This schedule is subject to change (and probably will) based on our needs as we progress through the semester. Changes will be announced well in advance. Please note the the schedule past spring break is sparse and will be filled out more fully closer to that time.
You'll see on this schedule that each day includes a brief description of the daily topic as well as what's due. Homework should be completed by the time class starts the day it's listed. For example, on Thursday January 30th you should come to class having already set up your blog, posted an introduction to yourself, and added a link to your blog in the GoogleDoc.
You'll see on this schedule that each day includes a brief description of the daily topic as well as what's due. Homework should be completed by the time class starts the day it's listed. For example, on Thursday January 30th you should come to class having already set up your blog, posted an introduction to yourself, and added a link to your blog in the GoogleDoc.
Week 1: January 28 & 30
Tuesday: NO CLASS-- Class cancelled due to the cold. Sleep in!
Thursday: Welcome! Course introductions/orientation. What's the difference between summary, analysis, and response?
Due:
Thursday: Welcome! Course introductions/orientation. What's the difference between summary, analysis, and response?
Due:
- Set up blog and write blog post #1: introduction of yourself (who are you, what's your major, where you're from, what your hobbies/interests are, etc.).
- Add a link to your blog next to your name in this GoogleDoc.
Week 2: February 4 & 6
Tuesday: Inquiry 1 assigned. Close reading and making an argument about a text
Due:
Thursday: Drafting and providing textual evidence.
Due:
Due:
- Read this analysis of the film Gravity. WARNING: This analysis contains major spoilers. If you haven't seen Gravity and don't want the ending spoiled, let me know I can find an alternate reading/activity for you to do. I get it. I hate movie spoilers too :)
- Read "How to Read a Film" and "The Basics of How to Read a Film"
Thursday: Drafting and providing textual evidence.
Due:
- Blog post #2: What film will you work with for inquiry 1 and why does this film interest you? Have you seen it before? Do you already have an idea about what you want to focus on in your close reading? General brainstorming for inquiry 1 is welcome. Be mindful of selecting a film that you can access immediately, as your rough draft is due next week!
- Read "Soft Rain on a Hot Mind" in CCM pages 145-149
- Read "A Changing Identity"
- Blog post #3 (we will write this post during class): Which CCM essay did you think was a "better" essay and why? Compare the two, focusing on the features of the writing-- discuss what the authors did well in each, and how you might use these examples as models for what you want to accomplish in your own close reading. General reactions to the essays are welcome.
week 3: February 11 & 13
Tuesday: Drafting and organizing your essay
Due:
Thursday: What are contexts, and how might they influence how we read a text? Inquiry 2 assigned.
Due:
Due:
- Rough draft of inquiry 1
Thursday: What are contexts, and how might they influence how we read a text? Inquiry 2 assigned.
Due:
- Blog post #4: After you've received feedback from your peers, write about your plans for revision. What do you hope to continue working on as you complete inquiry 1? What are the weak spots of your essay and how might you improve? As it is now, sketch out an outline of your paper. This will help you see how it's currently organized to assess if structural changes might help strengthen your paper.
- Read "Film as Social and Cultural History"
Week 4: February 18 & 20
Tuesday: How might contexts shape reception?
Due:
Thursday: Researching contexts
Library research session: meet in King Library room 110
Due:
Due:
- Final draft of inquiry 1
- Blog post #5: initial brainstorming about inquiry 2: what film from the list might you work with and why? Have you seen it before? OR-- what film NOT from the list are you considering working with? How might this film work well for the assignment? What are you general thoughts about what you might write about for inquiry 2?
Thursday: Researching contexts
Library research session: meet in King Library room 110
Due:
- Read: "Who Made the Film and Why"
- Blog post # 6: Write a response to the reading for today. Did any of that information surprise you? How does this reading influence the way you think about the film you're working with for inquiry 2, OR any film in general? The author writes, "Film images can always be redefined, either by re-positioning, adding a different commentary, or simply because the background beliefs of the audience have changed." How might the film you're using for inquiry 2 change or be redefined over time? Or, has it already been redefined?
Week 5: February 25 & 27
Tuesday: How can contexts influence reception and vice-versa? Begin watching Silver Linings Playbook
Due:
Thursday: Continue watching Silver Linings Playbook
Due:
Due:
- Continue working on research and annotations within your blog
Thursday: Continue watching Silver Linings Playbook
Due:
- Oscar ballot (optional)
- Continue working on research and annotations within your blog
week 6: March 4 & 6
Tuesday: How do historical and cultural contexts of texts shape their reception?
Due:
Thursday: Research blogs/annotations
Due:
Due:
- Silver Linings Playbook: A Clear-Headed Comedy About Mental Illness
- Is Silver Linings Playbook Really About Mental Illness?
- Finding the Silver Lining
- Blog post #7: respond to the film using our close-reading skills. What is this really about (there's no wrong answer!)? What were its central themes? Had you seen it before? If so, has your viewing of it changed since the last time you saw it? If you hadn't seen it before, what is your reaction to the film? Why do you think this is considered a "good" film? What scene or scenes stand out to you the most as being significant to the story? Applying Silver Linings Playbook to inquiry 2, what might be some research questions you would pursue at the start of a project to understand its historical and cultural context? What has watching this film and reading the articles about it revealed to you about your own line of thinking for inquiry 2?
Thursday: Research blogs/annotations
Due:
- Come to class with at least half of your annotations published to your blog.
- Come to class with any questions you have about the annotations and/or how this will be graded.
- DUE DATE EXTENDED: Annotations should be completed and posted on your blog by Sunday March 9th at 3pm.
week 7: march 11 & 13
Tuesday: Discussion of topics/research. Thesis statement workshop. Citing sources and drafting inquiry 2
Due:
Thursday: Peer response and revising
Due:
Due:
- Read "Class Divide in the Huger Games and American Society" CCM pages 157-165
- Read "Feminist Fears: The Cultural and Historical Context of The Handmaid's Tale" CCM pages 52-57
- Sign-up for mandatory conferences
Thursday: Peer response and revising
Due:
- Blog post #8: Define your working thesis statement and discuss your plans for this paper. What will you be discussing and how does the research you've completed tie into your thesis statement? This is your chance to address anything that hasn't necessarily made its way into your draft and outline what it is you plan to continue to work on before the final draft is due. Identify at least 2 questions you want your peer responders to address in their comments.
- Inquiry 2 rough draft
Week 8: March 18 & 20
No in-class meeting: sign-up for a conference time to discuss your rough draft of inquiry 2
Final draft of inquiry 2 and all of its accompanying materials is due Sunday March 23rd by 11:59pm. This is the day before spring break officially starts-- plan accordingly!
Final draft of inquiry 2 and all of its accompanying materials is due Sunday March 23rd by 11:59pm. This is the day before spring break officially starts-- plan accordingly!
Week 9: March 25 & 27
No class-- have a safe and fun spring break!
week 10: April 1 & 3
Tuesday: Inquiry 3 assigned. What do we value in texts? What is a "canon?"
Thursday: Who decides what texts matter?
Please read the following articles in the order they're listed (take notes as you read-- you'll be asked to provide your perspective in class):
- No homework due
Thursday: Who decides what texts matter?
Please read the following articles in the order they're listed (take notes as you read-- you'll be asked to provide your perspective in class):
- Wikipedia entry for Harold Bloom's book The Western Canon
- "How Would a Book Like Harold Bloom’s ‘Western Canon’ Be Received Today?" by Pankaj Mishra and Daniel Mendelsohn
- Wikipedia entry from Allan Bloom's book The Closing of the American Mind
- "Revisiting the Canon Wars" by Rachel Donadio
week 11: april 8 & 10
Tuesday: What do we bring to a text? Drafting..
Due (pick two of the three listed readings):
Thursday: Peer response.
Due:
Due (pick two of the three listed readings):
- "Is the Literary Canon Still Racist and Sexist?" by Ashley Lauren Samsa
- "The Literary Canon is Still One Big Sausage Fest" by Doug Barry
- "The Literary Canon-- What Books Should Be Required Reading?" by Meghan Ward
- Blog post #9: Response to the two readings you chose to read (or 3, if you want to read them all). How do these articles contribute to your learning about and understanding of canons? Do they cause you to reflect on your own encounters with what can be considered canonical literature in high school? For instance, what have you been exposed to that either aligns or diverges from traditional notions of the canon? How does these readings inform your thinking about the ways in which the canon should be preserved, changed, or expanded? What value do you see in existing notions of the canon? What is perhaps not so valuable? Put your thoughts in conversation with the authors you read for today.
- Additionally on your blog, start constructing a preliminary texts you might include on your personal canon.
Thursday: Peer response.
Due:
- Rough draft of inquiry 3
week 12: april 15 & 17
Tuesday: Personal canon presentations
Due:
Thursday: Personal canon presentations
Due:
Due:
- Prepare for presentations
Thursday: Personal canon presentations
Due:
- Prepare for presentations
- Blog post #10: Blog any reactions you had to the inquiry 3 presentations. Did any of the texts you heard about sound interesting to you? Were there any you already knew about? What do these texts tell you about the differences or similarities between you and your classmates? What might account for these differences or similarities?
Week 13: April 22 & 24
Tuesday: Inquiry 4 assigned.
Due:
Thursday: Drafting inquiry 4
Due:
Due:
- Blog post #11: Again, blog any reactions you had to remainder of the inquiry 3 presentations. Did any of the texts you heard about sound interesting to you? Were there any you already knew about? What do these texts tell you about the differences or similarities between you and your classmates? What might account for these differences or similarities?
Thursday: Drafting inquiry 4
Due:
- Final draft of inquiry 3
- Blog post #12 (this will be done during class time): what is at least one take-away from each inquiry you've completed so far, and where is that take-away evident in your own writing? What are some excerpts from your own writing that you might choose to highlight in your inquiry 4 project as pieces you can comment on regarding the lessons you've learned this semester? Be specific.
week 14: april 29 & may 1
No class-- optional conferences.
week 15: May 6 & 8
Tuesday: Peer response
Due:
Thursday: Revision activities for inquiry 4, course evaluations, wrap-up and say goodbye :(
Due:
- Rough draft inquiry 4
Thursday: Revision activities for inquiry 4, course evaluations, wrap-up and say goodbye :(
week 16: may 13 & 15
No class-- finals week!
Final draft of inquiry 4 is due Tuesday May 13th by noon.
Final draft of inquiry 4 is due Tuesday May 13th by noon.