Even if I don’t have time to do something (right now — this is changing in Feb!), it’s ridiculously easy to still make a difference. Check out these two smiling faces below:

They belong to Daniel Russo, production designer at “Countdown with Keith Olbermann,” and Yoachily Urena, a student and aspiring artist at The Bronx Academy of Letters. Earlier this week, I worked out a day with Danny to have Yoachily shadow him on the job so she could gain a better understanding of what it means to create graphics for a live news and commentary show.

Yoachily had a great time getting to know the graphics team members, watching Danny create the elements needed for the show and learning about the tools he uses. They exchanged information and now she has an experienced designer in her budding network of future colleagues (and possibly co-workers, who knows?). Yes, it was that easy.

Granted, there are some things you should keep in mind before introducing a teen to your co-worker. I’ve outlined some notes below and hopefully they will inspire you to take a few minutes to set up something like this at your job.

Finding A Teen
Super easy. If you don’t have any local friends with teens or a teen relative, ask me and I’ll help you sort it out.

Picking A Co-Worker
Imagine that you are a teen and then imagine shadowing that potential co-worker for the day. If it looks like a stressful, awkward nightmare, find someone else. It’s best to go with someone who has a generally positive attitude and who has had experience volunteering with young people. Use your best judgement.

Be Safe
- Make sure HR is OK with it. Find out what the policy is. In my case, other coworkers had brought in their kids so I knew it was fine.
- Make sure that the teen’s parents are aware and have consented and have contact info (work address, your and the co-worker’s contact info, etc.).
- Make sure that the teen has a safe way of getting home.
- Make sure you check in with the parents before and after the shadow session.

Be Practical
- Help the teen make the most out of this experience. Remind them to see if they can get extra credit from his/her school and help them meet the requirements.
- Help your co-worker get the most out of this experience too! Get a bio from the teen to share with him/her in advance, forward work samples if appropriate, etc.
- Be sure to send relevant links about your co-worker to the teen in advance so that they can review work samples, understand his/her role a bit more, etc.

Be Cool
- When approaching a potential co-worker about this opportunity, make sure you do it at a time when they aren’t stressed out and will probably say no. Pick a time when they look somewhat relaxed and open to this sort of suggestion.
- Once you’ve assisted with coordinating the shadow session, step away and let your co-worker and teen bond. Don’t micro-manage their experience but do leave yourself available for any questions or assistance the teen may have.
- Try to lock down all of the details as much as possible before the date so that there is minimal stress for your co-worker. It should be an exciting experience they can look forward to, not something they feel is a burden or an inconvenience.

Be Clear And Direct
You might be thinking, “well how am I going to even bring this up to my co-worker?” It’s really easy. Just approach them and tell them there is a teen who would love the chance to shadow them at work on TBD date. Briefly explain what that would entail and what the benefits would be (one-day mentorship, able to inspire a teen, etc.). Do your due diligence and find out if HR policy rewards this sort of thing and share that info with your co-worker.

If your co-worker is interested, thank them and let them know you’ll follow up with all confirmed details asap. Have them email you their available dates and the related links to share with the teen. Use that to lock a date with the teen and then send a confirmation email to both parties.

The Handoff
Make sure that you take some time when the teen arrives to privately speak with them about what they can expect and give them some tips on how to get the most out of this experience with your co-worker. That will take less than five minutes and it will help ease any jitters the teen might have about not knowing what’s going to happen.

Walk the teen to meet your co-worker, do introductions and then leave them to do their thing. Make sure you check in with both your co-worker and the teen afterward to see how it went. If they didn’t exchange info, suggest that they do.

If it went really well (I’m sure it will!), consider working with your co-worker to find someone else in the office who can have a teen shadow them for a day.

Some Excuses You Might Hear — And Responses For Them

“I don’t have time to have a teen shadow me all day, he/she will get in the way.”

The teen doesn’t need to shadow your co-worker the entire day. It may even be more practical for the teen to visit for only a few hours during a specific part of your co-worker’s day. Find out what that could be and work out the times.

“I’m not comfortable with kids.”

Understandable, but a comment based in fear/nerves. Assure your co-worker that this teen is there to learn, not to judge your colleague. Emphasize the positive qualities of the interaction.

“I wouldn’t know what to show them.”

Have them imagine a skill or skills related to their job they wish they knew earlier in their career, and then determine the best way to share this info with the teen during the shadowing session.

What’s In It For You
- Making a difference in a teen’s life
- Bonding a bit more with your co-worker

On the PR/biz side, this is also great fodder (as long as parents have consented) for your company blog/newsletter/team meeting update.

I still think about pubbing blog posts on The Lair quite often, but then I inevitably just end up condensing my thoughts and tweeting them on @dcap. Why? Faster response time.

The idea is that people are already crazily checking their Twitter accounts on their phones and not my blog (if you are, thanks?) and if time is of the essence, Twitter is my communication mode of choice. BUT! I am still mindful of what I am putting out there, as I rush from A to B. Your status updates can bite you in the ass …

The same over-sharing-that-can-eff-up-your-life issues plague Facebook too, of course. My new favorite time sucker is Lamebook, which archives the “best” status updates that often end up with someone being fired or exposed as a flaming anus.

A major factor in over-share overkill, as most journalists are well aware of, is that (as tweetoholic Amanda Palmer best illustrates) Twitter is the new alternative over MySpace to dissing your publicist. I’m being cheeky but it’s clear that Twitter is helping celebs to re-connect with their fans, without a middleman/woman (when they care to).

Celebrities who use “ghost tweeters” could at least bother to hire writers who understand their fans. So many ghost written tweets sound like they were created by a Roomba. Amanda Palmer may over- share, but at least she knows her audience and is responsive. She even helps her fans sell their art! That’s awesome. And she’s dating Neil Gaiman, which is also awesome. Her constant mushy tweets to him, however, not as awesome but such is love …

I am trying to be less of an asshole by using the selective twitter app on Facebook, which means that if you follow me on both Twitter and Facebook mobile you won’t have to see multiple updates about the same crap. (HINT TO THOSE WHO AREN’T USING IT YET)

Tweeting = Find Jobby Job? Sometimes, Yes!

Despite the “dangers” of microblogging, Twitter can be a handy communication tool for freelancers. I use my friend timeline as a mobile data stream on my blackberry that I frequently check throughout the day for industry related links posted by my friends and peers. I also share information about jobs and resources and help other friends promote their events and work through ReTweets. I find that the support is reciprocal.

All of the companies that I am currently freelancing for are on Twitter. One of them is @thelampnyc; I use Twitter to share links with them that they often RT with their own account. I am co-teaching a family media literacy workshop for them in the South Bronx and we share info about it on Twitter. When I do a shoot or edit for @uncensored, I often tweet about my experience and they will either RT it or respond.

The “wiki workplace” is not the future, it is now, so if you don’t know how to create and maintain documents collaboratively, teach yourself how to use Google Docs. Also, keep an eye out for Microsoft Office Web Apps. It’s in limited beta right now and will be released to companies sometime next year.

From the press release:
Office Web Apps are the online, lightweight versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. With Office Web Apps people can access, share and work on Office documents from virtually anywhere with an Internet connection — making it easy to bring ideas to life at home, school or work.

Basically, Office Web Apps is direct competition for Google Docs and will change the way that most companies collaborate and share information.

Writers: Stop With The URL-Only Status Updates

I know that many of my journalist friends use Twitter to sniff out stories about celebs and breaking news, I just wish that some of them would use their own accounts in a more resonant manner. That’s a nice way of saying STOP TWEETING LINKS WITHOUT ANY INFO, NO ONE CARES.

I always cringe when I see this kind of tweet from a journalist who uses Twitter or their Facebook status to promote their stories: just a URL, no hashtag keywords, descriptive text or anything else that would help their tweet show up in search or motivate anyone to visit their link. Why should anyone care about reading your story if you don’t care enough to add a single descriptive word?

Kotaku Deputy Editor and my former MTV colleague @Stephentotilo is a great example of a journalist who actually “gets” Twitter. He posts links with compelling copy and encourages conversation and feedback from his followers. He often shares links (that are relevant to his industry), demonstrating his passion for his work. Steven has over 3,000 followers who actually give a crap about what he says and ReTweet his links.

Spooky Flick ‘Paranormal Acitivity’ + Twitter = Box Office Success? Yes!

Are you an indie filmmaker who wants to get your film into theaters?
Scratch that, are you an indie filmmaker OR a major studio trying to do this? Take a lesson from this film’s Twitter strategy …

Via NYTimes.com:

… The movie was shot on an extremely low budget of $10,000 and opened at the end of September with midnight screenings in just 13 small college towns. From there, it has become a Web sensation, with chatter about the movie bouncing from Twitter to Facebook, spurring an upcoming nationwide release. The company behind the viral buzz is Eventful, a venture-backed start-up in San Diego hired by Paramount Pictures, the movie’s producer. Eventful provides a service that lets performers ask their fans where they should appear. For between $30,000 and $250,000, Eventful builds and hosts a Web page where people can vote by clicking on a button that says “Demand it!” Read more…

@dcap, the Twitter Evangelist

After joining Twitter in 2007, I continually advocated for it’s use at MTV News, where their account currently functions as a repository for news links and as a way for MTV News writers to livetweet, share images and communicate with readers. Why did I push for this? I knew that eventually most media outlets would use Twitter in this way and I hated the idea of working for a place that didn’t understand the way that its audience used technology.

I’ve also finally convinced my mother to start an account for her business, Legislative Research, Inc., and she promotes it at conferences. The LRI team still needs to figure out how to effectively promote their services on it while growing their audience but at least they aren’t afraid of using social tools. I also created the Twitter account for The New School’s University Student Senate and we use it to share information about meetings, events and to encourage student feedback. It is also a work in progress and I’ve been studying The New School’s social media strategy as a jumping off point.

Eventually, Twitter’s popularity will inevitably wane. We loved VHS, then DVDs came along, then Blue-ray. Technologies get remixed, revamped and scrapped. Even so, It behooves everyone from Grandma to CEO of Ginormo Co. to understand how these technologies impact our lives and how we can use them (while we can) to improve our lives.

3 Cool @dcap Discoveries from Sept ’09

* Veggie Conquest
Props to BFF Julia Barnes for bringing me to this event as a birthday gift.
Description from their website: Veggie Conquest is a monthly amateur vegan cooking competition. Before the event, chefs prepare a dish at home based on a secret ingredient revealed a week in advance. At the event, judges and tasters choose the top dish, prizes are awarded, and everyone chows down and has a great time!

Indeed, a great time was had — and I’m not even vegan! I’m going to the next one. Anyone else want to join me?

* IgniteNYC (Thanks, @ramonapringle!)

I met Ramona at the 2009 BlogHer Conference in Chicago, which I attended as a speaker. She was the producer/host who interviewed me for the PBS doc “Digital Nation.

Ramona is an actress, multimedia artist/producer, tech brainiac and super cool lady. We’ve hung out a few times and one of the many cool things she’s introduced me to is IgniteNYC. Description from website:

Ignite captures the best of geek culture in a series of 5 minute speed presentations.

Basically, you show up at a venue where there are hundreds of other tech lovers/geeks. You drink booze (or not), eat snacks (or not) and check out these often hilarious, truly educational 5 minute presentations that can be about literally anything. It’s a great place to network, be anti-social and just learn about cool things, get free booze and (if you want) submit to share your own presentation! You can promote your business/services in the process too. Great idea and it’s totally free.

* Jeanne D’Arc Home: Cheap Rent In Chelsea — If You Don’t Mind Nuns Or “No Men” Rule

This recent discovery is so fascinating, you really can find just about anything in New York. I’m not interested in renting here, but if you know of anyone willing to put up with their rules, it’s a pretty sweet deal.

Via the New York Sun:
If it’s midnight in Chelsea, tenants of nun-run Jeanne D’Arc women’s residence must sign in with the guard on duty. That may be a small concession for a furnished room on West 24th Street for $345 per month, but it’s hardly the only diktat on the books at the century-old boardinghouse, where 140 mostly young, foreign-born women live.

Still, the price is right — and Jeanne D’Arc almost always has between 30 and 40-names on the waiting list … (read full story here)

My friend works with someone who lives at the Jeanne D’Arc. She pays $300 a month and has been there for over six years (“and I’m not gay” she felt compelled to mention.) She doesn’t mind the rules and has no plans to move.

I decided to leave because I’ve wanted to be a film director/producer since I was 10 years old. After five years of working in New York, I figure now’s the time to start doing that.

I am not afraid because I know it was the right choice. I was actually more fearful when I was avoiding difficult choices. When you go against the grain of your own dreams, it hurts.

Here is a short video from my goodbye party on August 1st at Studio Square in Astoria, Queens:

I will never forget my friends at MTV and what they did (intentionally and unintentionally) to make me a happier person and how they altered my view of the world.

My mom and step dad came to visit me the day after I left MTV News, which was a happy accident. Their presence curbed my initial worry over what I’d just done – quitting a staff job in the middle of a recession. They support my choice 100% because they know who I am.

Shortly after arriving in Cali, I surprised my god daughter Trinidy at her theater camp in Sacramento, CA. Her mom said that she had been counting down the days ’til my arrival:

I’ll be traveling all over CA until August 25th, catching up with family and friends, plus meeting with mentors in the film/tv world.

This is the start of something new and I can’t wait to share my experience with all of my people. If you’re reading this, you’re my people too.

- Shepard Fairey Manifest Hope Gallery show

- Green Inaugural Ball

- Latino Inaugural Ball

- Pepsi, Spike Lee and Howard University Present ‘Refresh the World’ Symposium

- Youth Inaugural Ball

In the evenings/early mornings I changed roles and handled remote digital production for MTVNews.com. This was my first time to be designated by the department as a multiplatform producer (in an official capacity) and a crash course in what that means on location.

My experience in D.C. was amazing, a lot of work and a terrific educational experience. I am very slowly cutting together a mini video diary but wanted to share some thoughts in the meantime.

Here is (some) of what I learned in D.C.

1. Gel insoles for every pair of shoes you bring saves crucial minutes used up by awkwardly swapping them out each time.

2. Gel insoles make the different between horrible back pain + feet pain or just horrible back pain.

3. Getting as much petty cash as you can from production management saves you a lot of heartache in a city without 24hr public transportation. Don’t forget receipts.

4. Using tape on camera batteries helps you to remember which ones are charged/not charged in the field (don’t forget your designation).

5.  Often internet connections at temporary production offices really suck. Have your laptop broadband card available at all times.

6. Even if you are going on a shoot with a producer and a production coordinator, it’s a good idea to carry all location contact info on you and a schedule (if you were given one). Be prepared to help your producer hunt down individuals, give directions, initiate phone calls, etc. You are never just a shooter. You are an ally.

7. Sometimes locally hired producers assigned to work with you don’t have any idea what they are doing. Deal with it and move on. It’s easier to deal with it if you have that list of contact info on your body.

8. Researching restaurants near your hotel/production offices/shooting locations BEFORE arriving is a great idea if you can swing it. Hunting for a place to eat, in the cold, blows. Check your production binder to see if a list already exists.

9. Be nice. To everyone. If you can. It helps you.

10. Making a written/portable list of your personal assignments for the duration of the trip (as much as you can) helps you prioritize work flow. This is especially helpful when you are switching from one form of work (traditional production) to another (new media) in the same day, with multiple things due simultaneously.

11. All the hustle in the world to get tape across town for digital production means nothing if there isn’t enough staff to support the work flow. Do your best with what you have.

12. If something isn’t working, ask for help.

13. If an event is black tie, do your best to meet those requirements. I saw shooters who were avoided at events because they were shabbily dressed.

14. Make time to eat at least one normal meal a day, if you can. Bring snack bars.

15.  If you get physically thrown off the stage at the green ball after being told you could shoot there, don’t let it get you down. No one is paying you to nurse a wounded ego.

16. As much as it sucks not getting enough sleep, dealing with local event staff who are incompetent and a myriad of other reasons to fall into a negative attitude, remember that you are participating in a historic event, not paying 1,000+ dollars while attending fancy balls and getting most of your meals paid for. Cheer up.

17. Twittering your whereabouts is great but try to find time to call family/friends at least once when things aren’t so crazy.

18. If you share a room with someone, try to arrange in advance that it’s with a person who has a similar schedule. Waking people up repeatedly at 3/4/5/6am when you get in is not ideal.

19. Things will never be perfect or ideal on a remote production/multiplatform assignment. Becoming angry or resentful (even inwardly) forces you to carry unnecessary emotional weight.

20. Seeing President Obama in person is an experience I will share with my children, their children and anyone who will listen to me.

Links

- All of my D.C. photos on Flickr

- You can watch the full ‘Be The Change: Live From The Inaugural’ show on MTV.com.

The closest I’ve come to President-Elect Obama was last fall, when I pretended to shake this cardboard cut-out version’s hand in Union Square.

It’s incredibly surreal, being able to look forward to a progressive president who I actually care about. I have a huge grin on my face because a few hours ago I was told that in less than ten days, I’ll be in D.C. (my first time) for inauguration weekend!!! I’ll be working with my colleagues to cover many aspects of the ceremony and related events.

My role will be as an additional shooter and digital producer. It’s going to be an amazing, historic event and I am thrilled to be a part of it in any capacity. I was working through election day in November and missed out on celebrating in the streets with my friends. This more than makes up for that.

When I was in elementary school, I remember one of my teachers saying there will never be a black president. This was the same teacher who skipped over the Martin Luther King, Jr. chapter in our history book. This was the same teacher who spoke glowingly about manifest destiny and ridiculed me for daring to challenge that. This was the same teacher who made me dress up as an indian for our Thanksgiving project and wondered why I was offended. I wonder, what is she telling the students now?

It’s tiny actions that alter world views. My mother owning her own business altered my world view (based on everything I was exposed to) that Latina women were property and not supposed to be independent. Obama deciding he would ignore negativity and not give up has changed history. Obama’s candidacy inspired my long-standing Republican step dad Larry to change parties, just so he could vote for Obama. Tiny actions change the world.

I am hoping while I am in D.C. that maybe – just maybe – I’ll get the chance to shake Obama’s hand.

It may not happen, but still. Even the idea that it could be possible blows my mind.

ps: My initials are D.C.

IT’S DESTINY!

Here’s a little blurb about what went down at the rehearsal.

Ludacris was really nice when I approached him. I overheard him talking about how well Max Payne is doing right now.

…It is making money, true. But I saw that movie last weekend and everyone in the audience was laughing – at how bad it was. I wonder if it will keep doing well next week?

“A Night for Vets: An MTV Concert for the BRAVE,” airs Friday at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.

A few days ago I tried to check my registration status online and was shocked to discover that I had no record. The realization that I still needed to register to vote (combined with low blood sugar) resulted in me writing a very bizarre script that I didn’t think would be approved, let alone made.

Thankfully it was approved and our flexible and patient talent agreed to be put through some unusual direction. The result was that I was able to both get the message out about registering AND watch my coworkers do weird things around my desk.

This promo was inspired by David Lynch, war propaganda films, cartoons and Reefer Madness.

Watch after the jump!

It was a lot of fun producing this piece and working in the edit with our very talented Sujit Agrawal. He’s the most talented editor I’ve ever met and makes me feel like a drunk monkey with one thumb on the Avid.

I recently spoke (through the interwebs) with Brooklyn writer Jonathan Ames about his debut graphic novel, “The Alcoholic”.

You can read the full interview and check out a six-page preview of the comic on the Splash Page blog.

Jonathan Ames is an interesting author to me because he writes about topics like love, addiction, identity and sexuality in a way I have never experienced before. All of that is reflected in his debut graphic novel “The Alcoholic”, which was a collaboration with his friend and comic artist vet Dean Haspiel.

Ames is also the exec producer and writer for his HBO pilot “Bored to Death” (which will star Jason Schwartzman). His website is filled with funny content and you can tell he’s the kind of guy who isn’t afraid to try new things.

“The Alcoholic” hits stores on Sept. 24 and I highly recommend you check it out. If you want to preview it in advance, visit the link I mentioned above or you could just come hang out with me in Brooklyn and flip through my copy.

I love this song.

I started my second semester at the New School again this past Monday. As you probably guessed, it’s hard to be in school during VMA week. Luckily it’s an online class and the real homework doesn’t start til… Well. Right now.I have a lot of reading to catch up on.

See class details after the jump. 

Prof. Frances Chiu
Introduction to Literary Analysis

NLIT.2001.A CRN5681
Fall 2008 15 Weeks
Sept 2 – Dec 12

Course Syllabus

Course Description

This course is designed to render literary classics challenging, yet accessible—even entertaining. We concentrate on British and American literature, from the Renaissance to the twentieth century, traversing a variety of authors and genres in mostly chronological order: the narrative poem, novel, and drama. We open with Shakespeare’s tragic King Lear before turning to Swift’s biting satire, A Modest Proposal. We then explore the Romantic period in all of its diversity, as represented by William Blake’s seemingly iconoclastic illuminated poetry, Austen’s ever popular Pride and Prejudice, and Byron’s mock-epic Don Juan. We proceed to Wilde’s witty comedy of manners, The Importance of being Earnest before venturing into 19th and 20th-century American literature. Works include Nathaniel Hawthorne’s House of Seven Gables, excerpts from Walt Whitman’s epic Leaves of Grass, and Zora Neale Hurston’s poignant Their Eyes were Watching God. Special attention will be paid to the analysis of narrative strategies from plot structure and characterization to imagery, theme, setting, style, and tone. Not least, we will also devote time to the use of critical methodologies.

Course Objectives

The objectives of the class are twofold. The first entails learning the different tools involved in the analysis of different literary genres: primarily, the drama, the novel and the poem. Class discussions will identify the uses of close textual analysis in poetry: for instance, the ways in which rhyme, rhythm and meter enhance the imagery and thematic content of a given poem. Or the manner in which literary conceits and conventions are manipulated or even overturned. Similarly, as we examine the novel, we explore the balance of characters and their relationships, ascertaining ways in which speech patterns and motivations yield clues to the meaning of a novel and the values of the author. Class discussions will also address the value of current critical methodologies such as historical, feminist, and psychoanalytical approaches in the interpretations and critical assessments of literary works: for instance, how can the knowledge of a period or the personal circumstances behind the composition of a work provide keys to understanding the narrative and thematic design of a composition?

The second objective entails the writing of scholarly literary criticism: for instance, how to craft an argument about a given literary work or genre, develop it in a fashion that is both rational and compelling, and how to support it with appropriate and relevant examples. Not least, the proper citation of primary and secondary sources with correct documentation will be examined and discussed.

Course Requirements

• Attendance: You are required to log in at least 5 times a week.
• Class Participation: Since this is an online class, participation is extremely important and counts as 60% of your grade. You must post at least 3 times a week. These responses should take the form of substantiated comments with examples. Responses which merely parrot others or state “I agree/disagree with X” with no further explanation do NOT count as posts. Posts should adhere to the conventions of standard English. Excessive informality (i.e., instant-message speak) and formality are discouraged in the interests of developing a meaningful and insightful discussion.
• Written Assignments: There will be two formal assignments: the first will be a short paper, 4-5 pages. This will be submitted in the form of 3 drafts.The first draft will take the form of a detailed outline with examples from the text, due at the end of wk. 4.Your outline will be returned to you with my comments for improvement at the end of wk. 5. You will then transform your outline into a draft of a paper, submitting it at the end of wk. 6; this will be returned to you with comments in wk. 7. You will proceed to submit your final draft at the end of wk. 8. There will be a similar process for your long paper, 10-12 pages, with two drafts rather than three. An outline will be due at the end of Week 10 which will be returned to you with comments at the end of Week 11. You will submit another draft at the end of Wk. 12 (to be returned to you at the end of Wk. 13) and the final draft at Tuesday noon after the last day of class.
• Grading:
  Class participation counts as 50% of your grade.
  The first and second papers count as 15% and 25% of your grade respectively;
  the class presentation in Wk. 11 counts 10%.
• Grading Standards
  

  A = “A” quality work is generally highly perceptive and insightful; indicates skilled use of inductive and deductive reasoning; richly substantiated with relevant examples from the text(s) under discussion; structured and well-organized; cogent; and well or even elegantly articulated. In order to earn at least an A, you must post at least 3 times throughout the week—not save them until the very end.

  B = “B” quality work is generally perceptive and insightful; indicates use of inductive and deductive reasoning; well substantiated with examples from the text(s) under discussion; generally well-organized ; well-articulated with only minor errors in syntax. In order to earn at least a B, you must post at least 3 times throughout the week—not save them until the very end.

  C = “C” quality work is generally perceptive; substantiated with examples from the text; adheres to conventions of standard written English. In order to earn at least a C, you must post at least 3 times throughout the week—not save them until the very end.

  D = “D” quality work is occasionally perceptive; only thinly or vaguely substantiated with examples from the text. In order to earn at least a D, you must post at least 3 times a week.

  F = Fortunately, “F” quality work is genuinely rare. It can comprise of the following: posting less than 3 times a week; posts and papers that are irrelevant, barely irrelevant and/or do not follow the conventions of standard English, and plagiarism.

  Please remember that this is only a general guide to the manner in which I grade posts and formal written assignments—although, of course, standards will be higher for the latter since you have more time for preparation. It is possible, for instance, to have a post or assignment that is very skillfully written in regards to style, yet not up to par content wise. Or vice-versa. In fact, I’ve found in past classes that I’ve usually have had to weigh one or several factors against others.

  A very important additional criterion to my grading is your overall progress. If you are between two grades and have made vigorous efforts to improve—as evinced in the frequency and quality of your posts and drafts throughout the term—I will give you the higher grade.

• Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the academic equivalent of theft, resulting in automatic class failure.

Reading List

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, ed. Fiona Stafford (Oxford: Oxford World’s Classics, 2004)
ISBN 978-0199535569

William Blake, Songs of Innocence and Experience in Poetry and Designs of William Blake, ed. Mary Lynn Johnson (New York: Norton, 2007)
ISBN 978-0393924985

Lord Byron, Don Juan, ed. Susan Wolfson (London: Penguin, 2005) ISBN 978-0140424522

Nathaniel Hawthorne, House of Seven Gables, ed. Michael Bell (Oxford: Oxford World Classics, 1998)
ISBN 978-0192836458

Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes were Watching God (New York: Harper, 2006)
ISBN 978-0061120060

William Shakespeare, King Lear, ed. R.A. Foakes (London: Arden Shakespeare, 1997).
ISBN 978-1903436592

Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal http://www.uoregon.edu/~rbear/modest.html

Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, ed. Michael Moon (New York: Norton, 2002)
ISBN 978-0393974966

Oscar Wilde, Importance of Being Earnest, ed. Michael Patrick Gillespie (New York: Norton, 2005)
ISBN 978-0393927535

Viewing List

The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Anthony Asquith (1952)
ISBN 0-78002-498-2

The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Oliver Parker (2002)
ISBN 0-7888-3945-4

Course Outline

Week 1: Sept 4-7 Introductions

Weeks 2-3: Sept. 8-21 William Shakespeare, King Lear

Week 4: Sept. 22-28 Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal

First Draft of 1st Assignment due on Sept. 28

Week 5-6: Sept. 29-Oct. 12 William Blake, Songs of Innocence and Experience

Second Draft of 1st Assignment due on Oct. 12

Weeks 7-8: Oct 13-26 Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Third Draft of 1st Assignment due on Oct. 26

Week 9: Oct- 27-Nov. 2 Lord Byron, Excerpts from Don Juan, Cantos 11-14

Week 10-11: Nov. 3-16 Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest

1st Draft of 2nd Assignment due on Nov. 9 Group presentations on dramatic adaptations of Earnest, 10-16

Weeks 12-13: Nov. 17-30 Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of Seven Gables

2nd Draft of 2nd Assignment due on Nov. 23

Week 14: Dec. 1-7 Walt Whitman, Excerpts from Leaves of Grass—”Song of Myself” (1-26); “Children of Adam”; “Calamus”; “Salut au Monde”

Week 15: Dec. 8-12 Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes were Watching God

Course Outline

Reading and Assignment Due Dates
(all readings in required texts and E-Reserves unless otherwise specified)

I have two more classes that start in October. I plan on blogging about my experience this fall juggling being in school, working on short films and doing the regular job thing. It is going to be pretty hectic but also probably exciting.

These are the two songs I have been listening to all day while at work. I’ve been off the map all this week because of the VMAs.

I’ll be back soon with some shtuff.