Here’s the abridged syllabus for my fall 2018 Writing and Research course. I’m really excited about this one, especially since we will be paying a visit to the Tampa Book Arts Studio, which is a treasure.
Course Description
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
William Carlos Williams, “The Red Wheelbarrow”
We live our lives with things—toothbrushes, iPhones, jeans, books, cars, plastic straws, water bottles, yoga mats, uncomfortable desks, soccer balls, ID cards, guns, pennies, treadmills, Post-Its, video games, chai tea lattes, trash bins, fidget spinners, wadded-up receipts—but we rarely ever think about them. Where did they come from? How were they produced? What do they signal to other people about us, and why? What happens when we break them, lose them, or throw them away? What would we learn about ourselves or the world if we gave them the same close attention that the poet William Carlos Williams gives to a red wheelbarrow?
These are the questions that drive the study of material culture, and these are the questions that will drive our research and writing this semester. Have you ever wondered why women’s clothes rarely have pockets? Or why people care so much about Confederate monuments? Or what the deal is with modern “art” that’s just a soup can, a bicycle wheel, or a red square? Or whether those plastic-eating bacteria really work? Or how lab-grown meat gets made? If so, this course will give you the context and research skills to find out!
Assignments and Grade Breakdown
- Object Analysis/Proposal: 50
- Annotated Bibliography: 100
- Literature Review: 150
- Final Paper: 250
- Presentation: 100
- Reading Guides (7/9): 70
- Quizzes: 30
- Discussion: 100
- Peer Review: 40
- Final Exam: 100
- Course Climate Survey: 10
- Total: 1000 points
Course Calendar
| 8/28
Introductions Diagnostic Essays |
8/30
Ian Woodward, chapter 1 from Understanding Material Culture Reading Guide |
| 9/4
Woodward continued They Say, I Say, preface and ch. 1; ch. 14 |
9/6
Objectified and Eames: The Architect and the Painter excerpts (in class) Syllabus Quiz They Say, I Say, ch. 12 |
| 9/11
Commodity Week Thorstein Veblen, chapter 6 from Theory of the Leisure Class Reading Guide |
9/13
Jia Tolentino, “The Promise of Vaping and the Rise of Juul” Plagiarism Quiz |
| 9/18
Meetings with Dr. H. (no full class meeting) |
9/20
Object Analysis/Proposal Due They Say, I Say, ch. 2-3 Intro to Library Research Discuss Annotated Bibliography Assignment |
| 9/25
Waste Week Gay Hawkins, chapter 2 from The Ethics of Waste Reading Guide |
9/27
Syed Faraz Ahmed, “The Global Cost of Electronic Waste” Library Quiz |
| 10/2
List of Sources Due Toy Week Walter Benjamin, “The Cultural History of Toys” Reading Guide |
10/4
Rebecca Onion, “Ode to Green Slime” William Morris, excerpt from “The Lesser Arts” Sources Quiz Reading Guide |
| 10/9
Annotated Bibliographies Due Visit Book Arts Studio Discuss Literature Review assignment |
10/11
Dr. H. at conference – No class |
| 10/16
Art? Week Gordon C.F. Bearn, “Kitsch” Reading Guide |
10/18
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (watch before class) Reading Guide Quotations Quiz |
| 10/23
Literature Reviews Due Science Week Radiolab, “Colors” (listen before class) Reading Guide They Say, I Say, ch. 4 |
10/25
Radiolab, “Famous Tumors” (listen before class) Reading Guide They Say, I Say, ch. 5-6 |
| 10/30
History Week Ezekiel Kweku, “Black Flag” (content warning: frank discussion of lynching) Reading Guide |
11/1
Samuel Sinyangwe, “I’m a Black Southerner. I Had to Go Abroad to See a Statue Celebrating Black Liberation” Thesis Statement Quiz They Say, I Say, ch. 7 |
| 11/6
Draft Introductions and Thesis Statements Writing & Peer Review Workshop |
11/8
Dr. H at conference – No class |
| 11/13
Meetings with Dr. H. (no full class meeting) |
11/15
Final Paper Rough Drafts Due in class Peer Review & Revision workshop in class |
| 11/20
Final Papers Due Presentation prep and final exam prep in class |
11/22
Thanksgiving – No class |
| 11/27
Presentations |
11/29
Presentations |
| 12/4
Presentations |
12/6
Presentations |