Pencil Assignment:
Purpose: preparation for deep engagement with works of art and for formal
analysis.
You are first to spend at least one-half of an hour away from all distractions
(computers, iPads, iPhones, cell phones, laptops and other such devices) and
write by hand a description of the pencil of the pencil you received in class.
Describe features using all senses excepting the sense of taste. Then refine and
type up your description of the pencil.
Do not use the provided pencil to write with as they are to be saved for
another semester.
Concluding paragraph:
Add in one or more concluding paragraphs further thoughts. You may consider
associations, connections, ergonomics, signs of facture. It is even possible to
view the pencil from a phenomenological, astronomical, cosmological, musical,
delusional perspective. Intellectual playfulness is welcome. (5% of the grade)
The paragraph(s) must be well written in accordance with the writing
criteria document in Canvas
Excluding the rubric (see below) and description of the experience, the paper is
to be a minimum of two-and-a-half pages in length and double spaced. The
font must be size 12 and in Cambria, Times New Roman or Bookman Old Style.
Note that most word processors have set as default the incorrect paragraph
spacing. Control your programs rather than acquiescing to their control over
you. Refer to the “Response Symbols” document in Canvas for the correct
paragraph spacing. Submit online in Canvas Assignments.
At the end of your paper, copy and paste the writing style grading rubric below,
being sure to keep the source formatting of the rubric. In other words, the
rubric should appear exactly as the original. Seek help from the help desk if
you do not know how to do this. Refer to “Response Symbols” document for
further information on what some of the terms mean and refer to the “CheckList Style Rubric” document in Canvas for details about the grading rubrics.
The rubric is not to be included in calculation of the length of two-and-a-halfpages of your writing. And, do not use this rubric for subsequent essays as
they will require different rubrics. Finally, give careful attention to the rubric
and the response symbols document in Canvas as they indicate precisely what
the grading of the style of your essay is based upon.
The rubric:
2
Style: Needs, if underlined: clarity, coherence, stronger unity, correct
paragraph spacing, careful proof reading, logic, stipulated minimum number of
pages. If any sources have been consulted: citation of sources, citation of
sources in the body of the text, works cited page
How weird is this assignment?
Don’t answer. I already know… It is based on a first week exercise for first year,
physics classes in an Ivy League university and evokes the question, “How well
do we really see the world around us?” It can be, should be, challenging, odd,
eye opening, difficult for some. (A suggestion: rf. kenshō in Wikipedia)
You are being asked to see and listen in a state of being fully present, in the
moment. Learning to be fully in the moment (achieving true selflessness,
overcoming our personal filters) does not come naturally and is increasingly
difficult to achieve in our increasingly distractive culture. Being fully present,
being lost in what is immediately present is a necessary requisite for looking at
art, for listening (not just hearing) music, for deep reading, for deep listening to
those around you, for serious note taking.
Sustained deep looking, deep reading and deep listening for note taking are
intellectually demanding. They challenge concentration and attention skills and
are a path to productive problem solving and creativity, are a means to
increase your knowledge base and for opening the mind to discover new
thoughts and ideas. If you are not devoting time, focus and energy these skills
demand, you are not working to comprehend and understand. You may be
merely gathering factoids.
As you listen to a lecture, as you read the assignments, and while you study a
work of art, interrogate what is before you, deliberately and intently ask and
note questions. In fact, the individually motivated inquiry-based approach
should transform your encounter with a text, a lecture or a work of art into a
raucous conversation.
What is gained by the practices I am urging you to exercise for this course has
the virtue of increasing observational, problem solving and diagnostic abilities,
as well as enhancing memory retention, alertness, and productivity and
achieving higher grades.
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