- Writing Program

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY – WRITING PROGRAM

Jumpstart Essay

Fall 2007

Experts Beyond Experts

I thought that what [Farmer] wanted was to erase both time and geography, connecting all parts of his life and tying them instrumentally to a world in which he saw intimate, inescapable connections between the gleaming corporate offices of Paris and New York and a legless man lying on the mud floor of a hut in the remotest part of Haiti.

(Tracy Kidder writing about Paul Farmer in Mountains Beyond Mountains 218)

When universities start collaborating with their connected communities (at home and abroad) on the most pressing issues of the day, I have seen the tables turn in ways that benefit both our innovations and the quality of our multicultural community. Why does this happen? I believe the answer lies first in the nature of the problems to be solved now and the connected question of who becomes the expert. It is hard, for example, to make progress on environmental sustainability in an urban ecosystem without addressing questions of environmental justice, and whose voice do we need to listen to in that case? How do we tackle the urban epidemic of diabetes even if we develop a better understanding through genomics of the disease itself, without contextualizing its spread within the broader questions of race disparities in health? Wouldn’t we understand the genesis of inter-religious conflict better if we engaged with refugee communities in our own cities and towns? It is virtually impossible to find a problem of major importance to our society in which the insights of a diverse, multicultural community would not be very valuable to the solutions.

(From SU Chancellor Nancy Cantor’s “Multiculturalism, Universalism, and the 21^st Century Academy” 6)

The Assignment

For the third consecutive year Syracuse University is encouraging a new entering class of first year students to read a book in common. This year’s choice of shared reading is, as you know, Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World, first published in 2003. Having read the book it would be easy and appropriate to conclude that Paul Farmer is a remarkable man, and that the world needs more people like Paul Farmer. In this first unit of WRT 105, however, you are going to think about the book a little differently and write an essay that engages with the complexity of issues raised by and within the book. Consider the following questions:

•Why does the University promote a shared reading for all first year students?

•What is the purpose of this particular book as this year’s selected shared reading?

•What sorts of questions, conversations and values is the University hoping to see you engage with over the first couple of weeks of your college career?

•In what ways does Paul Farmer’s expertise emerge from his insider/outsider status? How does his status create obstacles for him in his work? What does it allow him to achieve?

•How does someone become an ‘expert’ in an increasingly complex and globalized world?

•What sorts of new awarenesses, perspectives, and responsibilities do you imagine readers of Mountains Beyond Mountains might be encouraged to take away with them?

After thinking through (and writing in response to) these questions you will write an essay based on a claim that addresses the relationships among the following key terms: “university,” “community,” and “expert.” You will carefully re-read the book and select claims and arguments that Paul Farmer makes about his work and about the world, as well as claims and arguments that Kidder makes about Farmer, and use them as evidence for the new ideas you are generating. You may reference your own experiences with “communities of experts” as long as they serve as evidence for a claim related to the key terms and not simply as narrative filler. This is not a personal essay but an academic essay that reflects your efforts to analyze and argue.

You may also reference Nancy Cantor’s article in Critical Encounters and/or her “Point of View” piece on the University website— (http://www.syr.edu/chancellor/writings/chroniclePOV.html).

The Nitty Gritty

The essay should be a minimum of 1000 words, 12 point font, double spaced. The essay and unit 1 portfolio are due on September X. Please use proper MLA citation within the body of your essay and on a Works Cited page, and please compose an appropriate title for your essay.

Portfolio Contents (will include but are not limited to):

•list of “little gems” from MBM—that is,comments, claims, insights, arguments, pithy remarks that Farmer and/or Kidder make

•a two paragraph summary of the Cantor article in Critical Encounters with Texts

•notes on your visit to the library website devoted to the shared reading

•notes on Google and database searches on key terms from the book

•new promotional blurbs for the book

•list of those people you consider insiders/outsiders

•a thick paragraph defining who or what constitutes an expert

•a 250 wd synthesis working with the two quotes on the top of the assignment sheet

•a draft of the essay

Visit the SU Writing Program Website Writing Program Page


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Reporting Units Office of the Vice Chancellor and Provost Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Services Enrollment Management Graduate School Information Technology and Services (ITS) Office of the Associate Provost for Academic Programs Office of Research Syracuse University Press Syracuse University Library Schools and Colleges	A \| A \| A Writing Program SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY – WRITING PROGRAM Jumpstart Essay Fall 2007 Experts Beyond Experts I thought that what [Farmer] wanted was to erase both time and geography, connecting all parts of his life and tying them instrumentally to a world in which he saw intimate, inescapable connections between the gleaming corporate offices of Paris and New York and a legless man lying on the mud floor of a hut in the remotest part of Haiti. (Tracy Kidder writing about Paul Farmer in Mountains Beyond Mountains 218) When universities start collaborating with their connected communities (at home and abroad) on the most pressing issues of the day, I have seen the tables turn in ways that benefit both our innovations and the quality of our multicultural community. Why does this happen? I believe the answer lies first in the nature of the problems to be solved now and the connected question of who becomes the expert. It is hard, for example, to make progress on environmental sustainability in an urban ecosystem without addressing questions of environmental justice, and whose voice do we need to listen to in that case? How do we tackle the urban epidemic of diabetes even if we develop a better understanding through genomics of the disease itself, without contextualizing its spread within the broader questions of race disparities in health? Wouldn’t we understand the genesis of inter-religious conflict better if we engaged with refugee communities in our own cities and towns? It is virtually impossible to find a problem of major importance to our society in which the insights of a diverse, multicultural community would not be very valuable to the solutions. (From SU Chancellor Nancy Cantor’s “Multiculturalism, Universalism, and the 21^st Century Academy” 6) The Assignment For the third consecutive year Syracuse University is encouraging a new entering class of first year students to read a book in common. This year’s choice of shared reading is, as you know, Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World, first published in 2003. Having read the book it would be easy and appropriate to conclude that Paul Farmer is a remarkable man, and that the world needs more people like Paul Farmer. In this first unit of WRT 105, however, you are going to think about the book a little differently and write an essay that engages with the complexity of issues raised by and within the book. Consider the following questions: •Why does the University promote a shared reading for all first year students? •What is the purpose of this particular book as this year’s selected shared reading? •What sorts of questions, conversations and values is the University hoping to see you engage with over the first couple of weeks of your college career? •In what ways does Paul Farmer’s expertise emerge from his insider/outsider status? How does his status create obstacles for him in his work? What does it allow him to achieve? •How does someone become an ‘expert’ in an increasingly complex and globalized world? •What sorts of new awarenesses, perspectives, and responsibilities do you imagine readers of Mountains Beyond Mountains might be encouraged to take away with them? After thinking through (and writing in response to) these questions you will write an essay based on a claim that addresses the relationships among the following key terms: “university,” “community,” and “expert.” You will carefully re-read the book and select claims and arguments that Paul Farmer makes about his work and about the world, as well as claims and arguments that Kidder makes about Farmer, and use them as evidence for the new ideas you are generating. You may reference your own experiences with “communities of experts” as long as they serve as evidence for a claim related to the key terms and not simply as narrative filler. This is not a personal essay but an academic essay that reflects your efforts to analyze and argue. You may also reference Nancy Cantor’s article in Critical Encounters and/or her “Point of View” piece on the University website— (http://www.syr.edu/chancellor/writings/chroniclePOV.html). The Nitty Gritty The essay should be a minimum of 1000 words, 12 point font, double spaced. The essay and unit 1 portfolio are due on September X. Please use proper MLA citation within the body of your essay and on a Works Cited page, and please compose an appropriate title for your essay. Portfolio Contents (will include but are not limited to): •list of “little gems” from MBM—that is,comments, claims, insights, arguments, pithy remarks that Farmer and/or Kidder make •a two paragraph summary of the Cantor article in Critical Encounters with Texts •notes on your visit to the library website devoted to the shared reading •notes on Google and database searches on key terms from the book •new promotional blurbs for the book •list of those people you consider insiders/outsiders •a thick paragraph defining who or what constitutes an expert •a 250 wd synthesis working with the two quotes on the top of the assignment sheet •a draft of the essay Visit the SU Writing Program Website Writing Program Page