|
|
|
SAMPLE SYLLABUS
Goals
This is a course about
research and writing, but not in the ways with which you are most
likely familiar. You will not be asked to take a position
on an issue like gun control or welfare reform, then conduct
library research on that issue to support that position,
which you finally "write up" and call a research paper. No, instead you
will be reading about and arguing both with and against a large
(but focused) academic question (presented in a series of
readings offered in Literacies in Context, 2007),
discover and refine your arguments (NOT in a pro/con sort
of way), which you will then examine again through your own
primary research (interviews, field observations, surveys)
and further flesh out via more traditional library research.
The kind of "research"
paper you develop will not be a rehashing of ideas already
presented elsewhere. YOUR research paper will contain data that
exist no where else because YOU will be the one to collect,
analyze, and present this research. We call this kind of
research--the process by which we conduct it, the methods we
use to analyze the findings, and the text we write to present that
research--ethnography. Ethnography, according to Bonnie
Stone Sustein and Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater, is "the study of
people in cultures" AND "the text that is written based on that
study." That is what you will learn to do here.
The primary purpose of
this course is to further develop your skills as a reader and
writer, but we will do that via means that may seem strange and
even a little confusing at first. Stick with it, though. We
believe you will be excited, surprised, and even a little
impressed by what you and your classmates come up with. I know I
will.
Required Materials
Carter, Shannon.
Literacies in Context. Southlake, Texas: Fountainhead Press,
2007.
Sustein, Bonnie Stone
and Elizabeth Chiseri-Strater. FieldWorking: Reading and
Writing Research. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006.
Three-ring binder that will serve as your
Research Portfolio
(see below)
Disk or other means
of storing digital versions of the essays and other written
material you generate (always, always keep a backup of everything you
turn in!)
Recommended Text
Menager-Beeley,
Rosemarie and Lyn Paulos. Understanding Plagiarism: A Student
Guide to Writing Your Own Work. NY: Houghton Mifflin
Company, 2006.
Grading Policy
Your
final course grade will be based primarily on the quality of
work you include and submit in your Research Portfolio (more on
that below) and your Final Ethnographic Essay (10-15 pages). The
remaining items include three, formal writing assignments (3-5
pages), additional informal writing projects, and your
participation in the culminating event, a "Celebration of
Student Writing" (more on that below, as well).
Final Ethnographic Essay (20%): You will be working toward
this final "research" paper throughout the term. Everything you
read, write, collect, discuss, analyze, report, and reflect on
will build up to this
important and complex project. Most of the "behind the scenes"
materials documenting and allowing your research and writing
processes throughout the development of your Final Ethnographic
Essay will be housed in your "Research Portfolio" which, by the
very end of the term, will be revised again in preparation for a much
larger audience: the entire school! (see "Celebration of
Student Writing" below). Don't be too concerned about this. When
it is time, you will be ready. That's what we're here for!
Research Portfolio
(20%): The Research Portfolio will "house both the process
and the product of [your] fieldwork. . . . .
As you
assemble and revise your portfolio, you'll develop a
behind-the-scenes account of the story of your research, which
you'll want to share with others. Naturally, the research
portfolio will include your final ethnographic essay, but your
selection will also show artifacts from the thinking process
that led to this project. You'll want to represent selections
form the reading, writing, and materials you've relied on along
the way: writing exercises, fieldnotes, interview questions,
charts, methods of analysis, and whatever helped you think your
way through final written project" (FieldWorking,
56-57). "To keep track of your project," Sustein and Chiseri-Strater
suggest, "you'll move back and forth among four key activities:
collecting, selecting, reflecting, and projecting" (57). See
FieldWorking for much more about how (and why) to begin this
process and negotiate these activities (56-58; 112; 167-168;
220; 300; 352;412; 463)
Writing Assignment 1
(10%): Making use of Deborah Brandt's concept "Sponsors of
Literacy" (Chapter 2, Literacies in Context), this essay
calls upon you to reconstruct key moments in your literacy
history by identifying the agents sponsoring this literacy and
narrating the way literacy has "pursued" you in a variety of
contexts (see Literacies in Context, 39, for full
description).
Writing Assignment 2
(10%): Making use of the readings presented in Chapter 3 of
Literacies in Context, this essay calls upon you to
describe literacy practices as they function in a particular
place (in your church, at your workplace, in your home, in a
store you frequent, or someplace else). (see Literacies in
Context, 113, for full description)
Writing Assignment 3
(10%): Making use of the readings presented in Chapter 4 of
Literacies in Context, this essay calls upon you to
examine not only your own literacy practices as you've
experienced and developed them but to compare these experiences
with what formal literacy instruction often asks of writers and
readers. (see Literacies in Context, 213, for full
description)
Research Proposal (10%):
Before you get too far with your ethnographic project, you will
be expected to articulate your research plan--that is, what do
you want to know, why is it important, what research methods
will you use to obtain the information you need, why is the
proposed research site the most appropriate one for your
project's goals, and how will your research project--as
proposed--extend/resist/otherwise make use of the readings and
key arguments presented in Literacies in Context (refer
again to WA1-3). Don't forget about those
important permissions
(which we will discuss at some length later).
Informal Writing
Assignments (10%): You will be expected to develop several
informal writing projects, including Reflective Memos
(through which
you reflect on your data collection process and/or plans for
your Final Ethnographic Project and/or your Research Portfolio)
and journal and other freewriting exercises.
Celebration of Student
Writing (10%): At the end of the term (during finals week),
you will bring your ready-for-presentation Research Portfolios
and an outline of your Final Ethnographic Project to one of
several tables making up the presentation area of this
Celebration. There during your scheduled hour, you will share
your hard work with faculty, students, and administrators
throughout our university. Modeled after the
celebration by the same name held at Eastern Michigan University (see
http://www.emich.edu/english/fycomp/celebration/index.htm), our own
"Celebration of Student Writing" at Texas A&M-Commerce will serve as the
culminating activity for many sections of English 102 and even a few
sections of English 100 and 101.
Writing Center
The Writing Center (or
the “Communication Skills Center”) offers writers free,
one-on-one assistance. We welcome all writers, majors, and
disciplines—undergraduate and graduate students alike. In fact,
we work from the premise that all writers, no matter their
ability level, benefit from the feedback of knowledgeable
readers. The Writing Center staff is trained to provide writers
with just this service. In short, we are here to help you help
yourself. In order to ensure the most effective session
possible, we offer visitors the following suggestions: (1) Get
started on your writing project early, and visit the Writing
Center at least one day before your final draft is due. You will
need time to work with the ideas and suggestions generated in
your tutorial sessions. (2) Bring a written copy of your
assignment, any relevant readings, and one or two specific
questions or concerns you would like to discuss with us. We are
located in the Hall of Languages, Room 103 (903-886-5280) and
online at <http://www7.tamuc.edu/litlang/CSC/index.htm>.
Academic Honesty
The official departmental
policy: “Instructors in the Department of Literature and
Languages do not tolerate plagiarism and other forms of academic
dishonestly. Instructors uphold and support the highest academic
standards, and students are expected to do likewise. Penalties
for students guilty of academic dishonesty include disciplinary
probation, suspension, and expulsion. (Texas A&M
University-Commerce Code of Student Conduct 5.b [1,2,3])
If you ever have any questions about a particular use of a
source, always ask your instructor. They want you to avoid
plagiarism, too, so they will help you do so whenever and
wherever they can. Do what you can to take advantage of this
support—to look innocent in addition to being innocent
when it comes to charges of plagiarism.
On University-Sanctioned Activities
To accommodate students
who participate in university-sanctioned activities, the
First-Year Composition Program offers sections of this course at
various times of the day and week. If you think that this course
may conflict with a university-sanctioned activity in which you
are involved--athletics, etc.--please see me after class today.
Additional Official Statements
Student Conduct:
All students enrolled at the University shall follow the tenets
of common decency and acceptable behavior conducive to a
positive learning environment. In addition, you are requested to
turn off your cell phones before entering the classroom. Common
courtesy says you do not receive or answer calls during class.
If there is an emergency that requires you to leave your phone
on, talk to me about it beforehand and switch the phone to
vibrate so you don't surprise me when you leave class to take a
call and you don't interrupt class when the call comes in. Also,
Instant/Text Messaging is off limits.
Americans with Disabilities Act Statement: Students
requesting accommodations for disabilities must go through the
Academic Support Committee. For more information, please contact
the Director of Disability Resources and Services, Halladay
Student Services Building, Room 303D, 903.886.5835.
Schedule
Literacies in Context
(LC); FieldWorking (FW)
-
Week 1: chapters
1-2 (LC)
-
Week 2: WA1; "Looking
at Subcultures: (FW, Box 1, page 6-7)
-
Week 3: Chapter 1 (FW)
and Chapter 3 (LC)
-
Week 4: "Exploratory
Writing" (FW, Box 4, 73); WA2; Chapter 2 (FW)
-
Week 5: Chapter 4 (LC);
"Exploratory Note taking" (FW, Box 5) and "Double-Entry Notes (FW, Box
6, p. 91)
-
Week 6: WA3;
-
Week 7: Chapter 4 (FW);
Research
Portfolio (begin)
-
Week 8: Chapter 5 (LC); Develop
Research Plans for Final Ethnographic Project
-
Week 9:
Research Proposal Due;
Conference with Instructor to discuss proposed project
-
Week 10: Begin fieldwork and
read/discuss/apply Chapter 5 (FW); Festival of Data
-
Week 11: Continue fieldwork and
read/discuss/apply Chapter 6 and 7 (FW)
-
Week 12: Continue fieldwork and
read/discuss/apply Chapter 8 (FW)
-
Week 13: Chapter 8 continued;
develop draft of Final Ethnographic Project
-
Week 14: Final Ethnographic
Project due
-
Week 15: Prepare Research
Portfolio for Presentation (Celebration of Student Writing)
-
Finals Week: "Celebration of
Student Writing"
|
|
