To consider:

• Spaces of writing/writings about space
• Methods
• Certainty in claims
• Asking: “How was it done?” and “How can I do that?”

And to consider as well:

• Hermeneutical readings for this course (what do these readings mean?)
• Heuristic readings (what do these readings teach us to do?)

Thus, how do these readings show us four ways we can come up with teaching ideas and four ways students in our courses can write?

From Davis:

“a literacy which presumes that writers and readers are in the world and exposed to others, a literacy that can read and write writing as a function of this irreparable exposure” (122).

Exposure depending on the noise (that which does not add to understanding). Punctums. Details. Oddities.  The less than certain (where does this fit?).

A writing of exposure.  Not the predictable (Ray) reading. Not the certainty (Davis). For instance, exposure can be of place. The Eiffel Tower. Or,

Columbia, Missouri.

Or Missouri (or any place that might be local) as “not an I-dentity booster but an I-dentity buster, an exposure” (138). Identity as any kind of identity (personal or otherwise).

Plato Comes to Missouri.

1, 2, 3

part of larger iconic blog moments

Or in the name of practiced practicality:

A pedagogy: Dated Winter 2006

The text: Rats by Robert Sullivan.

The Assignment:

1. Project One:  Spatial Exploration (100 pts)
Go to a street IN DETROIT. Pick an object, thing, animal, sign, or something else related to that street that you notice.
Write a 3,000 word exploration of what you’ve chosen. Using Rats as a model for your work (the idea of “rats” is the “thing” the author notices in his work), your exploration should demonstrate awareness of:
History
Personal story (how/why you came there/what you did in your study)
Analysis  (what you understand/how you see this object in relationship to the street and/or Detroit)
Reference (what does this object refer to; its literal meanings - i.e. rats are animals) and its various figurative and allusion-driven meanings.

You may use narrative forms (story telling) or some other form. I encourage you to talk about your ideas either with me on a one on one basis, or with the class via the listserv.

Your project will include images and a complete Works Cited.