Choose one from the following three options below and write a 3-4 full page essay.
OPTION #1
• Responding to Mike Rose's article "Blue Collar Brilliance," write an essay that argues for a "cognitive biography" of a blue collar job you are familiar with. You may write about a job you currently or previously have been involved with or one which your friends or family have been engaged in.
• In order to argue for a "cognitive biography," you will need to compare and contrast direct sentences (three quotations) from "Blue Collar Brilliance" which describe the "on the job intelligence" needed in the blue collar job you are writing about.
• In your conclusion, put into your own words what you think the meaning is of Rose's idea that a separation between mind and body "cripple[s] our ability to talk across cultural divides."
NOTE: if write about waitressing or factory work, be sure to include new elements of "cognitive labor" to avoid repetition.