Patti
Lee-Muratori

Humanities Syllabus 2019-20                                        Instructor:  Dr. Patti Lee-Muratori     

 

Website Semester One:  www.pattileemuratori.com/humanities semester1.htm

 

Humanities ECE Course (0350-01):  Seminar in Writing Through Literature (1011)

 

UConn’s ECE website for further information https://ece.uconn.edu  (See “Quick Links”)

 

Course Overview:

      

            This Humanities course will focus on the careful reading and writing in a critical examination of literature through the varied lenses of history, philosophy, mathematics, natural and human sciences, music, theater, art, and film. Reading beyond the literary texts will be required to help students place and contextualize their understanding and to find some common vocabulary for our conversation. Examples of this reading will include novels and drama as well as nonfictional works such as (but not be limited to) sociolinguistic studies, treatises on the analysis of beauty throughout time, philosophical and psychological TED Talks, and the background on the development of intelligence testing.  Through this multidimensional approach, students will have the opportunity to identify, analyze, and write about the societal constructs that shape and define the individual in today’s world.  The class centers on essential questions for four key units:  Power, Beauty, Knowledge, and Truth.  Materials may also include various genres: drama, short story, novel, poetry, essays, letters, and journals where appropriate to teaching objectives and student interest.  We will organize most daily activities as a seminar with whole class and small group discussions, lectures, debates, student presentations, projects, and dramatizations.  We are here as fellow learners and questioners, and we hope to learn a great deal from each other.  This is only possible if we are willing to take some risks to trust and respect each member of the group.  The success of this class depends significantly on sharing questions, insights, observations, and examples of our writing as we help each other to find answers, no matter how tentative, to the profound topics we discuss and write about.

            Writing is of course an integral part of this course, as it was originally conceived to be a class to extend student study beyond AP Language and AP Literature and the AP examinations.  In relation to UConn’s course catalogue, “Writing Through Literature” (English 1011) is “to introduce students to the work of the university through cross-disciplinary reading and writing. Students engage in inquiry-driven cycles of reading, dialogue, drafting, and revision:” Each seminar has reflective writing, drafting, conferencing, revising and information on literacy components: “Because writing is emergent—its qualities arising from a process of trial and reflection—much of the most significant work happens in revision, once students have taken the first steps of drafting a specific writing project. Feedback includes the comments an instructor makes on each draft but includes, too, the various ways that student work circulates beyond the instructor-student dyad. Class time can be directed toward this reflection on the work that students have done as peer review, various forms of conferencing, the work shopping of specific examples, and so on. Students may also provide feedback as out-of-class assigned work” (ECE English Handbook).   As part of all writing assignments, the set of skills to recognize when information is needed and the ability locate, evaluate, and effectively use the needed information will be a necessary part of the class: “Information Literacy, an explicit component of UConn’s General Education requirements, addresses making, not just receiving, knowledge and includes direct instruction in some elements of library research” (ECE Handbook).  Because of the escalating complexity of our environment, individuals are faced with diverse, abundant information choices--in their academic studies, in the workplace, and in their personal lives.  Through working with our district coordinator, UConn’s library and databases, and resource personnel, students will learn to make stronger choices about their sources.  Reflective writing, which includes “characterizing, reconsidering, or qualifying one’s work,” fosters awareness and metacognition about writing (and not just writing processes), is an ongoing activity that need not be graded. Reflective forms include: process notes, in-class reflections on (or presentations of) projects, other kinds of metatexts, including placing of one’s work within the context of others’ work, introductory texts, and more” (ECE Handbook). 

                                    

Required Texts For Full Year (=two college semesters):

 

            Auburn, David.  Proof.

            Coetzee, J.M.  Disgrace

            Etcoff, Nancy.  Survival of the Prettiest

            Harrison, Katherine. Exposure

            Joyce, James. Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man             Mamet, David.  Oleanna                                                              Nabokov, Vladimir.   Lolita

            Russell, Bertrand. History of Western Philosophy 

            Shakespeare, William. Richard III 

            Shakespeare, William.  Hamlet

            Stoppard, Tom.  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are                    Dead 

                                      

Grading Criteria:

 

Required Course Components:  Your grade this year will be based on the following components for each “quarter,” although this class features “quarterless grades” (formerly known as “rolling grades”).  Humanities is a full year course:

              

• Formal Assessments (long writing:  full process, student-generated, inquiry-based papers count twice. Creative projects count once.  This is a UConn requirement)                                                                                                                             70%

• Performance Assessments:  presentations, oral participation via Common Core State Standards (see Class Participation Rubric), and group work                                                                     30% 

 

Component Assignments: 

           

            The four papers (one for each quarter) are to be approached as a complete writing process.  That means each student must participate in various brainstorming activities, submitting a rough draft, participating in peer editing activities on Turnitin.com and in class, conferencing with the teacher, writing a reflection on proposed revisions, and submitting a final draft. Students who neglect to fulfill any part of the writing process will receive a failing grade on that particular assessment.  Due dates for each of these components are given on the syllabus that follows. 

            As Humanities is an interdisciplinary subject, the best way to incorporate your personal interests is through the quarterly Creative Project.  For each unit you will use class discussions, independent reading, and your own talent, skill sets, and thinking processes to demonstrate your new learning through a discipline of your choice.  Students are expected to pursue projects that will extend their learning, not simply to demonstrate something you already do well.  Intellectual risk-taking is always appreciated, and we will be exploring this concept of academic risk taking and its value beyond school all year.  Please keep an hourly work log to demonstrate your investment of time.  This assignment is also accompanied by a written reflection with open-ended prompts (on class web site under “Creative Projects”) to help guide you in self-assessment of your learning.  Art, film making and film review, creative writing, poetry, dance choreography and performance, photography, acting, music composition, analysis, and performance, scientific experiments/demonstration, advertising analysis, and architecture are only some of the ways students have successfully used to demonstrate mastery of curriculum objectives.

            In-class writing assignments and “homework”/preparation for class assignments consist of note-taking, prompts for short writing exercises (1-2 pages) and journaling designed to free write and brainstorm and to organize and develop your thinking for the reading and discussions as we work toward the longer papers.  There is no final exam for ECE courses:  Your final grade is your final average.  

 

Policies and Procedures:

 

Participation:  Participation is vital to this class because of its seminar organization.  Your registration for this class was predicated on your ability to work independently, to read at a high level of comprehension, to engage in analytical, creative, and original thinking and to discuss, question, and “play” with many ideas and theories simultaneously.  You will be teaching each other much of the time after doing individual reading and research.  It is expected that you will be able to ask significant questions from your reading, research, and your own thinking, and to explore ideas we raise in each unit with an open mind.  To do all this, you need to speak often and with substantiation and specificity.  Clearly, participation is a necessity.  For more specifics on how grades in class participation are assessed, please see the class web site at http://www.pattileemuratori.com/ under “Class Participation.”

 

Late Work:  I do not accept late work. As college professors rarely accept late work, and this is a class modeled on college expectations, it only makes sense to introduce you to some of the challenges you will be facing next year.  Time management is vital to your success in life.  Learn how to work with a yearlong syllabus and plan ahead to ensure your academic success. Please contact me by email, make an appointment, or talk to me after school if you are having trouble with an assignment well before that assignment’s due date.

 

Plagiarism:  All written assignments are submitted to the teacher via Turnitin.com.  All grading (both rough and final drafts) is also done on Turnitin.com under the Grademark feature.  As you all know, Turnitin.com is also a plagiarism prevention site that will automatically run all your work through an originality check.  Students who plagiarize will receive failing grades on their work as well as being required to attend a meeting with your parents and an administrator.  Many colleges now have a zero tolerance plagiarism policy.  That being said, it is also true that academic writers are always engaged in the words of others.  Proper citations and MLA format will ensure your ability to engage in this dialogue without fear.

 

Disclaimer: The instructor reserves the right to make changes in the syllabus when necessary in order to meet learning objectives and to cover emergency schedule changes (like one year’s week of snow days and/or week-long power outages).  Students will be notified of these changes in class as well as through the school web site or Turnitin.com email features.  Students are responsible for all material covered in class and for all classroom announcements.

                                   

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