Instructor: John Zuern, UHM Department
of English
Fall 2007
M 6:30 - 9:00
Kuykendall 302
Assignments
Rather than writing a long term paper, you will complete five short (usually
2-3 pages) writing exercises that will give you a chance to practice some
of the typical writing tasks that we demand of graduate students. You
should start thinking about a research topic right away; most of the assignments
will be based on an area of interest that you specify for yourself.
Key Concepts
Identify two key concepts that guide your work as a writer, your thinking
about literature and culture, and your efforts as a teacher. Write at
least one page about each of them explaining their significance to you.
Using the Oxford English Dictionary or some other source, examine the
etymology of the terms you use to capture your concept. Does the history
of the word(s) deepen your understanding of the concepts’ relevance
for you? Include some account of this historical background in your essay.
Your terms need not be in English, but if you draw from another language
and cultural tradition, provide enough background so that people from
outside that tradition can get a sense of the importance of your concept.
Whatever language you’re using, ask yourself: if I were to incorporate
the term into a formal essay, what would I have to do to make sure general
readers could understand how I’m using it?
You are not required to cite any sources in this assignment, but if you
do you must document them according to either MLA or APA style. You can
find guidelines for these style formats in the Resources section of our
class home page. Due September 10 (10%)
Close Reading
Choose a poem, a passage from work of fiction or some other text, a scene
from a film, a song, a web site, or an object of visual culture (as you
can see, your options are many) and write 2-3 pages in which you examine
the structures of the object, identifying the specific details that seem
to you important in giving the object its particular force. Your focus
should be less on the content of the work—what it’s “about”—than
on how the work is shaped with the aim of having particular effects on
its audience. In some cases it will be helpful to provide a sense of the
context in which the work you are examining is typically read or “consumed”;
if you’re writing about a song, what segment of the population typically
listens to this type of music?
You must cite the primary source using to MLA or APA style. You are not
required to refer to secondary sources in this assignment, but if you
do, you must cite them. Due September 17 (10%)
Summarizing and Comparing Arguments
You may wish to continue with the object you analyzed for the close reading
exercise for this assignment, looking for articles that either deal directly
with that material or with closely related topics.
Find two scholarly articles that deal with a topic that interests you.
Write at least 3-4 pages in which you present and compare the two arguments.
Your task is to represent accurately and fairly the claims the authors
are making, citing them judiciously and documenting your citations thoroughly.
As you read through essays in order to identify the two you will compare,
pay careful attention to the way they begin. How do they set up the context
for their arguments? Where do their claims (thesis statements) appear,
and in what form? This attention to the “how” of academic
discourse will help you prepare for the next exercise, in which you will
frame an argument in scholarly terms.
For creative writers, think about the types of texts you are interested
in creating, and look for articles that deal with those genres. You may
also investigate a particular issue that informs your own writing: fantasy
fiction, for example, or a particular historical period. Careful keyword
searches will help you locate appropriate materials.
You must cite all your reference materials using to MLA or APA style.
Due October 8 (10%)
Framing an Argument in Scholarly Discourse
The most efficient approach to this assignment would be to develop a claim
that is connected with topic represented by the articles you compared
in the previous assignment. You might find that you agree more with one
position (or, for that matter, disagree strongly with a position) and
you can craft your thesis statement in relation to the other writer’s
ideas.
Develop a thesis statement of no more than a few sentences. Then incorporate
that statement into 2-3 pages that introduce the general context in which
you plan to make your argument. What are the larger questions surrounding
your topic? What’s at stake in making your argument? Can you find
creative but clear ways to lead your reader into the issues, such as a
quotation from one of your sources or an anecdote that highlights the
major points? Due Thursday, October 25 (10%)
Framing an Argument in Poetic/Fictional/Public Discourse
Academic language often seems quite removed from the expressive and/or
experimental language of literature, but both the “scholarly”
and “creative” forms have the power to convey ideas effectively.
For this assignment, write 2-3 pages in a mode that consciously departs
from the expository aims of scholarly discourse and presents your ideas
in images, metaphors, dramatic dialogue, fictional scenes, or some other
mode. You might consider the form of the newspaper editorial, a political
polemic, or another form of public discourse. Due Thursday, November 8
(10%)
Class Presentation
Take 10 minutes to present one of the assigned readings for a class session
to the group with the aim of clarifying key concepts, outlining arguments,
and stimulating discussion. (20%)
Symposium Presentation
We will conduct the last two class meetings as a kind of academic conference
in which you will give 10-minute presentations of the argument you have
developing throughout the term. (20%)
Blog Posting
In addition to these writing assignments, you will be expected to post
responses to the assigned reading every week on our class
blog. We will base part of our class discussion on these responses.
(10%)
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