Note:  Your seminar grade will be determined by the quantity of your responses (how many questions you answer and how many other students you respond to) and the quality (how well you demonstrate an understanding of the ideas you're responding to, how detailed your responses are, how coherent and in-depth they are, etc.)

Directions:
1.  Read chapters 1-3 in The Working Poor.

2. Choose one question and respond with a 3-5 paragraph mini-essay. Include quotes and/or specific references to the text to back up your responses.

The Ingredients of Poverty: In the introduction, Shipler presents his thesis by discussing the elements of what he calls the "American Myth" and the "American Anti-Myth." Summarize Shipler's views on the American dream and the conditions necessary to acheive it. How much control does Shipler believe people have over their economic status? To what extent does he feel the individual is responsible for his or her own economic health? What is your reaction to his assessment of the nature of poverty in the U.S., its causes and our response to it as a culture? Identify any flaws in his logic, or ideas or examples that he fails to consider as he sets the stage for his argument.

The Expense of Being Poor : The quote on page 13 illustrates what Shipler consideres to be a pervasive problem facing a lot of people who exist on the edge of poverty. What does Sandy mean when she says “Being poor is very expensive”? Give some examples of how being poor is more expensive than being financially stable, and discuss some examples of industries that profit from poverty. Summarize Shipler's attitude toward those industries; how does he characterize them and the people that these industries interact with? Give specific examples of the types of appeal (logical, emotional, ethical) he uses as he lays out his case. How effective is his argument in this section? Are there places where his logic falls apart; where his use of appeal misses the mark?

Fun for the Poor: What does Shipler mean when he writes on page 27 that the poor are “caught between America’s hedonism and its dictum that the poor are supposed to sacrifice, suffer, and certainly not purchase any fun for themselves”? What does Shipler seem to think about this dictum and how it's enforced in our culture? Does he believe it's a problem? If so, where does Shipler lay blame? Discuss the examples he provides to back up his idea that the poor are "caught", and discuss your response. To what extent do you agree or disagree with his assessment?

Does Work Work? : In Chapter 2, how does Shipler challenge the idea that hard work will make you a success? Why is hard work often not enough to pull a person out of poverty, according to Shipler? What evidence does he offer to back up this assertion? Is the evidence sufficient to convince you of his point? What is your reaction to his assertions that work doesn't work? Include examples from your own life and observations to back up your ideas.

Sweatshop Labor: In Chapter 3, Shipler discusses the plight of recent immigrants who work in sweatshops here in the U.S. What does he mean on page 79 when he writes that some U.S. clothing manufacturers "import some features of the Third World to the United States" as a way of competing with factories in Central American and Southeast Asia? Summarize some of the conditions in which these recent immigrants work and live, and discuss why it’s difficult for them to become upwardly mobile, according to Shipler. How does Shipler portray the people who own the businesses where these people work? What kind of impression does he give of them through the examples he provides, and what is your reaction to that portrayal?

Extra Credit Opportunity: If you want to earn up to 10 points extra credit, choose another question from above, answer in a 3-5 paragraph mini-essay (use quotes from the text) and post to the forum.

3. Submit your response to the Assignment Chamber by midnight on Monday, October 17.

4. Post your responses to the appropriate forum by midnight on Monday, October 17.

5. Read all the other students' posts throughout the seminar period.

6. Respond to at least two other student's post (more is better) .  You will have until midnight, Monday, October 24, to read and respond to the other students' ideas in the website.