Date

Week One

Mon 8/14

Intro to course.

Writing Assignments:

1. Jamaica Kincaid – mimic (4 pages) (creative writing)
2. Profile of beliefs – response (2 – 4 pages) (writing and culture; empathy exercise)
3. Choice of article topics from Al's Morning Meeting on Poynter (2 – 4 pages) (research paper)
4. Letter to President of Georgia Southern – issue of concern or something the school is currently doing well (1 – 2 pages) (professional writing)
5. Review of movie or sporting event (see samples; mimic if you wish) (1 – 4 pages) (professional writing)
6. Explore your own literacy levels with college rules: Find a copy of the college catalog, and make out a realistic four year course plan for you, including all the courses for your major. (If you don't have a major, select one for the purposes of this assignment.) Then, exchange your schedule with another student in the class, pretend to be academic advisors, and decide whether the other student has followed the rules. Next, interview an upper level student, preferably in your major, asking them for advice. Turn in your course plan for the four or five year plan that you've decided on, and then describe your experiences doing this work (drawing on your interview(s)). Would you consider yourself and your classmate literate when it comes to this kind of work? Why or why not? (literacy conversations)

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

The Silent Takeover : 1 – 50

Wed 8/16

Bring to class: a 2 inch, three ring binder with dividers in it and also 5 pages from the above writing assignments. ( All writing assignments need to be written in Arial Font, 10 point, double spaced, with one inch margins.)

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

The Silent Takeover : 51 – 100

Week Two

Mon 8/21

5 pages due from Week One writing assignments ( All writing assignments need to be written in Arial Font, 10 point, double spaced, with one inch margins.) Be prepared to hand in 10 pages of writing.

Writing Assignments:

1. Cartoon about Writing Assignments – mimic 1 page (counts as two if you draw the images! creative writing)
2. Major description of something on campus that catches your eye, something other people wouldn't necessarily notice. (can include interviews/images—photos or video) 2 – 4 pages (creative? / professional writing)
3. Profile of beliefs revisited/response, this time include research, think of a letter to the editor as a format possibility (2 – 4 pages) (writing and culture)
4. Choice of article topics from Al's Morning Meeting on Poynter (2 – 4 pages) (newspaper article)
5. Description of something that's missing/needed in Statesboro (a business, program, service, improvement to Georgia Southern or surrounding community) 1 – 4 pages (professional writing)
6. Letter of complaint to a business for something that you would like to see fixed. (1 page) (professional writing)
7. Review of a restaurant, movie, sporting event, etc (see samples; mimic if you wish) (1 – 4 pages) professional writing.

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

The Silent Takeover : 101 - 150

Wed 8/23

4 pages due from Week Two writing assignments ( All writing assignments need to be written in Arial Font, 10 point, double spaced, with one inch margins.)

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

The Silent Takeover : 151 - 200

Week Three

Mon 8/28

6 pages due from Week Two writing assignments ( All writing assignments need to be written in Arial Font, 10 point, double spaced, with one inch margins.)

Writing Assignments:

1. Listen to This American Life , analyze how they create a story, choose one to mimic, and then create your own version—can be written, a transcript, or audio. (3 – 5 pages…we'll talk about how to make this estimation of pages) (creative writing)
2. Check out a claim or a series of claims in Noreena Hertz's book The Silent Takeover, and write a response to what she's arguing, or choose to write your own position paper about the issues, being sure to support any of your claims with evidence. (3 – 5 pages) (research papers—academic writing/professional writing)
3. Take header from within a chapter of Hertz's book, (she divides up chapters under headers), outline the subsection, figure out how she arranged her material, and then take the strategy she uses, and apply it to a topic of your choice (can be something humorous, something you know a lot about, can be made up!). Turn in the outline, along with the mimic exercise. (1 – 5 pages). (academic writing)
4. Find out about other avenues for getting the news in the United States—ones that people in other countries use, pretend a perspective you don't hold, and write about a recent news item that involves the United States, arguing for this perspective in either a letter to the editor of a mainstream United States newspaper, or a blog entry. (1 – 2 pages) (writing and culture/professional writing)
5. Choice of article topics from Al's Morning Meeting on Poynter (blog entry—as if you're doing citizen journalism) (1 – 5 pages) (professional writing)
6. Pretend that your high school has invited you back to speak to a group of students about what they can expect at college. You can choose from a range of possible issues or concerns or experiences that you've had, but you want to focus your speech in such a way that students can leave the talk able to summarize your message succinctly. (this can be a funny, serious, or heart wrenching speech, and it can include images and sound. You need to have a written transcript of what you intend to say.) (5 – 15 minutes; 3 – 7 pages) (professional writing)

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

The Silent Takeover : 200 - 250

Wed 8/30

4 pages due from Week Three writing assignments ( All writing assignments need to be written in Arial Font, 10 point, double spaced, with one inch margins.)

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

The Silent Takeover : 251 – END.

Week Four

Mon 9/4 labor day

Wed 9/6

6 pages due from Week Three writing assignments pages due ( All writing assignments need to be written in Arial Font, 10 point, double spaced, with one inch margins.)

Writing Assignments:

1. watch this video http://eepybird.com/dcm1.html , think of some sort of video that you might be interested—or the equivalent on paper, or in audio, and create a choreographed, entertaining text. You want to look at something that can have a theme and then variations… If you don't find this video an amusing example, find one that you do like from some place like youtube or eepybird…just check with me to see if it's something that will work. (equivalent of 3 – 10 pages) (creative writing)
2. revisit This American Life for another story idea, write your own, can be on paper, video, or audio. (equivalent of 3 – 5 pages) (creative writing)
3. Choice of article topics from Al's Morning Meeting on Poynter (blog entry—as if you're doing citizen journalism) (1 – 5 pages) (professional writing)
4. Find out about other avenues for getting the news in the United States—ones that people in other countries use, pretend a perspective you don't hold, and write about a recent news item that involves the United States, arguing for this perspective in either a letter to the editor of a mainstream United States newspaper, or a blog entry. (1 – 2 pages) (writing and culture/professional writing)
5. Summarize The Silent Takeover by Noreena Hertz in 3 pages, then in 100 words, then in 25 words. (3 + a little bit) (academic writing)
6. Read 10 reviews of The Silent Takeover, and summarize the main responses to the text. (1 – 3 pages) (academic writing)
7. Write a review of The Silent Takeover by Noreena Hertz, making sure to incorporate quotations/citations from her text. (3 – 6 pages) (professional writing/academic writing)
8. Write a review of The Silent Takeover for Amazon.com/a blog space, a student assignment place. (1/2 a page – 4 pages) (Professional writing)

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

Shadows of War : 3 - 50

Week Five

Mon 9/11

6 pages due from Week Four writing assignments ( All writing assignments need to be written in Arial Font, 10 point, double spaced, with one inch margins.)

Writing Assignments:

•  Take a chapter from Nordstrom's book, outline the chapter, figure out how she arranged her material, and then take the strategy she uses, and apply it to a topic of your choice (something you know a lot about). Turn in the outline, along with the mimic exercise. (1 – 5 pages). (academic writing)

•  Choice of article topics from Al's Morning Meeting on Poynter (newspaper article for the school newspaper, or blog entry—as if you're doing citizen journalism) (1 – 5 pages) (professional writing)

•  look at a recent entry from E-media tidbits ; either respond to something they're writing about, go into more depth about it, or mimic the form, telling about information that you think would contribute to their perspectives. (professional writing)

•  Revisit that description from week two's writing assignments. (Description of something that's missing/needed in Statesboro (a business, program, service, improvement to Georgia Southern or surrounding community)) Write a formal proposal to the appropriate audience, integrating research. (3 – 10 pages) (Professional writing) (*can be collaborative)

•  Your choice of earlier prompts—if you liked doing something, and want to try it again, ask me if it's okay.

•  Who makes a better role model for you, Noreena Hertz or Carolyn Nordstrom. Why? (You will need to do additional research to find out about these two women.) (1 – 5 pages) OR take up on of their claims, research it, shape your opinion on the issue, and create a research-driven paper that helps you to support your opinion.

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

Shadows of War : 51 - 100

Wed 9/13

4 pages due from Week Five writing assignments ( All writing assignments need to be written in Arial Font, 10 point, double spaced, with one inch margins.)

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

Shadows of War : 100 - 150

Week Six

Mon 9/18

6 pages due from Week Five writing assignments ( All writing assignments need to be written in Arial Font, 10 point, double spaced, with one inch margins.)

Writing Assignments:

1. You've read enough of Carolyn Nordstrom's text to compare her arguments with those that Noreen Hertz raises. What are some of the significant arguments that each woman raises; what are their strategies for making these arguments? Would they agree with each other's arguments? Disagree? Why? What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of each author's arguments? Which of the authors' positions do you prefer? Why? After answering these questions, imagine that I'm in the difficult position of having to eliminate one of these books from my syllabus. Which of them should I keep and why? (draw on textual evidence from both books, on external sources as well, if you want) (3 – 7 pages) (academic paper)
2. Find examples of political cartoons, and then channel either Nordstrom or Hertz, and create a cartoon that reflects their political position, and teaches us to see the issue they see in the venue of the cartoon. (1 – 5 pages) (creative writing/academic paper/professional writing.)
3. Write a review of Shadows of War either for this week or for the next. The text should address academic writing concerns about staying focused on key issues, drawing from the text, supporting your opinions with well-respected research. Imagine that you can publish this review in a very serious venue—either an academic journal or something like The New York Review of Books (academic paper/professional writing)
4. Create a survival packet for next fall's incoming freshmen. Determine who would give out the packet, what their goals would be, and how you would shape the packet as a result. (play as much as you want—from the container the packet comes in to the types of information, to the ways you design the information.) 5 – 10 pages

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

Shadows of War : 151 - 200

Wed 9/20

4 pages due from Week Six writing assignments ( All writing assignments need to be written in Arial Font, 10 point, double spaced, with one inch margins.)

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

Shadows of War : 201 - 250

Week Seven

Mon 9/25

6 pages due from Week six writing assignments ( All writing assignments need to be written in Arial Font, 10 point, double spaced, with one inch margins.)

Writing Assignments:

1. Develop a four year plan for acquiring the kinds of experiences you need for the kinds of jobs that you want when you graduate. Look into existing job/internship/service-learning opportunities and create a resume/cover letter that you can give to potential employers/internship and service-learning providers. (professional/technical writing)
2. Create a themed blog that is for you and other members of the class (and/or people who have expertise in a particular area). The contributors to the blog then need to create the visual elements of the blog, along with the rationale for the blog, the rules of engagement, etc. (Look at examples on-line, from I blame the patriarchy, to the one I like that keeps me current on experimental fiction). Write up a description of what happened and then discuss what you think you learned. (professional/technical writing)
3. Imagine an audience of Writing teachers, who know very little about the technologies that are on the horizon. You might even interview Writing teachers to figure out what they do and don't know about. Choose one technology that they seem afraid of, and explain how it works to them in a document that you think will work best for them. (Technical writing)
4. Create a resource web page for students who are assigned the books assigned in this course. (an assignment that can carry into the web page portion of this course).

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

Shadows of War : 250 - END

Wed 9/27

4 pages due from Week Seven writing assignments ( All writing assignments need to be written in Arial Font, 10 point, double spaced, with one inch margins.)

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

Mountains Beyond Mountains : 3 - 50

Week Eight

Mon 10/2

6 pages due ( All writing assignments need to be written in Arial Font, 10 point, double spaced, with one inch margins.)

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

Mountains Beyond Mountains : 51 - 100

Wed 10/4

4 pages due ( All writing assignments need to be written in Arial Font, 10 point, double spaced, with one inch margins.)

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

Mountains Beyond Mountains : 100 - 150

Week Nine

Mon 10/9

Web pages/Revision workshops

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

Mountains Beyond Mountains : 150 – 200

Last day to withdraw without academic penalty: Oct 10 th !

Wed 10/11

Web pages/Revision workshops

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

Mountains Beyond Mountains : 201 - 250

Week Ten

Mon 10/16

Web pages/Revision workshops

Reading Assignments FOR NEXT CLASS:

Mountains Beyond Mountains : 251 – 301

Wed 10/18

Web pages/Revision workshops

Week Eleven

Mon 10/23

Web pages/Revision workshops

Wed 10/25

Web pages/Revision workshops

Week Twelve

Mon 10/30

Web pages/Revision workshops

Wed 11/1

Web pages/Revision workshops

Week Thirteen

Mon 11/6

Revised portfolio DUE

Wed 11/8

Revised portfolio Workshops

Week Fourteen

Mon 11/13

Revised portfolio DUE

Wed 11/15

Revised portfolio Workshops

Week Fifteen

Mon 11/20

Portfolio DUE

Wed 11/22

HOLIDAY

Week Sixteen

Mon 11/27

Presentations

Wed 11/29

Presentations

Week Seventeen

12/4

5:30 – 7:30 FINAL