Behavior: Power and Context

Stephanie André, Rutgers University, Spring 2005

Assignment 1

In your last paper you were asked to consider the possible motivation behind Chris McCandless's decision to abandon conventional knowledge. For this paper we are going to examine the excerpt from Krakauer's book in a new light-in relation to Malcolm Gladwell's ideas. In his chapter, "The Power of Context," Malcolm Gladwell argues for another way to understand one's relation to "meaning" and knowledge. While Gladwell looks at the epidemic of crime in New York City in the mid 1980s and the dramatic drop in crime rates a decade later and Jon Krakauer ruminates on a young man's "strange spiritual quest" (Krakauer 420) into the Alaskan wilderness, both authors contemplate the nature of "character".  One seemingly incidental connection between both essays is the description of graffiti in the context of this contemplation of "character." For this paper, I would like you all to engage in some contemplation of your own on this particular connection. Why do you think each author chooses a visual representation such as graffiti to embody his ideas about character?

Assignment 2

Both Malcolm Gladwell and James C. Scott explore theories of behavior in different realms. While Gladwell is interested in how the context of one's situation shapes one's behavior and the expression of particular aspects of one's character, Scott is more interested in examining how institutionally sanctioned forms of power shape public and private behavior. For this paper, I want you to choose one major aspect of society (such as crime, globalization, social change, activism, aesthetics, ideas about knowledge or "meaning," revolt, war, character, or any other focus of your choosing) to construct a project in which you argue what you believe to be the most significant determinants of behavior, using Scott's and Gladwell's ideas as evidence. Make sure to examine specific examples from both essays in your project.      

Assignment 3

For your last paper, I asked you all to develop a project in which you made a case for the most significant determinants of behavior. For this paper, I want you to construct a project in which you argue for (not summarize) one way in which Tannen's essay complicates Scott's and Gladwell's ideas. Conversely, you could also construct an argument in which you talk about how Scott's ideas complicate Tannen and Gladwell, or how Gladwell complicates the other two. Make sure to examine specific examples from all three essays in your project.

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