JUNIOR WRITING:
WRITING FOR CRITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS
STPEC 393A
Thursdays, 2:30-5pm
Ethan Myers
ecmyers@umass.edu
Machmer E-27
Office hours by appointment*
Writing for Critical Consciousness fulfills the Junior Writing requirement for the Social Thought
and Political Economy program. While the aim of most first-year composition courses is to
introduce students to the conventions of college writing in general, the aim of Junior Writing is to
introduce students to the conventions of composition specific to their major. But the STPEC
major can lead to so many disciplines and fields, and is bounded by no single, clearly established
set of writing conventions. However, one thing that STPEC does clearly emphasize is the
relationship between theory and action. So, rather than learn and replicate certain composition
formulas and conventions, we will use this Junior Writing course to examine the process and
practice of writing itself in terms of praxis. The bedrock that lies beneath the layers of texts, cases,
and examples that we’ll study this semester is the political action associated with textual production.
As we explore and map this terrain, we’ll consider some or all of the following: the politics that
underlie guidelines of style; the politics of ‘voice’; the relationship between identity and language;
the rhetoric of empire and the language of imperialism; the politics of representation and selfrepresentation; the function of narrative; the rhetorical constructions of space and place; and the
relationship between form and content.
My intention or hope, as I build this course to deal primarily with rhetoric, is that by examining the
political forces of language you’ll be better equipped to see the political force of your own
language. Put plainly, my major objective this semester is that you gain comfort and skill examining
your own writing with the goal of exercising more control over it. The path from textual analysis to
textual creation is not necessarily a direct line, and is not always as intuitive as it may seem, but I
believe that those who carefully analyze and examine their own written work have the power to
grow and develop as writers long after they leave this classroom and go on to explore all kinds of
paths. Indeed, the practice of textual analysis extends to a wide range of texts, media, and
disciplines. Most importantly, I believe, the ability to critically examine and analyze texts holds the
potential to disrupt and appropriate the power that many texts hold, and can enable you to exercise
more power over the texts you produce.
On the less theoretical and more practical end of the writing spectrum, many of us have had the
experience that, when a due date looms, we collect lots of information, eat some junk food, and
“just bang it out.” I’ve even heard some students say that such a process is the only way they can
write. I’m serious. It’s true that “banging it out” may sometimes be necessary given the material
realities of one’s life. But the problem for us, at least this semester in this classroom, is that such an
approach to writing weighs heavier on content, product, and stuff than it does expression, process,
and critical thought. We’ll try to shift that weight in this course as we linger on the bang-it-out part
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of writing. To dwell in the process of creation is to orient oneself to the political action and power
of rhetoric: how a writer says what she says pulls as much gendered, racial, cultural, historical and
political weight as what she says. A good writer, to my mind, understands the power of language,
and can control it. To write and to think nothing of how language functions is to forfeit your voice,
and so also your power.
What you write about will primarily be up to you. Because the landscape of “writing” is particularly
dynamic, as we move through the semester we’ll broaden the scope of “writing” to “composing.”
You can think of the beginning of the semester having relatively fixed boundaries around the
conventions of college and essayistic writing. Once we’ve explored those boundaries and the
territory they draw, we’ll work to transgress them and to map new territories, or, at any rate, to map
familiar territories in new ways. With that in mind, we’ll have more readings toward the beginning
of the semester, and fewer toward the end as you spend more time wrestling with the act and
process of composition.
*I very much want to meet with all of you during the semester to discuss your work. At times, we
will schedule formal meetings to do so, but please feel welcomed and encouraged to contact me to
schedule other meetings. I do not hold ‘open’ office hours as I have found that very few students
show up to them. But I will always be available for appointments on Thursday afternoons before
class, and am amenable to scheduling meetings during other weekdays. I’m also open to
communicating via email and to scheduling phone conversations; I will provide my phone number
on a case-by-case basis.
TEXTS
Some texts for this class have been selected for what they say, others for how they say it.
Most of them will be made available to you via Google Drive. If you have trouble accessing texts
on Google Drive, let me know as soon as possible. You’ll need an up-to-date version of Adobe
Reader to view PDFs.
There are no required books for the course, though I strongly recommend that you buy a copy of
William Strunk and E.B. White’s The Elements of Style, which you can find in local bookstores,
or on the Internet, for not much money at all.
WORK
The course is designed with the intention that readings, discussions and assignments build on each
other. Missing one or more assignments throws the course, and your education, off kilter. Besides
which, this is college, and I assume that you will do your work, that you’ll be prepared for class
discussions, and that you’ll hand your assignments in on time. Those are the basics.
I know that life happens, and sometimes deadlines pass regardless of whether you’ve finished your
work. So, you may hand your work in up to one week late and still get the benefit of my feedback,
but with a grade deduction of half a letter grade per day. I will grade hard copies only – no emailed
or digital assignments will be accepted unless otherwise arranged. I will generally collect essays in
class. If you don’t have your essay with you, it’s your responsibility to get me a hard copy as soon as
possible (I won’t come to campus just to pick up your paper).
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Extensions are very rare, but if you would like one and feel that you have a compelling reason,
speak with me at least 24 hours before the due date. Be prepared to show me your work and have
a sound case for an extension. Extensions will not be granted if it is clear that you have done no or
only minimal work toward the finished project.
Assignments in this class are spaced intentionally to correspond with readings and discussions, and
to allow time to work on them. One late assignment causes a train wreck of overdue papers further
down the line. It’s best to stay on top of your work. The assigned reading load is relatively light for
a 300-level course so that you can focus on your own research and writing; you will have a writing
assignment due nearly every week. In the past, students who have found the reading load imposing
are the same students who wait until the last minute to tackle it. Don’t procrastinate. Incompletes
are possible in extreme cases only, for example in the case of serious illness (which requires a
doctor’s note).
MOODLE
We have a Moodle page. Please let me know as soon as you can about any problems you
encounter, and I’ll try to fix it as quickly as I can.
Some assignments may be handed in on Moodle (like drafts of major essays). If you all are
interested in transferring more of our work to Moodle, I’m okay with that. Let me know and we’ll
work it out.
A note on technology: Please do not ever use your cell phone during class for any purpose. If you
are in the midst of an emergency and must use your phone, quietly excuse yourself and use your
phone outside. If you must use a computer during class, use it for class-related purposes only
(which does not include Googling stuff); if I learn that you are using it for other purposes, I will
deduct half a letter grade from your final course grade for every infraction. Same goes for texting
during class: half a letter grade deduction.
I typically check work email once or twice a day Monday through Friday, generally in the morning.
You’ll find that I am pretty quick about getting back to people via email as long as you pretend it’s
1999.
WRITING
Every week that we have a reading assignment, you will prepare a 2-page essay. These essays
should be concise, smart, should be proofread for minor errors, and should use MLA citation
form. Please do not think of these papers as informal busy-work assignments. Instead, think of
them as close readings. I’m interested in your critical reaction to the text, not your personal,
emotional, immediate reaction. In terms of assessment, I will consider the extent to which you
engage critically and analytically with the text. That said, numerous minor errors of grammar,
usage, or offenses of style will lower your grade. Please do not summarize or offer reviews of the
texts. And please do not neglect basic aspects of college writing (like a works cited page). Weekly
writings are worth 2% each, for a total of 16% of your final grade. No late weekly writings will be
accepted: if you miss it, you miss it; it’s just 2%. But don’t miss too many because that’s more
percent.
Major essays for this course will range from approximately five to fifteen pages in length. You must
turn in a draft for the first two major essays and a formal proposal for the third. Essay topics will
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emerge from the course readings, and, hopefully, from your own extracurricular experiences and
readings. I will provide prompts, but not specific questions for these essays; it’s up to you to
develop essay topics, organizational and design strategies, and rhetorical moves that you find
meaningful, important, and germane to your topic and purpose.
I expect the major essays to be professional and polished. Proper grammar and appropriate
citations are a given. Never turn in an essay of any length without a title and a works cited page; I
will consider it unfinished, I won’t grade it and I will deduct for lateness until you submit a hard
copy of the works cited page. All final, hard copies of essays must adhere to intentional and
relevant style and design strategies. They should be titled, solidly bound in some way (like with
staples, but not with paperclips), with pages numbered, and, if it’s a conventional essay, sporting
MLA style and layout. I will deduct points from essays that fail to meet these basic, professional
criteria.
Again, to receive a grade and the benefit of my feedback your paper must be handed in hard copy
within a week of the due date. I will not grade emailed papers or papers submitted beyond a week
of the due date.
Plagiarism is passing off another author’s work as your own, paraphrased or copied verbatim.
Plagiarism is considered a strict offense by me and by the University and carries strict penalties.
If I found that you’ve plagiarized an essay or a significant part of an essay, you’ll receive an F.
Be sure to attribute all ideas, work, and language to their source. Please use MLA style for
assignments for this course (unless you get the okay from me to use a different style).
READING
You can expect 25-50 pages of reading every week. The reading load at the beginning of the
semester is heavier than at the end. I try to reduce the reading load during weeks that final drafts
of essays are due. Some of the readings are tough – they’re very meaty and intellectual, you’ll
very likely need to consult a dictionary, and you should definitely read them more than once.
Other readings will be more immediately accessible, but still deserve significant time and
examination. Time spent deciphering and analyzing the readings is exercise for your brain; I’m
confident that you’ll find that with practice your ability to understand and analyze all texts will
improve.
Note: By read I do not mean skim, I mean study: be familiar with the readings; be able to
distinguish one author’s arguments and ideas from another’s; know which author wrote which
piece; know approximate dates that each piece was originally published.
Participation
Come to class, arrive on time, contribute to class discussions and to workshops, come to scheduled
meetings with me, turn in your work. Simply fulfilling these most basic elements of school will earn
you 9% toward your final grade. More than two absences will result in a grade reduction of one
letter grade per absence.
Grades
A 93-100
A- 90-92
B+ 87-89
B 83-86
C+ 77-79
C 73-76
D+ 67-69
D 60-66
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B- 80-82
C- 70-72
Projects
Essay 1 draft (5-7 pages)
Essay 1 final
Essay 2 draft
Essay 2 final (5-7 pages)
Essay 3 (15 pages)
Portfolio
Weekly Writings (8; 2 pages each)
Participation/Attendance
2.5%
15%
2.5%
15%
30%
10%
16%
9%
F <60
Essay 1 is a critical examination of the readings.
Essay 2 is modeled on the style of the readings.
Essay 3 is a research composition.
The Portfolio showcases your growth as a writer.
(2% each)
*Note: the Portfolio assignment requires that you develop and create a meaningful way to
represent your composition work this semester. Preferably, these will not be straightforward, direct
representations of your work, but more abstract. The portfolios may take the form of narratives,
performances, built structures, maps, or autobiographies. Or something else, of course.
Schedule
All readings and assignments must be completed by the date that they appear on the syllabus. So,
before class on Thursday, January 30, you should read and prepare to discuss George Orwell’s
“Politics and the English Language,” James Baldwin’s “The White Problem,” David Foster
Wallace’s “Tense Present,” Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, and the website with 50
rhetorical devices. You should also complete the weekly writing assignment.
You can count on 25-50 pages of reading most weeks, though the reading load some weeks will
be a little heavier, and some weeks a little lighter. Plan ahead! Don’t wait until Thursday
morning to start your reading.
**Note: The readings are intentionally heavier at the beginning of the semester; I’ve scaled back
the readings at the end of the semester so you can devote more energy to your major project.
Thursday, January 23
David Foster Wallace on fish, liberal arts, thinking, adulthood, the genre of the
commencement address, self-centeredness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vET9cvlGJQw&feature=related
Zadie Smith from “That Crafty Feeling”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_uAav8L5EY
(For the text version, see Chapter 7 in Changing My Mind)
Thursday, January 30
Topics: Modernism, language and identity, language and politics
1. George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language” (Google Drive)
2. James Baldwin, “The White Problem” (Google Drive)
3. David Foster Wallace, “Tense Present” (on-line)
4. Strunk and White, The Elements of Style
5. 50 Rhetorical Devices: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/50-rhetorical-devices-forrational-writing/
+ weekly writing
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Thursday, February 6
Topics: Black English / AAVE, World English(es), Politics of voice
1. June Jordan, “Nobody Mean More to Me than You and the Future Life of
Willie Jordan” (Google Drive)
2. Strunk and White, continued
3. Peter Elbow, “Why Deny Speakers of African American Language a Choice Most of
Us Offer Other Students?” (Google Drive)
4. A. Suresh Canagarajah, “The Case of World Englishes in Composition: Pluralization
Continued” (Google Drive)
5. Amy Tan, “Mother Tongue” (Google Drive)
6. The Slave Narratives: choose one to read, analyze, and present to the class
Recommended: Bruce Horner and John Trimbur, “English Only and U.S. Composition”
Bring to class three possible essay ‘angles,’ along with evidence/support for each.
In class writing: the politics of documentary and representation
+ weekly writing
Thursday, February 13
Topics: Composition and conquest, writing / composing history
1. Strunk and White, continued
2. Jill Lepore, “What’s in a Name,” the preface from The Name of War: King Philip’s
War and the Origins of American Identity (Google Drive)
3. Marlene NambeSe Philip, selections from Frontiers: Selected Essays and Writings on
Racism and Culture, 1984-1992. (Drive)
4. Linda Tuhiwai Smith, selections from Decolonizing Methodologies (Drive)
Giving Voice/Appropriating Voice
Ishi; Photovoice: Voices from South of the Clouds
TBD: in-class film – The Last Tribes of Mindanao
+ weekly writing
Due: Draft of Essay 1 – turn in on Moodle. As you write your draft, focus on the big
stuff: major ideas, concerns, and arguments; don’t sweat the small stuff: organization,
style, grammar, and local edits.
Thursday, February 20
Topics: Imperialism, philanthropy and the politics of representation
TBD: in-class film, Slam
Due: Essay 1 (hand in hard copies in class)
Thursday, February 27
Topics: Space and place, postmodernism, form and content, rhetorical strategies
1. Rebecca Solnit, selected essays from Storming the Gates of Paradise: Landscapes of
Politics (Google Drive)
2. Barry Lopez “Flight” (Google Drive)
3. TBD: Other writings on space, place, politics (e.g. Guy de Bachelard, Mary Pat Brady,
David Harvey, Malea Powell)
+ weekly writing
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Thursday, March 6
Topics: Writing and gender, language and identity, self-representation
1. Adrienne Rich, “When We Dead Awaken: Writing as Re-vision” (Google Drive)
2. Meg Woolbright, “Feminism in the Patriarchy” (Google Drive)
3. TBD Judith Butler on Alliances and Public Assemblies
4. TBD: Gloria Anzaldua, Mary Pat Brady
+ weekly writing
Bring to class three topics for Essay 2, along with analogies, narrative possibilities, and
your own connection to the topic (or your bias).
Thursday, March 13
Topics: Expository writing, narrative writing, polemics
1. Ed Abbey “Polemic: Industrial Tourism and the National Parks” in Desert Solitaire
2. --- “Water” in Desert Solitaire (Google Drive)
2. William Finnegan, “Letter from Mexico” in The New Yorker (2011) (Google Drive)
3. Charles Bowden, selections from Desierto
Optional: David Remnick, “Bruce Springsteen at 62” in The New Yorker (2012) (Good
example of a profile essay)
+weekly writing
Due: Draft of Essay 2
Thursday, March 20
Spring Break
Thursday, March 27
Topics: Student projects
Memes of Resistance, Oral Histories, Johannes’s wiki, other student projects
Due: Essay 2 (hand in hard copies in class)
Thursday, April 3
Topics: Multimodality, visual books
TBD: Gary Paul Nabhan, Charles Bowden, Vandana Shiva, others.
Thursday, April 10
Individual Meetings with Ethan this week: sign up for a time!
Due: Formal Proposals for Essay 3
Thursday, April 17
Keep working on Essay 3!
Thrusday, April 24
Last Class: Course wrap-up, workshopping Major Essay 3
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Portfolio Presentation
Date TBD – “Final”: Major Project Presentation
ALL WORK DUE BY MAY 8
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