4 reflections

Staggenborg: Chapter 5 Reading reflections: while it is important that you understand the authors’ arguments, reading reflections are not summaries or paraphrases. A reading reflection is essentially a reflection on your own thinking process while reading the article. You lost points if you only summarize the readings or paraphrase certain terms without critically reflecting on the contents. It’s fine and normal if you don’t understand the readings or certain concepts. However, it’s not enough to merely state “I find the reading hard to understand”. You need to argue and give examples of which section you don’t understand. Think about why you find certain readings harder to engage with. The reading reflection is a stand-alone piece of work, which has a logical structure. In other words, when you make an argument (this is interesting/this is helpful), you need to demonstrate it and provide evidence, which can be your personal experiences, outside readings, or some observations on social phenomenon. While reading reflections don’t have to be long, I find most short works vague and lack specificity. I don’t encourage you to write long paragraphs, but you should make sure that your analysis/writing is thoughtful and specific enough within 4-6 sentences. I will continue to post examples of reading reflections. Monday, July 19: Women’s Movements Staggenborg: Chapter 5 Tuesday, July 20: The Tea Party and Right Wing Movements McAdam, “Be Careful What You Wish For: The Ironic Connection Between the Civil Rights Struggle and Today’s Divided America” Staggenborg: Chapter 8 Goodwin and Jasper, “Part VIII Why Do Movements Decline?” & “Chapter 32 The Dilemmas of Identity Politics” Requirements: 4 reflections and follow instructions