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| English 2673-1: Literature and Ethnicity download the course manual (including this syllabus) in Word download just this syllabus in Word (without the rest of the course manual) Instructor: Jennifer Ellis West • Louisiana State University • Office: Allen 43 • Phone: 578-6289 • Course home page E-mail: jwest22@lsu.edu Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays, 9-10:30; additional hours available by appointment Course Description: In this course, we will explore the complicated facets of identity as they are represented in various literary texts. As the title of the course suggests, we will focus particularly on ethnicity as a category of identification. But because human beings resist easy categorization, we will also discuss other factors that come into play when people groups are represented, including (but not limited to) gender, class, nationality, race, religious belief, geographical location, age, and family structure. As a general education course in the English department, this course will sharpen our ability to read often and well, and it will develop our interpretive and analytical facilities. In other words, we will constantly attend to the questions: What does the text say? How does it say it? In what context? Considering what we know, what meanings can we elicit from the text about how identity is represented, constructed, and interpreted? Service-Learning: The Service-Learning component of this course will enable us to engage with the construction of identity in a real-world context. We will work with second grade students at Polk Elementary School, both to share our knowledge with them and to observe different identities at work in a particular context: as we explore different cultural groups with the students, we will be enhancing our own understanding (the best way to know something is to teach it to someone else) and paying attention to how the students at Polk respond to what they learn, specifically as they encounter difference. What Will You Need? 1. Required texts for the course: Reading packet from Serve-U Copy Center on Highland Road Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. 0-679-73477-5 Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. 1-59448-000-1 Spiegelman, Art. Maus I and II. (you can buy them individually or together: the ISBN for Maus I: My Father Bleeds History is 0-394-74723-2; for Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began is 0-679-72977-1) Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. 0-679-72768-X Walker, Alice. Possessing the Secret of Joy. 0-671-78942-2 2. Internet access and access to Microsoft WORD, either where you live, or in one of the college computer labs. 3. A PAWS account and email account that you check regularly. 4. A 3-ring binder in which to keep course materials. 5. An opening in your afternoon schedule for 6-8 visits to Polk Elementary. 6. Commitment to reading and participating in class. How the Course Will Work? 1. This course is designed to integrate hands-on learning through service to the community with reading, writing, and discussion in the classroom. As such, you will be required to complete a total of about 6-8 hours of service outside of class by working with a group of your peers in a second-grade classroom. 2. We will use your out-of-class experiences for discussion, reflection, and research for your group’s in-class presentation. 3. Some of our written assignments will be submitted electronically, and you are responsible for retaining “back up” copies of all submissions. As a precaution, you should copy yourself on all emails you send. TigerBytes is also a useful place to back up your documents. 4. This class is primarily structured as a learning workshop. What that means is that we will build our base of knowledge collectively, through discussion, in both large and small groups. Identity, especially ethnic and racial identity, is a complicated and often touchy subject. As such, it will be of the utmost importance that we all enter the classroom with open minds, a willingness to listen and consider alternative ideas, and respect for one another and for the people groups represented in the stories we read. You are expected to read and to come to class with questions and ideas to share. What Are the Assignments? Reading Responses: You are responsible for writing 7 reading responses over the course of the semester. You will post these responses to our course blog AND bring a copy for me to class. I’ll post discussion starters on the blog; you can respond to any of the prompts you find interesting. They are due the class period we’ll be discussing those questions. 1-2 pages is a general guideline, but I’m much more interested in thoughtful responses than overly long ones – make sure that you have read and that you have thought about what you’ve read. Essays: You will write two essays this semester. I’ll give you detailed assignment sheets for each one, but the first is an Ethnic Autobiography, for which I’ll ask you to talk about how you understand your own ethnic identity; the second will be an analysis of one or more of the texts we’ve read. Collaborative Presentation and Report: You’ll also get a detailed assignment sheet for this project, but your presentation will have two basic presentation parts: a presentation your group gives in our class and a presentation your group gives to the class you’re working with at Polk, and a written component (the report). Mid-term and Final: Both the midterm and final exams will cover the material we’ve discussed in class, as well as contain a reflective component about your service. How Will You Be Evaluated? These percentages will give you an idea of how the points you earn will contribute to a final grade: Participation (in-class quizzes and response papers) 15% Essay 1: An Ethnic Autobiography 15% Essay 2: Making Cultural Connections 15% Collaborative Presentation and Report 20% Mid-term 15% Final Project/Exam 20% **You MUST take the mid-term and the final in order to receive course credit.** GRADING SCALE: A – 90-100; B – 80-89; C – 70-79; D – 60-69; F – 59 and below What Other Things Do You Need to Know? 1. Plan to come every time, on time. Your attendance is essential to your success in this class. Not only because you’ll earn points when you’re here (quizzes, in-class writing, points for group participation), but also because we will all be depending on each other to get the most out of our class discussions. If you aren’t here, you miss valuable information, and we miss your perspective. Participation grades cannot be made up. Quizzes will happen at the beginning of class; if you aren’t there, you don’t take it. If an absence is unavoidable, please notify me at least a day in advance, preferably by email. Simply put, the best way to do well in this class is to come prepared and participate. 2. You are responsible for keeping up with in-class and out-of-class assignments. The schedule of due dates and homework assignments can be located on our class website. Announcements and new assignments will be regularly posted; you are responsible for checking it on a regular basis. From time to time, I will also send out email reminders; you should get in the habit of checking your email regularly as well. 3. Plagiarism: Academic honesty is required in all courses at Louisiana State University. Plagiarism cases are reported to the Dean of Students for action. The punishment for a plagiarism at Louisiana State University is given in the Code of Student Conduct, Section 5.1. Students should acquaint themselves with the Code of Student Conduct. Plagiarism can result in dismissal from the university or a failing grade in the course. If you have questions about using borrowed material in an essay or how to properly acknowledge sources, please check with me before the essay is submitted. 4. All work must be completed and submitted on time. If you turn in a paper after it’s due, it will earn only 80% of the grade it would have earned otherwise. All work must be submitted no later than May 4 to earn any credit at all. 5. Be polite! Text-messaging, newspaper-reading, and acting otherwise uninterested in what is happening in class are all inconsiderate of me and of your classmates. I reserve the right to revoke your participation points for the day, ask you to leave, or throw very mean looks in your direction if you engage in rude behavior. Please don’t make me do any of those things. Where Can You Get Help? 1. My office! I am available to look at drafts or to discuss any issues you’re having with class, service, or your reading. I am in my office on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 until 10:30, but I’m also happy to meet with you other times; all you have to do is email me. Especially if you’re having trouble, come sooner rather than later. 2. The LSU Writing Center is an excellent resource that offers free, individual peer-writing tutorials for all LSU students. It is located in Coates B-31; online information is available at The Writing Center. 3. SmartThinking is the new online tutoring service available through PAWS. I don’t know much about it yet, so if you use it, please let me know how it works for you. 4. If you feel technically challenged or would like to brush up on your computer skills, START offers many free workshops for students. The schedule is posted on their website. 5. The University is dedicated to making reasonable accommodations for all students with documented disabilities. Students should notice the Office of Disability Services located in 112 Johnson Hall and their instructors of any special needs. When Will We Do What? Get in the habit of checking the course schedule frequently; I'll post updates and modifications on a regular basis. Why? LSU’S COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY
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“I believe that the truth about any subject only comes when all the sides of the story are put together, and all their different meanings make one new one. Each writer writes the missing parts to the other writer’s story. And the whole story is what I’m after.”
--Alice
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