Professor: Beth Muellner
Office: Kauke 231
Phone: 2307
Email: bmuellner@wooster.edu
Course Description:
This course will investigate what happens to identity when we move to another place. How do we remember where we came from, what memories do we have of our families and ancestors, of the history of our native country, and how do we reconfigure our identities in a new place? What happens to language? In other words, our focus on mobility emphasizes less the politics, laws, and current public debate (although we will keep an eye on daily and weekly news reports involving immigration issues through brief reports), but instead, our focus will be more conceptual: we will think about the experience of migration and immigration and how it impacts identity individually and/or nationally. Specifically, we will focus on our theme as presented in various representational forms such as photography, literature, video art, and film. We will define together various terms such as identity, culture, memory, home, nostalgia and migration, as well as learn about these concepts from theoretical standpoints. We will explore what impact place and language have on identity in particular. We will look at a number of fictional and semi-autobiographical texts written by authors who have experienced migration and reflected upon identity and place in their writing.
Learning Objectives
Students are expected to develop especially the reading and writing skills that are essential to critical thinking. These abilities include interpreting complex texts, constructing an argument, supporting the argument with evidence, and defending the argument orally and in writing. Critical thinking also requires the ability to appreciate and critique multiple perspectives, including one’s own. Further, various assignments will teach students how to use the library (ex. looking up scholarly articles, finding books, using databases), how to produce different writing assignments (ex. reflective, expository, bibliography), how to read different text types (ex. theoretical, fictional, historical), and so on.
In sum, you will:
- Learn about immigrant and refugee experiences from different perspectives
- Understand how various genre work differently to present information
- Learn how to undertake textual analysis
- Learn how to locate and use secondary sources properly (in reading and writing)
- Learn to read, view, listen, think, and write critically
- Learn about and adopt library research tools
- Develop good study habits
- Learn to read, write, and prepare for college-level coursework
Rationale
The Seminar provides a special intellectual opportunity for faculty and first-year students to participate in a small, discussion-oriented, multidisciplinary course. The course introduces students to the independent thinking and academic skills that they will need in subsequent courses, including Junior and Senior Independent Study.
Writing Assignments
Five formal writing assignments
- Profile / Description of Photograph (5 %)
- Letter / Characterization of Place (5%)
- Film Review (5%)
- Comparison Responses/Texts (10%)
- Structure and Meaning (5%)
Several informal writing assignments (8 of 5% each):
1 Reflection on photograph/y
3 summaries (Barthes; “Overcoat,” Lahiri secondary reading)
1 response to Project 35
1 response to Hoffman (dialogue, collage, repetition, or opposition)
1 bibliography
1 annotated response to graphic novel
Other extra-credit writing opportunities
Formal and Informal Writing Assignments
I will evaluate your work based on class participation and the effort you put into the writing assignments. As the course progresses, you will improve your writing and verbal skills. The art of writing requires frequent editing, a willingness to share your work with others, as well as to seek advice and help from the writing center. In order to guarantee maximum use of our in-class time, all reading and writing assignments must be prepared and completed on time. On the days we do in-class writing workshops, failure to appear will result in an immediate F for the day. For each day of class you will be expected to complete some type of homework, most frequently this will take the form of reading or writing or both. You should spend approximately 2 hours on homework each evening for this class.
Reading Assignments
We will be reading both fictional and non-fictional writing in the seminar. The readings provide both fodder for discussion, for learning reading strategies, as well as a model for what good writing can be. In other words, they are integral to the writing assignments. Clearly, fictional writing is not the same as the academic writing that you will be doing at COW primarily, but reading fiction (for the most part) gives you an idea of how to logically develop ideas, sentences, and paragraphs, how word choice is crucial to communicating a particular idea, and how the absence of information might lead to miscommunication, but also how it opens up possibilities for reflection, response, interpretation, and critical thinking.
For your readings, I expect you to keep your own notes, or reading journal, or on-line journal, whatever feels most natural to you. We will be working on different reading strategies throughout the semester and you should try out a variety to see which works best. Do not read or view a film without pen in hand! These reading strategies will help you to participate in the classroom discussion. Sometimes I will ask you to bring a discussion question with you to class the next period. Be on your toes!
Oral Reports
Once a week, someone will have the task of reporting on a newspaper or magazine article, television news report, or radio report about immigration. This will take place on Weds. at the beginning of class, and take no longer than 5 minutes. If desired, students may show an image or provide a handout, but these are not necessary. The most important thing is that you tell us about what you’ve heard in clear, brief, and precise terms. You must state the resource from where you learned the news, and hand in (to me only) a sheet that properly cites the information based on MLA guidelines. See the 7th edition of the MLA Handbook for proper citation (this page is an abbreviation of some of what’s included in the Handbook, http://www.libs.uga.edu/ref/mlastyle.html, but you should go to the library to learn how to cite a radio or television report specifically, as this information is not located here). This task keeps us abreast of our topic in the news, draws our awareness to the world outside of COW and our lives, and will likely inform our in-class discussions.
Books to buy (required) All books available in Wilson Bookstore at Lowry Center
The Speckled People, Hugo Hamilton
Lost in Translation, Eva Hoffman
The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
No-No Boy, John Okada (will arrive soon)
The Arrival, Shaun Tan (will arrive soon)
ADDITIONAL READINGS (either DOWNLOADED FROM WOODLE AND PRINTED OUT or distributed in class).
Excerpts from:
Barthes, Roland. Camera Lucida. Reflections on Photography. Trans. Richard Howard. 1981. New York: Hill and Wang, 1999.
Halbwachs, Maurice. On Collective Memory. Trans. Lewis A. Coser. U of Chicago P: Chicago, 1992.
Hirsch, Marianne. “The Generation of Postmemory.” Poetics Today 29:1 (Spring 2008), 1-26.
—–. “Reframing the Human Family Romance.” Family Frames: Photography, Narrative, and Postmemory. Cambridge Mass.,: Harvard UP, 1997. 41-77.
Morgan, Meg, Kim Stallings, and Julie Townsend, Strategies for Reading and Arguing about Literature. NJ: Prentice Hall, 2007.
Smith, Sidonie and Julia Watson, Reading Autobiography: A Guide for Interpreting Life Narratives, 2nd Ed. (2010) e-text @ Wooster
Evaluation (Grading: standard 10 point scale with + and -; below 60 is a failing grade):
Class Participation … 20%
Oral Reports … 5%
Informal Writing Assignments (8) … 40%
Formal Writing Assignments (5) … 30%
Writing Workshops … 5%
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Week 1: How to Read as a Writer: Objects of Memory (Re-reading Danticat)
Mon. Discuss Danticat text further (revisit Friday’s discussion). Discuss FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS assignment; annotation/outline/summary reading strategies (handout). Homework for 8/31: (re-)Read Danticat 3-76; Morgan et. al., Ch. 3 (pp. 63, 66, 74)
Informal Writing Assignment DUE: Reflection on Photograph
Weds. Oral Report. Discussion Danticat/Photographs. Homework: Read Danticat, p. 76-170, practice annotation
Fri. Discussion Danticat/Photographs. Formal Writing Assignment #1 distributed (Profile of Person). Homework: Danticat, p. 170 – End, practice summary
Week 2: How to Use Resources
Mon. Oral Report; Discussion: Danticat and Writing Assignment #1
Homework: Read Barthes on Photography (PDF on Moodle: Barthes’ excerpts Camera Lucida Ch. 10, 17,18,21, 22, 23, 33, 36, 38; also Barthes summary by Quigley; practice annotation/outlining);Informal writing on Barthes
Weds. Library Sources/Internet/Web Usage (librarian visit): using Barthes and photography as example for research. Informal Writing Assignment DUE: Summary/Outline of Barthes. Homework: Handout “College Students stumped…”; Formal Writing
Fri. Learning Services Speaker Formal Writing #1 1st Draft Due (Profile)
Homework: Morgan et. al. Ch. 4 (Moodle); implement reading strategies Homework: re-read Barthes; article: Smith on Autobiography
Week 3: Theoretical Building Blocks: How to Approach Theory, Literature
Mon. Discussion Photography (Barthes): What is gained through re-reading? Discuss: Smith on Autobiography. Homework: Hirsch Ch. 2 “Reframing the Human Family Romance”
Weds. Oral Report, Discussion Hirsch chapter 2, Homework: Hirsch on Postmemory (Moodle); Formal Writing Assgn. #1
Fri.Discussion: Hirsch on postmemory. Writing Assignment #1 Final Draft Due (Profile)
Homework: Collective Memory (Halbwachs on Moodle)
Week 4: Getting Back to Literature: Nostalgia Past and Present
Mon. Discussion: Collective Memory (Halbwachs)
Homework: Begin reading Hoffman’s Lost in Translation Part I (82 pages); practice Responses to Text (Morgan, et. al, Ch. 4); Informal Writing
Weds. Oral Report, Discussion: Lost in Translation Part I; discuss Nostalgia
Homework 9/23: Hoffman Part II (60 pages); implement reading strategies. Informal Writing DUE: Response to Hoffmann (Morgan et. al.: Dialogue, collage, repetition or opposition)
Fri. Homework: Hoffman Part III (1/2, ca. 50 pages). Writing Workshop with Writing Center Tutor (Thesis statement, topic sentences, sentence/paragraph development). Students discuss writing/reading strategies (email reflections)
Week 5: Immigration/Emigration Elsewhere, Reflections on Place
Mon. Discussion Hoffman. Homework: finish Hoffman (Part III second half, ca. 50 pages); Read summaries of exhibit Project 35
Weds. Visit to Art Museum: Project 35. Discussion Hoffman. Homework for: Informal Writing Reflection on museum exhibit Project 35; Begin Hamilton 1-60
Fri. Oral Report Discuss Project 35. Homework: Reading on Culture of Place; Begin Hamilton’s The Speckled People p. 60-96; Informal Writing Assignment: Reflection on Project 35 DUE
Week 6: Immigration/Emigration Elsewhere, Reflections on Place
Mon. Discussion Hamilton/Culture of Place. Homework for 10/5: Read Hamilton, p. 97-153; Formal Writing Assignment #2 handed out (Letter: COW as “foreign country”)
Weds. Oral Report. Discussion: Hamilton. Homework for 10/7: read Hamilton 154-196
Fri. Discussion: Hamilton. Homework for 10/10: read Hamilton p. 196-241. Due: Writing Assignment #2 1st Draft (Letter: COW as “foreign country”)
Week 7: Transnational Migrations in Gogol and Lahiri
Mon. Finish discussion of Hamilton. Homework for 10/12: read Gogol’s short story The Overcoat. Due: Informal Writing: Summary of “The Overcoat” (1 page);
Weds. Oral Report. Discuss Gogol’s “The Overcoat”. Homework: Begin Lahiri’s The Namesake 1-48
Fri. Discussion: Lahiri. Homework: Read The Namesake 48-96
Week 8: Transnational Migrations/Mobility in Gogol and Lahiri
Mon FALL BREAK – NO CLASS – HOMEWORK: READ LAHIRI P. 97-158
Weds. Oral Report . Discussion: Lahiri. Homework: Read The Namesake 158-188. Formal Writing Assignment #3 handed out (Film Review)
Fri. Pre-writing Workshop: Focus on Introductions and Conclusions. Due: Formal Writing Assignment #2 Final (Letter). Homework: Read Lahiri 188-218
Week 9: Transnational Migrations/Mobility in Lahiri and Nair: The Case of Film Adaptations
Mon. Discussion: How to View a Film. Class screens Mira Nair’s The Namesake together (evening). Homework: Write Formal Writing Assignment #3: Film Review
Weds. Oral Report. Discussion: Lahiri and Nair; DUE: Formal #3 (Film Review) Homework: Read The Namesake P. 219-246
Fri. Discussion: Lahiri. Homework: Read The Namesake P. 247-291
Week 10: Transnational Migration/Mobility in Literary Criticism: Scholarship on Lahiri
Mon. Discussion: Lahiri. Homework: Secondary Readings on Lahiri (Moodle). Informal DUE TODAY 10/31: Bibliography on Lahiri (book or film)
Weds.Oral Report. Discussion: Secondary Reading on Lahiri (Theoretical Angles: Feminist, Psychological, Historical). Homework: Informal: Summary of Secondary Reading on Lahiri (1/2 page)
Fri. Discussion: Secondary Reading on Lahiri. Formal Writing Assignment #4 handed out (Comparing Texts/Responses; Topical Invention Morgan et. al Ch. 8. Homework: Read excerpts from Morgan, et.al. “The Writing Process: Planning”; Ch. 8.
Week 11: Comparing and Contrasting Views
Mon. Discuss Planning for Final Paper. Homework : Begin reading John Okada’s No-No Boy (Intro.,Preface and Pp. 1-38)
Weds. Oral Report. Read/discuss No-No Boy. Homework: Read Okada 39-68; Formal #4 draft 1 for Friday
Fri. Read/discuss No-No Boy. Formal Writing Assignment #4 1st Draft DUE (Comparing Texts/Responses). Homework: Read Okada 69-116
Week 12: Comparing and Contrasting Views
Mon. Read/discuss No-No Boy Homework: Read Okada, 117-145
Weds. Oral Report. Read/discuss No-No Boy; revise formal #4. Homework: Read No-No Boy 145-173
Fri. Read/discuss No-No Boy Writing Assignment #4 Final Draft DUE TODAY(Comparing Texts/responses). Homework: 173-End (251)
Week 13: Form and Function
Mon. Wrap up discussion of No-No Boy. Writing Assignment #5 handed out: (Structure and Meaning)
Weds.THANKSGIVING BREAK – NO CLASS. Homework: Secondary Reading on How to Read a Graphic Novel (Moodle)
Fri. THANKSGIVING BREAK – NO CLASS. Homework: Informal Reflection/Annotations on Graphic Novel
Week 14: Form and Function: Graphic Novel
Mon. Read: The Arrival. Informal Writing: Annotations on Graphic Novel article DUE TODAY
Weds. Oral Report. Read/discuss The Arrival. Homework: Formal #5
Fri. Read/discuss The Arrival Writing Assignment #5 1st Draft DUE (Structure and Meaning)
Week 15: Wrapping Up: Form and Function
Mon. Writing Workshop
Weds. Writing Workshop
Fri. Last Day of Instruction. Writing Assignment #5 Final Draft DUE (Structure and Meaning)
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