online courses
Both of my online classes are posted on the website now, so I'm glad. I can't wait to get started. While I'd thought I had all of my books, I do have to go get my psych book now. It was supposed to be the same as the one I used for PSY 201, but it got changed in like, the past week. Grarr. Not cool. But maybe I'll find it used and it won't cost so damn much. At any rate, my two online classes are completely and totally different from each other. English is very formal, but not afraid to push buttons. After all, it's a class about writing argumentitive essays. Psychology, on the other hand, is very informal. The professor actually occasionally uses smilies. It seems a little sugar-coated at first glance, but then, that may correspond to this textbook that I have yet to obtain. Maybe there are topics covered in my old book that simply aren't in the new one. Or maybe the professor has just chosen to omit certain things. I won't know until I get my book. It's interesting to see how much the two courses contrast overall, though.
My first English assignment is arguing a definition. Basically, I have to pick a word and define it in four pages, using at least six sources. This makes perfect sense to me, but I'll clarify for the sake of those who think it's nuts. When arguing a point, often the major point of contention lies in how different people define the same word differently. For instance, a debate over abortion usually centers on what constitutes life, and an argument over gay marriage tends to come back to whether homosexuality is a choice or an inborn trait, or in other words, whether it is something someone does or something someone is. So our first assignment is to pick a word and define it as we see fit. The professor has suggested defining love, hate, good, evil, punishment, education, wealth, poverty, discipline, justice, culture, law, rights, human, beauty, obscenity, art, pornography, or pretty much any emotion. While this doubtlessly intrigues me, I'm currently at a loss as to what I should write about. I must choose a topic by Monday, January 15. While I give it some thought myself, does anyone out there have a preference or an opinion on the subject? Any suggestions?
My first English assignment is arguing a definition. Basically, I have to pick a word and define it in four pages, using at least six sources. This makes perfect sense to me, but I'll clarify for the sake of those who think it's nuts. When arguing a point, often the major point of contention lies in how different people define the same word differently. For instance, a debate over abortion usually centers on what constitutes life, and an argument over gay marriage tends to come back to whether homosexuality is a choice or an inborn trait, or in other words, whether it is something someone does or something someone is. So our first assignment is to pick a word and define it as we see fit. The professor has suggested defining love, hate, good, evil, punishment, education, wealth, poverty, discipline, justice, culture, law, rights, human, beauty, obscenity, art, pornography, or pretty much any emotion. While this doubtlessly intrigues me, I'm currently at a loss as to what I should write about. I must choose a topic by Monday, January 15. While I give it some thought myself, does anyone out there have a preference or an opinion on the subject? Any suggestions?