"The New Mecca," by George Saunders
- How does Saunders depict himself, as an outsider to Dubai, throughout the essay? What uses does he make of his own inexperience and confusion in order to explore his subject?
- What specific detail(s) about Dubai circa 2005 stand(s) out to you after reading this essay? Which incident or episode made the strongest impression on you, and why?
- Consider this essay as a piece of writing: what are its strengths? Is there anything you would suggest to improve it?
"The Secret Life of Time," by Alan Burdick
- How does Burdick use personal experience to get into the abstract philosophical ideas the essay is exploring? Is this an effective technique?
- Which of the many philosophical and psychological ideas about time and how we experience it resonated most strongly with you, and why? Is your individual experience as a time-bound entity reflected in this essay at all?
- Consider this essay as a piece of writing: what are its strengths? Is there anything you would suggest to improve it?
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Please fill out a poll to indicate your preferences for our reading assignment on Wednesday, December 6. The options, all drawn from your summer-reading selections, are listed below, with links. Please complete this survey by the end of the day Wednesday, November 29.
"Shakespeare's Cure for Xenophobia," by Stephen Greenblatt
"The Waves," by Harry Arter
"The Lost Art of Stealing Fruit," by Charlotte Mendelson
"Woven," by Lidia Yuknavitch
"How Censorship Works," by Ai Weiwei
"My Lost Body," by Christina Crosby
"Shirt-Worthy," by David Giffels
"Welcome to the almost Cult-Like Fan-World of American Women's Pro Basketball," by Stephen Burt
"Hacker House Blues: My Life with 12 Programmers, 2 Rooms, and One 21st-Century Dream," by David Garczynski
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