ENG 153-732: Introduction to Women Authors

Women and the Creative Process Ms. Erin Beard bearder1@msu.edu Office: C744 Wells Hall Physical Office Hours: by appointment Virtual Office Hours: T 2-4 or by appointment Skype: erin.e.beard Course website: http://eng153atmsusummer13.wordpress.com/

Course Description This is an online course, but it is NOT self-paced. Everyone will work on the same thing at the same time, much as you would in a physical classroom. The course is based in Desire to Learn (D2L) but will take place mostly in Wordpress. See above for the course website url. As an introductory English course, ENG 153 aims to begin to teach students techniques of literary study within the context of literature by women. Students will develop skills essential for literary study through intensive reading and writing practices including close reading and analytic writing. In this course, we will approach literature with the understanding that thoughtful writing begins as a careful reading practice and that reading and writing are inseparable activities. As such, we will concentrate on intensive reading practices along with note taking, developing questions for literary study, and the process of analytic writing. Additionally, we will read Anglophone literature by women ranging from the nineteenth century to the present day. We will consider the question What is womens literature? throughout the semester while also considering how the experiences of women in various contexts affects the literature that they write and how it effects their response to criticism of their writing, especially when that experience is gendered. This course focuses on women and the creative process. As such, you will be thinking through this topic with your own work as readers and writers; youll analyze your own creative process and think about its implications on concepts such as the definition of womens writing, the canon, and authorship. All of the novels well read were provocative, even shocking or offensive, when they were first published; as such, well engage with the criticism and reception of each novel in its contemporary moment. Well ask and explore questions such as: Is the category of womens literature valuable and useful, or does it ghetto-ize womens writing? What do critical responses to these novels say about our cultures view of womens writing? Do the novels themselves push back against these critiques? How do/dont they? Why is it important to consider the creative process of women writers? How does a reflection on the creative process effect the way that we read these novels? How closely is personal experience related to the creative process of writing a novel, to our own engagement with these novels, and to our own writing about these novels? There are multiple angles from which you can approach this class and its theme of women and the creative process. If you are interested in creative writing, you may focus on your own creative process and think about how the creative processes of the authors we will encounter in the novels

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influence your own creative process. If you are interested in approaching this class as a feminist cultural critic, you might consider the reception of each of these novels and why the contemporary public responded to each text the way they did. If you are interested in approaching this class as a literary critic, you might perform close readings of the text and how it examines womens issues. Or you might want to give each of these approaches a try. Required Texts ISBNs are listed next to the MLA citation for the book to facilitate online purchases. It is up to you if you want print or e-versions; Ive listed both below. Voyage in the Dark is the only book you are required to have in print (no reputable online versions or e-texts are availablebut let me know if you find something promising!). Links to free online versions are also on D2L and Wordpress. Barrett Browning, Elizabeth. Aurora Leigh. New York: Penguin, 1995. Print. [0140434127] A full-text version of AL can be found here if you do not want to purchase the print version: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/barrett/aurora/aurora.html Background information about AL, its historical context, and the debates it inspired is here: http://ebbarchive.org/poems/aurora_leigh.php For those who prefer a print copy, either the Norton or Penguin editions are acceptable. Please cite this work in your writing with book and line number, rather than page number. Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic. New York: Mariner, 2007. Print. [9780618871711] Kindle edition available. Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. New York: Oxford, 2008. Print. [9780199536948] The acceptable online versions use the 1899 edition originally published by Herbert S. Stone and Co. from Hathitrust (electronic resource through the MSU library; downloadable and free PDF version that looks like the original version) or U of Virginia (html version; more cumbersome to read) Heti, Sheila. How Should a Person Be? New York: Henry Holt, 2012. Print. [9780805094725] Kindle version available. A paperback version is released June 25, but I dont recommend that you wait for that, since we are reading it the first week of class. Rhys, Jean. Voyage in the Dark. New York: Norton, 1994. Print. [0393311465] Only available in print version. Woolf, Virginia. Mrs. Dalloway. New York: Harcourt, 1981. Print. [0156628708] e-text available here: http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/w/woolf/virginia/w91md/ Please contact me if you have trouble finding the texts or if a link doesnt work. Major Assignments Collaborative Writing Blog (6 entries at 4%) Curation Project Participation 35% 24% 25% 16%

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Collaborative Writing Project: For this project, you will be split into groups of 4 during the first week of class. Since this is an online course, I will assign you to groups. I will try to group you based on where you are during the summer so you can meet in person if possible. You will work with this group throughout the entire semester to produce a document that covers each assigned text. You are expected to contribute to this document during each module. This document will be mostly informal writing, including text summaries, discussion questions, and preliminary group discussion. You should aim to produce a document with two goals in mind: 1), preparation for discussion for each module and; 2), a treasury of summaries/ideas about each text that will record your groups hard work throughout the semester. At the end of the semester, you will each have a document that you can keep. I will grade you based on your individual contributions and the final product. Feel free to add to anything in the document at any time, but you should always have something up about the text at hand before our online meeting at the end of each module. I will have access to each document throughout the semester, and the other groups in the class will be able to see what you have written but will not be able to edit or contribute. I expect that you will bring up your ideas in the document during discussion. Think about your collaborative writing project as a living document that will change and breathe based on your groups collaboration, discussion, and the readings. Make connections between all of these! The final grade for this project will be calculated holistically and will include each entry in the group document as well as an individual reflection paper, which you will hand in via email. Individual Reflection paper: This informal paper will be turned in at the end of the semester along with your completed CWP. Different from the CWP itself, this paper will be written individually and turned in to me separate from your CWP. You will use this assignment to reflect upon the way your group worked together, communicated with each other, and balanced your work load and contributions. You will also have the opportunity to give yourself and your group members grades, which I will take into consideration when assigning your grade for the CWP. This reflection paper will not be graded for content: it will be graded for completion. However, without it, you cannot get a higher grade than 3.0 on the CWP. Details are on D2L. Setting up a Google ID: go to googleapps.msu.edu to set up a Google ID with you MSU ID. You also have the option of using your own gmail account or setting one up through Google. Just let me know the result on the technology survey. Blog: You will keep a personal blog that will connect to the course website and to each other blog in the class. On this blog, you will turn in individual writing assignments in which you will explore the module theme more deeply. There is no word count minimum for this assignment, but I will very carefully consider your engagement with the text. You must quote from the text and analyze your focus on that passage. Each blog post will be prompted, but you are free to go off topic. Blog prompts will be posted on the Wordpress site. There will be a total of 6 blog posts (one for each novel), and each blog is worth 4% of your total grade. You shouldnt feel like you have to finish the book before you begin writing; read until you find something youd like to write about, but be sure to finish the book before your web conference. The grading scale for blogs is as follows: All blogs should do the following to receive at least a 2.0 (passing): Is posted on time per the syllabus Quote the text along with citation Analyze the text and its relation to your idea Follow one of the prompts or come up with a coherent idea
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Do one of the following: engage with critical debates about the text when it was published, perform a close reading of the text with an argument, write creative fiction/non-fiction that engages a theme of the text and points to a place in the text that inspired that piece, or consider how this text might address any of the questions in the course description. 4.0: blog post demonstrates creative engagement with the text and demonstrates incisive critical engagement with the ideas of the text or the course questions and the blog prompt. 3.5: blog post is well done but needs to engage with the text more closely. Isnt quite cohesive. 3.0: blog post meets the minimum requirements but lacks analysis or creative engagement with the text. 2.0: blog post meets the minimum requirements but needs to engage with the prompt more closely. Is closer to summary than analysis. 1.5: blog post does not meet the minimum requirements or does not quote the text 0: blog post is missing, late, or demonstrates no attempt to engage with the text or the prompts. Creating a Wordpress Blog: Since this course will operate mainly on Wordpress, it is absolutely essential that you create a Wordpress blog immediately and fill out the technology survey before you start the first lesson. For students new to Wordpress: Go to http://learn.wordpress.com/ and follow the tutorial. It will tell you how to set up and use your blog. The great thing about Wordpress is that you can find help anytime on their site. So, if you ever run into a problem or dont know how to do something, just go to their help page for instructions. For students with an existing Wordpress account: If you already have a Wordpress account, you will just need to create a new blog. Id prefer that you not use a blog you already have so things don't get confusing for me! To do so, hover your mouse over your avatar in the top right of the screen and then click on Manage My Blogs. Choose a blog url and a blog name and then your privacy setting. If youd rather not use your existing account in connection with this class, go ahead and create a new account by following the instructions for students new to Wordpress. Digital Curation Project: For this project, you will curate information and media about one of the novels weve read. Your project should tell a story about an aspect of the novel (such as its creative process, the author, womens literature, critical reception, perhaps even the material/textual life of the book itself, etc.) and should be focused and cohesive. Imagine that you are a curator for a museum or womens literature archive, and you are trying to tell a story about the novel. What is important about it that you want to convey? What should people know? What kinds of questions do you want to ask? What are some of the most important materials that you should use to tell this story? There are multiple ways you can do this, and it is up to you how you want to complete your project. Options include (but are not limited to): a website, a filmed documentary (Ken Burns style or with interviews of real people), a capstone piece of creative writing that tells a story about
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various artifacts, visual art, diorama (with a video tour), a mock critical article, etc. Your piece should include at least 8 artifacts. You will complete a story board prior to the completed project that maps out your ideas, story, and medium. All projects must have an accompanying piece of writing that you will decide on in consultation with me. For example, if you film a documentary, I will need a script. If you create visual art, Ill need an analysis of your work and its choices. Participation: Participation in an online format will include your contributions to the Collaborative Writing Project and your presence in our online meetings at the end of each module with your collaborative writing groups. Weekly Web Discussion Groups: As part of your participation grade, we will meet to web conference once a week. You will meet with your CWP group and another CWP group in the class. Each CWP group will sign up for a time slot ahead of time. During this conference, you will be able to ask questions, discuss the novel with your peers, and demonstrate that youve read and understood the novel. Grading Scale This course uses MSUs 4.0 grading scale. The final grade will be calculated with a weighted average formula and then rounded to the nearest half point. I expect that you will keep a record of your own grades; I cannot give you an estimate of your final grade until you complete all major assignments. I will not give extra credit. Course Policies Communication: I am available by e-mail, Skype, G-chat, and in person if you are in East Lansing. During office hours, I will be immediately available to you via G-chat and Skype. The rest of the time, I am available by appointment in any one of these venues. If you run into a problem with technology, email me or post your question on the D2L discussion board. I am invested in making myself available to you, and I will respond as soon as possible. If you have a minor question about how something works, if you dont understand directions, or if you cant find something important, the fastest way to get an answer will be to post on the D2L discussion board FAQs. You might find that someone has already asked and gotten an answer for your same question. Privacy: Privacy is a big issue in this course since were conducting all of it online. Your grades will always be private; I will never post them on Wordpress. They will always be in your D2L account. Your Google doc will only be viewable to people in the class, and will only be editable to people in your group. It is completely up to you and your group to publish any material on it. Your Wordpress site has privacy controls. There are basically three levels: public and searchable; public and invisible to search engines; and private, where you choose who views your blog. If you choose to go completely private, you will need to make sure that everyone in the class has access to your blog. Once I have everyones url and username, I will post a list on D2L with this information, and you can invite everyone to view your blog. This is a lot of work, so if you are not very concerned about other people finding you but still want to maintain some level of privacy, choose the public and not searchable option. You also have the option not to use your real name on the blog. You can make up a fake name or a creative usernamejust be sure to let me know what it is on the Communications Form. If you have any special concerns about privacy, please let me know ASAP, and I can make sure that they are addressed immediately.
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A Note on the Workload: Since this is a four-credit English course, you will be doing a lot of reading and writing. Since this is a summer course, you will do the same amount of reading as a regular semester in half the time. Expect to contribute to your groups collaborative writing during each module. Each assignment is designed to prepare you for our online discussion and for your final writing project. You should come to our online discussion prepared to make a meaningful contribution to your peers ideas and to the assigned text. That means you read everything assigned at least once, took notes, have at least two passages marked that you really want to talk about/feel invested in, contributed to your groups collaborative writing project, and are logged in and ready to go by the discussion start time. I do not expect that you completely understand everything you have read, but I do expect that you have tried and that you are ready to work through what you do/do not understand. Paper Formatting: Your paper is required to meet MLA formatting standards. The final version of your paper should have 1 margins (Word defaults to 1.25, so youll need to change this manually) and be double spaced in 12-pt Times New Roman font. Additionally, the heading should be in the left-hand corner and your last name and page number should be in the top right-hand corner as a heading. Your paper must also include a works cited page, even if you are only citing the primary text. Turning in Assignments: You will turn in each assignment to me via email before 11:59 on the due date. Blogs must be posted before 11:59 on the day they are due. You should have contributed to your CWP prior to your groups online discussion. Late Assignments: For every major assignment, each calendar day it is late will incur a half-point deduction off the final grade. For example, if you receive a 4.0 on the paper you turned in a day late, your final grade on the paper will be a 3.5. The clock starts ticking immediately after class. In other words, if you hand in your final paper on the evening of the day it is due, there will still be a half-point deduction. If you think this is going to be a problem talk to me well ahead of the due date. Digital Correspondence: If you have questions, the best way to reach me is by e-mail or during my office hours. I typically respond pretty quickly to e-mail, but please allow 24 hours for me to respond, especially right before an assignment is due, but it may take longer for me to respond Thursday through Sunday. If you e-mail me after 7 PM, I might not respond the same night. For small questions, check the syllabus, the Wordpress site, or the D2L discussion board first. Also, if you do not include your name at the end of the e-mail, I will not respond. Do not assume I know you by your NetID only. Office Hours: My office is in C744 Wells Hall. I realize that many of you will not be on campus during this class, but if you are in town during the summer and would like to meet with me, please email me to make an appointment. Otherwise, I will hold regular office hours on G-chat and Skype. Academic Integrity: One of the most important principles in higher education is academic integrity. At this point, I expect that you know the mechanics of citation and what constitutes plagiarism. You are expected to use the skills you learn in this class to cite properly. I take plagiarism very seriously: if you plagiarize, you will fail the assignment or the course, depending on its severity. Michigan State University has adopted the following statement about academic integrity:
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1.00 PROTECTION OF SCHOLARSHIP AND GRADES: The principles of truth and honesty are fundamental to the educational process and the academic integrity of the University; therefore, no student shall: 1.01 claim or submit the academic work of another as ones own. 1.02 procure, provide, accept or use any materials containing questions or answers to any examination or assignment without proper authorization. 1.03 complete or attempt to complete any assignment or examination for another individual without proper authorization. 1.04 allow any examination or assignment to be completed for oneself, in part or in total, by another without proper authorization. 1.05 alter, tamper with, appropriate, destroy or otherwise interfere with the research, resources, or other academic work of another person. 1.06 fabricate or falsify data or results. Procedures for responding to cases of academic honesty and possible repercussions are outlined in Spartan Life: Student Handbook and Resource Guide. They can also be found on the web at: http://www.msu.edu/unit/ombud/honestylinks.html. Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities should contact the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities to establish reasonable accommodations. For an appointment with a disability specialist, call 353-9642 (voice), 355-1293 (TTY), or visit myprofile.rcpd.msu.edu. University Resources for Writers: The following resources are available to you free of charge, and I urge you to make use of these frequently throughout the semester. Their websites will detail the services they offer and how to make appointments, which you should do well in advance of the time you need them. The Writing Center http://writing.msu.edu The Learning Resource Center http://lrc.msu.edu The English Language Center http://elc.msu.edu

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Assignment and Reading Schedule Our semester will be split into modules. Within the time of each module, you can complete the assignments on your own time, but each individual module and its assignments should be completed by the following dates. Each module will end with an online discussion with your CWP group, another CWP group, and myself on Adobe Connect. During each module, you will complete the novel, a blog post, your contribution to your groups CWP, and participation in the group discussion on Adobe Connect. A more detailed schedule with documents is available on the Wordpress site. Module 1: July 1-July 7 Before beginning the module, be sure to read the syllabus, create your blog post introducing yourself, and complete the technology survey. Details about each of these assignments will be posted on the Wordpress site. Sheila Heti, What Should a Person Be? Due Dates: Blog Post: Saturday, July 5 Group Discussion: Choice of July 5/6 Module 2: July 8-July 14 Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh Be sure to read at least Books 1,2,6 & 7 Due Dates: Blog Post: Saturday, July 13 Group Discussion: Choice of July 12/13 Module 3: July 15-July 21 Kate Chopin, The Awakening Due Dates: Blog Post: Saturday, July 20 Group Discussion: Choice of July 19/20 Module 4: July 22-July 28 Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway Due Dates: Blog Post: Saturday, July 27 Group Discussion: Choice of July 26/27 Module 5: July 29-August 4 Jean Rhys, Voyage in the Dark Due Dates: Blog Post: Saturday, August 3 Group Discussion: Choice of August 2/3 Curation storyboard due Aug 1 Module 6: August 5-August 11 Alison Bechdel, Fun Home Due Dates: Blog Post: Saturday, August 10 Group Discussion: Choice of August 9/10 *if you are interested in doing you curation project on this text, read ahead of time (its a fast read). Major Due Dates: Storyboard of Curation Project Due: August 1 @ 11:59 PM *you can use an online storyboard generator (be sure it is sharable), a Google doc, or you can email a file to me. Finished Collaborative Writing Project Due: August 13 @ 11:59 PM *I will download your CWP from the Google doc at 11:59 PM. Curation Project Due: August 17 @ 11:59 PM *consider how you are going to turn in your project. If you cant e-mail it to me or turn it in in person (if you are in East Lansing), well need to make other arrangements.
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