Office Hours Update

Today's office hours will take place in the Morgan Library, instead of Aylesworth 268. Raul will be available at one of the wooden tables near the MAPS and TAX collections on the first floor of the library. See our syllabus for more details.

Calendar Post for September 30 and October 2

• In preparation for our upcoming collaborative assignment, post three specific, compelling research questions (and topics) to our Writing Studio forum and bring your post to class on Friday.

• Using opportunities for revision suggested by your peers in Monday's final workshop, and after consulting our assignment sheet one last time, finish drafting your Open Letter. You may turn in this assignment on Wednesday, September 30 or Friday, October 2. Again, it should include:
  
  I. One hard copy of your Open Letter in a sealed, business-size envelope, with postage ($0.44) and a proper address. If you would prefer to affix a typed address to your envelope, e-mail Raul the address as you would like it to appear (on a sticker to be provided on Wednesday).
  
  Note that our earlier post links to guidance on how to address your letter, but you will still need to seek out the Washington, DC, street address of your letter recipient, usually by clicking on "Contact Us" at his or her office's website.
  
  II. One stapled hard copy of the same letter attached to envelope with a paper clip.
  
  III. The workshop summary note(s) your peer(s) provided you in class on Wednesday or via e-mail.

• Finish critically reading Thomas P.M. Barnett's "Six Ways to Cool Down Over the Climate-Change Security Scare" as well as John M. Broder's "Climate Change Seen as Threat to U.S. Security." Both texts have been posted to drop.io, and you should bring them to class.

Thomas Friedman's "The New Sputnik"

Thomas Friedman has a new column today in The New York Times that echoes his 2007 column on "The Power of Green" and should be helpful for those writing an Open Letter about climate change and China.  An excerpt from "The New Sputnik":

What do we know about necessity? It is the mother of invention. And when China decides it has to go green out of necessity, watch out. You will not just be buying your toys from China. You will buy your next electric car, solar panels, batteries and energy-efficiency software from China.

I believe this Chinese decision to go green is the 21st-century equivalent of the Soviet Union’s 1957 launch of Sputnik — the world’s first Earth-orbiting satellite. That launch stunned us, convinced President Eisenhower that the U.S. was falling behind in missile technology and spurred America to make massive investments in science, education, infrastructure and networking — one eventual byproduct of which was the Internet.

Calendar Post for September 28

• Using the oral suggestions and written comments you received this week in class, revise and extend your Open Letter. Then bring three hard copies of a complete rough draft to class on Monday for a final workshop.

• Monday's draft should include proper address formatting, which can be seen in examples of the Open Letter posted to drop.io. Our earlier post also now offers guidance on how to address officials in government.

• Read about revision and the writing process on pages 202-204 and 34-48 of the PHG. Also print and begin reading Thomas P.M. Barnett's "Six Ways to Cool Down Over the Climate-Change Security Scare," which has been posted to drop.io with a companion text.  Your Open Letter could address either of the latter articles as a primary text.

Readings Posted

Thomas P.M. Barnett's "Six Ways to Cool Down Over the Climate-Change Security Scare" as well as John M. Broder's "Climate Change Seen as Threat to U.S. Security" have been posted to drop.io.  We'll talk about both texts in class next week; either one can be used as a primary text in the Open Letter assignment.

Calendar Post for September 25

• Using the Open Letter workshop guide, mark up hard copies of your partners' rough drafts with constructive in-line (readerly) as well as end-note (revision) comments.  We'll be discussing the rough drafts in class, especially specific opportunities for revision.

• Also be prepared to discuss Bjørn Lomborg's "Mr. Gore, Your Solution to Global Warming Is Wrong."

• Continue drafting your Open Letter.  Plan on bringing three copies of your complete rough draft to class on Monday for a final workshop, ahead of Wednesday's due date.

Handout Posted

The Open Letter workshop guide distributed in class today is now available at drop.io.  It should guide your written comments on your partners' rough drafts, which we'll discuss in small groups on Friday.