As we move into Spring Recess...

Good evening everyone. I want to alert you to a number of important matters as we approach our last week before Spring Recess at the College.

First, here is the link to The Declaration of the Occupation of New York City, which I displayed in pamphlet form in class Monday. I highly encourage you to look at the entire document, still of particular note and new to you are the Preface and Publisher's Note (2-3), the Letter to the Occupy Movement from Tahrir Square (20-23), and the Resources (26-28). You can certainly use this document or any part within it as an outside source for your final project. Furthermore, you may seek out the listed resources for other potential research material for your paper.

Second, I want to remind you all of the various assignments due next week. Below, I have reproduced the class schedule for easy reference; however, I want to stress two things.

1. I have extended the due date for the revision of the second paper until Wednesday, 4/4. This is so that this weekend you can solely focus on researching for the annotated bibliography, which is due this upcoming Monday, 4/2.
2. The first rough draft of the research project is merely a one-page (minimum) outline of the final project-to-be. Please bring extra copies to class Wednesday.

M 4/2
: Writer's for the 99%, "POCcupy, People of Color Occupy Wall Street Too!" 
: Writing in the Disciplines (WR, 100-108), and Document Design (WR, 45-56)
: Annotated Bibliography 1st Submission Due

W 4/4
: Thesis Proposal Due
: Paper Two Revision Due
: Research Project 1st RD Due (Paper Outline) – Bring two extra copies of your outline to class for a peer-edit

F 4/6 – Su 4/15
: No Classes (Spring Recess)

Hey fellow classmates and Professor I need some advice on my topic.

This is what I have so far. Any ideas or advice that could help me. Please comment thank you.


Police have abused their rights by using brutal force against criminals and even helpless people to protect american citizens. There have been many cases of police brutality throughout the united states. I will be focusing  on the cases of police brutality that have occurred here in New York for example on wall street with the Occupy Wall Street movement. Protesters are being attacked and injured for their freedom of speech which is unfair. The police should be focusing on violent acts not on speeches being made by american citizens.

Harddy Ceballos

OWS at Six Months, Clashes w/Police, & The Media

In order to provide you with the most current information on the Occupy Movement, I have located a particularly good video from a Canadian news source, The Globe and Mail, that covers the weekend's events of March 17th, the six-month anniversary of Occupy Wall Street.

In sum, there were some heated conflicts between protesters and police, resulting in nearly 100 arrests and the complete barricading of Liberty Square. So far it seems that individuals on both sides are culpable... a handful of protesters are being accused of assaulting police officers, while numerous officers are being accused of unlawful arrests and violent brutality.

Different news sources have portrayed these events in contrasting lights. For instance, if you were to perform a brief web search such as this one you will find varying reports from CNN, The Boston Herald, The Washington Post and many more. Yet, against such corporate news sources the people have also provided coverage of this past weekend's events. A YouTube search string such as this one will offer many live-recorded videos from March 17th.

Analyzing the differences between these news reports---that is, closely reading them as you would any other critical text---will illuminate much about the media's role in the current Occupy Movement. How is "organized" mass media similar and how does it differ from the "grassroots" media offered through citizen reportage? What are the similarities and differences in their messages? The mediums? Which source(s) do you consider to be most biased? Which are closer to the truth?

---

UPDATE

Also, view this interesting video regarding a recently passed anti-protest law here in the United States.

Publication Information

For readings from the Cultural Resistance Reader, i.e., Duncombe, Hill, Bey, Marx, and others.

Editor: Stephen Duncombe
Publisher: Verso
City of Publication: London
Date of Publication: 2002

For Occupying Wall Street use the following:

Authors: Writer's for the 99%
Publisher: OR Books
City of Publication: New York
Date of Publication: 2011

For This Changes Everything: Occupy Wall Street and the 99% use the following:

Editor: Sarah van Gelder
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
City of Publication: San Francisco
Date of Publication: 2011

Note: Each chapter within This Changes Everything has a separate author and a separate title. Therefore treat this text as an anthology when citing it and referencing it in your bibliographic page.

HW for 3/14 & Comments (due 3/16)

In lieu of today's class cancellation, I want everyone to post their HW for 3/14 below as a reply.

Then, by Friday 3/16, you all are required to evaluate and again reply (in 200 words or less) to at least one group member's HW post. Additional replies (and you may each offer up to two more) will be counted as extra credit. Therefore, active engagement with your fellows' thesis statements and paper outlines is highly encouraged.

Remember that when submitting your revision of Paper #1, the original marked-up draft must be included with the revised copy in order for any credit to be given for the assignment. Please staple the draft beneath the revision. Also remember to bring three copies of Paper #2 to class on Monday.

Please email me with any specific questions and concerns you may have regarding Paper #2 and the revision of Paper #1, both due Monday 3/19.

s.

Schedule Updates and HW for Wed 3/14

Hey folks. So I've moved the due date for Paper #2 and the revisions of Paper #1 to Monday 3/19. See the Schedules, Readings, & Rubrics page, as it has been updated. Importantly, I would like for everyone to complete a homework assignment for class on Wednesday, 3/14.

In a typed document, compose the following:

1. A draft thesis statement or introductory paragraph for Paper #2. Crucially, your thesis statement needs to be argumentative. That is, it needs to express convergent/supporting or divergent/opposing views on one aspect of the Occupy movement.
2. A complete outline of the forthcoming written assignment. Here, be sure to include as much information as possible. Therefore, list and identify your main points. Offer any supporting evidence you have discovered, and be sure to include preliminary explanations and connecting points regarding the evidence you have chosen. Remember that you need to utilize two primary sources and one secondary source for Paper #2. 
3. Please bring two copies of this typed assignment to class, as we will be workshop these documents in class.  

I will accept the revision of Paper #1 on Wednesday if anyone wishes to turn it in early. Also, I will accept any questions or concerns, via email, that you may have regarding your work on Paper #2.

Good luck in your writing!
s.

Important OWS Links

Here is a list of links to pages related to Occupy Wall Street and the Occupy Movement in general. Contributions to this list are encouraged, and should be shared as replies below. Report broken links when encountered.

• adbusters.org/campaigns/occupywallstreet
• alignny.org
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street
• familiesforfreedom.org 
• greenchimneys.org 
• howtooccupy.org
• nycga.net 
• nystudentsrising.org
• nyu4ows.org
• occupiedmedia.us
• occupytheory.org
• occupytogether.org
• occupywallst.org
• studentunitedforafreecuny.wordpress.org
• wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/
• womenoccupy.org