WRIT039-348
2011C
Fall
2011, MW: 4:30-6:00 p.m.
Michelle
Taransky taransky@writing.upenn.edu
We often
think of poems as expressions of their author's creativity, but writers have
long been creating poems using appropriative techniques including cutting,
copying and pasting, Google searches, court testimony and other mechanized
methods. In this writing seminar, we will read and discuss these poems
alongside Kenneth Goldsmith's collection of critical essays Uncreative Writing: Managing Language in the
Digital Age, which describes the history and practice of conceptual art,
from artists and writers including Andy Warhol, Marcel Duchamp, Sol LeWitt,
Ezra Pound, Walter Benjamin and James Joyce, to current practitioners. Through
exercises, workshops, peer review, and revision, we will, like the writers and
readers Goldsmith describes, "define new roles for the writer [and]
reconsider what writing is." Our investigations will allow us to challenge
concepts of identity, to consider the position of originality in poetry, and
examine the roles of writer and reader in this "digital age."
Required
Texts:
Uncreative Writing by
Kenneth Goldsmith
The
Little, Brown Essential Handbook (Seventh Edition) by Jane E. Aaron
*All other readings will be posted online.
Course websites:
Schedule
of readings and assignments: http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~taransky/whatelse.html
Blackboard
(to submit assignments): https://courseweb.library.upenn.edu/
Pearson
MyCompLab Course ID: Taransky805622C
Coursekit: www.coursekit.com (email me for course ID code)
Office hours: Friday @
Kelly Writers House, 3805 Locust Walk, 12-1pm
CPCW-wide Course Goals:
How to manage the writing process
How to come up with your own propositions
How to develop and support propositions through
reasoning (reasons, evidence, counterarguments)
How to organize writing
How to synthesize readings and research
How to engage in keyword searches, trace footnote
an bibliographies.
How to participate in an academic discourse.
How to evaluate and revise a piece of writing in
relation to audience, purpose and genre.
Assignments:
4 Short
reasoning exercises, drafted and revised (400-750 words each)
Course
journal (3 lines per day minimum; Monday-Thursday)
Research
log (3 lines minimum each Sunday)
Book
outline and summary
Research
proposal
Midterm
portfolio (1 reasoning exercise; 1 peer review; personal proofing sheet)
Issue-based
book review and revision (including conclusion)
3
summaries and abstracts of researched articles
Synthesis
of 3 articles
Complex
synthesis exercise and revision
Simple
synthesis exercise and revision
Research
paper proposal
Research
paper
8 peer
reviews
Personal
proofreading sheet
Final
portfolio (Revised research paper;
1 peer review; proofing sheet; personal statement; midterm portfolio contents, if any
revised)
Grading
Policy:
Final
grades are based on
¥
Attendance (absences and late arrivals count against your final grade)
¥ Timely
submission of all assignments
¥
Outlines and Peer Reviews (quality and timeliness)
¥ Quality
of work—essays and outlines—based on portfolio assessment.
47% of your grade is your course and collaborative work
(successfully
completing the assignments and turning them in on time).
48% of your grade is your final portfolio (based on
assessment of readers).
5% is based upon your contributions to the quality of the
class.
Failure in any category of the
final portfolio assessment means a failure on the portfolio and retake of the
writing seminar.
Classroom
Policies:
No
unexcused absences.
Each
absence = 0.5 point reduction in final letter grade.
Two late
arrivals count as an absence.
Plagiarism
will result in disciplinary action and an F for the seminar.
Late
essays, peer reviews, portfolio = 1 point reduction per day.
Responsible
Behavior:
All
students in writing seminars are expected to maintain a standard of
responsible
behavior, including:
¥
Civility towards colleagues and instructor during class and in all
class-related activities.
¥
Punctual arrival and adequate preparation.
¥ No use
of electronic devices unless allowed by the instructor.
¥
Personal computer problems are not acceptable grounds for late assignments.
Students experiencing problems should use one of the terminals in the library
or the College Houses to e-mail instructors assignments by the scheduled due
date.
¥ How you
conduct yourself in the class will affect your participation grade.
What to
Bring:
Research
text (Uncreative Writing)
A printed
copy or PDF of any assigned readings.
Personal
laptop, if available.
Additional
materials as noted.