Descriptions of Major Course Assignments
Weekly Post or Activity
Written post: Every week, you will be asked to further reflect on one of the discussion themes/ideas from class. Most of the time, these will be informal and short written reflections to help you expand on the ideas we engage in as a group. There will be a dedicated weekly discussion board on Carmen for you to respond. For these written posts, you are expected to:
1) Add your own reflection/observation/thought/question to the shared space (100-250 words).
2) Engage with and respond to someone else’s post. Think about building from or expanding on your peers’ ideas in a way that is meaningful and moves the conversation forward.
Activities: On weeks when an activity better aligns with our topic, I have included instructions on the course schedule for that week, which include a brief description of what you are expected to do. T
These will be due each week (except on weeks when another assignment is due) on Thursdays before the start of the class. We will use these as discussion material to help facilitate conversation. Check the course schedule to see which type is due each week.
Habit Journal
Weeks 2-5: For four weeks do a quick reflection after completing any reading for class or weekly written assignment. Reflect on how you approach reading and writing. Are there any patterns that you can see? When you approach your readings, what do you look for? What is your primary goal when reading? What do your notes highlight? When you approach your writing, what do you do? What is the process? Do you outline? Write as you go? This writing can be informal and follow a format that works for you. As we engage with the readings, think about and draw connections to what you see reflected in your own processes.
Transferable Skills Project
Option 1: Academic Reflection Essay (Positionality Statement)
Using the notes you’ve taken over the last four weeks, talk about your experiences with reading and writing in academia and outside of academia/personal spaces. What are some similarities? Some differences? This is an opportunity for you to reflect on your academic trajectory and how it fits or does not fit within the dominant narratives around reading and writing. For example, think about “Hungry” and “On Becoming Educated” by Joy Castro and how you could craft your own essay around your educational experiences. This can be useful if you are thinking about continuing your education. How can what we learned in this course so far, help you prepare for that next step?
Option 2: Identify Skills (Resume Building)
Using the notes you’ve taken over the last four weeks, think about the skillset those processes highlight. For example, if you spend devoted time crafting an outline before engaging with a written assignment, you might display strong organizational and planning skills. After pinpointing these skills, work on crafting an updated draft of your resume, or a cover letter, that highlights and makes connections between the skills you identified and how you hope to portray yourself in the workspace.
Final Project
This is your opportunity to put into action pushing against the boundaries of reading and writing. Find one text that really speaks to you (could be one of the readings from the class, could be a song, a poem, etc.) Examine that text, by bringing aspects of its genre to your analysis essay. For example, if it is a poem, can you push on the conventions of academic writing by shaping your analysis into a poem, too? Think, for example, of “Final Exam for My Father” by Joaquin Zihuatanejo. Think about how he uses the format of a test to explore a difficult conversation with his father. Think about the content and the form. What are the rhetorical intent and the affective outcome? This can be as creative as you want. This is an opportunity for you to be playful and delve into the process and less so on the product.
Note: If open-ended, creative projects are not your thing, and you would prefer to adapt this assignment into a product-oriented project, let’s schedule an appointment to make a comparative project that
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