201 Syllabus 1
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ENGLISH 201, Advanced Writing. SEC: P9
T TH 11:00 AM - 12:20 PM, 204 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) 885-1701
pfwalter@buffalo.edu
To be announced
Located outside the English Graduate Office, Clemens 302
Required Texts (Talking Leaves, 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 full-sized notebook for free writing exercises.
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.
201 Syllabus 2
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 advertisements 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
should provide us with a survival kit of critical tools for decoding these messages. As
your instructor, my goal is to teach you how to become more active consumers of these
messages through both the reading and writing assignments.
In part, our readings will consist short essays covering everything from rap music
to NYPD Blue to Barbie Dolls. Each of these readings will focus on how certain popular
mediums construct gender, race and class as categories of identity. However, beyond
these readings, I'm expecting you to begin reading the cultural signs that surround you.
Don't panic! Most have 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. While many of us have debated
about music, movies and television with our friends, many of us have not researched and
written critically about popular culture. Through the writing assignments in this course,
we will learn how to analyze, research and argue about popular texts. Through consistent
workshops and peer reviews we will learn how to revise our writing effectively.
The Writing Assignments
Cultural Artifact Essay (5-7 pgs)
Advertising Essay (5-7 pgs)
Prospectus and Annotated Bibliography for the Research Paper
Research Paper (10-15 pgs)
Combat Journal
NOTE: The most extensive writing assignment is, of course, the research paper.
However, we will be taking a developmental approach to this writing process.
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. Consider this a chance to
talk back to the TV screen! In this class we are, to quote Adrienne Rich, "diving into the
wreck", and I'd like to see what you find in your explorations.
201 Syllabus 3
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 and Participation: 10%
You will be allowed two absences without a penalty. After missing two classes,
each absence will result in a reduction of your final grade by 1/3. Arrival to class more
than 15 minutes late will result in an absence.
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.
Cultural Artifact Essay: 20%
Advertising Essay: 20%
Prospectus and Annotated Bibliography 5%
Research Paper 30%
Combat Journal and Free Writes 5%
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. DO NOT PUT ESSAYS IN MY MAILBOX!
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.
201 Syllabus 4
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 April 12. For the last two weeks of class, we will be revising for our portfolios.
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 201 SCHEDULE
Week 1
T 1/16: 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.
Th 1/18: Discussion of the syllabus, plagiarism and the readings.
Homework
Reading: Andre Mayer's "The New Sexual Stone Age" (pg. 283-285, SLU)
Writing: In your CJ, write one page about how race, gender or sexuality is constructed in
one of your favorite songs. Write another page in response to Mayer. Can you relate
Mayer's ideas to the song you were looking at?
Week 2
T 1/23 Discussion of Mayer and the songs you wrote about. How do we write about
popular music? The Semiotic Method and the relation between pop culture and cultural
identity.
Homework
201 Syllabus 5
Reading: Susan Douglas' "Signs of Intelligent Life on TV" (pg. 270-274).
Writing: In your CJ, write two pages about a television series you watch that speaks in
some way to Douglas' essay. While writing this journal entry, you may want to consider
how this song/show constructs certain myths of gender or racial identity.
Th 1/25: Discussion of Douglas and the shows you wrote about. How do we write on
television? Introduction of Cultural Artifact Essay.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cultural Artifact Essay
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 gender, race, and sexuality. 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 you choose 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
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 your
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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Homework
Reading: Michael Omi's "In Living Color" (549-560)
201 Syllabus 6
Writing: Began your Cultural Artifact essay by listing some possible artifacts you could
write about. In your CJ, write one page about a song, television program, toy, or
advertisement that constructs a stereotype of racial identity discussed by Omi.
Week 3
T 1/30 Discuss Omi. Race, gender, sexuality. Myths and intersections. Coming up with
a thesis. What it means to analyze. What not to do when writing.
Homework
Reading: Arron Devor: "Gender Roles and Behaviors" (458-464)
Writing: From your list of possible essay topics, select one and begin analyzing your
artifact. In your CJ, write about two pages about a myth of gender identity as it plays out
in two cultural artifacts.
Th 2/1: Discussion of Devor. Myths of gender and sexuality. Myths and intersections
of cultural identity. Commonplaces.
Homework
Writing: Write a complete draft of your essay for peer review.
Week 4
T 2/6: CULTURAL ARTIFACT ESSAY DUE For Peer Review! How to peer
review.
Homework
Writing: Revise your cultural artifact essay.
Th 2/8: Cultural Artifact Essay due for peer review! Outline of what makes an
effective essay. Transition Workshop
Homework
Reading: Emily Prager's "Our Barbie's Ourselves" (769-772) Gary Cross' "Barbie, G.I.
Joe, and Play in the 1960s" (772-778).
Writing: Finish revising your cultural artifact essay. Due next class for a grade!
Week 5
T 2/13: CULTURAL ARTIFACT ESSAY DUE FOR A GRADE! Discus Prager and
Cross. How do we research myths? What sources can we use and how can we use them?
Introduction of research project. The prospectus and the annotated bibliography.
201 Syllabus 7
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Research Paper
Thus far, we've been reading and writing about how various artifacts of popular culture construct
myths of race, gender and sexuality. In your previous essay, you have written critically about both a single
cultural artifact and a single cultural myth. However, to enrich your process of writing about the popular
culture you need to consider the historical and critical context surrounding myths and artifacts. I'm giving
you two options for approaching historical and critical contexts in your 10-15 page research paper. Please
choose ONE of these options:
OPTION 1: Researching a cultural artifact.
If you choose option one, you must select ONE artifact of popular culture and research how this
artifact constructs, and has constructed, myths of race, gender and sexuality. Remember to narrow your
definition of this artifact. For example, an essay on rap music may be too general. Instead, consider
focusing on the work of one rap musician or possibly even one album. Maintaining a specific focus will
help you to keep control of your essay.
In researching for option 1, consider looking through scholarly journals for critical work on your
artifact. Consider the current or historical moment of your artifact. You may also want to look at what was
or is happening in society at large that may contribute to the messages being sent by your artifact. You
may also want to read some reviews of your artifact. Music and film reviews from major publications are
fine; however I want at least half of your sources to be scholarly. Also, consider what myths you want to
discus in terms of your artifact. If one of your points is, for example, how your favorite sitcom constructs a
myth of motherhood, you may find some good scholarly essays on how motherhood is constructed in
sitcoms. Even if these essays aren't on your specific sitcom, they may still prove useful. Perhaps even an
essay on race, gender or sexuality will help you to construct your argument. These are merely a few
suggestions for starting your research.
Remember, although this is a research paper, I'm still expecting you to develop a critical argument
with a main topic. Don't simply provide your reader with an abundance of information; let your reader
know what is at stake in your research. Why should society at large care about the things you are saying
and the information you are gathering? Perhaps the best way to get started with this essay is for you to
develop a hypothesis about what your cultural artifact is doing. A hypothesis may help you to narrow your
research.
OPTION 2: Researching a cultural myth.
In you choose option two, you must select ONE myth regarding either race, gender or sexuality,
and trace this myth through various artifacts of popular culture. Remember to narrow your focus. For
example, an argument about how femininity is constructed in popular culture is probably far too broad for a
fifteen-page paper. Instead, the "stay-at-home mom," the "bad girl" or the "ice princess" may be more
specific topics. Maintaining a specific focus will help you to manage you writing and research.
In researching your myth, consider what artifacts you'll want to focus on. You will need to
provide your reader with a concise analysis of each artifact as it relates to the myth you are discussing. You
may also want to look through scholarly journals for critical essays on either the myth itself or certain
representations of this myth in popular culture. Also, consider what historical moments you will want to
focus on in relation to your myth. For example, the popular myth of the rock star changes over time. If this
were your topic, you would need to research how representations of the rock star evolve through different
historical contexts. Again, this research would involve looking at artifacts from each time period and
reading scholarly work on these artifacts. You may also use reviews from popular sources, but remember
that at least half or your sources should be scholarly.
Although this is a research paper, I'm expecting you to develop a critical argument with a main
topic. Don't simply provide you reader with an abundance of information on the evolution of your myth;
let your reader know what is at stake in your research. Why should society at large care about the things
you are saying and the information you are gathering. Perhaps the best way to get started with this essay is
to develop a hypothesis about how your myth has evolved or how it differs depending on the artifact in
which it is constructed. At the outset, a hypothesis may help you to narrow your research.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----
201 Syllabus 8
Homework
Reading: BRING HANDBOOK TO NEXT CLASS!
Writing: In your CJ free write two pages on a toy you played with that perhaps taught
you various lessons about cultural identity. Begin brainstorming about the research
paper.
Th 2/15: Turn in Your Combat Journal! How should the writing process proceed?
What topics could we write about? Library resources.
Homework
Reading: Marisa Connolly's "Homosexuality on Television. . ." (287-297)
Writing: Decide on a topic and draft your prospectus. Be prepared to share your topic
with the class and the research librarian.
Week 6
T 2/20 Library Resource Day
Homework
Reading: Begin finding sources for your topic and annotating them. BRING YOUR
HANDBOOK TO THE NEXT CLASS
Th 2/22 Workshop one Cultural Artifact Essay. Discus Connolly and how we could
research this essay. Review of annotated bibliography.
Homework
Writing: In your CJ, write two pages one artifact from popular culture that constructs a
myth of sexual identity. Work on annotated bibliography and begin drafting your
research paper.
Week 7
T 2/27 Conferences
Th 3/1 Conferences
Week 8
T 3/6 Workshop on Cultural Artifact essay. Peer review of research paper
Homework
Writing: Continue writing the research paper finding sources.
Th 3/8 Annotated Bibliography Due! Peer review of research paper
Homework
Writing: Finish writing the research paper. Find at least three advertisements.
201 Syllabus 9
Week 9
Spring Break
Week 10
T 3/20: Research Paper Due! Introduction to advertising. Group work on your ads.
Homework
Reading: Jack Solomon's "Masters of Desire. . ." (409-419)
Writing: In your CJ, free write two pages on how one of your ads constructs a message
of individualism or belonging.
Th 3/22 Discussion of Solomon and how we write on advertising. Introduction of critical
analysis essay.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Critical Analysis of an Advertisement
For this 4-5 page essay, I'm asking you to compose a critical analysis and comparison of two
advertisements 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 ads are saying, I'd suggest thinking about some of
the general myths of cultural identity (race, gender, sexuality and class). Usually, you will find that your
ads are implying something regarding at least one of these myths. Also, when trying to get at the implied
message of your ads, think about what this message says about identity and social power. SELECT YOUR
ADS CAREFULLY! Try to find ads that you think are sending similar messages, constructing similar
myths or using similar methods of manipulation.
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.
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
201 Syllabus 10
Homework
Reading: Steve Craig's "Men's Men and Women's Women" (161-173)
Writing: In your CJ, write two pages about how one television commercial you've
encountered constructs certain assumptions about gender, race or class. Select two ads
and draft your advertisement essay.
Week 11
T 3/27 Discus Craig. Your commercials. Writing on televised ads. Extending our scope
when looking at ads.
Homework
Reading: Look at ads in the book.
Writing: Finish drafting your advertisement essay.
Th 3/29 Peer review of advertisement essay. Discussion of ads in the book.
Homework
Writing: Continue revising your advertisement essay.
.
Week 12
T 4/3 Workshop one research paper. Peer review advertisement essay.
Homework
Writing: Continue revising your advertisement essay.
Th 4/5 Advertisement Essay Due! Discussion of portfolios.
Week 13
T 4/10: Conferences for portfolio.
Th 4/12: Conferences for portfolio.
Week 14
T 4/17: Peer review
Th 4/19: Peer review
Week 15
T 4/24: Peer review
Th 4/26: Portfolio due! Last day wrap-up.
201 Syllabus 11