AP Language & Composition (Period 3) Assignments
- Instructors
- Term
- Fall 2014
- Department
- English
- Description
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Please check the posts for each day's agenda, assignments, and HW. Subscribe to your period's class in order to receive reminders of when certain assignments are due. The course orientation for this class is located on the right hand side.
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Article of the Week #6
Is the Ebola virus breeding its own disease of paranoia?
Ideas to consider: Is our society too easily prone to falling victim to paranoia? Is this hysteria and paranoia spreading because of the Ebola virus justified, or do we need to take a step back and reevaluate our panic? Should we be enforcing and reinforcing strict measures of protection and limiting/banning travel in/out of the U.S.A, or are we overreacting? What causes people to panic? What are the effects or possible effects of such widespread fear? What has happened in history when society is struck with paranoia, and again, was it justified?
This week you will be asked to take a position on an argument after you have read the articles and watched the videos. Please note that you must make a claim (challenging, defending, or qualifying) and then provide SUPPORT. Please identify your claim as (claim) and your support as (support). DO NOT POST AND DELETE before writing your own post simply so you can read what others have written. It is perfectly acceptable to post, read what others have written, and then change your mind and add on to your original post. Write your post as an essay. Enter into the conversation using your They Say, I Say handout.
Read 3-5 of the following articles related to Ebola and note any thoughts that strike you.
#1: Fear of Ebola breeds a Terror of Physicians
#2: Experts Oppose Ebola Travel Ban, Saying It Would Cut Off Worst-Hit Countries
#3: Keeping Ebola at Bay
#4: Health-care worker with Ebola was allowed to fly despite slight fever
#5: Images from Inside an Ebola Hospital
#6: College in Texas apologizes after rejecting Nigerian applicants over Ebola fears
#7: Ebola Poll: Two-Thirds of Americans worried about possible widespread epidemic in U.S.
#8 Don’t Worry, Be Rational: Why Extreme Fear Of Ebola Is Bad For Your Health
PROMPT:
Many conspiracy theorists pride themselves on having inside information, but in the case of Ebola such alleged information, or misinformation — the government is in on it! — can erode the public trust when it’s needed most.
“If these were just opinions that people spouted off on talk radio or at dinner parties, you could argue that there wasn’t much harm,” Professor Broderick said. “But to have the C.D.C. debased in public as a puppet of the New World Order or of major corporations is obviously a dangerous proposition.”
Nonetheless, some scholars find value in conspiracy theories because they allow us to vent and give voice to hidden fears.
“I view these things as a way of framing the world, of offering us narratives,” Professor Fenster said. “And they’re not necessarily a bad thing. Conspiracy theories are something that’s available in American discourse as a way of telling stories, as a way of explaining who we are.”
Write a response in which you take a position on the value of conspiracy theories in American society. Make sure you provide evidence for you reading. EXPLORE THE COMPLEXITY of the argument. Avoid saying “I believe…” or “I challenge…” or “I defend…” and simply start off your sentence with the statement that shows exactly what you believe, challenge, or defend.
WRONG: “I believe that assisted suicide is inhumane and unethical.”
CORRECT: “Assisted suicide is inhumane and unethical.”