21W.015 Writing and Rhetoric: Writing about Sports
Fall 2012
Photo: Unidentified Brooklyn Dodger’s batter and Boston Braves catcher, 1934. Photographer: Leslie Jones. Courtesy of Boston Public Library’s photostream.
Instructor: Karen Boiko
Seminar/workshop: TR3-4.30 (5-233)
Information:
“Sports, not religion, is the opiate
of the people.” So says David Remnick, editor of the New
Yorker and a former sportswriter. Many of our heroes are sports
heroes. Sports are big
business, even on
college campuses, and they are the subject of many classic
movies
. In this introductory writing class we
consider the role of
sports in our own lives and explore the cultural meanings of
sports in America. Sports have
produced a large body of excellent descriptive and analytic
writing; we’ll read writers as diverse as
Hank Aaron, John Updike and Joyce Carol Oates on the joys and
conundrums of baseball, boxing, football, tennis and running.
The primary work of the class is improving students' communication skills. We’ll write and revise 4 essays, including an investigative essay, and we'll also give one short oral report. Revision is an important part of the class; all essays will be revised at least once.
This class fulfills the CI-HW
requirement.
Announcements
Portfolios are ready!
Have a wonderful break and BCS season :-)
KB
14N-328
Announced on 18 December 2012 5:37 p.m. by Karen Boiko
Link to Angles investigative essay
Here’s a link to an investigative essay from my “Food for Thought” class that you may find helpful as a model:
Announced on 28 November 2012 1:25 p.m. by Karen Boiko
Clarification: Homework
I just want to make clear that while there was no homework assignment for today, 11/20, that doesn't mean that you should do no homework before our next class meeting. The drafts of Essay 3 are quite rough, and most of you need additional sources. So: Work on finding good sources; work on structure and crafting a good, nuanced thesis statement. Your drafts are on my office door and may be picked up any time.
I will email you with a schedule for conferences starting Monday Nov. 26. Everyone is required to have a conference for Essay 3. --KB
Announced on 20 November 2012 1:46 p.m. by Karen Boiko
Recap: Options for drafts of Essay 3
1) Everyone must have a draft posted in time for your group members to read the draft before Thursday's class.
2) If you would like to send me a somewhat revised draft--a Draft 1.5--you may do so any time up until Sunday night. But please email me and tell me if this is what you intend to do--and then also email me the new draft.
3) I will have all the drafts read by Monday afternoon. You will be able to pick them up from my office Monday or Tuesday; I'll notify you when they're ready.
KB
Announced on 13 November 2012 9:20 p.m. by Karen Boiko
Practice your presentation
Announced on 05 November 2012 5:20 p.m. by Karen Boiko
