Writing Seminar II: Writing Ethnicity (K10.0659)
Gallatin School of Individualized Study
Mondays & Wednesdays, 4:55-6:10; 715 Broadway, #518
Instructor: Jaime Cleland
Office: 807E
Office hours: Mondays 4:00-4:55 and by appointment
Web site: http://wfs.gc.cuny.edu/JCleland/www
E-mail: jaime.cleland@gmail.com
Phone extension: 87314
Note: It’s much easier to reach me by e-mail than by phone. I generally respond to e-mails within 24 hours (except weekends), but am not a reliable voice mail checker. However, you should be able to catch me on the phone during office hours.

Course Description:
In this course, we will consider, through formal and informal writing assignments, the special challenges of reading and writing ethnicity. Members of minority groups often deal with the pressures of writing as a minority group member and must consider the different expectations of “insider” and “outsider” audiences. Yet, these writers are also individuals affected by forces other than their ethnic identifications: gender, class, historical events, family and friends, the media, and personal experiences. Above all, they are writers who creatively reshape the world around them, transforming it into literature. In writing assignments—online discussion board responses, in-class writing, short essays—that will culminate in a research paper, we will address the meaning and responsibilities of ethnicity. Readings may include Richard Rodriguez, Maxine Hong Kingston, Dalton Conley, and others. Our own texts will also be a major subject of discussion through in-class workshops.

Goals:
This course is intended to develop your comfort and skill in planning, writing, and revising essays. The final project for the semester will be an extended essay requiring research, and class time will also be spent on locating, evaluating, incorporating, and documenting outside sources. Because good writing is informed by good reading, we will discuss a number of essays along with a book-length memoir; our own texts will also be a major subject of discussion through in-class workshops.

Texts:
Required:
Kingston, Maxine Hong. The Woman Warrior.
Rodriguez, Richard. Hunger of Memory.
Conley, Dalton. Honky.
These texts have been ordered at the NYU Bookstore at 18 Washington Place. Additional handouts will be distributed.
Suggested:
Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference.
I haven’t assigned a specific reference text on composing, research, style, grammar, and source documentation in case you have one you already like, or want to try a few before buying one, but it’s helpful to have one. You will also want to have a good dictionary and thesaurus.

More resources:
Feel free to meet with me during office hours for individual attention on writing issues, preliminary drafts, etc. You can also get help and feedback at the writing center. Make an appointment with the Gallatin Writing Center at the web site, http://www.nyu.edu/gallatin/writingschedule, or drop by the office at 715 Broadway, room 809. The NYU Writing Center is also available at 169 Mercer Street, room 230; call for an appointment at 212-998-8866.

Requirements:
Essays: 80% Over the semester, you will write three short essays (worth 15% each) along with a research paper of 10-12 pages on a subject you will design yourself (30%). Preliminary drafts will be workshopped in class, and I am also glad to meet with you during office hours to discuss drafts one-on-one. If you wish to revise an essay after receiving a grade, you must come to office hours to discuss your revision plans and strategies, as well as a deadline. Please be advised that I do not accept late papers, so plan accordingly and back up your computer files.
Participation: 25% Because this class is a seminar, your participation is essential. Participation encompasses prompt, prepared attendance along with willingness and ability to enter discussion. Your final presentation, regular online discussion board postings, and participation in in-class writing workshops are also included under the rubric of participation. You can’t participate if you’re not in class, so missing class more than two times is likely to affect your grade negatively.

Academic integrity:
Because this course is research-focused, much of your work will involve outside sources. Dealing with these sources responsibly is essential, and we will spend time discussing the demands of academic integrity and how to meet them. Penalties for dishonest work begin with an F for the assignment and a report to the dean’s office.

Disabilities:
If you have a documented learning disability that could interfere with your ability to complete the requirements of this course, please talk to me as soon as possible to plan accommodations.

Jan. 17: Introduction to course. Langston Hughes, “Theme for English B” (handout).

Jan. 22: Writing workshop.*
Jan. 24: W.E.B. DuBois, “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” (handout); Zora Neale Hurston, “How It Feels to Be Colored Me” (handout); Vine Deloria Jr., “Custer Died For Your Sins” (handout); Kesayo Noda, “Growing Up Asian in America” (handout); Adrienne Rich, “Split at the Root” (handout).

Jan. 29: Writing workshop.
Jan. 31: Hunger of Memory, pp 1-110: “Middle-class Pastoral,” “Aria,” “The Achievement of Desire,” “Credo.”

Feb. 5: Writing workshop.
Feb. 7: Hunger of Memory, pp 111-195: “Complexion,” “Profession,” “Mr. Secrets”

Feb. 12: James Baldwin, “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” (handout); June Jordan, “Nobody Mean More to Me Than You” (handout); selection from Eva Hoffman, Lost in Translation (handout).
Feb. 14: Writing workshop.

Feb. 19: NO CLASS (Presidents’ Day).
Feb. 21: The Woman Warrior, pp 1-53: “No Name Woman,” “White Tigers.”

Feb. 26: Writing workshop.
Feb. 28: Meet at Bobst Library, Lower Level 1, room PC 2.

March 5: Writing workshop.
March 7: The Woman Warrior, pp 161-209: “A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe”; Ya-Jie Zhang, “A Chinese Woman’s Response” (handout); Frank Chin, “The Most Popular Book in China” (handout).

March 12: NO CLASS (Spring Break).
March 14: NO CLASS (Spring Break).

March 19: Writing workshop.
March 21: Philip Roth, “Defender of the Faith,” “Writing about Jews” (handouts).

March 26: Writing workshop.
March 28: Peggy McIntosh,“White Privilege” (handout); Linda Lopez McAlister, “My Grandmother’s Passing” (handout); Linda M. Pierce, “Pinay White Woman” (handout).

April 2: Writing workshop.
April 4: Honky, pp xiii-xiv, 1-73, prologue through chapter 6.

April 9: Writing workshop.
April 11: Honky, pp 74-136, chapters 7-12.

April 16: Writing workshop.
April 18: Honky, pp 137-204, chapter 13 through epilogue.

April 23: Writing workshop.
April 25: Research papers due. Presentation of research projects.

April 30: Presentation of research projects continues.

* Note: Topics of workshop classes will vary, and depend on the needs of the class as we progress. Some subjects we are likely to address include: academic integrity and proper source documentation, prewriting and drafting, revision, thesis statements, locating and evaluating sources, and incorporating quotations effectively. A number of the workshop sessions will be devoted to in-class peer review of drafts.