English 101-section 61

Instructor: Danika Brown

Office: Babcock 3206

Message Phone: 621-1836

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 statemetns, the measn 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, throughout your 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.

You will be graded on:

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 assigments. 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.

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 time.

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.

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.

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.

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.