Spring 2007; Tuesday/Thursday 8:00-9:40
Barker Hall, Room 301
| Instructor: Dr. Darci Thoune | Office: 1219 Patterson Office Tower |
| Email: darci.thoune@uky.edu | Phone: 257-6995 |
| Class website: http://www.uky.edu/~dlthou2/104syllabusS07.htm | Hours: T/R 10-3; W 8-3; and by appt. |
COURSE DESCRIPTION
As students in this course you will be participating in the long tradition of essay writing. This course will provide opportunities for you to develop your skills as writers of academic prose--in specific, the essay. You will be reading a wide variety of essays by contemporary writers over equally varied subjects. In the effort to impose some kind of organization to the readings I have divided them roughly into four categories: labor, power, privilege, and responsibility. We will be investigating the politics of each of these categories through careful reading and analysis of essays from the course reader combined with various forms of research. You will try your hand at writing essays in each of these four categories, which will hopefully be inspired by our course readings, in-class writings, and class discussions. As first year writers you have a unique chance to write about subjects that interest you and that are not dictated by any kind of research. I encourage you to take advantage of this situation. Even if you have had less than stellar experiences with writing before, I hope that this course will be a place where you can build onto your skills as writers and possibly to even have fun.
Be advised that this course will demand a significant amount of time outside of class for careful reading and extensive research. This term, you will encounter techniques and strategies for writing, practice the process of writing, and produce a significant amount of text. The writing you do in here will be based both on personal experiences and a variety of research methods that we will discuss thoroughly in class.
REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS:
Citizenship, Responsibility, and Community: A Reader for First-Year Writing
The Penguin Handbook
Paper, notebook, a pen (honestly, this is a writing class).
Some device for saving your writing—a floppy disc, a CD-R/W, a flash drive, etc.
COURSE PROJECTS:
COURSE POLICIES:
General Overview of Required Work
Amount of Required Writing
A total of approximately 6250 words, which is the
equivalent of at least 25 final typed pages at 250 words per page in addition to
in class writing. You will be writing a total of 4 essays and each of them will
go through several stages of revision. I expect that all writing for this class
will be typed in Times New Roman, double spaced, with 1 inch margins in addition
to the usual inclusion of your name, my name, and the course number.
Participation and Expectations of Appropriate Behavior
Participation may seem like a vague label under which almost anything could fall. However, for the purpose of this class, participation includes participating in peer review of rough draft essays, bringing in rough draft essays (if you are unprepared on the days that rough drafts are due then you should not bother to show up for class as you will not be prepared to participate in peer review groups), participating in class discussions, and above all treating your classmates with respect—respect for their ideas and their rights to opinions that may be fundamentally different from your own. If for any reason you feel that you have not been treated courteously or fairly by your classmates or myself please come and speak to me as soon as possible.
Grading Policy
Participation: 100 pts. (15%)
Reading Responses: 100 pts. (15%)
Essay #1 (5-7 pages): 100pts. (15%)
Essay #2 (5-7 pages): 100pts. (15%)
Essay #3 (10-15 pages): 200pts. (30%)
Essay #4 (5-7 pages): 100pts. (15%)
__________________
Total=700 pts. Possible
Percentage Grading Scale:
A= 100-90 %
B= 89-80 %
C= 79-70 %
D= 69-60 %
E= >59 %
· To pass the course students must submit all essay assignments and earn a grade of C or higher on each.
· Any major assignment that receives a D or below must be resubmitted by the end of the semester in a portfolio that contains a new version of the assignment, revised to reflect competency. Any paper earning a D or below due to failure to include required drafts or other components must likewise be resubmitted by portfolio and include a new paper showing a complete series of significantly revised drafts. Portfolio revisions can raise the paper grade up to a C level. Failure to revise will result in a grade of E. Note that because there is little or no time to revise the final paper before the end of the term, you must receive at least a C grade on your first try to pass the course. Papers receiving a D due to lateness cannot be revised.
Reading Responses
A reading response should be a thoughtful reflection on the assigned reading. It should not merely summarize, but should produce evidence of thoughtful, careful, and critical reading on your part. I’m looking for you to move beyond “pro/con” and “like/dislike” thinking—I want to know if the piece moved you or not, were there moments where you paused to consider how your life is reflected in what you read, could you identify with the author, what kind of questions did the piece provoke, etc. These responses are mostly for you as a way to get thoughts and idea percolating for your eventual essays. You will most likely receive assessment from me in terms of a check minus, check, or check plus with minimal additional comments.
Attendance: At the beginning of every class an attendance sheet will be circulated. Please sign next to your name so that I can keep an accurate account of attendance. We will be using the generous 1/5th rule for attendance which indicates that if a student misses more than 1/5th of class contact hours for any reason he/she cannot receive credit for the course. For a course meeting three times a week, students must withdraw or received a grade of E upon the sixth absence. For more information regarding this policy please refer to the Writing Program guidelines.
Late Work: In the same vein of attendance and participation I expect you to turn your work in on time. If for some reason you are unable to turn your work in on time please speak with me beforehand so we can discuss alternatives.
Conferences: Attending scheduled conferences with me is a requirement and factors heavily into your participation grade. In addition to attending required conferences I strongly encourage you to drop by and see me during my office hours if you have any questions or concerns regarding the class.
Blackboard: Course information can be found on Blackboard and I will occasionally send messages to the class via this forum. If you would like to we can incorporate other aspects of Blackboard, like a discussion board, into our class as well.
Academic Honesty: Again, I expect that each of you is perfectly able to distinguish between ideas that are yours and ideas that belong to other people. Plagiarism for undergraduates can result in a permanent mark on your academic record. Please carefully review the university’s policies on plagiarism in the Writing Program guidelines. Suffice it to say that if you have questions you should not hesitate to come and see me.
Writing Center: The Writing Center in Thomas D. Clark Study on the 5th floor of the W.T. Young Library is available to help you with your writing problems (conceptual and technical) and the writing process. To make an appointment in advance, call 257-1356; drop-in visits are also welcome. For more information on the writing center, please visit their web site: http://www.uky.edu/AS/English/wc/
Disability Services: If you have a disability that requires assistance from the Disability Resource Center, please discuss this with me so that we can ensure that the proper arrangements will be made for you.
A Word on Being Prepared: This class is rigorous, no doubt about it. You are going to be engaging in an enormous amount of material. Thus, I’m going to keep you busy because it’s good for you AND it’s my job. With that said, your job is to keep up. It may seem unreasonable, but I fully expect you to come to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings. I will know if you haven’t been keeping up and it’s never a good idea to disappoint your professor. Also, there is the very real fact that we have a small class—basically, there is nowhere to hide. Do your readings.
Other Parts of My Job: I will endeavor to keep up with the grading and will be available to you if you have concerns/questions about your progress in the class. I will also do my best to keep my sense of humor and be flexible to your needs and wants too—after all, it’s not just my class.
(*Subject to change as necessary)
“read” means the essay must be read for that day (hint: first reading is due Jan. 18th)
(RR) = Reading Response
(R) January 11
Week 2—
(T) January 16
(R) January 18—Labor
Week 3—
(T) January 23
(R) January 25
Week 4—
(T) January 30
Class discussion on peer review
(R) February 1
Week 5—
(T) February 6
(R) February 8—Power
Week 6—
(T) February 13
(R) February 15
Week 7—
(T) February 20
(R) February 22
Week 8—
(T) February 27
(R) March 1
Week 9—
(T) March 6—Privilege
(R) March 8
Week 10—
(T) March 13
(R) March 15
Week 11—
(T) March 20
(R) March 22
Week 12—
(T) March 27
(R) March 29
(T) April 3
(R) April 5—Responsibility
Peer Review Workshop
Discuss Essay #4 and photo essays
Week 14—
(T) April 10
(R) April 12
(T) April 17
(R) April 19
(T) April 24
(R) April 26
All Photo Essays are due in my office by 3pm Friday, April 27th.