I want to spend today talking a bit with you about the two documents I posted on the introductory Website--a universal agreement concerning what constituted a fit education., and C. P. Snow's, Brede Lecture. It things go as planned, I will have demonstrated how to mark up a document using Adobe Reader during class on Thursday or Friday. I'd like to have you do three things, as you mark these up:
Regarding the "universal Agreement" Write a short comment concerning how your education would have been different in the early nineteenth century. Concentrate on the section beginning on page 8 at the bottom ("The revolutionary war...) through the paragraph beginning "The Necessity of Yale's Defense..."on Page 11. Write a comment about the differences you noticed, using the comment button.
Regarding the Brede Lecture, Using the markup tools indicated in the picture below, I want you to (A) indicate with a mark of your choice those ideas or observations which you understand, and with which you basically agree, (B) indicate with a different markup of your choice those with you understand and with which you basically disagree, and (C) using a third markup tool indicating those which you need to have clarified through class discussion, and (D) in a note at the end, write whether the situation has grown more intense or severe in the 56 years since he gave that lecture. The video above may be useful in helping you think about these ideas, and the illustration below may help you find the tools. Then,
Add both documents to your drop box. I will use these to shape class discussion on Tuesday.
Using the markup tools we have been learning to use, here's how I'd like to you to markup Kaplan
1.Note how the author/editor uses the typography to identify major sections of the essay. How many are they? Do they fall into even larger groups? Mark up with notes .
2.Assertions are statements of the way thing actually are–reality statements, if you will) according to the essay.They do not provide evidence by themselves. Evidence is a separate part of a rational argument.
3.Identify the evidence Kaplan uses to support his assertions. Do you notice different kinds of evidence? If so, make a note of the categories of evidence, and as you mark up the paper, indicate by some system (perhaps letters for the different categories) which kinds he uses. What seem to be his favorites? Are there some assertions which he gives with no evidence in support? (You might also use a different color or mark-up tool for each category of evidence.
4.All in all, would you say Kaplan was more optimistic or pessimistic about the future of democracy, both here and elsewhere in the world? Which of his arguments are the most convincing? Which are the least convincing? Use notes for these markups.
5, When you're finished, place these in your dropbox as well. They will form the basis for class discussion.
In the video above, Kaplan gazes into his crystal ball and looks at the future of American Power in the area of the Indian Ocean. I encourage you to watch this and see how it interacts with the essay on your reading list.
