ENGLISH 101 Sec. E3, Writing 1
M, W, F; Noon - 12:50 PM; 108 Clemens Hall
I came to explore the wreck.
The words are purposes.
The words are maps.
I came to see the damage that was done
and the treasures that prevail.
(Adrienne Rich, "Diving into the Wreck")
Instructor:
Office:
Home Phone:
E-Mail:
Office Hours:
Mailbox:
Patrick F. Walter
Clemens 516
(716) 983-1982 (For emergencies only!)
pfwalter@buffalo.edu
Monday and Wednesday 1:00 - 2:00 or by appointment.
Located outside the English Graduate Office, Clemens 302
Required Texts (Available at Talking Leaves Bookstore, Main Street Location)
Maasik, Sonia, and Solomon, Jack. Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular
Culture for Writers, 5th edition.
Harris, Muriel. Prentice Hall Reference Guide, 6th edition.
Required Materials
A good dictionary. (I recommend Webster's or American Heritage.)
A sturdy folder in which you keep typed journal entries.
A sturdy folder to use for your portfolio and to store drafts of your writing assignments.
A disk on which you can save your work.
Course Description: Writing on Popular Culture
In this course, we will be taking a semiotic approach to the study of popular
culture. In other words, we will learn how to read and write about popular mediums such
as music, television and advertising by treating these mediums as signs of cultural
identity. Regardless of our goals in higher education, it is important for us to know how
to read and respond to the many texts of popular culture. Each day of our lives, we are
bombarded with messages about who we are and who we should become. This course
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should provide us with a survival kit of critical tools for decoding these messages. As
your instructor, my primary goal is to teach you how to become a more persuasive and
effective writer and reader, but I also hope my course helps you to become more
thoughtful, active consumers of world around you.
In part, our readings will consist of short essays covering everything from popular
music, to toys, to shopping malls. Each of these readings will focus on how certain
cultural artifacts construct gender, sexuality, race and class as categories of identity.
These readings should function both as models you can look to when composing your
own critical essays and as introductions to current debates and theories about popular
culture. However, beyond these readings, I'm expecting you to begin reading the cultural
signs that surround you. Don't panic! Most of you have already started doing these
readings every time you watch television, go to a movie or choose what clothes to wear
in the morning.
Your writing is the key component of this course. Through consistent writing
assignments, workshops and peer reviews we will learn how to compose and constantly
revise our writing. While many of us have debated about music, movies and television
with our friends, many of us have not written critically about popular culture. Through
the writing assignments in this course, we will learn how to analyze, think and write
thoughtfully about popular texts.
The Writing Assignments
Personal Essay, Encounter with Pop Culture (3-4 pgs)
Critical Analysis of Advertisement (3-4 pgs)
Cultural Artifact Essay (4-5 pgs)
Cultural Mythology Essay (4-5 pgs)
Combat Journal
Note: In the combat journal, you have the chance to record your day-to-day
encounters with the many, often scary and at times amusing, messages of popular culture.
I call this a "combat" journal because I'm asking you to use this writing space as a place
to wrestle with the various stereotypes constructed in the mass media.
Course Requirements and Grading Policy
UB uses a lettered grading policy, A - F, including + and - grades. Your final grade will
be calculated according to the following breakdown:
An incomplete grade may only be given to students who fulfill the attendance
requirement and complete all but one of the written assignments.
Attendance, Participation and Reading Quizzes: 10%
You will be allowed three absences without a penalty. After missing three
classes, each absence will result in a reduction of your final grade by 1/3. Arrival to class
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more than 15 minutes late will result in an absence. If you arrive after class has begun,
you are responsible to inform me of your attendance. Three weeks of absences without a
documented medical excuse and completed make-up work will result in the failure of this
course.
You are responsible for contacting either a fellow class member or myself if you
miss a class. You are also responsible for turning in any work that is due on the day you
return. I realize that there are many valid excuses for missing class (sickness, weather,
family crises, etc.) and these excuses are why I'm allowing three absences. So plan
accordingly.
The attendance and participation component of your grade will also reflect your
ability to contribute thoughtfully to classroom discussions, peer reviews and workshops.
This class thrives on discussion and teamwork. Your success will partially depend on
your engagement with the materials and your classmates.
There will be a handful of pop reading quizzes. If you read the assigned material
for the day, these quizzes should not be difficult.
Personal Essay, Encounter With Popular Culture 10%
Critical Analysis of an Advertisement 10%
Cultural Artifact Essay 30%
Cultural Mythology Essay 30%
Final Portfolio 10%
All essays should be handed in on the due date. Each essay should be in a
reasonable font (11-12pt), normal times, double-spaced, with a 1 inch margin. There will
be no exceptions on this point. Nothing, including your absence on the due date, will
excuse a late essay, and late essays will receive a 1/2 grade reduction for each day they
are late. I will not grade essays without a cover letter or essays that have not been typed
to fit the above format.
Essays will be evaluated for: quality (your command of technical and mechanical
elements and the richness of your ideas); your sense of audience, your ability to organize
your ideas into a coherent structure that develops your thesis statement; and, most
importantly, your ability to revise through successive drafts.
Assignments submitted more than a week late will receive an F. You must submit all
assignments and a final portfolio to receive a passing grade.
I use an A - F scale. However, at times I may assign an R, meaning that I'm requesting
you to revise your essay before I give you a grade. You have the right to revise your
assignment for a higher grade as many times as you like. Please meet with me if you
plan to do this. All revisions are due, along with the original graded copy, no later
than 11/26 . For the last two weeks of class, we will be revising for our portfolios.
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Plagiarism: Plagiarism is using another person's words and ideas as though they were
your own. It is easy to avoid plagiarism: simply put the material you have taken from
someone else's writing in quotation marks and cite the person's name and publication in
your paper. Plagiarism is a serious offense which can result in expulsion from the
University. A paper which contains any plagiarized material at all will receive an F; two
such plagiarized papers will result in the student receiving an F for the course. (Note:
plagiarism is not restricted to the use of published work; the passing of another student's
work as your own is also a case of plagiarism.)
ENG 101 SCHEDULE
Week 1
M 8/27: Introduction of the course, personal introductions
Homework
Reading: The syllabus.
Writing: Write a letter (1 pg.) to me regarding any questions or concerns you have about
the syllabus or about the course.
W 8/29: Discussion of the syllabus and plagiarism. Introduction to the personal
essay/personal narrative form. What is the personal?
Homework
Reading: Kevin Jennings' "American Dreams" pg. 464-468 Ilana Fried's "Don't Let
Social Notions Curb Ability" pg. 482-485
Writing: In your Combat Journal, free write a page about one of these essays. Try to
find the author's main idea. What parts of the essay really grab you? Think of three
possible encounters you've had with popular culture that could make an interesting essay.
F 8/31: Discussion of the readings. The difference between a story and a personal essay,
Developing an argument through claims and support. Claim/support exercise.
Homework
Reading: Deborah Tannen's "There is No Unmarked Woman" pg. 499-503
Writing: In your cj, free write one page about what you feel to be the most effective
essay we've read thus far. Each of these essays has used the personal in some way. Why
do you feel this essay was the most effective at using the personal? Think about which of
your own encounters would work best in an essay.
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Week 2
M 9/3 Labor Day
W 9/5 Discussion of the reading. Formal introduction of the first essay.
Homework
Writing: Begin writing essay 1. Have a draft to bring to class on Friday.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Essay 1: An Encounter with Popular Culture
Descrition
For this 3-4 pg personal essay, I'm asking you to describe an encounter you have had with a
cultural artifact that has changed how you view yourself. Remember, cultural artifacts can be anything
from a television program to a suburb. It is up to you to describe your artifact, your encounter with it, and
how this encounter changed the way you view yourself. I'd recommend being specific. For example,
instead of telling the reader that listening to rock music made you rebellious, try describing one encounter
with a certain band or artist that changed the way you viewed a certain aspect of your life.
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to help you to start thinking critically about the popular culture
that surrounds you. By "thinking critically" I mean considering the messages that certain cultural artifacts
are sending about who we are, what we should be, what we should and shouldn't do, etc.
What I Will Be Looking For
1) While this is a personal essay, I'm still looking for a thesis that can be argued. As a reader, I
want to know what you are trying to explain to me, what is at stake. Your job is to try to convince me of
some idea, so state this idea up front. A clear thesis will also help you to organize your essay.
2) As a reader, I'll also be looking for you to make claims and back these claims up with
supporting evidence. For a personal essay, this will probably involve some narrative or story. However,
remember that you are not simply writing a story. Your accounts of your experience should be proving a
point, or supporting a claim. The claim/support method of argumentation also entails giving your reader
details and specifics rather than generalizations. For example, "The Sex Pistols made me question
authority" is a fine claim to make, but it is rather general, which means it will have to be backed up by
detailed support. What about The Sex Pistols made you question authority? Was it their songs? Their
lyrics? What songs? What lyrics?
3) Finally, as a reader, I'll be looking for coherence at every level of writing. I'll be looking to see
that each paragraph makes sense in relation to the rest of the essay, and that each paragraph has a topic
sentence followed by support. A good way to work on coherence is by having other people read and
comment on your essay. Have another person read the essay to you aloud and try to hear what you've
written as though you were a reader. Does your writing make sense? Does it hold your attention?
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F 9/7: Peer review, what is it, why and how do we do it. Begin peer reviewing.
Homework
Writing: Continue revising/writing your personal essay.
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Week 3
M 9/10 Peer Review of Personal essay
Homework
Reading: Ann Norton's "The Signs of Shopping" (83-89)
Writing: Continue your revision process. Essay due for evaluation on Friday.
W 9/12: Discus Reading. How do we analyze ads?
Homework
Readings: Look at the ads in the book.
Writing: Find some ads that seem to speak to you. Perhaps they bother you in some
way. Perhaps you find them sexy, offensive or humorous. In your CJ, free write a page
on one ad in you CJ. BRING THE ADS THAT YOU FIND TO CLASS.
F 9/14 First Essay Due for Evaluation. Thinking about identity as a construct. How
we write on ads. Group work on ads.
Homework
Reading: Jack Solomon's "Masters of Desire" (409-419)
Writing: In your CJ, free write a page on one of the essays we've read thus far. What is
the essay saying about desire, consumerism and identity? Begin your critical analysis of
an ad by taking notes on various factors in the ad that construct a message.
Week 4
M 9/17 Discuss readings. Introduction of Critical Analysis Essay.
Homework
Writing: Begin writing your critical analysis of an ad.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Essay 2: Critical Analysis of an Advertisement
Description
For this 3-4 page essay, I'm asking you to compose a critical analysis of an advertisement from
magazines, newspapers or television. Remember that advertisements not only play to our desires but also
help to shape our desires. By telling us what we should want, these ads tell us who we should be. In
coming up with a thesis about what your ad is saying, I'd suggest thinking about some of the general
categories regarding identity (race, gender, sexuality and class). Usually, you will find that your ad is
implying something regarding at least two of these categories. Also, when trying to get at the implied
message of your ad, think about what this message says about identity and social power.
Try to come up with a specific thesis to organize your analysis. Also, try to organize what details
about that ad help to support your thesis. For example, perhaps the color of a models clothing in your
fashion ad doesn't really speak to your thesis. Okay, then you needn't mention this detail.
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Purpose
The purpose of this assignment is to help you to develop your analytic skills, and combine these
skills with your critical writing. Really, this assignment involves two simultaneous processes: the analysis
of an artifact in which you find out what the ad is saying and the composition of the critical essay, in which
you explain your interpretation to your reader. Combining analysis and explanation is a key to becoming
an effective writer.
What I'll be Looking For
1) I'll be looking for a strong thesis that I can follow through your entire essay. Remember, I'm
not looking for you to analyze every aspect of your ad and give me random ideas. I want you to decide
what you think is the most important, implied message of the ad. Your thesis is where you tell the reader,
"Okay, this is what I think this ad is really saying."
2) I'll also be looking for organized analytic work. Your analysis should function as support for
the claims that you make regarding the ad. For example, as a reader, I should know why you are talking
about a models hair style. What significance does this detail have to your overall thesis?
3)I'll also be looking for an attempt to incorporate another critical voice into your work. We've
read a number of essays on advertising, and something one of these authors has said will probably speak to
your own ideas.
4) As usual, I'll be looking for clarity and coherence at every level of your writing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------W 9/19 TURN IN YOUR CJ!!! Discussion of readings continued. Discuss second essay
and workshopping.
Homework
Writing: Continue writing your critical analysis.
F 9/21 Workshop one personal essay.
Homework
Writing: Continue writing your critical analysis to be peer reviewed next Wednesday.
Week 5
M 9/24 Claims and support method in relation to an ad. What's a paragraph? Working
with an outside source.
.
Homework
Writing: Continue writing your critical analysis.
W 9/26 Peer review of critical analysis.
Homework
Writing: Continue writing your critical analysis.
F 9/28 Peer review of critical analysis essay.
Homework
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Writing: Finish revising critical analysis essay. Due next class.
Week 6
M 10/1 Second Essay Due for Evaluation. Cultural Myths and Cultural Artifacts. The
next two assignments. Identity: Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality.
Homework
Reading: Gary Cross's "Barbie, G.I. Joe, and Play in the 1960s" (772-779)
Writing: In your CJ, free write a page on this reading. What artifact is the author talking
about? How is this artifact described? What myth is the author talking about?
W 10/3 Discus readings. What myths and artifacts are these writer looking at? How to
define an artifact.
Homework
Reading: Gwendolyn Pough's "Women, Rap and Wreck" (275-283)
Writing: In your CJ, free write a page on how this author defines an artifact. What other
aspects of popular music might she look at in here analysis? Begin drafting the cultural
artifact essay.
F 10/5 Discuss readings. Introduction of Cultural Artifact Essay.
Homework
Writing: Begin drafting Cultural Artifact Essay. Have a topic for conferences.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Essay 3: Cultural Artifact
Description
In this 4-5 page critical essay, I'm asking you to pick one cultural artifact and write about how it
constructs a myth of identity. Our readings have been showing how popular culture influences our
understanding of cultural identity. In your Combat Journal, you've been looking critically at various
mediums that also construct certain cultural myths. Now is your chance to develop your own critical essay
on one of these mediums. When writing this essay you should consider three basic tasks. First, you need to
explain your artifact. Let your reader know what you are taking about. For example, if you choose a song,
let the reader know the title of the song, the artist who recorded it, and the album on which the song
appears. If you are writing on a television program, let the reader know the title of the program or any
specific episodes you mention. Next, you need to analyze your artifact. This involves quoting and
interpreting song lyrics, describing and interpreting certain scenes of a TV program or describing and
interpreting various images or words in an advertisement. DO NOT just tell the reader that a perfume add
uses derogatory representations of women to sell a product; explain how these images are constructed and
how they are derogatory. Finally, you will need to bring in one of the secondary readings from SLU.
Consider these readings as support for the claims you make in your own essay. Remember, it is up to you
to decide what constitutes an artifact. However, if chose a more general artifact such as "rap music" or "the
family sitcom" you will still need to provide specific examples of how this artifact is constructing certain
myths.
Purpose
This essay is designed to teach you how to read and write critically about cultural artifacts. It
should help you learn how to move between talking generally about popular mediums to analyzing specific
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instances of these mediums. It should also help you learn how to incorporate secondary sources into your
own critical writing.
What I'll Be Looking For
1) Your thesis, your ability to define your artifact, and your ability to focus on a single myth of identity are
crucial to a coherent essay. Take control of the essay and attempt to speak like the expert you are. As a
reader, I want to know what area of popular culture you're looking at. I'll also want to know what you're
looking at in terms of this artifact. For example, rap music provides us with many messages about race,
gender sexuality, class, crime, urban community, etc. What factors do you want to talk about?
2) I'll also be looking again for coherent and detailed analytic work, that is, work that helps to support your
thesis. Like the previous essay, this process of analysis should be clear to the reader.
3) I'd like you to attempt to incorporate another outside source into this essay as we've discussed in class.
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Week 7
M 10/8 Conferences
W 10/10 Conferences
F 10/12 Review of common issues from the conferences. Peer review of Cultural
Artifact essay.
Homework
Writing: Continue drafting the cultural artifact essay.
Week 8
M 10/15 Workshop one Critical Analysis essay.
Homework
Writing: Finish drafting the Cultural Artifact essay. Due next class for peer review.
W 10/17 Peer review cultural artifact essay. How to properly cite an author.
Homework
Writing: Continue revising cultural artifact essay.
F 10/19 Peer review cultural artifact essay. How to properly cite an author.
Homework
Reading: Naomi Wolf's "The Beauty Myth" (486-494).
Writing: Finish drafting Cultural Artifact essay. Due next class for evaluation. In your
CJ free write a couple of pages about one artifact that constructs the beauty myth.
Week 9
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M 10/22 THIRD ESSAY DUE FOR EVALUATION! Discus readings. Myths as
intersections of stereotypical notions of race, gender, sexuality and class.
Homework
Reading: Michael Omi's "In Living Color" (549-559)
Writing: In your CJ, free write about one artifact you see contributing to a myth of racial
identity discussed by Omi.
W 10/24 Discuss reading. Understanding myths as intersections of beliefs about race,
class, gender and sexuality.
Homework
Reading: Aaron Devor's "Gender Role Behaviors and Attitudes" (458-464).
Writing: In your CJ, brainstorm about one cultural myth that shapes popular
understandings of identity and artifacts in which we see this myth.
F 10/26 Discuss Devor and Omi.
Homework
Read over assignment description for Cultural Mythology essay. Beginning drafting the
essay.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Essay 4: Cultural Mythology
Description
No single television aspect of pop culture is responsible for a cultural myth of identity. Cultural
myths develop through the combination of various cultural artifacts. In this 4-5 page essay, I'm asking you
to write about how one myth of identity is constructed in two or more cultural artifacts. Through our
readings, we've been learning how certain myths of identity can be found in various popular mediums.
This is your chance to explore how these mediums work together. Keep in mind that you will be writing on
a number of different artifacts here. You will need to be attentive to the different analytical methods these
mediums demand. Looking at a pop song involves a different process of analysis and quotation than
looking at a toy. Your focus here should be how the myth changes or stays the same as it moves through
various mediations of popular culture. This essay requires a bit of legwork on your part because I'm asking
you to track a myth. However, you may find that you've already been doing this tracking in your Combat
Journal. Remember to focus on one specific myth or stereotype. Writing just about race or just about
gender is far too general. Myths are stories that tell us something specific (often something reductive,
derogatory and disempowering) about categories of identity.
Purpose
The purpose of this essay is to help you to write about a specific myth of identity, and combine
various analytic methods. Thus far, artifacts have been our central focus, and you may find that focusing
on a myth is more complex, demanding more independent thinking on your part. This essay should help
you to do this.
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What I'll Be Looking For
1) First off, this assignment demands that you be specific. An effective essay will explain and focus on a
specific myth of identity, and give me a thesis about this myth is saying regarding identity.
2) I'll also be looking for your analysis of various artifacts in which this myth is embodied. You'll find that
the easiest way to support your explanation of your myth is to show the reader a concrete example of this
myth at work. Again, your analysis should be organized and understandable for a reader. It should help
support your thesis.
3) Again, I'll be asking you to effectively incorporate another critical voice into your essay. This involves
accurate citation and responsible representation of your outside source.
4) As usual, I'll be looking for coherence at every level.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Week 10
M 10/29 Finish up discussing the readings. How do we write on myths?
Homework
Writing: Continue writing Cultural Mythology essay.
W 10/31 CJ DUE!!!! Workshop one cultural artifact essay.
Homework
Writing: Continue writing Cultural Mythology essay.
F 11/2 Formal introduction of Cultural Mythology essay. Grammar issues we've
encountered.
Homework
Writing: Continue writing Cultural Mythology essay. Due next class for peer review.
Week 11
M 11/5 Peer review Cultural Mythology essay.
Homwork
Writing: Continue drafting cultural mythology essay.
W 11/7 Peer review Cultural Mythology essay.
Homework
Writing: Continue drafting cultural mythology essay. Due next class for evaluation.
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F 11/9 Final Essay Due. Wrap-up discussion of myths.
Week 12
M 11/12 What are Portfolios and discussion of the remainder of class.
W 11/14 Workshop one cultural mythology essay.
F 11/16 Methods of revision. How to make the most of a peer review and a revision
process.
Week 13
M 11/19 Workshop one Cultural Mythology essay.
W 11/21 FALL RECESS
F 11/23 FALL RECESS
Week 14
M 11/26 Peer review for Portfolio
W 11/28 Peer review for Portfolio
F 11/30 Peer review for Portfolio
Week 15
M 12/3 Peer review for Porfolio
W 12/5 Peer review for Portfolio
F 12/7 Last Day of Class. PORTFOLIO DUE!