Overview
Reading Response Guidelines
Each week you will receive a short assignment (250-400words)The reading responses for this section are designed towards (a) invigorating and sharpening class discussions, (b) providing an opportunity for those of us who feel strongest through the written word and perhaps uncomfortable speaking in class, and (c) train you into writing freely and clearly, without the stakes and formalism of required graded assignments. In this course, they should also be seen as germinations and notations that are parts and parcels building towards your midterm essays and final papers, rather than as a separate or extra assignment.
Components of a good reading response:
Thesis Statement: Each response should have an identifiable thesis statement somewhere in the first few sentences. This should sum up your overall answer or argument to the given prompt. The summaries that follow should be evidence directed to supporting this point.
Depth vs. Breadth: For a 250–400-word response there is no way to be comprehensive. Instead of briefly listing all the evidence supporting an answer, instead focus on selecting one-three points in the text, summarizing them with a specific example, and reflecting on their implications and relationship to the prompt and other readings.
Key Quote: Each response should include at least one key quote. This quote should not simply be a stand-in for a summarizing point, but should rather exemplify an author’s argument or position in relation to the prompt and the point you’re making with your response.
Specificity: Try to be as specific as possible in these responses. Provide specific examples in the text to back up your response. Provide page number citations where possible.
Question: After each response include a question that the reading raised that you’d like to discuss in seminar. This does not have to relate to the reading response, although it can. This can be aimed at a confusion in comprehending the text or towards a critique of comparison with another text in the course. The question does not count toward the word count.
Word Limit: Aim for 250 - 400 words. 400 is a HARD limit. Being concise is a challenge and is encouraged through this practice.
Chose 1 of the following
(1) Desmond and Herring both combine quantitative analysis with ethnographic analysis to analyze evictions from housing and evictions from public space. How do they connect their quantitative and qualitative analysis and what is gained by the combination?
(2) Discuss how Desmond and Herring conceptualize evictions and homelessness not simply as a condition of poverty and inequality, but a cause of poverty and inequality.
(3) Relate or contrast one (or both) of the readings to a local case of housing precarity or homelessness here in LA or to a city/region of personal interest. Please include at least one online reference to the case you chose.
In addition to your weekly question, please also include a question you'd like to ask Professor Herring about his own research process or findings in Thursday's lecture.