ENGL/AIS
142
Dr. Debra K.S. Barker
description
course
description
I call this course "The Long Story of the People" because we read a range of stories beginning with origin stories and concluding with novels by such contemporary writers as Linda Hogan, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Anna Lee Walters. The themes of the course include "Trickster Stories," "Stories of the Past," "Tribal Stories," and "Life Stories." The course is designed to introduce students to the range of literary genres discoverable within tribal traditions: sacred stories, songs, poetry (traditional and contemporary), oratory, and autobiography. I emphasize class discussion and hope that students come away with an appreciation for the richness of oral and written forms of Indian literary expressions, as well as for the holistic nature of tribal art. To that end, I ask students to work collaboratively to research, develop, and share presentations on historical events, political and cultural issues, dance, art, and related forms of artistic expression. Students keep a reading journal and write two papers.
course objectives
To
introduce students to the range of genres within American Indian
literature: songs, poetry,
sacred stories, autobiographies,
short fiction, and novels.
To
help students develop an appreciation of the richness of the oral and
written forms of American Indian literary expression.
To give students an insight into the ways contemporary literary forms communicate the cultural heritage of American Indians.
To
provide an occasion where students may enrich their knowledge of the
historical and cultural events that have shaped the literary and artistic
expression of past and present
Indian people.
To strengthen students' proficiency at close textual reading and critical thinking through writing and discussion.
texts
Trout,
Native American Literature (Rental)
Deloria,
Waterlily (Purchase)
Hogan, Mean Spirit (Purchase)
general requirements
1
paper (3-5 pages) (20%)
Midterm
and final examinations (20%,
20%)
Oral
group presentation, with written report (10%)
Reading
quizzes, mini-essays (20%)
Contribution to discussion (Participation) (10%)
ENGL/AIS
142 and the goals of the baccalaureate degree
Of
the Eleven Goals of the Baccalaureate Degree, the following relate to the
topics and skills we will focus upon in this class:
1.
An ability to inquire, think, analyze
2.
An ability to write, read, speak, listen
3.
An historical consciousness
4.
An international and intercultural experience
5.
An appreciation of the arts
6.
An understanding of values
7.
An understanding of human behavior and human institutions
course policies
Attendance:
The life energy of this course will depend upon our communicating
our ideas and insights to each other--faithfully and regularly.
Thus, since regular attendance is crucial, a percentage of your
final course grade will be based upon your contribution to class
discussion (coming to class with the text in which there is an assignment,
being prepared to discuss the text, asking and answering questions, and
initiating the conversation).
I
recognize that there may be legitimate reasons for absences.
This semester you will have two personal days which you may
take only if you need them (but please use them sparingly and carefully).
If you are absent more than two class meetings, your final course grade
will be penalized one letter grade for each subsequent absence.
If you are chronically late to class or leave during the break, you
will be counted as absent.
Papers: Papers are due on the day designated on the assignment sheet
I will give you. Please
follow the format described on that sheet as well.
Also feel free to talk with me in advance about paper topics.
Since
this is an English course, students are expected to submit critical essays
that demonstrate a particular level of writing proficiency.
In the "real world" we are expected to compose texts that
are clear, organized, and relatively free of grammatical and mechanical
errors. Please proofread your
texts carefully before you submit them for evaluation.
Examinations:
Examinations will be composed of three sections:
identification, short essay, and long essay.
You are responsible for attending to material presented in lecture
and class discussion. In
fact, exam questions will ask you to demonstrate your knowledge and
understanding of the topics treated in lecture, discussion, and the
assigned readings. It's
important that you take good notes over lecture and discussion material. Ordinarily,
missed quizzes cannot be made up.
Grades:
As you review the section titled "General Course Requirements,"
you will see how your work in the course will be assessed.
The grading standards are calibrated so nearly everyone of you
should earn at least a "C."
Those of you who work harder reading (and rereading) the
assignments for class, contributing to class discussion, and not
writing papers at the last minute may earn a "B" or even an
"A." It's up to
you, though. For instance,
you have control over whether you earn an "A" or a "F"
for class participation.
Clearly,
your success in the course will depend largely upon your commitment to
keeping up with the readings and preparing for class discussion. If you put only the minimum of time and effort into preparing
for class discussion and into preparing for the writing assignments, you
may be unhappy with the grade you earn.
If you are having any difficulties at all with the course, the readings, or the requirements, please come to see me immediately. If there's a problem, I want to help.
Class Participation: Class participation involves the following: your regular attendance, your bringing your book to every class meeting, being prepared for class, asking questions, and contributing to the conversations on the texts and on the oral presentations the clans make. You may earn an A, C, or F for participation. If you contribute almost every day--A; if you contribute only occasionally--C; if you're almost always quiet--F.
Engl/AIS
142 and your portfolio project
As
you may know, when you prepare to graduate from UWEC, you will be asked to
submit twelve papers you have written over the course of your time here.
You will collect these papers in the portfolio binder which has
been given to you in your freshman year.
If you don't own this binder, please contact Scott Oates (oatessf@uwec.edu),
and he will ensure that you receive one.
The
collection of these papers is quite easy: from now until your senior year,
simply make or print out an extra copy of the paper you want to submit,
fill out the brief reflection/cover sheet which describes the goals of the
paper you wrote; then place the paper and cover sheet into the binder.