Reading James Boyd White’s “Human Dignity and the Claim of Meaning: Athenian Tragic Drama and Supreme Court Opinions”

 Use the Active Reading strategies outlined in Chapter 1.

 Survey:            What can you predict about this reading based on the title and major headings? What do you already know about Athenian Tragic Drama and/or Supreme Court Opinions? Can you make any guesses about White’s argument even before you begin to read?

Question:        Create a basic outline of the reading using the headings as a guide and leaving space between each section to add notes. If you’re using a legal notebook as a reading log, set up these headings on the left and use about ½ a page for each heading. Also in the left margin, write a couple of questions for each section. For example, in the first section – Bringing the Remote into the Circle of Attention – you might ask “what does White mean by “circle of attention?” (a knowledge-level question in Bloom’s taxonomy). You should try to pose questions that you think the author might actually answer in the section, but you might also pose questions that require you to apply, analyze, synthesize or evaluate the material presented.

Read:              Read through each section, stopping after each to make a few notes on the right hand side of your reading log. Try to say in your own words what you think the section is about, but don’t worry yet about responding. If your questions were answered in the section, be sure to include that answer. Given this section, what new questions would you raise about the next section that you didn’t consider before?

Mark:             As you read, mark key sentences, difficult sections, or words you need to look up. When you pause to make your own summary notes, return to those places that gave you trouble as you read and see if you can figure them out. If you can’t, try putting into words what you do understand and what seems to be causing the problem or confusion.

Respond:        When you are finished reading and making your last set of summary notes, see if you can summarize the main argument of White’s piece in a couple of sentences. In other words, if you were to tell a friend about the gist of this essay, what would you say? If you can’t tell what the main point is, look back through your notes and see if you can identify patterns or themes. Now, say what you think about these ideas. The point is not to say whether you liked or disliked the reading, but rather what you think about the points White is making. Consider Bloom’s taxonomy as a guide. Can you compare and contrast this argument to something you already know? Can you apply White’s argument about drama and judicial opinions to other kinds of texts? What criteria do you think was used to evaluate this essay as worth publishing?