Picking a Fight

I'm getting the feeling that my classes are a little intimidated by the concept of a lit. review. Not because lit reviews are necessarily harder to write than other papers, but because the students simply haven't written anything like it before. To help them get a feel for what a lit. review really is, I started a premeditated argument with them.

After closing up the Wilson article I brought up the Grammy Awards last week. We talked a little bit, then I said, "I'm sorry, this is a little off the topic, but I just have to say--the music you guys like is horrible. You have really bad music these days," and started an argument on music. I gave the usual cranky-older-generation reasons for why their music sucks: real music isn't made with a computer, current lyrics are nonsensical, band names don't make any sense, that kind of thing. I was lobbing them softballs really, hoping they would argue with me (the best part was bitching about how all the bands today are into drugs, unlike, say, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles).

I arranged with a student beforehand to take notes on everything that was said, as well as who said it, then had that student come up when the argument was over. I then mapped out (in flow-chart form) the argument we had had, asking the general topic (music), my stance (their music sucks), and the different debates and discussions that ensued. We also attributed statements and rebuttals to whoever offered them.

From there I explained how the argument we had just had, as well as its accompanying chart, was the same thing they would be doing in their lit. review. They would need to know what the main topic was, what the major debates within that topic were, who had said what and how they related to each other.

It worked even better than I had hoped. The concept seemed to click with them in a way that other discussions we had had about lit. reviews hadn't, and the students were fully engaged and even excited. Not to mention the enjoyment I had berating their music.

Turns out a lot of Weber students know a surprising amount about Led Zeppelin.

We'll see how the workshopping goes next week. Like Tyler, I'm interested to discuss the best ways to do this on Monday.