FTS 100-101 pfreiert@gac.edu

Patricia N. Freiert x7645/934-5508

Fall 2006 Vickner 306

Thurs 1:30-3:30

Cultural Identity: blending two traditions

Texts:

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama

The Loom and Other Stories by R.A. Sasaki

Saffron Sky: a life between Iran and America by Gelareh Asayesh

The Wedding by Dorothy West

Native Speaker by Chang-Rae Lee

American Knees by Shawn Wong

The Everyday Writer by Andrea A. Lunsford

A good dictionary e.g. American Heritage

Recent and not so recent immigrants to America, as well as Americans who have lived abroad, face conflicts in balancing the cultural heritages that shape their identity. Individuals who try to integrate two cultures, to "walk in two worlds," encounter differences in important values: the role of the family, the degree of individual independence, language, gender roles, religious beliefs, and traditions. We will read nonfiction and fictional accounts of such experiences to recognize and appreciate these differences. Finally we will examine our own upbringing and the sources of the values we have assumed or taken for granted.

This FTS serves as one of three required writing intensive courses required for graduation. You can expect to write both formally and informally in this class, and you’ll produce multiple drafts of each formal writing assignment, considering the comments of peers and professor when you revise substantively.

Grading:

25% = Discussion and Class Participation (Attendance counts!)

25% = Learning Log

30% = 3 papers

10% = peer critiques

5% = Reports (short & oral), Miscellaneous

5% = Final Essay

Attendance:

This is necessary for discussion and class participation. You cannot participate if you are not in class. Simply attending and staying awake will represent part of this grade! Speaking is best!

Class notes:

You need to keep notes summarizing for yourself the class discussions each day. These notes and your learning logs will be useful for one of your papers and your final essay. These will be collected periodically and be part of your discussion grade.

Learning Logs:

These are for you--to reflect, develop thoughts, practice writing and keep as a record of your reading. There should be one for each reading assignment collected randomly, but at least once a week. They are due in class and an hour before class on Moodle for the assigned day. No log = a zero. These interactions and responses to the reading must consist of at least 4 sections:

· Write about something concrete from your personal experience or in the news or culture that relates to the reading

· Answer the question(s) for the assigned reading. These will be posted on our moodle class web site: http://moodle.gac.edu

· Copy a quote or comment on an incident that particularly strikes you

· Note what you would like us to discuss about this reading or what you think we should discuss.

The answer to the reading question should be in full paragraph form. One of the other sections should also be developed into a full paragraph.

Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty

Using the ideas and/or words of another writer and representing them as your own is plagiarism. We will work to learn how to balance the voices in your papers and to quote, paraphrase, and summarize other writers responsibly. Ultimately, though, it is your responsibility to give credit to those whose ideas and language you utilize when you write. Plagiarism is a very serious offense within the scholarly community, and the college does not permit it. In this class, documented cases of plagiarism can result in failure of the course. Note also that I will submit copies of plagiarized work on final drafts of formal papers to the Dean's office.

In addition, Gustavus Adolphus College does have an Honor Code, which we will discuss during our FTS. The statement below indicates your understanding of the Gustavus Honor Code and its relationship to plagiarism. You should copy this statement in full and sign below it on every graded (final draft) paper:

On my honor, I pledge that I have not given, received, nor tolerated others' use of unauthorized aid in completing this work.

For Thursday, September 7

Read the last story in Interpreter of Maladies, "The Third and Final Continent." In your Learning Log answer the following question:

What are some some of the difficulties and cultural differences that an individual encounters when living in another culture? Use the author's experiences in London and Boston as the basis of your response.

Guidelines for discussion

Your active contribution to discussion is welcome and necessary to the success of this class. I urge you to participate in a constructive way. Mull over the following distinctions:

I will be discussing constructively when:
* I listen with a view of wanting to understand.

* I listen with a desire to learn from others.

* I describe my own opinions and experiences, aware that they are probably not universal.

* I ask questions that seek to increase my understanding.

* I seek to further the thrust of discussion and to avoid repetition.

* I seek to be as clear and as concise as possible.

These rules of thumb might seem rather obvious. But their opposites are altogether more insidious.

I will be discussing destructively when:

* I listen with a view of countering whatever I hear.

* I listen for weaknesses so as to devalue another’s view.

* I speak on the assumption that my opinions and experiences are the only correct ones, and believe

that I already know what other are going to say.

* I ask questions to trip up or to confuse.

* I throw in red herrings that deliberately derail the ongoing discussion, and repeat what has been

said previously because I though of it first and can express myself so much better than anybody

else.

* I am in love with the sound of my own voice.

This is not to say that you shouldn’t disagree with others. Quite the opposite is the case ― diverging viewpoints often lead to a more nuanced understanding of an issue. But it is the spirit in which you beg to differ and the way in which you communicate your counter-argument that will determine whether your response is constructive.

There is a Quaker motto that has meant a lot to me and I think is important to the spirit of our discussions. In Quaker meetings they always attempt to speak the truth with love.

Welcome to "the Great Conversation."