UNIT 1 ASSIGNMENT
Definition Essay & Critical Summaries
From Merriam-Webster:
1. Definition: a statement expressing the essential nature of something.
2. Essence: the properties or attributes by means of which something can be placed in
its proper class or identified as being what it is.
3. Culture: a: the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that
depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding
generations b: the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial,
religious, or social group; also: the characteristic features of everyday existence (as
diversions or a way of life} shared by people in a place or time <popular culture>
<southern culture> c: the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that
characterizes an institution or organization <a corporate culture focused on the bottom
line> d: the set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular
field, activity, or societal characteristic <studying the effect of computers on print
culture> <changing the culture of materialism will take time Peggy O'Mara>
Definition Essay
Articulating your definition of culture at the outset of this course will allow you to focus
the writing that you do in future papers in terms of the particular views you already have
about the topic. Not only will it help you to decipher what aspects of your culture you
deem important, and the kind of topic that you are interested in taking up in your
research, but it will also allow you to question your positions on the topic in light of the
readings you are assigned and other kinds of texts that you come across outside of class.
To more readily elaborate your definition, you will write a 3-4-page essay. This essay
should contain a clear introduction, body, and conclusion, but it should also remain
exploratory and open to experimental techniques. Your thesis statement should not
indicate the points you will cover in your body paragraphs, but state what it is that you
will be discussing in your paper. In other words, avoid following the 5-paragraph essay
format, and aim for an open exploration of the topic, striving for a text that could be
considered creative non-fiction.
Critical Summaries
Strong writing starts with careful reading. In order to write effectively using sources, we
need to be able to talk about the nuances and specifics of particular arguments that
different authors make. Although summarizing a text may seem like a simple task,
understanding and accurately representing what a text does is actually quite
challenging.
You will be writing 3 critical summaries from a variety of texts that we will collectively
discuss, but you will also write one of an article of your own choosing. At the end of the
unit, you will revise your summaries as your own understanding of the topic of inquiry
changes. In total, you will have 4 polished critical summaries, but will also have to
include the drafts you compose in the process.
In terms of our classs trajectory for the semester, writing these critical summaries will
help you to start your own critical research project. Good research isnt just about
finding a few sources that reinforce what we already think; rather, its about reading in a
subject area with the intention of finding out more, of complicating our assumptions
and belief systems, and about being generous with the new ideas we encounter.
Reading, then, becomes a crucial step in the development of a research project.
Portfolio Reflection & Research Questions
Before turning in your Unit 1 Portfolio, you will write a 1-page reflection in which you
indicate how the process has helped shape your assumptions around the concept of
culture and cultural practices, as well as your own topic of inquiry. You may ask
yourself: what ideas circulating in the texts draw your attention, and why? In what ways
are the texts encouraging you to update your thinking or complicate your assumptions?
How is your relationship to the course inquiry changing or evolving as a result of
engaging with the readings? In your reflection you want to articulate a focus, an interest
that has developed out of these texts. This page should function as a jumping off point
for further research; in other words, what are you interested in researching, reading,
and thinking about further? Within your page response, you should include a set of at
least 3-4 very precise research questions that these readings have led you to askand,
that you might continue to investigate during the rest of the semester.
Evaluation
The Unit 1 Portfolio will comprise 20% of your final grade and has to include all
three components delineated above. You should keep in mind that an additional
component that will be taken into consideration is the inclusion of your drafts and
other in-class work that you do towards each component. In other words, save
everything you do! You should use MLA format for all of your typed work, and make
sure to proofread your grammar and spelling.