Wheaton College (Massachusetts)
First Year Seminar 1999: The Future
Fall 1999
Michael Drout

First Assignment: Who are these people, anyway?

Some of you have already expressed to me some difficulty in figuring out everything that is going on in Chapter 1 of Postrel. Chapter 1 can be difficult to understand because of the blizzard of names and references Postrel throws at you. Many of these references are unfamiliar or, if they are familiar, it's often only in a vague sense ("I know this guy is some sort of politician...").

But fortunately the combined intelligence of this class is capable of conquering Postrel's intertextual chapter. To this end, we will divide up the chapter into sections and find out what Postrel is talking about.

Pages -- Students Responsible
2-4 [Two students per section, names omitted.--vp]
5-7
8-11
12-14
15-17
18-20
21-23
24-26

I want each pair of students to go to the library (actually go there; don't just log on to the internet) and trace down every reference on the pages for which you are responsible. Write up a brief explanation of:
A: what the "point" of the three pages is
B: what each reference contributes to that point.

This assignment asks you to research things and explain them to your classmates. After I collect each paper I will make copies and distribute them to the rest of the class, so make sure you have done work you are comfortable having other people see.