Some Articles and a Reading Schedule

Contemporary Nonfiction

April 7th, 2008

Themes: ,

This article from the NY Times describes the newfound importance of right-brained intelligence in the workforce.  One more reason to get your M.F.A.  NYT Story

Another update in the development of video games.  Christopher Williams of Popmatters reviews NiGHTS.  Popmatters story

We will be discussing The Tipping Point up to page 59 tomorrow.  If you have not purchased the book from Border’s Midtown, today is the last day to use my educator’s discount on your purchase.

While reading (and journaling, marking, or post-iting), consider the "three agents of change" Gladwell describes on page 19: "the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context."  He briefly describes them in the first chapter.

In Chapter Two, he explains "the Law of the Few" in more detail, labeling three types of people that generally make up "the Few": "Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen" (Gladwell 30). 

Talk to your parents and friends about this.  See how well they do with the name test, or see what trends they remember—either national or local ones.

The Tipping Point

Contemporary Nonfiction

April 5th, 2008

Themes:

has arrived, and that’s the bottom line.

We will be reading through page 30 (the Introduction through the first chapter) by Monday.  For instructions on purchasing at the Midtown Border’s, see the previous post here.

Prepare for neatness

Contemporary Nonfiction

March 27th, 2008

Themes: , ,

I just spoke with Borders in Midtown, and they will allow you all to use my educator discount when you purchase a copy of Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point.  I had to cancel my order with B&N, but with our history of weird order times, I’m not too broken up about it.

So.  The order should be in the store by Wednesday, April 2nd (which is the beginning of the discount week).  Stop by, ask for the book at the front counter, ask for the 25% educator’s discount, and read to your heart’s delight.  If they question your educator status, politely ask to speak with the manager and explain what I’ve just told you.  There should be no problem.

We will peer review our articles in class on Monday, March 31st, so please bring a completed draft at that time.  We’ll work together to improve clarity and structure, and share ideas for catchy titles.  The final draft of Articles are due on Tuesday, April 1st.  We will present them to the class at that time, and pass copies around (possibly via email–that would be a lot of paper) for everyone’s enjoyment.

If you are having trouble coming up with a topic, ask during class.  We can all work together to come up with great ideas.

One last thing: We will be wrapping up our discussion of Everything Bad in class tomorrow.  If you have not finished the book, complete as much as you can tonight.  We had a great discussion in class today, but it will be much better if we are all on the same page.