Course Calendar
Borderlands, Contact Zones, Commons: Writing (About) Difference
This is the schedule for the course, though it may change based on developments in class. Please refer back to this calendar frequently throughout the course.
Date / Work Due / In-Class WorkMonday, August 29th / Introduction and syllabus review;
First-day writing sample;
Academic writing;
Class introductions[S1]
Wednesday, August 31st / Reading: Pratt, “Arts of the Contact Zone” (Ways of Reading) / Coming to terms;
Assigning terms;
Monday, September 5th / Labor Day / Labor Day
Wednesday, September 7th / Writing: Assignment 1A / Share ideas from writing;
In-class writing;
Autoethnography
Monday, September 12th
*Last Day to Add/Drop / Bring in three texts (relating to assignment 1B) / In-class writing;
Discussion of texts
Wednesday, September 14th / Writing: Assignment 1B / Circulation of autoethnographies;
In-class writing toward assignment 1C
Monday, September 19th / Writing: Rough Draft of Assignment 1C / Revision work;
Group discussion;
Introduction to peer review
Wednesday, September 21st / Conferences[S2]
Monday, September 26th / Conferences
Wednesday, September 28th / Writing: Final Draft of Assignment 1C / First-Year Writing Program’s Statement on Ethical Scholarship and Plagiarism;
In-class activity and/or viewing
Monday, October 3rd / Reading: Lethem, “The Ecstasy of Influence” / Coming to terms with Lethem;
Ethical scholarship;
Lethem and Pratt, Lethem and FYW
Wednesday, October 5th / Writing: Rough Draft of Assignment 2A / In-class revision and review;
Group discussin
Monday, October 10th / Conferences[S3] / Conferences
Wednesday, October 12th / Conferences / Conferences
Monday, October 17th / Writing: Final Draft of Assignment 2A / In-class viewing/activity
Wednesday, October 19th / Choose one site (See Assignment 2B) / Discussion of chosen sites
Monday, October 24th / Writing: Rough Draft of 2B / Group discussion;
Revision
Wednesday, October 26th / Conferences / Conferences
Monday, October 31st
*Last Day to Withdraw / Conferences / Conferences
Wednesday, November 2nd / Writing: Final Draft of 2B / In-class viewing/activity;
Anticipating Halberstam/covering differences
Monday, November 7th / Reading: Halberstam, “Animating Revolt” (Ways of Reading) / In-class writing;
Coming to terms;
Developing a site of inquiry
Wednesday, November 9th / Proposal for a site of otherness to discuss for Assignment 3 / *Class will meet in the library
Information Literacy
Monday, November 14th / Writing: Rough Draft of Assignment3 / Revision;
In-class discussion
Wednesday, November 16th / Conferences / Conferences[S4]
Monday, November 21st / Thanksgiving Break / Thanksgiving Break
Wednesday, November 23rd / Thanksgiving Break / Thanksgiving Break
Monday, November 28th / Writing: Final Draft of Assignment 3 / Reviewing prior papers;
Discussing introductions;
Determining a line of inquiry throughout your own work
Wednesday, November 30th / Reading: Introduction[S5] / Coming to terms;
Discussion of introductions/developing a vocabulary around introductions
Monday, December 5th / Writing: Rough Draft of Introduction / Revision work of both the introduction and of prior papers;
Wednesday, December 7th
*Last Day of Class / Conferences / Conferences
*Date TBA (During Finals) / Final Draft of Assignment 4 Due
Course Calendar
Borderlands, Contact Zones, Commons: Writing (About) Difference
This is the schedule for the course, though it may change based on developments in class. Please refer back to this calendar frequently throughout the course.
Date / Work Due / In-Class WorkTuesday, August 30th / Introduction and syllabus review;
First-day writing sample;
Academic writing;
Class introductions[S6]
Thursday, September 1st / Reading: Pratt, “Arts of the Contact Zone” (Ways of Reading) / Coming to terms;
Assigning terms;
Tuesday, September 6th / Writing: Assignment 1A / Share ideas from writing;
In-class writing;
Autoethnography
Thursday, September 8th / Bring in three texts (relating to assignment 1B) / In-class writing;
Discussion of texts
Tuesday, September 13th
*Last Day to Add/Drop on September 12th / Writing: Assignment 1B / Circulation of autoethnographies;
In-class writing toward assignment 1C
Thursday, September 15th / Writing: Rough Draft of Assignment 1C / Revision work;
Group discussion;
Introduction to peer review
Tuesday, September 20th / Conferences[S7]
Thursday, September 22nd / Conferences
Tuesday, September 27th / Writing: Final Draft of Assignment 1C / First-Year Writing Program’s Statement on Ethical Scholarship and Plagiarism;
In-class activity and/or viewing
Thursday, September 29th / Reading: Lethem, “The Ecstasy of Influence” / Coming to terms with Lethem;
Ethical scholarship;
Lethem and Pratt, Lethem and FYW
Tuesday, October 4th / Writing: Rough Draft of Assignment 2A / In-class revision and review;
Group discussion
Thursday, October 6th / Conferences[S8] / Conferences
Tuesday, October 11th / Conferences / Conferences
Thursday, October 13th / Writing: Final Draft of Assignment 2A / In-class viewing/activity
Tuesday, October 18th / Choose one site (See Assignment 2B) / Discussion of chosen sites
Thursday, October 20th / Writing: Rough Draft of 2B / Group discussion;
Revision
Tuesday, October 25th / Conferences / Conferences
Thursday, October 27th / Conferences / Conferences
Tuesday, November 1st
*Last Day to Withdraw on October 31st / Writing: Final Draft of 2B / In-class viewing/activity;
Anticipating Halberstam/covering differences
Thursday, November 3rd / Reading: Halberstam, “Animating Revolt” (Ways of Reading) / In-class writing;
Coming to terms;
Developing a site of inquiry
Tuesday, November 8th / Proposal for a site of otherness to discuss for Assignment 3 / *Class will meet in the library
Information Literacy
Thursday, November 10th / Writing: Rough Draft of Assignment3 / Revision;
In-class discussion
Tuesday, November 15th / Conferences / Conferences
Thursday, November 17th / Conferences / Conferences
Tuesday, November 22nd / Thanksgiving Break / Thanksgiving Break
Thursday, November 24th / Thanksgiving Break / Thanksgiving Break
Tuesday, November 29th / Reading: Introduction[S9]
Writing: Final Draft of Assignment 3 / Coming to terms;
Reviewing prior papers;
Discussing introductions;
Determining a line of inquiry throughout your own work
Thursday, December 1st / Writing: Rough Draft of Introduction / Revision work of both the introduction and of prior papers;
Tuesday, December 6th / Conferences / Conferences[S10]
Thursday, December 8th
*Last of class / Revision work / Final class wrap up and discussion/in-class activity and writing
*Date TBA (During Finals) / Final Draft of Assignment 4 Due
[S1]Instructors should tailor the “in-class work section” to their own needs/what they imagine they will want to do in class with the texts and how they imagine what work will need to be done in order to build inquiries and projects. Instructors may also add in other texts (including films, TV shows, fictional texts, etc.) to be discussed or paired with various texts offered here—this is merely a brief outline.
[S2]These conferences may be group or individual depending on instructor preferences. Alternately, instructors may decide to do conferences outside of class time entirely, or do them within the class as a whole group. Or, potentially, instructors may redirect one class but meet the second one(Applies below as well).
Students should be required to prepare comments for one another prior to conferences/class-time
[S3]See above re: conferences
[S4]Only one day of conferences is scheduled here in the interest of time, but instructors may plan addition conference time in or out of class depending on availability
[S5]Instructors may select one or several introductions to anthologies or works that they feel will allow students to assess the possibility in genre
[S6]Instructors should tailor the “in-class work section” to their own needs/what they imagine they will want to do in class with the texts and how they imagine what work will need to be done in order to build inquiries and projects. Instructors may also add in other texts (including films, TV shows, fictional texts, etc.) to be discussed or paired with various texts offered here—this is merely a brief outline.
[S7]These conferences may be group or individual depending on instructor preferences. Alternately, instructors may decide to do conferences outside of class time entirely, or do them within the class as a whole group. Or, potentially, instructors may redirect one class but meet the second one(Applies below as well).
Students should be required to prepare comments for one another prior to conferences/class-time
[S8]See above re: conferences
[S9]Instructors may select one or several introductions to anthologies or works that they feel will allow students to assess the possibility in genre
[S10]Only one day of conferences is scheduled here in the interest of time, but instructors may plan addition conference time in or out of class depending on availability