{"id":475,"date":"2019-12-23T14:59:38","date_gmt":"2019-12-23T18:59:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/cara-ocobock\/?page_id=475"},"modified":"2022-12-28T16:04:03","modified_gmt":"2022-12-28T20:04:03","slug":"un-essay","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/cara-ocobock\/un-essay\/","title":{"rendered":"Un-Essay"},"content":{"rendered":"

The un-essay replaces a final paper for my Fundamentals of Biological Anthropology class.\u00a0 Some may say (and I have seen vicious comments on Twitter) that an un-essay is a missed opportunity for students to write a paper and get feedback on that paper. I absolutely agree that students need to learn how to write and how to write well. However, I also understand that they write in many classes, and that many classes squash rather than encourage creativity. Also, please keep in mind that my students have 1-2 writing prompts a week, and I read and provide feedback on each and every one.<\/p>\n

An un-essay allows students to flex muscle they rarely get to flex, and allows them to engage with material in a way they normally wouldn’t. Furthermore, students have stated that they remember what they did far into the future, while they will forget what they wrote about in a paper the moment that paper is turned in. Finally, students actually express how proud they are of their un-essays and talk about how they show them off to friends and family.<\/p>\n

All this is to say, don’t let negativity surrounding this kind of project get you down. This assignment has allowed me a more clear window into each of my students more than any paper ever could.<\/p>\n

Un-Essay Guidelines<\/a> – borrowed heavily from the amazing Marc Kissel<\/a><\/p>\n

Fundamentals of Biological Anthropology Un-Essay Fall 2021<\/a><\/p>\n

Anthropology of Sports Un-Essay Fall 2021<\/a><\/p>\n

Examples of Student Work<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Please keep in mind this is only a sample. One of my favorite un-essays came from Laura Funk who did a Barstool Anthropology video. During this she made themed mixed drinks and developed hypotheses to explain patterns we see in the hominin fossil record. It was gloriously well thought out and produced. I also had a number of students turn in infographics on the obstetric dilemma vs. the EGG hypothesis and on sexual harassment in the field of anthropology. I was beyond proud of all of my students.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Helton Rodriguez Bio Anthro Unessay<\/a> – a poem about Lucy<\/li>\n
  2. \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \"\"
    Huggins Unessay – see project statment below<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Huggins project statement & reflection<\/a><\/p>\n

    3.<\/p>\n

    \"\"
    Kacie McGowan Unessay – see project statement below<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    McGowan Unessay Project Statement and Self-Reflection<\/a><\/p>\n

    4. Mancuso Unessay What We Hold in Our Hips<\/a> and Mancuso Un-Essay Project Statement<\/a><\/p>\n

    5. Kilbane-Unessay Neandertal Children’s Book<\/a> and Kilbane Un-Essay Project Statement<\/a><\/p>\n

    6. Michael Miramontes’ video critiquing the accuracy of the movie Ice Age<\/a> and Miramontes Project Statement<\/a><\/p>\n

    7. Molly O’Brien podcast<\/a> about birth and O’Brien Project Statement<\/a><\/p>\n

    8.<\/p>\n

    \"\"
    Anna Volanth – Evolution of the Human Diet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    9. Grade School Lesson Plans by Katherine Franz<\/a><\/p>\n

    10. John Hlavin’s Interview of Father Terry<\/a><\/p>\n

    11. Ancient Agriculture Wiki Page by Nick Iovino<\/a><\/p>\n

    12.<\/p>\n

    \"Morgan
    Morgan Zepf: The ties that bind AMH & Neanderthals<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    13.<\/p>\n

    \"Leah
    Leah Gudex body ideals through time<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    14.<\/p>\n

    \"Madeline
    Madeline Andreas needle point of key features of AMH<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    15.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \"Glein
    Rachel Glein & Tara Gallagher look at use of hands in art through time (caves vs. kindergartners) and drawings of bulls through times (caves & Picasso)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    16.<\/p>\n

    \"\"
    Jessica O’Neill Anthropology of Sports Unessay, see project statement below.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Jessica O’Neill Project Statement<\/a><\/p>\n

    17. Amy Bahadursingh Lucy Blog<\/a><\/p>\n

    18. Ailish Chambers Unessay Poem<\/a><\/p>\n

    19. Briana Olney Rustic Simple Vegan Cookbook Book Cover<\/a> and Briana Olney Unessay Statement<\/a><\/p>\n

    20.<\/p>\n

    \"\"
    Madison Calder Anthropology of Sports Cross-stitch – see project statement below<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Madison Calder Project Statement<\/a><\/p>\n

    21. Calla Sullivan The Female Athlete & Birth Control Brochure<\/a><\/p>\n

    22.<\/p>\n

    \"\"
    Isabella Cardamone Anthropology of Sports Unessay – see project statement below<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Isabella Cardamone Unessay Project Statement<\/a><\/p>\n

    23.<\/p>\n

    \"\"
    Grace Ducat Anthropology of Sports Unessay – see project statment below<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Grace Ducat Project Statement<\/a><\/p>\n

    24.<\/p>\n

    \"\"
    JJ Raymond Unessay on BMI – see project statement below<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    JJ Raymond Project Statement<\/a><\/p>\n

    25. Maggie Marinovich Unessay Student-Athlete Cookbook<\/a> and Maggie Marinovich, Un-Essay Project Statement<\/a><\/p>\n

    26. Priscilla Angkasa slam poem “Girls Can’t Play Soccer”<\/a> and Priscilla Angkasa Unessay Project Statment<\/a><\/p>\n

    27. Maxwell Reed’s website<\/a> on sports and patriotism<\/p>\n

    28. Meagan Moore’s website<\/a> on gendered differences in sports.<\/p>\n

    29. Clarissa Fuentes Sydney Martinez Unessay- Evolutionary Medicine Infographic<\/a> – sorry, some images are blurry because I had to do a major pdf compression<\/p>\n

    30. Ridiculously amazing rap about origins of bipedalism hypotheses<\/a> by Scott Lucitt & Matt Yuro<\/p>\n

    31. Fossil hominin ranking<\/a> by Alex Matarazzo<\/p>\n

    32. An interactive virtual art exhibit on race and health disparities<\/a> by Callie Coors, Abigail Dobbies, & Luke Ferrante<\/p>\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The un-essay replaces a final paper for my Fundamentals of Biological Anthropology class.\u00a0 Some may say (and I have seen vicious comments on Twitter) that an un-essay is a missed opportunity for students to write a paper and get feedback on that paper. I absolutely agree that students need to learn how to write and … <\/p>\n

    Continue reading “Un-Essay”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3542,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-475","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/cara-ocobock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/cara-ocobock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/cara-ocobock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/cara-ocobock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3542"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/cara-ocobock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/cara-ocobock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1133,"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/cara-ocobock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/475\/revisions\/1133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/cara-ocobock\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}