EVHM 2302 "The Literature of Place" Fall 2011

SYLLABUS (Fall 2011)




T 2-4:50



Instructor: Dr. Susan Tomlinson

201B McClellan Hall

742-0036 ext. 239

susan.tomlinson@ttu.edu

Office Hours: TBA

Teaching Blog: http://doctortteaching.blogspot.com/



Required texts:

Goodbye to a River by John Graves

The Survival of the Bark Canoe by John McPhee

A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit

Like Water for Chocolate Laura Esquivel







Course Description:

This course covers literature related to a sense of place, nature, and the environment. Through reading, discussion, writing workshops, and self-directed research, students will learn how to tell the story of place. Field trips are required.

Competency Statement:

Students in this Natural History and Humanities course should be able to: construct and present creative works, and defend critical and aesthetic judgments of works in the creative arts.



Expected learning outcomes for this course are:

1) Identify, describe, and/or create elements of place in literature.

2) Analyze elements of place within cultural and historical contexts.

3) Analyze and summarize aesthetic principles that structure creative works as they relate to place.

Learning Outcomes Assessment Methods

1) Identify, describe, and/or create elements of place (individually and collectively). 1) Note from field research

2)short creative works

3) Tutorial discussion

2) Analyze elements of place within cultural and historical contexts. 1) short creative works

2) Tutorial discussion

3) Analyze and summarize aesthetic principles that structure creative works as they relate to place. 1) short creative works

2) Tutorial discussion







Tutorials:

The class will be divided into two small group writing tutorials that will meet once each week for an hour and twenty minutes, in addition to the regular weekly hour and twenty minute full class meeting. Weekly short writing assignments will be edited and presented in workshop format in the tutorials. Students will be expected to demonstrate how the class discussion on the selected readings informs their work.



Field research:

Students will be expected to identify and attend places, people, and events in and around Lubbock and the Southern High Plains for the purpose of writing about them. Students will be expected to draw on the literature we are discussing in class for ideas about essay structure and style. Students are expected to identify at least six field research projects on which to work during the course of the semester, from which students will craft their weekly responses, as well as their midterms and final (more than one weekly paper can be drawn from each field research project). The field research will also form the basis for the Midterm and Final papers.



Examples of topics for field research include:



Apple Butter Festival in Idalou

The Agricultural Museum

Lubbock wine industry

Jimenez Bakery

Oral histories with local artisans

Slaton Bakery

Pep Thanksgiving

Tractor competitions

Bee keeping

Prairie restoration

Cowboy Symposium



A canoe trip down the Brazos River is also an option, and this trip would be worth three field research credits. We will discuss this in class.



Students are expected to keep detailed, outlined notes about story ideas and development. These notes will be handed in at the end of the semester for grading, so they must be presented in an organized manner.



Short creative works:

Students are expected to have work available for workshopping during the weekly tutorial. These short essays will be between 3-5 pages and based on the field research. Students may choose to turn one in for workshopping each week, or may choose to work on an essay in more than one workshop. However, there must be a total of six short creative works available for grading at the end of the semester; these may the six best short works from the whole semester, or the students may choose to work on only a total of six. Furthermore, if a student choose to work on a piece for more than one workshop, there must be demonstrable evidence that there is something on which to work (in other words, students must have something on which to work in the tutorial each week). All sources must be properly cited.



Assignments and Grading



Students will be assigned and expected to complete the following:



Field research (at least six projects; presented in outlined notes) (40%)

Weekly short essay responses field research (the 6 best) (40%)

Tutorial (20%)



Work will be graded on the basis of accuracy, thoroughness, and creative merit.



Final project due: Monday, December 13, 1:30 pm



Students are expected to check the teaching blog before each class for updates and assignments.

http://doctortteaching.blogspot.com/



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Accommodation for Disabled Students:

Any student who, because of a disability, may require special arrangements in order to meet the course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible to make any necessary arrangements. Students should present appropriate verification from Student Disability Services during the instructor’s office hours. Please note: instructors are not allowed to provide classroom accommodations to a student until appropriate verification from Student Disability Services has been provided. For additional information, please contact Student Disability Services in West Hall or call 806-742-2405.



Student Absence for Observation of Religious Holy Days



A student who is absent from classes for the observation of a religious holy day shall be allowed to take an examination or complete an assignment scheduled for that day within a reasonable time after the absence if, not later than the fifteenth day after the first day of the semester, the student had notified the instructor of each scheduled class that the student would be absent for a religious holy day.



Academic Integrity (TTU O.P. 34.12)



Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, falsifying academic records, misrepresenting facts, and any act designed to give unfair academic advantage to the student or the attempt to commit such an act. The university definitions of academic dishonesty and policies for dealing with it are laid out in the Code of Student Affairs and in University Operating Policy 34.12. You should be familiar with these definitions.



Cheating of any form, but especially plagiarism (i.e., the representation of someone else’s work or ideas as your own) will be dealt with harshly. At a minimum, the offending essay will receive a grade of 0, which will be averaged into your overall grade. Flagrant or repeated cases of plagiarism may result in a grade of F for the course. All cases of cheating will be reported to the appropriate academic dean and to the Honors College dean, who may take additional disciplinary action as they see fit.