Spring 2013 / WRTG 3020- 083 RACE, CLASS, AND GENDER Program for Writing & Rhetoric - University of Colorado, Boulder 2-315PM Muenzinger E114 Instructor: Dr. Olivia Chadha / olivia.chadha@colorado.edu Office: ENVD 1B70, Environmental Design Building / Office Hours: Wed 1-4PM Course Description This course is designed to develop your critical thinking and analytical skills and teach you how to communicate and display in writing the quality of your critical thinking on complex issues. The course focuses on the intricacies of close critical reading, and closely examines various models of academic and civic discourses around issues of race, class and gender. The roles that race, class and gender play in the production of academic and civic discourse are investigated and interrogated. This advanced writing course reinforces, deepens and extends the content of the lower division courses. By reading and analyzing different types of texts you will learn more sophisticated ways of communicating knowledge, particularly how audience, purpose, and context (rhetorical situation) in a text intersects with one another to make meaning. The course readings consist of writings that appeal to several different discourse communities and in working with them we learn how writers adapt content and style conventions, such as tone, genre, vocabulary, and organization to respond to the different audiences and rhetorical situations. Required Items Race, Class, and Gender an Anthology ed. Margaret L Anderson & Patricia Hill Collins (digital/online version) used copies from Amazon are fine as well (required) Writer’s Help Online Resource (encouraged but not required, can be purchased @ www.writershelp.com) One composition notebook Pens, pencils Access to CULearn for submitting essay drafts and to access additional articles Colorado Commission of Higher Education Criteria This Upper-Level Writing and Rhetoric seminar satisfies the upper-division requirement in the College of Arts and Sciences by extending rhetorical knowledge and writing skill within academic and civic communities. This course is part of the statewide “Guaranteed Transfer” pathway of courses (GT CO3). Core and Criteria: In this course, we will develop your understanding of the power of rhetoric. Being aware of rhetoric is empowering as we are constantly faced with opportunities to interpret texts/communication at every turn. Rhetoric has played a central role in the formation, expansion, and development of our identities. Writing is not a product but a process. In this course you will draft compositions and works and revise, peerreview, and discuss them at length in order to improve upon them. You will be expected to reference a writing handbook, online dictionary, research through Norlin Library and EBSCO. Critical reading and thinking are essential elements within this and any other writing course. You will be expected to read with a keen eye to rhetorical elements, authorial intent, and political implications. In order to do so you will read carefully take notes and be ready to discuss the reading assignments in class each class session. You will be expected to understand and utilize conventions of writing and rhetoric within your work. 1 Rhetorical Knowledge: Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. The course uses a text that will establish the theoretical underpinnings of race, class and gender issues. In examining these reading through rhetorical perspectives you will learn to analyze and synthesize the rhetorical skills and strategies of these writers through concepts such as voice, tone, and structure. In addition to the readings, students will offer rhetorical analyses of documentaries that focus on class in the USA and the role our media plays in constructing masculinity. At the same time, you will be asked to situate your own writing as it applies to multiple audiences from your immediate academic discourse community to the larger civic discourse communities. Writing Process: To hone and develop your writing skill this course provides you with multiple opportunities to understand writing from an audience or reader perspective by emphasizing revision as the most important component of the writing process. We will explore writing as a process—learning about and benefiting from invention, discovery, drafting, revising and editing—in order to improve our own writing and further develop our own understanding of the world around us and our place in it. The drafting process on your papers will vary from one to three and the revision process involves in-class peer-critique workshops, small group workshops, responding to my written feedback on some, but not all, your drafts and one-on-one conferences. As a writing workshop, the course allows you to gain insights on your own writing from your peers. Your ability to response to audience feedback will greatly determine your own understanding of context, purpose and audience and develop your skills in critiquing your own writing and the work of others. Writing Conventions: In this course you will read essays that cross genre conventions and disciplines, from scholarly articles to more a more accessible civic minded. These writing will act as models in helping you recognize textual features and document design such as tone, structure, specialized vocabulary, proper documentation, and grammar as persuasive tools in your own writing compositions as you approach the different writing assignments. Effective Communication Strategies: Assignments in the course build upon each other in a progression that moves you through the different forms of voice--from an autoethnography, to a visual analysis/review of a documentary, to creating an annotated bibliography from your own your research on an issue, to a cultural myth mapping essay. Each stage requires a more sophisticated awareness and ability to respond to the different audiences in academic disciplines and civic discourses. Course Goals The purpose of this course is to develop your writer's voice and close critical reading while writing papers in a language that is acceptable in an academic environment. This means that you will be exploring and developing yourself as a thinker and writer in relation to the communities you participate in. The crucial issue for you as a developing writer is the negotiation, exploration and synthesis of the space between your own personal voice and the on-going discourses within academic and civic communities. As a class we will engage with a disparate community of writers whose texts require you to question personal and social assumptions and focus on how writing influences our understanding of how knowledge is created, shaped and interpreted. In creating our own community we will approach discussions and writing with the assumptions that we are all members of a multicultural and interdisciplinary intellectual community. This upper division course concentrates on teaching you to use research to closely examine the dialogue on an issue, and then to do scholarly research in order to respond to the multiple forms of writing required at the university, including reviews, summaries, analysis and argumentation Over the course of the semester your writing will move from personal narrative to persuasion and analysis. You will acquire a level of expertise on an issue through library research and draw on this research when writing your final paper. I strongly recommend you use my office hours throughout the course of the semester as well as availing of the free tutoring services offered at the Writing Center (see below). 2 Student Obligations: Engage in Writing Process: When you write you create a product, yes, but writing necessitates multiple smaller processes including outlining, inquiry, revising, and peer-review. It is essential that students are willing to produce and improve upon their work. Peer-review will be utilized in order to improve essays. Critical Thinking: In this class we will read, discuss, and analyze in order to come to larger understanding of social, environmental and political movements. We will work on discussing and arguing with a focus on productivity and broadening our perspectives on various controversial subject matters. It is crucial that you reevaluate your assumptions regarding your political, sociological views in order to understand where emotions enter your perspective and logic subsides. Attendance: The best way to insure your success in this course is to be here. The course will include in-class workshops, daily writing exercises, and discussions that will be impossible to make up if missed. Therefore, it is important that you are in class, on time, and prepared every day. If you miss more than four classes, your final course grade will drop a half a letter grade for each additional absence (i.e. if you receive a B- and have four absences you will receive a C+, etc.). Repeated lateness will count as absence as will leaving early. If you miss a class, please email one of your peers in order to find out what you missed. Preparation: Being prepared for class means that you have done the assigned readings, have brought the book or the article to class and have thought about them so that you are ready to contribute to discussion and class activities. All writing assignments should be typed, double spaced in 12pt Times New Roman font and formatted according to MLA standards. Writing assignments must be printed out before class for workshop. Deadlines: You have a schedule that stipulates homework and assignment deadlines. You must complete all of the formal writing assignments to pass the course. No late assignments are accepted. However, if a paper is turned in late it will go down a letter grade for each class day it is late. No emailed assignments are accepted unless arrangements have been made previously. Please do let me know if you are experiencing difficulty with the course or outside circumstances are hindering your work. I am happy to work with you, but can only do so when you communicate with me. We will attempt to use the online CULearn site for uploading various drafts instead of turning physical copies in to me. If you are having trouble with an assignment, see me ahead of time to work through the difficulties. If extreme circumstances exist that prevent you from meeting deadlines or other obligations, talk to me ASAP and we can make appropriate arrangements. It’s best always to be communicative with me regarding your situation. Assignments and Grading Formal Writing You will write four formal papers in this class. These papers will become increasingly sophisticated and greater in length. We will discuss each paper assignment as it approaches, and we will devote considerable class time to generating ideas and responding to each other’s' writing. The four formal papers will include: autoethnography (7-10 pages), a visual rhetorical analysis of a film and its ideas (5-8 pages), a critical analysis of an argument (6-9 pages), and the cultural myth project (10-15 pages). There will be a final portfolio of work that will include a reflective essay (2-3 pages), two expanded free-writes (2-3 pages) and other elements. Autoethnography: For this assignment, you will focus on yourself and your experiences and connect selfobservations and self-reflection to a broader cultural, political, and/or sociological meaning(s). I would like you to study a subject in your personal culture whether your choose gender, ethnicity, class or any other element of personhood that you feel you can tell that will produce a story that goes beyond you and connects with a larger body of work, a discourse, and/or a population. The final essay will run 7-10 pages in length. 3 Visual Rhetorical Analysis: For this assignment you will analyze an argument within the film XYZ. Choose a photograph to analyze and craft an essay about how it works rhetorically. Research will be conducted in order to position the photo in an historical context. Choosing a photograph that has both political heft and illustrates a deep connection to cultural identity in America. Browse the web, periodicals, books, and find a topic that interests you personally. The final project will be 5-8 pages in length with a works cited page. Critical Analysis of an Argument: For this assignment, you will choose one aspect of the creation of the American identity to explore and craft a thoughtful argument about how it developed. Some topics you may consider are consumerism, capitalism, marketing, the digital identity, or perhaps an historical argument about a particular location within America and how that area developed its culture. The final project should have at least four sources, and should run about 6-9 complete pages. Cultural Myth Project: You will spend time considering how stereotypes are created, how they are disseminated, and how they shape and influence our culture. This project is a researched project with an arguable thesis that traces the origins of a stereotype attached to a group to which you belong. We will spend a great deal of time considering the various groups to which you are connected and you will conduct a historical essay tracing the origins, reasons, and relation to reality connected to that particular stereotype. In the end, you will find deeper meaning in how various ideas come about, and how they influence culture and community. The final piece should run 10-15 pages. Final Reflective Essay and Portfolio: Although you’ll write short reflective responses about your writing throughout the semester, at the end of the semester I will ask you to take a deep breath, step back, and survey what you’ve done over the semester. You’ll choose some of the pieces that were most useful for you and write a brief essay in which you present an argument for how you’ve met the course objectives. In this essay, your writing will be your evidence, so you’ll need to point to specific passages and features of your writing to support your argument. Informal Writing: Each week you will type a one page rhetorical or theoretical response to one or more of the readings. There will be a total of twelve one-page responses. Remember, late responses will not be accepted. Responses will be due every Thursday. In Class Writing: All classes will begin with a free-write exercise that will be prompted by a question, thought or image to get comfortable with the writing process. Presentations: In order to fully understand a text, it is important to be able to critically read an article and present it to the class. Every student will sign up to present one article to the class during the semester. You will prepare a five to ten minute discussion about the article beginning with a summary of the text, background on the author, discussion of the article’s main argument, rhetorical appeals, the article’s audience, and finally end the presentation with two discussion questions that you will pose to the class. Your final researched paper will also be presented to the class in much the same manner. Many students opt to construct a PowerPoint presentation, which is acceptable, and works quite well for the presentation assignments. If you are interested in making one, and don’t have experience with PP, feel free to ask me during office hours. You can use your laptop or check one out from Norlin. If you do have a Mac, make certain you check out the proper equipment for the video connection (a “dongle”) in the classroom from Norlin or the reception desk in the UMC. Workshops: Each paper you write will be drafted in stages. When you write a complete rough draft we will discuss them at length in workshop sessions in class with your peers. During the workshop you will exchange papers with other students in class who will read and offer suggestions. I will also offer suggestions on most stages of the drafting process. Workshop participation is directly related to your participation grade. I will make note of the work you bring in for workshop and the condition (a complete draft, incomplete draft, etc.). 4 Writing Process: In this class the writing process will be broken down into stages. All of which will be discussed at length. 1. Summary or Introduction 2. Draft 1 3. Draft 2 4. Final Draft Conferences: During the course of the semester, I ask that you come to my office hours to discuss your work at least one time during the semester. Writing Center: All students are invited to bring their writing to the Writing Center in Norlin Library for feedback and advice. Students are welcome to bring writing from any discipline at any stage of the writing process. Fifty-minute consultations with experienced writing consultants are available by appointment at no charge to CU students. Because the Writing Center is a very popular campus resource, please plan to make reservations at least one week in advance. Reservations can be made through the Writing Center website or in person. Goals of the WC: improve your planning, logic, and organization, refine your clarity, style, citation, and grammar, prevent procrastination and writing anxiety. Find more information at: http://www.colorado.edu/pwr/writingcenter.html Grading Distribution: All final drafts of papers will receive a letter grade that will be calculated into your final grade. Rough drafts will receive checks but no letter grade, but you must complete the rough drafts and summaries (or introductions) in order to be permitted to continue to a final draft stage. The editorial comments will also change as the semester proceeds. The first paper will receive a great deal of comments throughout. The second paper will be peerreviewed and you are welcome to bring the paper into my office hours for additional comments. The final paper will only receive a grade. Paper 1: 100 Paper 2: 150 Paper 3: 200 Paper 4: 250 Reflection portfolio: 100 Presentation: 50 x 2 Participation: 100 Total: 1000 Points Academic Honesty All students of the University of Colorado at Boulder are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution. Violations of this policy may include: cheating, plagiarism, aid of academic dishonesty, fabrication, lying, bribery, and threatening behavior. All incidents of academic misconduct shall be reported to the Honor Code Council (honor@colorado.edu; 303-735-2273). Students who are found to be in violation of the academic integrity policy will be subject to both academic sanctions from the faculty member and non-academic sanctions (including but not limited to university probation, suspension, or expulsion). Other information on the Honor Code can be found at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/honor.html and at http://honorcode.colorado.edu Safe Zone To ensure a safe and respectful environment for our work, NO discriminatory comments based on ethnicity, gender, religion, class, sexual orientation, affiliations, or culture will be tolerated. If you ever feel uncomfortable with any of the discussions feel free to contact me. Also, if you require any additional accommodations for any reasons please come and see me during the first week of class or email me so that I can assist you. Students and 5 faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Those who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, culture, religion, politics, sexual orientation, gender, gender variance, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records. See policies at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html and at http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code Disability If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please submit to your professor a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner (for exam accommodations provide your letter at least one week prior to the exam) so that your needs can be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Contact Disability Services at 303-492-8671 or by e-mail at dsinfo@colorado.edu. If you have a temporary medical condition or injury, see Temporary Injuries under Quick Links at Disability Services website (http://disabilityservices.colorado.edu/) and discuss your needs with your professor. Religious Holidays. Campus policy regarding religious observances requires that faculty make every effort to deal reasonably and fairly with all students who, because of religious obligations, have conflicts with scheduled exams, assignments or required attendance. In this class, if you plan on being absent due to a holiday, please let me know a week in advance so I can give you the assignments ahead of time, as you will be required to complete the assignments ahead of time. See full details at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/fac_relig.html A comprehensive calendar of the religious holidays most commonly observed by CU-Boulder students is at http://www.interfaithcalendar.org/ Discrimination & Harassment. The University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder) is committed to maintaining a positive learning, working, and living environment. The University of Colorado does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status in admission and access to, and treatment and employment in, its educational programs and activities. (Regent Law, Article 10, amended 11/8/2001). CU-Boulder will not tolerate acts of discrimination or harassment based upon Protected Classes or related retaliation against or by any employee or student. For purposes of this CU-Boulder policy, "Protected Classes" refers to race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, age, disability, creed, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or veteran status. Individuals who believe they have been discriminated against should contact the Office of Discrimination and Harassment (ODH) at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Student Conduct (OSC) at 303-492-5550. Information about the ODH, the above referenced policies, and the campus resources available to assist individuals regarding discrimination or harassment can be obtained at http://hr.colorado.edu/dh/ Classroom Behavior: Students and faculty each have responsibility for maintaining an appropriate learning environment. Those who fail to adhere to such behavioral standards may be subject to discipline. Professional courtesy and sensitivity are especially important with respect to individuals and topics dealing with differences of race, color, culture, religion, creed, politics, veteran’s status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and gender expression, age, disability, and nationalities. Class rosters are provided to the instructor with the student's legal name. I will gladly honor your request to address you by an alternate name or gender pronoun. Please advise me of this preference early in the semester so that I may make appropriate changes to my records. See policies at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html and at http://www.colorado.edu/studentaffairs/judicialaffairs/code.html#student_code Faculty and students should be aware of the campus ‘Classroom Behavior’ policy at http://www.colorado.edu/policies/classbehavior.html as well as faculty rights and responsibilities listed at http://www.colorado.edu/FacultyGovernance/policies/Professional_Rights_and_Duties.pdf 6 Syllabus. By reading this syllabus, you, the student, recognize and agree with the details of this course. I like to think of the syllabus as a contract; therefore, if you need clarification please ask me in the beginning of the semester. Schedule of Readings and Assignments Week 1 T 1/15: Introduction to course and to each other, how to be a critical reader, approaches to essay 1, Autoethnography, self-interview exercise Th 1/17: Discuss readings, autoethnography summary due bring hard copy to workshop, upload to D2L Discuss: Tan and Alexie essays __________________________________________________ Week 2 T 1/22: Autoethnography draft one due for workshop, upload before class, discuss workshop rubric Discuss: Part I: “Why Race, Class, and Gender Still Matter” & “Missing People” Arturo Madrid Th 1/24: Discuss readings and arrangement of paper, outline in-class Discuss: “Chappals and Gym Shorts” by Almas Sayeed & “From a Native Daughter” by Haunani-Kay Trask ___________________________________________________ Week 3 T 1/29: Autoethnography draft 2 due in class, bring hardcopy (no upload) peer workshop discuss readings Discuss: “Label Us Angry” by Jeremiah Torres” & “A Different Mirror” by Ronald T. Takaki Th 1/31: Discuss the reading assignments, revision process, and an open forum regarding the autoethnography with in-class writing Discuss: “White Privilege” by Peggy McIntosh & “Race, Poverty, and Disability” by Block, Balzazar, and Keys __________________________________________________ Week 4 T 2/5: Revision techniques, discuss reading Discuss: Part II “Systems of Power and Inequality” by Anderson & Collins Th 2/7: Autoethnography final draft due, upload to D2L by 5PM, discuss goals of Paper 2 Visual Rhetorical Analysis, view part I of film Discuss: “Seeing More than Black and White” by Elizabeth Martinez & “Color-Blind Privilege” by Charles Gallagher __________________________________________________ Week 5 T 2/12: View part II of film, bring your initial analysis of film on Thursday Discuss: “What White Supremacists Taught a Jewish Scholar About Identity” by Abby Ferber & “The Contested Meanings of “Asian American” by Nazli Kibria Th 2/14: Short analysis/summary of Paper 2 due, workshop in class upload to D2L before class, discuss visual rhetoric further, in-class writing exercise with Duke University *Ad Access Ads Discuss: “Race as Class” by Herbert Gans & “Shadowy Lines That Still Divide” by Scott & Leonhardt __________________________________________________ Week 6 T 2/19: Analysis paper draft one due, upload to D2L before class, workshop in class Discuss: “Is Capitalism Gendered and Racialized?” by Joan Acker & “Health and Wealth” by Jacobs and Morone 7 Th 2/21: Diversity Conference: Dynamics of Inclusion: 8-noon in British Studies Room, Norlin Library Discuss online: “Sub-Prime as a Black Catastrophe” by Oliver and Shapiro & “Lifting as We Climb” __________________________________________________ Week 7 T 2/26: Analysis draft 2 due for peer review in class (no upload) Discuss: “Becoming Entrepreneurs” by Adia Harvey & “The Well-Coiffed Man” by Kristen Barber Th 2/28: Online Class: Dr. C at Conference through the weekend Discuss online: “Sex and Gender Through the Prism of Difference” by Zinn, Sotelo, and Messner & “The Myth of the Latin Woman” by Judith Ortiz Cofer ___________________________________________________ Week 8 T 3/5: Paper 2, Final Draft Due today, upload to D2L. Introduction to project 3: argument analysis annotated bibliography Discuss: “The Culture of Black Feminity and School Success” by O’Connor, Lewis, Mueller & “The First Americans” by Matthew Snipp Th 3/7: Library Visit to conduct research Discuss: “Is this a White Country, or What?” by Rubin & “Optional Ethnicities” by Mary Waters ___________________________________________________ Week 9 T 3/12: Bring abstract for annotated bibliography to class for workshop, upload to D2L Discuss: “A Dream Deferred: Undocumented Students at CUNY” by Munoz & “Prisons for Our Bodies, Closets for Our Minds” by Collins Th 3/14: Discuss readings Discuss: “The Invention of Heterosexuality” by Jonathan Katz & “An Intersectional Analysis of ‘Sixpacks’, ‘Midriffs’ and ‘Hot Lesbians’ in Advertising by Rosalind Gill ___________________________________________________ Week 10 T 3/18: Draft one, annotated bibliography due, upload to D2L, in class workshop Discuss: “Darker Shades of Queer: Race and Sexuality at the Margins” by Chong-Suk Han & “Selling Sex for Visas” by Denise Brenan Th 3/20: further library research / handout Paper 4 Myth Mapping and in-class discussion, return from break with your topic in-hand Discuss: Part III “The Structure of Social Institutions” Anderson & Collins & “Race, Class, Gender, and Women’s Works” by Amott & Matthaei ____________________________________________________ Week 11: SPRING BREAK: MARCH 25-29 – annotated bib due 3/25 on D2L ____________________________________________________ Week 12 T 4/2: Discuss Paper 4: Myth-Mapping Project, begin work in class today Discuss: “Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakish and Jamal?” by Bertrand & Mullainathan & “Gender Matters” Weissinger Th 4/4: Summary of Paper 4 project due in class today Discuss: “Our Mother’s Grief” by Bonnie Dill & “Rethinking Families and Community” by Naomi Gerstel ____________________________________________________ 8 Week 13 T 4/9: Annotated bibliography for Paper 4 due (at least three entries), discuss readings Discuss: “Straight is to Gay as Family is to No Family” by Kath Weston & “Navigating Interracial Borders” by Erica Childs Th 4/11: Draft 1 of Paper 4 due for workshop in class today, workshop and upload to D2L, discuss readings Discuss: “Families on the Frontier” by Pierrette Sotelo & “White Flight in Networked Publics?” by Danah Boyd ____________________________________________________ Week 14 T 4/16: Draft 2, Paper 4 due today, workshop in-class Discuss: “The Bachelor” by Rachel Dubrofsky & “Crimes Against Humanity” by Ward Churchill Th 4/18: Go to Library as a class for research time Discuss: “Media Magic” by Gregory Mantsios & “Gladiators, Gazelles, and Groupies” by Julianne Malveaux ____________________________________________________ Week 15 T 4/23: Revision/ FCQs, final presentations Discuss: “Across the Great Divide” by Barbara Jensen & “Interpreting and Experiencing Anti-Queer Violence” by Doug Meyer Th 4/25: Last words on revision, final presentations Part IV “Pulling it All Together” Anderson & Collins & “Sustainable Food and Privilege” by Janani Balasubramanian ____________________________________________________ Week 16 T 4/30: Final presentations Th 5/2: Final Presentations and Myth Mapping paper & final revision portfolio due today in class, please treat this class as a final exam, as there are no late assignments and your portfolio must be turned in to me in this class and no other time. I will gladly accept early portfolios. *There is one thing that is certain about life: change. Therefore, I reserve the right to alter assignments and deadlines for your benefit. 9