Section Syllabus (the online version)

English 168, Sections 305 & 306

Introduction to Modern Literature Since 1900

“Lost Selves and Forgotten Homes: Readings for a Post-9/11 World”

Discussion Section Syllabus

I. Times & Places & email
Lecture: TR 1:20-2:10PM, 2650 Humanities

Discussion Sections:
TR 3:30-4:20PM, 2125 Humanities
TR 4:35-5:25PM, 2631 Humanities

TA Office: Helen C White 7118
Office Hours: TR 12:00-1:00PM & by appt.
TA Email: hooley@wisc.edu
Classlists: (305) english168-305-f10@lists.wisc.edu
    (306) english168-306-f10@lists.wisc.edu


What is discussion section?
• Each week students will meet in small groups (19) with a teaching assistant to discuss the week’s readings. It is a time/space that is available to students to raise questions, advance readings of the texts, engage their classmates in conversation and debate.

• In the course of our section meetings we will spend substantial time talking and writing. Often these activities will be intimately linked (for instance on days when students orally present research they’ve done outside of class and which they’ve written about on the class blog). The basic pedagogical principle guiding our day-to-day work in section is that writing about literature is something that helps us work through, consider, and process our ideas—it is not merely an outcome or the final product of literary study. To this end, please think of the writing we do on a daily basis as related not only to the course readings, the conversations we have in section, the formal papers and exams, but to your growth as a critical thinker more broadly.

• Discussion sections are classes that depend on students to be active, enthusiastic, supportive, and courageous. Each student should participate during each section meeting, and should come fully prepared (having read the material and taken notes, with ideas and questions prepared, and willing to build on the ideas of his/her classmates).


 How to read for this class
• Please use the course calendar and text list to stay current with the assigned readings.

• Read texts thoroughly and as far in advance of their due date as possible. Then, as we work through the texts together in lecture and discussion you should return to passages as they are brought up and re-read them. By the end of the week(s) devoted to a given text you should feel as though you’ve read each text through at least two times.

• Taking notes is both a crucial and highly individual enterprise. Each student will have a unique way of noting, organizing, and expanding on the notable/interesting/confusing/provocative moments each text will present. I recommend that you gather your notes in one spot (a notebook, a computer file etc.) that you can return to, add to, and of course, cherish forever! You should also take thorough notes during lecture and discussion section. Without an effective system for taking and storing these notes, it is unlikely you will succeed in the course.

• Be curious, be confused. Let your uncertainty/questioning of the text guide you. Get help from your peers, your TA, and Professor Steele. Questions are the building blocks of the best literary analysis.

Assignments
• Essays
There are two essays for this course. For each essay you will complete a rough draft due in section one week prior to the final due date. On the day your rough draft is due you will workshop your essay with classmates. You will use their comments to revise your essay over the next week and will turn your final draft essay into your TA along with your rough draft and copies of the comments you’ve received from classmates.

These essays are designed to build your skills of literary analysis. They are primarily exercises in making and defending an argument/thesis about one or more course texts. To this end, your essays will be graded on how convincing, original, and illuminating your argument is, as well as how well you’ve supported your thesis with material from the text.

• Exams
There will be a midterm and final exam. These assessments will measure the thoroughness of your reading of the course texts, your ability to retain material from Professor Steele’s lectures, and your participation in discussion sections. The midterm will cover the first four course texts. The final will cover the last four.

• Writing Portfolio
Your writing portfolio will consist (simply) of all the writing you’ve done for this course. That includes rough and final drafts of your essays as well as the blog posts (not comments) you submit. This collection of your writing will help establish your growth as a writer and thinker and will be submitted along with your final paper in discussion section.

Blogging
Our “daily writing assignments” will be structured around a blog (one for each discussion section). You will be required to write 2 blog posts throughout the course the term and comment on others’ post weekly. Guidelines for blogging can be found attached to this syllabus.

Oral Presentations
During the second half of the course (roughly) you will present research that you’ll complete with 1-2 peers that bears on and illuminates one of course texts. Details about these presentations will be distributed later.

Grading
Please consult the grade breakdown provide on the main course syllabus as well as the grading standards listed below.

D (inadequate)— Work that is seriously flawed, incomplete, or otherwise marred by technical/conceptual errors. This is work which does not display a coherent argument or analysis.
C (adequate)— Work is acceptable, but there are noticeable conceptual/technical flaws or omissions. An outline of an argument is discernible but imperfectly developed. Other serious flaws hamper the presentation.
BC (above average)— Work is mostly correct, but there are significant omissions or misstatements. Work is marred by minor technical/conceptual errors.
B (good)—This is the base level grade signifying good, but not distinguished work. Work is complete, free of conceptual errors, and may have only very minor technical problems. B work fulfills the bare requirements of an answer or essay but does not advance what has been presented in lecture or discussion section. B work has a discernible argument but is not original, exciting, or surprising.
AB (very good)—Work is very good but not stunning. Writing has no technical or conceptual flaws. There are areas of brilliance, but the argument/answer as a whole is predictable.
A (distinguished)— Work is perfect in all regards. Major and minor points are presented and developed in not only a flawless way, but in a uniquely original or insightful manner. Work demonstrates a lively intelligence and advances the thinking that has been done during class sessions. A work is truly outstanding.


Resources

• McBurney Disability Resource Center
1305 Linden Dr. (Middleton Bldg.)
608-263-2741 (phone), 263-6393 (TTY), FrontDesk@mcb.wisc.edu
http://jumpgate.acadsvcs.wisc.edu/%7Emcburney/
Students with learning and other disabilities (or questions about them) should contact the McBurney Center  in order to receive information about available assistance and accommodations. Furthermore, please see me about anyway I can facilitate your learning and/or participation.

• The Writing Center
Webpage: http://www.wisc.edu/writing
Main Location: 6171 Helen C White Hall
Phone: 608-263-1992
The Writing Center offers individual help and tremendously helpful workshops throughout the semester. Please use the Writing Center.  The three most effective ways to become a better writer are reading, practice, and one-on-one help from a more experienced writer.