Syllabus January 20 – February 18

This syllabus will be updated in early February.  Please note that the assignments here are subject to change and/or alteration. If you should miss class, it is your responsibility to check with me, with one of your classmates, or on the class website to see if anything has changed. The homework listed is due in the following class; you can expect to have some sort of homework (reading, writing) almost every night. Unless otherwise noted, all the reading assignments are in The Writer’s Presence. Also: if you do not yet have an email address (at Iona or at home) please arrange to establish an email account, as I will often be communicating with students electronically. All students enrolled at Iona are entitled to an Iona email account, which can be established in the ITRC office.

Wed Jan 20 Introductions
HW: Read Lamott (xeroxes), marking places in the margins where you are particularly interested or curious. Write a one-page description of your anti-writing voices (be prepared to read this in class)

Thurs Jan 21 Discuss Lamott
HW: Read Cooper, "A Clack..." and write two, one-paragraph responses:
a)one paragraph that explains your responses to the essay: bring this to class
b)one paragraph that discusses a passage from the essay that you found most interesting, difficult, well-written, confusing... and that you would like the class to discuss this paragraph should be emailed to me before Monday’s class

Mon Jan 25 Discuss Cooper
HW: a)Choose one passage-related paragraph (not your own) and write a paragraph in response: agree or disagree with the opinion expressed, make connections to ideas from class discussion; expand on the ideas expressed in the paragraph
b) write a brief (one-page) description of a time when you either teased someone or were teased because you didn’t "fit in." Try to show rather than tell

Wed Jan 27 Discuss Cooper// paragraph structure
HW: Read Hurston, "How it feels..." Choose one passage or image from the reading and write one paragraph in which you explain why the class should discuss this passage.

Thurs Jan 28 Discuss Hurston // share writing
HW: a)Read Silko, "Yellow Woman…" and answer reading question #1
b)make a short list of differences between the Pueblo people and white American culture
c)write a one-paragraph reaction-response to the reading

Mon Feb 1 Discuss Silko
HW: Choose the paragraph that you think is most important to this essay, and write about why you think it is so important—you don’t need to re-write the paragraph, just indicate the page number (one page)

Wed Feb 3 Discuss Silko
HW: Write short answers to these questions: are there similarities in the way Hurston, Cooper, and Silko think about identity? Are there differences in how they think about identity? What factors seem important in thinking about identity? Is being "different" ever considered a source of strength rather than weakness?

Thurs Feb 4 Discuss identity writing// Explain compare/contrast essay
HW: Read student essays and decide which is the best and why, which is the worst and why. For each essay, list three suggestions that you think would make the essay better and/or more interesting, in your opinion.

Mon Feb 8 Discuss student writing/Practice workshop
HW: Begin work on your essay draft

Wed Feb 10 Work on essay #1—Introductions and Conclusions; using quotes

Thurs Feb 11 Draft of Essay #1 DUE (Bring in copies)

Mon Feb 15 No Class

Wed Feb 17 Workshop essay drafts
HW: Read Kingston, "No Name Woman..." and write a one-page response in which you a)explain your reactions to the essay and b)explain whether you think your response/reaction is the reaction that you think Kingston wanted to have on her readers.

Thurs Feb 18 Discuss Kingston, "No Name Woman"

HW: Begin reading Wide Sargasso Sea (copy on reserve in Ryan or available in the bookstore; you may decide to share a copy of the novel with a friend, but you should make sure that you will have access to the novel during class discussions)

Mon Feb 22 Introduce Research Paper – inclass writing

HW: Think about possible research paper focus. You might want to look on the class web site at sample research papers from last semester

Tues Feb 23 Meet in Ryan Library – 10:00 am Monday Schedule of Classes

Wed Feb 24 Revision strategies – bring essay draft #1 to class!
HW: Write up two possibilities for your research topic (one paragraph about each possibility) and bring this writing to class on disk

Thurs Feb 25 Discuss research topics/developing a main idea
HW: Answer discussion questions for WSS

Mon Mar 1 Discuss WSS through Part One
HW: Answer discussion questions for WSS

Wed Mar 3 Discuss WSS – pages tba
HW: Finish revision for essay #1

Thurs Mar 4 Revision of essay #1 DUE // Bibliography format
HW: Answer discussion questions for WSS

Mon Mar 8 Discuss WSS – pages tba
HW: a) Preliminary source list (four items) and b) brief (at least one paragraph, no more than a page) description of what your research paper will be about and c)three possible family member interview questions (Due Wednesday)

March 9 Interdisciplinary panel for Wide Sargasso Sea – Ryan Auditorium 11 a.m.
(extra-credit writing assignment)

Wed Mar 10 Discuss interview questions // Brainstorm essay beginnings//
Using quotes and secondary sources
HW: Read Cofer, "Silent Dancing" and write a one-page response about your reactions to the essay, and b) think about how Cofer’s essay might help you structure your own family history paper

Thurs Mar 11 Discuss Cofer

March 15 – 19 Spring Recess

Mon Mar 22 Inclass reading: "Pop Culture" and list examples of pop culture
HW: Read Orlean, "The American Male..." and write a)your responses to the essay and b)your ideas about what Orlean’s main idea is and whether or not you think her essay is convincing

Wed Mar 24 Discuss Orlean//ethnography
HW: Tannen, "Gender Gap..." and write a one page response

Thurs Mar 25 Discuss Tannen

Mon Mar 29 first draft of research paper due: bring in 4 copies
HW: Read classmates drafts and make comments

Wed Mar 31 Workshop research papers
HW: Read Ehrenreich, "The Naked Truth..." and answer the questions at the end of the reading

Thurs Apr 1 No Class

Mon Apr 5 No Class

Wed Apr 7 Discuss Ehrenreich// Ethnographic essay
HW: List two possible topics// observation sites for ethnography essay

Thurs Apr 8 Discuss ethnography essay
HW: Draft ethnography essay

Mon Apr 12 Ethnography essay due, bring in 4 copies
HW: Read and comment on classmates essays

Wed Apr 14 Inclass workshop on ethnography essays

Thurs Apr 15 Inclass work on revision of family research paper – bring first draft to class

Mon Apr 19 Revision of family history paper due
HW: Read Jordan, "Nobody Mean More to Me than You..." and write a response in which you answer question #1

Wed Apr 21 Discuss Jordan

Thurs Apr 22 Discuss Jordan
HW: read Will, "Printed Noise," and bring an example of "printed noise"

Mon Apr 26 Discuss Will
HW: Revision of ethnography essay

Wed Apr 28 Ethnography essay due

Thurs Apr 29 Inclass writing

Mon May 3 – last day to turn in additional revisions
HW: Read Kincaid, "Girl" and write a one-page response

Wed May 5 Discuss Kincaid

Thurs May 6 Last Day of Classes

Exam Schedule TBA
 

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