1) Syllabus for NewStart Summer Course
The University as Text: Reading and Writing the Issues in your New Community
NewStart
Summer 1998
English 101-section 61
Instructor: Danika Brown
Each society has its regime of truth, its 'general politics of truth: that
is, the types of discourse which it accepts and makes function as true; the
mechanisms and instances which enable one to distinguish true and false statements,
the means by which each is sanctioned, the techniques and procedures accorded
value in the acquisition of truth; the status of those who are charged with
saying what counts as true.
Michel Foucault
Dear NewStart Students,
Welcome to English 101 at the University of Arizona. This is your first college
level composition class and you are probably a little anxious, a little concerned,
and a little excited to see how this all works. This is my first time teaching
a summer course with the NewStart program, so I am all of those things as
well. I think it is an exceptionally exciting thing to have new experiences,
especially those experiences that may have impact on the rest of your life.
The goals of the university writing program are to give you experience working
with the discourse that you will be negotiating throughout your academic career.
This experience will come from reading a variety of texts, analyzing them,
discussing them with your peers, and writing about them. Some of you might
expect this course to teach you the writing skills and rules you will need
to know in order to write in college. If writing were that simple, that would
be a valid expectation. However, writing is part of a larger context. Writing
is more than a "skill" and there are no set-in-stone rules about
it. You will continue to learn to write, just as I have and continue to do,
throughoutyour life. Each situation you are in will call for a new approach
to communicating. Therefore, what you will gain from this class, if you are
so inclined, is an appreciation for the complexity of writing, an awareness
of the ways you approach writing tasks, a sensitivity to learning the ways
you learn as you write.
At least as important as the writing you will do in this course will be the
reading you do. There is a world of ideas out there, and you will become aware
of how you are impacted by, shape, and influence those ideas through reading
about them. In order for you to enter into any conversation you must first
listen to what is going on in that conversation. In order for you to assert
your own views on any issue, you must be aware of what the alternative views
are, and, more importantly, you must be able to understand the ways those
views are shaped and perpetuated. The reading you will do for this semester
is designed to engage you in ideas and to help you see the relevance of those
ideas in your lives. In addition, the readings will help you understand that
it is your responsibility to participate in these conversations and to take
responsibility for your own views. Reading and analyzing helps us to see the
implications of what we believe and how we act in the world.
You will be looking at issues that are directly related to the college experience
you are about to begin. We will look at issues of privacy and technology and
relate it directly to a recent, ongoing controversy on this campus. We will
look at the concept of "ideology" and political perspectives and
relate it to the way you make decisions and the "naturalized" beliefs
you hold concerning your own education and future. And we will look at the
issue of corporatization and capitalism and relate it to specific relevant
campus issues which you will research for a final paper. You will also be
working with a group to design a project related to campus issues that you
will address, and hopefully remain active in as you enter the regular semester
this fall.
That is a basic overview of what you can expect over this next 6 weeks. What
follows are my specific policies and expectations, grading breakdown, and
the schedule for the course. Please participate in class as much as possible.
Please bring any questions, concerns, and remarks into the classroom or to
me personally anytime you have them. I rely on you to help me make this a
worthwhile experience for all of us.
Required Texts:
Behrens, Laurence and Leonard J. Rosen. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum.
6th ed. New York: Longman, 1997,
Cai, Guanjun, Andy Crockett, and Maureen Salzer, eds. A Student's Guide to
First-Year Composition. l8th ed. MN: Burgess Publishing, 1996.
You will be graded on:
Essay #1: "CAT Card Analysis" (rough draft required)
20%
Essay #2: "Ideological Reflection and Analysis" (rough draft required)
20%
Essay #3: "Position on Campus Issue" (rough draft required) 20%
Journal, Responses, Class/Reading Summaries 10%
Group Research and Proposal Project 15%
Final Exam 15%
Brenda will be the tutor for this course. She will be participating in class
regularly. Brenda and I work together closely and she will be able to continue
work from the class with you individually. You may approach Brenda anytime
during class if you feel you need assistance or clarification. You should
also plan to visit the tutoring center regularly outside of class. Additionally,
Brenda will be making weekly presentations designed to enhance the course
goals and your reading/writing assignments. This opportunity of having co-instruction
from exceptional people like Brenda is rare. You should appreciate that opportunity
and utilize it.
Attendance
Much of the work for this class will be done in class. If you want to know
what is important to me, and if you want to know what will determine grades
for each paper, you will need to be in class to find that information out.
Please refer to your NewStart contract for attendance specifics.
Turning in Work
Because this is an intensive and quick paced program, all work must be turned
in on the date due. If you have extraordinary circumstances which make turning
work on in time impossible, you need to discuss that with me before the due
date and tune.
Ethics
Please become familiar with the university's policy on plagiarism and integrity.
You can find this information in the Student Guide page 138. If you turn in
any work that has been plagiarized, or cheat in any other fashion, you may
fail the course. In terms of classroom conduct, I expect you to respect the
other students in this class (as well as your humble instructor). If there
are any instances where I feel that your conduct is inappropriate or questionable,
I will ask you to have a conference with me during office hours so we can
clear up any misunderstandings.
Collaboration
You will be expected to collaborate with your peers both in and out of class.
I believe strongly that all settings are community settings and that you benefit
from your interactions with your peers. Consider everyone in this class a
colleague. I will ask you to form groups for the final projects early in the
semester. You will work with this group often in class on class exercises
as well.
E-mail and class web page
You are required to get an e-mail account. E-mail accounts are available
to all of you; check in CCIT if you need assistance in setting up an account.
I will subscribe all of you to the course listserv (NSBrown@listserv.arizona.edu)
so you will receive announcements and can post questions. In addition, the
most effective way of reaching me is by e-mail. You will be using the World
Wide Web for research and reading in this course.
I will utilize your course web page to post all assignments and handouts that
you receive in class. In addition, updates to the schedule and current reading
assignments will be posted there. I will also provide "resources"
for research, on-line writing labs and other related resources there. I recommend
that you check and utilize the web page regularly. If you lose an assignment
page or handout, you will want to get a copy from the web site rather than
from me.
Paper Format
All your work must be done on a word processor. You will be using computers
throughout your experience at UA, so become familiar with the computer resources
available to you now. All papers must:
* Be typed, double-spaced,
one-inch margins, 10 - 12 point font
* Have all drafts and
peer review comments attached.
* Have an effective
title.
* Have required documentation
and be in correct format (as discussed in class).
You are welcome to email me drafts of your paper for my comments at any time.
I will accept emailed versions of your final draft, but you need to make sure
I get it in a readable format, have a hard-copy ready just in case, and turn
in your drafts and peer reviews separately. The benefit of turning in your
essays by email is that I tend to write much more extensive comments on these
versions, and I turn the graded essays around a bit faster send I can send
them to you from home as I respond, rather than waiting till all the essays
are graded and returning them in class.
Office Hours and Contacting Me
If at any time you need to discuss of the class with me, do not hesitate
to come see me, phone me, or e-mail me. The most effective way of reaching
me is by e-mail (danika@u.arizona.edu).
We can schedule appointments or even "discuss" your concerns on
e-mail. Please utilize office hours and individual appointments to keep in
contact with me throughout the course. We will be having individual conferences
during classtime at least twice during the course.
Assignment Guidelines
Daily Response Journal: As you will learn, all writing is a process and we
emphasize the process of writing by assignments such as journals. Every day,
class will start with a daily response assignment, usually structured around
the reading assignment and topic for the day. You will utilize these writing
exercises to begin working through your ideas for larger assignments, materials
to work with on group activities, and material for class discussions.
Extended Response: Response assignments are designed to give you the opportunity
to begin drafting essays or to reflect on the connections of activities in
and out of class on the writing experience. You will have a bi-weekly response
paper due, and these should be one to two pages in length. The specific assignments
will be clarified before they are due.
Readings: Reading is an essential part of this course. All readings are required.
I expect you to keep up on the readings and to check the schedule weekly for
additions or changes. You will be responsible for discussing the readings
in class. You may have periodic quizzes.
Class Summary, Definition, or Reading Abstract: Every individual in the class
will be required to submit a summary of a class period to be posted to the
class listserv. These submissions must be done the same day of the assigned
class. You will sign up for a date to summarize. There are not enough class
periods for everyone to summarize so there will also be options for term definitions
or reading abstracts.
Group Project: You will work with a group (to be created the first week of
class) identifying a campus issue or project of interest to the whole group.
You will work together to research the issue, define necessary actions in
terms of the issue, resources and campus groups involved with the issue. You
will write a proposal for action or ways you as individuals can remain involved
in and impact that issue. The goal is for you to have identified groups and
activities to be involved in once school starts in fall.