Note: Syllabus is subject to change.
English 104: Academic Writing I
Fall 2007
T, TH 1:30-2:45
T, TH 3:00-4:15
Amy Peterson
Office: Van Meter 218
Office hours: T, TH 12:30-1:15 and by appointment
No method nor discipline can supersede the necessity of being forever on the alert. What is a course of history, or philosophy, or poetry, or the most admirable routine of life, compared with the discipline of looking always at what is to be seen? Will you be a reader, a student merely, or a seer?
—Henry David Thoreau
Course description
In this course, you will learn to think critically and write analytically about visual and verbal texts. Our broad goals are to introduce you to tools for analyzing a wide range of cultural media and to prepare you to articulate your ideas in an academic context. We will use photographs, advertisements, paintings, essays, stories, letters, and other materials to develop and practice our skills of analysis and composition.
You need not possess any previous knowledge of art or adeptness at analyzing images to succeed in this course. We will learn these skills together. What you will require is patience---to look closely at both images and words, to record carefully what you observe, and to make informed inferences---creativity---to discover compelling and meaningful things to say---and flexibility---to experiment with various strategies, to reflect on your own processes of writing and constructing meaning, and to rethink and revise your work.
Class sessions will follow an informal, workshop format. We will spend time writing, responding to each other’s writing, experimenting with strategies for drafting and revising essays, and discussing reading assignments and visual media. We will explore techniques, ideas, and interests together, and as we do, keep in mind that our directions and subjects may change.
Overview of units
We will divide the semester into three units. The first unit will introduce strategies for careful analysis of visual images and text. We will also start to explore and articulate similarities and differences in our individual ways of reading and writing and begin to navigate the peer-review process. The essays, stories, and images in this unit will relate to notions of place, home, and community. We will consider how to define where we are “from” and ways in which our personal conceptions of home differ and overlap. These discussions will lead into the first paper, a descriptive narrative about a compelling aspect of your own home or a place that you consider yourself from.
In the second unit, we will move into a critical exploration of how our individual perspectives shape our conceptions of art. We will consider how and why we are affected by images, our individual conceptions of what art and photography should accomplish, and how our views fit into a broader discourse of writings on art and photography. We will also continue to examine our own reading and writing processes and share our work in peer-review sessions. For the second paper, you will articulate your own notion of the role art and/or photography does and should serve in our lives, placing your discussion within a wider theoretical framework.
In the third unit, we will apply our critical analysis skills to public images: advertising, journalism, product packaging, and other forms of mass media. We will consider how images and text define and shape our concepts of class, gender, and race; ethical issues raised by advertising and journalism; and the importance of acknowledging the influence images have within our society. For the final paper, you will choose an image or series of images to analyze, considering its message and the implications of that message.
Seeing & Writing 3,
McQuade/McQuade
A grammar handbook of your choice
You will submit 3 formal essays and many informal writings during the semester. Your final grade will be averaged as follows:
formal essays – 50%
journal and other informal writing – 30%
participation (including discussions and peer-review work) – 20%
Your final grade may be lowered if you miss three or more classes, frequently come to class late, or miss a conference or library session.
Formals essay guidelines
Double-space your essays and use a reasonable 12-point font and 1-inch margins. Number and staple the pages. Sources must be documented using MLA format. Any ideas or words that are not your own must be cited in the body of your essay and listed on a separate page at the end.
Save everything
you write for this class. When you turn in each of your formals essays, include
the following documents:
- all drafts
of the essay
- any notes and freewriting related to the essay
- peer-review comments
- self-evaluation (guidelines will be handed out separately)
E-mail guidelines
I like e-mail. Please e-mail me with questions, ideas, and thoughts as often as you like. However, you must obtain my permission before e-mailing me any assignments. In addition, you are responsible for making sure that the assignment was in fact received.
Late assignments
Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the specified dates. Unless you request an extension before the due date, late assignments will not be accepted.
Conferences
At three points during the semester, we will meet in individual conferences in my office to discuss your writing. Conferences are required for everyone.
The Writing Center
The Writing Center (Froelicher Hall, ex. 6551) is staffed with student tutors who are trained to help you with your writing. A schedule and list of tutors is available on the Center’s website (http://faculty.goucher.edu/writingcenter). You may also arrange to meet an individual tutor outside of the scheduled times.
Plagiarism
Forms of plagiarism include presenting someone else’s words as your own, not properly citing sources, and using another person’s ideas without acknowledging credit. If you have even the slightest doubt about whether you are properly summarizing, paraphrasing, quoting, or citing sources, ask me or a Writing Center tutor for help. Everyone should read the Academic Honor Code in the Campus Handbook to learn about the consequences of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism at Goucher College.
Schedule
Readings and writings are due in class on the indicated days. You will need to look ahead to the next class period to determine the assignment.
This schedule is tentative, and readings and assignments may change as we make our way through the semester. Updated assignment information will be posted on my website: http://faculty.goucher.edu/engpeterson
Th, 8/30 Introduction
Unit 1
Tu, 9/4 Discuss oranges and clementines; introduction to visual analysis
Reading: Larry Woiwode, “Ode to an Orange” (p. 44)
Introduction (p. 3-23)
Appendix B (p. 721-730)
Writing: Journal (“Ode to an Orange”); type up/expand description of writing process
Th, 9/6 Discuss reading; discuss effective descriptive writing; share descriptions
Reading: Annie Dillard, “Seeing” (p. 108-117)
Writing: Journal (consider what Dillard means by “artificial obvious” and “naturally obvious”); description of an object (type)
Tu, 9/11 Discuss visual versus textual descriptions; write about images
Reading:
Scott Russell Sanders, “Homeplace” (p. 210-213)
Pico Iyer, “Why We Travel” (handout)
Writing: Journal
Th, 9/13 Thesis statements
Reading: Annette Kuhn, “Remembrance” (handout)
Writing: Journal; after journal entry, complete this assignment: Choose a photo that represents where you’re from, and use it as a prompt to freewrite two pages. The photo could be a personal snapshot or a published work from a magazine, a newspaper, or the internet. It could represent literally the place where you grew up, or it could represent a mood, time, or association.
Tu, 9/18 Prepare for peer-review: view “Across the Drafts”; brainstorm about effective & constructive feedback; discuss sample student paper
Reading: Sample student paper (handout)
Writing: Type/expand writing from Thursday and bring enough copies to hand out to your peer-review group; Journal (20 minutes): Write about two instances when you received memorable feedback from teachers, peers, or others—one instance of positive feedback, and one instance of negative feedback. Why did the feedback resonate with you? Did it lead you to change your work, and if so, how?
Th, 9/20 Peer workshop day (drafting)—bring to class all of the writing you’ve done for the “home” essay.
Optional reading: Eudora Welty, “The
Little Store” (p. 155)
E.B. White, “Once More to the Lake” (p. 162)
Judith Ortiz Cofer, “The Story of My Body” (p. 343)
Tu, 9/25 Peer workshop (revision) / conference day / Paper 1 draft due
Th, 9/27 No class: conference day
Tu, 10/2 Reflect on writing process, thoughts about the first paper / Paper 1 due
Unit 2
Th, 10/4 Introduction to Unit 2; discuss reading
Reading: Charles A. Hill, “The Psychology of Rhetorical Images” (handout) (this is a long & challenging reading—start early)
Writing: Journal
Tu, 10/9 Using sources: quoting & citing, summarizing & paraphrasing
Reading: Dorothy Allison, “This Is Our World” (p. 284-289)
Writing: Journal; after writing journal entry, write a page or so summarizing what Allison believes art should do (type)
Th, 10/11 Thesis statements; Parr photos
Reading: N. Scott Momaday, “The Photograph” (p. 320)
Ethan Canin, “Vivia, Fort Barnwell” (p. 323)
Nick Hornby, “Richard Billingham” (p. 618-622)
Writing: Journal; also write an informal 1- to 2-page response to Writing Question 2, p. 290 (type)
Tu, 10/16 Evaluating thesis statements
Reading: Susan Sontag, “On
Photography” (p. 310-312)
James Nachtwey, “Ground Zero” (p. 304-307)
Writing: Journal; also complete this assignment (type):
Consider these two statements about photography:
“A way of certifying experience, taking photographs is also a way of refusing it—by limiting experience to a search for the photogenic, by converting experience into an image, a souvenir.” (Sontag, p. 311, para. 5)
“There is power in the still image that doesn’t exist in other forms.” (Nachtwey, p. 307, para. 17)
Think of an example that illustrates each statement—a photograph from your own life, a photograph you’re familiar with in the media, or a photograph in the textbook. For each statement, write one page about your example (use a different example for each statement).
Th, 10/18 Introductions & conclusions, proofreading strategies
Reading: bell hooks, “In Our Glory” (handout)
Writing: Journal
Tu, 10/23 Peer workshop / conference day / Paper 2 draft due
Th, 10/25 No class: conference day
Tu, 10/30 Reflect on writing process, thoughts about the second paper / Paper 2 due / Introduction to Unit 3 / Annie Dillard, “How to Live”
Unit 3
Th, 11/1 Discuss readings; discuss advertising
Reading: Katha Pollitt, “Why Boys
Don’t Play With Dolls” (p. 398-399)
Judith Lorber, “The Social Construction of Gender” (handout)
Writing: Journal
Tu, 11/6 Discuss reading; discuss writing
Reading: Debra Baker Brock, “The F Word: How the Media Frame Feminism” (handout)
Writing: Journal; Find an ad that reinforces and/or subverts traditional gender roles. Write 1 to 2 pages about how it does this. What argument is it making about men and/or women? For example, does an ad for a household cleaner suggest that women are still in charge of cleaning the house? Make sure that you analyze the visual composition as well as the associations behind the images.
Th, 11/8 Discuss reading; evaluating sources
Reading: Sally Stein, “Passing Likeness” (p. 533-543)
Writing: Journal; also write 1 to 2 pages in support of this statement: “There is something to be said for thinking that the ethnicity of the central subject in this revered picture should not matter” (para 24). Then write 1 to 2 pages in which you support the argument implied in this question: “Then again, can the eradication of racism ever be achieved if we ignore the racialized ground on which the nation established itself and continually expanded?” (para 24). Writing can be informal and can draw on examples beyond Migrant Mother. (Type)
Tu, 11/13 Discuss reading; integrating sources; discuss media images
Reading: Gregory Mantsios, “Media Magic” (handout)
Writing: Journal; find an image from the media that upholds and/or contradicts one of Mantsios’ statements about class. Write 1 to 2 pages (informal) explaining the connections between the image and Mantsios’ arguments; be prepared to discuss in class. (Type)
Th, 11/15 Discuss readings; sources
Reading: Stephens, “Expanding the Language of
Photographs” (p. 658-660)
Long, “Ethics in the Age of Digital Photography (p. 666-671)
Writing: Journal
Tu, 11/20 Archives day: meet in the basement of the library
Paper 3 draft due—bring copies for your peer-review group
Th, 11/22 Thanksgiving break. Send me a postcard!
Tu, 11/27 Peer workshop / conference day
Th, 11/29 No class: conference day
Tu, 12/4 Ethics of appropriation
Reading: Jonathan Lethem, “The Ecstasy of Influence” (http://www.harpers.org/archive/2007/02/0081387)
Writing: Journal
Th, 12/6 Last day of class
Tu, 12/11 Paper 3 due in the box outside my office by noon