1
ENG 101
Section X
Writing Childhood
Instructor: Olivia Hendricks
Meeting Time and Place: X
Office Hours: X
Email/contact: ohendri@emory.edu
Course website: X
Course Description
“Child rights”, “anchor baby”, “save the children”, “year of the child”—for a group whose
members are almost never published writers, children nevertheless appear in writing with
remarkable frequency and political charge. Furthermore, the way childhood is currently
imagined in the West is thanks largely to the arguments of famous writers, whether 18th century
philosopher Rousseau or 20th century “pop” pediatrician “Dr. Spock.”
By reading, analyzing, and responding to texts about childhood in global and in U.S. contexts,
students will develop their own ideas about what it means to write well, in addition to their
composition skills. A writing-intensive course, students will learn key rhetorical terms which
they will then identify in the writing of others and use to strengthen their own writing. Students
will read and write across a wide range of audiences, genres, and occasions, including but not
limited to: personal essays, film reviews, scientific articles, blog posts, political resolutions,
newspaper op-eds, and legal transcripts and documents.
Course Learning Outcomes
 Compose texts in multiple genres, using multiple modes with attention to rhetorical
situations.
 Summarize, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate the ideas of others as you undertake
scholarly inquiry in order produce your own arguments.
 Practice writing as a process, recursively implementing strategies of research, drafting,
revision, editing, and reflection.
 Describe and critique the ways in which the idea of childhood is shaped, used, and
challenged by written and visual texts from a variety of genres
These outcomes have been adapted for Emory first-year writing courses from a set developed by the Council of
Writing Program Administrators.
Portfolio Statement
Throughout the semester you will assemble a portfolio of your work. The portfolio will include
short writing assignments, drafts, reflections about writing in progress, and final drafts. Toward
the end of the semester, you will use this collection as evidence to argue in a reflective essay that
you have achieved the learning outcomes for the course.
Grade breakdown and final grading scale
Class participation 20%
Key terms quiz 10%
Brief writings 10%
1
2
Extended writings 50%
Reflective essay 10%
Class participation: This includes attendance, but is also about being engaged as an in-class
reviewer and editor of the texts we examine in class (your own, your peers’, and the assigned
readings.) I will be listening for respectful but specific and productive feedback for your peers
and for signs that you have read assigned texts thinking about the rhetorical terms we have
discussed. About halfway through the term you will receive an email with your current
participation grade to give you an idea of what you can improve on for the end of the semester.
Key terms quiz: At the end of the second week, you will have a quiz of your knowledge of the
rhetorical terms we have learned. The purpose of this quiz is to make sure you have absorbed the
most basic aspects of the terms we will be using for the rest of the course. I hate tests, but I think
this is the best way to make sure your brain flags this information as necessary. It will primarily
involve defining terms, selecting examples of terms within short passages, and some brief shortanswer.
Brief writings: You will regularly be given short in-class writing assignments. This is to keep
you constantly in the act of writing—the purpose of this course. These will be 0/100 scores—if
you do them within the basic framing of the assignment, you get credit. These are timed in class
and typically shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes or so.
Extended writings: You have extended writing assignments due on the following Mondays:
Sept 12 Film review of Babies—Following the examples provided in class, write a 2-3 page
review of Babies. Focus on the form of the review as well as your voice coming through.
Sept 26 Summary article—Unlike your last assignment, this one is about keeping your voice out
of the paper and highlighting instead the voices of disagreement. Write a 3-4 page paper
describing key terms and arguments in the debate about birthright citizenship. Make sure you
cover both sides and try to give our readers as representative and objective a summary as you
can.
Oct 10 Persuasive essay—You are a community leader concerned about the wellbeing of local
children in poverty. Write a persuasive essay that will be published in The New York Times
arguing whether or not city planners, local citizens, and community leaders should support more
integrated neighborhoods or not. Use our articles from Week 6 as evidence, as well as any other
evidence you may have from your experiences and/or education.
Oct 24 Program report—imagining you work for the Harlem Children’s Zone, you will rewrite a
mission statement, success story, and bulleted list of achievements to try to convince donors to
fund a program project
Nov 7 Annotated bibliography, thesis, and outline for final research essay
Nov 21 First half of final research essay
2
3
Dec 12 Complete final research essay
More detailed prompts and grading criteria will be posted on Blackboard at least two weeks
before the deadline.
Reflective essay: As mentioned in the portfolio statement, you will use the portfolio to help you
write a reflective essay at the end of the semester showing you have met the course learning
outcomes. You will receive a grading rubric for this essay the day we discuss this assignment in
class.
Class Policies
Disability/accommodation statement
I strive to create an inclusive learning environment for all. I am invested in your success in this
class and at Emory, so please let me know if anything is standing in the way of your doing your
best work. This can include your own learning strengths, any classroom dynamics that you find
uncomfortable, ESL issues, disability or chronic illness, and/or personal issues that impact your
work. I will hold such conversations in strict confidence.
Students with medical/health conditions that might impact academic success should visit Access,
Disability Services and Resources (http://www.ods.emory.edu/index.html) to determine
eligibility for appropriate accommodations. Students who receive accommodations must present
the Accommodation Letter from ADSR to your professor at the beginning of the semester, or
when the letter is received.
Academic honesty/honor code
We will follow the Emory College Honor Code
(http://catalog.college.emory.edu/academic/policy/honor_code.html). I take plagiarism and other
forms of academic dishonesty seriously. Should I suspect that you engage in academic
dishonesty in this course, I will refer the case to Emory’s Honor Council. You may also receive
an F on the assignment(s) in question.
Attendance
Attendance is essential. Class serves largely as a writing workshop, necessitating your reliable
presence as an author, editor, and audience member. You may miss one class without incident.
Your class participation grade will drop one full letter grade for each additional absence. Meet
with me if you feel your situation warrants an exception to this rule. Bring appropriate
documentation to this meeting.
Late Work
All assignments are due by the time and date specified. I will not accept late work without
granting advance permission via email, and permission is not guaranteed. Even with advance
arrangement, late work will cause your grade for the assignment to decrease by one letter for
each class period the assignment is late. Meet with me if you feel your situation warrants an
exception to this rule. Bring appropriate documentation to this meeting.
3
4
Communication
Email is the best way to contact me if you have questions or concerns. Generally, I will respond
to all student email within 48 hours (on weekends and holidays, it may take a bit longer).
Likewise, there may be instances when I will need to contact you by email. It is your
responsibility to check your Emory-based email account at least once every 48 hours.
Electronics
Unless specified ahead of time, please do not use electronics during class. This does mean you
will need to print out articles and drafts rather than read them from a computer. Meet with me if
you feel your situation warrants an exception to this rule.
Outside Resources
Writing Center
<<Pull latest blurb from Writing Center Website.>>
Multilingual/ESL Tutoring
If English is not your first language and if you need additional help with assignments in this or
other college classes, you may benefit from working with specially trained ESL Tutors. The
tutors are undergraduates who will support the development of your English language skills.
Like Writing Center tutors, ESL tutors will not proofread your work. Language is best learned
through interactive dialogue, so when you come to an ESL tutoring session, be ready to
collaborate! ESL tutors will meet with you in the ESL Lab in Callaway S108 and other
designated locations, and they will help you at any stage of the process of developing your essay
or presentation. You may bring your work on a laptop or on paper. If you schedule an
appointment in the ESL Lab, you may also bring your work on a USB stick - computers are
available in the lab.
Visit the website of the Office for Undergraduate Education (http://college.emory.edu/oue/) and
select "Student Support" and then "ESL Program" to schedule an appointment, read the tutoring
policies, and view the offerings of the ESL Program (direct link to ESL Tutoring:
http://college.emory.edu/oue/student-support/esl-program/esl-tutoring.html). If you do not have a
scheduled appointment, you may want to meet with a drop-in tutor in the ESL Lab, Callaway
S108. Here, you may have less time with a tutor if other students are waiting, but you can briefly
discuss an assignment and some of your concerns. For more information, visit the website or
contact Levin Arnsperger at larnspe@emory.edu.
Counseling Services
Free and confidential counseling services and support are available from the Emory
Counseling Center (404) 727-7450. This can be an invaluable resource when stress makes your
work more challenging than it ought to be. http://studenthealth.emory.edu/cs/
Readings and Writings
Required Texts: The Curious Writer, 2nd edition, by Bruce Ballenger. Pearson, 2008.
4
5
Aside from this reader, all other required texts will be made available on Blackboard. Films will
be made available in the library. A group screening may be possible if desired.
Recommended text: Diana Hacker A Writer’s Reference (check editions next year)
Please consider the texts produced by you and your colleagues as the most important
texts of the course. You will frequently be reading and re-reading (and perhaps, re-re-reading)
your own work and the work of your peers.
The following required texts will guide this process of developing your own texts:
Course schedule
(Subject to change with reasonable notice)
Week 1 (of Aug. 29):
Writing childhood
The Curious Writer “The Spirit of Inquiry”
Short excerpts from Rousseau, UNICEF, Whitney Houston
List of key terms and definitions
Week 2 (of Sept 5):
Infancy
Babies documentary
“Babies” review
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/babies-2010
“The Moral Life of Babies” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/magazine/09babiest.html?_r=0
The Curious Writer “Writing a Review”
Week 3 (of Sept 12): DEADLINE—Film review of Babies
Theorizing development
Excerpts of Piaget, Siegler
PBS “Whole Child: Social and Emotional Development”
The Curious Writer “Reading as Inquiry”
Week 4 (of Sept 19):
The child and immigration
“3 Things You Should Know About Birthright Citizenship”
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/08/18/432707866/3-things-you-shouldknow-about-birthright-citizenship
“Birthright of a Nation”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/14/opinion/14schuck.html
“Suffer Little Children”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/21/opinion/paul-krugman-immigration-children.html
“Here Comes (the Real) Santa Claus”
http://thisibelieve.org/essay/8665/
5
6
The Curious Writer “Ways of Inquiring”
Week 5 (of Sept 26): DEADLINE—Summary article on birthright citizenship
Children and science
“The Thalidomide Tragedy: Lessons for Drug Safety and Regulation”
https://helix.northwestern.edu/article/thalidomide-tragedy-lessons-drug-safety-andregulation
“Goodbye Dr. Spock”
http://annaquindlen.net/goodbye-dr-spock/
Dr. Spock excerpts
James, Allison. “Giving Voice to Children’s Voices: Practices and Problems, Pitfalls and
Potentials.” In In Focus: Children, Childhood, and Childhood Studies. Edited by Myra
Bluebond-Langner and Jill Korbin. American Anthropologist 109.2 (2007): 261–272.
Week 6 (of Oct 3):
Children and poverty
“The paradox of the ghetto”
http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21641283-unnervingly-poor-children-seem-farebetter-poor-neighbourhoods-paradox-ghetto
The Curious Writer “Writing an Argument”
Week 7 (of Oct 10): DEADLINE—Persuasive essay on “children and poverty”
Children’s rights
Excerpts of pages from UNICEF declarations (Definition of Child and 8 Fundamental
Rights)
Gorcyca court transcript excerpt
Law on child right-to-die
Week 8 (of Oct 17):
Education
“A Taste of Success”
http://thisibelieve.org/essay/52984/
Harlem Children’s Zone webpage
Ronald Fryer economic review of Harlem Children’s Zone
Obama speech on HCZ
The Curious Writer “Writing a Proposal”
The Curious Writer “Writing a Personal Essay” (skim)
Week 9 (of Oct 24): DEADLINE—Harlem Children’s Zone program report
Gender socialization
UNICEF “Early Gender Socialization”
Op-ed articles on gender-neutral parenting
The Curious Writer “Research Techniques”
Week 10 (of Oct 31):
6
7
Race and socialization
“Santa Claus is a White Man”
YouTube clips of child race studies in psychology
The Curious Writer “Using and Citing Sources”
Week 11 (of Nov 7): DEADLINE—Annotated bib, thesis and outline for research paper
Aestheticization of the child
“Toddlers and Tiaras” episode
“French Government Bans Child Beauty Pageants and I Hope it Catches On”
The Curious Writer “Writing a Research Essay”
Week 12 (of Nov 14): Bring in the first page of your final research essay
Research essays check-in and peer reviews
The Curious Writer “Revision Strategies”
Week 13 (of Nov 21): DEADLINE—First half of final research essay
Bad kids
The Bad Seed film
“The Scarlet Ibis”
Readings on ethos, pathos, and logos
Week 14 (of Nov 28):
Children and books
Selection of children’s books
NY Times Children’s Book reviews
“Facts about Children’s Literacy” NEA
Week 15 (of Dec 5): DEADLINE—Complete final research essay due
Wrap up and final paper development
Dec 12—reflective essay due to me via email by midnight. We will not have a final exam.
7