SYLLABUS
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Need to be in touch with me?
Lee Torda, PhD Interim Dean of Undergraduate Studies 200 Clement C. Maxwell Library 508.531.1790 Teaching Website: www.leetorda.com |
OFFICE HOURS: By appointment. Email me at [email protected] with times/days you'd like to meet, and I will respond within 24 hours.
OR Stop by: The Pride Center (RSU 109), Thursday's 12:30-1:30 LGCIE (RSU 101), Tuesday's 12:30-1:30 Commuter Student Center (RSU 007) Wednesday's Noon-1:00 |
Week One 10 September 2024
Introduction to the course. What is an artifact? An archive? An exhibition? And what does it have to do with our course? And how is it a methodology for doing research in Writing Studies. Overview of Archive Story: what do your artifacts say about you.
Week Two 17 September 2024
LISTEN: Follow this link to listen to the podcast “The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar” from the program This American Life. DUE: In addition to listening to the podcast, please come to class with your Reading Journal about the podcast.In addition, bring a draft of 250-word introduction—like a regular introduction of who you are, you know, the standard ice-breaker kind of stuff written in third person (not first). Bring, also a draft of your 300 word “story” that you think your artifacts tell about you. IN-CLASS: First workshop. Please bring the 3 to 5 artifacts that you brought to class on Tuesday or will bring to class if you didn’t have them for the first class. NOTE: Finally, You don’t have to bring this to class, but be thinking about the image you’ll want to include with your material once it’s posted to our class website.
Here is the link to a class profile page from last semester. It’s not exactly what we are doing, but it’s similar in that it includes an image, a short bio, and an excerpt of a more creative introduction of sorts. Note that for that class the creative part was a longer essay and so they were only excerpted. For our purposes, the full story will be featured.
https://www.leetorda.com/class-profile-engl-513-comp-tp.html
Week Three 24 September 2024
Class canceled so I (we) can regroup.
Week Four 1 October 2024
DUE: Reading Journal on The 1619 Project. How is the author using archives to make an argument? IN-CLASS: Discussion of Rhetorical Analysis assignment. We’ll talk about the assignment, get an overview of a rhetorical analysis and discuss the elements of it. We’ll look at a few pieces from the BSU archives in-class to begin the project. We’ll use this kind of simplistic video, but it works (click on this link to watch it again if you want).
We’ll use the following materials in our class:
Week Six 8 October 2024
READ: “Post-Truth Rhetoric” handout given in class. IN-CLASS: Disecting Rhetorical Analysis. In-Class reading journal on "Post Truth" Overview, rhetorical analysis paper.
For Use in class and for Rhetorical Analysis:
The Comment, November 1928
The Comment, November 1938
The Comment, November 1948
The Comment, March 1957
The Comment, November 1968
The Comment, November 1978
The Comment, November 1988
Week Seven 15 October 2024
READ: Check out this website on using archives for research: https://www2.archivists.org/usingarchives. IN-CLASS: Meet in BSU archives for the first half of class to work on Rhetorical Analysis assignment. Time to look for your two archive pieces to complete your project, get a tour, and hear a discussion of archival work from our BSU head archivist Orson Kingsley. Second half of class, in 200 Maxwell. In-Class reading journal on “Post Truth Rhetoric”.
Week Eight 22 October 2024
WRITE: Draft of Rhetorical Analysis for workshopping. Bring four copies to class. IN-CLASS: Meet in BSU archives for the first hour and a half of class. This will be free time for you to look around at the archives with an eye towards your final project. You can use what you discover for your the archive overview project (if you want) you don’t have to. Discussion of Final Project and related archive overview project. Second half of class will be back in Maxwell 200. We’ll workshop all three of your drafts as a group.
Week Nine 29 October 2024
READ: Click hear to read this example of archival research in Writing Studies. IN-CLASS: In-class reading journal on reading. Exploring Digital archives. In-class work on your Archive overview in relationship to your final project. In-class work on structuring your archival research.
Week Ten 5 November 2024
IN-CLASS: Your Archive overview for presentation to the class. Bring four copies to class. Presentation of your ideas for your final project. This will work as a whole class workshop. Time in class to start to locate secondary sources for your final project. By end of class to turn in to me: your brief bibliography of sources (tentative).
Week Eleven 12 November 2024
DUE: Your Pecha Kucha script, complete draft, for workshopping. IN-CLASS: Workshopping your script for your Pecha Kucha. Also, time in class to practice timing your script and selecting images for your script. Practicing the technology. MAKE SURE YOU BRING YOUR COMPUTER TO CLASS.
Week Twelve 19 November 2024
DUE: Your Pecha Kucha, complete draft) for workshopping. You’ll probably need your computer to show this. We might need to meet in our old classroom.
Week Thirteen 26 November 2024
As of this moment, two of the three of you have indicated you can’t be in class tonight. I get it. I know Thanksgiving is upon us. But I’m not having class with one person.
Here is what I’d like to do instead: I’d like to meet with each of you one-on-one. It can be on zoom or it can be in person. It can be this evening (up until 7:30) or it can be anytime between now and next Tuesday’s class. Respond to this email with some proposed times to meet and if it is in person or on zoom.
In that conference:
Week Fourteen 3 December 2024
Between now and 3 December 2024: your one-on-one conference about your final project.
For Class on 3 December 2024: H is for Hawk. I have not been reminding you that this is on the syllabus. I’m sorry about that, but it’s not a hard read. It’s quite fast. So I hope you’ll read it. I have to say that one of the things that I would not do again is not have reading journals due in class. I don’t think folks read as well or as deeply when the reading responses were in-class. This will be your last opportunity to produce a reading journal for our class. And I hope you’ll be able to do a strong job with it. We’ll play around in class with some creative writing. But part of the class will be to talk about this memoir.
10 December 2024
FINAL CLASS: In-class, we will watch everyone’s Pecha Kuchas. We’ll have dinner together as we watch. Part of your job will be to respond to each other’s pecha kuchas. You’ll have time to write some reflection for a final portfolio. You’ll also share your microstories.
Introduction to the course. What is an artifact? An archive? An exhibition? And what does it have to do with our course? And how is it a methodology for doing research in Writing Studies. Overview of Archive Story: what do your artifacts say about you.
Week Two 17 September 2024
LISTEN: Follow this link to listen to the podcast “The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar” from the program This American Life. DUE: In addition to listening to the podcast, please come to class with your Reading Journal about the podcast.In addition, bring a draft of 250-word introduction—like a regular introduction of who you are, you know, the standard ice-breaker kind of stuff written in third person (not first). Bring, also a draft of your 300 word “story” that you think your artifacts tell about you. IN-CLASS: First workshop. Please bring the 3 to 5 artifacts that you brought to class on Tuesday or will bring to class if you didn’t have them for the first class. NOTE: Finally, You don’t have to bring this to class, but be thinking about the image you’ll want to include with your material once it’s posted to our class website.
Here is the link to a class profile page from last semester. It’s not exactly what we are doing, but it’s similar in that it includes an image, a short bio, and an excerpt of a more creative introduction of sorts. Note that for that class the creative part was a longer essay and so they were only excerpted. For our purposes, the full story will be featured.
https://www.leetorda.com/class-profile-engl-513-comp-tp.html
Week Three 24 September 2024
Class canceled so I (we) can regroup.
Week Four 1 October 2024
DUE: Reading Journal on The 1619 Project. How is the author using archives to make an argument? IN-CLASS: Discussion of Rhetorical Analysis assignment. We’ll talk about the assignment, get an overview of a rhetorical analysis and discuss the elements of it. We’ll look at a few pieces from the BSU archives in-class to begin the project. We’ll use this kind of simplistic video, but it works (click on this link to watch it again if you want).
We’ll use the following materials in our class:
- Normal School Creed
- Transcription of Expelled Students
- Images of original letters of Expelled Students
- This image of an early Normal School Graduating Class (1890)
- This Diary from a Normal School Student (circa 1861)
Week Six 8 October 2024
READ: “Post-Truth Rhetoric” handout given in class. IN-CLASS: Disecting Rhetorical Analysis. In-Class reading journal on "Post Truth" Overview, rhetorical analysis paper.
For Use in class and for Rhetorical Analysis:
The Comment, November 1928
The Comment, November 1938
The Comment, November 1948
The Comment, March 1957
The Comment, November 1968
The Comment, November 1978
The Comment, November 1988
Week Seven 15 October 2024
READ: Check out this website on using archives for research: https://www2.archivists.org/usingarchives. IN-CLASS: Meet in BSU archives for the first half of class to work on Rhetorical Analysis assignment. Time to look for your two archive pieces to complete your project, get a tour, and hear a discussion of archival work from our BSU head archivist Orson Kingsley. Second half of class, in 200 Maxwell. In-Class reading journal on “Post Truth Rhetoric”.
Week Eight 22 October 2024
WRITE: Draft of Rhetorical Analysis for workshopping. Bring four copies to class. IN-CLASS: Meet in BSU archives for the first hour and a half of class. This will be free time for you to look around at the archives with an eye towards your final project. You can use what you discover for your the archive overview project (if you want) you don’t have to. Discussion of Final Project and related archive overview project. Second half of class will be back in Maxwell 200. We’ll workshop all three of your drafts as a group.
Week Nine 29 October 2024
READ: Click hear to read this example of archival research in Writing Studies. IN-CLASS: In-class reading journal on reading. Exploring Digital archives. In-class work on your Archive overview in relationship to your final project. In-class work on structuring your archival research.
Week Ten 5 November 2024
IN-CLASS: Your Archive overview for presentation to the class. Bring four copies to class. Presentation of your ideas for your final project. This will work as a whole class workshop. Time in class to start to locate secondary sources for your final project. By end of class to turn in to me: your brief bibliography of sources (tentative).
Week Eleven 12 November 2024
DUE: Your Pecha Kucha script, complete draft, for workshopping. IN-CLASS: Workshopping your script for your Pecha Kucha. Also, time in class to practice timing your script and selecting images for your script. Practicing the technology. MAKE SURE YOU BRING YOUR COMPUTER TO CLASS.
Week Twelve 19 November 2024
DUE: Your Pecha Kucha, complete draft) for workshopping. You’ll probably need your computer to show this. We might need to meet in our old classroom.
Week Thirteen 26 November 2024
As of this moment, two of the three of you have indicated you can’t be in class tonight. I get it. I know Thanksgiving is upon us. But I’m not having class with one person.
Here is what I’d like to do instead: I’d like to meet with each of you one-on-one. It can be on zoom or it can be in person. It can be this evening (up until 7:30) or it can be anytime between now and next Tuesday’s class. Respond to this email with some proposed times to meet and if it is in person or on zoom.
In that conference:
- You’ll read your entire script to me. We’ll time it. I’ll give you feedback on your argument and organization. We will look at your images and discuss how successful they are and what you might do to change that.
- We’ll go over any questions you have about this final assignment.
- We’ll talk about any missing work you’ve got outstanding and what to do about it. And/or we’ll quickly go over how you are doing in the class generally.
Week Fourteen 3 December 2024
Between now and 3 December 2024: your one-on-one conference about your final project.
For Class on 3 December 2024: H is for Hawk. I have not been reminding you that this is on the syllabus. I’m sorry about that, but it’s not a hard read. It’s quite fast. So I hope you’ll read it. I have to say that one of the things that I would not do again is not have reading journals due in class. I don’t think folks read as well or as deeply when the reading responses were in-class. This will be your last opportunity to produce a reading journal for our class. And I hope you’ll be able to do a strong job with it. We’ll play around in class with some creative writing. But part of the class will be to talk about this memoir.
10 December 2024
FINAL CLASS: In-class, we will watch everyone’s Pecha Kuchas. We’ll have dinner together as we watch. Part of your job will be to respond to each other’s pecha kuchas. You’ll have time to write some reflection for a final portfolio. You’ll also share your microstories.