Syllabus

  • ENGLISH 131 C: Writing the Self                         Fall 2023

     

    LOCATION/TIME: RAI 107 – Tuesdays & Thursdays 12:30 - 2:20PM

    INSTRUCTOR: Alex Henry (they/them/theirs)

    OFFICE: SAV 417

    OFFICE HOURS: Monday & Wednesdays 2:00 – 3:00PM

    Available on Zoom if needed, please email.

    EMAIL: henryal@uw.edu  

    Course Website: https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1663674

     

     

     

     

    “Writing, if nothing else, is a bridge between two people, a bridge made of language. And language belongs to all of us.”

    • Ocean Vuong

    Course Description

     

    This course is designed to help you become a more confident writer. In this course we are going to focus on developing and refining academic writing skills that will be useful in many situations (not just in English classes!). Our goal in this class is straightforward: By the end of this quarter, we are all going to become more effective, successful writers. How, you ask? By working towards our four course outcomes:

     

    • To understand when we write in a certain way we are writing in certain genres, and we can transfer that knowledge to new or different writing contexts.
    • To utilize a variety of strategies for analyzing texts and using those texts as generative parts of inquiry.
    • To develop well-supported arguments of intellectual depth that contribute to an academic conversation.
    • To view writing as a process where we constantly reflect on the effectiveness of our rhetorical choices and continually make changes to better our writing.

     

    This section of 131 will center around the theme of Writing the Self. Writing about yourself has captivated our society: cover letters, job applications, YouTube essays, personal bios, Indeed, LinkedIn, Letters of Interest, memoirs, blog posts, scholarship and admissions essays, TikTok stories, etc. This form of writing is personalized, it is grounded in capturing your self—whatever that may look like. Just like the rest of our lives, our writing is equally situated in the complexities of our social, historical, and political environments. This course will ask you to critically engage with your own assumptions, privileges, and experiences through experimenting with genres, styles, and academic inquiry.

     

    All this to be said: We will write together. You will be encouraged to think about how you use language in your daily life, and critically examine language use around you. Hopefully, you will come to see this course as an exciting, productive class that enriches your ability to embrace your personal voice in your writing, professionally, personally, and academically. Most of all, I hope you leave this course feeling like you are a more conscious and confident writer.

     

    Course Requirements
    Required:

    • All readings will be free on Canvas. Tell your other professors to do the same!
    • Regular Internet access will be needed to submit assignments and stay connected through email and the class webpage on Canvas.
    • UW Email Address
      • Please check your university email accounts regularly as I will send out regular email announcements and updates. Outside of office hours, email is the best way to get in touch with me. I do my best to respond to emails in 1-2 days.
    • Each class day, please be ready to either write in a notebook or use your computer for freewriting assignments.

     

    Course Outcomes

     

    Outcome 1: To compose strategically for a variety of audiences and contexts, both within and outside the university, by

    • recognizing how different elements of a rhetorical situation matter for the task at hand and affect the options for composing and distributing texts;
    • coordinating, negotiating, and experimenting with various aspects of composing—such as genre, content, conventions, style, language, organization, appeals, media, timing, and design—for diverse rhetorical effects tailored to the given audience, purpose, and situation; and
    • assessing and articulating the rationale for and effects of composing choices.

    Outcome 2: To work strategically with complex information in order to generate and support inquiry by

    • reading, analyzing, and synthesizing a diverse range of texts and understanding the situations in which those texts are participating;
    • using reading and writing strategies to craft research questions that explore and respond to complex ideas and situations;
    • gathering, evaluating, and making purposeful use of primary and secondary materials appropriate for the writing goals, audience, genre, and context;
    • creating a ‘conversation’—identifying and engaging with meaningful patterns across ideas, texts, experiences, and situations; and
    • using citation styles appropriate for the genre and context.

    Outcome 3: To craft persuasive, complex, inquiry-driven arguments that matter by

    • considering, incorporating, and responding to different points of view while developing one’s own position;
    • engaging in analysis—the close scrutiny and examination of evidence, claims, and assumptions—to explore and support a line of inquiry;
    • understanding and accounting for the stakes and consequences of various arguments for diverse audiences and within ongoing conversations and contexts; and
    • designing/organizing with respect to the demands of the genre, situation, audience, and purpose.

    Outcome 4: To practice composing as a recursive, collaborative process and to develop flexible strategies for revising throughout the composition process by

    • engaging in a variety of (re)visioning techniques, including (re)brainstorming, (re)drafting, (re)reading, (re)writing, (re)thinking, and editing;
    • giving, receiving, interpreting, and incorporating constructive feedback; and
    • refining and nuancing composition choices for delivery to intended audiences in a manner consonant with the genre, situation, and desired rhetorical effects and meanings.

    Course Assignments

     

    In this course, you will complete two assignment sequences, each of which is designed to help you fulfill the course outcomes. Each assignment sequence requires you to complete two Shorter Assignments (SAs) leading up to one Major Paper (MP). These shorter papers will target one or more of the course outcomes at a time, help you practice these outcomes, and allow you to build toward a major paper at the end of each sequence.

     

    PORTFOLIO (70% of Course Grade)

    After working through the two main assignment sequences, you will have the chance to significantly revise one (or both) of the major papers using feedback generated from my comments, peer review sessions, and writing conferences. Toward the end of the course, you will be asked to compile and submit a portfolio of your work along with a critical reflection. The portfolio will include the following: 1-2 major papers, 2-3 of the shorter assignments, and a critical reflection that explains how the selected portfolio demonstrates the four outcomes for the course. In addition to the materials that you select as the basis for your portfolio grade, your portfolio must include in a “compendium” all the sequence-related writing you were assigned in the course (both major papers and all the shorter assignments from both sequences). More information on the Portfolio project will be given after the first sequence ends.

    PARTICIPATION (30% of Course Grade)

    The rest of your grade will be determined by your participation in and out of class. Your participation grade consists of several components:

     

    • (10% of grade) Daily Attendance & Presence: If you are not present in class, you cannot participate, therefore regular attendance is key to your participation grade. You may miss up to two days without affecting your participation grade. Please email me if you are unable to show up, it helps me plan each day’s lessons.

     

    • (10% of grade) Readings & Assignments: Class discussion will be used to support and inform student work at any stage of an assignment sequence. This will primarily be in the form of verbally participating in class discussion or writing in your own journal to a given prompt or set of questions.

     

    On Canvas, each assignment is graded on a scale of 0-2

    • 0: Instructor did not receive assignment
    • 1: Assignment received and missing major pieces
    • 2: Assignment received and complete

     

    • (10% of grade) Writing Conferences: Two Writing Conferences will be required each quarter. You will be required to meet with me twice for about 15 minutes to discuss feedback and/or future projects. We will have one conference in Week 4 to gauge your progress. Then, we will schedule another conference in Week 8 to wrap up any questions you may have, assess potential projects, make the stakes of the argument, and/or go over feedback that would be helpful for students during the process of creating their portfolio.

     

     

     

    Sequence 1:

     

    Short Assignment 1: Introduction Letter

    Due 10/2

     

    Short Assignment 2: Rhetorical Analysis

    Due 10/9

     

    Major Project 1: Research Essay

    Due 10/23

     

     

     

     

    Sequence 2:

     

    Short Assignment 3: Writing A Claim

    Due 11/1

     

    Short Assignment 4: Bibliography

    Due 11/13

     

    Major Project 2: Essay

    Due 11/22

     

     

     

    Final Portfolio: Due 12/11 at 11:59p

     

    Policies

     

    Reaching Out

    If you have any concerns about the course or your instructor, please see the instructor about these concerns as soon as possible. If you are not comfortable talking with the instructor or not satisfied with the response that you receive, you may contact the following Program in Writing and Rhetoric staff: Director Stephanie Kerschbaum, kersch@uw.edu or Associate Director of Writing Programs, Carrie Matthews, crmatthe@uw.edu. If, after speaking with the PWR Director or Associate Director, you are still not satisfied with the response you receive, you may contact English Department Chair, Anis Bawarshi; bawarshi@uw.edu, (206) 543-2690.

     

    Religious Accommodations Policy

    Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/) Links to an external site.. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/) Links to an external site..

     

    Land Acknowledgment

    University Land Acknowledgment (available at https://www.washington.edu/diversity/tribal-relations Links to an external site.):

    The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot nations.

    Our acknowledgement of the tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot nations comes from consultation and guidance by the Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs and Federal regulations and policies. In this phrasing, we are adhering to tribal sovereignty.

    Academic Integrity Clause

    Plagiarism, or academic dishonesty, is presenting someone else's ideas or writing as your own. In your writing for this class, you are encouraged to refer to other people's thoughts and writing--as long as you cite them. As a matter of policy, any student found to have plagiarized any piece of writing in this class will be immediately reported to the College of Arts and Sciences for review. If you are struggling with an assignment, please contact me so we can avoid plagiarism issues.

     

    Late And Missed Work Policy

    Because you will be doing so much writing this quarter, the most effective way to be successful in this class is to stay on top of your assignments and turn them in on time. In order to make sure we are moving through the quarter as a collective, it is important that everyone is turning in assignments at the same time. If an assignment is turned in late you will lose participation credit. The portfolio—which is worth 70% of your grade—requires you to compile all of your written assignments for the quarter. It is much better to turn everything in complete the first time than be scrambling to complete past essays at the end of the quarter. If you are in fear of missing a deadline (or have already missed one) please reach out to me ASAP. You can email me, come to my office hours, or talk to me after class. Seriously, it’s so much better if we can just chat about missing assignments.

     

    Submission Guidelines

    All your work this quarter will either be completed in class or will be submitted on our course Canvas page. For help submitting assignments on Canvas, you can visit this help page: https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Student-Guide/tkb-p/student Links to an external site.. Please let me know if you are having trouble submitting assignments or need assistance with Canvas.

     

    Classroom Climate

    This course is about writing as a form of community engagement. We will be exploring different ways of understanding the relation between written texts and the wider social, economic, and political world.  Because of this, it is necessary that our classroom climate strives to be a place of respect and openness. While you need not agree with any perspective on reading and writing we will consider, you do need to be open to these perspectives and willing to engage them. And it is vital that in discussing these perspectives, we maintain a culture of mutual respect, in which people of all ethnicities, races, faiths, genders, sexualities, abilities, national origins, citizenship status, and political views can participate without fear of abuse.

     

    Accessibility & Safety

    Accessibility Statement

    Your experience in this class is important to me. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please activate your accommodations via myDRS so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course.

    If you have not yet established services through DRS but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), contact DRS directly to set up an Access Plan. DRS facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations. Contact DRS at disability.uw.edu.

    Masks & COVID-19

    The University of Washington no longer requires masking or vaccination for its students or its employees. Please note that I actively encourage masking -- COVID is still circulating and I really, really want everyone to be healthy and safe for the whole quarter. I will be masking daily for the safety of all students and will do my best to have the windows open as much as possible during our sessions.

    If you have any additional questions or concerns regarding this, please let me know. If there are additional measures that you would like to request, please do so.

    Fragrance-Free Environment

    The English Department has no standardized policy regarding fragrance use in classroom settings. However, each year there are many students who showcase scent-sensitivity and request our classrooms to remain free of any fragrances, perfumes, and colognes. In order to reify the commitment towards having an accessible, comfortable, and safe environment for all, I request all students will be coming to class fragrance free.

     

    UW Resources

     

     

     

     

     

     

    WEEK 1: Introduction

    DATE

    IN-CLASS DISCUSSIONS

    HOMEWORK

    9/28

    Syllabus & Introductions

    Readings: Cabral’s 131 Syllabus

    10/2: Short Assignment #1 due

    WEEK 2: Rhetorical Observations & Analysis

    10/3

    In class reading:

    Shitty First Drafts by Lamont

    -

    Intro to some rhetorical analysis

    In-class reading: Poem for English B by Langston Hughes

    10/4 -- Reading Discussion Questions #1 (Anzaldúa) due

    10/5

    Readings (out of class, come prepared): Taming a Wild Tongue by Anzaldúa

    Language & Identity

    -

    Rhetorical Analysis: visual & cyber mediums

    Introduction to Short Assignment #2

    10/9 – Short Assignment #2 due

    WEEK 3: Genre & Its Various Forms

    10/10

    Genre

    -

    Multimodal Decisions

    10/11 -- Reading Discussion Questions #2 (Young) due

    10/12

    Readings (out of class, come prepared):

    Should Writers Use They Own Language by Young

    -

    Genre Translation

    Sign up for conferences next week

    WEEK 4: Sequence One End

    10/17

    Genre & Rhetorical Analysis – Sequence End

    In-class reading: Layli Long Soldier’s Whereas

    -

    Major Project One Discussion & Examples

     

    10/19

    NO CLASS- CONFERENCES

    10/23 Major Project #1 due

    WEEK 5: Sequence Two Begin

    10/24

    Writing a Claim

    -

    In-class reading: Ted Chiang’s The Great Silence

     

    10/26

    No class. Asynchronous activities to be posted on Canvas.

    Please complete two additional discussion posts and readings. Details to be posted by 10/24

    Readings (potentially): Mother Tongue, The Rise of the Trauma Essay, Arts of the Contact Zone,

    Please complete asynchronous learning activities by Tuesday 10/31

    WEEK 6:  Joining the Conversation

    10/31

    Review readings from 10/26 and discussion. 

    -

    Academic Voice

    11/1 – Short Assignment #3 due

    11/2

    		 Peer feedback & review sessions

     

     11/6 -- Short Assignment #3 Revisions Due

    WEEK 7: Research Strategies

    11/7

    Intertextuality & Joining the Conversation

     

    Research and Writing Strategies

    11/8 Reading Discussion Questions #3 Due

    11/9

    Research and Writing Strategies

    -

     

    11/13 – Short Assignment #4 Due

    Please sign up for conferences next week!

    WEEK 8: Research Strategies

    11/14

    Research and Writing Strategies

    Major Project #2 due by 11/22

    11/16

    NO CLASS. Conferences

    Prep for conference by preparing questions and feedback for MP2

    WEEK 9: Writing the Self

    11/21

    TBA

    Major Project #2 due by 11/22

    11/23

    NO CLASS. Thanksgiving

     

    WEEK 10: Portfolio Work

    11/28

    Portfolio Work

    11/29 Reading Discussion Questions #4 Due

    11/30

     

    WEEK 11: Portfolio Work

    12/5 & 12/7

    Portfolio Work: In-class workshop

    12/11 – Final Portfolio Due by 11:59p