WRTG 3020 028: Citizenship and Civic Engagement

Spring 2010

MWF 12-12:50 | ENVD 122

Michelle Albert, Instructor

Office
1338 Grandview
Office Phone
(303) 735-5404
Email
/ Mailbox
ENVD basement
Office Hours
Mon 4-5, Wed 4-5, & by app’t
Course Wiki
wrtg3020spring2010.wikispaces.com / Media Lab
ATLAS 320 (303) 492-8804
Conference on World Affairs
colorado.edu/cwa
Conference on World Affairs Contact

“The problem is, there is no such thing as a viable democracy made up of experts, zealots, politicians, and spectators.”
Liz Coleman, President, Bennington College

Course Overview

What does it mean to be a responsible and participatory citizen in a democratic society? What does it mean to be “engaged” in college, on the CU campus, and in your local communities? In this course, you will examine the relationship between your personal values and your public actions, and you will learn to cultivate habits of inquiry, analysis and reflection that make you more informed and self-aware writers, studentsand community members. WRTG 3020 places strong emphasis on the situational quality of writing – in other words, the rhetorical context: the relationship between writer, reader, subject and purpose in the formation of a text. In this course, we will use text- and media-based compositions to explore, discover, inform, analyze, persuade and reflect.

Because new media is a powerful toolwith which to foster civic engagement, critical self-reflection, and rhetorical awareness, you will be composing multi-modal “texts” in a variety of genres and for a variety of audiences and purposes.Multimedia “compositions” require you to make thoughtful rhetorical choices about a wide range of available means of persuasion. As composition, rhetoric and digital media scholars Cynthia Selfe and Pamela Takayoshi put it, “[i]n an increasingly technological world, students need to be experienced and skilled not only in reading (consuming) texts employing multiple modalities, but also in composing in multiple modalities, if they hope to communicate successfully within the digital communication networks that characterize workplaces, schools, civic life, and span traditional cultural, national, and geopolitical borders” (Multimodal Composition, 3).

Community Engagement Project

In this class, we will collaborate with the Conference on World Affairs (CWA) and CU’s Atlas Media Lab. You will compose, design, edit, and distributea comprehensive media campaign encouraging fellow students to attend this year’s CWA, which takes place April 5-9. Working in small groups, you will compose this campaign using a variety of multimedia applications, including audio, print (posters, yard signs), and/orvideo, among other possible forms. You will be trained on the hardware and software in class, and you will have feedback from professional multimedia consultants as well as CWA staff and volunteers as you work on these projects. While you are not expected to be professional graphic designers or digital artists, you are expected to thoughtfully engage the techniques used to create successful audio and visual argument. You don’t need any previous technical skills to succeed in this course.

Required Text

  • Compose, Design, Advocate, Anne Wysocki, Dennis Lynch

Additional Required Materials, Resources

  • Additional readings posted on CULearn
  • The OWL (Online Writing Lab) at Purdue:
  • Copies (print and/or electronic)of your work as requested for in-class workshops
  • Course wiki: wrtg3020spring2010.wikispaces.com

Assignment / Due Date(subject to change!) / # of Points (out of 1000)
Civic/Literacy Narrative / 1/20 / ungraded (HW points)
This I Believe (500 words)
(text and audio) / 2/5 / 150
Media Campaign Project:
  • Proposal
  • Rhetorical Analysis
  • Project Report
  • Final Project
  • Project Analysis
  • Project Reflection
/ 2/15
2/26
TBD
3/31*
4/14
4/14 / 50
100
25
250
100
100
Exploratory Essay / 4/30 / 100
Final Reflective Essay / 5/3 / 50
Homework & Classwork / ongoing / 75

*Due dates for your media project may vary depending on when you need to distribute it to get your message to your audience in time for the conference. Some projects may need to be completed a week or two before the conference; others may be distributed the week of the conference (April 5-9).

Extra Credit

  • 20 extra credit points if you submit your essay to This I Believe to be considered for publication on-air. You need to show me proof of your submission.
  • 30 extra credit points if you volunteer with the CWA (in addition to your media project). You will need to submit signed timesheets documenting your attendance at meetings and at your conference-week work assignments.

Miscellaneous Writing Assignments: Any additional, brief writing assignments will be evaluated as homework and counted toward the Homework & Classwork grade. I won’t grade these assignments, but will give you HW points for completing them.

Assignment Descriptions

Normally, I include brief assignment descriptions on the syllabus. However, because this class is new to me (this is the first time that any CU class has undertaken a media campaign project for the CWA), and because the assignments are still in works in progress, I am unable to provide those descriptions here. However, I will give you a detailed assignment sheet at the beginning of each project, which we will review together in class.

Evaluation and Assessment

I will provide a grading rubric (which we will co-create as a class, or at least work with extensively in class, before each assignment is due). Because every writing situation is unique with respect to purpose and audience, each rubric you receive will provide specific grading criteria designed to match the specific writing project.

General Document Guidelines

All written (text-based) assignments (with the exception of short homework assignments) should be typed, double-spaced, and include page numbers (which can be at the top or bottom of the page). Use a standard font (i.e., Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana, Calibri), 12-point type, and standard (1-inch) margins. You may print double-sided to save paper. Paperclip or staple the pages together.Include a properly formatted header in the upper left-hand corner (your name, course number, my name, the assignment, the draft number, and the date).

CULearn

Check CULearn every class day. I will post all relevant info and updates there, as well as links to other websites, readings, assignments, and various other handouts. All the Daily Assignments will be thoroughly explained on CULearn.

Attendance

Attendance is required. This is a workshopping class; participation and preparation are crucial to your success as a writer and to the success of this class. You will be an active part of the learning process – not just your own, but your classmates’ as well. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to find out what you missed from a classmate.

  • If you have more than 3 absences your grade will drop one half a grade for each subsequent absence (from B- to C+, for example).
  • If you have more than 7 absences total, you will fail the course.

If you know ahead of time that you will be absent, please let me know. Be aware that there is no difference between an excused and unexcused absence (so, missing a class because you are sick one day counts the same as missing a class to go skiing) . However, in extremecircumstances (i.e., serious ongoing illness, death of immediate family member), if you contact me ASAP and submit adequate documentation detailing your situation, I may make accommodations and excuse your absence(s). Also, please arrive to class on time. Three late arrivals (more than 5 minutes after the start of class) count as one absence.

Participation/Classwork

In this class we work as a community of writers seeking to understand one another's perspectives and explore new ideas. Participation includes, among other things, providing quality written and oral feedback during workshops; thoughtfully completing all in-class activities and being willing to share some of them with the class; actively and intelligently participating in class discussions and activities; and acting professionally and respectfully when interacting with me and your classmates. You are expected to come to class prepared, with readings completed and drafts of your work available on days when drafts are due. Printing problems are not valid excuses!

Late Assignments

If you fail to submit a graded paper/project on time, I will still accept it, but I will deduct one letter grade for each class day it is late. If circumstances arise that prevent you from submitting a paper on time, contact me before the due date and I will take your situation into consideration, and I may decide to offer you an extension.

I do not accept late HW assignments ever, under any circumstances. If you don’t have your HW with you in class, you will not get credit for it, period.

Writing and Rhetoric Objectives: Colorado Commission on Higher Education

WRTG 3020 satisfies upper-division core requirements in various CU-Boulder schools and colleges because it extends rhetorical knowledge and writing skills in ways that draw on theoretical perspectives and address specialized disciplinary and civic communities. Throughout the semester, you will develop increasingly sophisticated strategies for communicating with the particular audience and for the particular purpose of each writing project. In the context of statewide courses, WRTG 3020 meets the goals of an Advanced Writing Course (GT-CO3).

Rhetorical Knowledge: This course takes a rhetorical perspective on civic engagement and multi-modal composition in the context of university education. Our rhetorical texts include the following: short print and web-based selections from a variety of theoretical texts on literacy, civic engagement, higher education, and community; print and multimedia personal narratives in which authors relate their life experiences to their values formation and to their civic and political identities; and Compose, Design, Advocate, a textbookthat integrates written and multi-modal composition practices.

Writing Process: The course offers an opportunity to understand writing from the audience or reader perspective by focusing on the peer review of work in progress. You will work on your projects in stages, from brainstorming and generating topic ideas, to writing and revising complete drafts. You will receive peer and teacher feedback along the way to help you develop your ideas and find the right words to express exactly what you want to say.

Conventions: In the process of composing and revising your various projects throughout the semester, you will learn about genre conventions appropriate to your audience, purpose and medium, about how to draw on specialized vocabularies in ways that still make your work accessible to secondary audiences. You will also become aware of elements of your own writing that can be improved, including syntax and grammar.

The Writing Center

This is a fantastic resource to get additional help with your writing. Consultants provide excellent advice at all stages of the writing process. Services are free to all CU-Boulder students and faculty.

  • Location: Norlin 111 (first floor of Norlin, near the east entrance)
  • Hours: M-Th 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; F 10 a.m.-1 p.m.; some Sundays

You need to make an appointment before you go. They get booked early, so sign up for your appointment well ahead of time. For more information, email . Also, see the Writing Center home page:

Academic Honesty / Plagiarism/Honor Code

Plagiarism is the act, whether deliberate or unintentional, of passing off another author's work as your own. Plagiarizing all or part of a paper will result in an automatic failure for that paper and possibly failure for the course. I may also choose to report a plagiarism case to the Honor Code Council. You are responsible for knowing and adhering to the academic integrity policy of this institution and for complying with the CU Honor Code. See

Classroom Behavior

Disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. General CU guidelines regarding expectations of classroom behavior are available online at . Students who fail to adhere to behavioral standards may be subject to discipline.

Religious Holidays

If you know you will miss class or not be able to make an assignment due date because of observation of a religious holiday, please contact me within the first two weeks of the semester so we can make accommodations. For more info:

Students with Disabilities

If you qualify for accommodation because of a disability, please submit to me a letter from Disability Services in a timely manner so that your needs can be addressed. Disability Services determines accommodations based on documented disabilities. Disabilities Services: 303-492-8671, Willard 332,

Sexual Harassment
The University of Colorado Policy on Sexual Harassment applies to all students, staff, and faculty. Any student, staff or faculty member who believes s/he has been sexually harassed should contact the Office of Sexual Harassment at 303-492-2127 or the Office of Judicial Affairs at 303-492-5550. Information about the OSH and the campus resources available to assist individuals who believe they have been sexually harassed may be found at

Tentative Schedule (subject to change)

The following schedule is a broad overview of what we will be covering each week. Details – including specific readings andprompts to respond to readings, among other crucial info – will be posted on CULearn.

Week 1
1/11 / Introduction
“The Poison Fish,” “Dancing With Professors: The Trouble With Academic Prose,” “What’s a Kid From Athens Doing in the Center of Berlin?,” “Expanding the Concept of Literacy,” “Liz Coleman’s Call to Reinvent Liberal Arts Education” (TED.com)
Week 2
1/18 / Martin Luther King Jr Day: no class on Monday
Literacy Narrative due in class 1/20;first in-class workshop
Introduce This I Believe project: listen to several TIBs in class
Week 3
1/25 / 1/25: CWA Student Volunteer Coordinators visit class
Draft and workshop TIBs; introduce course wiki
Read Introduction in CDA(pp 1-10)
Week 4
2/1 / 2/1: Audacity and Garageband demo, Tim Riggs
2/3: Meet in Atlas Media Lab to record TIBs (ATLAS 320)
TIB DUE2/5 (text submitted in class; audio posted on wiki); reflection
Week 5
2/8 / Brainstorm media campaign ideas
Dave Underwood class visit
CDA reading TBD
Week 6
2/15 / workshop proposals
Media Project Proposal DUE 2/15
introduce Rhetorical Analysis
CDA reading TBD
Week 7
2/22 / Rhetorical Analysis
Rhet Analysis assignment DUE 2/26
CWA marketing team class visit
CDA reading TBD
Week 8
3/1 / Compose, Design, Advocate: Media Campaign Project
Atlas Media Lab: work time
CDA reading TBD
Week 9
3/8 / Compose, Design, Advocate: Media Campaign Project
workshop drafts of projects
CDA reading TBD
Week 10 3/15 / Compose, Design, Advocate: Media Campaign Project
CDA reading TBD
workshop drafts of projects
Atlas Media Lab: work time
NO CLASS 3/19
Week of 3/22 / SPRING BREAK 
Week 11
3/29 / Final revisions on media projects
Final Media Projects DUE
Week 12
4/5 / CWA!!
Class schedule and projects TBD. At least one day off this week for youto attend the conference.
Introduce Exploratory Essay
Week 13
4/12 / Reflection and Analysis: in-class debriefing, plus work time
Media Project Reflection and Analysis DUE 4/14
Brainstorm Exploratory Essay
Week 14
4/19 / Research, draft, workshop EE
Week 15
4/26 / Final revisions, EE
Exploratory essay DUE 4/30 (last day of class)
Final Reflection due 5/3

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