CAT1: F ICTIONS OF H ISTORY
Tu/Thurs 12:30-1:50pm SOLIS 104
Fall quarter 2013
Prof. Nancy H. Kwak
Office: HSS 6086A
[email protected]
Office Hours: Wed 1-2pm by appointment
Teaching Assistants
Nina Baker <[email protected]>
Gabe Kalmusskatz <[email protected]>
Troy Kokinis <[email protected]>
Stephen Mandiberg <[email protected]>
Brett Zahner <[email protected]>
INTRODUCTION :
How do we write narratives and remember our past? Whether deliberately or not, all of us write stories and draw mental maps that
give structure to our experiences. We believe these stories and pass them down from generation to generation, but we also
understand that each of these narratives is subjective and personal. This class will look at this process of history-making in popular
culture. In particular, we will examine a wide range of historical artifacts, including samples from art, music, architecture, literature,
and more. In particular, we will think about how technology mediates memory.
This course is primarily an introductory reading course. You will spend a great deal of time scrutinizing “texts” – whether literally
words on a page, or alternate sources of meaning such as images and sound. We hope you will get plenty of useful feedback in this
process. Ask for help as often as needed!
R EQUIRED T EXTS:
1. Salman Rushdie, Haroun and the Sea of Stories (Granta, 1991).
2. Shirley Sterling, My Name is Seepeetza (Groundwood Books, 1998).
3. Keiji Nakazawa, Barefoot Gen vol. 1 (Last Gasp of San Francisco, 2004).
4. Shyam Selvadurai, Funny Boy (Harvest Book, 1997).
5. * Peter Menzel, Charles Mann, and Paul Kennedy, Material World: A Global Family Portrait (Sierra Club Books, 1995).
6. * Elizabeth Losh, Jonathan Alexander, Kevin Cannon, and Zander Cannon, Understanding Rhetoric (Boston: Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2014).
7. Clicker
ALL LIBRARY MATERIALS ACCESSIBLE WITH PASSWORD nk1
OPTIONAL TEXT: Andrea Lunsford, Easywriter (Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009).
G RADES :
20% Attendance and participation
10% Assignment 1
20% optional midterm
30% Assignment 2
20% Final exam (or 40% if you do not take the optional midterm)
+2-4% Extra credit – clicker participation rate of 80-90%, +4% clicker participation rate of 91-100% added to total course grade. You are required to
notify your TA that you qualify at the end of the course. You may track your clicker participation rate via Ted.
OULD :
ASSIGNMENTS:
Assignment 1: What is Salman Rushdie’s argument in Haroun and the Sea of Stories? Explain the allegory and how you believe it
might apply to the way we write history. 800-1200 words (double-spaced 12 pt font Times New Roman)
Assignment 2: Think of someone you know who is 60 years or older. What do you think would be the most accurate
way to share this individual’s personal history? A diary? A children’s story of daily life? The layout and design of
her/his home? An oral history? A novel? A documentary? A photograph? Think about how the medium shapes the story that is
told, then produce a sample artifact of this person’s life. You must write an explanation in addition to your actual artifact; for
instance, if you draw a map of his/her hometown, you need to write an extra document explaining the content and how you believe the
format shapes the way we remember this person’s life story. The explanation should be 1200-1500 words unless you are producing an
original written artifact (for instance, a short story), in which case the written artifact needs to be at least 1200 words, and the
explanation, an additional 800 words.
All essays must be submitted in hard copy AND to turnitin.com. Please be careful. You may not use an essay from
another class. All work must be new and original. Please ask if you are confused about plagiarism! Any requests for
extensions will be decided by the TA except in extenuating circumstances.
EXAM:
There is an optional midterm available on 10/31. If you’d like to take the midterm, you should come to class. If you’d prefer not to,
you should not come to class. Those students who take the midterm will only take the second half of the exam during finals week.
There will be NO MAKEUP MIDTERMS. If you don’t come that day for whatever reason, you must take the full final exam.
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The final exam is on December 13th, 11:30-2:30pm. All requests for alternate dates must be backed by a doctor’s note or some
other documentation and approved by your TA.
P OLICY ON LECTURE NOTES :
I will not post or give out my lecture notes. Please do not ask for them. Powerpoint presentations will be posted 24 hours AFTER
the lecture.
THIS COURSE ADHERES TO ALL CAT1 POLICIES BELOW:
1. ATTENDANCE
On-time attendance in lecture and section is required. Please notify your TA if you must be absent for illness or family emergency.
Excessive absence (more than three class sessions, either lectures or sections) may be grounds for failing the course. Excessive tardiness
will also impact your grade and may be grounds for failure.
2. CLASS PARTICIPATION
Contributions to class discussions and active participation in small group work are essential to both the momentum of the course and the
development of your ideas. This requires that you come to class prepared (having completed assigned reading and writing) and ready to
participate in class activities. See the participation evaluation rubric below for more information.
3. ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION
A. Due Dates
An assignment may receive an F if a student does not participate in every phase of the development of the project and meet all deadlines
for preliminary materials (proposals, drafts, etc).
Failure to submit any of the graded course assignments is grounds for failure in the course.
If a final draft, plus required addenda, is not submitted in class on the date due, it will be considered late and will lose one letter grade for
each day or part of a day past due (A to B, etc.). Assignments are due in hard copy as well as via turnitin. You must submit your assignments
directly to your TA; you will not be able to leave papers for your TA at the Sixth College Offices. Any late submissions must be approved by
your TA and/or faculty instructor well in advance of the due date.
B. Turnitin
Final drafts must be submitted to Turnitin via TED BY MIDNIGHT on the day it is submitted in class. A grade will not be assigned to an
assignment until it is submitted to Turnitin via TED. Failure to submit an assignment to Turnintn via TED is grounds for failure of the
assignment.
4. CAT GRADING CRITERIA – PARTICIPATION
Here is a description of the kind of participation in the course that would earn you an A, B, C, etc. Your TA may use pluses and minuses to
reflect your participation more fairly, but this is a general description for each letter grade.
A – Excellent
Excellent participation is marked by near-perfect attendance and rigorous preparation for discussion in lecture and section. You respond to
questions and activities with enthusiasm and insight and you listen and respond thoughtfully to your peers. You submit rough drafts on
time, and these drafts demonstrate a thorough engagement with the assignment. You respond creatively to the feedback you receive (from
both your peers and TA) on drafts, making significant changes to your writing between the first and final drafts that demonstrate
ownership of your own writing process. Finally, you are an active contributor to the peer-review and collaborative writing processes.
B – Good
Good participation is marked by near-perfect attendance and thorough preparation for discussion in lecture and section. You respond to
questions with specificity and make active contributions to creating a safe space for the exchange of ideas. You submit rough drafts on
time, and these drafts demonstrate thorough engagement with the assignment. You respond effectively to the feedback you receive (from
both your peers and TA) on drafts, making changes to your writing between the first and final drafts. You are a regular and reliable
contributor to the peer-review and collaborative writing processes.
C – Satisfactory
Satisfactory participation is marked by regular attendance and preparation for discussion in lecture and section. You respond to questions
when prompted and participate in classroom activities, though you may sometimes be distracted. You are present in lecture and section,
with few absences, and have done some of the reading some of the time. You submit rough drafts on time and make some efforts toward
revision between the first and final drafts of an assignment. You are involved in peer-review activities, but you offer minimal feedback and
you may not always contribute fully to the collaborative writing process.
D – Unsatisfactory
Unsatisfactory participation is marked by multiple absences from section and a consistent lack of preparation. You may regularly be
distracted by materials/technology not directly related to class. You submit late or incomplete drafts and revise minimally or only at a
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surface level between drafts. You are absent for peer-review activities, offer unproductive feedback, or do not work cooperatively in
collaborative environments.
F—Failing
Failing participation is marked by excessive absences, a habitual lack of preparation, and failure to engage in the drafting, revision, and
collaborative writing processes.
5. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
UCSD has a university-wide Policy on Integrity of Scholarship, published annually in the General Catalog, and online at
http://students.ucsd.edu/academics/academic-integrity/policy.html. All students must read and be familiar with this Policy. All suspected
violations of academic integrity will be reported to UCSD's Academic Integrity Coordinator. Students found to have violated UCSD's
standards for academic integrity may receive both administrative and academic sanctions. Administrative sanctions may extend up to and
include suspension or dismissal, and
academic sanctions may include failure of the assignment or failure of the course. Specific examples of prohibited violations of academic
integrity include, but are not limited to, the following:
Academic stealing refers to the theft of exams or exam answers, of papers or take-home exams composed by others, and of research notes,
computer files, or data collected by others.
Academic cheating, collusion, and fraud refer to having others do your schoolwork or allowing them to present your work as their own;
using unauthorized materials during exams; inventing data or bibliography to support a paper, project, or exam; purchasing tests, answers,
or papers from any source whatsoever; submitting (nearly) identical papers to two classes.
Misrepresenting personal or family emergencies or health problems in order to extend deadlines and alter due dates or requirements is
another form of academic fraud. Claiming you have been ill when you were not, claiming that a family member has been ill or has died
when that is untrue are some examples of unacceptable ways of trying to gain more time than your fellow students have been allowed in
which to complete assigned work.
Plagiarism refers to the use of another’s work without full acknowledgment, whether by suppressing the reference, neglecting to identify
direct quotations, paraphrasing closely or at length without citing sources, spuriously identifying quotations or data, or cutting and pasting
the work of several (usually unidentified) authors into a single undifferentiated whole.
Receipt of this syllabus constitutes an acknowledgment that you are responsible for understanding and acting in accordance with UCSD
guidelines on academic integrity.
6. UCSD’s PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNITY
The CAT program affirms UCSD’s Principles of Community, and expects all students to understand and uphold these principles, both in
their daily interactions and in their spoken, written and creative work produced for CAT classes:
The University of California, San Diego is dedicated to learning, teaching, and serving society through education, research, and
public service. Our international reputation for excellence is due in large part to the cooperative and entrepreneurial nature of the UCSD
community. UCSD faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to be creative and are rewarded for individual as well as collaborative
achievements.
To foster the best possible working and learning environment, UCSD strives to maintain a climate of fairness, cooperation, and
professionalism. These principles of community are vital to the success of the University and the well being of its constituents. UCSD
faculty, staff, and students are expected to practice these basic principles as individuals and in groups.
• We value each member of the UCSD community for his or her individual and unique talents, and applaud all efforts to enhance the
quality of campus life. We recognize that each individual's effort is vital to achieving the goals of the University.
• We affirm each individual's right to dignity and strive to maintain a climate of justice marked by mutual respect for each other.
• We value the cultural diversity of UCSD because it enriches our lives and the University. We celebrate this diversity and support respect
for all cultures, by both individuals and the University as a whole.
• We are a university that adapts responsibly to cultural differences among the faculty, staff, students, and community.
• We acknowledge that our society carries historical and divisive biases based on race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, age, disability, sexual
orientation, religion, and political beliefs. Therefore, we seek to foster understanding and tolerance among individuals and groups, and we
promote awareness through education and constructive strategies for resolving conflict.
• We reject acts of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, and political
beliefs, and, we will confront and appropriately respond to such acts.
• We affirm the right to freedom of expression at UCSD. We promote open expression of our individuality and our diversity within the
bounds of courtesy, sensitivity, confidentiality, and respect.
• We are committed to the highest standards of civility and decency toward all. We are committed to promoting and supporting a
community where all people can work and learn together in an atmosphere free of abusive or demeaning treatment.
• We are committed to the enforcement of policies that promote the fulfillment of these principles.
• We represent diverse races, creeds, cultures, and social affiliations coming together for the good of the University and those communities
we serve. By working together as members of the UCSD community, we can enhance the excellence of our institution.
Receipt of this syllabus constitutes an acknowledgment that you are responsible for understanding and acting in accordance with UCSD
guidelines on academic integrity.
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S CHEDULE:
9/26
Week 0: Course introduction
Lecture 1. Introduction: What makes a narrative powerful?
Reading for section:
Start Salman Rushdie, Haroun and the Sea of Stories (Granta,
1991).
10/1, 10/3
Week 1: Master narratives
Lecture 2. Why some are rich and others are poor
Lecture 3. No class. Instead, watch “Guns, Germs, and Steel” ep.
2 only, online start at 57:00
Reading for section:
Finish Salman Rushdie, Haroun and the Sea of Stories (Granta,
1991).
“Introduction: Spaces for Writing,” from Understanding
Rhetoric and Easy Writer
10/8, 10/10
Week 2: Text and subtext
Lecture 4. History in everyday objects
Lecture 5. Edutainment: World’s Fairs and theme parks
Reading for section:
Marianne Holdzkom, “A past to make us proud,” in A.
Bowdoin Van Riper, Learning from Mickey, Donald, and Walt:
Essays on Disney’s Edutainment Films (Jefferson, N.C.:
McFarland, c2011). online
“Early Victorian Tea Set,” in Neil MacGregor, History of the
World in 100 Objects (Viking Adult, 2011). online
“Chapter 2: Reading Strategically,” from Understanding Rhetoric
and Easy Writer
Assignment 1 draft due in section
10/15, 10/17
Week 3: Nostalgia
Lecture 6. Children’s literature and the wild west
Lecture 7. Empire in song
Reading for section:
Shirley Sterling, My Name is Seepeetza (Groundwood Books,
1998).
Simon Kuper, “The end of colonial nostalgia?,” Financial
Times, March 29, 2013, available here:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/5d48f3d4-9752-11e2-a77c00144feabdc0.html#axzz2dNQsz2iD
Assignment 1 final version due in lecture 7
10/22, 10/24
Week 4: Memories in built form
Lecture 8. The city
Lecture 9. The house
Read for section:
Anthony D. King, “Ch. 1: India 1600-1980” in The Bungalow
(Oxford UP, 1995). online
Receive midterm review sheet on 10/24
10/29, 10/31
Week 5: National pasts
Lecture 10. Optional midterm – bring bluebook!
Lecture 11. Remembering war
Reading for section:
Keiji Nakazawa, Barefoot Gen vol. 1 (Last Gasp of San
Francisco, 2004).
11/5, 11/7
Week 6: Documenting the past
Lecture 12. Split lecture: ½ = GUEST SPEAKER Heather
Smedberg. Deciding what to preserve
Lecture 13. Photograph as artifact
Reading for section:
Peter Menzel, Charles Mann, and Paul Kennedy, Material
World: A Global Family Portrait (Sierra Club Books, 1995).
11/12, 11/14
Week 7: Factual narratives
Lecture 14. The documentary and mockumentary
Lecture 15. News as narrative
Reading for section:
Watch Control Room (2004).
“Chapter 6: Rethinking Revision,” from Understanding Rhetoric
and Easy Writer
Assignment 2 draft due in section
11/19, 11/21
Week 8: Personal histories
Lecture 16. Migration and dislocation in novel form
Lecture 17. Oral histories
Reading for section:
Shyam Selvadurai, Funny Boy (Harvest Book, 1997).
11/26
Week 9: Forgetting and silence
Lecture 18. Genocide and memory
THANKSGIVING BREAK
Samantha Power, “Rwanda: ‘Mostly in a Listening
Mode,’” in A Problem from Hell (HarperCollins, 2007).
online
Assignment 2 final version due in lecture 18
12/3, 12/5
Week 10: Autobiography
Lecture 19. The performance of history
Lecture 20. Fictions of the future
Receive final exam review sheet on 12/5
Final exam December 13th, 11:30-2:30pm
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