Special thanks to Anna Dolan and 2023 Language and Thinking Faculty cohort
Monsters
Hiya! Today, you and I will get to know one another through 1:1 meetings (5 min per person), craft "essay in miniature" for our final writing assignment, attend a Rostrum Lecture, and explore the autistic voice in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.
Overview
Session #1: Essay in Miniature
While students meet with me 1:1 (reverse alphabetical order of surnames, from Z to A), others will work on their Essay in Miniature.
Agenda
Essay in Miniature (90 min, 2 - 3 pages max)
Take 5 min to scan the Anthology texts you selected for last night's homework (along with the writing you’ve been doing this week).
Highlight or underline passages you find of particular interest in relation to what you now consider the most significant ideas in the texts we’ve been reading.
Choose one or two passages and consider the following:
Why is this important to this author?
How does it relate to the various other texts we’ve read?
Why do I care about this?
Why should others care about this?
Frame a question (ideally: a surprising, intriguing, even playful—seriously playful—question) with which you’ll title and begin your essay.
Identify portions of the texts that help you think about your question. Optional: note other potential sources (referenced from memory, don't google) that might contribute to your thinking.
Elements and Constraints:
Begin with your question
Use material from Anthology
Include direct quotations with citations (page number)
Use material from class discussion notes
End with a new question or cluster of questions
Session #2: Rostrum Lecture
Preventing diseases through environmental management in local communities. Thursday, August 17 (11:00 am - 12:30 pm)
Tick-borne diseases are a major challenge for public health. In my talk, I will describe a recent project testing whether environmental interventions can prevent cases of tick-borne illnesses in local communities. Working with thousands of residents of Dutchess County, we conducted a rigorous five-year study, assessing tick abundance and infection, as well as cases of Lyme disease and other infections in people and their pets. I will describe the results of this study, while also exploring larger issues about how we ask questions in science, and how the science requirements at Bard, including Citizen Science, will equip you to incorporate scientific knowledge throughout your life. Felicia Keesing (Biology)
Agenda
Blood sucking ticks - today's monsters?
We'll walk over together, please bring notebook and writing utensil (please let me know accessibility needs so I can support you / make alt arrangements as needed)
During lecture, we will practice Active Listening:
everyone is concentrating fully on the speaker
take notes of words and phrases you find compelling in your notebook
Session #3: Frankenstein
After we return to the classroom, large group share out about lecture: what stood out to you?
What connections do you see between themes raised in lecture and Frankenstein?
PFW (5 min)
Private Free Writing: Alone or in a group, this practice involves writing whatever you like, for a set period of time (say, 5 minutes.) Keep your pen moving across the page, without stopping to think about what you’re writing. Let your thinking follow your writing. If you get stuck, put any unrelated words on the page until something like a chain of thought emerges for you. Stick with the discipline of writing to time, and push yourself to keep going even after you’ve come to the end of an idea and find yourself chasing after a new one. Write until the time is up. If you’re writing in a group and keeping time for others, give everyone a one-minute warning before stopping. This practice is particularly useful as a way to begin a class session or to offer a group the time to clear their heads before embarking upon a shared learning experience.
Agenda
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
Read: J. M. Rodas, The Absence of the Object: Autistic Voice and Literary Architecture in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (p 147 - p 164, 17 pages). How much time do we need?
Metacognitive Writing (30 min): In groups of 2 - 3 (find people with whom you have not yet collaborated), discuss the following questions and take notes for the group:
How has your perspective on Frankenstein changed by reading this journal article?
What seems to be lurking for you in your understanding of this text?
What is something that either surprises or puzzles you?
What new ideas do you have that you want to return to in the future?
If you had more time to put the novel and journal article in coversation with one another, what would you do next?
Write your group observations / takeaways on poster paper
Homework: Mandatory Student Readings at 8 pm tonight