Written Assignment #2 - Due: Week of November 9, 2003

DOCUMENT by: Bob Hassenger
Subject: Written Assignment #2 - Due: Week of November 9, 2003

Written Assignment #2 (Essay)

As I said earlier, the intention is for assignments to be cumulative, building upon each other. They are, in a sense, all one assignment. That is to say, some of the same themes recur, as the instructor/coordinator attempts to set questions that provoke your reexamination of what you still think, from a month ago, what has changed, and why.

In this assignment, you are invited to submit an essay of 2000-2500 (8-10 doubled-spaced pages) on your understanding of the subtitle of the book: "Individualism and Commitment in American Life." Remember the issues from the earlier assignment, about freedom and authority. Recall your discussion of the readings in Bellah et al., and other sources you have pursued, including the discussions.

How do we (and who is we?) get people to be more "committed"? Need "individualism" get in the way of commitment? Are terms such as "communities of memory" and "lifestyle enclaves" useful to you? Why or why not? Would the authors allow for the validity of "virtual communities"? Why or why not? Finally, what do the authors mean by "civic participation"?

If you have questions about this assignment, do not hesitate to contact the instructor/coordinator.

Instructions for Written Assignment

Your essay discussions are intended to test your understanding of important concepts and discover how to sharpen your intellectual skills of analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and application. Essays are intended to provide opportunities to more fully describe, explain, and analyze the books and other sources. When you submit essays, you may want to submit them as file attachments, as these usually retain your formatting. You will be required to document sources using the APA Format.

Locate information about library and research information for topics covered in this course using the links at the Empire State College Online Library and Learning Resources Center at http://www.esc.edu/library where you can find the supplemental information that you require for your assignments.

Use of these resources will encourage you to:
1. Develop "library" or "research" skills that can be used throughout your college studies
2. Become comfortable and competent locating academic resources, such as scholarly journals, online book collections, etc.
3. Go to the Empire State College Library as a logical starting point for finding high-quality academic research-related web sites.

You can find scholarly or academic sources to support your discussion at the Empire State College Library web site linking under Research Guides, called Historical Studies If you are not familiar with the ESC library, click on this link for helpful hints, You can also get help from the online cybrarian link on the library website.

Please read the Suny Empire State College statement on Academic Integrity before submitting any work for this course (including discussion postings). In addition, please document your sources carefully and use proper citation for all submissions to the course, including discussion postings.

If you need guidance writing your essays, the Writer's Complex at http://www.esc.edu/writer has some great pointers on how to write an effective essay.

Click here for step-by-step instructions on how to submit your assignment

When you are ready to create your assignment, click the CREATE ASSIGNMENT link below.