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California State University, Northridge: Fall 2012
Queer Studies/English 115: Approaches to University Writing
Syllabus Table of Contents:
Instructor Information / Disability Information / Course Description / Required Texts / Course Requirements / Grade DistributionAttendance / Email Protocol / Other Course Policies / Tentative Schedule / Citation of Sources / Course Objectives
Course Description:
Prerequisites: EPT score of 151 or higher. Expository prose writing with a focus on both content and form. Specific emphases shall include the exercise of logical thought and clear expression, the development of effective organizational strategies, and the appropriate gathering and utilization of evidence. Includes instruction on diction, syntax, and grammar, as well as the elements of prose style. Students receive credit for only one course chosen from AAS, CAS, CHS, ENGL, PAS, and QS 115.
Course Objectives:
· Demonstrate competence in university writing
· Demonstrate the ability to use rhetorical strategies that include the appeal to audience, logic, and emotion
· Understand writing as a recursive process and demonstrate its use through invention, drafting, and revision (creating, shaping, and completing)
· Demonstrate the ability to use conventions of format, structure, style, and language appropriate to the purpose of a written text
· Demonstrate the ability to use library and online resources effectively and to document these sources
This course also meets the following Student Learning Outcomes in the English Department and Queer Studies Program:
Queer Studies: / English:■ Explore and value the diversities of cultures, thought, perspectives, and literatures of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexed, and queer people and communities, and explore and value the ways in which ethnicity/race, gender (understood here in terms of the different contrasts between women and men, and between non-normatively gendered and normatively gendered people), and socioeconomic class shape the diversities of cultures, thought, perspectives, and literatures of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexed, and queer people and communities;
■ Critically reflect on and analyze multiple dimensions of human identity and experience that are shaped by sexuality and gender (understood here in terms of a contrast not between women and men but between non-normatively gendered people and normatively gendered people);
■ Contribute to scholarship and creative production and innovation in the interdisciplinary field of queer studies and closely related fields such as transgender studies; and,
■ Act as responsible global citizens committed to principles of freedom, equality, justice and participatory democracy in ways that value fully lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexed, and queer people and communities. / · You will gain the ability to read critically.
· You will gain the ability to write effectively.
· You will gain knowledge of the cultural diversity of literatures.
This particular section of Queer Studies/English 115 focuses on queer issues and readings. So while the assignment sequences and course requirements parallel those of other sections of PAS/CHS/CAS/AAS/ENGL 115, the subject matter is unique to our Queer Studies/English 115 class. We will emphasize writing as a process. Revision will be an essential part of the work of the class. You’ll write multiple drafts of your papers. You’ll receive oral and written feedback on your paper drafts from your colleagues and me.
Required Texts:
In addition, I expect you to read web articles on composing and materials that your colleagues and I will post on Moodle (including articles on “same-sex” marraige and your colleagues’ assignment drafts), and you will need to do independent research for some of the course assignments. We will also watch the film The Cellouid Closet.If you have a laptop, please bring it to class meetings. If you do not own a laptop, you will need to print out workshop drafts for peer workshop days.
Course Requirements:
punctual attendance and vigorous participation in class discussions, peer workshops, and other class activities / careful and critical reading/viewing of all assigned texts (including independent research and colleagues’ assignment drafts) / three progressions (each progression consists of four writing assignments) / a collaborative web-based project and oral presentation of that project (Project Web) / in-class writing / reading and viewing responses / at least two tutoring sessions at the CSUN Learning Resource Center / final portfolio showcasing your best work, including one new revision and a portfolio prefaceGrade Distribution and Information:
Final Portfolio / 50%Other Assignments / 30%
Project Web / 20%
I will post detailed prompts for all assignments on Moodle. I evaluate your final portfolio holistically, and you’ll earn a letter grade from A-F (including + and – grades) for the portfolio and for the course. You and your group members will earn a score out of 20 for your Project Web. I evaluate all other assignments on a credit/no credit basis. You must fulfill the requirements and complete the assignment on time in order to earn full credit for a particular assignment (see exceptions in paragraph below). In some cases, I will permit you to revise an assignment so that you may earn credit for it, provided that you turned in the original assignment on time.
In order to be eligible to post the final portfolio, you must have received credit for assignments 1D, 2D, and 3D. I will lower your final course grade by 1/3 grade for each week or part of a week that you post any of these assignments late without prior permission from me.
Since this class is centered around in-class peer workshops and class discussions, your punctual and engaged attendance is a critical component of your work in the course. I expect you to attend all class meetings, but I understand that you may need to miss class in the case of an emergency. Each class member will receive four “emergency passes” that allow you to arrive late to class, leave early, or miss a class meeting due to an emergency. Once you have used up your four emergency passes, I will lower your final course grade by 1/3 grade for each class meeting that you miss. Two tardies (arriving late or leaving early) count as one absence. In addition, you need to be prepared for class in order to be able to participate effectively and benefit from class time. If you are unprepared for a particular class meeting, I will mark you tardy.
Tentative Schedule
T 8/28 / · introduction to the course
· discuss syllabus and working with Moodle
· text polls
· class member introductions
· introduction to reading / · read pp. 1-48 in Me as Her Again
· bring Me as Her Again and They Say/I Say to class
R 8/30 / · in-class reading and discussion of They Say/I Say Chapter 11
· discuss reading
· preview Progression 1
· discuss assignment 1A / · read pp. 49-142 in Me as Her Again
· post assignment 1A on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 9/4
T 9/4 / · discuss reading
· review assignment 1A
· discuss assignment 1B / · read pp. 143-194 in Me as Her Again
· post assignment 1B on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 9/6
R 9/6 / · discuss reading
· review assignment 1B
· discuss assignment 1C / · read pp. 195-243 in Me as Her Again
· post assignment 1C on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 9/11
· make LRC tutor appointment for assignment 1D or 2D
T 9/11 / · review assignment 1C
· discuss assignment 1D
· composition strategies / · post a complete draft of your assignment 1D on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 9/13
R 9/13 / · peer workshops
· discuss citation of sources / · work on revising your assignment 1D
T 9/18 / · discuss revision
· update on Agabian / · post your revised assignment 1D on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 9/20 (post as Word or PDF attachment)
R 9/20 / · review assignment 1D
· introduction to visual rhetoric
· sample analysis / · read Picture This pp. 1-91
· post a reading response on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 9/25 (200-250 words): select one point from Picture This that you found particularly surprising, interesting, convincing, or far-fetched. Cite the page your point comes from and explain your response to this point.
T 9/25 / · preview Progression 2
· discuss assignment 2A
· visual rhetoric work
· discuss reading and Moodle posts / · post your assignment 2A on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 9/27
R 9/27 / · review assignment 2A
· discuss assignments 2B and 2C
· ethnography protocols and questions / · post your assignment 2B on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 10/2
T 10/2 / · review assignment 2B
· introduction to The Celluloid Closet
· watch first section of The Celluloid Closet / · post your assignment 2C or a link to your assignment 2C on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 10/4
R 10/4 / · review assignment 2C
· watch conclusion to The Celluloid Closet
· discuss film
· discuss assignment 2D
· composition strategies / · post a complete draft of your assignment 2D on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 10/9
T 10/9 / · peer workshops
· discuss MLA format for Works Cited
· mid-semester evaluation of the course / · post your revised assignment 2D on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 10/16 (post as Word or PDF attachment)
· read selected Moodle essays on same-sex marriage
· bring your LRC tutor session verification to class
R 10/11 / No Class
T 10/16 / · review assignment 2D
· preview Progression 3
· discuss readings
· LRC debrief
· discuss mid-semester evaluations / · read Against Equality pp.1-42
R 10/18 / · discuss readings
· discuss assignment 3A / · read They Say/I Say Prefaces, Introduction, and Part 1
· post your assignment 3A on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 10/23
T 10/23 / · review assignment 3A
· discuss assignment 3B
· discuss reading / · read They Say/I Say Part 2
· post your assignment 3B on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 10/25
R 10/25 / · review assignment 3B
· in-class writing
· discuss reading
/ · read Against Equality pp. 43-78
· post a 250-300 word specific report on your research for assignment 3D on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 10/30 (explain which sources you plan to use and how you expect to use each source)
T 10/30 / · discuss reading
· report back on research
· discuss assignment 3C / · post assignment 3C on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 11/1
R 11/1 / · review assignment 3C
· discuss assignment 3D
· composition strategies / · read selected essays on same-sex marriage (readings on Moodle)
· post a complete draft of your assignment 3D on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 11/6
T 11/6 / · peer workshops
· discuss reading / · work on revising your assignment 3D
· read They Say/I Say Part 3
R 11/8 / · discuss reading
· analyze Hillary Clinton video / · post your revised assignment 3D on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 11/13 (post as Word or PDF attachment)
T 11/13 / · review assignment 3D
· discuss portfolio / · if you don’t have a laptop, bring your assignments 1D, 2D, and 3D to class
R 11/15 / · local revision / · make tutor appointment with the LRC
T 11/20 / · discuss Project Web
· work on revision of assignment 1D or 2D or 3D for Project Web / · work on Project Web
· work on portfolio
R 11/22 No Class
T 11/27 / · discuss portfolio preface
· work on Project Web / · post a draft of your portfolio preface or a link to your draft on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 11/29
R 11/29 / · peer workshops
· work on Project Web / · post a link to your Project Web on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 12/4 (one link per group)
T 12/4 / · Project Web presentations / · post your portfolio as a Word or PDF attachment on Moodle by 1 p.m. on 12/6
R 12/6 / · course synthesis/rupture
· party?