Wildfire in the West
1
WILDFIRE IN THE WEST
WRTG 3020-011 (MWF 10:00, CHEM 133); WRTG 3020- 014 (MWF 11:00, CHEM 133) Spring 2012
Instructor: Tory Tuttle
Office: Temporary Building 1, Rm. 204 (TB-1 is east of Sewall Hall and west of Clare Small Gym)
Mailbox: In the hall on the left, after you enter TB-1 through the main door.
Office Hours: MWF 12:00-1:00
Office phone: (303) 492-6011
E-Mailaddress:
Course Description: Thirteen young firefighters were killed in August 1949 when a Montana wildfire exploded into an inferno. In his book Young Men and Fire, Norman Maclean searches for the story of that fire, the Mann Gulchfire, and ponders lessons to be learned from it.In Fire on the Mountain his son, John Maclean, analyzes a strikingly similar fire—the South Canyon fire—that killed fourteen firefighters outside of Glenwood Springs in 1994. Clearly, the lessons from the Mann Gulch fire had been, too soon, forgotten. As we’ve seen, even in the recent Fourmile Canyon Fire, when man runs up against wildfire, a necessary component of many natural ecosystems, questions arise for which there are no easy answers. As we read these two books and several articles we’ll analyze successful firefighting plans and plans gone awry; we’ll exploreissues of firefighting, fire control, technology, and decision-making; we’ll discover results of man’s interference with natural systems. As you examine these issues you will enhance your critical thinking skills, delve into inquiry-based writing, and ponder the rhetorical choices a writer makes as she presents an issueto a particular audience.
Coursework: Since the best way to learn to write is by writing—by engaging frequently and intensively in the arts of composition—you’ll spend most of the semester writing and revising. Along with a variety of short assignmentswhere you’ll react to the readings and analyze the rhetorical situations, you’ll write two major papers, one analytical and one argumentative, on wildfire issues that particularly interest you.Drafts of these papers will provide the principal text of the course, which is an intensive writing workshop. By developing your critical thinking skills, acquiring strategies of analysis and argument, and refining your language skills,you will learn topresent your ideas effectively through clear, strong writing.
Texts Norman Maclean,Young Men and Fire
John Maclean, Fire on the Mountain
Your writing
Your journal (a loose-leaf binder that will hold your journal pages and short assignments)
Occasions (available online <
Readings on Electronic Reserve (eRes--see below under “To access,”p. 5.)
Library Research Tutorial--https//:learn.colorado.edu (see schedule)
Russell Graham et al., Fourmile Canyon Fire Preliminary Findings
A handbook (such as Ann Raimes, Pocket Keys for Writers) that demonstrates MLA 2009 style
COURSE CONTEXT
University of Colorado at Boulder Core Requirement: Offered through the Program for Writing and Rhetoric, College of Arts and Sciences, WRTG 3020 isapproved for arts and sciences core curriculum: written communication.
CCHE Requirements: WRTG 3030 meets CCHE criteria for an Advanced Writing Course (GT-CO3). Specifically, this course will extend your rhetorical knowledge, your experience in the writing process, your mastery of writing conventions, and your awareness of effective communication strategies. More broadly, this upper-division seminar is part of the statewide “Guaranteed Transfer” pathway of courses. The course will work to:
Extend Rhetorical Knowledge. Rhetoric, simply put, is an individual’s use of language and images to move an audience. Awareness of how a writer can shape her words to successfully present her ideas to her audience makes a critical difference in a writer’s success. In this class, we’ll see howNorman Maclean’s search for a “story” in the tragedy of Mann Gulch yields a far different writing style and structure than the straight forward, and no less gripping journalism of his son who, on a different mountain, works to answer the same question, What went wrong? We’ll observeas Ted Williamsscrutinizes the rhetoric of several politicians in “Incineration of Yellowstone,” and note how, through careful management of language, he presents his own position.
Extend Experience in Writing Processes. In the writing workshop we’ll put the “Rhetorical Knowledge” to the test. As you present early drafts of your papers to some or all members of the class, you’ll see how an audience reacts to your work, and, as you critique the work of others, you’ll gain a stronger sense of the needs of the audience. As you work on your final argument, you will make use of information literacy skills and various technologies, including online data bases to research ideas that can help you develop your argument.
Extend Mastery of Writing Conventions. The formal papers of this course call for appropriate conventions of academic and professional writing. You’ll learn how audience determines the conventions you use, whether you are writing a summary, an analysis, or an argument. We will deal with issues of style, grammar, and organization in the context of larger rhetorical and argumentative concerns. The goal will always be to create clear dynamic writing that meets the needs of the audience.
Advance Content Knowledge through Communication Strategies. Since each piece of academic and professional writing has a purpose, each assignment in this course has a particular purpose, and a particular audience. You‘ll adjust your writing and speaking to present that purpose and to reach that audience. The sequence of assignments as well as the exposure to the expertise and research of your peers give you practice in adapting and designing communication strategies to meet the needs of specialized readers.
POLICIES
Attendance: Attendance is required—we need your input. I allow threeabsences,excused or unexcused,but after that,you will lose five points from your final grade for each subsequent absence. If you do miss a class, please contact another student to find out what happened in class. You are responsible for knowing what went on. Moreover, if you miss a class before a workshop day, please pick up and prepare the drafts for that next workshop. (Those drafts will be in my mailbox, on the 1st floor of TB-1). Come to class prepared and on time; late arrivals count as absences.
Email, on-line materials: We will frequently use email communication. Please check your email account several times each week, particularly on days when drafts are circulated. Before class, please turn off electronic devices, such as cell phones. Do not send or receive text messages in class, unless you wish to receive an absence for that day. In class you may only use laptops to access class materials and readings. If you live off campus,to access databases and on-line library materials such as eReserves and the Library Research Tutorial, you need to establish “Off Campus Access” (otherwise, you’ll need to use the library computers). See the Libraries website
< Under “Quick Links,” click on “Off campus access;”follow the instructions.For assistance on technical computing matters, contact 5-HELP (303-735-4357) for the ITS Help-line.
Please inform me by email any time I’ve made an exception for you regarding class policy (for instance, if I agree extend your paper due date).For a written record, be sure I confirm your email with a response.
Workshop: All your work must be original and written for the class. In workshop we’ll collaborate to help class members revise their work. After you receive the workshop schedule, it will be your responsibility, about once a week, to prepare 21or 11 copies of your draft for workshop (photocopying is a textbook cost). You will be expected to work on these drafts throughout the semester, even on days when your draft may not come up for discussion. While the drafts will, at first, be short, and while the working drafts will not be graded, I expect you to give considerable thought and attention to all drafts you turn in. If drafts do not follow the assignment, you’ll lose points on the final draft. The “first draft” you turn in for workshop will probably not be the first draft you write—even in an early draft for the class, you should strive to be clear and meet the needs of your audience.
Copies are due at the beginning of class, usually one class before the day your workshop is scheduled (see workshop schedules). Unless you have made prior arrangements with me, I will only accept a draft or paper on or before the date due. Failure to turn in drafts on time will lower the final grade of your paper. I will take five points off the final grade for each time you fail to turn in a draft on time. (Allow time for printer problems. Plan ahead to have money to make copies. Staple pages before class.) In workshop we will critique the drafts, point out strengths and weaknesses, present options for revision. After workshop you will revise that draft. You’ll find, as you give and receive feedback in the supportive workshop environment, that you’ll begin to view your own work in a new way. Revisions for me must be handed in with my previous marked-up draft attached. Be sure you document all sources appropriately, using 2009 MLA style (See your handbook.) I will not accept a final paper that has not been reviewed several times in workshop.
Participation: Your participation is essential for classroom discussion and workshop, so be sureyou pick up, read, and mark the papers of your colleagues before class. Come to class ready to comment on their papers. Failure to prepare for workshop ahead of time will hurt your participation grade.Fifteen percent of your grade depends on participation.
Paper Format: Except for double entry journals, and in-class assignments, all short assignments anddrafts must be typed, double-spaced, with at least 1” margins on all sides. Please include in the heading: your name, my name, the course number, your workshop group (if any), and the due date. I will provide specific instructions and schedules for major papers. Be sure you keep a copy of every paper you turn in, in the unlikely event that the original paper gets lost. Save all papers (drafts, notes, short assignments, etc) on your computer and back them all up on a flash drive or CD. Keep all returned short assignments, handouts, and instructions in your journal binder. For short assignmentsbe sure to include the due date and assignment title in the heading. All work must be original and written for this class. All quotations, research, etc. must be properly documented in2009 MLA style.
Plagiarism: Your work must be original. If you present the work or ideas of someone else as your own, you are plagiarizing. If you fail to use quotation marks for directly quoted work, if you fail to document another’s ideas, if you document falsely, if you submit someone else’s work as your own, you are plagiarizing. Any paper that contains plagiarism will fail; plagiarism is grounds for failing the course. See the Student Honor Code,
GRADING: Grading standards are rigorous. The grades of your two major papers, short assignments (including journal assignments), participation, and attendance will determine your final grade.
Grade Breakdown: Analytical Essay: 30%
Argumentative Essay: 30%
Journal and Short Assignments (includes summaries): 25%
Participation: 15%
(Also remember that attendance can affect your grade.)
Grading Standards
A: A paper that is exceptional in form and content; original, substantive, insightful, beautifully organized. Clear,
graceful, error-free style.
B: A clearly written, well-developed, very interesting paper that shows above average thought and writing craft.
No major flaws.
C: A reasonably well-organized paper that works to supports a thesis. It may have unresolved problems in
presentation and distracting grammatical errors and stylistic flaws. A mixture of strengths and weaknesses. A
paper that works to fulfill the basic requirements of the assignment.
D: A paper seriously deficient in content, form, style, or mechanics. It may be disorganized, illogical, confusing,
unfocused, or contain pervasive errors that impair readability.
F: A paper that is incoherent, disastrously flawed, unacceptably late, plagiarized, or nonexistent.
Short assignments grades areinformal—Below arethe equivalent grades by percentages:
+ 95%
\/ +90%
\/(+)85 %
\/75 %
\/-65%
SPECIAL NOTES
Writing Center: For additional help with your writing, contact the Writing Center in Norlin Library ( Norlin E11)
Second Language: If you speak English as a second language, you should contact me before the third class meeting so that I can better assist you in the course, advise you about special ESL courses, and/or refer you (if needed or desired) to appropriate services on campus.
Disabilities: If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs may be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities Contact: 303-492-8671, Center for Community N200, and . I will make every reasonable and appropriate effort to meet your learning needs. Whether you “qualify” for accommodations or not, please let me know if your learning style varies significantly from the norm. We can work out our own accommodations.If you have a temporary medical condition or injury, see guidelines at .
Religious Observance. In accordance with university policy, I will make reasonable accommodation for religious observance. I won’t count your missing class for religious reasons as an absence if you let me know ahead of time that you will be absent. If, because of your observance, any conflicts come up with work due, talk to me ahead of time so that we can reschedule. See <
Classroom Behavior: Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Students who fail to adhere to behavioral standards maybe subject to discipline. Faculty have the professional responsibility to treat students with understanding, dignity and respect, to guide classroom discussion, and to set reasonable limits on the manner in which students express opinions. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender, and nationalities. See policies at
.
Honor Code: All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution.Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council (; 303-735-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at and at
Sexual harassment:The University of Colorado at Boulder Discrimination and Harassment Policy and Procedures, the University of Colorado Sexual Harassment Policy and Procedures, and the University of Colorado Conflict of Interest in Cases of Amorous Relationships policy apply to all students, staff, and faculty. Any student, staff, or faculty member who believes s/he has been the subject of sexual harassment or discrimination or harassment based upon race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status should contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at303-492-2127 or the Office of Student Conduct (OSC) at 303-492-5550.Information about the ODH, the above referenced policies, and the campus resources available to assist individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be obtained at
SOURCES (eReserves)
Bass, Rick. “The Fires Next Time.” True 187-195.
Easthouse, Keith. “The Shape of Things to Come.”True 215-222.
Junger, Sebastian. “Blowup: What Went Wrong at Storm King Mountain.”Fire.HarperCollins, 2002.43-56. Print.
McPhee, John. “The Control of Nature.” True 170-176.
Pyne, Stephen. “The Big Blowup.”True 34-45.
Thoele, Michael. “Fireline: Summer Battles of the West.” True 156-169.
True, Alianor, ed. Wildfire: A Reader. Washington: Island Press, 2001. Print.
Wagenknecht, Louise, “Pride and Glory of Firefighting is Hard to Resist.” True 196-199.
Willliams, Ted. “Incineration of Yellowstone.”True 133-155.
SHORT ASSIGNMENTS: You’ll respond to most reading assignments with a short assignment.
DEJ:Create a “double entry journal” (see below).Two sides of a page, or so, is fine.
Reaction Paragraph: In response to an essay or experience, you’ll write a reaction paragraph (or paragraphs) ½ page to 1 page in length. I expect paragraphs that are grammatically correct with some sense of unity. Observe and reflect-- explore your reactions to the experience or essay. Show what pleases you, if something does; show what bothers you. Point out interesting sentences. Raise questions. Challenge the writer or situation. As you write, please be specific, but let yourself go a little. Don’t forget to type and double space your paragraphs.
DirectedShort Assignment: I’ll give you specific instructions for that day’s short assignment.
Summary: Write a brief summary of a text. (Instructions will follow.)
DEJ--Double Entry Journal Instructions
When you read, read actively. Use your pencil to mark anything that strikes you: important ideas, concepts, anything that is confusing. Write questions and comments in the margins. Also, keep a “double entry journal” (DEJ) on the readings as you read, or after you have read and marked significant passages. To create a DEJ, divide a notebook page in two.At the top of the page note the bibliographic information of the source. On the left, quote the text for a passage that catches you interest or bothers you. On the right, respond to the text—see below. Be sure to note page numbers and paragraph #s for each passage.
______
What the text says.What I think
Write out the passage: any- Write out your response in