English 1A
Books
So Good They Can’t Ignore You
21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Tell Your Children
Essay 1: College, Future Jobs and Passion Hypothesis
Book One: So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Two Essay Options
Essay Option A. Support or refute Cal Newport’s claim that the Passion Hypothesis is both a misguided and dangerous idea.
Essay Option B. In context of Cal Newport’s craftsman manifesto and other essays we’ve read about career building for college students, develop an argumentative thesis about what college students need to do to remain relevant in a changing economy.
You need a good day one about deep work, passion hypothesis, and jobs of the future:
What to do first day of class:
Cal Newport Passion Hypothesis video for 21 minutes
Cal Newport Quit Social Media video for 14 minutes
Supplementary Material That Shows Passion Must be Put Into Context of Practicality (talk about your quest to be comedian, writer, and pianist and how people more talented than you are homeless)
“The 50 Best Jobs in America, According to the Glassdoor”
8 College Majors with Great Job Prospects
Best College Majors for Highest Paying Jobs
Best 10 Cities for Job Seekers
Lesson One: Passion Hypothesis
Support or refute Cal Newport’s claim that the Passion Hypothesis is both a misguided and dangerous idea.
Essay 2: Based on Yuval Noah Harari’s 21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Essay Options:
Option A:
In the context of Chapter 1 Disillusionment, develop an argumentative thesis about the challenges facing liberal democracy. For example, you might address this question: Does the human race, as Martin Luther King famously said, move toward an arc of greater and greater justice? Or does the pendulum swing back and forth between liberal democracy and forms of nihilistic authoritarianism where truth is abolished. You might refer to Timothy Snyder’s The Road to Unfreedom as a resource.
Option B:
In the context of Chapter 2 Work and Chapter 19 Education, develop an argumentative thesis about how technology will be a disruptive force as people struggle to find a niche in the job market.
Option C:
In the context of Chapter 3 Liberty and Chapter 18 Science Fiction, develop an argumentative thesis about how the liberal story of free will is being challenged by big data, algorithms, and AI. You may consult the Disney film Inside Out as a resource for your Works Cited. You might consult Harari’s Ted Talk video about dictatorships being more efficient than democracy in age of Big Data.
Option D:
In the context of Chapter 4 Equality, develop an argumentative thesis about the role of technology and economic inequality.
Option E:
In the context of Chapter 5 Community, develop an argumentative thesis about Facebook’s role in weaponizing misinformation and social polarization. For supplementary research material, you might consult the following:
7 Commandments of Fake News (14 minute video)
Fake News Ted Talk video (9 minutes)
What is Facebook Fake News? (22 minutes)
Ali Velshi Ted Talk Fake News (18)
“Social Media Is Revolutionizing Warfare”
“Security and the Weaponization of Misinformation”
“The Future of Truth and Misinformation Online”
“Social Media Has Become a Global Battlefield”
Option F:
In the context of Chapter 17 Post-Truth, develop an argumentative thesis about the “post-truth species.” We seem to lament that we live in a post-truth era, but Harari argues that in the realm of religion, Soviet and totalitarian propaganda, and advertising, “fake news” has always been with us. Do you agree with his claim? Explain.
Essay 3 Options Also Based on Yuval Noah Harari’s 21 Lessons for the 21st Century:
Option A:
In the context of Chapter 7 Nationalism, develop an argumentative thesis about the conflict between nationalism and globalism. You might look, for example, at certain global problems that nationalism can’t address on its own: nuclear weaponry, ecology, global warming, and genetic editing--problems that require global cooperation.
Option B:
In the context of Chapter 8 Religion, develop an argumentative thesis that addresses Harari’s claim that traditional religions are irrelevant to the world’s technical and policy problems.
Option C:
In the context of Chapter 12 Humility and Chapter 13 God, address Harari’s claim that “From an ethical perspective, monotheism was arguably one of the worst ideas in human history.” As a resource for your Works Cited, consult Elizabeth Anderson’s essay “If God Is Dead, Is Everything Permitted?”
Option D:
In the context of Chapter 9 Immigration, develop an argumentative thesis that addresses the complexities of immigration, assimilation, and national identity. Clearly, anti-immigrant racism is not the answer. Nor is simply opening the borders and letting everyone in. What is a nuanced argument to this controversy?
Option E:
In the context of Chapter 10 Terrorism, develop an argumentative thesis that addresses the claim that misguided overreactions to terrorism can cause more harm than good. Look at America’s 2003 invasion of Iraq, for example, and other military interventions.
Option F:
In the context of Chapter 14 Secularism and Chapter 15 Ignorance, develop an argumentative thesis that addresses Harari’s claim that secularism is not a form of “Stalinist dogmatism” but of liberal democracy.
Essay 4: Driverless Cars, Kleptocracy, The New Jim Crow, Mass Incarceration, and The Lost Cause
Option A:
Develop an argumentative thesis about driverless cars.
Sources
7 Arguments against the Automated Autonomous-Auto Utopia in The Atlantic
How self-driving cars could ruin American City in The Atlantic
Driverless Cars Could Make Transportation for Free--with a Catch in The Atlantic
How Driverless Cars Will Change the Feel of Cities in The Atlantic
The Case Against Driverless Cars in an argument essay
Self-Driving Cars Are on the Road to Nowhere in Foreign Policy (paywall)
Driverless Car video (8 minutes)
How driverless cars will change cities video (9 minutes)
What is the future of self-driving cars? (15)
How driverless car sees the road Ted Talk (15 minutes)
Social Dilemma of Driverless Cars Ted Talk (13 minutes)
Option B:
Develop an argumentative that addresses the allegory contained in Donald Glover’s music video “This Is America” and compare to Ta-Nehisi Coates’ essay “The First White President.” You might also consult Glover’s video analysis in the following: Washington Post analysis, Time analysis, and Insider analysis.
http://time.com/5267890/childish-gambino-this-is-america-meaning/
You can consult the Ta-Nehisi Coates essay, “Trayvon Martin and the Irony of American Justice.”
Option C:
In the context of Debra Dickerson’s “The Great White Way” and Vox article “11 Ways Race Isn’t Real,” develop a thesis that evaluates the assertion that race is not an objective reality but a malignant fabrication designed to enable a history of American kleptocracy in order to give power to one group and take away power from other groups. I recommend you consult the online essay “The Case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Option D:
In the context of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ essay “The First White President,” develop an argumentative thesis that addresses Coates’ claim about the legacy of whiteness.
Option E:
Compare the theme of kleptocracy in Debra Dickerson’s “The Great White Way” or Ta-Nehisi Coates’ essay “The First White President” with Jordan Peele’s movie Get Out.
Option F:
In the context of Jamelle Bouie’s “Remembering History as Fable” and Jack Schwartz’s “It’s Time for the Lost Cause to Get Lost,” develop a thesis that evaluates the assertion that for many Americans the Civil War denies real history and replaces that real history with a pernicious mythology, often called The Lost Cause, that perpetuates the false doctrine of white supremacy.
Option G:
Read Adam Gopnik’s “The Caging of America” and write a thesis that supports, refutes, or complicates the claim that mass incarceration is “The New Jim Crow.” Refer to the Netflix documentary 13th.
Essay 5 based on Alex Berenson’s Tell Your Children
Option A:
Develop an argumentative thesis that addresses Berenson’s claim that marijuana poses more perils than the claimed benefits.
For sources consult:
See video “3 Arguments Why Marijuana Should Stay Illegal” and read Annie Lowry’s essay “America’s Invisible Pot Addicts” and support, refute, or complicate the argument that legalizing weed is a bad idea. See Netflix documentary and Netflix Explained.
Alternative Assignments
Option C:
Support, refute, or complicate Harlan Coben’s argument from “The Undercover Parent” that spyware is a legit and compelling safety measure that parents may need to use for their children’s computers.
Option D:
Read Tristan Harris’ “Our Minds Have Been Hijacked by Our Phones,” “How Technology Hijacks People’s Minds,” and his Ted Talk video. Then develop a thesis that evaluates the validity of his claim that technology, especially smartphones, are not empowering us but “hijacking” our freedom and autonomy and working against our best interests. You may refer to Sherry Turkle’s Ted Talk “Connected, But Alone?”
Option E:
Read Jean Twenge’s “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” and write an essay that argues for or against Twenge’s claim that smartphones combined with helicopter parenting are resulting in delayed development of Millennials and Generation Z (born after mid 90s). You may refer to CNN Special Report: Being Thirteen.
Option F.
Develop an argumentative thesis that compares the spiritual evisceration and mental dissolution in Andrew Sullivan’s essay “I Used to be a Human Being” with Netflix Black Mirror episode “Nosedive.” You may consult Sherry Turkle’s YouTube Ted Talk “Connected But Alone.”
Option G:
Read Bell Hooks’ “Learning in the Shadow of Race and her essay “keeping close to home.” In the context of those essays, support, refute, or complicate the inferred lesson from bell hooks’ essay, “Learning in the Shadow of Race and Class” that upward mobility requires a betrayal of one’s economic class and even family. To rub shoulders with the privileged, do we have to "sell out," to conform to their snobbish ways, and in doing so, are we betraying our core values and turning our backs on our roots?
Develop argumentative thesis about what college students need to do to establish their relevance and viability in a fast-changing job market.
Develop an argumentative thesis about driverless cars.
Sources
7 Arguments against the Automated Autonomous-Auto Utopia in The Atlantic
How self-driving cars could ruin American City in The Atlantic
Driverless Cars Could Make Transportation for Free--with a Catch in The Atlantic
How Driverless Cars Will Change the Feel of Cities in The Atlantic
The Case Against Driverless Cars in an argument essay
Self-Driving Cars Are on the Road to Nowhere in Foreign Policy (paywall)
Driverless Car video (8 minutes)
How driverless cars will change cities video (9 minutes)
What is the future of self-driving cars? (15)
How driverless car sees the road Ted Talk (15 minutes)
Social Dilemma of Driverless Cars Ted Talk (13 minutes)
“How Can Today’s College Students Future-Proof Their Careers?”
“This Is the Future of College”
“What the Privileged Poor Can Teach Us”
Lesson Three
“Why Aren’t College Students Using Career Services?”
“Colleges Really Need to Rethink the Career Advice They Deliver”
Bryan Caplan in The Atlantic
“Does It Matter Where You Go to College?”
Supplementary Material
“The 50 Best Jobs in America, According to the Glassdoor”
8 College Majors with Great Job Prospects
Best College Majors for Highest Paying Jobs
Best 10 Cities for Job Seekers
“Millennials Didn’t Kill the Economy”
“Why Nerds and Nurses Are Taking Over the US Economy”
“A Peek at Future Jobs Shows Growing Economic Divides”
“Will Robots Take Our Children’s Jobs?”
Bullshit jobs viral essay on Strike!
Essay Three. Automated Automobiles
Essay Four. Weaponized Misinformation of Social Media (LikeWar P.W. Singer and Emerson Brooking)
Five “People Like Us” and Them
In the context of David Brooks’ “People Like Us” and Ben Sasse’s Them, develop an argumentative thesis about tribalism.
English 1C
One. Harari on Cognitive Revolution and Hunters and Gatherers Vs. Agricultural Society
Two. Various topics from second half of Harari’s book Sapiens
Three. Universal Basic Income
Annie Lowry’s Give People Money and The War on Normal People by Andrew Yang
Four. Tribalism
Them by Ben Sasse
Five. Bullshit Jobs
Alternative:
War between liberal democracy and totalitarianism
The Road to Unfreedom
Alternative:
State of Affairs: Is author committing a slippery slope of moral relativism leading to immorality?
Some alternative plans for Summer 2019 1A
Essay 1: Cooked and Arthur C. Brooks
Essay 2: So Good They Can’t Ignore You
Essay 3: Get Out, Great White Way, Caging of America, 13th documentary, Coates First White President, Lost Cause, Kleptocracy
Essay 4: LikeWar
Essay: 5 David Brooks and Them.
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