Wednesday, June 15, 2016

A MODEL OF GOOD NOTE TAKING comments expected

I chose Devin Dougherty's work as an example of efficient and well organized note-taking.

COMMENTS: how do your notes compare? Is this a good example, or do you find your method better suited for your own learning style?



Rope and Soap

Lynching of Italians in the U.S. basically unknown (or unfamiliar) to scholars.

“[Scholars] have, though, widely underestimated, both in terms of quantity and quality, the lynchings of other non-black ethnic groups and in particular of Italians”

“Under the guise of a calm normality, this was the history of a wave of collective assassinations which reached the peak at the turn of the century.”[1880s-1920s, primarily]

“first was mob violence that culminated in the capture of suspects of certain crimes, followed by the observance of a ceremonial ritual in front of the mob”

Often, the victims were kidnapped from jail.

The aggressors often felt they needed to enforce frontier justice if they decided that justice wasn’t being or wouldn’t be properly doled out to the victim.

Mob mentality often takes over (often, often, often)

The most important newspapers did not condemn the lynchings of three Italians accused of murder; seemingly justifying it by saying it was a warning against the mob.

After a Black man was found guilty of one murder (that the Italians who were lynched paid for), he was silenced by the court for fear of Italian backlash.

Tallulah: doctor was non-lethally shot by an Italian and he and 2 others were arrested. 2 more went into hiding. A mob broke into prison and lynched the 3, then found and lynched the hiding 2. The lynchers went unpunished. The press was again ambivalent.

Evening Post was the only major paper to say that there was no reason for the mob killing.

Reasoning: “first, racial hatred; second, the jealousy of the towns merchants who didn’t like the fact that the few Tallulah Italians were doing pretty well in their business to the detriment of the locals’ interests; third, the opposition to allowing Italians to vote.”

“At the end it was decided that they should expect the same kind of justice reserved to black people who assault or shoot or kill a white man in Madison: no trial, lynching. The white people who govern and administer Madison are not willing to let Italians join their own ranks.”

When a conspiracy was being thrown around that Italians were going to be killed in Erwin, a young man tried alerting people over the phone, but the Italians at the telephone office threw him out.

The family of a lynching victim could obtain reparation from the government. The Erwin case was disputed as to whether or not it was a lynching.

These cases are so drawn out seemingly in order to have people move on from them

Italians were afraid to testify for fear of their lives

“Here, just like in every other place, Italian workers are eagerly sought after because for the same salary they are much more productive than the ever-complaining drunkard Irish or lazy blacks.”

Son of Italy

Images of poverty (wood fire for cooking)

Violent characters surrounding nonviolent protagonist

Romantic imagery of Italy

Village seemingly filled with mystics and seers

Racially identifies as Samnite

Reminds me of Things Fall Apart- isolated society with their own culture, trying to make it seem “civilized” from out perspective.

Children loved to climb trees to reach birds’ nests and to share the stories of these adventures

Work often got in the way of proper education (though the protagonist claims he was scholastically more adept than his classmates)

“By the time I was twelve I stopped going to school entirely and began my life of continuous toil.”

(I just realized at this point that this is a memoir; so forgive any assumptions of mine that came through that this was a novel)

The poor residents of the village give generously to beggars, even though they can’t afford much themselves.

The villagers believe in witchcraft and the existence of a witch in their town.

“A big black cat – probably astray – had been seen prowling near the baby’s cradle. Everyone swore that it was the witch, which was conclusive evidence.”

“the boundless Americas out of which at times people returned with fabulous tales and thousands of liras – riches unheard of before among peasants.”

America was the place people went to and rarely returned from.

The American Dream separated families

The departure was a celebratory affair, despite the sadness

The author was examined several times before boarding the ship

The trip was not described as difficult as other writings on immigration describe

14 comments:

  1. This was a great in depth example of note taking. Every student has their way to help them take notes and memorize specific topics. This student was detailed in his note taking and took his time. I am going to try this method of note taking next for the next assignment. When I take notes, I usually highlight as I am reading and write down specific details that will help me remember what I am reading.

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  2. I agree that this is a great example of efficient note taking. My notes usually consist of bullet point summaries that outline the main point of the readings. I usually also like to highlight so when I'm studying, I can go back and read over the key points. I believe that there isn't one specific way of note taking because everyone has their own method of taking notes that works for them.

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  3. This is an example of good note taking skills. The notes are written in a very organized way and they are easy to read and understand. He writes down short bullet points and in some of them he adds his own opinion. When taking notes, the shorter the bullet point the easier they are to understand. When I take notes I sometimes write too much in one bullet. When reading a book or article, I underline or highlight things I find important. I write down why I think these moments are important and I add my opinion so I do not forget later on.

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  4. This is a great example of note taking. These notes are very detailed. I take notes as bullet points, stating the events as they occur.I think my note taking helps me remember the readings.

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  5. This was an excellent example of not taking, bulleting some important points with quotes from the text. Often I find myself highlighting the text but rarely adding the quotes to my written notes. This is something I could improve on and learn form this individuals not taking skills.

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  6. At first I thought He had written a poem. These are some very well composed notes. I'm new to this amount of digital note taking, but am thankful for the forced focus. To often would my notes turn into doodles or literal poems. My own note taking strategy is in mid transition so I may take some pointers.

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  7. I find these notes to be very well organized and precise. I like that there are quotes from the book and very close observations. I tend to repeat a lot of the stuff I say so this is a good example of great on point notes.

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  8. The notes were well-organized and his style is what seems to be most effective for his ability to recall certain details in the story.
    My notes were similar in detail but probably not as efficient. I noticed his ideas were like quick refreshers and not too extensive. Unlike mines where I probably listed too many minor instances in the book.

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  9. I found that the notes concerning Son of Italy are quite similar to the kind of notes I would take. Short, important points highlighted. However, from the article, I noticed a lot of quoted passages, which is something I would not do. I feel I would be able to digest more if I rephrase it in my own words and in shorter sentences.

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  10. Wow, these notes are better than mine. Even though I do my notes in a different format you are able to follow the story at a good place. Generally I like to elaborate on ideas more than specific moments when it comes to notes about the Son of Italy.

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  11. Wow, these notes are better than mine. Even though I do my notes in a different format you are able to follow the story at a good place. Generally I like to elaborate on ideas more than specific moments when it comes to notes about the Son of Italy.

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  12. These notes are very written. They are also lengthy, which is most certainly a good thing in writing for details. The format is even great and is very simple.

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  13. Great notes! I believe that mine, in comparison, perhaps could be longer and more detailed. I tend to try to get the main idea down on paper and not to interrupt my reading too often, but I probably could have benefitted from taking notes more similar to these.

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  14. These notes are pretty good. My notes are quite similar where I put the main idea down and try not to write too much since I read and write after each chapter.

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