Round and Square

Japan, East Asia, and the Pacific World

History 212

Spring 2025

Preliminary Writing Assignment

Japanese Sources: The Letter

By choosing the letter format for your first writing assignment, I am asking you to build upon the skills you have already begun to develop in analyzing (and providing examples for) Japanese source materials. You have already reached a point where you have some experience with Japanese source materials, and your job will be to explain it to an intelligent non-specialist.

Teach it, really.

Letters from “the field” (or our modified “archive” of source materials on the syllabus) are a good way to refine your thoughts about historical study, and they are a useful medium for beginning the intellectual “framing process” that will accelerate as we move through the next two-thirds of the course. The letter writing exercise is especially useful while studying primary source materials.

The nonfiction writer John McPhee explains to his students that a letter is often precisely the solution to problems of interpretation or clarity—when in doubt, write to mother, he says. In this case, it is not a plea of “send money” that the letter contains, but a reworking, rethinking, and contextualization of your work. You need not limit yourself to kinfolk, but you need to think about who the recipient will be (ideally someone who will welcome a letter about “doing theory”).

You owe it to yourself to listen to this long interview with McPhee (but I know that you are pressed for time). At the very least, though, listen to the first few minutes. It is the very purpose that lies behind this assignment.

John McPhee NPR (1978) 22:40
Click on the second blue circle on the right side of the page (it is worth it)

Now start writing. Toward that end, you should pay attention to the following issues.

1. The letter needs to be “long enough” to get you deeply into several issues regarding historical research methods, including particular approaches and a few examples. There is no absolute upper limit, but I am going to make an absolute lower limit of 2,000 words (about six pages). Realistically, your letter should probably be somewhere in the 3,000 word range (about ten pages). 2,000 words (about six pages) is the bare (bear) minimum. Do not turn in an assignment shorter than that.

2. Just in case you think that writing 8-10 pages is a matter of spilling your random thoughts onto the page and turning it in, pay very close attention to my writing guide and our class discussions. I expect this to be a well-written essay in letter form (we'll discuss the genre in class).

3. I am asking you to connect with a very specific reader, and to explain “Japanese historical sources" in a level of detail that she will find satisfying. You are the expert, and your “audience” is the person who will be reading your letter (think of my role as reading over her shoulder). I have found that this kind of assignment helps students to explain even abstruse matters, because the personal relationship they have with their readers demands an attention to patient explanation that is often lacking in more “academic” forms of writing, in which they assume that a professor already knows what they are writing about.

Your reader probably doesn't.

Make it make sense.

4. You may approach your materials from any angle that you like, but you will need to “cover” at least the following items, no matter what order you choose.

a. You must discuss the “what is a primary source?” question. What is a "primary," as opposed to "secondary," source? Give your reader at least a few ways of

thinking about primary (and secondary) sources.

b. Give your reader a sense of what you have learned up to this point about

how to read primary and secondary sources. Use specific examples from

our course materials, including Lu, McCullough, Stalker, and others..

c. Finally, give your reader some sense of what it is like to “learn through sources”

by discussing the details of some of our texts. Again, use specific examples.

d. The best letters will integrate the "historiographical" readings from Week II,

discussing your sources in terms of some of the themes in the readings from

Collingwood, Mills, Cohen, Nagel, and LaFleur

e. You must have at least one illustration. Think about "the rhetorical role of
illustrations" in the New York Review of Books.

5. The best way to approach the writing process is in three parts (this is a friendly suggestion). First, create a structure (we'll discuss this in class), and jot down some notes for each of the “sections” of your letter. Second, using those notes as a guide, write a rough draft of the whole letter. Third, revise, polish, and refine.

Voilà you will have something not unlike what Alexis de Tocqueville might have written about understanding a complex, foreign culture that baffled and enticed him 180 years ago. While your letter won’t be as long as Democracy in America, it is likely—if it is done well—to be much like Tocqueville’s rich and evocative letters back to his family about encountering people, texts, and institutions in a strange land called the United States.

You get the idea. If you don't, just raise your hand and ask me (or send me an e-mail message). I'll be happy to help.

*** ***

Letters are Due (hard copy in MI 206 or .pdf "time stamp," followed by a)

paper copy on Monday) by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 23.

Add the word count to all papers!

Add the word count and your Beloit College mailbox number (e.g. "1127") and your word count (e.g. "2,832") to all papers.

HIST 310/ANTH 375 Expérience Letter Assignment 2025a

Expérience

History 310, Anthropology 375

Spring 2025

Preliminary Writing Assignment

Experience...Explained to Others

By choosing the letter format for your preliminary writing assignment (Week 5), I am asking you to build upon the skills you have already developed this term in analyzing (and providing examples for) concepts relating to the social philosophy of the enlightenment era, especially from the multi-disciplinary perspectives that guide our course. While you have only just begun your work, I want you to write a letter to a real person (it will be sent, with the aid of the history department) about our discussions (and your reading) of the historical. anthropological, and philosophical works in the seminar so far. Write the letter, and you will have a leg up, so to speak, on your semester's work.

Teach it, really (think of the New York Review).

Letters from “the field” (or our modified “archive” of history, anthropology, and philosophy) are a good way to refine your own approach to historical and ethnographic rigor and imagination. The letter writing exercise is especially useful as a way to refine your thinking at the (relative) beginning of our course.

The nonfiction writer John McPhee explains to his Princeton students that a letter is often precisely the solution to challenges of interpretation or clarity—when in doubt, write to mother, he says. In this case, it is not a plea of “send money” that the letter contains, but rather a reworking, rethinking, and re-contextualization of your work. You need not limit yourself to kinfolk, but you need to think about who the recipient will be (ideally someone who will welcome a letter about a set of concepts revolving around historical and cultural translation).

You owe it to yourself to listen to this long interview with McPhee. Take the time to do so, and you will learn a great deal about writing from one of the masters of nonfiction prose. At the very least, though, listen to the first few minutes. It is the very purpose that lies behind this assignment.

John McPhee NPR (1978) 22:40
Click on the second blue circle on the right side of the page (it is worth it)

Now start writing. Toward that end, you should pay attention to the following issues.

1. The letter needs to be “long enough” to get you deeply into several issues regarding "enlightenment era anthropology," including particular approaches to the issues (discussed in class) and a few examples. There is no absolute upper limit, but I am going to make an absolute lower limit of 2,500 words (about eight pages). Realistically, your letter should probably be somewhere in the 3,000-3,500 word range (about ten-to-twelve pages). 2,500 words is the ~~bear~~ bare minimum, and will barely allow you to tap the themes we have already covered in this course. I

2. Just in case you think that writing 10-12 pages is a matter of spilling your random thoughts onto the page and turning it in, pay very close attention to my writing guide and our class discussions. I expect this to be a well-written essay in letter form (we'll discuss the genre in class). t should go without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that eight sloppy first-draft pages will maybe get you a mercy C grade. Follow the writing guide; write drafts. Then revise.

3. I am asking you to connect with a very specific reader, and to explain “Experfience" in a level of detail that she (or he, or they) will find satisfying. You are the expert, and your “audience” is the person who will be reading your letter (think of my evaluative role as reading over a shoulder). I have found that this kind of assignment helps students to explain even abstruse and technical matters, because the personal relationship they already have with their readers demands an attention to patient explanation that is often lacking in more “academic” forms of writing, in which students often assume that a professor "already knows what they are writing about."

Your reader probably doesn't, and this letter really will be sent (arranged and paid for by the Beloit College history department).

Make it make sense.

4. You may approach your materials from any angle that you like, but you will need to “cover” at least the following items, no matter what order you choose.

a. You must discuss what "experience” means. In other words, you

will need to explain something about how the authors we have dealt with

thus far have dealt with it (pay particular attention to Kant, John Dewey,

and William James at this point. Provide your reader with at least a few

ways of thinking about it.

b. Give your reader a sense of what you have learned so far in your various books
for this course. Use examples from your studies. Tell about John Dewey and his

work on education and art, as well as Kant and William James on, well,

everything. Describe the bewildering range of ways to look at issues

surrounding the seemingly simple word "experience."

c. Give your reader a solid sense of what your final project will look like. Explain it
in some detail for your reader (and mention some of the sources you might

use). Use some of the skills you developed from the readings thus far.

d. You must have at least one illustration. Think about "the rhetorical role of
               illustrations" in the New York Review of Books. Since there are no copyright
   issues (only your reader and I will be reading it) this illustration can come
   from anywhere (online, your drawing, whatever you want).

    e. Your letter should have citations. If you cite something, make a footnote

(or endnote) for it (Chicago-style, of course). You will actually send the letter

later in the term. At that point, you may remove the citations if you wish.

5. The best way to approach the writing process is in three parts (this is a friendly suggestion). First, create a structure (we'll discuss this in class), and jot down some notes for each of the “sections” of your letter. Second, using those notes as a guide, write a rough draft of the whole letter. Third, revise, polish, and refine. Follow my writing guide carefully, and don't assume that it's just too much work to write in the way that professionals do.

Voilà you will have something not unlike what Alexis de Tocqueville might have written about understanding a complex, foreign culture that baffled and enticed him 180 years ago. While your letter won’t be as long as Democracy in America, it is likely—if it is done well—to be much like Tocqueville’s rich and evocative letters back to his family about encountering people, texts, and institutions in a strange land called the United States.

You get the idea. If you don't, ask me about it in class. I'll be happy to help.

*** ***

Letters are Due (hard copy in MI 206 or .pdf "time stamp," followed by a)

paper copy on Monday) by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 23.

Add the word count to all papers!

ANST 351: Senior Seminar Letter Assignment 2025a

Asian Studies Senior Seminar

ANST 351

Spring 2025

Preliminary Writing Assignment

Fairbank, Reischauer, and American "Asian Studies"

By choosing the letter format for your preliminary writing assignment, I am asking you to build upon the skills you have already developed this term in analyzing the two autobiographies that you have read this term. While you have only just begun your work, I want you to write a letter to a real person (it will be sent, with the aid of the history department) about John King Fairbank and Edwin Reischauer, and the ways in which they "built" Asian Studies in the United States. Write the letter, and you will have a leg up, so to speak, on your semester's work.

Teach it, really (think of the New York Review).

Letters from “the field” (or our modified “archive” of autobiographies) are a good way to refine your own approach to analytical rigor and imagination. The letter writing exercise is especially useful as a way to refine your thinking at the (relative) beginning of our course.

The nonfiction writer John McPhee explains to his Princeton students that a letter is often precisely the solution to challenges of interpretation or clarity—when in doubt, write to mother, he says. In this case, it is not a plea of “send money” that the letter contains, but a reworking, rethinking, and contextualization of your work. You need not limit yourself to kinfolk, but you need to think about who the recipient will be (ideally someone who will welcome a letter about the development of Asian Studies in the United States).

You owe it to yourself to listen to this long interview with McPhee (but I know that you are pressed for time). At the very least, though, listen to the first few minutes. It is the very purpose that lies behind this assignment.

John McPhee NPR (1978) 22:40
Click on the second blue circle on the right side of the page (it is worth it)

Now start writing. Toward that end, you should pay attention to the following issues.

1. The letter needs to be “long enough” to get you deeply into several issues regarding the careers of John King Fairbank and Edwin Reischauer. There is no absolute upper limit, but I am going to make an absolute lower limit of 2,000 words (about six pages). Realistically, your "review letter" should probably be somewhere in the 3,000-word range (about ten pages). 2,000 words is the bare minimum. Do not turn in an assignment shorter than that.

2. I am asking you to connect with a very specific reader, and to explain Fairbank and Reischauer in a level of detail that she (or he, or they) will find satisfying. You are the expert, and your “audience” is the person who will be reading your letter (think of my evaluative role as reading over a shoulder). I have found that this kind of assignment helps students to explain even abstruse and technical matters, because the personal relationship they already have with their readers demands an attention to patient explanation that is often lacking in more “academic” forms of writing, in which students often assume that a professor "already knows what they are writing about."

Your reader probably doesn't, and this letter really will be sent.

Make it make sense.

3. You may approach your materials from any angle that you like, but you will need to “cover” at least the following items, no matter what order you choose.

          a. You must discuss "who" Fairbank and Reischauer were and what kinds of
               careers they had. Provide your reader with at least a few ways of thinking
               about them and what they "created."

          b. Give your reader a sense of what you have learned about how institutions
               are created (the relationship between an individual's talents and the creation
               of "institutions" such as academic departments, the Association of Asian
               Studies," and even ambassadorial offices (in the case of Reischauer).

c. Tell your reader a little bit about how you would like to shape your own
   future in Asian Studies.

4. The best way to approach the writing process is in three parts (this is a friendly suggestion). First, jot down some notes for each of the “sections” of your letter. Second, using those notes as a guide, write a rough draft of the whole letter. Third, revise, polish, and refine.

Voilà you will have something not unlike what Alexis de Tocqueville might have written about understanding a complex, foreign culture that baffled and enticed him 180 years ago. While your letter won’t be as long as Democracy in America, it is likely—if it is done well—to be much like Tocqueville’s rich and evocative letters back to his family about encountering people, texts, and institutions in a strange land called the United States.

You get the idea. If you don't, just send me an e-mail message). I'll be happy to help.

*** ***

Letters are Due (hard copy in MI 206 or .pdf "time stamp," followed by a)

paper copy on Monday) by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 23.

Add the word count to all papers!

Add the word count and your box number to all papers!

HIST 150 Art of Warning Letter Assignment 2025a

The Art of Warning

History 150

Spring 2025

Writing Assignment

Theory: The Letter

By choosing the letter format for your first full writing assignment, I am asking you to build upon the skills you have already begun to develop in analyzing (and providing examples for) the management thinking in our midst. You have already reached a point where you have some experience with thinking about managing ourselves, our families, and "all under heaven." Now, you need to articulate that knowledge.

Teach it, really.

Letters from “the field” (or our modified “archive” of management materials are a good way to refine your thoughts about the wide-ranging and interdisciplinary study of leadership and management, and they are a useful medium for beginning the intellectual “framing process” that will accelerate as we move through the next two-thirds of the course. The letter writing exercise is especially useful while beginning to integrate these multiple disciplines.

The nonfiction writer John McPhee explains to his students that a letter is often precisely the solution to problems of interpretation or clarity—when in doubt, write to mother, he says. In this case, it is not a plea of “send money” that the letter contains, but rather a reworking, rethinking, and re-contextualization of your work. You need not limit yourself to kinfolk, but you need to think about who the recipient will be (ideally someone who will welcome a letter about “doing theory”).

It needs to be a real person, and the letter will really be sent (arranged and paid for by the Beloit College history department). Let me repeat: it is a real letter to a real person. Do not treat this as an "exercise." In fact, the one way to "blow it" is to write a "fake" letter. One excellent student who did not believe me, actually wrote a "To whom it may concern" letter.

Don't. Do. That. Ever. I mean it.

Now that you are going to write a real letter, you owe it to yourself to listen to this long interview with JohnMcPhee (you might have heard of him). Take the time to do it. You'll learn a great deal about writing (and remember, this is a writing course, with "W" credit on your transcript). At the very least, though, listen to the first few minutes. It is the very purpose that lies behind this assignment.

John McPhee NPR (1978) 22:40
Click on the second blue circle on the right side of the page (it is worth it)

Now start writing. Toward that end, you should pay attention to the following issues.

1. The letter should be an absolute minimum of 2,000 words (about six pages). That might get you a B (maybe). You really will need between 2,000 and 3,000 words (six-to-ten pages) to do it justice. I am looking for high-quality writing, and simply dashing off a few pages will likely result in a C (or worse). A good job will require a good deal of careful work.

2. Just in case you are used to writing three or four pages—spilling words onto the page and turning it in—pay very close attention to my writing guide and our class discussions about writing. I expect this to be a well-written essay in letter form (we'll discuss the letter genre in class). Again, follow my writing guide. It will give you the tools to write drafts and to do this ~~write~~ (er, right).

3. I am asking you to connect with a very specific reader, and to explain "management" in a level of detail that s/he/they will find satisfying. Even now, you are the expert, and your “audience” is the person who will be reading your letter (think of my role as reading over your reader's shoulder). I have found that this kind of assignment helps students to explain even abstruse matters, because the personal relationship they have with their readers demands an attention to patient explanation that is often lacking in more “academic” forms of writing, in which they assume that a professor already knows what they are writing about.

Your reader probably doesn't, and I want you to explain it.

Make it make sense to your reader.

4. You may approach your materials from any angle that you like, but you will need to “cover” at least the following items, no matter what order you choose.

a. You must discuss ways that people, at least those you have read in our books so far

(this. is a course in historical and managerial thinking after all. Provide your

reader with at least a few ways of thinking about it. Discuss dimensions of

"management" that can be seen in everything from war to managing ourselves.

b. Give your reader a sense of what you have learned up to this point about

how to think about management (it being far more than part of "business."

We will dive even more deeply into these matters in the latter parts of the

course, but you already have good material.

c. Finally, give your reader some sense of what it is like to learn about management

through the lenses of history, ethnography, economics, business studies,

and more.

d. You must have at least one illustration. Trust me. I know what I'm doing. It can be anything (and you won't be publishing this, so permissions won't be required, although you should cite anything that is not your own drawing with a footnote or endnote).

5. The best way to approach the writing process is in three parts (this is a friendly suggestion). First, create a structure (we'll discuss this in class), and jot down some notes for each of the “sections” of your letter. Second, using those notes as a guide, write a rough draft of the whole letter. Third, redraft, ,revise, polish, and refine (read my writing guide)

Voilà you will have something not unlike what Alexis de Tocqueville might have written about understanding a complex, foreign culture that baffled and enticed him almost 190 years ago. While your letter won’t be as long as Tocqueville's Democracy in America, it is likely—if it is done well—to be much like Tocqueville’s rich and evocative letters back to his family about encountering people, texts, and institutions in a strange land called the United States.

You get the idea. If you don't, just raise your hand and ask me (or send me an e-mail message). I'll be happy to help.

*** ***

Letters are Due (hard copy in MI 206 or .pdf "time stamp," followed by a)

paper copy on Monday) by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 23.

Add the word count to all papers!

Sunday, June 9, 2024

Drawing History and Culture Letter Assignment 2024b

Drawing History and Culture

History 211

Spring 2024

Writing Assignment

Theory: The Letter

By choosing the letter format for your first full writing assignment, I am asking you to build upon the skills you have already begun to develop in analyzing (and providing examples for) texts closely through reading, sketching, and drawing. You have already reached a point where you have some experience with thinking about these matters, and you already know more than most people in your understanding. Now, you need to articulate that knowledge.

Teach it, really.

Letters from “the field” (or our modified “archive” of reading materials are a good way to refine your thoughts about close reading and expanding upon it with sketches, drawings, and maps. The letter writing (and drawing) exercise is especially useful while beginning to integrate the multiple disciplines required to be a close reader.

The nonfiction writer John McPhee explains to his students that a letter is often precisely the solution to problems of interpretation or clarity—when in doubt, write to mother, he says. In this case, it is not a plea of “send money” that the letter contains, but rather a reworking, rethinking, and re-contextualization of your work. You need not limit yourself to kinfolk, but you need to think about who the recipient will be (ideally someone who will welcome a letter about “doing theory”).

It needs to be a real person, and the letter will really be sent (arranged and paid for by the Beloit College history department). Let me repeat: it is a real letter to a real person. Do not treat this as an "exercise." In fact, the one way to "blow it" is to write a fake letter. One excellent student who did not believe me, actually wrote a "To whom it may concern" letter.

Don't. Do. That. I mean it.

Now that you are going to write a real letter, you owe it to yourself to listen to this long interview with JohnMcPhee (you might have heard of him). Take the time to do it. You'll learn a great deal about writing (and remember, this is a writing course, with "W" credit on your transcript). At the very least, though, listen to the first few minutes. It is the very purpose that lies behind this assignment.

John McPhee NPR (1978) 22:40
Click on the second blue circle on the right side of the page (it is worth it)

Now start writing. Toward that end, you should pay attention to the following issues.

1. The letter should be and absolute minimum of 2,000 words (about six pages) of writing (more on drawing in a moment). That might get you a B (maybe). You really will need between 2,000 and 3,000 words (six-to-ten pages) to do it justice. I am looking for high-quality writing, and simply dashing off a few pages will likely result in a C (or worse). A good job will require a good deal of careful work.

2. Just in case you are used to writing three or four pages—spilling words onto the page and turning it in—pay very close attention to my writing guide and our class discussions about writing. I expect this to be a well-written essay in letter form (we'll discuss the letter genre in class). Again, follow my writing guide. It will give you the tools to write drafts and to do this ~~write~~ (er, right).

3. I am asking you to connect with a very specific reader, and to explain "close" in a level of detail that s/he/they will find satisfying. Even now, you are the expert, and your “audience” is the person who will be reading your letter (think of my role as reading over your reader's shoulder). I have found that this kind of assignment helps students to explain even abstruse matters, because the personal relationship they have with their readers demands an attention to patient explanation that is often lacking in more “academic” forms of writing, in which they assume that a professor already knows what they are writing about.

Your reader probably doesn't, and I want you to explain it.

Make it make sense to your reader.

4. You may approach your materials from any angle that you like, but you will need to “cover” at least the following items, no matter what order you choose.

a. You must discuss ways that reading different kinds of texts present

different challenges for readers, as well as the different ways to confront

different readings.

b. Give your reader a clear sense, with examples, of close reading. In particular,

tell your reader about how to get the most out of a text.

c. Finally, give your reader some sense of what it is like to read closely with

the aid of a pencil (drawing, sketching, mapping). Really explain it.

d. You must have at least six illustrations. These must be your own drawings (if you have had classes with me, this is different from the illustration requirement in letters for other classes. You need to draw (think of the title of the course). These drawings can be of any size, from small sketches to full-page drawings.

5. The best way to approach the writing process is in three parts (this is a friendly suggestion). First, create a structure (we'll discuss this in class), and jot down some notes for each of the “sections” of your letter. Second, using those notes as a guide, write a rough draft of the whole letter. Third, redraft, ,revise, polish, and refine (read my writing guide)

Voilà you will have something not unlike what Alexis de Tocqueville might have written about understanding a complex, foreign culture that baffled and enticed him almost 190 years ago. While your letter won’t be as long as Tocqueville's Democracy in America, it is likely—if it is done well—to be much like Tocqueville’s rich and evocative letters back to his family about encountering people, texts, and institutions in a strange land called the United States.

You get the idea. If you don't, just raise your hand and ask me (or send me an e-mail message). I'll be happy to help.

*** ***

Letters are Due (.pdf file to lafleur@beloit.edu)

by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 29

Add the word count to all papers!