ENG 161W Intro to Narrative Getting Lost SS1 M-Th: 9am-11:40am 1 Prof Wendy Tronrud: wendytronrud@gmail.com Office: Klapper 350, appts only Course blog: http://161gettinglost.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/ Password: Getlost Course Description: This class will focus on a number of themes and questions about identity, travel/wandering and those moments when we are lost. One way that we will do this is through looking at a number of texts that deal with characters who wander through cities since we are, after all, living in one ourselves. After contextualizing our ideas about place and our experience being insiders or outsiders to particular places, we will read a number of seminal texts that set up ideas of the unreliable narrator and the detective, characters that try to accurately read or understand (with some trouble) what is happening before them. Since our course is focused on the idea of narrative, we will move across a few different kinds of narratives: first person travel narratives or personal narratives, short stories, a novel, and finally, a real-life story told in both serial and podcast form. Some questions we will explore along with others that you develop throughout this course are: What is the nature of experience, and what senses do we use to understand or move through our experiences? How do we then tell the story of our experiences, and are these stories reliable? How do we read a situation, culture or a place with which we are familiar or unfamiliar? Can we always trust what we see or think we see? What is the distinction between perception, experience and truth? What do unreliable narrators teach us about identity, getting lost and the construction of narrative? English 161 fulfills the Perspectives (PLAS) requirement in the area of Reading Literature. Students will become familiar with the disciplinary norms associated with literary reading. They will learn to pay close attention to language and be familiar with the reason for the writer s particular choice of language. They will learn how the writer uses the techniques and elements of literature and the particular resources of genre to create meaning. They will learn how texts differ from one another and how they interact with the larger society and its historical changes. Learning goals: In this course students will 1. Discuss how human experience is narrated in literature through attention to space, "place" and looking. 2. Learn how texts address social, cultural, and political concerns; how they dramatize, explain, reflect upon, and rethink human experience.
3. Think critically about narrators and characters to identify faulty logic and challenge assumptions. 3. Recognize and analyze elements of writing, including imagery, allusion, voice, tone, metaphor, setting, and point of view. 4. Make use of prewriting and revision strategies, including freewriting, idea maps, and peer-reviews, developing ideas and language through a process of planning, drafting, revising, and editing. Readings: Other than the book listed below, all other readings will be posted on our course blog. Please make sure you PRINT OUT all posted readings to bring to class and annotate them. This is part of your participation grade, and I will be checking to make sure you come prepared with your annotated readings. Required Texts: New York Trilogy Paul Auster Publisher: Penguin Classics ISBN: 978-0143039839 Class Expectations: Preparedness: Please come to class prepared, with readings and assignments completed and with questions and ideas to discuss further. It is important that you attend class and arrive on time. Because this is an intensive summer school course, one missed class will negatively impact your grade. Lateness is also not tolerated for the same reason. If you are more than 20 min late, you will be marked absent for that day. Active participation: This is your class and I expect you to be present, not only physically but mentally, and to participate and engage yourself and your peers. Class discussions are a vital part of our class, and it is essential that all of us are actively involved. Peer-to Peer Collaboration: Weekly discussions, multiple group exercises, peer review of work will involve working closely with your classmates. Get to know everyone by name! Respectful discussion: Discussion, and even disagreement, is encouraged but you must always be respectful of ideas shared by your peers; the classroom should be a challenging, fun, and positive place for all. All work is due on the day indicated on the syllabus: No late work will be accepted. We will be writing papers in stages, and it is important that you come to class with the assigned writing as we will be using it in class through peer-review. No electronics: Cell phones must be turned off and put away--no phones out on desks! If you take one out to use at any point, you will lose your participation credit for that class. Grading Information: Participation 20% Blog Post & Discussion 10% Comments (accumulative) 5% Paper 1: 15% Paper 2: 20% Paper 3: 25% Portfolio: 5% 2
3 Participation (20%) Your attendance, alertness, focus, and the effort you put into the course requirements will make up this percentage of your grade. There will be ample opportunity for discussion, which I heartily encourage, since discussion often makes the difference between an exciting, productive class and a boring one. You will find that, often, I will pose questions, ask for observations, or otherwise encourage discussion during the class. And of course, you can ask questions about the lecture material at any time. You are required to do the following things: Bring your book, or a copy of the readings, to class every day. Keep up with the reading; read carefully, and more than once, if necessary. Underline and take notes in the text. Jot down questions, observations, arguments. Turn off your cell phones AND laptops when you enter the classroom and put them away. Writing Journal: There will be short freewriting sessions at the start of many of our classes, often in response to a question based on the readings. These written responses are meant to encourage exploration of the writing process in an informal and creative space. The journal counts as a part of your participation grade. It s the ideas that count, not the grammar. Much of this writing is designed to help you lead into your larger paperwork. Absences will prevent you from participation in this activity, negatively affecting your final grade. Note about computers in class: 1. Readings need to be annotated before class AND I will be checking your annotations each class. You either must print each reading OR have an ereader that allows you to annotate and take notes. Reading off of cellphones will not be permitted. 2. Writing journal if you are more comfortable typing your journal, rather than using a piece of paper, then please set up a word document where you will keep each class s written work. Schedule of Reading and Writing Assignments The readings / assignments are subject to change and evolve based on the needs of the class; thus, an updated schedule will always be available on the website, under the page, Readings. In general, Mondays heavy and / or difficult readings and blog posts due (night before) Tuesdays (slightly less) heavy and / or difficult readings due Wednesdays light(er) reading and blog posts due (night before) Thursdays First drafts due for peer review Fridays final drafts of formal writing assignments due by 5:00pm EST Blogging This class relies extensively on technology so you must have regular computer and web access. Throughout the course I will be posting announcements, readings, journal prompts, links, etc. on to the course blog. The URL for the course blog is: http://161gettinglost.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/ The password for protected pages is: getlost This blog will be accessed through qwriting.org. You are expected to have an active QC email address that you check at least once a day because that is the address used by qwriting.org. It is your responsibility to contact the OCT help desk to make sure that your email account is in working order. To blog, you must visit qwriting.org and sign up for a username. Remember that you must use your QC email. After creating a username, you should log into qwriting.org and visit the course blog
4 (http://161gettinglost.qwriting.qc.cuny.edu/ On the right-hand side bar there should be a box titled Add Users. You should input the password (getlost) and you will be added as an author on the site. This will allow you to post new entries and comments. For almost every class, students will be expected to make a contribution to the course blog either as a poster or as a commenter. The general guidelines for effective posts and comments are listed below: 1. Posts: Throughout the course each student will be required to generate one blog response (worth 10% of your final grade), which should be uploaded on to the course blog by 6pm the day before the class it is due so other students will have ample time to comment. Responses should be well thought out and organized, but do not have to be written as formal papers. Posts should be around 350-600 words long, neither shorter or longer. After we discuss MLA formatting, all quotations should be cited accordingly. (A sign-up sheet for blog response dates will be circulated the first day of class). 2. Comments: During classes where you are not responsible for writing a blog entry, you are expected to comment on someone else s post (you do not have to comment on more than one post). These comments should demonstrate an engagement with other students ideas and/or questions. For this reason, commenters are expected to quote at least once from either the original blog entry or any other preceding comments on the page. Comments should be about 50-150 words in length and must be posted no later than 12am the day before class. Comments will be evaluated not individually, but collectively for a total of 5% of your final grade. In addition to writing posts and comments, your blogging grade also includes a presentation component. Students who are acting as posters for a particular set of readings are also expected to act as in-class discussants for that day. These are informal presentations. Students can either choose to read their blog post aloud or speak generally about the ideas they wrote about in their response. Discussants should also come to class prepared to speak to the comments to their respective posts, and have follow up questions to help stimulate class conversation. (We will review specific question types). *I will not accept any late blog responses, comments or discussant presentations. These cannot be made up so remember to check your own schedule before signing up for response dates. Let me know well in advance (at least 2 days beforehand) if you will be absent for a particular class and cannot complete the assignment so we can try to reschedule. PAPER ASSIGNMENTS: Paper 1: The first essay will be a personal narrative of 3-4 typed pages discussing your own experience walking through a particular neighborhood in New York City. o Take a walk in a neighborhood in NYC and write about it. (Don t put yourself in danger, use common sense). Your walk/wandering should be at least for 20 minutes if not longer. Pay attention to the place and the people details that you might normally not see. o Once you are done, make a map of your walk. This can be drawn, sketched, powerpointed, etc. o Audience: You are writing an op-ed for The New York Times where you are bringing to life a particular corner of the city, and how it relates to you as the writer. o Write in the present tense using active verbs (I walk, I see, not I walked or I saw). This will help create the atmosphere of your experience and put your readers in your shoes. Paper 2 + Imitation Assignment: The second essay will be 3-4 pages, and will deal with a close reading of one moment from one of our texts. Look back at the text, reread it, taking notes, annotating the reading as you go, looking for
patterns. You will use at least 3-4 quotes from the text to help you illustrate and analyze your argument. 5 Paper 3: 6-8 pages Comparative final paper with the possibility to turn into a collaborative project. More details to follow. We will write essays in three stages: 500 words bring TWO copies to class. 1 st Draft You will bring TWO copies draft to class on the day it is due for peer review. If you do not have your draft, you will be politely asked to leave. FINAL Draft You will email your final draft to me by the date notified. Please save it FIRSTNAMELASTNAMEPAPER# **No late drafts or final essays will be accepted. If there is some sort of emergency, you have 24 hours before class to email me. **You are welcome to revise any final draft within three days after its returned to you with a grade. Portfolio: You will upload all of the writing you have done this semester to a google folder along with three reflections based on all of the writing you have done this semester. Each reflection prompt will be made available to you with ample time to complete each 1-2 page reflection. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Plagiarism: Plagiarism will not be tolerated. A student who has plagiarized will automatically fail the paper and possibly the class. The student will also be listed on a departmental record that will be maintained for the duration of the student s enrollment at the College and reported to the Dean of Students, who may decide to take further action. See the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity (http://web.cuny.edu/academics/infocentral/policies/academic-integrity.pdf) for further information. Writing Center: Located in Kiely Hall 229, staffed by tutors trained to help you revise your writing at various stages. If you believe you need additional help with your writing, or if I ask you to set up a regular meeting with a tutor, you should make an appointment at least one week prior to an assignment due date. Online help is also available at their website: http://qcpages.qc.edu/qcwsw. Special Accommodation: If you have a learning, sensory, or physical reason for special accommodation in this class, please inform me and contact the Office of Special Services: Kiely Hall 171, 718-997-5870. Helpful Links: resources available for students enrolled in English 110 (or any course that involves writing) include-- Tutoring provided by the Writing Center (qcpages.qc.edu/qcwsw/), including regular one-on one sessions, drop-in sessions, and e-tutoring. Writing guides and handouts available on The Writing at Queens web site(www.writingatqueens.org). Revisions: A Zine on Student Writing (qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/writing/zine.htm) Writing Intensive Courses: A Guide for Students (writingatqueens.org) Goals for Student Writing at Queens College (writingatqueens.org)
6 Our syllabus is subject to change given the needs of our class Week 1 Mon June 1 Tues June 2 Weds June 3 Thurs June 4 Friday June 5th Week 2 Mon June 8 Tues June 9 Weds June 10 Introductions Reading Elizabeth Bishop s Questions of Travel and Intro to Class and Essay 1. In groups, read over Travel Essays. Readings due: Solnit A Field Guide to Getting Lost, Virginia Woolf Street Haunting: A London Adventure ; Edgar Allan Poe s Man of the crowd (posted on blog). Read over Syllabus closely and come prepared with questions; 600 word double-spaced, typed response due in class. Prompt for the response is located on the blog. Yi-Fu Tuan Intro & Experiential Perspective Poe s William Wilson Blog Posters Due (6pm the night before; commenters by 12am)Writing Workshop: 500 words due of Paper 1 due Writing Workshop First draft of paper 1 due. Bring three copies to class. Discussion about our wandering experiences will ensue. Final draft of Paper 1 due by 5pm EST. Please also send your first draft in the same email. Paul Auster s City of Glass Chapters 1-8. Intro to Paper 2 Close Reading & Imitation assignment Blog Posters Due (6pm the night before; commenters by 12am) City of Glass Chapters 9-End. Reading Quiz Watch Hitchcock s Vertigo 45 min Read Berger s Ways of Seeing Finish watching Hitchcock s Vertigo 45 min Blog Posters Due (6pm the night before; commenters by 12am) Imitation Assignment DUE & Writing Workshop on Close Reading Paper: Dialogic Journal + 500-word portion of paper 2 due. Bring three copies to class. Thurs June 11 Writing Workshop on Close Reading Paper Full First Draft Due in class Bring 3 copies Listen to Serial episode 1 in class Friday June 12 Email me your final draft of Paper 2 by 5pm EST Week 3 Mon June 15 Tues June 16 Weds June 17 Thurs June 18 Week 4 Mon June 22 Tues June 23 Weds June 24th Serial: Listen to 2-6 Blog Posts due (6pm the night before; commenters by 12am) Intro to Paper 3 Serial: Listen to 7-10 Reading Quiz Serial 11-12 Blog Posts due (6pm the night before; commenters by 12am) Writing Workshop 500 words due in class with two copies Writing Workshop on Paper 3 Full First Draft Due Individual Conferences Presentations of Paper 3 + Portfolio reflections due in class Class Cancelled Portfolio and Paper 3 due by Weds June 24th @ 11:59pm EST
7