University of Denver, Dept. of Political Science
WRIT 1111 (CRN 4191
Sturm 234 M, W – 2:00-3:50p.m.
Office Hrs: W, Th 12-2 or by appt.
Nancy D. Wadsworth, PhD
Office: Sturm 474
Phone: 871-2972
Email: [email protected]
First-Year Seminar Fall 2009
“Politics & Memoir: Autobiography, Identity, and Power”
Course Description
This course will employ memoir and autobiography as central tools through which to explore
concepts of social location, political power (structural, individual, and collective), agency, and
social change. This course demonstrates how, to borrow a phrase from 1970s feminism, the
personal is, indeed, political. We will explore how social location influences people’s
perceptions of their own identity, and the political possibilities and limits of their lives. All of
these contextualized factors can be categorized as micropolitics. We’ll also investigate some of
the different ways in which individuals and groups transform difficult social and political
realities into transformation and change. In the process, you will get an introduction to
phenomena like structural racism; socioeconomic, gender, and sexual orientation inequalities;
state-sponsored political oppression; and the complex relationships between culture and politics.
As we engage with the powerful memoirs, some by figures familiar to you, my hope is that you
will come to a deeper appreciation of your own social location(s), your emerging political
identities, and avenues for growth and development.
Intellectual community: An aim of first-year seminars at DU is to create settings of active
intellectual community. The course will meet this goal through lively, structured discussions,
sometimes in small groups, of memoir material combined with occasional theoretical material
from political science and sociology that will help us make sense of the memoirs. We will watch
films related to the individuals and/or collective movements in which the memoirists took part. I
will also invite guest speakers to come talk about stories of their political awakenings. Whenever
possible, you will have the opportunity to interview these speakers live. We will also attend
related special events offered by DU. You will also have steady opportunity to use the memoir
form to explore how many of the themes from the course play out in your own lives.
Academic expectations: In addition to a very active reading and writing load, you will be
learning tools of academic analysis, textual interpretation, interviewing, and engaged discussion.
All of my First-Year Seminars have been described as rigorous in student evaluations, and this
one will be equally intensive.
Active learning: Wherever appropriate, I incorporate interactive learning exercises into this
course, from small group work to debates, games, and oral presentations.
FAIR WARNING CLAUSE: This is a reading- and writing-intensive, and also potentially
personally rewarding course. Staying on top of the daily work, including reading and discussion,
will be a crucial element in your ultimate success in the class, and the class success overall.
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Course Objectives
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Develop your ability to read closely and interpret a variety of different styles of memoir,
and other texts
Introduce you to analytical frameworks related to social location, power, privilege, and
identity in the context of U.S. political culture
Improve your sense of your own social location and identities, and the potential political
implications of them
Foster clarity of written expression in analytical and memoir genres
Practice analysis, argumentation, and discussion skills.
Course Requirements
Here is the breakdown of grading categories for this course:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Attendance and Participation
Regular blog posting assignments
Paper #1 (Analytical)
Paper #2 (Memoir)
Final project—written elements
Final project—oral
20%
20%
15%
15%
20%
10%
1. Attendance and participation
These categories constitute a full 1/5th of your grade, so they make all the daily difference in
your performance. My expectation is that you will attend class at least 90% of the time and be an
active, respectful, prepared participant, a full member of this class community. You may miss
two classes without an excuse and without the absences affecting your grade, but you are
responsible for staying up to date with the work and/or assignments for those classes. If you have
an emergency and need to get an excuse for class (over the 2 absences), please let me know as
soon as possible, preferably via email or phone.
2. Blog posting
Because this is designed as a writing intensive course, you will be writing before or after every
class session, on a blog site that you set up and design. (Initially I will be the only audience for
your writing, but the final assignment will give you a chance to incorporate some of the “best of”
material from your blog.) For the most part, you will be posting 1-2 paragraph reading
reflections on your blog by noon on Mondays . You will also update or edit your blog entries
after our Wednesday class, to incorporate any new thoughts or insights you have to add on that
topic.
Sometimes I will give you prompts for topics to write about on your blog. Otherwise, here are
some prompts you can choose from to get you reflecting:
What did I like about this reading and why?
What did I not like about it? Did anything make me uncomfortable in the reading? Why?
Does this writing illuminate anything about a larger problem in American society?
Explain.
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Was there anything about the style of the writing that I found particularly effective or
compelling?
What did I learn about myself from this reading, either through comparison of similarities
or differences between my experiences and the author’s?
What links or connections are there between this reading and anything else we’ve read so
far?
3. Analytical Paper (5-7 pages)
This will be assigned by the third week of class and will ask you to use some of the theoretical
material you’ll be introduced to in order to analyze one or more of the memoir texts.
4. Comparative Paper (5-7 pages)
In this paper you will write a college-level comparison between two or more course texts. This
will likely be assigned in Week 5.
5-6. Final Project
This will be explained later in the class, but it will involve one longer, synthetic paper (probably
10-12pgs) that draws from insights gathered over the course of the quarter, plus an oral
presentation to share with the class regarding what you have learned. It will involve writing
about your own personal experience in a creative way.
Course Policies
Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. I am vigilant about checking the authenticity of
students’ work and have no qualms about prosecuting violators. If you have any questions
about what constitutes academic dishonesty, please ask me or refer to DU’s policy at
http://www.du.edu/honorcode.
Communication
It is your responsibility to stay on top of events and assignments related to our class. Please
make sure you are signed up on Blackboard (all of you should be) and that your email is not
blocked, so that you receive emails from me. If you have to miss class, please first check
the syllabus, or contact a fellow student about the assignment before emailing me.
Reading
Reading is not optional for this class. Your success, and the success of the class, depends on
your active participation in discussions about the reading. Students are required to complete
the assigned readings at the beginning of each topic or week. If it is clear to me that you have
not done the reading, I will mark you down for it.
Absences
I will take attendance daily. It is the policy of the Political Science Department that more
than two unexcused absences may result in a failing grade for the course. The only excused
absences are for documented illness, a death in your immediate family, personal injury,
or approved sports-related events.
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Late work
If a legitimate emergency prevents you from turning in an assignment, I need to know the
relevant details as soon as possible and we can probably work out an agreement. Otherwise,
late individual work will be marked down half a grade for each day that it is late. Late group
work will not be accepted, which means that if you tend to be late, you need to try to break
the habit so as not to impact your group.
Classroom behavior
I expect you to come to class well prepared to engage in the multi-directional
learning/teaching process. Feel free to question and, at times, disagree with your peers, the
reading, or the instructor regarding thoughts and feelings on particular issues. If you disagree
with material presented, do so respectfully and with an aim to facilitating, rather than
impeding, the learning process for others.
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Classroom etiquette
Please do not text, read email, and/or surf the Internet in class except during
designated breaks. I reserve the right to eject you from class for any of these
activities, and the ejection will count as an absence.
I prefer laptops to be closed during class time unless specifically requested.
If you are disruptive in class, I reserve the right to dismiss you immediately.
(Ringing cell phones, incidentally, are disruptive; please turn them off.)
The class may raise provocative and/or emotional issues based on our respective
social and political locations. Please respect that we come from different
perspectives and always avoid personal attacks when making a point.
It is important that we respect a safe climate for debate and discussion. That also
means taking the time to listen carefully to one another.
Whenever possible, use evidence from the course material to make an argument
or ask a question. This will enhance your credibility, and factor into your final
grade.
Try not to interrupt each other during discussion. In small groups, you may want
to select a discussion facilitator to make sure that everyone who wants to has a
chance to speak.
If you tend to dominate discussion and have a lot to say, do hold back sometimes
so that other people have a chance to jump in. Likewise, if you tend to be quiet,
push yourself to engage more actively than you are used to doing. It’s all good
for intellectual growth.
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Course Schedule
The course schedule is subject to change – with notice – during the course of the semester, in
which case I will post a new schedule to the course website. YOU are responsible for using the
most updated schedule.
NOTE: All readings are available on Blackboard, except for the one book I encourage you to
purchase on your own: Obama’s Dreams from My Father (week 8+). Please download and print
the Blackboard readings in preparation for class discussion.
Week 1: Is the Personal Political? Social Norms and Social Location.
(M) September 14 (Defining Social Location)
Reading:
 “Identities and Social Locations” from Women’s Lives, Multicultural
Perspectives
 Dorothy Allison, “A Question of Class”
(W) September 16 (Youth Binge Drinking and Social Norms)
Reading:
 Koren Zailckas, Smashed, excerpts.
 Blog entry #1 due by noon.
Week 2: Naming “Invisible” Power Structures
(M) September 21 (Race and Consciousness)
Reading:
 W.E.B. DuBois, “Double Consciousness,” from The Souls of Black Folk
 Harriet Jacobs, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,” excerpts.
 Sojourner Truth, “Arn’t I a Woman?” (short speech)
 Blog entry #2 due by noon.
(W) September 22 (“Race Traitors”)
Reading:
 Peggy McIntosh, “Unpacking the White Privilege Knapsack”.
 Jane Lazarre, Beyond the Whiteness of Whiteness, excerpt.
Analytical paper assigned. Due October 9
Week 3: Church and State and/or Religion and Politics
(M) September 28 (“City on a Hill”?)
Reading:
 Thomas Jefferson, “Letters on Liberty and Religion” excerpts
 Ralph Reed, Active Faith Ch 1
 Blog entry #3 due by noon.
Video in class: “One Punk Under God,” (Penrose BV3785.B29 O54 2007 DVD)
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(W) September 30 (God on our Side?)
Reading:
 Ralph Reed, Active Faith, Ch 4
 Mel White, Stranger at the Gate, excerpts.
Film in class: “SoulForce” and possible guest speaker
Week 4: Gender, Family & Culture
(M) October 5
Reading:
 Martha Beck, Leaving the Saints, Excerpt
 Blog entry #4 due by noon.
(W) October 7
Reading:
 Elena Tajima Creef, “Notes from a Fragmented Daughter.”
 Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior, excerpt.
In-class writing workshop
 Analytical Paper Due Friday October 9.
Week 5: Boys & Girls, Mothers & Fathers, and the Stuff Piled On Top
(M) October 12 (Masculinity and Fatherlessness)
Reading:
 J.R. Moehringer, The Tender Bar, excerpts.
 Blog #5 due by noon.
In-class writing exercise.
(W) October 14 (Femininity and Promiscuity)
Reading:
 Kerry Cohen, Loose Girl, excerpts.
Comparative Analysis paper assigned. Due October 29.
Week 6: ‘All in the Family’: Family & Violence
(M) October 19
Reading:
 Luis J. Rodriguez, Always Running (pp. 1-55)
Blog #6 due by noon.
(W) October 21
Reading:
 Luis J. Rodriguez, Always Running (pp. 132-187)
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Week 7: Crossing Lines
(M) October 26
Reading:
 Luis J. Rodriguez, Always Running (pp. 188-End)
Blog #7 due by noon.
Final projects assigned
(W) October 28
Reading:
 Excerpts by Olivencia and Richards from Storytelling Sociology
 Memoir paper due by noon on Friday 10/30.
Week 8: A Complex American Life: Barack Obama
(M) November 2
Reading:
 Dreams from My Father, Preface – Ch. 4
Blog #8 due by noon.
(W) November 4
Reading:
 Dreams from My Father, Chs 4-7.
Week 9: Obama and Class Presentations
(M) November 9
Reading:
 Dreams from My Father, Chs. 8-12
Presentations
(W) November 11
Reading:
 Dreams from My Father, Ch. 12-14
Presentations
Week 10: Obama and Class Presentations
(M) November 17
Reading:
 Dreams from My Father, Preface – Chs. 15-17
Presentations
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(W) November 19
Reading:
 Dreams from My Father, Preface – Ch. 18-Epilogue
Presentations
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