essay Discussion

Tuesday, Sept 30. Not meeting today in class.

Discussion Forum Homework (4 points total; 2 pts for long submission; 1 pt each for two shorter submissions)

There are three Discussion Forums coming up. You will be expected to respond to one of them. That response should be at least 300 words long. You also must make at least 2 replies to the responses or replies that others make (in the same or different forums). Those replies can be shorter but at least 100 words long. Late responses will not be graded. Short responses will be heavily penalized so do a word count before making your submission (AND SHOW the word count at the end of your submission).

The long response should be submitted by Tuesday 9:30am. The shorter replies should be completed by Wednesday 1 pm. You are encouraged to make earlier submissions.

Materials for Discussion Forum 1

1) Read “The case against banning the word ‘retard’

2) Listen to podcast “The other f-word”

Assignment Discussion Forum 1

Make reference to the arguments made by the authors of the pieces you’ve read or listened to and state your position on the use of phrases like “She’s so retarded,” “That’s so gay,” “You’re such a faggot.” Give reasonable arguments for the position that you’ve taken. You may want to include the response to these expressions by people in the public eye (Kobe Bryant, Rush Limbaugh, Rahm Emanuel, among others). You can focus on one of these phrases or all. You can also consider the importance that you think should be placed on the intent of the speaker.

Materials for Discussion Forum 2 (3 things)

1) Listen to podcast “From wetbacks to illegals to undocumented to…”

2) Listen to or read the transcript of “Which is acceptable: ‘Undocumented’ vs. ‘illegal.’

3) Read the article by Ruben Navarette “’Illegal immigrant’ is the uncomfortable truth”

Assignment Discussion Forum 2

Making reference to the arguments made by the authors or participants in these pieces, discuss which arguments you think are stronger or weaker for the various positions taken. Do you think that the use of particular naming terms in this context matters? Do you think one can identify the worldview of a speaker/author who uses a particular reference term? You can do a search of the terms to provide evidence for your point. This forum is not meant to be a venue for your political opinions on this topic. The focus should be on the arguments for and against these particular reference terms.

Materials for Discussion Forum 3

all the materials for 1 and 2 above

Assignment Discussion Forum 3

Making reference to the arguments made by the authors of or participants in the segments addressed in DF 1 and/or 2, discuss the power and/or limitations of the censorship of what may be considered “offensive” language. Do you think the public consciousness about language (often derisively or neutrally called ‘political correctness’) leads to a more civil society or a society in which sensitive topics go unexplored (i.e., does it stifle sincere debate)? Feel free to refer not only to the arguments made by the voices in the pieces you’ve been assigned here, but to other sources that you reference.

Netiquette (online etiquette): Following these rules will improve the readability of your messages and will help others handle the large volume of information in the forum.

· Stay on topic. While discussion is encouraged in online classrooms, rambling and tangential conversations may not be conducive to a quality learning experience.

· Add multiple comments directly into messages in your replies. While a straight-forward reply is usually appropriate, interspersing your comments throughout an original posting may be more effective if you wish to respond to multiple points.

· Avoid ''I agree'' and ''Me, too!'' messages. Spending time reading messages without substance can be frustrating for all parties.

· Avoid the use of all caps. (IT'S LIKE SHOUTING!) Use caps occasionally for strong emphasis, but only for individual words.

· Avoid writing errors, even when "talking" with one another. Messages in the discussion forum are conversational and often informal; thus, they are prone to occasional grammatical, spelling, and typographical errors. Be sure to consistently post intelligible messages despite the informality of the environment.

· Carefully choose the format for your messages. Long paragraphs are difficult to follow on-screen. As a general rule, limit each paragraph to five to seven lines. Avoid fonts that are difficult to read because of style, color, or size.

· Avoid responding when emotions are running high. For example, if you are angry, put your message aside. Remember, the ability to write and save messages for later review is one of the advantages of asynchronous learning.

High Quality Discussion Posts

High quality posts present sophisticated food for thought. These contributions to the discussion indicate mastery of the materials assigned, provide thorough answers to questions in the prompt, or respond to peers’ responses in a complex manner. These responses might integrate multiple views and provide added insights that go beyond obvious information in the text. These responses may provide a link to another related, credible source of information. The writing, although not necessarily flawless, is clearly edited. (90-100 range)

Average Quality Discussion Posts

Average posts are intelligent, but digging deeper into the issues could improve the responses. These responses reflect an average understanding of the material and adequately address assignment questions, or satisfactorily respond to peers. Ideas for improving these responses include acknowledging conflicting perspectives, the greater context, or articles outside of the assigned reading. In addition, average posts might demonstrate confidence with the materials, but may be just a bit off target in one area or another. This could be that the writer misunderstood a portion of the reading or prompt, or may have had a breakdown in communication. The writing, although not necessarily flawless, is clearly edited. (75-89)

Poor Quality Discussion Posts

Poor quality posts represent limited meaningful interaction with ideas in the text, the discussion question(s), or others’ posts. The writer may agree or disagree without including a thorough explanation of what is disagreed or agreed upon and why. Observations may be obvious. The writer of poor quality posts may appear to have done only a cursory reading of the text, leaving responses underdeveloped. All aspects of the prompt may not be adequately addressed. It is also possible that although these posts are lengthy, the writing seems to ramble, showing no sign of having been re-read and refined before posting, suffering a lack of clarity and comprehension. (0-74)