WINONASTATEUNIVERSITY
PROPOSAL FOR REVISED COURSES
Department ______English ______Date __3/23/04______
If proposed course change requires A2C2 and/or graduate Council approval, i.e., not considered a notification, complete and submit this form with the appropriate number of copies. Refer to Regulation 3-4, Policy for Changing the Curriculum, for complete information on submitting proposals for curricular changes.
A.Current Course Information
_226______Topics in Writing______1-2______
Course No.Course Name Credits
This Proposal is for a(n)___X___ Undergraduate Course______Graduate Course
Applies to:___X___ Major___X___ Minor ______University Studies
_____ Required_____ Required____X_ Not for USP
___X_ Elective__X__ Elective
Prerequisites ______None______
Grading___X___ Grade only______P/NC only______Grade and P/NC Option
Frequency of offering ______yearly______
Proposed Course Information. (Please indicate only proposed changes below.)
______1-3______
Course No.Course Name Credits
This Proposal is for a(n) ______Undergraduate Course______Graduate Course
Applies to______Major______Minor______University Studies
_____ Required_____ Required______Not for USP
_____ Elective_____ Elective
Prerequisites ______
Grading______Grade only______P/NC only______Grade and P/NC Option
Frequency of offering ______
B.If the proposal requests any changes in the course description as listed below, please list both the present description and the proposed change.
1.Catalog description.
2.Course outline of the major topics and subtopics.
3.Basic instructional plan and methods utilized.
4.Course requirements (papers, lab work, projects, etc.) and means of evaluation.
C.Rationale for the changes proposed.
D.Description of any impact of this proposal on other departments, programs, majors, or minors.
E.Description any impact that this proposal may have on the University Studies Program.
Attach an Approval form.
Department Contact Person for this Proposal:
______Carol Ga;______
Name (please print)Phonee-mail address
Note:
This course has been offered as a two-credit offering. If and when the course is offered for three credits, the course would further entail more journal writing, a mid-term exam, and a more extensive oral presentation/paper. The additional material and assignments have been added and are shaded in gray.
B. Course Description: English 226 Topics in Writing (1-3 s.h.)
1. Catalog Description
Focus on specialized kinds of writing; e.g. the journal. Variable content published in semester schedule.
2. Course Outline of Major Topics and Subtopics
English 226, Topics in Writing: Journal Writingas a Reflective Writing Tool (1-3 s.h.)
Please note that the sample syllabus offered here provides one of a number of Possible topics relating to writing, in this case "Journal Writing as a Reflective Writing Tool." Other projects involve specialized kinds of writing such as letter Writing or personal writing.
1) The journal: definitions
a) Kinds
b) Value
c) Process
2) Reading published journals
a) Examples
(1) Henry David Thoreau
(2) Annie Dillard
b) Sharing
(1) Oral presentations
(2) Examining excerpts of journal writing
3) Personal journal expectations
a) Expectations
b) Sharing
c) Reactions
d) Analysis
(1) Reflective
(2) Therapeutic
(3) Discovery
4) Experimentation with different forms and purposes
a) Single purpose
b) Leaving a legacy
3. Basic Instructional Plan and Methods
This course will make use of some basic strategies: (I) students will review basic concepts about reflective, personal journals as listed in the outline; (2) students will read published journals of various kinds, examine their qualities, and share their findings through well-prepared oral presentations and handouts which they prepare; (3) students will keep personal journals on assigned topics and topics they choose; (4) student_ will experiment with journal variations and will share them with each other and/or the whole class. In a given week, the instructor will lead discussion re assigned reading, students will share journal writings in pairs, students will select and present information regarding published journals, students will hand in selected journals which they wrote.
4. Course Requirements and Means of Evaluation
- Weekly journal writing: Jounalize at least three times a week, excluding writing which may be done in class. (One of these three journals should be a summary and reaction to the assigned reading for the upcoming class.)
- Sharing of select journal entries.
- Reading and discussion of text material.
- Oral presentation and illustration + Paper
Students will select a journal of a published writer. They will read the writing, then prepare and deliver an extensive presentation, using illustrations of the journalist's writing style along with pointing out its value and uniqueness. [The three-credit version of the course will involve a more extensive oral presentation that the two-credit version of the course.] (They receive a detailed handout and an accompanying oral explanation about this.) In addition, students will submit a paper that expands on the ideas presented in the presentation.
English 226: Suggested Reading List for Oral Presentation/Papers:
Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie.
Bird, Isabella L. Six Months in the Sandwich Islands.
Bly, Carol. Letters from the Country.
Boswell, James. Boswell's London Journal, 1762-1763.
Bryson, Bill. I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America after Twenty
Years Away. Or Sunburnt Country (about traveling in Australia)
Didion, Joan. Slouching'towards Bethlehem.
Dillard, Annie. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek or An American Childhood.
Fadiman, Anne. Confessions of a Common Reader.
Filipovic, Zlata. Zlata's Diary.
Frank, Anne. The Diary of Anne Frank.
Hampl, Patricia. A Romantic Education.
Hillesum, Etty. An Interrupted Life.
Holm, Bill. Corning Home Crazy. (essays)
Huntley, Paula. The Hemingway Book Club ofKosovo
Jacobs, Harriet A. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.
Lindbergh, Reeve. No More Words: A Journal of My Mother. Anne Morrow Lindbergh. King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Mansfield, Katherine. The Journal of Katherine Mansfield.
McMurtry, Larry. Walter Beniamin at the Dairy Queen.
Muir, John. John of the Mountains.
Norris, Kathleen. Dakota. a Spiritual Geography.
O'Faolain, Nuala. Are You Somebody?
Sarton, May. Journal of a Solitude.
Schaefer, Fr. Vernon J. We Ate Gooseberries: Growing Up on a Minnesota Farm during
the Depression.
Schwartz, Morrie. In His Own Words.
Thoreau, Henry David. Walden. or Journal (parts-14 volumes)
Toth, Susan. Blooming: A Small-Town Girlhood or Ivy Days: Making My Way out
East.
Turow, Scott. One L. Twain, Mark. Mark Twain in Hawaii. Woolf, Virginia. A Room of One's Own.
- Mid-term Exam and Final Exam
C. Rationale for the changes proposed:
Expanding the variable credit for this course from 1-2 credits to 1-3 credits will allow for greater scheduling and curricular options for the English Department. Generally, this course will be offered as 1-2 credits but occasionally a 3-credit option will allow for the possibility of providing an in-depth study of a topic that is not otherwise covered in the curriculum or is given minor attention in a literary survey course.
- Description of any impact of this proposal on other departments, programs, majors, or minors: None
E. Description any impact that this proposal may have on the University Studies Program: None
C. Galbus, Associate ProfessorOffice: 320 Minne Hall
ffice phone: 457-5527
Office hours: MWF: 9-10 a.m., 11-12 noon
T, Th: 10:30-12:30 p.m.; other times by chance or by appointment
Brief course description: Focus on our own journal writing, on others' published journals (memoirs, diaries), and on the value, practice, and purposes of this genre.
Course objectives:
1. To explore the .possible benefits of journal writing.
2. To become.aware of the many types of journals being kept and of their authors. .3. To experience/experiment with journal writing.
4. To develop a positive attitude attitude and confidence about writing overall.
Course requirements:
- To attend class regularly and be an active participant (in a positive manner).
- To journalize at least' three times a week, excluding writing which may be done in class. (One of these three journals should be a summary and reaction to the assigned reading for the upcoming class.)
- To give an extensive oral presentation on a published journal writer/writing and to share a representative example ofthat person's writing with the class.
- To write a paper that examines the issues presented in the oral presentation
- To take the mid-term exam and final exam.
- Other points: No more than two classes may be missed within the semesterwithout possible penalty to the student. If a student's grade averages halfway between two letter grades and that student has a poor attendance or tardiness record, that student will automatically get the lower grade (except in extraordinary circumstances). Also, if you are absent, it is YOUR responsibility to check with a classmate to get missed work or changes to the syllabus.
Required Textbook:
Johnson, Alexandra. Leaving a Trace: On.Keeping a Journal. Boston: Little, Brown,
2001.
Class schedule:
Material listed should be prepared for the day on which it is listed. The syllabus is a guideline, and it is subject to change.
Tues., Jan. 14: Distribute syllabus. Give first journal assignment (to be word processed and handed in and/or shared next Tuesday.
Thurs., Jan. 16: No class; professor attending professional conference out of state.
Tues., Jan 21:. Read book jacket and introduction, p. 1-19. Annotate and be prepared to discuss and journalize today and all days to come. Bring complete journal to class daily also. .SOME Journals will be collected periodically, and in some cases, ALL may be collected. Keep in mind that you WILL be sharing some jOij111als with some class members though you will NEVER be commanded/expected/required to share any journal entry with the entire class.
Thurs., Jan. 23: Continue discussion from Tues. reading. In-classjournaling.
Tues., Jan. 28: ReadCh. 1, "Starting Out: Getting Lost on Purpose," p. 23-42. .
Thurs., Jan. 30: Work on material from Ch. 1.
Tues., Feb. 4: Read Ch. 2, "Triggering Memory," p. 43-61.
Thurs., Feb. 6: In-class work.
Tues., Feb. 11: Read Ch. 3, "Ways of Seeing: The Present-Tense World," p. 62-79.
Thurs., Feb. 13: In-class work. Oral presentations).
Tues., Feb. 18: Read Ch. 4, "Observing the. Visible World," p. 80-93.
Thurs., Feb. 20: In-class work.
Tues., Feb. 25: Read Ch. 5, "Single-Purpose Journals," p. 94-117.
Thurs., Feb. 27: Mid-term exam
Tues., Mar. 4: Read Ch. 6; "Seeing Again:' Finding Hidden Patterns in a Life," p. 121 139.
Thurs., Mar. 6: Oral presentations on publishedjournals.
SPRING BREAK
Tues., Mar. 18: Read Ch. 7, "Beginning to Connect the Patterns," p. 140-157.
Thurs., Mar. 20: In class work. Oral presentation possible.
Tues., Mar. 25: Read Ch. 8, "Transforming the Stories: Seeing Anew," p. 158-176.
Thurs., Mar. 27: In class sharing of personal journals. Conclusions to reach?
Tues., Apr. 1: Oral presentations re journals. Review of all done so far.
Thurs., Apr. 3: Read Ch. 9, "Finding the Through Line in a Life: Memoir and Fiction," p. 179-197.
Tues., Apr. 8: oral presentations. .More on ch. 9. ,
Thurs., Apr. 10: Oral presentations.
Tues., Apr. 15: Read Ch. 10, "Living to Tell the Tale: Writing about Others," p. 198 215.
Thurs., Apr. 17: In-class journal sharing.
Tues., Apr. 22: Read Ch. 11, "Leaving a Trace: a Past Regained, a Future Imagined," p. 216-240. Hand in journal final time.
Thurs., Apr. 24: Finish up oral presentations.
Tues., Apr. 29: Course wrap-up. Evaluation of course. Discuss final exam.
Thurs., May 1: Final exam.
WINONASTATEUNIVERSITY
APPROVAL FORM
Routing form for new and revised courses and programs. Course or Program______English 226______
Department Recommendation______
Department Chair Datee-mail address
Dean’s Recommendation_____ Approved_____ Disapproved
______
Dean of College Date
A2C2 Recommendation_____ Approved_____ Disapproved
For: _____ Major_____ Minor
______
Chair of A2C2 Date
Graduate Council Recommendation_____ Approved_____ Disapproved
(if applicable)
______
Chair of Graduate CouncilDate
______
Director of Graduate StudiesDate
Faculty Senate Recommendation_____ Approved_____ Disapproved
______
President of Faculty Senate Date
Academic Vice President Recommendation_____ Approved_____ Disapproved
______
Academic Vice President Date
Decision of President_____ Approved_____ Disapproved
______
President Date
Please forward to Registrar.
Registrar ______Please notify department chair via e-mail that curricular change has been recorded.
Date entered