Announcements and Agenda
9/23/2008
 “Breakfast-and-a-Book”
featuring Dr. sj Miller and Dr. Linda Norris and their recent publication.
Wednesday, September 24th, 9:00 AM, 210 Stabley Library.
 First reader: Blink. The power of thinking without thinking.
 Presenters for Blink:
Blink Ch.3-4 (pp.71-146), Book Discussion # 2: Zack, Jason
Blink Ch. 5(pp. 146-188), Book Discussion # 3: Emily, Jessica, Justin
Blink Ch. 6 (pp.189-244) Book Discussion # 4: Stacy, Felicia, Rachel
Blink Conclusion and afterwards ( pp. 245-1276)Book Discussion # 5: Whole-Class Discussion
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Presentation Rubric
Introducing Malcom Gladwell
Blink: Chapter 1-3
Thin Slicing Exercises
Oprah’s interview on Youtube
Discussing research done by Gladwell
blink
The power of thinking without
thinking
By Malcom Gladwell
Who is Malcolm Gladwell?
 Born in U.K., 1963
 Author and New Yorker
Magazine journalist since 1996
 His books:
Gladwell, Malcolm (2000). The
Tipping Point: How Little
Things Can Make a Big
Difference. Boston: Little,
Brown.
Gladwell, Malcolm (2005). Blink:
The Power of Thinking Without
Thinking. Boston: Little, Brown.
 Website:
http://www.gladwell.com/
What is the book about?—Class
discussion:
Going with your intuition
Thin-slicing
Snap decisions
 Our unconsciousness
Thin-slicing
Our unconscious is able to find patterns in
situations and behavior based on very
narrow slices of experience. This is called
“thin slicing”
Chapter 1: The theory of thin slicing
Marriage and Morse Code: John
Gottman’s example (p.18-23)
--thin slicing marriages: he kept track of
emotional patterns
-- one single important sign in this code:
Contempt 32-33
Why do we thin-slice? When do we thin
slice?(43-45)-- “Court sense”, “coup d’oeil”
Thin slicing exercises
 The psychologist, Samuel Gosling, shows how
'thin-slicing' can be used to judge people's
personality when he uses the dorm room
observers. Visualize your bedroom right now.
What does it say about you?
 If scrolling through someone's iPod or scanning
their bookshelf can tell us more about that
individual, what other kinds of 'thin-slicing'
exercises could reveal aspects of their
personality?
Chapter 2: The locked Door: Secret Life
of Snap Decisions
Priming( 53-54)
Speed Dating ( 61-67)
Priming
1. Priming refers to when subtle triggers influence our behavior without
our awareness of such changes. An example of this occurs in Spain
where authorities introduced classical music on the subway and
after doing so, watched vandalism and littering drastically decrease.
Can you think of situations when priming occurs?
2. Should we introduce priming in schools to encourage better behavior
or more diligent work patterns? What about the service industry? If
an individual's behavior is being influenced unbeknownst to them,
when can priming become manipulative? How is it different from the
controversy a few years back when cinemas used subliminal
advertising during previews to 'encourage' people to buy from the
confectionary stand?
Speed Dating Activity 
 Class activity.
1. Give yourself an imaginary social role(s). You can be a lawyer in
your 30s, single, living in L.A; or a police officer in your 40s from
Puerto Rico. Be creative!
2. Divide up the class into two. Each group should have equal numbers
of males and females (if not, we’ll need to create fictional
characters)
3. In each group, women will sit while men rotate from woman to
woman introducing themselves and having a conversation. The bell
will ring signaling that one minute is over. After each man
completes their introductions to each woman, it will be the women’s
turn to introduce themselves.
4. When each group completes the introductions, you will write
down/prioritize three names on a piece of paper.
Reflections on the activity and class
discussion
How did you evaluate the men/women in
your group?
Have you dated someone that was the
antithesis of what you thought you found
attractive? Is there even a point of asking
someone, "what's your type?"
Assignments
Read Blink, Chapter 3-4
Agenda 9/25/2008
Great job in thin-slicing activities last class!
Group Presentation Information (Blog
writing)
Trust-building activities. How to work well
in groups.
Jason and Zack presents…
Feedback for presenters
Generating Topics. Finding out what is
important to you!
Trust lean
In pairs of similar size, one becomes a
Faller and one the Catcher. Teach
methods for spotting, falling and
catching. Start small and build to bigger
falls, then swap.
Debrief - what made you feel more or less
trusting?
Adapted from: http://wilderdom.com/games/TrustActivities.html
Slice ‘N dice
A dramatic trust activity for a large
group. Group forms a gauntlet, arms out
in front. As a person walks down the
gauntlet, people raise their arms. Build up
to people down running the gauntlet
through a sea of chopping arms!
Assignments
Read Blink Ch. 5 (pp. 146-188),
Generate topic(s) for your research paper.
Are you procrastinating, thinking? Work on
your “Shitty First Drafts”
AN (UN)ANNOUNCED QUIZ NEXT
WEEK!
Agenda 9/30/2008
 Remember to vote! No matter who wins, the election will
make history.The deadline to register in Pennsylvania for
voting in the Nov. presidential election is Oct. 6th.
 Trust-building activities. How to work well in groups.
 Presentation on Blink: Emily, Jessica and Justin.
 Feedback for presenters
 Working on your “shitty first drafts”: Research in
progress
--Generating compelling research topics
--Reporting versus arguing
--Generating research questions
Trust building activity #2
DIRECTIONS
 Form two lines, facing one another, creating a corridor or gauntlet.
 Put out your arms straight in front. Arms should intersect, overlapping by about a
hand with arms of people opposite.
 The first person peels off and walks down the corridor. In order to let the person
pass, people raise and then lower their arms, creating a Mexican wave effect - a
ripple through which a person is walking.
 The person then joins in again at the end of the line.
 Next person, peels off, walks, down, and so on.
 As the group gets more confident, invite people to walk fast, run, and then sprint
down the gauntlet (take great care to raise your arms in time!).
 At some point, or for the finale, have people chop their arms up and down, only
pausing to allow the gauntlet-runner through. It works!
 http://wilderdom.com/games/descriptions/SliceNDice.html
Typical Research Process
Typical Research Process
How can you make your topic
manageable?
 Reflect on your topic:
-- How appropriate is this topic to the writing situation?
--How interested are you in your topic? Why do you think
your topic is important? Think about social, cultural,
political or economic significance of your topic to your
larger community.
--Who is your audience?
--What sources are available regarding this topic?
Journals? Books? Online resources?
--What types of resources/data does your audience value?
Numbers and statistics? Stories? Interviews? Case
studies? Ethnographies?
Developing your research questions
 One of the most effective ways to get started on your
research is to think of your topic in terms of a question.
 Try to avoid yes/no questions.
 Try to come up with a series of questions that start with:
who, what, where, how, when.
e.g., How do young kinds learn reading and writing?
What is the controversy around the idea of thin-slicing?
Why are organic products more expensive than nonorganic products?
See Good Reasons 248 about strategies for research.
Reporting versus arguing
REPORTING
ARGUING
Summarizing
Interpreting
Paraphrasing
Analyzing
Quoting
Quoting AND Concluding
Describing
Claiming
Telling
Persuading
Examples:????
Examples:????
Assignments
Read Blink--Chapter 6
Read Good Reasons--Chapter 6
Quiz—Chapters 1-6
Agenda/Announcements for
10/2/2008
Melissa from VOTEIUP
Change in the syllabus/due dates:
October 7: Library workshop. Book review # 1 due. Blog Post: A reflective
paragraph on your research.
October 9: Covering 1(Brandi, Andrea, Brandon) and Covering 2 (Brenna, Alex,
Beth)
Quiz on Blink
Presentation on Blink Chapter 6
Remember that we are meeting in library
next Tuesday (Room # 210).
Analyzing Visual Text
Table Talks on Blink
 “Table Talk”--an evening of discussion loosely modeled on the "speed dating"
phenomenon. Throughout the 2-hour event, students will be encouraged to
participate in three 20-minute discussions of their choice.
 The “Table Talk” event will be held on Thursday evening, November 13, 6:00-8:00
p.m. in the HUB. It will begin in the Ohio Room, and then break-out sessions will be
held at various tables that have been designed to stimulate dialogue on topics
relevant to the book.
 Last year, almost 300 students and 65 faculty and student presenters participated in
this event, making it a huge success!
 Need extra credit? Send me an email to attend this event.
Research Methods
Qualitative: E.g., Interviews,
ethnographies, surveys, case studies,
visual analysis, narratives, etc.
Quantitative: E.g., Numbers, charts,
statistical information, surveys etc.
Visual Analysis
Visuals around us make various claims
and arguments.
Visual arguments could be more powerful
than written as they invite us to make our
own claims.
The goal: to present a clear understanding
of the visuals.
Class Activity: Analyzing Visual
Arguments
Get into groups of 3-4
Pick one photo/ad that you would like to
analyze.
Discuss questions on page: Good
Reasons, pg. 104-106
Assignments
Read Chapter 7
Read Blink Conclusion
Visit class blog, and answer the prompt
about your research in progress.
Begin doing some background research
for your projects (online vs. library)
Remember that we are meeting in the
library next Tuesday!
Have a great weekend!