Chapman University
Fall 2018
English 103: Seminar in rhetoric and writing: Writing about LGBTQIA+ Issues/texts/selves
Instructor Contact Information:
- Ian Barnard, Ph.D.
- Office: 428 N. Glassell #104
- In-Person Office Hours: MW 2:30-3:30 p.m. and by appointment
- Email Office Hours: [email protected]
Statement on Diversity and Inclusion |
Course Description:
Student Learning Outcomes for This Course:
Required Texts (available at the University Bookstore):
Print or electronic copies are acceptable
* = also on reserve in the Leatherby Libraries
Grade Distribution:
Major Assignments:
Course Policies and Resources:
- Catalog Course Description: Writing seminar devoted to rhetorical understanding and competence in a variety of specific academic contexts. Students may choose their area of concentration from a range of writing genres, each with its own sets of expectations, forms and purposes. Attention will focus on student writing in differing discourse communities, but all sections of English 103 address rhetorical effectiveness in composition. Students may select from courses that foreground Writing in Electronic Environments, for example, or Writing about Literature, Composing the Self, Writing in Academic Environments among many other options. Some sections of this course may be offered as hybrid courses or online only. (Offered every semester.) 3 credits.
- We will emphasize composing as a process. Revision will be an essential part of the work of the class. You’ll develop multiple drafts of your major assignments. Our attention to each others’ work will center around student-facilitated whole-class and small-group peer workshops. You’ll receive oral and written feedback on your assignment drafts from your colleagues and me. Each class member will have the opportunity to have two of their assignments workshopped, and each class member will facilitate a colleague’s workshop. These workshops will give us all the chance to discuss the issues at stake in the projects, to articulate and negotiate our criteria for effective composition, and to address and practice a variety of rhetorical strategies in the context of specific student texts.
- This course fulfills the learning outcome of the Written Inquiry component of the General Education program (GE WI). All GE Written Inquiry courses are rhetorically based, focusing on the ways language is used to negotiate social, educational, and intellectual relationships in various contexts, to a range of audiences.
- This particular section of English 103 fulfills the above goals by focusing on writing about LGBTQIA+ issues/texts/selves.
Student Learning Outcomes for This Course:
- you will compose texts that show attention to the rhetorical elements of author, audience, and purpose
- compose texts that establish active, genuine, and responsible authorial engagement
- compose texts that communicate a purpose—an argument or other intentional point/goal
- compose texts that invoke a specific audience
- compose texts that develop the argument/content with an internal logic/organization
- compose texts that integrate references, citations, and source material logically and dialogically, indicating how forms of evidence relate to each other and the author’s position
- compose with rhetorically effective use of language, form and genre, voice and tone, and style
Required Texts (available at the University Bookstore):
Print or electronic copies are acceptable
* = also on reserve in the Leatherby Libraries
- Birkenstein and Graff. They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. 4th ed.
- Bornstein, Kate. My New Gender Workbook: A Step-By-Step Guide to Achieving World Peace Through Gender Anarchy and Sex Positivity. 2nd Edition. *
- Losh, Alexander, Cannon, and Cannon. Understanding Rhetoric: A Graphic Guide to Writing. 2nd Edition.
- QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking 4.2 (2017).
Grade Distribution:
- Final Portfolio .........................................................55%
- Project 4 ...................................................................25%
- Other Assignments....................................................20%
- Due to the highly interactive nature of this course and the emphasis on workshops, group work, and class discussions, I expect you to attend all class meetings and to be on time. According to Chapman University policy, a student who misses any class meeting during the first two weeks of classes without the instructor's authorization may be dropped from the class. Over the course of the semester, you may miss four class meetings without penalty. If you miss more than four class meetings, I will lower your final course grade for each additional absence. Two tardies (arriving late or leaving early) count as one absence. I will also mark you tardy if you are unprepared for class. According to the official University catalog, Chapman "recommends as a minimal policy that students who are absent 20 percent of the course should be failed."
Major Assignments:
- Project 1: Using the "Stories" in GenderQueer as models, and Bornstein's book and the essays in GenderQueer as theoretical frames, compose your own gender autoethnography, in which you reflect on your understanding of your gender and how you came to this understanding/gender expression. You may compose your gender autoethnography in the form of a written essay or memoir (750-1250 words), video (2-4 minutes), or audio file (3-5 minutes). Compose for a general audience, "readers" who are interested in issues around gender, but are not necessarily members of our class. Feel free to include links, images, and other digital materials.
- Project 2 (Blog Post, 750-1250 words): Discuss one scene or theme or character or technical aspect of Moonlight that you find particularly interesting/problematic/pleasurable/revelatory. Relate your scene/theme/technique to the film as a whole. Don't just repeat points we make in class about the film--try to add to or develop what we say. Support your points with specific references to the film (e.g., quote dialogue from the film, refer to specific scenes, refer to specific film techniques). Your discussion should read as a cohesive whole, not as a list of unconnected points about the film. Compose for readers who have seen Moonlight, but may not have thought about the film as carefully as you have, and who are not necessarily members of our class. Your goal is to encourage these readers to see the film from a new perspective, consider some aspect of the film they may not have thought of before, or understand a scene or theme of the film in a richer or more complex light than they did before. Feel free to include links, images, video clips, and other digital materials.
- Project 3 (Essay, 1000-1500 words, excluding Works Cited): Choose one or more articles, or one issue raised in the "Queer Resistance" Forum section of QED 4.2 that you'd like to discuss further. You may focus on one or two articles in the Forum or on an issue that runs through several of the Forum articles. You may update and/or agree with and/or disagree with and/or build on what the Forum contributors say, but don't just repeat their points. Be sure that you have a main idea that you want to convey, so that your essay isn't a collection of unconnected points. You also need to bring at least one outside source into your discussion. Follow the guidelines in They Say/I Say for engaging with sources, cite sources in the body of your essay following MLA or another scholarly format, and conclude your essay with a Works Cited list following MLA or another scholarly format. Compose for scholarly readers who are educated about lgbtqia+ issues but not necessarily members of our class. Your readers will likely be familiar with the issues you discuss, but might not be familiar with the sources you cite. Feel free to include links, images (properly credited), and other digital materials.
- Project 4: With your group members, create a 3-5 minute video, post the video on YouTube, and give an in-class presentation on your video. Your video should present a "remediation" of a contemporary film or television show in which you re-edit part of the original in order to offer a queer intervention into it (we'll discuss what this means in class). Your video must use only existing footage from the movie or TV show you are re-editing, though you may add other sound and titles if you wish. During your oral presentation, introduce your project and your group members, give the rationale for your video, show your video to the class, and answer questions. All group members must participate in answering questions. The entire presentation (including questions and answers) should last no more than 20 minutes. Your grade will be based on a) the substance and professionalism of your video, b) your ability to explain the rationale for your video during the oral presentation and answer questions effectively, and c) how well your group members collaborate. All group members will earn the same grade unless a group member fails to make a substantial contribution to the project.
- Other Assignments: These include drafts of your projects, feedback on colleagues' drafts, facilitating a whole-class workshop, and other in-class activities, and are designed to help you work toward successfully completing your Final Portfolio. I grade these assignments on a credit/no credit basis. In class we will discuss the criteria for earning credit on these assignments. You cannot make up a missed in-class assignment. You must submit out of class assignments on time in order to earn full credit for them. All assignments are submitted on Blackboard. Please bring your laptop to all class meeting to complete in-class assignments.
- Final Portfolio: Your final portfolio consists of a cover page, a table of contents, a preface, your three strongest unrevised credit/no credit assignments for which you received credit (excluding drafts of projects), and new revisions of two of Project 1, Project 2, and Project 3. You must have received credit for Projects 1, 2, and 3 in order to submit a portfolio. You'll post your portfolio as a Word or pdf document on Blackboard.
- Portfolio Preface: Write a 500-750 word preface introducing your portfolio to future employers or graduate school admissions committees. You may want to discuss in your preface what threads you see connecting the pieces in your portfolio, how the portfolio theme has spoken to or impacted you, what revisions you've made to the projects you've included in the portfolio and why, why you've chosen to include specific pieces in the portfolio, and what you feel you have learned about rhetoric and writing from completing the work that you've included in the portfolio. These are just suggestions--you are not required to address these points. Note that the preface is not an evaluation of the course or of me, but a self-reflection on your own work as a composer. Ensure that your preface reads as a cohesive whole rather than as a collection of unconnected points.
Course Policies and Resources:
- I encourage you to visit the campus Writing Center to get extra feedback on and assistance with your work in this course.
- Citation of Sources: Plagiarism is a contested and context-specific topic. We will discuss effective ways of using sources and issues around plagiarism in class. For more information, see Chapman's policy on academic integrity.
- Email Protocol: I acknowledge all email messages within 48 hours. If you email me but don’t get a response, I haven’t received your email. Feel free to email me concerning any questions you have about the course or about your work. Do not email your work to me for feedback; I’d be happy to discuss your work with you in person. It’s important to practice composing professional emails: be sure that your emails to me include appropriate subject lines, salutations, and closes.
- Classroom Dynamics: I do not spend much time lecturing and expect you to participate vigorously in the many discussions around which the course is organized. We all teach and learn in this course--I do not believe in a one-way transmission of “knowledge” from instructor to students. I don’t have all the answers, and I look forward to learning as much as teaching in this course. You should direct your questions and comments in class to your colleagues as much as to me. I encourage you to talk in class.
- Diversity: Chapman University is committed to ensuring equality and valuing diversity. Students and professors are reminded to show respect at all times as outlined in Chapman's Harassment and Discrimination Policy. Any violations of this policy should be discussed with the professor, the Dean of Students, and/or otherwise reported in accordance with this policy.
- Students With Disabilities: Please see me early in the semester if you have a documented disability, so that we can discuss what accommodations I might make to help you to succeed in this class. Click here to read Chapman University's Policy Statement for Assisting Students with Disabilities.
- Electronic Devices: Please bring your laptop to class meetings, but do not use electronic devices for non course-related work during class time.
tentative schedule
Readings marked * are on Blackboard
27 August 2018
29 August 2018
3 September 2018
5 September 2018
10 September 2018
12 September 2018
17 September 2018
19 September 2018
24 September 2018
26 September 2018
1 October 2018
3 October 2018
8 October 2018
10 October 2018
15 October 2018
17 October 2018
22 October 2018
24 October 2018
29 October 2018
31 October 2018
5 November 2018
7 November 2018
12 November 2018
14 November 2018
(Anti-)Thanksgiving Break
26 November 2018
28 November 2018
3 December 2018
5 December 2018
27 August 2018
- In-Class Activities: introduction to the course; course pronouns; class member introductions; introduction to My New Gender Workbook
- Homework Assignments: read Preface and Chapters 1-3 from My New Gender Workbook; complete all quizzes in Chapter 1 and total your score on p. 33
29 August 2018
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading; in-class writing; introduction to GenderQueer
- Homework Assignments: read the "Stories" from GenderQueer * (pp. 67-286); be ready to discuss the two that you find most interesting/compelling/troubling
3 September 2018
- In-Class Activities: Labor Day--no class
- Homework Assignments: read the "Stories" from GenderQueer * (pp. 67-286); be ready to discuss the two that you find most interesting/compelling/troubling
5 September 2018
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading; in-class writing; assign Project 1
- Homework Assignments: read My New Gender Workbook Chapters 5-8 and GenderQueer pp. 55-63 plus one other "essay" in GenderQueer*
10 September 2018
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading; discuss workshop protocol; sign up for whole-class workshops
- Homework Assignments: if you have a workshop on 17 Sep., post your draft of Project 1 or a link to your draft on Blackboard by noon on 12 Sep.; read pages 162-65 in They Say, I Say
12 September 2018
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading; continue discussion of workshop protocol; sign up to facilitate a workshop; discuss workshop responses
- Homework Assignments: if you have a workshop on 19 Sep., post your draft of Project 1 or a link to your draft on Blackboard by noon on 17 Sep.; post your responses to the workshop drafts on Blackboard by noon on 17 Sep. (see guidelines and examples on Blackboard)
17 September 2018
- In-Class Activities: whole-class workshops on Project 1
- Homework Assignments: post your responses to the workshop drafts on Blackboard by noon on 19 Sep. (see guidelines and examples on Blackboard)
19 September 2018
- In-Class Activities: whole-class workshops on Project 1; introduction to Moonlight
- Homework Assignments: work on Project 1
24 September 2018
- In-Class Activities: watch Moonlight
- Homework Assignments: post your revised Project 1 on Blackboard by noon on 26 Sep. (applies to everyone in the class)
26 September 2018
- In-Class Activities: finish watching Moonlight; discuss Moonlight; assign Project 2
- Homework Assignments: read Preface, Introduction, and Issue 2 in Understanding Rhetoric
1 October 2018
- In-Class Activities: continue discussion of Moonlight; discuss reading
- Homework Assignments: if you have a workshop on 8 Oct., post your draft of Project 2 on Blackboard by noon on 3 Oct.; read Issue 3, Issue 4, and Issue 6 in Understanding Rhetoric
3 October 2018
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading; debrief Project 1
- Homework Assignments: if you have a workshop on 10 Oct., post your draft of Project 2 on Blackboard by noon on 8 Oct.; post your responses to the workshop drafts on Blackboard by noon on 8 Oct. (see guidelines and examples on Blackboard)
8 October 2018
- In-Class Activities: whole-class workshops on Project 2
- Homework Assignments: post your responses to the workshop drafts on Blackboard by noon on 10 Oct. (see guidelines and examples on Blackboard)
10 October 2018
- In-Class Activities: whole-class workshops on Project 2; mid-semester evaluations of the course
- Homework Assignments: read Part 2 and Part 3 from They Say, I Say
15 October 2018
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading; discuss strategies for researching scholarly sources
- Homework Assignments: post your revised Project 2 on Blackboard by noon on 17 Oct. (applies to everyone in the class)
17 October 2018
- In-Class Activities: discuss mid-semester evaluations of the course; assign Project 3; discuss They Say/I Say
- Homework Assignments: read 3-10 pieces from the "Queer Resistance" Forum of QED 4.2; research sources for your Project 3
22 October 2018
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading; work on Project 3; in-class writing
- Homework Assignments: if you have a workshop on 29 Oct., post your draft of Project 3 on Blackboard by noon on 24 Oct.
24 October 2018
- In-Class Activities: discuss QED and They Say/I Say
- Homework Assignments: post your responses to the workshop drafts on Blackboard by noon on 29 Oct. (see guidelines and examples on Blackboard); if you have a workshop on 31 Oct., post your draft of Project 3 on Blackboard by noon on 29 Oct.
29 October 2018
- In-Class Activities: whole-class workshops on Project 3
- Homework Assignments: post your responses to the workshop drafts on Blackboard by noon on 31 Oct. (see guidelines and examples on Blackboard)
31 October 2018
- In-Class Activities: whole-class workshops on Project 3
- Homework Assignments: work on your Project 3
5 November 2018
- In-Class Activities: no class--work on your Project 3
- Homework Assignments: post your revised Project 3 on Blackboard by noon on 7 Nov. (applies to everyone in the class)
7 November 2018
- In-Class Activities: Project 3 debrief; discuss They Say/I Say; assign Project 4
- Homework Assignments: read Issue 1 and Issue 5 in Understanding Rhetoric
12 November 2018
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading; work on Project 4; draw presentation dates
- Homework Assignments: read Issue 7 and Issue 8 in Understanding Rhetoric
14 November 2018
- In-Class Activities: discuss reading; work on Project 4; assign Final Portfolio and Preface
- Homework Assignments: work on your Project 4
(Anti-)Thanksgiving Break
26 November 2018
- In-Class Activities: discuss readings from Understanding Rhetoric; work on presentations; work on your Final Portfolio
- Homework Assignments: work on your Final Portfolio; if your presentation is on 28 Nov., post a link to your Project 4 video on Blackboard by 1 p.m. on 28 Nov.
28 November 2018
- In-Class Activities: Project 4 presentations; course debrief
- Homework Assignments: if your presentation is on 3 Dec., post a link to your Project 4 video on Blackboard by 1 p.m. on 3 Dec.; post a draft of your portfolio preface on Blackboard by 1 p.m. on 3 Dec. (applies to everyone in the class)
3 December 2018
- In-Class Activities: Project 4 presentations; student evaluations of the course
- Homework Assignments: read the preface drafts of your group members
5 December 2018
- In-Class Activities: peer workshops on preface drafts; class party?
- Homework Assignments: post your Final Portfolio on Blackboard by noon on 12 Dec.
Click these links for more information about Chapman's LGBTQ Studies minor and minor in Writing and Rhetoric