Hello New Yorkers,
I hope this video provides enough context for the work you will do with students in my Writing courses here in Florence. In a nutshell, here’s what Professor Packard and I are asking of you:
1. Plan to exchange your work by 10:00 pm Florence time/4:00 pm NY time on Thursday, October 16.
2. Provide each other with written feedback, per your respective instructions (see below for what you should do), by 10:00 pm Florence time/4:00 pm NY time on Friday, October 17
3. Conduct your Skype session (set aside 15 to 20 minutes for this) by 10:00 pm Florence time/4:00 pm NY time on Sunday, October 19. Remember, too, to exchange Skype IDs and set up a time for your Skype session in your initial communications.
Feedback Letter Instructions for New York Students Reading Florence Students’ Essays
Write a one-page letter (250-350 words) in which you provide constructive, detailed feedback on the essay you’ve been assigned to read. Along with the three or so concerns the student you’re paired with will share with you, please pay special attention to the following questions:
1. At what points in the essay would you like to have more context or information for the materials (especially texts and objects) discussed? Where do you need more guidance? At no point in reading the essay should you feel disoriented or lost.
2. Has the writer managed to suspect judgment? As I mention in the video, I’d like my students to function as anthropologists in this essay. They need to be observant, but it’s best if they don’t set out to determine whether their subject is “good” or “bad.” They need to look a little more specifically, deeply, interpretively, and analytically than that! (And, of course, they need to avoid generalizing and stereotyping.)
3. How are the passages on blackamoors going? Since you’ve presumably never been to Villa La Pietra here at NYU Florence, you are the perfect audience to determine whether the blackamoor passages are well contextualized, vivid, and inventively and fluidly incorporated into the essay. What would help you to see Villa La Pietra’s blackamoors as the writer does?
I’m sure that in addition to students’ individual feedback requests, you’ll have your own advice for your feedback partner. Thanks once again for your help! We’re thrilled you’re doing this—it’s one of the most important activities of the semester for us.
Suzanne
PS: It was only after I made the video that I realized I missed Loren Lozano in the video’s shout-outs! Hello Andrew, Bryana, Loren, Mayar, and Shaija and thanks once again to all of you in Professor Packard’s courses for your feedback.