Participation in our Course Website
You will be a co-author on this website for your Projects for this class. I ask that you post under an appropriate Creative Commons license so that I may share your work with future iterations of this course. There’s a blanket version of this CC license on our homepage that covers the entire site, but you’re welcome to use a different CC license. In addition, sharing your work publicly after the semester ends is not mandatory, and you’re free to take down your posts after the end of the academic year. You’re also free to use a pseudonym for your username if you’d prefer.
If you’d prefer to use audio rather than text for your assignments, you may do so with the following guidelines:
- Audio should be first uploaded to YouTube or SoundCloud and then embedded in a WordPress post using the appropriate Embed Block, or linked in Canvas with a permalink.
- Audio recordings should be rehearsed. Just as you rarely want to turn in an unedited first draft, you rarely should submit an unrehearsed audio recording.
- Be sure to enable captions on your video, or to provide a written transcript. (YouTube is great for this.)
- 150 words of text is about a minute of audio when read at a calm, measured pace. Plan your recordings accordingly.
Habits of Mind developed by participation in our Course Website: Purposeful Communication (Effective Application of Strategies for Communication), Integrated Perspective (Collaboration), Self-Regulated Learning (Engagement in the Learning Process).
Posts
For each day of class including the Final (unless noted otherwise on Canvas), you are responsible for two discussion posts to Canvas. Choose two of the following three options and post your writing to the appropriate Discussion on that week’s Canvas module.
Option 1: Daily Questions
For each day of class, you may post one question to Canvas. These should be questions about the readings for the day, and should address thematic, stylistic, or contextual issues. Think of the questions as guides for class discussion. For example: Why did the author choose to end the story this way? Why does the poem use a specific metaphor? How does history change our reading of the work?
Each question should specifically cite and quote one of the texts we are discussing that day (literary or secondary). Depending on the nature of the question, you may want to include multiple quotations. You do not need to answer this question yourself! Questions may be speculative rather than definitive, and we will be tackling them together during class (and individually during Reflections).
Each question and its accompanying quotation(s) should be about 150 words. Daily questions are due the night before each class.
Habits of Mind developed by Weekly Questions: Purposeful Communication (Comprehension), Integrated Perspective (Perspective Seeking), Self-Regulated Learning (Responsibility for One’s Own Learning)
Option 2: Collaborations
Almost every day of class, we’ll be collaborating in class sessions on Padlets to track our class and small-group discussions. The style of these Padlets will change as we go, but they will always include a way to note your class participation, and I will always post them to Canvas after each class in that day’s Discussion. All participants will be counted as co-authors and thus receive credit for the Post.
Since this is a synchronous activity, you will need to attend a class (either in-person or via Zoom) to participate. However, since each class has three post opportunities and you’re only expected to do two, if you can’t attend class synchronously for whatever reason you can still complete Options 1 and 3.
Habits of Mind developed by Collaborations: Purposeful Communication (Effective Application of Strategies for Communication), Integrated Perspective (Perspective Seeking).
Option 3: Reflections
For each day of class (unless noted otherwise), after you’ve participated in class discussion (synchronous or asynchronous), you may write and post a reflection on that discussion to Canvas. The subject matter of this reflection is up to you: are you interested in a particular line or scene we discussed at length? one we didn’t discuss? a connection to contemporary culture?
Be sure to include 1) at least two brief quotations and citations to the literary work in question and 2) at least one reference to another recent post from another class member(s). If you’re connecting our discussion to contemporary culture, please also include references, such as hyperlinks to outside material, embedded videos, images, or Tweets, or your own original creative work.
Each daily reflection should be 150 words minimum. Reflections are due each evening after the associated class session.
Habits of Mind developed by Weekly Reflections: Purposeful Communication (Awareness of Context), Integrated Perspective (Self-Awareness), Self-Regulated Learning (Metacognitive Awareness)
Projects, Literature Classes
In our Literature courses, you will complete a Project for each half of the course. These projects can either be traditional Essays or Unessays (or a hybrid of the two forms!).
Traditional Essays should be 1500-1750 word papers connecting a single theme across multiple texts/authors from that particular unit. (These may be texts we’ve read for class as well as texts from the broader literary period). These essays should emphasize coverage as well as argument and analysis. Be sure to quote and cite the literary texts as evidence for your argument. Outside research is required for traditional essays, as well-deployed research makes for a stronger argument, and may include scholarly articles as well as contemporary journalism and creative work. Three outside sources is the bare minimum; your argument may warrant more. (Word counts include all material in the essay, including headers, notes, and the list of works cited.)
Unessays should be a creation to show what you’ve learned. Maybe you could illustrate a page similar to those of The Book of Kells, or maybe you could create a board game that would teach players something about British imperialism, or maybe you could write (and perform?) a sonnet inspired by Joy Harjo. If you’re a writer, maybe write a short story that revises or rewrites a scene from Soyinka or Kālidāsa. Paint a portrait (or do a photoshoot) in the style of Bunraku puppet theater. Maybe your project will connect something we’ve read to your experience of the global pandemic we’re currently living through. You can even consider hybrid forms between the traditional essay and the unessay, like a public-facing essay or an argument that builds on autobiography. The possibilities are literally endless. (Note: Your unessay should not be a Presi or Powerpoint-style presentation.)
Your unessay should be accompanied by a 600-word minimum (or short video) reflection on what you did and why, and how it responds to the question: Why does your response to this literature matter? In the case of hybrid unessays, where non-fiction writing makes up a bulk of the work, this reflection may be included in that writing. Outside research is required for Unessays, as no creative project is created ex nihilo: cite your inspirations, your models, and your source materials. Sources may also include scholarly articles as well as contemporary journalism and, of course, creative work. Three outside sources is the bare minimum; your project may draw from more. (Word counts include all material in the essay, including headers, notes, and the list of works cited.)
How will your unessay be evaluated? Your unessay will be evaluated based on how creative, compelling, and relevant it is. Creative is a broad term, but your idea should be original and unique. Compelling means that people will want to look at your project because it is attractive, interesting, and carefully produced (not sloppy and haphazard). Relevant means that it really engages with an original piece, author, or historic period that we’ve studied this semester, with attention to details and accuracy. (Unessay assignment adapted with permission from Kristin Stelmok.)
Due dates are listed on the course schedule. Please categorize each post as “Projects Spring 2024” and add tags as appropriate.
Habits of Mind developed by Projects: Purposeful Communication (Purposeful Expression), Integrated Perspective (Collaboration), Self-Regulated Learning (Responsibility for One’s Own Learning). As Projects also involve one-on-one conferences and peer reviews, they offer an opportunity to engage in the Problem Solving Habit of Mind, particularly in Plan Development, Decision-making and Revision, and Evaluation of Progress.
For other sundry examples of Essays and Unessays, check out these projects from Fall 2020:
Projects, EN 1400: Composition, Writing About Disability
Three Essays
You will complete an Writing Project (Essay) for each third of the course.
Due dates are listed on the course schedule and on Canvas. Final drafts should be posted to this WordPress. Please categorize each post accordingly (“Projects Spring 2024”) and add tags as appropriate.
Writing from Fiction (worth 11 points)
1000-1250 words; due Friday, February 23rd (all word counts include headers, titles, citations, and so forth)
For Writing from Fiction, you will write a literary argument focusing on disability and one scene or theme of your choice from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. This paper will require you to close read, summarize/paraphrase, quote, cite, and draw connections between different moments in a single text. A literary argument calls attention to a single feature of a text and argues for its importance. For example, how might we read Hamlet differently if we pay more attention to this metaphor or that line of dialogue? Your thesis will be the answer to such a question.
You will also be expected to do outside research and to cite a book (or ebook), a journal article, and a creative response to the theme discussed in your paper.
Priorities for this assignment:
- Quotation
- Research
- Argument
Writing from Research (worth 22 points)
1000-1500 words; due Friday, April 5th.
For Writing from Research, you’ll be making a researched argument about some facet of disability using the They Say / I Say model. We’ll brainstorm these topics extensively in class, and you’re encouraged to choose a topic that appeals to your college major and/or your personal interests. You’ll be presenting a variety of researched evidence that you decide is necessary for a full understanding of your chosen topic. You should focus on including comprehensive background information, a diverse selection of sources, and an understanding of the distinct perspectives on that topic, especially counterarguments. Remember, narrow topics are the most manageable ones.
This paper will require approximately 3-6 reputable, high quality sources. At least two should be scholarly journal articles or chapters of scholarly books, and at least one should be an artistic response to the topic.
Assignment Priorities:
- Argument (They Say / I Say)
- Research (citations, quotations, quality of research)
- Summary (concise and informative “They Say”s)
Writing from Life (worth 11 points)
1000-1250 words; due Friday, May 3rd.
Writing from Life builds from the argument and analysis skills you have been developing all semester long. For this essay, you will first identify a well-defined problem within the topic of interest you began researching in Writing from Research. In illustrating this problem, you should identify and describe an individual or community at the heart of this problem. You should then decide what the best approach (or next step) is for this problem and argue for that approach.
I encourage you to think of this essay as a pitch or an open letter. For example, if you’ve been researching disabled veterans, and you’ve argued that Veterans Affairs has done a poor job of caring for veterans in recent years, you might argue in this paper that the federal government needs to spend more money on the VA and on disabled veterans. Who could take that action? Congress? The President? Pick your audience and tailor your essay to them.
Depending on the nature of your topic and your problem, a creative solution might be in order. If, for example, you’ve been researching split personalities and have argued that most Hollywood representations of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) traffic in stereotypes, your solution might be a new TV show that offers better representations of characters with DID. In that case, your paper could be a letter to Netflix or HBO arguing for the creation of a new TV- or mini-series.
This paper will require approximately 3-6 reputable, high quality sources beyond those used in Writing from Research. You are encouraged to reuse some of the sources you gathered for that paper, but you are expected to do additional research on an individual or community. As before, at least two of your new sources should be scholarly journal articles or scholarly book chapters, and at least one should be a creative response to the topic.
Projects, EN 1600: Studies in English
For our first Project, you’ll write, outline, revise, and conduct research for a critical essay (around 1600 words) that uses one of our theoretical approaches and/or concepts to make an original argument about one of our primary texts. This assignment includes: (1) a thesis development paper that includes your working thesis, topic sentences of body paragraphs, and a list of supporting evidence (2) an annotated bibliography that summarizes and evaluates two pieces of relevant literary criticism (3) two distinct versions of a complete rough draft for writing workshops (4) your final draft, which should reflect the feedback from the workshops and will be posted to WordPress. Thesis development papers, annotated bibliographies, drafts, and workshop participation will be turned in to Canvas and will be taken into account in your overall paper grades. Details to follow.
For our second Project, you’ll complete a career development project in which you investigate professional paths and the courses, skills, and experiences necessary to embark on them. This project includes: (1) Interviewing former English majors (PSU alumni, staff, and faculty) (2) Researching possible career paths for English majors and (3) Curriculum and activity planning. Using what you’ve learned, you will develop and submit a response to the following questions: What is the contribution that you’d like to make to the world? Why? How will you go about making the contribution (what specific steps will you take)? How will the theoretical concepts, disciplinary methods, and intellectual habits that you developed in this course help you make this contribution? You can answer these questions in whatever format you choose—a comic strip, video, photo essay, or prose poem! The final draft will be posted to WordPress. Details to follow.
Projects, EN 3695: Critical Theory
For each of our two Projects in Critical Theory, you’ll need to complete the Traditional Essay assignment detailed above.
One variant of the Traditional Essay you might consider: a “critical theory in the community” analysis. During the semester, you can attend a local lecture, film screening, art exhibit, or cultural event. For a Project, you may describe your experience, and relate one or more of our theoretical concepts to the event and its associated discourses, assumptions, and forms of representation. How do particular forms of expression in our community reproduce and reshape theoretical concepts? How does critical theory help us to better understand our community? (Adapted from an assignment from Prof. Abby Goode.)
Sprockets and Springes 