policies ENGL298 Second Year Seminar: This Bridgewater Life
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Need to be in touch with me?
LEE TORDA 310 Tillinghast Hall Bridgewater State University 508.531.2436 [email protected] www.leetorda.com |
SPRING 2014 Office Hours
Monday: 3:30 to 4:30 Tuesday: 11:00 to 12:00 Friday: 1:00 to 2:00 and by appointment. |
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This class, modeled after the Public Radio International program This American Life, asks you to look at what we do when we tell the stories of ourselves and others. We consider what makes a good story to tell, a good reason to tell it, and the right way to tell it (What are the ethics of good story-telling? What is the funny of it? What is the vocabulary of it?). Of particular relevance to this seminar, because it is speaking intensive, is what happens to a story—or what should happen to a story—when it is meant to be listened to rather than read.
To study and practice story-telling, we will look at many kinds of stories that are constructed in all kinds of ways (serious, funny, sad, noisy). We will primarily listen to these stories, analyze them, and then you will undertake to tell your own story—a story that is rich, thoughtful, quirky, and, as the title of the class would indicate, local. Your project this semester will be to tell the stories that you find around you and to tell them well.
You will do this work individually, in small working groups, and as a class. You will do formal presentations and informal presentations. And let me warn you: you will write in support of these presentations. It’s informal writing, not like a research paper or anything like that. And it will only help your grade. But there is a lot of writing in this speaking intensive class. You should be prepared to have a variety of audiences over the course of the semester, and be prepared to think about how that audience will affect your work. Your final project will be a fifteen-minute podcast of a story you will work on for the better part of the semester with a partner or a small group.
COURSE GOALS
By the end of this class you will:
TEXTS
Mark Kramer & Wendy Call (eds.)
Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers' Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University
Weekly and archived This American Life (abbreviated on the syllabus and elsewhere as TAL).
Available at http://www.thisamericanlife.org/
REQUIREMENTS
Attendance. What happens day-to-day in this class only works if we are all here as much as possible; therefore, attendance is mandatory. You are permitted 3 absences for the semester (that is a week of class). Any absences after the three will not be excused and will affect your final grade. Missing more than six classes (or two weeks of class) can cause you to fail this class.
Furthermore, keep in mind:
Listening. The primary text of this class are the podcasts of the radio program This American Life. Anything identified by "LISTEN" on the syllabus is due on that date. You will write in-class listening notes for each listening assignment we have for class. You will write for about five to eight minutes. I want to encourage good listening (sort of a lost art). Therefore there will be a rating system for your in-class listening notes. That rating system is as follows:
Great Listening (GL): Great listening does it all. You can easily and thoughtfully summarize the main points of the story, but, more than that, you get the big idea, the theme of the story. You can articulate what the author or authors of the segment were trying to get you to think about. You've figured out what the most important parts of the story are because you understand the thesis of the story.
Good Listening (GOL): Good listening means that, at the very least, you can summarize the main points of the story. You might not have a good sense of what is going on with the theme or you might have the theme wrong. You might focus on the wrong parts of the story because you don't quite understand what the thesis is.
Bad Listening (BL): You either didn't listen or you are such a bad listener that you totally got it wrong.
I take the time to talk about this with such detail because I take seriously the work I'm asking you to do. Sometimes students think that because it is listening and not reading that they don't really have to do the work. I want to reward students who commit to doing the work and doing it well, and I don't want to reward those students who try to just get by.
Readings. Students should come prepared to talk, write, and discuss whatever reading is due that day. Anything identified by “READ” on the syllabus is due on that date. There isn’t a lot of reading to do in this class, but we will have a bit to do every week or so (about ten to 15 pages). This reading will help us to talk about the elements of good story telling. And it will help us to fill out our Story Checklist, a guide of sorts to help you complete your final cut of your own podcasts. NOTE: The above listening rubric applies to your Readings as well. Substitute Reading for Listening and you will get the idea.
Podcast Presentations/Listening Days. About every two weeks, you will be responsible for about five minutes, in class presentations that summarizes where you are at with your current project, where you want to go next, and what you want help from your classmates with. In turn, as an audience member, you must give the presenter your full attention and your thoughtful (useful) feedback on their project report. More information for each of the presentations are available on the assignment page for each assignment and deadline associated with your project (partner podcast, Do I Have a Story. . . , Sources, & Surround Sound).
Midterm and Final Portfolio. At midterm and then at the end of the semester, you will submit to me any reflection writing you are asked to do on the different podcasts, any recorded material you have produced, a reflection on your group/partner work so far, and a self-evaluation in the form of a cover letter. Complete information is available on the portfolios link on our class websites.
Formal Assignments. Here is a brief overview of the major assignments for this class. More information on each is available on the assignments pages for each located on our class website. Most of these assignments (all of them except the first one actually) are part of the final cut of your podcast for This Bridgewater Life.
Partner Podcasts: This first project has three real purposes. First, it is a chance to get to know your classmates, as you will be interviewing one of them and sharing that interview with the rest of the class. Probably more importantly, it’s an opportunity to begin to figure out how to tell a story. Finally, it’s an opportunity to learn the technology that we will be using all semester long for our podcast. The class will listen to these podcasts early in the semester.
Do I Have a Story for you: This is the first assignment associated with the final podcast for This Bridgewater Life. You will pick the story you want to tell, and the person or people you want to tell it with. You’ll do an informal presentation to the class, including any podcast material you put together for it, before midterm.
Sources: The second assignment associated with the final podcast for This Bridgewater Life. You will work with your partners or small groups to collect background information, do interviews, and conduct whatever other sort of research you need to tell your story.
Surround Sound: The third assignment associated with the final podcast for This Bridgewater Life. You will work with your partner or small group to collect sound for your story—ambient sound, theme music, instrumental “mood” music, etc. You’ll do an informal presentation to the class, including any podcast material you put together for it, after midterm.
Final Cut of your Podcast: This Bridgewater Life: Your final project will be a fifteen minute podcast of the story you will work on for the better part of the semester with your partner or small group. All three of the assignments described above (Do I have a story, Sources, Surround Sound) will contribute to that final podcast. It will be a story of your choosing and design. We will study how to best tell a story in class during the entire semester. You will be able to get feedback from me and from your classmates. We will also have a conference or two where you get one-on-one help with your projects. You’ll have the opportunity to air your podcasts for your classmates at the final exam, and, for those of you who are particularly successful and interested, you can present your work at the BSU Undergraduate Research Symposium in April. More information is available on the This Bridgewater Life page and the Story Checklist: Final Cut Podcast page of our class website.
EVALUATION AND GRADING
You will not receive letter grades on individual assignments in this class. This will make some of you nervous, I know, but experience has taught me that this kind of evaluation leads to a greater level of success for more students. It allows me the chance to give students credit for the things that grading individual assignments will not let me do: this system, a portfolio system, allows me to count effort and revision and improvement. Even though you will not be getting letter grades on everything you turn in, you will receive extensive comments on your work that should both give you a sense of the quality of your work as well as a way to begin to revise and improve your podcast for the final cut.
At midterm and the end of the semester you will receive a letter grade. These two letter grades will be based on the following criteria:
Breakdown of assessment percentages. Different assignments require different amounts of effort. The percentages that accompany each of the requirements in this class should give you an indication of the time and energy that each should take up in your student life.
Partner Podcasts 15%
Listening 15%
Do I Have A Story. . . 10%
Sources 15%
Surround Sound 10%
Final Cut: This
Bridgewater Life Podcast 25%
Midterm Portfolio &
Final Portfolio 10%
OTHER THINGS
Plagiarism. I think it would be very difficult to plagiarize in this class, but if I should discover that you are maliciously taking other peoples words and ideas and claiming them for your own you’ll be sent before the disciplinary board of the college, and you could fail the class.
Students with learning disabilities. Students who need special accommodations due to a documented learning disability must come to see me with written documentation of the specific disability and suggested accommodations before the end of the drop add period. We can discuss specific accommodations at that time.
The Writing Studio. Located in the Academic Achievement Center, on the bottom floor of the Library, the Writing Studio is available to any and all students at whatever level of expertise you might be at. It may not seem like the Writing Studio is a place to discuss your speaking intensive assignments, but they can help you talk through your ideas for your story—help you locate your characters, develop them, pace your story, figure out interview questions, etc.
Communications Lab. The Communication Lab at Bridgewater State University is dedicated to helping students become more skilled and confident speakers. Students are assisted in the preparation, practice, taping and review of oral presentations. The Communication Lab provides cooperative learning with peer tutors to coach students in a supportive environment. Tutors focus on the nature of the assignment, the concerns of the student, and the focus of the speech. Peer tutors assist with all stages of oral assignments including topic choice, research, outlining, and rehearsal of the presentation.
Welcome to the course.
This class, modeled after the Public Radio International program This American Life, asks you to look at what we do when we tell the stories of ourselves and others. We consider what makes a good story to tell, a good reason to tell it, and the right way to tell it (What are the ethics of good story-telling? What is the funny of it? What is the vocabulary of it?). Of particular relevance to this seminar, because it is speaking intensive, is what happens to a story—or what should happen to a story—when it is meant to be listened to rather than read.
To study and practice story-telling, we will look at many kinds of stories that are constructed in all kinds of ways (serious, funny, sad, noisy). We will primarily listen to these stories, analyze them, and then you will undertake to tell your own story—a story that is rich, thoughtful, quirky, and, as the title of the class would indicate, local. Your project this semester will be to tell the stories that you find around you and to tell them well.
You will do this work individually, in small working groups, and as a class. You will do formal presentations and informal presentations. And let me warn you: you will write in support of these presentations. It’s informal writing, not like a research paper or anything like that. And it will only help your grade. But there is a lot of writing in this speaking intensive class. You should be prepared to have a variety of audiences over the course of the semester, and be prepared to think about how that audience will affect your work. Your final project will be a fifteen-minute podcast of a story you will work on for the better part of the semester with a partner or a small group.
COURSE GOALS
By the end of this class you will:
- enhance your ability to speak clearly, effectively, and confidently in both large and small groups;
- have substantial practice in using writing to help you draft and polish your ideas for presentation;
- develop an understanding of the characteristics of good story-telling;
- study and practice the research skills necessary to tell a good story;
- learn the technology necessary to produce “radio-ready” podcasts of your stories.
TEXTS
Mark Kramer & Wendy Call (eds.)
Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers' Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University
Weekly and archived This American Life (abbreviated on the syllabus and elsewhere as TAL).
Available at http://www.thisamericanlife.org/
REQUIREMENTS
Attendance. What happens day-to-day in this class only works if we are all here as much as possible; therefore, attendance is mandatory. You are permitted 3 absences for the semester (that is a week of class). Any absences after the three will not be excused and will affect your final grade. Missing more than six classes (or two weeks of class) can cause you to fail this class.
Furthermore, keep in mind:
- Absence is not an excuse for late work: assignments will not be accepted after the class period they are due
- In-class work cannot be made up
Listening. The primary text of this class are the podcasts of the radio program This American Life. Anything identified by "LISTEN" on the syllabus is due on that date. You will write in-class listening notes for each listening assignment we have for class. You will write for about five to eight minutes. I want to encourage good listening (sort of a lost art). Therefore there will be a rating system for your in-class listening notes. That rating system is as follows:
Great Listening (GL): Great listening does it all. You can easily and thoughtfully summarize the main points of the story, but, more than that, you get the big idea, the theme of the story. You can articulate what the author or authors of the segment were trying to get you to think about. You've figured out what the most important parts of the story are because you understand the thesis of the story.
Good Listening (GOL): Good listening means that, at the very least, you can summarize the main points of the story. You might not have a good sense of what is going on with the theme or you might have the theme wrong. You might focus on the wrong parts of the story because you don't quite understand what the thesis is.
Bad Listening (BL): You either didn't listen or you are such a bad listener that you totally got it wrong.
- If you receive all but two "GL" ratings on your listening notes, you will get a bump of half a letter grade at the end of the semester.
- If you receive at least all "GOL" ratings you will receive the full 15% towards your final grade for the assignment (see the evaluation section below).
- If you receive more than three "BL ratings you will not receive the full 15% towards your final grade for the assignment.
I take the time to talk about this with such detail because I take seriously the work I'm asking you to do. Sometimes students think that because it is listening and not reading that they don't really have to do the work. I want to reward students who commit to doing the work and doing it well, and I don't want to reward those students who try to just get by.
Readings. Students should come prepared to talk, write, and discuss whatever reading is due that day. Anything identified by “READ” on the syllabus is due on that date. There isn’t a lot of reading to do in this class, but we will have a bit to do every week or so (about ten to 15 pages). This reading will help us to talk about the elements of good story telling. And it will help us to fill out our Story Checklist, a guide of sorts to help you complete your final cut of your own podcasts. NOTE: The above listening rubric applies to your Readings as well. Substitute Reading for Listening and you will get the idea.
Podcast Presentations/Listening Days. About every two weeks, you will be responsible for about five minutes, in class presentations that summarizes where you are at with your current project, where you want to go next, and what you want help from your classmates with. In turn, as an audience member, you must give the presenter your full attention and your thoughtful (useful) feedback on their project report. More information for each of the presentations are available on the assignment page for each assignment and deadline associated with your project (partner podcast, Do I Have a Story. . . , Sources, & Surround Sound).
Midterm and Final Portfolio. At midterm and then at the end of the semester, you will submit to me any reflection writing you are asked to do on the different podcasts, any recorded material you have produced, a reflection on your group/partner work so far, and a self-evaluation in the form of a cover letter. Complete information is available on the portfolios link on our class websites.
Formal Assignments. Here is a brief overview of the major assignments for this class. More information on each is available on the assignments pages for each located on our class website. Most of these assignments (all of them except the first one actually) are part of the final cut of your podcast for This Bridgewater Life.
Partner Podcasts: This first project has three real purposes. First, it is a chance to get to know your classmates, as you will be interviewing one of them and sharing that interview with the rest of the class. Probably more importantly, it’s an opportunity to begin to figure out how to tell a story. Finally, it’s an opportunity to learn the technology that we will be using all semester long for our podcast. The class will listen to these podcasts early in the semester.
Do I Have a Story for you: This is the first assignment associated with the final podcast for This Bridgewater Life. You will pick the story you want to tell, and the person or people you want to tell it with. You’ll do an informal presentation to the class, including any podcast material you put together for it, before midterm.
Sources: The second assignment associated with the final podcast for This Bridgewater Life. You will work with your partners or small groups to collect background information, do interviews, and conduct whatever other sort of research you need to tell your story.
Surround Sound: The third assignment associated with the final podcast for This Bridgewater Life. You will work with your partner or small group to collect sound for your story—ambient sound, theme music, instrumental “mood” music, etc. You’ll do an informal presentation to the class, including any podcast material you put together for it, after midterm.
Final Cut of your Podcast: This Bridgewater Life: Your final project will be a fifteen minute podcast of the story you will work on for the better part of the semester with your partner or small group. All three of the assignments described above (Do I have a story, Sources, Surround Sound) will contribute to that final podcast. It will be a story of your choosing and design. We will study how to best tell a story in class during the entire semester. You will be able to get feedback from me and from your classmates. We will also have a conference or two where you get one-on-one help with your projects. You’ll have the opportunity to air your podcasts for your classmates at the final exam, and, for those of you who are particularly successful and interested, you can present your work at the BSU Undergraduate Research Symposium in April. More information is available on the This Bridgewater Life page and the Story Checklist: Final Cut Podcast page of our class website.
EVALUATION AND GRADING
You will not receive letter grades on individual assignments in this class. This will make some of you nervous, I know, but experience has taught me that this kind of evaluation leads to a greater level of success for more students. It allows me the chance to give students credit for the things that grading individual assignments will not let me do: this system, a portfolio system, allows me to count effort and revision and improvement. Even though you will not be getting letter grades on everything you turn in, you will receive extensive comments on your work that should both give you a sense of the quality of your work as well as a way to begin to revise and improve your podcast for the final cut.
At midterm and the end of the semester you will receive a letter grade. These two letter grades will be based on the following criteria:
- Meeting all of the requirements described above,
- The quality of your work, including how successful your revision work is,
- The quality of your effort in all aspects of the class,
- Your demonstration of a willingness to try new things, think in new ways, and explore different perspectives as a thinker, student, and story-teller.
Breakdown of assessment percentages. Different assignments require different amounts of effort. The percentages that accompany each of the requirements in this class should give you an indication of the time and energy that each should take up in your student life.
Partner Podcasts 15%
Listening 15%
Do I Have A Story. . . 10%
Sources 15%
Surround Sound 10%
Final Cut: This
Bridgewater Life Podcast 25%
Midterm Portfolio &
Final Portfolio 10%
OTHER THINGS
Plagiarism. I think it would be very difficult to plagiarize in this class, but if I should discover that you are maliciously taking other peoples words and ideas and claiming them for your own you’ll be sent before the disciplinary board of the college, and you could fail the class.
Students with learning disabilities. Students who need special accommodations due to a documented learning disability must come to see me with written documentation of the specific disability and suggested accommodations before the end of the drop add period. We can discuss specific accommodations at that time.
The Writing Studio. Located in the Academic Achievement Center, on the bottom floor of the Library, the Writing Studio is available to any and all students at whatever level of expertise you might be at. It may not seem like the Writing Studio is a place to discuss your speaking intensive assignments, but they can help you talk through your ideas for your story—help you locate your characters, develop them, pace your story, figure out interview questions, etc.
Communications Lab. The Communication Lab at Bridgewater State University is dedicated to helping students become more skilled and confident speakers. Students are assisted in the preparation, practice, taping and review of oral presentations. The Communication Lab provides cooperative learning with peer tutors to coach students in a supportive environment. Tutors focus on the nature of the assignment, the concerns of the student, and the focus of the speech. Peer tutors assist with all stages of oral assignments including topic choice, research, outlining, and rehearsal of the presentation.
Welcome to the course.