CIE100: Common Intellectual Experience - McPhee Writing Prompt (10 Points)
Assignment Goals
The goals of this assignment are:- To reflect upon the course texts in preparation for thoughtful discussion
- To organize thoughts into a concise and cohesive response to a targeted question
- To consider multiple viewpoints about ideas
The Assignment
In this writing prompt, you will consider the questions below and write a 1-2 paragraph analytic response that thoughtfully reflects upon them. State your thoughts or opinions about the topic, supported by at least one quote from the text that reinforces your point of view. Then consider what a counter-argument or alternative viewpoint might be, and briefly discuss it, supporting it with at least one quote as well: a quote that illustrates the alternative viewpoint, or one that pushes back against it. Submit your response through Canvas before the start of class.
UDL choice: this genre is the default for this reading, but you may swap in any of the five response genres (analytic, letter, dialogue, marginalia+aphorism, or the Four A’s) as long as the quote and counterargument requirements are met.
Struggling with the reading itself? See the guide: How to Read Hard Texts in CIE.
Writing Prompt
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What does McPhee suggest about the wisdom, and the hubris, of attempting to control nature? Choose a passage where the engineers’ confidence and nature’s indifference collide, and discuss whether McPhee is finally an admirer or a critic of these efforts, or something more complicated.
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The control of nature is not an abstraction here: the Perkiomen Creek flooding from Hurricane Ida in 2021 touched this region directly. Where in your own community has the control of nature succeeded, failed, or merely been postponed? What would McPhee notice about that place that its residents might not?
Submission
Submit a word processed or PDF document.Please refer to the Style Guide for code quality examples and guidelines.