Spring 2009
Illinois Wesleyan University
Gateway:
Race, Nation, and Power: An Introduction to International Political Theatre
Professor Dani Snyder-Young
Email:
Phone: x3816
Office: Theatre Annex #7 (Park Street)
Office Hours:
This course examines power and privilege in international contexts, analyzing plays and theatrical performances as spaces of cultural representation. We will study theatre pieces from Nigeria, India, several Caribbean nations, and Brazil, use playwrighting techniques to explore relationships between the “developed” world and the “developing” world, and as is appropriate for a Gateway course, explore a wide range of formal and informal approaches to persuasive and scholarly writing.
Key Course Questions:
- How can we use writing as a form of inquiry?
- What processes can we use to develop ideas into formal, polished writing?
- What research strategies can be used to develop formal, informal, and creative writing?
- What is postcolonial performance?
- Why use live performance as a way to engage with big questions about potentially “tough” or controversial topics?
Course Requirements:
- Participation and attendance. You are required to participate in class discussions and activities. (20%)
- Portfolio of Process Writings, Drafts, and Formal Assignments. Collected on ___ (10%) and ___ (10%)
- Microessays & Monologues (5%)
- Peer review (5%)
- Formal Essays (20%)
- Research Paper: Abstract (5%), Outline/Preliminary Bibliography (5%), Detailed Outline (5%), Rough Draft (5%), Final Draft (10%). Only the final draft of your term paper will be graded A-F; all additional paper stages will be graded , +, -.
Policies:
Assignment Submission.
All assignments should be submitted type-written, double spaced, 12 point font, with no more than 1.25” margins. Formal research assignments should follow MLA citation guidelines. Number your pages.
Assignments will not be accepted by email; you must turn in a written copy. Late assignments will lose 5 points for every class period it is late; if you will miss class, please turn in your assignment ahead of time.
Plagiarism.
Plagiarism is bad. Do not do it. Write your own work, do not cut and paste from the internet, and do not copy or paraphrase other’s work without giving credit where credit is due. Acknowledge sources you consult, use MLA formatting when you quote directly. Plagiarism will result in failure of the class. Please see the extended definition of plagiarism on the last page of this syllabus. The Writing Center is a great resource [Buck 102, for help with further guidance about plagiarism, citation, grammar, usage, style, and any other writing concerns.
Attendance.
You are allowed a total of three absences over the semester. These absences may be used for any reason, including sickness, auditions, leaving early for a trip, etc. For every absence over three, your finalgrade will be lowered half a letter grade. Exceptions will only by made in the case of a legitimate, documented family or medical emergency.
Lateness.
Class begins on time and ends on time. Coming late and leaving early disrupt class and are disrespectful to your classmates and to me. Three late arrivals and/or early departures equals one absence. See the attendance policy above.
Technology and Social Media Use.
In class, you are welcome to use laptops and tablet computers for note-taking, accessing course texts on e-reserve, in-class writing, etc. Please refrain from text messaging, instant messaging, social media use, web browsing, etc. in class. These activities are disrespectful to your classmates and to me. If you are found engaging in these activities in-class, it counts like a late arrival to or early departure from class, because while you may be present in body, your focus is elsewhere. See the policies above.
Required Texts:
Cesare, A. A Tempest.
Shakespeare, W. The Tempest.
Soyinka, W. Death and the King’s Horsemen.
Available at IWU bookstore.
On E-reserve:
Fanon, “The Fact of Blackness”
Bhabha, “Of Mimicry and Man”
Walcott, Pantomime
Padmanabhan, Harvest
Boal, “Poetics of the Oppressed”
Schedule and Assignments. You should expect the homework for this class to take approximately 7-10 hours per week most weeks. Assignments are due on the day they appear on the syllabus.
January 7January 9 / Introduction
Syllabus, Orientation
Microessay Due: Christopher Columbus
January 12
January 14
January 16 / Comparison: Two Tempests
Shakespeare, The Tempest
Cesare, A Tempest
Fanon, “The Fact of Blackness”
Microessay Due: Fanon
January 19
January 21
January 23 / NO CLASS: Private Consultations
NO CLASS: Private Consultations
Draft of Essay 1 Due: Peer Review
January 26
January 28
January 30 / Final Draft Essay 1 Due
In class informal writing: reflection on writing process
Argument & Evidence: Death and the King’s Horesemen
Soyinka, Death and the King’s Horsemen
Trial preparation, in teams
February 2
February 4
February 6 / Trial
Trial
Essay #2: Position Paper Due
In-class informal writing: thick description. Describe, in as much detail as possible, a moment from the trial.
February 9
February 11
February 13 / Point of View: Neocolonialism
Padmanahan, Harvest
Bring in an article from a newspaper or magazine telling a story about a relationship between the “developed” world and the “developing” world.
Bring in two additional sources “triangulating” your story.
February 16
February 18
February 20 / Monologue 1 Due
Bring in one additional source putting forth or supporting a radically different perspective on your story.
Monologue 2 Due
February 23
February 25
February 27 / NO CLASS: Private consultations
NO CLASS: Private consultations
Draft Essay #3: Balancing Perspectives: Peer review
March 2
March 4
March 6 / Final Draft Essay #3 Due
In-class informal writing: reflection on writing process
Abstract Research Paper Due: Research workshop
Midterm Portfolio Review: select one piece of writing to share with the class [This class will be run by Socratic seminar, DLS @ MATC Conference.]
March 9
March 11
March 13 / NO CLASS – Individual Consultations
NO CLASS – Individual Consultations
Outline & Preliminary Bibliography Research Paper Due
NO CLASS SPRING BREAK
March 23
March 25
March 27 / Tough Words: Mimicry, Language, and Power
Walcott, Pantomime
Bhabha, “Of Mimicry and Man”
Microessay: Vocabulary
Draft Essay 4: Jargon & Analysis: peer review
March 30
April 1
April 3 / Final Essay 4: Jargon & Analysis due
In-class informal writing: reflection on writing process
Detailed Outline Research Paper Due: peer review
Boal “Poetics of the Oppressed”
In-class Theatre of the Oppressed workshop
April 6
April 8
April 10 / In-class informal writing: making connections between Theatre of the Oppressed and postcolonial theory
Rough Draft Research Paper Due: peer review part 1
Peer review part II
April 13
April 15
April 17 / In-class writing: Independent work & revising
Final Draft Research Paper Due
In-class informal writing: reflection on writing process
Discussion of portfolio requirements
April 20 / Final Portfolio Due: Sharing and Wrap-up
Final Exam Period
Monday, April 27 1:15pm / Research Paper Presentations and Party
Assignments
Portfolio of Process Writings, Microessays, and Drafts.
Keep all in class writings, process writings, informal writing assignments, microessays, and drafts in a three-ring binder. Keep your assignments in order; make tabs labeling each assignment. This binder will be collected on March 4 and April 20.
Microesssay: Christopher Columbus
Tell the story of Christopher Columbus in no more than 250 words. Please be focused and concise; write for an audience of aliens from space who have never heard Columbus’ name before.
Microessay: Fanon
Summarize Fanon’s argument in 50-100 words.
Pull out one sentence from the essay you think encapsulates this argument.
Formal Essay #1: A Tempest and The Tempest (3-5 pages in length)
Using evidence from Cesare’s A Tempest, Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and Fanon’s essay, develop an argument on the way power operates in Cesare’s version of the story. Write for an audience of undergraduates.
Essay #2: Position Paper: Death And The King’s Horsemen (2 pages in length)
Using evidence from the play, argue for the guilt or innocence of the Governor. Be as clear, concise, and formal as possible. Write for a popular, politically engaged audience who has been following the media circus surrounding the trial.
Monologues 1 & 2 (1 page each)
Identify two characters from “your” story with contrasting points of view on the conflict discussed. Write one page in the “voice” of each character, in which each character fights to get what they want in this story. Between the two monologues, make sure to incorporate material from all four of your sources.
Essay #3: Balancing Perspectiveson Neocolonial Stories
Using evidence from your research, develop an argument advocating for a course of action on “your” neocolonial story. Make sure to address counterpoint arguments against your chosen course of action in a fair and balanced manner. Write for an audience of undergraduates.
Microessay: Vocabulary
Select three words you do not recognize in Bhabha’s essay. Look them up. Define each term in your own words. (Each definition, 50 words max.)
Essay #4: Jargon & Analysis
Using Bhabha’s theoretical framework of mimicry, develop an argument analyzing an aspect of Walcott’s Pantomime for a scholarly audience. Use at least three of Bhabha’s jargon-laden terms. The goal: integrate the new vocabulary seamlessly into your writing.
Research Paper: 7-10 pages on a subject of your choosing dealing with or relating to postcolonial performance. This paper will focus on an argument; you will use evidence found through your research process to substantiate your argument. You must cite at least five sources to expect to earn a “C”. At least one must be a primary source, and one must be a scholarly secondary sources. No more than two “general” encyclopedia-like sources may be cited.
Abstract
A 250-500 word proposal. What do you want to write about? What sources do you think you can use?
Outline & Preliminary Bibliography
How do you think you want to structure your paper? What is your argument? What evidence do you intend to use to prove it? What sources do you think you will use?
Detailed Outline
What content will you use to flesh out your initial outline? What quotes can you pull from your sources to best prove your argument? This outline should include at least 90% of the content of your final paper.
Rough Draft
What is your opening moment? Your closing moment? How do you flesh your content out? This draft should represent a complete, proofread, finished paper.
Final Draft
This draft is the best you can possibly hand in. It is immaculate and spectacular.
Illinois Wesleyan University Statement on Plagiarism
What is plagiarism? Plagiarism is the intentional or inadvertent
misrepresentation as one’s own, the words, ideas, research data, formulae or
artistic creations of another individual or collective body, without giving credit to
the originator(s) of those words, ideas, data, formulae or artistic creations.
Examples of plagiarism:
• Submitting in one’s own name a term paper, report or document written by
someone else or obtained from a commercial agency.
• A document that is only partially of one’s own creation; combining original
content with text, data or graphics taken from another source such as an
encyclopedia, book, journal article or downloaded from the World-Wide-
Web.
• Paraphrases of the ideas or words of others without proper
acknowledgement.
• Original work based on the ideas of others without proper
acknowledgment.
Why one should not plagiarize: The scholarly community recognizes that it is
virtually impossible to write everything with such originality that one never
employs the ideas and words of another. However, by providing proper citations
to other works, a writer shows his or her ability to enter into dialogue with the
scholarly community of a specific discipline, building upon what has already been
said and adding his or her own voice. Plagiarism on the other hand is contrary to
the ideals of scholarship. It is subversive to sound education and ethically
dishonest.
When to cite a source: Cite a source whenever you use the
• Words (written or spoken)
• Ideas
• Research data
• Formulae
• Artistic creations (images, music) of another person or agency.
It is not necessary to cite common knowledge.
What is common knowledge? Common knowledge is anything that is
considered known by the vast majority of the population – or may be found in
generalized information sources, for example; Chicago is the largest city in
Illinois, or E=mc2.
Avoiding plagiarism: To aid in avoiding plagiarism, the scholarly community
has developed techniques of documentation which allow a writer to use other
peoples’ words and ideas without seeming to expropriate them. Footnotes,
endnotes, parenthetical textual notes and quotation marks are used by scholars
to acknowledge the sources of ideas and words. Students at IWU are expected
to learn how to quote and cite sources responsibly. There are numerous tools
which can assist writers in meeting this requirement. Two of the most common
are the APA Publication Manual published by the American Psychological
Association and the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers published by
the Modern Language Association. Both are available from the IWU Writing
Center and The Ames Library. Your instructor or a librarian will gladly assist you
in applying these guidelines to the work you do in individual classes. Also,
because what is considered the “correct” way of citing and quoting varies among
disciplines, your instructors may specify which set of guidelines is to be followed
for a specific class assignment.
Consequences of plagiarism at IWU: Because IWU takes very seriously the
responsibility of ethical scholarship and writing, plagiarism can result in a failing
grade for an assignment, a course, or in some cases, separation from the
University. It is the responsibility of instructors who discover instances of
plagiarism to report these to the Associate Provost of Academic Planning and
Standards in writing. Only after such a report has been filed can an appropriate
punitive response be determined. The instructor must also inform the student at
the time that the report is filed. The Associate Provost of Academic Planning and
Standards is responsible for seeing that the appropriate penalty is recorded in all
cases not requiring action of the Academic Appeals Board.
Sources consulted:
“Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism: The WPA Statement on Best Practices”
Online posting. 22 October 2007
MacDonald, Jean. “To Cite is Right: Avoiding Plagiarism, Pleasing Profs & Living
an Academically Honest Life.” The Ames Library, Illinois Wesleyan University.
January 2008
“Plagiarize” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary. Philip Babcock Gove,
editor in chief. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster Inc., 2002