English 114, Section
Location
Fall 2013
TTh 11:35- 12:50
Jessica Matuozzi
jessica.matuozzi@yale.edu
Office: LC 403
Office Hours: Time & by appt.
Drugs, Addiction, and Society
Course Description
Rock star Keith Richards famously declared, “I’ve never had a problem with drugs. I’ve
had problems with the police. ” Condensed in this quip is the question that has motivated
over a century’s worth of drug policy debates. Namely, what causes more harm: drug
addiction, or society’s criminalization of drug users? Our course explores this question
and its correlates, such as: What are the costs and benefits of sanctioning certain drugs
while making others illegal? What other choices might we, as a society, have? What
draws people to drugs to begin with, and why is it that only some people become addicts?
Course readings draw from the disciplines of political science, philosophy, literary
studies, neuroscience, history, and the arts.
Our first two units examine the concept of addiction and the controversial ends this
concept can serve. Our third unit considers contemporary American drug policy’s effects
upon racial justice, public health, and cognitive science, and students choose one of these
three areas as the basis for the research paper they produce during this unit. In our fourth
and final unit, we reflect upon the course’s overall narrative and learn to write policy
white papers. Throughout the course, students discuss each other’s papers during in-class
writing workshops.
Course Objectives
This introductory writing seminar will teach students to evaluate arguments for style,
soundness, and persuasive power. Students will learn how to identify and employ the four
elements of a successful argument: problem, claim, evidence, and motive. By producing
analytical essays in both draft and final versions, students will generate and strengthen
their own capacities for rigorous argumentation. The techniques learned in the class will
prepare students for subsequent coursework in any discipline.
Required Texts:
 Wayne C. Booth et al., The Craft of Research, 3rd ed. (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 2008), available at the Yale Bookstore; ISBN: 0226065669
 Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers, A Pocket Style Manual, 6th ed. (Boston:
Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011), available at the Yale Bookstore; ISBN: 0312542542
 Course packet available at Tyco Printing, 262 Elm St., ~$60. The readings
contained in this packet are also available on our Classes v2 site.
Course requirements:
1. Attendance and participation at all class meetings. Three unexcused absences will
result in failure of the course. Participation means completing all readings before
class; contributing to class discussions; critiquing your colleagues’ work in
written peer reviews; and completing one short presentation on an assigned
section from the Pocket Style Manual. Because fruitful class discussion requires
full concentration on and engagement with your peers, you may not use laptops in
the classroom.
2. Four papers, three of which will be submitted in both draft and final versions.
3. Two instructor conferences during which we discuss strategies for revision. One
conference will address the draft version of Paper #1; the other will center on the
draft of Paper #3. Conferences regarding your other papers are optional but
encouraged.
Grading:
Paper 1 (4-5 pp.)
Paper 2 (5-6 pp.)
Paper 3 Research proposal and annotated bibliography
Paper 3 (8-10 pp.)
Paper 4 (5-6 pp.)
Participation (including instructor conferences)
Pocket Style Manual presentation
10%
20%
5%
30%
20%
10%
5%
Schedule:
All readings and assignments must be completed before the class meeting listed on the
dates below. The instructor may make minor changes to the schedule.
UNIT ONE: Analyzing an Argument
Week 1
Th Aug. 29
Course Introduction
Week 2
T Sept. 3
Th Sept. 5
Week 3
T Sept. 10
Eve Sedgwick, “Epidemics of the Will”
Craft of Research, Ch. 7
Re-read Sedgwick, “Epidemics”
Craft of Research, Ch. 8-10
Allan G. Borst, “ Managing the Crisis: James Frey’s A Million
Little Pieces and the Addict-Subject Confession”
Pocket Style Manual, 2-22 (browse this section, called “Clarity,”
looking for one rule you either don’t understand or disagree with;
write it down and be prepared to explain why)
Paper 1 due in class and on classesV2
Conference Sign-Up (in class)
Th Sept. 12
Writing Workshop: Paper 1 (in-class)
Craft of Research, Ch. 11
Pocket Style Manual, 24-62 (browse this section, called
“Grammar,” looking for one rule with which you were unfamiliar,
and be prepared to explain it to your peers)
UNIT TWO: Controlled Research
Week 4
T Sept. 17
Timothy Hickman, “Mania Americana: Narcotic Addiction and
Modernity in the United States, 1870-1920”
Th Sept. 19
Week 5
T Sept. 24
Th Sept. 26
Craft of Research, Ch. 12
Paper 1 revised due in class and on classesV2
A Scanner Darkly, dir. Richard Linklater
Pocket Style Manual, 64-86 (browse this section, called
“Punctuation,” looking for one rule you would define as especially
logical, and be prepared to demonstrate logic to your peers
Craft of Research, Ch. 13
Paper 2 due in class and on classesV2
Family Weekend, F Sept 27 – S September 29
Week 6
T Oct. 1
Th Oct. 3
Bring hard copy of completed peer review to class for workshop
Craft of Research, Ch. 14 and 17
Ethan Nadelmann, “Commonsense Drug Policy”
Craft of Research, Ch. 16
“Choosing a Research Topic” HW due
UNIT THREE: Researching a Problem
Week 7
T Oct. 8
Library Research Session: Meet in Bass
“Finding Sources” HW due
Craft of Research, Ch. 3 & 4
Conference #2 Sign-Up (in class)
Th Oct. 10
Week 8
T Oct. 15
Th Oct. 17
Week 9
T Oct. 22
B. Sessa, “Is it Time to Revisit the Role of Psychedelic Drugs in
Enhancing Human Creativity?”
Craft of Research, Ch. 5
Paper 2 revised due in class and on classesV2
Caroline Acker, “How Crack Found a Niche in the American
Ghetto: The Historical Epidemiology of Drug-Related Harm”
Craft of Research, Ch. 6
Craft of Research, “Afterword: Ethics of Research”
Yale College Writing Center, Understanding and Avoiding
Plagiarism and Academic Integrity Survey
Research proposal and annotated bibliography due in class
Michelle Alexander, “The New Jim Crow”
October Recess, W October 23 – Sunday, October 27
Week 10
Th Oct. 29
Erik Van Ree, “Drugs as a Human Right”
Review Craft of Research, Ch. 7-11
Th Oct. 31
Partial Paper 3 draft due in class and on classes V2
Week 11
T Nov. 5
Writing Workshop: Paper 3
Bring completed “Research Peer Review” to class
Review Craft of Research, Ch. 12-14, 16-17
Th Nov. 7
“Security, Migration, and the Economy in the Texas-Tamaulipas
Border Region: The ‘Real’ Effects of Mexico’s Drug War”
“Kinds of Claims” HW due
Week 12
T Nov. 12
Jason Pine, “Economy of Speed: The New NarcoCapitalism”
Final Version of Paper 3 due in class and on classes V2
UNIT FOUR: The White Paper
Th Nov. 14
Week 13
T Nov. 19
Th Nov. 21
Bring in your final draft of Paper 1, and be prepared to
explain how your writing has improved since the beginning
of the course, and how you would change this draft today if
you were allowed to make edits.
Policy White Paper: “Internet Drugs” Available at
http://www.drugstrategies.com/int_whitepaper.html.
Writing Workshop: Paper 3 Revision
Paper 3 revised due in class and on classes V2
Thanksgiving, Saturday, November 23 – Sunday, November 30
Week 14
T Dec. 3
Th Dec. 5
American Society of Addiction Medicine, White Paper on
State-Level Proposals to Legalize Marijuana. Available at
http://www.odp.idaho.gov/pdf/Medical%20Marijuana/state
-level-proposals-to-legalize-marijuanafinal2773DD668C2D.pdf.
Writing Workshop: Paper 4
“Class Writing Handbook” HW due
Reading Week, Friday, December 6 – Wednesday, December 11
Paper 4 due on classesV2 at noon on December 11