ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
MW Week 4 Class Notes, page 1
Monday, September 15, 2014
Announcements:
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Essay 2 will be due for a grade next time (Wed., 9/17). If you hand it in on
time, at the beginning of the class, you will be eligible to revise it after I grade
it, which should be around 9/24.
SI meets each Monday and Thursday, 12:30-1:30 PM, in SG 136.
See me for any help and support I can provide. If my posted office hours don’t
work, we can find another time. I am very much dedicated to your success and
well-being, and I am here to listen and be of any kind of assistance I can.
Here is an article shared by a fellow English Division faculty member, entitled
“Students and their Devices.” http://www.roughtype.com/ [This link gets you
to the entire publication; select the article within it.] The article explains why
it’s generally better not to allow smartphones, tablets, and laptops during
class. In the case of our class, since we meet in a lab (once a week in the MW
class), the availability of the computers presents an issue, too. So far, I have
been working to keep everyone on-task and thus we are able to take advantage
of the computers as writing and research tools. As long as everyone stays on
task and doesn’t distract themselves and others, we’re fine. I move around the
room during class to be able to interact with everyone, and also to make sure
that everyone is on task. Read this brief article and let’s talk about it. I want
you to feel free to share your thoughts on this issue.
Club Rush continues this week. Stop by the Scholars table and consider
helping those who are dedicating their time on our Marketing Committee with
this work.
I will be sending emails to all Scholars from last year to let them know their
Scholars Standing (academic and service). This will become a regular
correspondence from me as soon after each semester as possible. I will
monitor grades and Scholars Hours for everyone and let you know how you
are doing in the program. I want to encourage you now to become as actively
involved in Scholars as possible, going far beyond the minimum. Scholars is
about you becoming a well-rounded student, which means giving back as well
as taking advantage of the benefits that Scholars in particular, and an
excellent lower-division curriculum, is providing you. To this end, I welcome
you to come and meet with me in my office (LB 216) to discuss not only your
work in class, but also larger issues, goals, and plans affecting your transfer
preparation and your career beyond that.
I will also be sending out emails inviting all Scholars to participate in one or
both of the Honors Research Conferences. This year, we are forming a
Scholars Research Group, which will begin meeting this month and then
support you as you prepare your proposals and projects (if accepted) for these
conferences. More on our orientation for the Research Group will follow.
Bryson, concluding chapters of A Walk in the Woods. Discuss and
take notes on these items from Chapters 17-21:
Chapter 17: Fill in the blanks and provide page numbers.
ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
MW Week 4 Class Notes, page 2
1. Richard Salinas is an example of an experienced hiker who died because of
_______________due to _____________(Bryson 219-220).
2. “Vermont is Volvos” while New Hampshire is _______, according to
Bryson (221).
3. Uneasy about hiking in the difficult New England terrain alone, Bryson
has his friend and neighbor Bill Abdu, who is a ___________, come
along (221).
4. The White Mountains in New Hampshire are known for these kinds of
sudden changes: _______________________________(Bryson
222).
5. Bill Abdu keeps asking Bryson if he wants to ____________, and Bryson
does his best to hide his ______________(223).
6. One of the alarming things that bothers Bryson at this time is the fact that
every time he looks at _____________, he sees that
________________(225).
7. Upon finally returning to the car, the weather is _________ and Bryson
discovers that _______________(227).
Note: What is the difference between paraphrase and summary?
o Note Citation Format for a summary: He imagines a peaceful
road when he goes on the new one-mile expressway at Hanover, NH
(Bryson 217).
Discuss aspects of paragraph development and the use of information from a
source (quotes, paraphrases, summaries).
Chapter 18
1. Salvatore Pagliuca (Bryson 228)
2. Worst Weather on Earth (229)
3. Tinkham & Haas; Lizzie Bourne (229-230)
4. Hike up Mt. Washington (230-231); what’s on the summit (231)
5. Museum, especially “Breakfast of Champions” (232)
6. Tourism at Mt. Washington—then and now (232-234)
7. Bryson’s concluding point about the AT (234)
Chapter 19
1. Katz’s “great idea” (235-236)
2. Plans for the hike through Maine (237)
3. Hiking conditions in Maine (237-238)
4. Katz’s problems (239-240)
5. Moose (240-243)
6. Crossing a lagoon on way to Moxie Bald Mountain, including Katz to the
rescue; two young hikers (243-245)
7. Crossing Bald Mountain Stream, Katz, Shaw’s (and their dog), young couple
from Indiana (thru-hikers) (246-250)
8. Katz and beer (251-252; also 248-249)
ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
MW Week 4 Class Notes, page 3
Chapter 20
Overall emphasis: 100-Mile Wilderness, Maine; Tension & truce between
Bryson & Katz; Katz gets lost
Key events, ideas, examples:
1. After there is a lot of tension, Katz says a joke and they make up (257-258).
2. Katz gets lost, B camps alone, forward or back?—forward; sees cigarettes,
finds Katz (259-264)
3. How Katz gets lost & scratched (264-265)
4. How Katz gets back to AT—“miracle” (266)
5. K & B decide to go home, even though they have not reached Katahdin, the
end of the AT (266-267)
6. B & K catch a ride “anywhere but here” (267)
Chapter 21 Overall emphasis: Milo, ME—boarding house, Mrs. Bishop;
“shock” to end life in the wilderness and be back in civilization for good (268269).
Key events, ideas, examples:
7. Katz and the “little old lady” (270)
8. Katz on the AT: “ I hiked the Appalachian Trail” (271).
9. Cream soda together, with Bryson’s money (271-272)
10. Katz back to Des Moines, IA (272)
11. Bryson’s mixed feelings:
a. Negative: B hiked 870/2200 miles = 39.5% of AT; didn’t see
Katahdin, wolves, bears, no challenging, life-threatening encounters
(273)
b. Positive: 870 miles is a lot of walking! B did “[hike] the
Appalachian Trail” (273-274).
The Biophilia Hypothesis. Articles/chapters by Wilson and Kellert.
Discuss Main Ideas and Example; Write Notes. [Wilson is an emeritus
professor, having retired after a long career at Harvard, while Kellert is on the faculty at Yale.]
This pair of readings is on the website in Course Materials.
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“Biophilia and the Conservation Ethic” Edward 0. Wilson
1. Definition of Biophilia [why is the word italicized here?]
2. The example of snakes and various observations about human and primate attitudes
about them.
3. Wilson’s statements and argument about biodiversity, especially those starting on
page 5.
4. Other?
“The Biological Basis for Human Values of Nature” Stephen R. Kellert.
1. Kellert’s thesis
2. 9 elements of Kellert’s typology (values)
3. 9 more elements (functions)
4. Kellert’s argument about conservation
5. Other?
Note: Since the PDF version of Wilson and Kellert shows page numbers, you
may cite them, e.g., (Kellert 12).
ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
MW Week 4 Class Notes, page 4
Grammar—Revision Exercise: Revise this excerpt from the book
(Chapter 15, pages 199-200) by correcting all problems with
sentence structure, subject-verb agreement, pronoun reference, and
punctuation. You may assume that all other aspects of the excerpt are
accurate and correct. We will work on a portion of this today. Note
that this excerpt by Bryson addresses the ideas of Biophilia and
conservation.
Doubtless it is all to do with our historic impulse to tame and exploit the
wilderness, America’s attitude to nature is from all sides very strange if, you ask
me. I couldn’t help compared my experience now with an experience I’d had
three or 4 years earlier in Luxembourg. When I went with my son for a magazine
assignment. Luxembourg is a much more delightful place to hike than you might
thinks. They have lots of woods but also castles and farms and steepled villages
and winding river valleys the whole as it were European, package. The footpaths
we followed spend a lot of time in the woods but also emerged at obliging
intervals to take us along sunny back roads and over stiles and through farm
fields and hamlets. We were always able at some point each day to call in at a
bakery or post office, to hear the tinkle of shop bells and eavesdrop on
conversations we couldn’t understand. Each night we slept in an inn and ate in a
restaurant with other people. We experienced the whole of Luxembourg, not just
its trees. It was wonderful, and it was wonderful because the whole charmingly
diminutive package was seamlessly and effortlessly integrated.
In America, alas; beauty have become something you drive to, and nature
an either/or proposition either you ruthlessly subjugate it. As Tocks Dam and a
million other places, or you deify it. Treat it as something holy and remote, a thing
apart. As along the Appalachian Trail. Seldom would it occur to anyone on either
side that people and nature could coexist to their mutual benefit. That say a more
graceful bridge across the Delaware River might actually sets off the grandeur
around it, or that the AT might be more interesting and rewarding if they wasn’t
all wilderness, if from time to time it purposely took you past grazing cows and
tilled fields.
I would had much preferred it. If the AT guidebook says: “…Thanks to the
Conference’s efforts, farming has been restored to the Delaware River Valley,
and the footpath rerouted to incorporate sixteen miles of riverside walking
because, let’s face it, you can get too much of trees sometimes.”
Still; we must look on the bright side if the Army Corps of Engineers had
had its foolish way—I’d have been swimming back to my car now… and I was
grateful at least to be spared those.
Exercise: More Preparation for Essay 2—the difference between
summary and illustration
A paragraph from an Essay 2 draft that is a summary: Bryson
shows others that it is possible for man and nature to coexist. A perfect example
of this is when Bryson and Katz discover a moose drinking water. They watch the
moose in amazement and “the moose [looks] up at [them], deciding they mean
her no harm and [goes] back to drinking” (243). Bryson and Katz are “gratified”
ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
MW Week 4 Class Notes, page 5
and call it a “reward” (243). Through his hike on the AT, Bryson becomes more
aware about nature and the beauty of life. He has a whim to go on occasional
hikes and ultimately realizes the true essence and benefits of coexisting with
nature. He develops a symbiotic relationship with Katz and with the wildlife of
the Appalachian Trail, experiencing the “naturalistic” and “aesthetic” points of
view (Kellert).
Compare it to this expanded and deepened development of the same
basic idea. Comment on the paragraph’s strengths and weaknesses as
an illustration and in general. Revise this paragraph to be more
effective in its focus, flow of ideas, and other aspects of its expression,
including things like punctuation:
Bryson is clearly genuine with his kinship with nature. Bryson gives
insight on these examples to show others that it is possible for man and nature to
coexist, and that this connection benefits him. A perfect example of this is when
Bryson discovers the moose drinking water when they are in Maine. First, Bryson
has “heightened awareness” (Kellert) as he becomes
curiously aware of something—some thing—in the woods beyond my left
shoulder, which caused me to straighten up and hear through the clutter of
foliage at the water’s edge. Goodness knows what impelled me to look
because I couldn’t have heard anything over the musical tumult of water,
but there about fifteen feet away in the dusky undergrowth, staring at me
with a baleful expression, was a moose—full grown and female, or so I
presumed since it had no antlers. It had evidently been on its way to the
water for a drink when it was brought up short by my presence and now
clearly was undecided what to do next.
It is an extraordinary experience to find yourself face-to-face in the
woods with a wild animal that is very much larger than you. You know
these things are out there, of course, but you never expect at any particular
moment to encounter one, certainly not up close—and this one was close
enough that I could see the haze of flealike insects floating in circles about
its head. We stared at each other for a good minute, neither of us sure
what to do. There was a certain obvious and gratifying tang of adventure
in this, but also something much more low-key and elemental—a kind of
respectful mutual acknowledgment that comes with sustained eye contact.
It was this that was unexpectedly thrilling—the sense that there was in
some small measure a salute in our cautious mutual appraisal. I was
smitten. (240-241)
He gets Katz and they both watch the moose in amazement both of them
“thrilled”, “’Wow,’ Katz breathed,” as “the moose looked up at [them], deciding
[they] meant her no harm, and went back to drinking,” (243). Bryson and Katz
are “gratified” and call it a “reward” (243); a clear sign of “gene culture coevolution” and the notion that “other species are our kin.” (Wilson) In addition,
the encounter, marked by Bryson’s awe and deep “satisfaction derived from
direct contact with nature” in seeing the moose, shows the “naturalistic tendency
(Kellert)”. Even further, from an “aesthetic” point of view, the moose, as a
ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
MW Week 4 Class Notes, page 6
“megavertebrate species,” contributes to Bryson’s deep understanding, or
“numenon,” giving “vitality and animation” to his experience of the AT (Kellert).
Essay 2 Workshop:
Overview of the assignment, questions, planning, drafting, revision.
Essay 2 planning/drafts checked in for credit today.
Approaching and Organizing Essay 2: See the prompt in Course Materials
in the Website. http://mharnettfall2013.weebly.com/
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Overview of the Assignment: Explain The Biophilia Hypothesis—what
draws people to go hiking and encounter various forms of plant and animal
life. This is your thesis. Then, select the most important of these, maybe 2 or
3, for the essay. Your job is then to explain Wilson’s ideas of biophilia,
through the selected ideas through well-selected examples from Bryson, and
your own experience.
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Develop examples from Bryson—more extended, in depth
o Describe the example in depth
o Show how it relates to Biophilia (or not)
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Develop your own personal experience—most extensive and in great depth
o Describe your experience from start to finish
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Descriptions of setting and key places
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Actions
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Speech/Dialogue
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Thoughts
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Feelings
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Observations of others
o Show how your experience relates to biophilia or not; you might refer
to Bryson too.
Discuss how to make ideas vivid in their development as illustrations of a point or
concept.
Note that this week’s and next week’s SI are dedicated to illustration and Essay 2.
Revision Exercise: Using source material. Make all necessary changes
in the excerpt from a student essay (not one of yours—from another
year) so that the following paragraph makes proper use of ideas from
A Walk in the Woods and also the Biophilia article by Kellert: Set up
ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
MW Week 4 Class Notes, page 7
and blend in quotations, make block quotes for passages of 4 lines or
more, cite paraphrasings and summaries, and make any corrections
with punctuation or sentence structure as needed. You will need to
refer to Bryson and Kellert to know when citations are needed.
Original version: Along with a fascination of nature, we have an appreciation for its
beauty, this tendency is the Aesthetic one. Nature is beautiful, and it is not a man made
beauty. Nature's appeal is not artificially created, and we take comfort in that.
The aesthetic response to varying landscapes and species may also reflect an
intuitive recognition of the greater likelihood of food, safety, and security
associated with human evolutionary experience. (Kellert)
And not only do we find comfort in nature, but according to Kellert it may cause/tends to
promote better mental and physical health (Kellert). In his book, A Walk in the Woods,
Bill Bryson demonstrates these tendencies through his person experiences. As Bryson
walks the Appalachian Trail, he is constantly in awe of his surroundings. He specifically
illustrates the aesthetic tendency in humans at one point in the book. He comes across a
beautiful spot, which feels safe, and wants to camp out there because of its “secretive
feel”: “I realized that I had considerably outstripped Katz and Connolly, who were
talking and not making particularly good time, I stopped to wait for them in a broad,
ancient-seeming, deeply fetching glade cradled by steep hills, which gave it a vaguely
enchanted, secretive feel. Everything you could ask for in a woodland setting was here—
tall, stately trees broken at intervals by escalators of dusty sunshine, winding brook, floor
of plump ferns, cool air languidly adrift in a lovely green stillness—and I remember
thinking what an exceptionally nice place this would be to camp.” (Bryson, page 153).
Then when the other two catch up with Bryson, he observes to them what an attractive
spot it is.
Revision:
Writing About your Personal Experience to Illustrate your Thesis
Effectively: Depth of Development and Being Vivid.
Sample Paragraph—Note how the author makes some ideas clear, and
how others might be improved. Revise the paragraph to develop the
idea more thoroughly. Make any necessary changes, including
breaking the paragraph into more than one.
My first experience with nature was hiking at Monrovia Canyon Park. I’ve
never really been too fond of nature, mainly for the unsanitary conditions and my
fear of vicious animals. I honestly never went hiking because unlike some of my
friends, I never felt the need to be near nature and I never understood the beauty
that everyone saw in it; I always had more of a negativistic approach towards the
environment. In the end, I was surprised to actually enjoy the short three mile
hike. I hiked alone with my friend, N___, and we were both very energized and
ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
MW Week 4 Class Notes, page 8
excited to begin hiking, even though it was way too early to be up on a Saturday
morning. We were doing great until about half of the trail, where we had to walk
up steep and narrow dirt hills. I began to feel my heart pounding faster and all of
a sudden I was breathing very hard; immediately all of the excitement turned into
torture and I wanted to stop. N___ kept pushing me, assuring me that we’re
almost there. The sound of the waterfall could be heard all throughout the trail so
I kept thinking that we’re getting closer to it; however each turn led to another
long, never-ending dirt road. Overall, the flora around us was quite dull, so the
only interesting aspects of the trail for me were the little streams we had to cross.
As soon as we reached the waterfall, I immediately felt a grin on my face, and
finally realized why people like to hike so much. It was a gorgeous site for me and
it made the tiring hike seemingly easy and worthwhile. As I sat on a rock in front
of the waterfall, I felt the humanistic love for nature described in the Biophilia
Hypothesis (Kellert). At this point, I had the option of going home to my warm
bed, or continue hiking to the nature center. I felt recharged by being in the
presence of nature and decided I wanted to continue on; I remembered how
Bryson wanted to hike every inch of the AT, and I decided that I wanted to do the
same for this trail. The uphill hike was so much more pleasant for me because I
had the natural urge to explore everything Monrovia Canyon had to offer, which
once again relates to Biophilia (Kellert).
Revision:
For Next Time:
Essay 2 is due for a grade next time. On time essays are eligible for revision.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Announcements:
 Essay 2 is due today for a grade. If your essay is on time, that is, handed
in at the beginning of class, then it is eligible for further revision after I grade
it.
 Office Hours will be held as usual 8:00-9:00AM, Wednesday, 9-17-2014, but I
will not be there after 10:45 AM on that day (no office hours 11:00-12:00).
This situation may happen from time to time when I have to leave early. I will
do my best to meet with you at other times.
ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
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MW Week 4 Class Notes, page 9
Make sure to attend at least 7 SI this semester; you should have attended at
least 2 by this week. They meet Mondays and Thursdays, 12:30-1:30 PM in SG
136.
Please bring $18 for the play this week; the invoice due date is 9/23.
The play is The Importance of Being Earnest, in preparation for Essay 6,
which we will go see at A Noise Within Theatre on Thursday, 10/23, 7:30 PM.
How about our next Hike? I propose Echo Mountain, site of a former hotel.
We will have Scholars General Assembly next Wednesday, September 24,
12:30-1:30 PM, room TBA. Please be sure to attend, since that is part of your
Scholars participation for good standing. As Director, I am monitoring
everyone’s standing and am sending out emails about it to everyone who was
in The Scholars Program as of last Spring. You will receive notice of your
standing (Good, Probation, or Dismissal) after each semester. I can check
your academic progress once grades are posted. Other planned GA: Monday,
October 27, and Wednesday, November 26 (right before Thanksgiving), rooms TBA.
I will also be sending out the revised Scholars Constitution as soon as possible for
everyone to see, once it is ratified as required by the Scholars Cabinet.
Other?
Discuss Essay 2.
o What went well as you prepared and wrote it?
o What could improve next time?
o How clear were you about the purpose of this essay (as an objective or
subjective essay; as a summary, argument, etc.) as a work of expression
and communication? Did you stay with that purpose while you wrote?
o How was it to write about not only a theory and narrative and
descriptive examples from A Walk in the Woods, but also to relate
extensive illustrations of your own experience?
o How comfortable are you with the use and citation of sources in
essays? Comment about your experiences with those things on Essay 2
so far.
o Did you include a picture? What effect did that have on your essaywriting experience?
o What questions do you have about Essay 2?
o Other things to bring up about Essay 2?
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi [cheek – SENT- mee - high-uh],
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
o Look up information online about Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
and the topics raised below and write notes for each item
(where are the most reliable sources?).
 Where is he from? How old is he? Other personal biographical
information, aside from his career.
ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
MW Week 4 Class Notes, page 10
Where has he spent his professional career and what has been
the emphasis and focus of his work?
 Where does he work now?
Note: the assignment to read Chapters 1-2 is due next time. Today: a
preview of the book.
 Look up the concept of positive psychology and write a brief but precise
explanation of it. How does it differ from abnormal psychology?
 For Your Information: Flow draws upon the study of motivation, the
behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that cause a person to perform a given
task or activity. There are two basic kinds of motivation: intrinsic (within
the person or task itself, meaning it is interesting or enjoyable simply to
do), and extrinsic (outside of the task, meaning that the task it motivated
partly or completely by some kind of reward or removal of punishment).
Discussion and Writing Topics: After we talk about each item, write your
own responses. Make a point and then explain, using examples from your own
experiences and observations.
1. Overview of intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation. Which appears to be
more powerful: intrinsic or extrinsic incentives to do something?
a. From what you can see, what motivates most adults to go to work,
intrinsic (“want to”) or extrinsic (“have to”) incentives?
b. Think of other examples of things that you do in your life—the most
important things—and complete the table with your assessments of
each activity. Include your absolute favorite thing to do. In each
case, how enjoyable is the activity for you? Indicate your reasons for
doing the given activity. How strong is each kind of motivation to
pursue the activity?
Activity
Do you
Reason(s)
Intrinsic
Extrinsic
enjoy
for doing
(scale of 1(scale of 1this
this activity 10)
10)
activity?
(scale of
1-10)

Playing a sport
(specify):
basketball
10+
Enjoyment of
movement,
shooting,
passing, team
coordination,
winning,
fitness in a
fun way, I
just love to
10
3
ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
MW Week 4 Class Notes, page 11
play
Working (specify
the job): teaching
English and
Psychology at
GCC; Being
Scholars Program
Director
10+
Doing income tax
return
5
Desire to help 10
others,
enjoyment of
learning and
challenges of
teaching
effectively,
interacting
with
students,
doing my own
research,
variety and
interest on a
daily basis,
solid income
with good
benefits
Required by
4
law, save
money by
doing my
own,
challenge of
figuring it out
6
10
c. Draw a preliminary conclusion about motivation. What have the
examples and your assessments of them shown about the nature of
human motivation?
d. Is it your impression that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are
mutually exclusive, or can they be in play simultaneously? Explain.
2. Motivation and achievement: when people are highly motivated to do
their best, they tend to succeed at a given task: willskill. Is this more
true of intrinsic or extrinsic motivation? Explain why.
3. What is the ultimate goal of all human motivation and activity? (for
Aristotle and others, it’s happiness). Is this true for you? What do you call
the “highest good”?
4. Motivation in education:
a. What is the goal of going to school?
b. What motivates students?
ENGL 101H, Fall, 2014
Dr. Harnett
MW Week 4 Class Notes, page 12
c. How happy are they overall?
d. How can teachers improve student motivation to learn, which in
turn improves student success in classes?
i. Note: This is the basic focus of my dissertation, which I
completed and defended in 2007 for a Ph. D. in Educational
Psychology from UCSB (teaching and learning specialization,
student motivation as my main focus). I am currently
working on articles that are derived from the dissertation.
Please feel free to ask me anything you want about my choice
of major, undergraduate and graduate experiences, career
decisions, research topics, and anything else! I remember
being a student myself, plus I write often, and it helps my
teaching a great deal. So I want to help you all I can by telling
you anything you want to know.
5. Preview—Flow, Chapter 1 Key Points. Summarize each point in
your own words and cite the reference to the book, including
the author’s name .
a. 25 years before Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wrote this book, he discovered
this important point about happiness, which is the thesis of Flow:
“Happiness is not something that happens. [It] must be prepared for,
cultivated, and defended privately by each person” (2).
[Note that this is an example of an integrated quotation.]
b. Csikszentmihalyi argues in Chapter One that instead of being
motivated by "societal rewards," a person can "gradually" "become
free" of them, and "learn how to" control inner experience or control
the contents of our consciousness (2).
For Next Time:
 Read Flow, Chapters 1-2. Be ready for a quiz and in-class exercises
involving these chapters.
 I will return Essay 2 ASAP so that you can revise it again before the final
deadline, which will be about a week after I return it.