Inside America Web Site
©by Wayne Hayes, Ph.D., ®ProfWork
profwork@yahoo.com
March 11, 2001
In class today, we discussed a default format for the essay on Part I, which I have incorporated in the definition of the assignment. Others who have their own ways into the theme and the substance are urged to stay the course.
On Monday, March 5, we start our extensive regional tour, Part II of Inside America. You should closely read the following from Joel Garreau, The Nine Nations of North America: the Preface, Nine Nations, and New England. In addition, please go to the Survey of the States, which is best viewed with Netscape Navigator, and examine the sustainability indicators for the New England states: Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Maine.
Remember that on Thursday, March 15, we will use E-114 for a workshop on your term projects, so you should assemble your copious research materials by that date.
Reset! We have lost two classes due to snow and funeral. According to our schedule, the term project proposal is due on Feb. 22. With the lost time, I feel that we should revise due dates for the proposal and the essay on Part I. Here is my thinking: The goal of the term project has always been to get you off to a solid start on your project. Specifically, by March 15 --- the last class prior to spring vacation --- , you should have identified your project and begun building research notes and compiling source material. The foundational proposal can be viewed as an iterative process, involving several steps. Recall that your grade reflects how solidly your proposal grounds your project. I therefore suggest the following schedule:
If these suggestions stand up to scrutiny and are acceptable to the class, I will adjust the dates in our schedule and the documents displaying the term project proposal and essay for Part I.
I have loaded some lecture notes for today's class on the web site. My intention is to add a philosophical layer which helps pull themes together.
Welcome back. Last class, we agreed that since all students have already seen Roger and Me, there is no reason to view the film as scheduled. Since we lost a class to the snow storm, this is fine. I would like to make another adjustment: the introduction and first chapter to Community and the Politics of Place by Dan Kemmis will not be used during Part I but will be read with the rest of the book in Part III. There are two philosophical points from Hannah Arendt and Georg Hegel that I will explain in class, but the rest of the reading distracts us now, and is quite difficult. The changes appear in the revised schedule.
This leaves us with three readings to explain and discuss:
This is quite enough. I will base the essay on Part I on these core readings, as I will explain in class on February 12. My goal in our lectures this week is to merge Edge City with the jobless ghetto, paving the way for an exploration of sustainability in the Garden State next week.
I hope that you were not too inconvenienced by the closing of the college on Monday, Feb. 5. I had just arrived as the announcement was made. We will stay with our schedule, as indicated. Instead of two classes discussing Tomorrowland, we will consolidate to one class. I will finish the Donegal lecture and move to Tomorrowland, then to From Institutional to Jobless Ghetto, by William Julius Wilson, on Monday.
Please examine a new page that provides instructions as to how to pursue your term project. Ways of framing the project, sample topics, and instructions as to the format of the proposal, due February 22, are included on this page.
Please examine the updated schedule of events. Please note these key dates:
Welcome to Inside America! The 2001 edition includes these web-based resources for your support:
Two important hand-outs will be distributed during the first class. Meet you there!