Daily Writing Activity (DWA) Prompts

This entry will list DWA prompts as I assign them.

DWA #15:  Write a 300-word response to any of the following questions.  Why is contemporary United States culture obsessed with vampires (e.g., Twilight, True Blood, The Vampire Diaries)?  What messages do you think these movies and television shows send about gender, race, sexuality, and other categories of social classification?  What is the appeal of these texts to girls and women?

DWA #14:  Write a 300-word response to the following question.  What arguments does Stein make about Gossip Girl in Second Life and how do they relate to other examples of fan culture such as fan fic and YouTube mashups?  If you do not know of other examples of fan culture, then you can just respond to the article.  Alternate Prompt: If you already play Second Life, then go to the Gossip Girl section and describe the extent to which the arguments Stein makes remain true today.

DWA #13: Write a 300-word response to the Hasinoff article that describes how important you think the arguments are?  Is she making a big deal out of nothing?  Is she raising valid points?

DWA #12: Complete a DEJ for the assigned Robert Jensen chapters.  Select quotations from throughout the reading because our small-group activity for the day will be to trace his argument throughout the text.

DWA #11: Complete a DEJ for the assigned Robert Jensen chapters.  Select quotations from throughout the reading because our small-group activity for the day will be to trace his argument throughout the text.

DWA #10: In at least three hundred words, describe the points in Susan Faludi's chapters that do and/or do not seem particularly relevant to men today.  What do you think she's correct about?  And what do you think she's missed the mark on?

DWA #9:  In at least three hundred words total, describe a significant event in the pages for Wednesday in Persepolis that relates to her gendered identity and a significant event that relates to her national identity as Iranian.

DWA #8:  In at least three hundred words, describe how the theories of Chandra Mohanty and/or bell hooks can be applied to The Abandoned Baobab.  In other words, what do they say in their essays that you can apply to the book?  How are the concepts they discuss relevant to the book?  To receive full credit, make sure to discuss more than what we discussed in class on Monday.  Extend that discussion in this DWA.

DWA #7:  Complete a DEJ for this reading.  This is a complicated, theoretical article, so give yourself plenty of time to read it.  In your DEJ, keep track of your questions and your comments.  My plan is to go over this article slowly, and I want to know what questions you have about it.

DWA #6: Complete a DEJ for the three assigned articles.  Have three quotations from one, three from another, and two from the third (or add more, if you like).  Be ready to discuss your responses with the class, though you should know by now to be ready to discuss anything you read or write for this class.

DWA #5: Complete a DEJ for the article assigned to you.  Be ready to discuss your responses with the class.

• Last names from Antar-Joyner to Higgins discuss Smith.
• Last names from Hollis to Rund discuss Clarke.
• Last names from Salaam to Wolf discuss Combahee.

DWA #4:  Complete a double-entry journal (DEJ) for the article assigned to you.  Be ready to discuss your responses with the class.

• Last names from Antar-Joyner to Higgins discuss Lorde.
• Last names from Hollis to Rund discuss Woo.
• Last names from Salaam to Wolf discuss Quintanales.

DWA #3:  Write at least 250 words describing what you think is and is not useful about Freud's analysis of Dora's first dream.  Which of his interpretations seem valid, which do not, and why?

DWA #2:  Write at least 250 words describing your reaction to the readings on women and health in the nineteenth century.

• If your last name starts with A-G, focus generally on pages 130-50.
• If your last name starts with H-Q, focus generally on pages 150-70.
• If your last name starts with R-Z, focus generally on pages 170-88.

You do not have to stick exclusively on these pages and can work from a few pages before or after.  I will just ask the people in these groups to be the first speak on these pages.  Everyone should read everything, though.

DWA #1: Write at least 250 words describing what you see as the most compelling image(s) in The Yellow Wallpaper. Describe the image(s) and explain why you think Gilman uses them as she does. The wallpaper is the most obvious example, and you should feel free to write about it, but be on the lookout for other images, too.