Composition Forum 18, Summer 2008
http://compositionforum.com/issue/18/

Appendices from “Taking the High Road” (U of Tennessee-Knoxville)

Jenn Fishman and Mary Jo Reiff

This page contains all appendices from “Program Profile: Taking the High Road: Teaching for Transfer in an FYC Program”. Microsoft Word format is also available.

Appendix 1: Survey regarding English 101 and English 102
Appendix 2: Invitation to focus groups for revising first-year composition curriculum
Appendix 3: Sample syllabus for English 101
Appendix 4: Sample syllabus for English 102
Appendix 5: Table of Contents for English 102 rhetoric
Appendix 6: Call for Proposals for English 102 courses
Appendix 7: Proposals for English 102
Appendix 8: Survey for English 102 students

Appendix 1: Survey regarding English 101 and English 102

To: All First-Year Composition Teachers

From: Mary Jo Reiff (Director of Composition) & Mercy Cannon (Asst. Director of Comp)

Date: February 24, 2004

As the department begins its 10-year review and the University moves to implement new General Education requirements (“Communicating through Writing” requirements that include 101, 102, and a third writing-intensive course), it seems like a good time to review and re-evaluate our composition curriculum. We would like to begin this process by gathering data on current practices and by getting your feedback on possible areas for revision. To this end, we will be following up this survey with an open forum in mid to late March to discuss these results and to begin a conversation on possible directions for our courses or, at the very least, clarification of the current goals. Please help us begin this conversation by filling out the following survey and returning it to Mercy Cannon’s box by March 5, 2004.

Composition Program Survey: English 101

How many years have you taught at UT?
How many times have you taught 101?
What do you see as the primary objective(s) of 101?
- ____ Rhetorical awareness (audience, purpose, etc)
- ____ Argumentation
- ____ Writing as process
- ____ Critical thinking
- ____ Critical reading
- ____ Introduction to academic discourse
- ____ Writing beyond academic contexts (workplace, public sphere)
- ____ Conventions of writing
- ____ Other:
What textbooks have you used for English 101? Please indicate approximately how many times you have used each.
- Rhetoric:
- ____ Good Reasons
- ____ Work in Progress
- ____ Writing Arguments
- ____ The Informed Citizen
- ____ Other(s): __________________________
- Reader:
- ____ Conversations
- ____ In Context: Participating in Cultural Conversations
- ____ Writing the World
- ____ The Little, Brown Reader
- ____ Signs of Life in the USA
- ____ Rereading America
- ____ Making Contact: Readings from Home and Abroad
- ____ Other(s): ___________________________
What types of formal (i.e., major, graded) papers do you assign in English 101? Please check all that apply.
- ____ Letters
- ____ Reviews
- ____ Rhetorical analyses
- ____ Evaluative papers
- ____ Personal narrative
- ____ Argumentative essays
- ____ Research papers
- ____ In-class formal essays
- ____ Annotated bibliographies
- ____ “I-search” type papers
- ____ Website analyses
- ____ Other:
How long (approximately) are the formal paper assignments? Please indicate how many of each length you assign.
- ____ 2-3 pages
- ____ 3-5 pages
- ____ 4-6 pages
- ____ 5-7 pages
- ____ 7+ pages
What types of in-class and informal writing tasks do you assign in English 101?
- ____ Informal journals or reading responses
- ____ Rough drafts
- ____ Peer Review
- ____ In-class brainstorming
- ____ In-class response papers
- ____ Other:
What library/research skills do you teach in English 101?
- ____ Database introduction
- ____ Evaluating sources (electronic and/or print)
- ____ MLA documentation
- ____ Integrating sources
- ____ Library tour: (circle) online; self-directed; instructor-led.
- ____ Other:
What forms of technology do you use in English 101?
- ____ Email
- ____ Course web-page (not Blackboard)
- ____ Online discussion
- ____ Audio-visual equipment
- ____ Power Point
- ____ Blackboard announcements
- ____ Blackboard discussion boards
- ____ Blackboard course documents
- ____ Blackboard gradebook
- ____ Other:
How does your 101 class anticipate and prepare students for 102?
What do you find are the biggest challenges of teaching 101?

Composition Program Survey: English 102

How many years have you taught at UT?
How many times have you taught 102?
What do you see as the primary objective(s) of 102?
- ____ Continuing focus on argumentation
- ____ Literary analysis
- ____ Research methods/documentation
- ____ Critical thinking
- ____ Critical reading
- ____ Other:
What types of formal (i.e., major, graded) papers do you assign in English 102? Please check all that apply.
- ____ SASE (summary, analysis, synthesis, evaluation) papers
- ____ Literary analyses
- ____ Creative writing
- ____ Reviews
- ____ Personal narrative
- ____ Argumentative essays
- ____ In-class formal essays
- ____ Research papers
- ____ “I-search” type papers
- ____ Annotated bibliographies
- ____ Website analyses
- ____ Other:
How long (approximately) are the formal paper assignments? Please indicate how many of each length you assign.
- ____ 2-3 pages
- ____ 3-5 pages
- ____ 4-6 pages
- ____ 5-7 pages
- ____ 7+ pages
What types of in-class and informal writing tasks do you assign in English 102?
- ____ Informal journals or reading responses
- ____ Rough drafts
- ____ Peer Review
- ____ In-class brainstorming
- ____ In-class response papers
- ____ Other:
What library/research skills do you teach in English 102?
- ____ Database introduction
- ____ Evaluating sources (electronic and/or print)
- ____ MLA documentation
- ____ Integrating sources
- ____ Library tour: (circle) online; self-directed; instructor-led.
- ____ Other:
What forms of technology do you use in English 102?
- ____ Email
- ____ Course web-page (not Blackboard)
- ____ Online discussion
- ____ Audio-visual equipment
- ____ Power Point
- ____ Blackboard announcements
- ____ Blackboard discussion boards
- ____ Blackboard course documents
- ____ Blackboard gradebook
- ____ Other:
How does 102 build on and/or extend the goals of 101?
What are the biggest challenges of teaching 102?

Appendix 2: Invitation to focus groups for revising first-year composition curriculum

MEMORANDUM

To: English 101/102 Faculty

From: Mary Jo Reiff, Director of Composition

Date: February 21, 2005

Subject: Focus Groups for Revising First-Year Composition Curriculum

The Composition Committee is currently beginning a large-scale revision of the first-year writing curriculum (English 101 and 102). We are especially interested in seeking feedback from composition faculty since you are most familiar with these courses. As a first step in this multi-stage project, the Composition Committee is hosting several focus group discussions. For these focus groups, faculty are invited to participate in small groups in order to share ideas in response to a series of questions. The Composition Committee members will serve as recorders for each group to gather everyone’s ideas. Our goal for these groups is to elicit diverse perspectives and feedback from you about how the first-year writing curriculum can better serve students and teachers.

You are invited to participate in one of these focus group meetings on:

Wednesday, March 2 from 9:00-9:45; 10:00-10:45; 12:30-1:15; 2:30-3:15

Thursday, March 3 from 10:00-10:45; 11:00-11:45; 12:15-1:00; 1:00-1:45

At these meetings you will be asked to share your ideas to some of the following questions:

What do you see as the problems/possibilities with focusing 101 on—in addition to rhetorical strategies of argument—rhetorical analysis of texts (examination of how texts work and how audience and purpose shape content, selection of evidence, structure, format, tone, sentences, and diction)? What are you already doing in 101 that might meet this goal? Describe an effective activity or assignment you’ve used for teaching analysis and/or argument.
What do you see as the problems/possibilities with extending 102’s focus on research to cover various methods of inquiry and ways of inquiring into a subject (archival research, field research—surveys, interviews, etc., observation, academic inquiry, etc.). What are you already doing in 102, with regard to research and inquiry? Are there assignments/activities you’ve found particularly effective or useful?
When teaching inquiry in 102, what do you think of the idea of inquiring into a particular topic that informs the course (like “rhetoric of beauty” or “writing about the environment”) and introducing students to various disciplinary approaches or methods for inquiring into a topic?
What do you think of focusing both classes, but particularly 101, on more explicit strategies for critical reading or for “reading rhetorically?”

Attendees to meetings will be invited to a follow-up meeting tentatively scheduled the week of March 28. At the follow-up meeting, the Composition Committee will share ideas from all of the small group discussions and then invite further discussion on how we might re-imagine and revise the first-year writing curriculum.

We are genuinely interested in hearing your feedback. To participate in one of the initial meetings, please sign the sheet below and return to Kim in 311. Besides good conversation about teaching with your colleagues, light refreshments will also be provided. IF you have additional question, please feel free to contact me at 974-6936 or mreiff@utk.edu.

Please check the box below for the session you would like to attend:

Wednesday, 3/2:
- ___ 9:00-9:45
- ___ 10:00-10:45
- ___ 12:30-1:15
- ___ 2:30-3:15
Thursday, 3/3:
- ___ 10:00-10:45
- ___ 11:00-11:45
- ___ 12:15-1:00
- ___ 1:00-1:45

Appendix 3: Sample syllabus for English 101

SAMPLE SYLLABUS: English 101: Self, Community, and Culture

Dr. Jenn Fishman, Stacey Pigg, and Devon Asdell

with Miya Abbott, Bill Doyle, and Amanda Watkins

Course Description

The purpose of English 101 is to introduce you to college-level reading, writing, and critical thinking. Chances are good that some parts of this course will seem familiar because of the kinds of work you did in English or Language Arts in high school. It's also true that some parts of this course will be brand new. For example, English 101 has roots in the age-old tradition of rhetoric, and English 101 draws on rhetoric for a lot of its key terms and main ideas.

What is rhetoric? Rhetoric is the art of effective communication, and it's a big part of studying English. That may surprise you, especially if most of your own education has focused on reading and writing about literature. One big difference between the two is that rhetoric focuses on the big picture of good communication. That's not to say rhetoric can't help you think about poetry because rhetoric can. But rhetoric also gives you critical tools to understand what makes a magazine ad tick, what makes a website hold your attention, what makes a science report speak to you, what makes a legal decision binding, etc., etc.

Importantly, rhetoric is not for readers only, and rhetoric can do more than help people make sense of other people's texts. Rhetoric is also for writers and for speakers, and knowing about rhetoric can help you communicate your ideas in all kinds of different situations, from emails home to scholarship essays to academic writing assignments.

Course Goals

English 101 is designed to help you learn about rhetoric and how rhetoric, reading, and writing are related. To that end, every section of English 101 has a set of common goals, and every section of English 101 has a set of common assignments. By the end of the Fall semester, you should feel confident:

reading and understanding of multiple modes of communication;
analyzing other writers’ motives or reasons for writing;
relating writers’ motives to internal features of their texts, including content, structure, style, tone, and word-choice.
relating writers’ motives to external features of their texts, including the standard features of different genres, the expectations of different audiences, and specific limits or requirements of whatever social context a writer writes in;
developing your own ideas into clear, thoughtful, and persuasive arguments;
relating your ideas to other people’s ideas by including counterarguments, and acknowledging multiple perspectives on any subject you address;
relating your ideas to other writers ideas by purposefully integrating relevant outside information into your own arguments using paraphrase, direct quotation, summary, and critical analysis;
planning and carrying out multiple-stages of a writing project from note-taking and outlining to drafting and revising;
participating in social aspects of writing, including general discussions, peer reviewing, and orally presenting or publishing writing for different audiences.

Course Assignments

At the heart of English 101 are 5 main course assignments, which are designed to help you work on achieving English 101 course goals. The 5 main assignments include: reading rhetorically, rhetorical analysis, contextual analysis, taking a stand, and arguing with sources. As you read through the syllabus, look for the main assignments along with minor assignments that give you extra chances to record your thoughts, respond to readings, and contribute to class conversation.

Revised Course Design and Description

Unit 1: Reading Curiously, Reading Rhetorically

Weeks 1-5

Primary Reading: LOM book

Assignment focus: reading rhetorically, identifying & analyzing writers’ arguments

Assignment length: 2-3 page diagnostic, several short (paragraph- to page-long) writings; a final 4-5 page paper

From the diagnostic through the first essay, this unit focuses on reading rhetorically. Assignments emphasize reading and short written responses that invite students not only to analyze course texts but also to begin the work of synthesizing multiple sources for argumentative purposes. Readings include the Life of the Mind (LOM) book and related secondary texts, such as author interviews popular essays, scholarly articles, and visual images. Together, these readings serve as our rhetoric textbook, and we read them in order to understand a range of rhetorical concepts in action from the rhetorical situation and ideas about audience to common rhetorical strategies (i.e., the appeals, logical fallacies). By working with a range of texts, we also invite conversations about genre, style, and use of sources. The final unit paper asks students to identify, compare, and contrast arguments about a common topic in the LOM book and one related essay.

Unit 2: Analyzing Rhetoric—in Context

Weeks 6-10

Primary Reading: Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood

Assignment focus: rhetorical analysis and contextual analysis

Assignment length: several short (paragraph to page-long) writings; a final 5-6 page paper

This unit connects reading rhetorically to writing rhetorical and contextual analyses in an academic context. Unit readings help to put Marjane Satrapi’s graphic autobiography Persepolis into a variety of contexts, including genre (comics and graphic novels), Iranian history, and Iranian feminism. Short assignments throughout the unit encourage students to explore the arguments Satrapi makes (rhetorical analysis) by examining them in different literary, historical, and cultural contexts (contextual analysis). The final assignment works with one supplemental reading in particular, and it asks students to join a specific academic conversation by explaining why Satrapi's work should or should not be considered an example of post-Revolutionary Iranian literature. This assignment frames their writing as academic discourse, it concretizes the idea of “academic conversation,” and it requires them to work with multiple sources (Persepolis and at least 2 related readings) in order to support their case.

Unit 3: Taking a Stand, Arguing with Sources

Weeks 11-16

Primary Reading: The Laramie Project

Assignment focus: arguing with sources and taking a stand

Assignment length: several short (paragraph-to page-long) writings, inc. a paper proposal and some source annotations; a final 8-10 page paper

This final course unit builds on student previous work reading rhetorically and writing source-based arguments. The primary text, The Laramie Project, raises controversial issues related to homosexuality, hate crimes, religion, and small-town life, and it encourages students to take researched and well-supported stands in two main assignments, one written and one oral. For the written paper, students do an increased amount of independent work with sources, selecting and reading essays on course reserve in order to formulate, draft, and write a source-based 8-10 page paper about some topic related to The Laramie Project. (For this paper, the play can be the subject or it can be one of several sources supporting a more topical argument.) The oral assignment can used one of two ways, as a process assignment or a final wrap up. For the former, which I teach as a radio essay, students are invited to compose and record a two-minute audio essay about anything they feel strongly about. For the latter, students end the semester by giving short, two-minute in-class presentations on the same topic.

Appendix 4: Sample syllabus for English 102

English Composition II: Inquiry into Urban Legends and Myths

Instructor: Ms. Katie Phillips

Note: This is a specialized section of English 102 that focuses on research methods and areas of inquiry related to urban legends and myths.

Introduction and Objectives

“We are not aware of our own folklore any more than we are of the grammatical rules of our language,” begins Jan Harold Brunvand’s The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings. Our contemporary folklore most often takes the form of urban legends, a branch of narrative folklore defined generally by Brunvand as “those stories alleged to be true.” Like all folklore, urban legends can reveal much about ourselves and our culture; unlike more traditional myths, however, the alleged “truth” of urban legends makes them akin to unsubstantiated rumors with sometimes harmful effects for certain groups and aspects of our society. In an age in which such stories inundate our e-mail inboxes, proliferate in the media, and persist through our own casual retellings, becoming fully “aware” of them—by thoroughly examining their origins, meanings, and role in our culture—is an important step in learning to think critically and in understanding how these and other myths shape our cultural landscape.

These issues will comprise the narrow focus of your studies in this course. However, as you learn about urban legends, myths, and their implications, you will also learn about various research methods and methodologies and how to apply them to your own written work. The broader aim of this course, then, is to teach you how to pose valid research questions, how to identify good sources, how to analyze your findings, and how to formulate a sound, cohesive written argument from your research. These skills will help you throughout your college career and beyond.

More specifically, this course will help you to:

read critically and carefully, with an eye toward creating questions that will guide your research;
use a variety of research sources and methods (including interviews, ethnographic studies, and historical and academic research) to find, synthesize, and evaluate information;
develop a written argument that answers your research questions and takes part in a scholarly conversation about the relevant issues;
effectively integrate the information culled from your research into your argument;
revise your argument to take into account possible objections or critiques, and to address the appropriate audience/rhetorical situation;
continue to refine and develop the rhetorical and writing skills you learned in English 101.

Course Description:

In the second section, The Origins of Urban Legends and Myths, you will delve more deeply into the foundations of urban legends in traditional folklore and literary fables. Working in collaborative groups, you will trace the origins and meanings of a particularly puzzling urban legend and present your findings to the class. Each of you will then use the presentation as a springboard for a paper that more broadly addresses the traditional role of folklore, common themes among older and contemporary folklore, and the ways in which they both affect and are affected by culture.

In the final section of the course, The Problems of Urban Legends and Myths, you will apply what you’ve learned about urban legends and folklore to the problem of accuracy and truth-seeking in modern society. The topics you’ll examine may include the implications of misinformation in the media, the role the Internet plays in the dissemination of rumors and myths, how to question and judge the reliability of various sources, critical thinking as a tool to combat urban legends, and the future of urban legends. For your final project, you will consult a wide variety of sources—first-hand, historical, and academic—and decide which research method is best suited to helping you answer a question about the potential problems and benefits of urban legends.

Required Texts and Materials:

Bartholomew, Robert E. and Benjamin Radford. Hoaxes, Myths, and Manias: Why We Need Critical Thinking. ISBN: 1591020484
Brunvand, Jan Harold. The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings. ISBN: 0393951693
Glenn, Cheryl, et al., eds. Hodges’ Harbrace Handbook. ISBN: 083840345-X
You’ll need a spiral notebook for your response journals.
Other reading assignments and links will be posted to our Blackboard site.

Assignments:

You will write three formal papers, a formal annotated bibliography, a presentation (with a group), and 8-10 response journals. All formal assignments must adhere to MLA style guidelines (described in great detail in your Harbrace) and must be typed in 12-point Times New Roman font, double-spaced with one-inch margins, printed on white 8.5 x 11 in. paper, and stapled. You will keep your response journals in a spiral notebook, which you should always bring to class with you. These will be taken up at several unannounced points throughout the semester—so keep up with them.

You will have the opportunity to workshop rough drafts of each of your formal papers with your peers. Failure to participate in any of these workshop sessions will result in a 10% reduction in your participation grade for each workshop missed.

You will be assigned readings for nearly every class period, so come to class prepared! You’ll take quizzes on these readings, and keeping up with them is the only way to do well.

Grades:

Paper 1: Field Research 10%

Presentation: Collaborative/Historical Research 15%

Paper 2: Historical Research 20%

Paper 3: Research Project 20%

Annotated Bibliography 10%

Response Journals 10%

Quizzes 10%

Participation 5%

Appendix 5: Table of Contents for English 102 Rhetoric

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ENGLISH 102 CUSTOM-PUBLISHED RHETORIC (Bedford-St. Martin’s)

Title: Rhetoric of Inquiry

Part I Reading as Critical Inquiry

1 Reading and Writing Connections

2 Reading for Research

3 Reading for Relevance of Sources

Part II Conducting Inquiry: Exploring a Topic

4 Planning Research and Inventing Topics

5 Inquiring into a Topic

6 Framing a Research Question

Part III Conducting Hands-on Research: Using Field Methods

7 Researching a Fieldsite

8 Observing and Notetaking

9 Conducting Interviews, Observations, and Surveys

Part IV Inquiring into the Past: Using Historical Research Methods

10 Using History to Conduct Research

11 Doing Archival Research

Part V Entering the Conversation: Conducting Academic Research

12 Joining Academic Conversations

13 Understanding Disciplinary Writing and Research

Appendices

Appendix A Guide to Resources in the Disciplines

Appendix B The University of Tennessee Libraries: A Quick Start Guide

Appendix 6: Call for Proposals for English 102 Courses

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT: COMPOSITION PROGRAM

TO: Composition Teaching Staff

FROM: Mary Jo Reiff, Director of Composition; Randall Wilhelm, Associate Director of Composition; Bill Doyle, Assistant Director of Composition

DATE: September 10, 2007

SUBJECT: Call for Proposals for English 102 Inquiry Topics/Courses for Spring 2008

Following are guidelines for submitting a proposal for your Spring 2008 English 102 inquiry topic. All first-time teachers of the revised 102 will need to submit a proposal. Returning teachers may choose to submit an updated or new proposal (if significantly revising course goals, texts, or assignments or if changing inquiry topics) or may choose to stay with the course approved last year, in which case there is no need to resubmit a proposal, since we have that on file.

In order to post topics to the online registration system by November 1 (when first-year students start registering) and to facilitate the ordering of books for your class, we will need to approve course proposals by the end of October. As a result, we would like your English 102 proposal by October 8, although we encourage earlier submissions.

Proposal Guidelines:

The proposal should be approximately 2 pages in length and should include the following:

course description: a description of how you will accomplish the goals of the course through your focus on each of three types of inquiry: hands on (i.e., different field research methods, such as observation, interviews, or mini-surveys); historical (i.e., research methods used to investigate past texts, events, or people); academic (i.e., a variety of research methods and resources from multiple perspectives or disciplines). Course descriptions should foreground writing and research goals, with a secondary emphasis on inquiry into a particular subject to achieve these goals.
list of texts: a listing of texts you plan to use in the course (these should be wide-ranging in terms of genre and may include multimedia and digital texts); please note that Rhetoric of Inquiry is required in every section of 102.
description of writing assignments: a brief description of the tentative sequence of writing assignments for the course (5000 words, 3500 of which must be formal assignments).

Assistance with Drafting Proposals:

Sample proposals, syllabi, and assignments can be found on the “English 101 and 102 Resources for Teachers” Blackboard site, to which you have all been added (if you have any trouble accessing this site, please see Stephanie Greene in 311). You may also find the revised outcomes for 102 and revised curricular description on our department website, by following the links to the composition program, clicking on “Resources for Composition Instructors” and then clicking on the revised “Guidelines for Teaching Composition at UTK.” The Composition staff is also available for discussing drafts in progress or to answer any questions you may have as you develop your proposal.

Submission of Proposals:

Please submit your proposal electronically (as an attachment), and send that to Stephanie at sagreene@utk.edu on or before October 8. Bill, Randall, and I will read over your proposals and contact you with any suggestions or changes, if necessary. Once your proposal has been approved, we will ask you for a short course description (150 words) that is addressed to first-year students and that can be posted on our website: <http://web.utk.edu/~english/academics/f_102descSpring07.shtml>.

Default 102 Inquiry Courses:

We currently offer three default course designs or templates for instructors who do not wish to develop their own course topics or are unable to design their own courses due to time limitations. Those not submitting proposals by the October 8 deadline will be asked to choose a default course. Those teaching on a part-time basis may elect to either choose a default course or submit a proposal once a 102 course has been assigned, and we will get back to you as soon as possible (and submit book orders ASAP).

Appendix 7: Proposals for English 102

ENGLISH 102 PROPOSAL: INQUIRY INTO IMMIGRATION AND AMERICA

Instructor: Laura Samal

In this course students will learn to conduct and present academic research while reading and critiquing a wide variety of texts relating to immigration and the immigrant experience in America. This course will be designed to broaden and deepen students’ understanding of the current debate over immigration by linking it to its historical and philosophical roots in American history, while also helping them to engage in that debate by mastering the tools of rhetoric and active research. The commitment of the course will be to synthesizing the historical, the statistical, and the personal. In order to further the university’s goal of multi-cultural awareness, we will explore the human gains and losses involved in immigration along with the historical, sociological and economic data, along with the national policies relating to this important historical trend.

Research Assignments:

Field Research: The first assignment (4-5 pages) will consist of ethnographic research performed by the students. Each student will conduct a one-hour tape-recorded oral history interview with someone who has immigrated to the United States and can speak from his or her own life experiences about the immigration experience. Along with the taped interview, students will submit a written account of the immigration experience of their interviewee, and his or her reflections upon it. Several class discussions will be devoted to preparing students for this fieldwork experience. As a class, we will design questions to be used for the interviews, and test them with guest immigrant speakers. This assignment will be prefaced by a briefer assignment in which students interview family members to create an ethnographic reflection on their own family heritage so that they can compare their personal connection to that of their interviewee.

Historical Research: For the second assignment, we will read a first-hand account of the immigrant experience, Mary Antin’s The Promised Land, as a class. Students will then locate one or two secondary sources that will provide historical background on one aspect of the narrative in order to compare and contrast the first-hand account with the historical record. For example, students could research the phenomenon of the pogrom, the steerage experience, the life of the Lower East Side, Americanization efforts, settlement houses, tenement houses, etc. I will compile a list of topics related to the narrative from which students can choose. This assignment is designed to allow students to being using historical research methodologies, to utilize both primary and secondary sources, and to interrogate the historical record as it relates to personal experience, which reflects the course’s ongoing emphasis on holding the personal and the historical in tandem. Students will then write an account of their findings (4 pages) in which they amplify the primary source by means of historical data. Research will be presented to the class during discussion.

Academic Research: The third assignment will require students to choose a topic that relates immigration to their chosen discipline (see final paper below). Using the research methodologies appropriate to their field, they will prepare an annotated bibliography of ten sources and a two-to-three-page research proposal for their final research project. Students will be introduced to the library and databases early on in the course through extensive stacks exercises and visits to the computer classrooms. Students will also be able to draw from the reserve readings I will place at their disposal.

The final paper (6-8 pages) will be a research project relating their chosen discipline to the topic of immigration. For example, those interested in the medical field could investigate some aspect of health issues relating to illegal immigration, or the preoccupation of nativists and eugenicists at the turn of the century with the bodies of immigrants; those interested in music could research the contribution of immigrants to the area of popular song, or research songs written by immigrants about the immigration experience; those interested in literature could research the poems left by Asian immigrants on the walls of a San Francisco detention facility in the early 20th century; those interested in education could research the use of folk schools by immigrants to preserve ethnic culture, or the current debate over the use of English as the primary language in public schools. The final assignment is designed to give students extensive and intensive exposure to the use of research methodologies particular to their field, to the location and evaluation of different types of sources, and to drafting and revising their research into a well-organized and well-documented argument. Students will also present their research to the class in a 10-minute presentation using Power Point or other multi-media aids.

ENGLISH 102 PROPOSAL: INQUIRY INTO CONFESSION

Instructor: Ashley Combest

Course Description: This course will undertake the topic of confession, a theme which offers multiple interdisciplinary perspectives, such as religious, judicial, romantic, therapeutic, psychological, sociological, historical, etc. Students will explore many different types of confessions and will speculate on the uses and importance of confession in our culture. Also, in thinking critically about confession, they will gain insights into the nature and value of writing. That is, talking about confession will be a way of talking about writing. After all, each “written” artifact is always in some way confessional as a record of an individual’s (or group’s) experience. Students will be asked to analyze the ways this form of writing is used. Do we confess in order to justify, absolve, repent, deny, remember, etc.? The course is intended to confront students with the process of writing, to involve them, and to make more immediate to them the effects of writing as they themselves become witnesses to the private act of writing made public.

Description of Writing Assignments: The course will include a variety of informal, creative writing assignments. These may be in the form of blogs, written responses, and/or multimedia projects. In addition, I will require three formal writing assignments.

Field Research: The cultural inquiry project will involve field research and hands-on techniques such as interviews. The students will gather numerous examples of confessions on their blogs. I may also require students to blog each week in response to the “PostSecret” website, since the site is updated each week with only new postcards appearing. In addition, I will ask students to construct their own postcard for “PostSecret,” though I will not read it, nor will anyone in the class. I will encourage (but not require) them to mail their postcards, so that they might understand themselves how an awareness of an audience affects writing. A more detailed explanation of this assignment is attached. The goal of these informal assignments will be to help students understand the act of confessing. What is difficult about confessing? How does knowing your private confession might be made public constrain the act of confessing? These are all questions appropriate to the topic of writing as well, so students will gain insights into the kinds of contexts that constrain public and private writing. A more formal writing assignment might ask students to analyze their response(s) to the act of confessing and make an argument about the relationship between private and public writing. They could interview classmates to better judge the variety of responses that might be possible and include these alternate perspectives in their own analyses.

Historical Research: The historical inquiry will ask student to approach texts as historical records. They will be dealing with physical remnants of the past, such as letters and diary entries. A formal writing assignment might ask them to explore the concept of confession as it changes over time. They might begin with a work such as Augustine’s Confessions and compare it to a more modern example. They should be able to explore the development of the confessional “self.” Is Augustine’s notion of self different from a modern definition? They should also be able to note the different kinds of effects these confessions produce. Traditionally, confessions seem to begin as religious writings intended to absolve the speaker, but more modern examples are intended as a kind of therapy, and eventually, as a kind of shocking transgression. Students could do a compare/contrast essay on confessions from historically different periods. Another option might involve tracing the development of confession through several works and examining how the nature of confession changes or does not change. It would also be possible to explore different genres/themes of confessions from different periods, such as analyzing a romantic confession along with a religious or therapeutic confession.

Academic Research: The academic inquiry will involve scholarly research and require students to become familiar with using the library catalog and databases in order to conduct their own research. They will focus on a particular work, such as Perks of Being a Wallflower, and analyze the use of confession in that work. The focus, then, will be much more individual and personal than the previous assignments. Students will be asked to think about the way confession figures into one character’s motivations, for example. This more thematic-based research will allow students to expand the definition of confession they have so far developed. It would be possible, for example, to discuss the refusal to confess or the concept of withholding in literature. It might also be possible to explore a character’s need for or search for truth.

In conjunction with the formal, academic research paper, I will have students construct a creative annotated bibliography which will serve to familiarize students with MLA style, but it will also be a chance for students to develop their own confessions. In response to Perks, students will create their own “Soundtrack” in which they trace the important memories and events in their lives.

Appendix 8: Survey for English 102 Students

[Survey instrument created by Dr. Kirsten Benson, Writing Center Director]

Dear English 102 Student:

The purpose of this questionnaire is to gather your sense of your writing abilities and experiences prior to taking English 102. The information you provide will be anonymous—your 102 teacher will not know what your responses are. Thank you for your time and for your candid responses.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Write your 102 course 3-digit SECTION NUMBER on the scan sheet where it says “Student ID” and darken the appropriate bubbles. DO NOT enter your ID, and don’t write your name on the form.

PART ONE:

The following very general questions ask you to rate your interest in English 102 and your sense of yourself as a writer and researcher:

1. As of right now, how would you rate your 102 class’s specific inquiry topic?

A: Excellent B: Very Good C: Good D: Fair E: Poor

2. As of right now, how would you rate yourself as a writer?

A: Excellent B: Very Good C: Good D: Fair E: Poor

3. As of right now, how would you rate yourself as a researcher?

A: Excellent B: Very Good C: Good D: Fair E: Poor

4. As of right now, how would you rate your overall level of interest in taking English 102?

A: Excellent B: Very Good C: Good D: Fair E: Poor

5. As of right now, how do you think your teacher will rate you as a writer?

A: Excellent B: Very Good C: Good D: Fair E: Poor

PART TWO

The following questions ask about your experience with a variety of research methods and resources.

6. Did you take English 101 at UTK?

A: Yes B: No

7. Have your ever conducted an interview?

A: Yes B: No

8. Have you ever created and conducted a survey?

A: Yes B: No

9. Have you ever conducted a field observation (such as observing people, groups, and and/or environments outside of the classroom) as part of a research project?

A: Yes B: No

10. Have you ever visited a museum as part of a research project?

A: Yes B: No

11. Have your ever visited an historical archive or “special collections” library?

A: Yes B: No

12. Have your ever sought tutoring from the UTK Writing Center?

A: Yes B: No

13. Have you ever looked at books or journals in the stacks of a library while working on a paper?

A: Yes B: No

14. Have you ever checked out materials from the Hodges Library?

A: Yes B: No

15. Have you ever used a library’s online databases?

A: Yes B: No

16. Have you ever used “Google Scholar”?

A: Yes B: No

17. Have you ever used The Studio in Hodges Library?

A: Yes B: No

18. Have you ever used any multimedia technologies (such as videotaping, audiotaping, blogs, PowerPoint, or other) to gather or present research?

A: Yes B: No

PART THREE

The items below ask about your current sense of your researching and writing background and abilities.

19. I feel confident in my ability to conduct “field/hands-on/ethnographic” research: