’s essay define, or refuse to define, themselves through consumer purchases? Define at least two examples of this located in the article. How does Steinhauer define these purchases? Now, look around. Have ever observed examples of individuals defining themselves through a purchase? Explain. Be specific.
2 –A key point to Steinhauer’s article focuses on the difference between a material purchase (i.e., chocolates, jeans, scented candles, cell phones, a flat screen TV) and the purchase of a service (i.e., a personal chef, “ever-more exotic vacations,” high end tutoring for one’s children). What do you see as the main difference between these two purchases? What does it tell us about the people who make these purchases? Which purchase would you prefer? Why? Explain. Be specific.
Evaluation:
Each writing assignment will fall under the heading of “Short Assignments Independent of Final Project.” Evaluation will be based on the student’s ability to demonstrate an understanding of the basic elements of a reading or discussion topic, sufficient fidelity to the rules of grammar, and the development of individual insights.
The rubric is based on series of scores of 1-5 corresponding on the following criteria.
- Main idea (thesis) is clearly stated
- Discussion section reflects sufficient development
- Essay responds clearly to the assigned topic
- Essay is effectively organized
- Essay uses details effectively to back up general points
- Essay makes effective use of the reading upon which the topic is based, either
through paraphrase or quotation.
- Essay demonstrates a clear understanding of words or terms introduced in the article.
- Essay does not contain sentence problems. Problem areas wouldinclude, but are not
limited to, fragments, syntax (sentence structure) problems, verb form errors, proper
punctuation, and/or proofreading lapses.