Dr. Bordelon's English I On-Campus

Here you'll find links to various readings and course information.

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See "Shared Files" in Ocean Crusier column all the way to the left for copies of I&C, the Reading Packet, and the course syllabus, all in PDF.
Readings for Fun and Mental Profit

The Most Curious Thing" Errol Morris - clearer pictures and commentary from readers
See syllabus and textbook for additional readings. If you don't have the textbook yet, click here for Sontag's essay (note: this may take a while to load).
Other photographs from Abu Ghraib

Essay #1 Readings
- The Elusive Big Idea; [Op-Ed]
  Neal Gabler. New York Times (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Aug 14, 2011. p. SR.1
Sample Annotation
Sample Homework
Making Connections Transparency (homework paragraph: the one we reviewed in class)
From Notes to Thesis: 12 min. Flash video on organizing your notes and getting to a thesis statement. Page numbers for I&C may be a bit off because this was designed for my online course, but the organizational ideas are the same.
Writing a Paragraph for your division (#1 With Sample Topic Sentences)
Introducing Quotations and Setting Up Paragraphs
Suggested steps for Writing a Paragraph (#2)
Essay #1 Revision Suggestions

Sample essays with my comments included

Essay #2 Readings
Writer's Notes Essay 2 (in RTF -- will open in any Windows word processor)
Reasons and Evidence sheet for Capital Punishment essay #2 (in RTF)

Torture : An Overview. By: Aliprandini, Michael; Bowman, Jeffrey . Points of View: Torture , 2007, p1-1, 1p; Reading Level (Lexile): 1400 ; ( AN 23625784 )HTML Full Text (Essay handed out in class)
Reading #1: Torture Is Never Justified Is Torture Ever Justified?, 2011"Torture Is Never Justified" by Becky Akers. Is Torture Ever Justified? Tamara L. Roleff, Ed. At Issue Series. Greenhaven Press, 2011.
Reading #2 Torture Is Permissible in a Democracy Is Torture Ever Justified?, 2011 "Torture Is Permissible in a Democracy" by Mirko Bagaric and Julie Clarke. Is Torture Ever Justified? Tamara L. Roleff, Ed. At Issue Series. Greenhaven Press, 2011.
See syllabus and textbook for additional readings

Unassigned Readings

Essay on the effects on torture on the torturers themselves Abu Ghraib's Grasp The Daily. March 19, 2012.
David Cole. "Getting Away with Torture" New York Review of Books December 16, 2009.
Example of an innocent person who was tortured
Prisoner Abuse Colors World's Reaction to Beheading; Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL), Hundley, Tom

May 13, 2004
Yale University Law School essay on US Reputation after torture
World Poll results on torture
The United States Should Practice Torture Under Some Circumstances. Charles Krauthamer.
Opposing Viewpoints: Human Rights. Ed. Jacqueline Langwith. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008.
We will listen to part of this essay in class: The Education of a CIA Interrogator (start about 30 minutes in)
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Former CIA interrogator Glenn Carle talks about his years working as a CIA agent. The Interrogator: An Education tells about his most serious assignment—interrogating a top level al-Qaeda operative captured after 9/11 and held at one of the CIA's notorious black sites. Carle explains why he began to seriously doubt whether the CIA had captured the right man, describes the underworld of the Global War on Terror, and looks at the ways in which war alters our institutions and American society.
- For an essay which identifies Captus and provides additional information on Carle, see "The Interrogator": Six Questions for Glenn Carle
The Green Light
Vanity Fair No. 573 May 2008; Lexile Score: 1150 ; 72K, SIRS Researcher
Torture Does Not Make America Safer Presidential Powers, 2010 "Torture Does Not Make America Safer" by Alfred W. McCoy. Presidential Powers. Noah Berlatsky, Ed. Opposing Viewpoints® Series. Greenhaven Press, 2010
The U.S. Military Should Always Obey the Geneva Conventions. Lincoln Caplan. At Issue: Is Torture Ever Justified?. Ed. Tom Head. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005.
David Cole. "The Torture Memos." New York Review of Books October 8, 2009
Mark Danner New York Review of Books October 7, 2004 : Abu Ghraib: The Hidden Story

You could also check OCC's online databases Opposing Viewpoints and SIRS Researcher. Access them via Oceancruiser or the "Library Links" to the left.

Essay #1 Readings
- Writer's Notes Essay 1 (in RTF -- will open in any Windows word processor) Download and use for easy note taking on your computer, or clean copies
- Sample Annotation
- Sample Homework
- Making Connections Transparency (homework paragraph: the one we reviewed in class)
- Suggested steps for Writing a Paragraph (transparency we reviewed in class)
- Essay #1 Revision Suggestions
- Sample essays with my comments included

Writer's Notes Essay 1 (in RTF -- will open in any Windows word processor) Download and use for easy note taking on your computer, or clean copies

Essay #2 Readings

Writer's Notes Essay 2 (in RTF -- will open in any Windows word processor)

Costs of a Deadly Obsession; Washington Post, Dionne, Jr., E. J.

Jul 11, 2011

Sample Work for Essays on Torture

Essay 3 Readings Spring 2009

Overviews of conservatism, liberalism, libertarianism

Unassigned Readings

Essay by David Kay Johnston on tax cuts and the economy
Radio essay from Tell Me More on government involvement in solar energy. 9/26/11

Writer's Notes Essay 3 (in RTF -- will open in any Windows word processor)

Essay 4