But wait, there's more...

For Tuesday, please read all the entries about the photographs chosen by each writer. When you've finished reading the set, go back and respond to four of the entries (and, if appropriate or relevant, to the other responders as well). You should aim in your response for an interpretive or rhetorical push on the writer, which is to say, you should argue, or expand, or question, or extend the context (perhaps by mentioning a photograph or analysis of another student).  Again, then, you should be aiming for generative responses, for comments that will require the writer to rethink, clarify, dismiss, argue back - whatever.

Then, when you've finished that, go back and see the comments that you've received (if you don't have any yet, come back later). Respond to them as well, in the same vein - with a comment that extends and does not shut down the interchange.

To your own photographs

Okay, we're moving now into an analysis of a photograph of your own choosing - if it's possible, post it above your blog entry so that we have something to work from. I'd like you to the same project with this one that you did with the Lange photograph. Please be deliberate, in one way or another, about discussing technique and composition in this photograph, using specific vocabulary when appropriate. 


Tyler closed his Dorothea Lange entry with this: "Prior to reading the vast information regarding the technical aspects of photography I didn’t really examine the technical qualities of the photo taken by Lange but after reading my opinion on what is going on in the photo remains relatively the same. " I suggested to Tyler that the technique may have led him to his interpretation without his awareness, which makes it more interesting to think about. Your analysis should still focus on what the picture is "about," whatever that means for each photograph, but you want to explore how you came to understand the picture as about that, which will, in the end, demand an examination of some technique. This does not have to be a "technical analysis" where you dryly list vocabulary words, but I want you to ask questions of the composition and the photographers' tools that illuminate your particular choice.


Remember: be specific. Describe things. Make claims. Have an argument about the photograph. And don't rush your entry: think, and write, and even revise. 

Read and comment

Your assignment for Tuesday is easy. I want you to read all the entries your classmates have written about the Dorothea Lange photograph, and I want you to comment, on the blogs, about four of the entries. Your entries should be generative, which is to say, you should ask questions, argue, present a different perspective, or extend someone's idea, rather than simply say: that was really interesting, or something like that,

Also,  find 3-4 photographs (published digitally in some way) that you find interesting. Come to class on Tuesday with a selection of photographs - we'll use them for the next writing assignment.

Update: Please post the comments directly on each writer's blog. You do not need to turn them in to me.

When you read "Why I Write"

In addition to the assignment below, about the Dorothea Lange photograph, I asked you to read the "Why I Write" postings in the blogs I've linked to from this page. When you read those, please pay close enough attention - probably aided by a few notes - so that you can link names with ideas when we discuss on Thursday. In other words, be ready to be specific about what you notice, for whatever reason.

Plantation Overseer - What do you see?

Plantation Overseer and His Field Hands, Near Clarksdale, Mississippi, 1936
Photographer: Dorothea Lange

I’ve provided you a famous photograph by Dorothea Lange as a starting point for a photographic analysis. I want you to write a blog entry that analyzes this photograph. There is no need to look for what other writers have written about this photograph – instead, I want you to do this without the aid of other writers, your classmates included.  When you've written your piece, learn a little about Dorothea Lange and the context in which she took this picture, but don't do that until you've posted your piece. If your learning changes your perspective, add it to your previous entry if you like, but don't change your previous entry.

An excellent resource that will help you with the vocabulary of photographic analysis is http://nuovo.com/southern-images/analyses.html, and this document provides several visual examples: http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/visual/diglitnews.pdf.

You should aim this entry to be in the 400-500 word length.  Please remember that your classmates and I will read your entries.

Welcome and Why I Write Assignment

Welcome to the class blog for WRIT 205 Spring semester 2012.  I’ll be building this as the semester continues, adding entries and reflecting on the work of the class, and I’ll be sending you here to find assignment prompts and relevant links as the semester continues.

            Your first assignment is to set up a blog specifically devoted to writing for this class and then write your first assignment for it.  I set this one up on blogger.com within a few minutes, and it’s free and easy, so I’d recommend it. Just click on the “create blog” button up at the top right hand of this screen and follow the directions.  (If you want to use a different spot than blogger.com I don’t care; there are also directions for doing this here: create blog directions  ). Once you’ve got your page set up, please write a blog entry titled “Why I Write,” and after you’ve written that entry, please send me an email with your URL and the title of the blog. Please have this assignment done by Monday afternoon.

      I'll be expecting you to check this blog on a regular basis. I'll post most of our writing assignments here, and I'll also post some of my reflections on the class and on your own writing. The best way to make sure that you know if I've posted or not is to become a follower of the blog. Then you'll be notified if there has been a posting.  You can become a follower in the upper right, or you can click right here and you'll be taken to the same place. I recommend this. I will also become a follower of your blogs, once they are up and running.