EH 302: Intermediate Writing: Writing & Poverty
Service-Learning Course
section 3A
Instructor: Dr. S. Kim
Day/Time: MW 4pm-5:15pm
Classroom: HB 436
Fall 2010
office: HB 225
office hrs: Mon 2-4pm, Tues 12-1pm
or by appointment
email: suekim@uab.edu
office phone: 934-8597
Course Description: One primary objective of this course is to strengthen students’ writing skills. The course
content focuses on various social issues linked to poverty, including racial disparities, literacy and education,
welfare and work, crime and incarceration, and food insecurity; we will examine how poverty and class are
related to race, gender, sexuality, religion/spirituality, and region. Students will examine a variety of texts
(memoir, social theory, history, television program, documentary) on the causes of poverty and its effects on
actual human beings. This course also takes the learning outside the classroom: you will be required to work at
least two hours per week for ten weeks with a designated community partner. Other course requirements
include four short structured reflection essays, a research project (including annotated bibliography, research
paper, and oral presentation).
Service Learning: Service learning is a method of learning that integrates academic work with community
service. Students learn to apply knowledge gained in the classroom to “real life” by getting hands-on
experience in the community. Service learning benefits students by enhancing their understanding of concepts
learned in the classroom, promoting personal identity, fostering the development of civic responsibility, and
giving them the opportunity to work with diverse populations in a “real world” setting. The community
partners benefit from the relationships formed and the services students contribute in response to community
needs.
Course Objectives: In this course, students will:
Academic Objectives
 Improve critical thinking and writing skills, including
o respond to a writing assignment
o identify and write for a particular audience
o make logical arguments that use reasonable and appropriate support and that takes
seriously the viewpoints of others
o evaluate and incorporate external sources into essays
o demonstrate an appropriate level of competence in grammar, usage, and mechanics
 Demonstrate understanding of the intersection of social structures of race, class, gender, sexuality,
religion, region, etc.
 Identify interlinked and systemic nature of causes of poverty (economic, social/cultural, political,
ideological)
 Increase their understanding of how the knowledge, skills, and theories learned in the course apply
to everyday life
 Increase their understanding of how everyday experiences and service-learning work can add to
and complicate the ideas and information they learn in the classroom (in other words, knowledge
and learning can come from anywhere)
 Learn how to assess, critique, and work to change existing social problems
Civic Objectives
 Increase involvement with community affairs
 Increase appreciation of community issues/needs as well as assets
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
Apply their academic skills and knowledge to their service-learning work and everyday
experiences, BUT ALSO draw on their service-learning experiences to supplement, critique, and
complicate the material learned in the classroom
Required Assignments:
Community Project
Work with Community Partner as reflected in
Mid-Semester & Final Assessments
Service-Learning Writing Project
Final Research Paper w/ oral presentation
4 Structured Reflection Essays (25 points each)
20
30
50
100
200 points possible
Final Grades (no exceptions): A 200 to 180; B below 180 to 160; C below 160 to 140; D below 140 to
120; F below 120.
Course Texts:
Eitzen, Stanley and Eitzen, Kelly. Experiencing Poverty: Voices From the Bottom. 2nd ed. Boston:
Pearson, 2009.
Williams, Dave. Sin Boldly!: Dr. Dave’s Guide to Writing the College Paper. 2nd ed. New York: Basic
Books, 2004.
(purchase optional) The Wire: The Complete Fourth Season. David Simon. DVD. HBO, 2007. – will
make copies available for borrowing.
Handouts & electronic reserve [ER] readings (available on Blackboard and/or Sterne Course Reserves)
Various Online Things:
 Accessing ELECTRONIC RESERVE READINGS: Go to Mervyn Sterne website, click on “local
catalog,” choose the “Course Reserves” tab, under “Instructor” choose from the drop-down menu
“Kim, Dr. Sue” and click “Search,” click the title of the assigned reading. I’ll also put them on our
course Blackboard site. Print ER readings less than 10 pages & bring to class.

Blackboard: To access our course website, go to www.uab.edu/academiccourses and click on the
green button (left-side of screen) that says “Login to WebCT w/ BlazerID.” Sign in with your blazerID
and password, then click on the title of our course. If you have trouble accessing the site or any
materials on it, please let me know asap.

Email: BE SURE TO CHECK YOUR UAB EMAIL ACCOUNT or have your uab email forwarded to
your preferred email account. I will periodically send emails to the class using the uab email system.
MISCELLANEOUS COURSE POLICIES
 Always feel free to ask questions of me or one another. I also expect you to behave with courtesy and
respect toward others.
 Turn off and put away your cell phone during class, or I will take it away and call your
parent/spouse/pet.
 Attendance: After three (3) unexcused absences, your final grade will be lowered by ONE LETTER
for each additional day missed. Arriving 10 or more minutes late will be counted as a ½ absence, as
will leaving before the class is over. You are responsible for anything announced and discussed in
class. If you stop attending class, remember to drop the course by the withdrawal date deadline
(Friday, Oct. 29) or you will receive an F. Incompletes will be given only in extreme circumstances.
Note the following university attendance policy:
The University regards certain absences as excused and in those instances requires that instructors
provide an accommodation for the student who misses assignments, presentations, examinations, or
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other academic work of a substantive nature by virtue of these excused absences. Examples include the
following:




Absences due to jury or military duty, provided that official documentation has been provided to
the instructor in a timely manner in advance.
Absences of students registered with Disabilities Services for disabilities eligible for “a reasonable
number of disability-related absences” provided students give their instructors notice of a
disability-related absence in advance or as soon as possible.
Absences due to participation in university-sponsored activities when the student is representing
the university in an official capacity and as a critical participant, provided that the procedures
below have been followed:
o Before the end of the add/drop period, students must provide their instructor a schedule of
anticipated excused absences in or with a letter explaining the nature of the expected
absences from the director of the unit or department sponsoring the activity.
o If a change in the schedule occurs, students are responsible for providing their instructors with
advance written notification from the sponsoring unit or department.
Absences due to other extenuating circumstances that instructors deem excused. Such classification
is at the discretion of the instructor and is predicated upon consistent treatment of all students.
In these instances, instructors must devise a system for reasonable accommodation including, for
example, policies allowing for dropped exams/quizzes, make-up exams, rescheduling of student
classroom presentations or early or later submission of written assignments.
Plagiarism Policy: The English Department on plagiarism states, “Plagiarism is using the words or
thoughts of another without proper citation; specifically, it is submitting as one’s own work a portion of
a book, magazine, journal, handout, original creation, lecture, oral communication, paper or
examination written by someone else. Plagiarism is a serious offense. All members of the education
community must carefully avoid plagiarism by fully acknowledging the sources of studies, projects and
ideas which have been produced by another person.”
If I suspect you have plagiarized, I will provide you with evidence of and reasons for the charge, and
you will have a chance to respond. If I determine that you have plagiarized, you fail the course. If you
do not agree with my decision, the appeal process is as follows: I provide you with a written statement
of the action taken and the basis for it, and a copy of this letter goes to the chair of the English
Department. You may appeal within two weeks by a letter to the English Department chair. If you
disagree with the chair’s decision, you then have two weeks to appeal this decision to the dean. A
student who has received the grade of F for two instances of academic misconduct will be expelled
from the university.

If you are registered with Disability Support Services, please make an appointment with me as soon as
possible to discuss accommodations that may be necessary. If you have a disability but have not
contacted Disability Support Services, please call 934-4205 or visit DSS at 516 Hill University Center.
Students who may need course accommodations are welcome to make an appointment to see me
during office hours. Students with disabilities must be registered with DSS (HUC 516, 934-4205) and
provide an accommodation request letter before receiving academic adjustments.
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Course Schedule
Date
Week 1
W 8/18
Wk 2
M 8/23
Class Topic
Introduction to Course
Reading & Writing Assignments
In-class: “Examining One’s Own Exposure to Poverty”
Service-Learning Assignment
Introduction to Poverty Studies:
“Clarifying Definitions: What is
Poverty?”
This week: Review list of potential
community partners
W 8/25
Introd to Poverty Studies
(cont’d) / What is Service
Learning?
Economic Vulnerability /
Finding Your Writing Style
Aspects of Economic
Vulnerability / Choosing a Topic
NO CLASS – UAB Holiday
Eitzen2, Part I “Poverty in the United States…” [p. 1-9]
Intro to Wasserman and Clair, At Home on the Street: People,
Poverty, and a Hidden Culture of Homelessness (Boulder:
Lynne Rienner, 2010)) [handout]
Blackboard: “Who Has Trouble Putting Food on the Table?” &
look through “Key Statistics and Graphs” USDA (2008)
<http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/FoodSecurity/>
Blackboard: “Hunger and Poverty Statistics,” Feeding America
(2009) < http://feedingamerica.org/faces-of-hunger/hunger101.aspx>
Eitzen2, Part II “Theories of Poverty” [11-40]
Eitzen2, Part III “Poverty & Vulnerability” [41-62]
Williams, Intro & ch 1 “Some Really Crude Basics”
Eitzen2, Part IV, ch 3 “Survival and Finances” [63-87]
Williams, ch 2 “Choosing a Topic & Telling Your Story”
This Week: Service-Learning Site
assignments
Wk 3
M 8/30
W 9/1
Wk 4
M 9/6
W 9/8
Wk 5
M 9/13
W 9/15
Wk 6
M 9/20
W 9/22
Sun
Aspects of Economic
Vulnerability (cont’d) /
Getting a Paper Started & Going
The Impact of Societal
Institutions on People’s Lives /
Voice & Audience
Service-Learning Day
The Impact of Societal
Institutions on People’s Lives
(cont’d) /
Style & Finding Your Own
Voice
Service-Learning Day
This Week: Contact Service
Learning Community Partners
Eitzen2, Part IV, ch 4 “Discrimination/Racism/Stigma” & ch 5
“Parenting in Poverty” [88-130]
Williams, ch 3 “In the Beginning”
Eitzen2, Part V ch 6 “Housing” & ch 7 “Welfare System” [131161]
Williams, ch 4 “Choosing a Voice”
Eitzen2, Part V ch 8 “Schools” & ch 9 “Work” [162-192]
Williams, ch 5 “Plain Style American Populism”
 1st Structured Reflection Due by 9pm via
4
Service Learning Week 1:
Complete Service Learning
Agreement Form with your site
supervisor & turn in
S-L Week 2
9/26
email
Wk 7
M 9/27
W 9/29
Wk 8
M 10/4
Agency & Empowerment /
Word Choice
Service-Learning Day
David Simon’s “Other America”
& Analyzing TV Shows as Texts
W 10/6
Wk 9
M 10/11
Service-Learning Day
Urban Schools & Politics /
Making Complex Arguments
W 10/13
Service-Learning Day
S-L Week 3
The Wire, season 4, episode 1 “Boys of Summer”
J. M. Tyree, “The Wire: The Complete Fourth Season,” Film
Quarterly 63.1 (Spring 2008): 32-38. [ER]
“Film Analysis Guide” < http://classes.yale.edu/film-analysis/>
S-L Week 4
The Wire, season 4, episode 2 & 3 (“Soft Eyes” & “Home
Room”)
Erica Frankenberg, “Splintering School Districts,” Law & Social
Inquiry 34 (Fall 2009): 869-906. [ER]
Williams, ch 7 “Arguing Your Case”
S-L Week 5 -- complete MidSemester Joint Assessment with
your Community Partner Site
Supervisor
 2nd Structured Reflection Due by 9pm via
email
Sun
10/17
Wk 10
M 10/18
The Wire / Logical Fallacies &
Different Appeals
W 10/20
Wk 11
M 10/25
Service-Learning Day
The Wire / Common
Grammatical Errors
W 10/27
Service-Learning Day
Sun
Eitzen2, Part VI & Afterword [193-218]
Williams, ch 6 “Choosing Words”
The Wire, season 4, episode 4 & 5 (“Refugees” & “Alliances”)
Jane Gibb & Roger Sabin, “Who Loves Ya, David Simon? Notes
Toward Placing The Wire’s depiction of African-Americans
in the context of American TV crime drama,” The Wire Files,
Spec. issue of darkmatter 4 (May 2009): 9-10, 13-18. [ER]
Todd Fraley, “‘A man’s gotta have a code’: Identity, Racial
Codes and HBO’s The Wire,” The Wire Files: 60-65. [ER]
Williams, ch 8 “How to Lose Your Case”
S-L Week 6
The Wire, season 4, episode 6 & 7 (“Margin of Error” & “”Unto
Others”)
Linda Speidel, “‘Thin line ‘tween heaven and here’ (Bubbles):
Real and Imagined Space in The Wire,” The Wire Files: 2025. [ER]
Hillary Robbie, “The Subversion of Heteronormative
Assumptions in HBO’s The Wire,” The Wire Files: 43-45.
[ER]
Williams, ch 12 “Grammatical Horrors”
S-L Week 7
 3rd Structured Reflection Due by 9pm via
5
10/31
email
Wk 12
M 11/1
The Wire / Common Errors &
Punctuation
W 11/3
Wk 13
M 11/8
Service-Learning Day
The Wire / Citing Sources with
MLA Style
W 11/10
Wk 14
M 11/15
Service-Learning Day
The Wire / Writing Your Final
Research Paper
W 11/17
Service-Learning Day
S-L Week 8
Preliminary Bibliography Due
S-L Week 9
The Wire, season 4, episode 10 & 11 (“Misgivings” & “A New
Day”)
C. W. Marshall & Tiffany Potter, “The Life and Times of Fuzzy
Dunlop: Herc and the Modern Urban Crime Environment,”
The Wire Files: 26-31. [ER]
Williams, ch 15 “Citing Sources Successfully”
The Wire, season 4, episode 12 & 13 (“That’s Got His Own” &
“Final Grades”)
Lisa Kelly, “Casting The Wire: Complicating Notions of
Performance, Authenticity, and ‘Otherness,’” The Wire Files
46-54 [ER]
Williams, ch 16 & 17 “Sample Quiz—Just for Fun” &
Conclusion
S-L Week 10: Final week -complete the Final Assessment
with your site supervisor
 4th Structured Reflection Due by 9pm via
email
Sun
11/21
Wk 15
M 11/22
W 11/24
Wk 16
M 11/29
W 12/1
The Wire, season 4, episode 8 & 9 (“Corner Boys” & “Know
Your Place”)
James Braxton Peterson, “Corner-Boy Masculinity,” The Wire:
Urban Decay and American Television, eds. Tiffany Potter
and C. W. Marshall (New York: Continuum, 2009): 107-121.
[ER]
Williams, ch 13 & 14 Common Errors & Punctuation
Spirituality & Incarceration
Dhamma Brothers (video)
NO CLASS – UAB Holiday
Student Presentations
Student Presentations
Community Project Presentations
Community Project Final Paper & Final
Assessment Due
6
Community Project Presentations