Course Syllabus. All Semester-based courses follow a 16 week calendar as detailed in the Course Schedule.

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1 Instructor Information ENG 279 WOMEN AND MEMOIR Course Syllabus Instructor: Phone: Katherine Park Woolbert (cell) Course Delivery Online, Semester-based Credit Hours 3 Semester Hours Course Prerequisites None Course Time Limits All Semester-based courses follow a 16 week calendar as detailed in the Course Schedule. Course Materials Textbooks can be purchased from the Adams State University Bookstore. To order textbooks or obtain information about book titles, you may go to exstudies.adams.edu and click on the "Undergraduate" or "Educators K-12" icon. Click on the "Bookstore" link. Click on the button that reads "Graduation, Books, Clothing & Merchandise". Click on "Books" in the green navigation bar. Select "DISTLEARN" from the department menu. ( Use Section Number: 1337 to order books from Bookstore site. This should provide the correct textbook information and ordering options. If you have questions, you can contact the Bookstore at , Loretta Martinez at lcmartin@adams.edu or send a mailed request to Adams State University Bookstore, 208 Edgemont Blvd., Suite 3140, Alamosa, CO Adams State University Extended Studies Page 1 of 8 August 2014

2 Required Textbook: ENG 279 WOMEN AND MEMOIR 1. Breaking Clean, by Judy Blunt. New York: Vintage Books, ISBN The Woman Who Watches Over the World: A Native Memoir, by Linda Hogan. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., ISBN pbk 3. A journal, lined or unlined, in which to record your memories, thoughts, ideas, questions, imaginings, etc. Optional Textbook: 1. Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art, second edition, by Judith Barrington. Portland, Oregon: The Eighth Mountain Press, ISBN Any good collegiate dictionary and a spelling dictionary if you need one. Catalog Description Women and Memoir is designed to help students explore and understand the recent explosion of women's memoir as a significant contribution not only to literature but also to the story of humanity and its treasure house of collective wisdom. Memoir is significantly different than autobiography; rather than focusing on an entire life, memoir focuses on a certain slice of the author's life that significantly shaped him or her as a person. In addition to reading diverse woman-authored memoirs and excerpts, students will study the craft of memoir as a creative writing genre with its own challenges and problems, and will begin the process of writing their own memoir in order to tell their own unique and diverse stories. Although this course will have special appeal for women, it is open to any student. Student Learning Outcomes Upon completion of this course, students will: 1. demonstrate their understanding of several woman-authored memoirs from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities. 2. demonstrate their understanding of the key elements of memoir. 3. identify and analyze what makes a memoir transcend from ordinary story into the universal appeal and relevance of literature. 4. demonstrate their understanding of the writing process from draft to revision, develop their own aesthetic standard, and identify their own unique voice by engaging in the process of writing their own memoir. Adams State University Extended Studies Page 2 of 8 August 2014

3 Course Requirements ENG 279 WOMEN AND MEMOIR Please note: For technical questions, info on netiquette, submission instructions, and anything else having to do with how to navigate Blackboard, please refer to Student Support under Syllabus and Information in Blackboard. 1. Reading assignments 1. Syllabus and Course Instructions 2. Two entire memoirs: Breaking Clean, by Judy Blunt, and The Woman Who Watches Over the World, by Linda Hogan, both of which you must purchase 3. Nine short memoir excerpts, included here 4. The Study Guide, included here 2. Writing assignments totaling a minimum of 20 complete pages of finished prose totaling 4,500-6,000 words (a requirement of any student taking a 200 level English class.) 1. one introductory paper, 1-1 ½ pages long, worth 25 points 2. three short reflection papers each 1-1 ½ pages long, each worth 25 points 3. two short analytic papers each 1-1 ½ pages long, each worth 25 points 4. one long analytic paper, draft and revision, each 3-5 pages long, each worth 100 points 5. draft and revision of a memoir, each 8-10 pages long, each worth 200 points 3. Thirteen online discussions and responses, each worth 10 points 4. Three wiki postings, each worth 10 points 5. Six blog postings and comments, each worth 15 points Reading Assignments Each student is responsible for completing any assigned reading assignments, including the two complete memoirs which serve as our text, in a timely manner. Deadlines are listed in the course schedule. Submission Instructions for Papers When you have completed each written assignment, please proofread each paper very carefully before you submit it. The best way to proofread is to read your paper out loud. If you are still having trouble with craft, please ask a trusted friend to help you proofread. Since this is a 200 level English class, I expect your writing to be at college level. Make sure every paper is written according to MLA format, as explained in the Syllabus. Please type your work in a word processing program and save it as a.docx. This allows me to make comments using the review feature of the software. Adams State University Extended Studies Page 3 of 8 August 2014

4 All written papers will be submitted through the assignments link. If for some reason you lose your Web connection, or, heaven forbid, Blackboard goes down, please call me at , or me at All written papers must be submitted by 11:59 Mountain Time on the due date (before midnight). Please refer to the Course Schedule for deadlines. Late papers will receive point deductions according to the rubric. I will grade and return papers to you within two calendar days following the assignment due date. If I fail to do so with prior notification through a course announcement, and your assignment was submitted on time, you will be awarded 5 bonus points. When I return your written submissions, I will comment extensively both in terms of content (WHAT you are saying in your writing) and in terms of writing craft (HOW you are saying it). Please refer to rubrics for written papers located on page 6. If your craft needs work, I will line edit at least one page to point out which craft errors you are having trouble with. Please don't be surprised if your returned work is marked up with suggestions, comments, and line edits. Some students fear that a marked up paper means they've done a poor job. Not at all. My comments are all intended to help your work get clearer and stronger. Writing is a process; it can always get clearer and stronger. Discussion Post and Response Instructions The Discussion Board is located in the Discussions tab and also linked to each learning module. The discussions will be open at 12:01 am MST/MDT on the date the module begins. There are a total of thirteen (13) asynchronous discussions in this course each worth 10 points/1000. Each participant is responsible for participating in the asynchronous discussions of each module. Active participation is required and will include posting answers to questions posed by the instructor and replying to other participants' postings. At least one posting per discussion question is required along with a minimum of two responses to your peers. Responses must demonstrate thought and insight regarding the assigned topic. Please note that all discussion postings must be completed by 11:59 PM MDT/MST on the due date. Not meeting this deadline will not only affect your score but also the learning experience of your peers as they will not be able to respond to your posts. Posting after the due date will reduce the points you receive, as this does not promote the discussion process. Deadlines are listed in the Course Schedule. When posting to the discussion area, please type in your comments directly into the discussion forum. Do not type your comments into a document and then attach it to the discussion, unless specifically advised to do so. This method is difficult for some students to access and breaks the flow of discussion. Adams State University Extended Studies Page 4 of 8 August 2014

5 Participants must create a thread in order to view other threads in the forum. In other words, you will not see any of the other students' posts until you create your initial post in the forum. Unfortunately, when this option is enabled, it disables the option to allow you to edit your posts. So read your post carefully and use the spell-check feature to check the spelling before you submit your posts. Please refer to the Discussion Rubric Please note: Quality of answers is as important as quantity. A participant's comments should add to the discussion. Please respect the fact that given the nature of this course and the courage it takes to write honestly about our lives, some of the information posted in the discussion area will be personal, perhaps even vulnerable and revealing. I expect you to follow the Golden Rule: respect and treat others as you would wish to be respected and treated. Those of you who are more familiar with the online environment probably already know that sarcasm and irony sometimes don't communicate well without the body language that aids us in such forms of subtle communication. It's best to avoid their use so the reader doesn't miss the point or worse, misunderstand or be offended. Don't flame (i.e., post insults, invective, or other personally disrespectful comments) or post flamebait (i.e., deliberately provocative or manipulative material intended or likely to elicit flames). Please avoid posting excessively or monopolizing the conversation. Slow down and compose your posts carefully and thoughtfully' Please refer to common Netiquette, such as avoiding the use of all capital letters, the use of emoticons, abbreviations, or informal language as one might use while texting. Remember, this is an English class, and one of the criteria in the grading rubric for discussions is your command of the English language. Wiki Post Instructions A Wiki is an editable Web page, a great collaboration tool when working in groups. You can find the Wiki link on the left hand margin of Blackboard. The entire class will post onto the same Wiki page, to which each student can add information and edit existing information. There will be three (3) wiki posts each worth 10 points. The first Wiki post is in Module 1, the second in Module 2, and the last in Module 7. Please refer to the Wiki Rubric Adams State University Extended Studies Page 5 of 8 August 2014

6 Blog Post and Comment Instructions A Blog is a collaborative tool that allows students to post their personal reflection about the course or discuss and analyze course related materials. There are three types of blogs in a Blackboard course: individual, group or course blogs. In this course we will be using individual blogs, which permit only that student to write entries, but the rest of the class will read and comment on at least two of your peers' postings. In Women and Memoir, you will be using six different blog postings to share your very best writing generated during this course. Why? At least three reasons: 1. to test what it feels to "publish" your writing within the safe confines of a writing community who will treat your efforts with respect and dignity 2. to elicit constructive comments from your writing peers about how your writing might be improved, strengthened, clarified, expanded, trimmed, juiced up or toned down, or whatever it might need 3. to celebrate our stories and the courage it takes to share them. Please refer to the Blog Rubric to see how I will be grading your blog posts and comments. A few comments about proper Blog netiquette: As with Discussions, when posting or commenting in a blog, be sure to be courteous and respectful, especially considering the personal nature of what might be posted. Don't flame (i.e., post insults, invective, or other personally disrespectful comments) or post flamebait (i.e., deliberately provocative or manipulative material intended or likely to elicit flames). Please be careful in the use of sarcasm and irony. Online communication lacks the subtle nonverbal cues that help us interpret such rhetorical flourishes in faceto-face settings, so that it is easy to miss the point or misunderstand. Avoid typing in all capital letters, as this is considered to be shouting and is considered rude. Avoid the use of emoticons (emotion icons), abbreviations and informal language. Text messaging abbreviations are not appropriate. Instructor Policies Instructor Grading Policy I will try to grade discussions, blog and wiki postings, and written assignments with two calendar days following the due date. If I am unable to do so, I will send a course announcement. Adams State University Extended Studies Page 6 of 8 August 2014

7 Late Policy Late assignments will be accepted with the instructor's permission, but points will be deducted per the rubric. Accessing Your Grades and Instructor Feedback To access your personal grades posted in the Student Gradebook, click on My Grades located in the left-hand navigation bar. MLA Format MLA format for written papers requires the following: one inch margins all around; Times New Roman 12 point font, double-spaced; your last name and page number in the upper right header; no extra space between paragraphs; paragraphs indented one tab from left margin; no cover page; your full name, my full name, course title, and date in upper left of the first page only; centered title, no bold or underline or italics. If you have access to A Writer's Reference 7th edition by Diana Hacker, please follow their guidelines. Failure to follow MLA format to the letter will result in points deducted. Completion Time You should expect to spend as much time on an online course as you do in a face-toface course. As a rough guide, you should plan to spend six to ten hours per week on this course. The actual amount of time will vary from individual to individual. This estimate includes the time you spend in reading, discussions, and assignments. You will have access to all course materials, EXCEPT discussions, from the start of the course to the end. You may look and study ahead, or go back and review, at any time during the course. All assignments, including discussion boards, have set due dates. Due dates are as of 11:59 PM MDT/MST on that date. Discussion boards will terminate on the day following the assignment due date as shown in the Learning Modules area. You will no longer see the discussion for a day or so while it is being graded. I will reopen the discussions after they have been graded. You may continue your discussions throughout the course, but further postings will not be graded. Adams State University Extended Studies Page 7 of 8 August 2014

8 Grade Distribution and Scale In alignment with ASU academic policies, no D may apply to a major or minor field. Grade Distribution: 13 discussions and 10 points each wiki 10 points each 30 6 blog postings and 15 points each 90 Introductory 25 points 25 3 reflection 25 points each 75 2 short analytic 25 points each 50 Long analytic paper, draft and 100 points each 200 Memoir, draft and points each 400 Total 1000 Grade Scale: A A B B B C C C D D F ADA Statement Students who need special accommodation to complete this class should contact the instructor and the Adams State University Counseling Center at Academic Integrity Cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized possession or disposition of academic materials, or the falsification or fabrication of one's academic work will NOT be tolerated. Any offense may result in a zero for the exam or exercise in question and may result in failure of the course. Please refer to the ASU Student Handbook for more information: Adams State University Extended Studies Page 8 of 8 August 2014