Day 9
Mon. Apr. 19
English lesson: Make it matter to you
Revisit Osland & Bird
Speakers: Intro to Gelfand
Interview practice with Austin
Homework
➤ English Homework: Notice one new word or phrase (again!)
Do it again: Between now and next class, notice and write down one new word or phrase (preferable a phrase -- a combination of words) that you could imagine using to communicate in the situation you identified, or about the topic you identified. In the folder “12-New word or phrase",” please write a few notes about the context in which you encountered it (Who said it? What was it being used to describe?) then use it to write a sentence about something genuinely meaningful to you — I should be able, from this sentence, to get a sense of what you’re interested in or care about or what you’ve been thinking about lately.
Please also include a note at the top of the document briefly restating your goal: About what topic, or in what kind of situation, do you want to learn to communicate more clearly?
➤ Read Gelfand readings
Actually read the two readings my Michele Gelfand I handed out last week: the academic article, and the excerpts from the book Rule Makers, Rule Breakers.
As you read, in the margins of your paper copy, please mark each section with a brief note saying what the author’s purpose is in writing this section. What is the author “doing” here? Examples: “Explaining the idea she’s responding to.” “Explaining her own main idea.” “Giving evidence to support her own main idea.” etc. Next class we’ll go through the reading together and try to identify the purpose of each section.
Also, as you read, please ask yourself: Is “tightness vs looseness” another ‘cultural dimension’ like Hofstede’s? Or is it something else entirely? (Another way to think about this question is: If you were Gelfand, what would you think of Hofstede’s ideas? If you were Hofstede, what would you think of Gelfand’s ideas? Would you see the other scholar’s ideas as similar to your own, or fundamentally different?) Come to next class ready to share your thoughts on this subject.
➤ Speakers: Jane, Marcus, Junhao
In 2-3 minutes, explain to us your understanding of the ideas in these readings that you found most illuminating or thought-provoking. (Communicate among yourselves to make sure you won’t be repeating each other.)
➤ Bring interview questions to next class
Revise your list of interview questions based on anything you noticed or learned from today’s interview with me. Be prepared to interview a guest who may join us this coming class! (I’ll choose students randomly to ask their questions; everyone should be prepared.)
➤ Update your “promising source” document
In the folder “11-Possible sources for essay 2,” please update your document. For the source you described (or for a new source, if you wish, please add this information for any of these questions that are applicable. (If the question is not applicable to your type of source, skip the question.)
What kind of source is it? (Website? Newspaper article? Forum post? etc.)
What kind of person is the author? (Researcher? Writer? Ordinary online commentator? etc.)
What do you think the purpose of this piece of writing (or video, or broadcast, etc) is?
Who do you think its intended audience is? (Who’s it being written/produced for?)
What are some things it says that you find illuminating or interesting? (Summarize briefly what you learned from this source.)
What are some things you can infer about your topic based on what the source says or how the source says it?
➤ Essay 2 due Friday — get working on it!
Upload your essay to Box by 6pm this Friday.