The goal of these assignments is to address the Critical Thinking and Reading student learnin

The goal of these assignments is to address the Critical Thinking and Reading student learning outcomes for this course (see syllabus).  You will be analyzing a text's content and rhetorical strategy.  As you will see in the rubric (found in the Course Resources section), the primary goal here is to debate the issues using a formal, academic approach that utilizes examples from the text, as well as your own knowledge and experience.  Your peer responses should drive the conversation, asking questions of the original author or presenting points that will further his or her thinking on the subject, rather than simply agreeing or disagreeing.

Please remember that the rubric is a qualitative evaluation of the discussion forum. 

1. What does Amy Tan’s mother mean when she says that your only shame is to have shame?
2. Tan is very nervous about the encounter between her family and Robert’s. What do you really think she’s afraid of?
3. Describe the Tan family’s meal from Robert’s point of view. What does he see? How do the scene and the food look to him?