John

Tiedemann writ 1133 Blog: writing-as-action.blogspto.com Email: John.Tiedemann@du.edu Office hours: T: 35; W: 14; ; by appt. Office: 380U Academic Commons

writ 1 133: Writing a s A ction

THE CLASS
Were all familiar with ways in which writing and research serve as modes of thought. However, because were not only scholars but social justice activists, its vital to understand writing and research as a form of action, too as ways to change our world and build new ones. To that end, well practice a variety of forms of research and writing with an eye toward becoming both more effective thinkers and more effective actors. Well begin by researching and writing about the broad topic of poverty; then well narrow our focuses, researching and writing about the relationship of poverty to other social justice issues; and then well recombine our work for a presentation to other scholars and activists at Cross-Talk, the Social Justice LLCs annual colloquium. Much of our time will be spent discussing readings and viewings together as a class, but the majority of our time will be devoted to four writing projects: Project 1: Creating conversations: In this project, youll practice compiling annotated bibliographies, a crucial skill for writers looking to get a handle on large, complex topics. Project 2: Retelling stories: In this project, youll practice gathering historical material, written and oral, and transforming them into a coherent historical narrative. Project 3: Participating and Observing: For this project, youll write an ethnographic account of social justice activism as its practiced today. Project 3: Performing In this project, youll collaborate to present the work weve been doing all term at Cross-Talk: A Social Justice Colloquium. Project 4: Reflecting: In this project, youll plan your revisions to your earlier work and reflect upon what youve learned this term.

TEXTS
Copies of (or links to) all other readings and viewings will be posted on Blackboard or on our course blog: http://writing-as-action.blogspot.com/. Your own texts are also a central element of this class so please bring your laptop to every class meeting.

GOALS AND FORMAT

Goals WRIT 1133 emphasizes rhetorical strategies for different academic and civic audiences and purposes; critical reading and analysis; and research. By the end, students are expected to demonstrate, through their writing, practical knowledge of multiple academic research traditions, the rhetorical/conventional differences among them, and the rhetorical differences between writing for academic audiences and writing for popular audiences. Students are also expected to demonstrate proficiency in finding, evaluating, synthesizing, critiquing, and documenting published sources appropriate to given rhetorical situations. Students will receive sustained practice in writing, with systematic instructor feedback, resulting in at least four finished and polished papers, totaling some 20-25 pages by quarters end. Because this section of WRIT serves also as a Social Justice course, you can expect to do plenty of work outside of the classroom and in the community. Class-time Thinking and composing well take practice, practice, and more practice. So, as a general rule, well spend half of our time discussing readings and viewings and the other half composing works of our own. The composing may involve responding to a prompt, completing an exercise, drafting or revising, or helping each other to brainstorm or revise in small groups. You can also expect to spend an hour or so each day working at home, and more than that when youre working on a graded project. Finally, because a quality composition results from many revisions, you will revise each of your projects severally, with guidance from me and your classmates. Conferences Im available for conferences in my office (Academic Commons 380U) from 35pm on Tuesdays, 14 on Wednesdays, and by appointment. Its to your advantage to make an appointment to talk with me about your work; serious students are serious about seeking out guidance. To make an appointment, please send me an email (John.Tiedemann@du.edu) letting me know all of the times that youre free during my office hours that week, and Ill find a time for us to meet.

POLICIES
Engagement I expect you all to be active, engaged learners and thoughtful, helpful collaborators, committed to the material, your writing, your peers learning, and out community partners. Your level of engagement is made manifest in a number of ways, including participation in face-to-face class meetings, in peer review feedback, in your efforts to improve not only your own learning experience but the learning experience of the entire class, and by your participation in research in the community. I will assess your engagement as follows: Superior engagement means that the student is always prepared, often adding additional insights to online discussion and providing extensive feedback to writing. S/he demonstrates active learning via consistently perceptive and energetic engagement with the material, his or her peers, our community partners, and me. Average engagement means that the student generally seems prepared. Generally, his or her participation in class discussion, peer feedback, and community work seem to encourage and support others in the class. The students presence is productive Weak engagement means that the students participation is listless, lackluster, or only intermittent. Attendance Because interaction with others is a vital part of learning, I expect you to attend every class meeting, scheduled conference, and community activity. You are allowed two absences without penalty; for each absence after the second one, your final grade will drop by one third of a letter (e.g., from an A to an A, from an A to a B+, etc.) Should you miss four or more class meetings, and if I determine that excessive absences have prevented you from meeting the goals of the course, you may fail. If you miss a class, you are personally responsible for learning about any missed material or assignments, either from classmates or from our blog. I make no distinction between excused and unexcused absences, so save yours for illness or emergency.

Civility and Tolerance

The Writing Program affirms DUs Code of Student Conduct (http://www.du.edu/ccs/code.html), which in part expects students to recognize the strength of personal differences while respecting institutional values. Because writing courses rely heavily on interactions between all members of the class, students and faculty must act in a manner respectful of different positions and perspectives. A student who behaves in an uncivil or intolerant manner will be asked to stop and/or formally reprimanded and/or subject to action by the Office of Citizenship and Community Standards. Becoming educated requires encountering new ideas and information, some of which may conflict with an individuals existing knowledge or perspectives. I expect students to engage such materials thoughtfully, in ways that reflect the values and mission of the University of Denver. Finally, I expect that youll treat our community partners and their clients with the deep respect and appreciation that they have earned by agreeing to work with us. Late Work Assignments are due when they are due. I will accept late work only if you have cleared the lateness with me in advance, and then only under the most extenuating circumstances. An assignment that is turned in late without advance clearance will be graded down a third of a letter grade (e.g., from an A to an A, from an A to a B+) for each day its late. Plagiarism The Writing Program follows the Council of Writing Program Administrators policy Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism, which states, In an instructional setting, plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone elses language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source (http://wpacouncil.org/node/9). DUs Honor Code also maintains that all members of the University must responsibly use the work of others. Students who have plagiarized a project will receive an F on that project, and the instructor will inform the Director of Writing and the Office of Community and Citizenship Standards, which may take further action. Any documented acts of plagiarism after the first may be subject to more severe actions. Accommodations for Students with Disabilities The Writing Program will provide reasonable accommodations to every student who has a disability that has been documented by The University of Denver Disability Services Program (www.du.edu/disability/dsp or 303.871.2455).

GRADES
For each of your projects, you will receive a provisional grade on the draft preceding the final draft, along with suggestions for revision from me. That provisional grade will rise, fall, or stay the same depending upon how effectively you revise as you complete your final draft. All final drafts of all projects are due to me via Google Docs by noon on Sunday, June 9. assignment project 1 project 2 project 3 project 4 project 5 engagement relevant dates First draft, Thurs., April 11; revised draft, Tues., April 16, final draft, Sun., June 9. First draft, Tues., April 30; revised draft, Thurs., May 2; final draft, June 9. First draft, Tues., May 21; revised draft, Thurs., May 23; final draft, Sun., June 9. TBA First draft, Thurs., May 23Thursday, May 30; final draft, Sun., June 9. % of final grade 15% 20% 20% 20% 15% 10%

CALENDAR
T March 26 R March 28 T April 2 Introduction Writ Writer. (On DU CourseMedia) From Working Poor: Invisible in America, by David Schipler: At the Edge of Poverty and Money and its Opposite. (On Penrose website.) R April 4 From Poverty in America: A Handbook, by John Iceland: Introduction, Methods of Measuring Poverty, and Conclusion. (On Penrose website.) T April 9 From The New Jim Crow: by Michelle Alexander: Introduction and The Fire This Time. (On Penrose website.) R April 11 Project 1 workshop. T April 16 Stephen J. Pyne, Voice & Vision, chapters 5 and 6. Revised draft of Project 1 due on Google Docs. R April 18 To Challenge the Status Quo by Any Means: Community Action and Representational Politics in 1960s Baltimore, by Rhonda Y. Williams. T April 23 From Michael L. Gillette, Launching the War on Poverty: An Oral History:The Community Action Program. R April 25 Class meeting cancelled to collect oral histories. T April 30 Project 2 workshop. R May 2 From Paul Willis, The Ethnographic Imagination: Part I: Art in the Everyday. (On Blackboard). Revised draft of Project 2 due on Google Docs. T May 7 TBA. R May 9 TBA. T May 14 TBA R May 16 TBA T May 21 Project 3 workshop. R May 23 Introducing Project 5 Revised draft of Project 3 due on Google Docs. T May 28 Project 5 workshop. R May 30 Project 5 workshop. Final drafts of all projects due on Google Docs by noon on Sunday, June 9.