FYS:Learning, Knowing, Being : ENGL-1101-01

Learning, Knowing, Being (ENGL 1101-01)

Classroom Building 144, T/Th 9:35-10:50 am

 

Instructor: Elijah Johnson

Email: ejohns48@uwyo.edu

Phone: (970) 361-2091

Office hours: MWF, 9-10:30 (and by appointment)

Office location: Crane Hall, 221 

 

Course Description

Welcome to the First-year Seminar. This class is about communication between people. Here, we will study acts of communication in written form and otherwise. We will produce our own acts of written communication, relying on one another for our audience. Aiming to help you develop a deeper appreciation for reading and writing, we will divide our time between studying texts in much the same way as you would in a literature course, and crafting our own pieces of writing to share with one another for critique. This class requires that you base both your creative writing and your critical responses (at least in part) on your own personal life experiences. Given this, you should consider yourself very prepared to be here.

 

Workshop Protocol and Decorum

If you have any reservations about being a part of a writing workshop, be assured that when the class discussion about your work rolls around, you will encounter careful critique that will reside at the highest level of constructiveness. Possibly the greatest challenge in this class will arise when, after reading each other’s work, we begin to comment on the work. Workshop requires utmost tact and preparation, and we will make every effort to engage imaginatively and intellectually with workshop submissions, so that we are not only tuned into what is happening on and around the words on the page, but also invested in the work’s development and success.  

 

Critical Lenses

The content of the work we study in Seminar is bound to vary widely. We will need a focus to offer us coherence over the course of four months, and this focus will come from our use of critical lenses. A critical lens is a framework of ideas used to make sense of any act of communication. We will familiarize ourselves briefly with several critical approaches, then move on to the development of our own critical lens, a lens concerned with outcasts and outsiders.

 

Reflection, Definition

To further help us structure and organize our thinking, let’s consider a set of questions as we move along: What is literature? What does literature do? Is the act of reading literature a dangerous act? What does the act of reading literature require of the person reading? What does a work of literature offer that person in return?

To maintain coherence, we will return to these questions again and again and add to them other complex questions that will arise as we read, write, and discuss.  

 

Assignments

Your final grade will consist of:

--Workshop Submission #1 (4-5 pages)        20%

--Midterm Exam                                             15%

--Workshop Submission #2 (4-5 pages)        20%    

--Two Reading Responses                            10%

--Two Workshop Responses                         10%

--Final Exam                                                   15%

--Participation                                                 10%

 

Grading Scale:

This class will be graded on a plus/minus system:

A=93-100; A-=90-92; B+=88-89; B=83-87; B-=80-82; C+=78-79; C=73-77;

C-=70-72 D=60-69; F=59-below

 

1) Workshop Submissions: You will compose two works of prose and submit these to the class for critiques. Each of these pieces must be at least 4-5 pages long, double-spaced.

2) Workshop Responses: For each of the two rounds of the workshop, you will write one formal critique over the work of one of your classmates. These critiques must be at least one full page in length, demonstrating close reading and thoughtful, constructive response to the writer’s form and content.

3) Midterm Examination: The midterm exam will be based on class readings and, in particular, the discussions that take place about those readings.

4) Reading Responses: In addition to your two workshop responses, you will produce two reading responses that engage critically with two reading assignments. These written responses must be 1-2 pages long, double spaced.

5) Participation: The most visible way to show active participation is to do careful readings and contribute to in-class discussions. Your participation will be especially important, and its presence or lack especially noticed, during out workshop conversations. You can be sure that I will observe with pen in hand those who participate in workshop and those who hang back.

6) Final Exam: The final exam will have a multiple-choice section that is closed-book and a second half that will be open-book and consisting of a short essay question.

 

Readings

You are required to obtain the following readings: 

1. A novel or novel-length book, to be decided by class vote. (Order online)
2. Various works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, uploaded to wyocourses.
3. An MLA style guide (order online or UW bookstore)

 

Course Objectives

In this course, students should accomplish the following objectives:

1. Access diverse information through focused research, active discussion, and collaboration with peers.
2. Separate facts from inferences and relevant from irrelevant information, and explain the limitations of information.
3. Evaluate the credibility, accuracy, and reliability of conclusions drawn from information.
4. Recognize and synthesize multiple perspectives to develop innovative viewpoints.
5. Analyze one’s own and others’ assumptions and evaluate the relevance of contexts when presenting a position.
6. Communicate ideas in writing using appropriate documentation.

 

Other Course Policies

Disability Statement: If you have a physical, learning, or psychological disability and require accommodations, please let me know as soon as possible, preferably after the first class. I will want to work to make sure that this environment is as effective and supportive as possible. You must register with, and provide documentation of your disability to University Disability Support Services (UDSS) in SEO, Knight Hall Room 330. Their website is listed at: http://www.uwyo.edu/udss/

Attendance Policy: Daily attendance and participation is expected.  The value of the course depends on the cooperation and participation of everyone. I allow three missed classes. This should cover all sickness, documented emergencies and/or religious observations. After three absences, your final grade will be reduced by five percentage points. Excessive absences will result in a failing grade.

Late Work: Late work will be accepted, but late work will receive a 10% grade deduction for the first day late, followed by a 5% deduction for every subsequent day late. 

Plagiarism: From UW Regulation 6-802: The University of Wyoming is built upon a strong foundation of integrity, respect and trust. All members of the university community have a responsibility to be honest and the right to expect honesty from others. Any form of academic dishonesty is unacceptable to our community and will not be tolerated.   Students who are unsure as to what is and is not academic dishonesty should please see me. Academic dishonesty will result in automatic failure in this course. University regulations can be found at http://www.uwyo.edu/generalcounsel/_files/docs/uw-reg-6-802.pdf

 

 

**This syllabus is a living document, meaning that it will likely change and grow as we go along. All updates to the syllabus will be brought to the attention of the class and made available for viewing through wyocourses.