This is work. I am prepping for a rhetoric and composition course which must focus on research and use materials from the rhet/comp canon as source material. I am also using popular culture sources because that is what students respond to and as a good sophist my class prep should be audience rather than rhetor oriented.
I am aware that there are maybe three English teachers out there interested in this ;0)
This is my prep so far. Got the syllabus fleshed out.
Things are moving kinda slow at the junction around here due to jet lag and visions of shamrocks in my head.
However, if you want to see some more sausage being made here is what I have so far.
PLAN
The assignments will be serial and build upon one another.
1. Literacy autobiography
2. Autoethnography/ethnography
a. Contact zone
i.e. Jon Stewart and the Daily Show
b. Extracurriculum/Underlife
i.e. texting
3. Argument project
a. Stasis
b. Classical
c. Grammar B
RESOURCES
Literacy Autobiography
1. Review the following literacy autobiographies which are authors’ analyses of their reading and writing (literacy) experiences.
Why I Write by George Orwell
http://www.k-1.com/Orwell/index.cgi/work/essays/write.html
Why I Write by Joan Didion
Learning to Read by Malcolm X
Writing, Research, “Process”, and Digital Technologies by Dundee Lackey
https://www.msu.edu/~lackeydu/digitalauto/
2. Prepare your own literacy autobiography by reflecting on the following possibilities.
You will explore significant factors and events contributing to your literacy development. A good way to begin is to create a timeline for both your reading and writing history. This can be one timeline that contains both aspects of your literacy or two separate timelines. Record significant events (both positive and negative) in your life from your earliest experiences to your most recent. Consider ideas from the following list to help you get started:
- Favorite/least favorite books
- Favorite writing activities
- School experiences in reading and writing versus your own self-directed experiences in reading and writing (i.e. online zines, comic books, facebook blogs, texting)
- Attitudes toward reading and writing at different ages
- Friends or classmates who were better at reading and writing than you were
- Experiences with foreign languages
- Significant people or events that influenced your reading and writing
- Good and bad experiences with English teachers
- Reading time spent with family or friends
- Visits to bookstores and libraries
- Keeping journals or diaries
- The role of language, both written and spoken, in your immediate family and social group
- The education and reading and writing abilities for your siblings, parents and grandparents
Drafting
Once your timeline is complete, look over your findings and determine which experience(s) can be turned into an engaging narrative that will reveal your values and beliefs about literacy in your own life. Focus on using descriptive words and phrases to give the reader good visuals and emotional connections to your story. You may need to combine several stories to indicate your beliefs or you could focus on one significant event to accomplish this. Your draft should be at least two typed pages.
Extracurriculum
Kitchen Tables and Rented Rooms: The Extracurriculum of Composition by Anne Ruggles Gere
Put on electronic reserve
Arts of the Contact Zone by Mary Louise Pratt
http://www.class.uidaho.edu/thomas/English_506/Arts_of_the_Contact_Zone.pdf
The Daily Show as an extracurriculum and/or contact zone
Sources
Jon Stewart on Bill Moyers
Video
http://video.pbs.org/video/1162731332/
Transcript
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04272007/transcript1.html
Jon Stewart on Crossfire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFQFB5YpDZE
Transcript of this appearance
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/bljonstewartcrossfire.htm
Jon Stewart on 9-11
http://www.buzznet.com/www/search/videos/speech/3401696/daily-show-first-broadcast-after/
Amusing ourselves to death: public discourse in the age of show business by Neil Postman
Daily show with Jon Stewart presents America (the book) by Jon Stewart, Ben Karlin, David Javerbaum
A Citizen's Guides to Democracy Inaction: Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's Comic Rhetorical Criticism
Author: Don J. Waisanen - Don J. Waisanen, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California.a
Affiliation:
a Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California,
DOI: 10.1080/10417940802428212
Publication Frequency: 4 issues per year
Published in: Southern Communication Journal, Volume 74, Issue 2 April 2009 , pages 119 - 140
PUT ON RESERVE
America's Anchors
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert faked it until they made it. Now they may truly be the most trusted names in news
By MAUREEN DOWDPosted Oct 31, 2006 9:54 AM
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/jon_stewart_stephen_colbert_americas_anchorsT
The Comic Imagination Conference
The Philoctetes Center is known for its serious discussions, but on March 21 it was home to some serious laughter, as the roundtable The Comic Imagination played to a packed house. Moderator Cody Walker, the author of Shuffle and Breakdown, a book of poetry, introduced what he called “a dream panel”: comedian Lewis Black, a regular guest on The Daily Show and star of the HBO specials Black on Broadway and Red, White, and Screwed; Jim Holt, author of Stop Me If You've Heard This: A History and Philosophy of Jokes; Bruce McCall, a regular contributor of comic illustrations to the New Yorker and author of the children’s book Marveltown; and Tami Sagher, a writer for 30 Rock and an improv performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade.
http://www.philoctetes.org/past_programs/The_Comic_Imagination
Big Hint: Give it about 15 minutes. The boring stuff is at the beginning. Go make yourself a sandwich and come back. This is worth your time.
Underlife
Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight
http://rfrost.people.si.umich.edu/courses/MatCult/content/Geertz.pdf
Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight
http://rfrost.people.si.umich.edu/courses/MatCult/content/Geertz.pdf
Language Use in Idiocracy
http://www.matttrailer.com/idiocracy_2006
Photo labeled as Idiocracy using the language of 2505
Study Suggests That Texting Improves Literacy
Logan Westbrook posted on 28 February 2009 3:15 pm
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/89798-Study-Suggests-That-Texting-Improves-Literacy
Literacy and Text Messaging
How will the next generation read and write?
by Kate Baggott
http://www.technologyreview.com/biztech/17927/?a=f
HE TECHNOLOGIST
The Death of English (LOL)
In an experiment, the more adept children were at text messaging, the better they did in spelling and writing.
By Lily Huang | NEWSWEEK
http://www.newsweek.com/id/150449
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Comments
I think you did an excellent job working in texts from the REAL canon--Orwell, Didion--and pop culture that has some intellect behind it rather than our field's obsession with trash like Buffy and so called "digital literacy."
I think you're doing a good job keeping it grounded in reality--have a great semester! When you do you start? We've been in in-service all week and classes start Monday.
My young granddaughter, 15, writes on something called Fan Fiction -- interesting site -- lots of young writers on it -- might add light to one of your questions.
This syllabus is excellent, Dorinda, especially the reading material. Now, I feel very cynical for posting a humorous/slightly mean post just a few moments ago. You are an inspiring teacher. :)