Example Class Plan

The Following is a sample of a class plan for personal use. It is neither edited for errors or content and is meant as a rough guide for conducting a class. It is accompanied with brief notes on the texts to be worked with.

== ALL TIMES ARE ESTIMATED AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE == Class Plan 7/24/18

5 min – general housekeeping (attendance/setting up the board)

Reading Discussion around Boyd and Palahniuk

Major Question: How are these texts using genre?

5 min – listing of genres for each of the pieces on the board

10 min – write to yourself – Pick one of the piece and one of the genres you think it fits in. What are the conventions you associate with that genre? Where do you see those conventions in the text? Why do you think the text is using that genre? Where does it deviate from the genre and why?

15 min – Groups of 3 – Get with 2 other classmates and I want you to discuss what you wrote about in groups. Think about if you came up with the same answers or if you disagreed. Do you think that each text is using genre effectively?

30-40 min – Class discussion – Bring together your answers to the questions in the group work. We will work through each groups response to at least 1 of the readings.

5 min - How can we relate these ideas to Project 3?

Project in 2 genres.

Final 10-20 min – opportunity to work on your drafting? Any questions?

Notes On Punch Drunk
Genre’s Punch Drunk (2005) – unsure if they understand what is happening at the end of the story, seems to be a misreading of what they are raising money for.

Palahniuk chose to publish this in playboy

He chose to not clearly spell out that they are plotting to drive a plane into Mecca

He chose to hide the way that their goals are violent behind a funny and odd story of gender politics

The soldiers are adopting gender norms to serve their own goals

How is he using the genre to perform and then subverting that genre? Why?

How is the author complicating genre?

Subversion of the conservative mode?

Does it subvert the short story mode?

By not showing you the whole story?

Lack of context is actually part of the genre?

Story is constantly contrasting the male (military) with the female (or at least performatively female)

Genres for Punch Drunk
Short Story

Satire

Political Commentary

Social commentary

Multi-Media fictions (magazine)

Magazine Entertainment

Comedy

Notes for Wikipedia
students seem to be using this piece to justify the idea that their research paper is outdated in its method

If they are using this as the authority to look to other sources of informational authority outside of academia, then what does it say that you are being given this piece as something scanned out of a textbook?

“what goes into a textbook is highly political” (are you suggesting that what goes on Wikipedia isn’t?)

Wikipedia maintains a list of hoaxes that have plagued the site. – their own recognition that the system is not perfect.

Article really points out that interacting critically with the information available to you is the goal

How is this piece working as a genre?

It is presenting information that may not be normally known.

Is that information new?

It is presenting as a non-biased piece but is it?

Does this not suggest that there is a motive to portray Wikipedia as a privileged source over traditional sources?

This does a good job providing new information about why Wikipedia is useful but not so much addressing its lack of verifiable peer review. – It is another type of information not a substitute

Is it trying to appear as an opinion or an informational piece?

Is it trying to use genre conventions to win readers over to its side?

Were you on its side by the end? Why?

Genres for Wikipedia
Informational piece

Persuasive article

Opinion piece

Critical opinion

Relatable