Assignment 1: Chapter Review
Choose two chapters from the Building on Critical Traditions and/or Knowledge for the People and/or Pedagogy of the Oppressed, (excluding The Purposes book and The Perspectives reading). The chapters can take a similar stance on a particular issue or be very different in their approaches to the issue. Write a review of the two chapters using the style of a book review but remember you are NOT reviewing the whole book/s. See Developing Your Writing and Study Skills and Study Skills in the course menu for some notes on writing and evaluating a book review. You will also want to look at examples of book reviews in adult education journals. Reviews vary in length and quality. If you read a few you will soon get an idea of what style is most useful to a new student of adult education.
Many book reviews are limited to 500-750 words, but for the purposes of this exercise, you can write between 1,000 to 1,100 (maximum) words (not including cover page and reference section). You may feel you do not know enough about the field to offer a critique of the overall issue, so you may want to focus specifically on the content of the two chapters. You can integrate your review of the two chapters or deal with each in turn – whichever way you do it please include a comparison of the two chapters.
Reading Skills
The readings for this course require concentrated, active attention. When you approach a new reading, follow the author’s process of building an argument, identify the main argument or idea, and then respond to it. Consider your reading as a dialogue with the author — ask questions, respond at an intuitive level, critically evaluate what is being said, and consider challenging ideas. Jot down your responses in the margins of the text or write them in a reading notebook.
When reading a text, consider the following questions:
• What main idea or argument is the author making?
• How does the author support this main point and build the argument?
• How does the author define key concepts?
• What assumptions is the author making?
• What are the implications of what the author is saying?
When critiquing a text, consider the following questions:
• Is the author’s argument clear?
• Is the main point or argument well supported? Are there contradictions or holes in the argument? Can you think of other arguments that would refute this main point?
• Are there other ways to define the key concepts that the author is using?
• Is the author making sound assumptions? Would a different framework of assumptions lead to a more defensible conclusion?
• Are the implications of the author’s argument acceptable to you? If not, why not?
You may need to read a text several times to grasp the main ideas, responding and then formulating your own position vis a vis the authors. One resource that might be of assistance with new concepts is a Dictionary of Sociology. You may wish to purchase one or find one online. Another resource that may be available from your local library is the International encyclopedia of adult education edited by Leona English (this is an expensive book but some of you may be able to persuade your local library to buy it as a key text).
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