Second Edition of Teaching and Troubling the Writing Intensive Core

116 Pages·2010·3.49 MB·English

by  Amy Wegner Kho

Teaching and Troubling
Writing Intensive Courses

Essays by University of Denver Faculty

Doug Hesse, Editor
Teaching and Troubling Writing Intensive Courses:
Essays by University of Denver Faculty

2nd Edition

Edited by Doug Hesse

The University of Denver Writing Program
2150 E. Evans Avenue
Denver, CO 80208
http://www.du.edu/writing
[email protected]

2010

Photos: Copyright Doug Hesse
Design by Doug Hesse and Amy Kho
CONTENTS

Introduction: Teaching and Troubling ........................................................................................................... 1
Doug Hesse

Writing by Numbers?! ....................................................................................................................................... 4
Kim Axline

Culture of Desire: Queer Theory ..................................................................................................................... 9
Luc Beaudoin

An Overview of Writing in Core 2560: America through Foreign Eyes ................................................ 15
Christof Demont-Heinrich

American Utopias, On Paper and in Practice .............................................................................................. 18
David Ciepley

Wealth, Power, and Justice in the European Union ................................................................................... 21
Lisa Conant

Good Vibrations: Electronic Music, Technology, and Culture ............................................................... 25
Ron DeLyser

Race, Inequality, and Public Policy .............................................................................................................. 30
Lucy Dwight

Reflections on the Writing Intensive Core Workshop .............................................................................. 32
Tony Gault

Art and the Environment ............................................................................................................................... 36
Annabeth Headrik

Narrative Strategies and Narratology in Cinema ........................................................................................ 41
Elizabeth Henry

Satire and the One-Two Punch of Creativity and Analysis ....................................................................... 44
Allison Horsley

Ways of Knowing the Writing Intensive Requirement ............................................................................. 49
Elizabeth Karlsgodt

Strangeness, Irregularity, and Non-Linearity ............................................................................................... 52
Brian Kiteley
Varieties of Latin@ Religious Traditions ..................................................................................................... 54
Luis Leon

American Utopias ........................................................................................................................................... 59
Caleb McDaniel

Intensive Writing in “Cultural Intersections” .............................................................................................. 61
Maik Nwosu

Reflections: Civic Engagement in International Marketing ....................................................................... 63
Pallab Paul

Teaching “Testimony, Memory and Allegory:
the Representations of the Chinese Cultural Revolution” ......................................................................... 67
Li Li Peters

Reflections on “Jewish Italy” ......................................................................................................................... 72
Gabrielle Popoff

Writing as a Way of Teaching Students How to Talk “Art Talk” ............................................................ 75
Carl Raschke

Vestiges of the Natural History of Core:
A Team-Taught, Interdisciplinary Approach to a Writing-Intensive, Honors Course ......................... 79
Gregory Robbins and Dean Saitta

Islam in the American Mosaic : The Writing Component ............................................................................... 86
Liyakat Takim

Mediating Creative Dialogue: Multigenre Writing Projects in a Core Course ........................................ 89
Sue Tyburski

Some Thoughts on Writing for Students Who Work with Me:
A Draft Continually in Progress .................................................................................................................... 94
Paul R. Viotti

Interdisciplinary Writing at Home and Abroad: Excavating and Exploring Italy ............................... 101
Eleanor McNees and M.E. Warlick

Making the Arbitrary Relevant ..................................................................................................................... 107
Sarah Watamura

Afterword toward ASEM ............................................................................................................................. 111
Doug Hesse
Introduction: Teaching and Troubling

Doug Hesse
Writing Program Professor and Director
November 2009

S ince 2007, over 70 DU faculty have requirements. Taught in sections capped at 15
participated in three-day workshops, as students, to foster writing and exchanges between
preamble to their teaching a Writing Intensive students and professors, the WI element meets
Core course. I’ve invited each to write a short four components:
informal article after the experience, and this slim
volume collects the work of 28 professors 1. Students write a minimum of 20 pages
who have taken me up on the offer. In each case, (about 6000 words), some of which may
they’re responding to a brief and fairly open be informal, but some of which must be
prompt: revised, polished, and intended for an
Explain how and why you’ve designed the educated readership.
writing intensive component of your course.
Different kinds of writing serve different kinds of
This piece should briefly introduce the
purposes. For example, “writing to learn”
course in ways that would be clear to
assignments are designed primarily to have
nonexpert faculty colleagues, explain the
students grapple with course concepts in order to
writing assignments and teaching practices
engage them more fully. They might consist of
you propose, and discuss what you hope the
reading summaries or responses, course journals,
writing component will achieve and why.
or answers to specific questions. They might even
You might also discuss challenges you
be assigned in class, during the first ten minutes to
anticipate your students will face—or that
help students focus on the topic of the day or
you might face in teaching the writing
during the last ten minutes, to formulate some
component of the course. Write for an
ideas about the preceding hour. These and other
audience of DU faculty members.
informal writing assignments might be relatively
Alternative: Discuss a particular issue in
short, single draft assignments, receiving brief
student writing or teaching writing that’s of
comments and graded holistically.
interest to you (perhaps an issue raised in the
More formal writing assignments put a
workshop) and important to several of your
premium not on the student as learner but on the
colleagues.
student as communicator of ideas to various
The essays that follow, then, represent thoughtful
audiences. The stakes are higher in this kind of
responses to that invitation. They are very lightly
writing—everything counts—so students tend to
edited, and you should assume that any errors or
have longer to produce these assignments, which
glitches are my fault.
almost always require multiple drafts. Given the

extra time and significance of these writings,
Writing Intensive Core Courses manifest an
faculty generally respond more fully to them,
ambitious campus decision to improve not only
including comments on drafts before the final
the quality of student writing but also the visibility
version is due. The faculty development provide
and centrality of writing to the undergraduate
numerous options for assignment making, but
experience, a decision emanating from the
here are some scenarios:
Marsico Initiative that created a new first year
• At the beginning of every class meeting,
seminar and first year writing program and that
Professor Whitt has students turn in a one-
formed a writing center. All students are required
page response in which they comment on
to complete at least one writing intensive core
what they found most interesting, puzzling, or
course, preferably during their junior years. DU
disturbing about the readings for that class
hired over twenty tenure-line faculty in several
meeting. She writes a brief reaction on each
departments to build capacity to meet these new
of them and assigns a rating from one to

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three. Professor Whitt also assigns two four- feedback to each piece, accomplishes many of the
page papers, in week 5 and week 10. goals of a longer project.
• Professor Becker has his students keep a • Professor Klaus wants students to complete a
media log, in which each week they 20-page, researched position paper on a topic
summarize and analyze at least two television central to the course. In week 2, assigns a
episodes, YouTube videos, or films related to one-page proposal. In week four, he assigns a
his course content. Students post their logs 2-page paper that summarizes and analyzes
on the class Blackboard, and every two weeks, two key readings on the topic. In week five,
the write a comment on someone else’s he assigns an annotated bibliography of all the
posting. Becker has a final 10-page paper due sources to be used in the paper. In week six
at the end of the course. Students turn in a he asks for a 4-5 page section of the paper. In
draft in week 8. week eight he requires a first draft of the
• Professor Kvistad wants to focus on more entire paper, and students make 10-minute
extended, formal writings in her course. class presentations about their work in
Accordingly, she assigns three seven-page program. The completed final draft is due in
papers, due in week 4, 7, and 10. week 10.

2. Students complete a minimum of three 3. Students are required to revise some of
writing projects that are distributed over their work based on feedback from their
the quarter; exceptions might include a professor.
cumulative project completed in multiple
One of the most powerful strategies for teaching
stages.
writing is to provide feedback to students on a

It’s more effective—both to develop writing draft, then have them revise the work before
abilities and to learn course content—for students turning it in for a grade. “Providing feedback” is
to write frequently rather than infrequently, even not editing or correcting. Instead, the professor
if doing so means that papers will be shorter. indicates strengths and areas of improvement for
Generally, then, students should write at least the student, who must then do the real work of
three papers in the course. The faculty revision (literally, “seeing again”). Except in the
development seminars for the Core writing rare cases when students have turned in a highly
intensive courses will provide strategies for polished draft that is the product of extensive
making effective assignments. The pattern of revisions already, most revising feedback focuses
assignments can take many forms. For example, on “higher level” matters than mere grammar,
• Professor Jefferson assigns ten 2-page papers, punctuation, or style. Some examples of revision
one due each week. She requires students to comments are:
revise three of these papers, collecting them in • Your draft is too one-sided to be effective.
a final portfolio with a reflective introduction That is, while you present the arguments for
introducing the work. X pretty well, a lot of reasonable people
• Professor King begins the course by having a would argue for Y instead. Can you take into
one-page paper due each class meeting for the account their arguments and still defend your
first 10 classes. She then has a five-page position?
paper due in week 7 and a second five-page • Your draft relies extensively on quotation and
paper due in week 10. summary. While these are generally apt, the
• Professor Jones assigns three 6-7 page papers, paper doesn’t have enough of your own
spaced over the course of the semester. thinking. For example, when you summarize
In a few cases, professors may find it vital to have X, what do you see as its significance or
fewer than three papers, perhaps because they find importance?
it important to produce a single, larger writing • Your assertion X lacks sufficient evidence to
project. Such projects can—and should—be be convincing. What facts or analysis could
divided into several smaller projects that culminate you provide to make your point.
in the final whole. Doing so, and providing • I have a difficult time following your line of
thinking. For example, on page 2 you jump

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between point A and point B, and the writer got from blank screen to finished
connection just doesn’t make sense. You’ll product.
probably need to write more obvious
connections, but you might also have to As the essays that follow reveal, DU faculty
rearrange the parts of the paper—or even have implemented these requirements in
discard some. several creative ways, showing not only personal
preferences but also the influences of their
4. Some instructional time is given to writing disciplinary backgrounds and the course themes.
matters. These essays also deal with some complex
issues; hence the “troubling” element in my title.
Giving “some instructional time” to writing
For example, what’s the right line between giving
certainly doesn’t require providing extended
students too much guidance, so that writing is
lectures. (In fact, that would be less effective than
reduced to paint by numbers formalism, and
other strategies.) One of the purposes of the Core
giving them too much leeway, so that writing
Writing Intensive faculty development seminars is
becomes a frustrating guessing game—and
to provide some minimal strategies that
professors get works depressingly far from their
nonetheless can be very useful to students.
expectations? To what extent should writings in
Consider several possible teaching practices
these courses target educated public audiences vs.
• Whenever Professor Wallace gives a writing
narrower academic audience, even members of
assignment, she takes 10-15 minutes of class
disciplinary traditions? A variant on this question
time to talk about the assignment. She asks
is whether faculty teaching in the core are
students to brainstorm ideas, she contributes
representing “how we write in my field,” “how
some ideas of her own, and she discusses
academics write to one another,” or “how
evaluation criteria for the papers, perhaps
educated people write to, say, readers, of Harpers
sharing a grading rubric.
magazine or trade publishing.
• For each assignment, Professor Kalter has
More questions. How do we deal with a
students bring a draft to one class. He divides
range of writing abilities and interests, including,
into small groups and has them furnish some
for example, the situation of bright international
peer response to one another, following a
students whose English language skills necessarily
review sheet he has provided.
differ from native speakers? How do we prioritize
• After each assignment, Professor Mencia
our own attention and teaching energies when
selects two or three of the strongest papers
dealing with student writings that present
and reproduces them for the entire class, then
numerous opportunities—and challenges—yet we
takes several minutes of class time to point
have finite amounts of time and expertise? How
out their strengths.
ought we to balance focus on the course content
• Professor Karas discusses her writing process
and attention to student writing, especially when
on an article she’s writing, including sharing
faculty don’t—and can’t—have certain kinds of
drafts with the students. Occasionally, she
expertise teaching writing? In terms of
invites a colleague or advanced student to do
responding and grading, are rubrics helpful, clear,
the same.
and fair, or are they reductive tools of a testing
• A few times a quarter, Professor Roen invites culture gone rampant?
professional staff from the Writing Center to
I could continue to list questions that have
guest teach in the class, for about 45-minutes
emerged from the workshop, but you get the
each time. These topics range from helping
point. I take it as a healthy sign, both for teaching
students generate ideas to helping them revise
and for the situation of writing at DU, that so
to helping them document sources effectively.
many colleagues across campus are turning over
• Once a week, Professor Anukye leads a 15- these questions so thoughtfully. I hope that
minute discussion about a piece of writing readers of the works that follow appreciate both
from her field. She invites the students to the clear, confident descriptions of courses and
“read like writers,” that is, to point out the teaching practices and the messy explorations of
features of a text and to speculate how its issues yet to be resolved.

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WRITING BY NUMBERS?!

Kim Axline
Theatre
2009

One, two, thesis to do; job will be to convince these students that they
Three, four, cite some more; deserved the (gasp!) B they were awarded rather
Five, Six, grammar to fix; than truly engage with them in an evolving
Seven, Eight, my tenth “A” straight! discourse.
Ultimately, I fear that students have lost
As I ponder my ongoing task of teaching the joy of the journey—learning to craft and refine
writing to undergraduates or evaluating their a written piece in any number of styles—for the
work, nothing frightens me more than the sake of the destination—the presumed, guaranteed
daunting conviction that most students assume A. I hope that in choosing exciting topics for
there is a magic rubric that will guarantee them an class discussion and by assigning a diverse array of
“easy A” if only they check off each task as they topics/styles, some of the enthusiasm and rigor
go. The arguable need to respond to their work in from their verbal discourse will carry over into
a more formalized way—beyond the grammatical that of their written work. Yet I still can’t shake
edits and contextual notes with which I am that feeling of apprehension each time the papers
accustomed to filling the margins of their come in that I’m about to be buried under several
papers—only compounds this sense that our more “write by numbers” efforts from even the
current collegiate zeitgeist is more that of “writing best-intentioned students. Writing is not
to task” than “writing to persuade” or “writing to necessarily a dying art, but it does seem to be
illuminate.” And forget writing for the sheer joy suffering from some serious rigor mortis…
of it! Such, at least, has been my experience
Perhaps the “teach to test” mentality that with a growing number—arguably, a standing
most students have endured in their secondary majority—of students both within my own major
educations is to blame; perhaps our mediatized field of study as well as within the various General
culture somehow is. [Personally, I believe that so Education courses I teach. More than a decade of
many students are unable to write coherent teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate
narratives today because they have read so few of levels (wildly rewarding as it has been for a variety
them in traditional print or edited formats.] of reasons!) has both proven this “rule” with
Regardless, each year I increasingly feel that the increasing alacrity, as well as provided some
majority of our students view writing as a “to do” notable exceptions to it. Many of the student
list rather than the most powerful of discursive assumptions about the nature and “numerology”
and creative tools. Many of them seemingly could of writing in this particular course may come from
care less about crafting a powerful argument with its very designation as a “CORE” course or its
nuanced reasoning and daring rhetoric; they’d “Writing Intensive” moniker: for them, it’s merely
rather identify the two or three “quick fixes” they one last hoop to jump through in the Gen Ed
can address on subsequent assignments to ensure curriculum prior to graduation. Their
a better grade (that being an A, of course). When expectations for this or any other interdisciplinary
that rare writer comes along who truly course might well hinge on its required status,
understands the allure and weight of the written prompting them to think that there is a hidden
word, it is a sheer joy to nurture and guide their rubric that their professors want them to learn and
efforts. Much of the time, however, I must that by following a prescribed pattern they can
confess to dreading student papers in my larger cross off yet another category on their graduation
classes, knowing that the formulaic responses will check-list in exemplary fashion. Consequently,
far outnumber the truly inspired ones, and that my before I taught this course for the first time six

4
years ago, I found myself somewhat dreading the took the time to read both my grammatical edits
“write by numbers” phenomenon it might and content notes on each short paper,
engender, much as I genuinely enjoy reading and eliminating mistakes over time and developing a
responding to strong cases of student writing. more astute discourse with each new prompt or
F iteration. [It goes without saying that other
irst and foremost, then, I sought an overall
students—those who did not pay attention to my
topic that might “speak to” my student
feedback—did not make the same progress in
audience in such a fashion that they didn’t merely
their writing skills, but there was enough
regard it as yet another requirement, but rather an
significant progress from those who did to
area of personal interest and investment. Drawing
convince me I was on to something good here.]
from my own enduring fascination with
Then, at the end of the quarter when they were
mythological traditions and their incessant
required to submit the “grand project” to me
reformulation in popular culture traditions, I
synthesizing the theoretical concepts we’d
arrived at what I thought would be one of those
explored and which they’d applied to an
elusive, “sexy” titles so many of us craft in an
archetypal figure of their choice, I was pleasantly
effort to draw in our students: “Archetypes
surprised to discover that the bulk of papers I
Through the Ages: The Evolution of World
received were not merely written “by the
Mythologies, from Osiris to Obi Wan.” [And yes,
numbers” according to the criteria on the
if you’re wondering, the first time I offered this
assignment sheet, but rather well considered and
course it coincided perfectly with the release of
constructed discourses that were fuelled by
George Lucas’s Revenge of the Sith; each year since
personal passion and interest. The melding of
then, I’ve had any number of block-buster movies
topic and style through constant practice had paid
to choose from as the required outing that ties
off in large part, and encourage me to keep
back to our core concepts in the class.] In this
developing the course along these lines in the
fashion, I hoped to enroll students who were not
years that followed.
merely ticking off another requirement in a time-
Beginning with three short papers in the
slot that complimented their daily schedules, but
first year, I refined my topics and added additional
rather those pop-culture savvy individuals who
prompts in the years to follow, resulting in a
would take a real interest in the mediatized images
course that required five short responses (now 2-3
of ancient archetypes that surround them on a
pages each), one mid-term project (3-4 pages), and
daily basis—and, consequently, to put the time
one final essay (10-12 pages)—in addition to a
and effort into various written assignments
rather rigorous open-book exam at the midterm to
detailing this phenomenon.
ensure that students were keeping up with the
Cribbing an excellent technique from my
reading. To be frank, the course had been
own graduate school education, I initially
“writing intensive” in terms of sheer number of
envisioned a series of short papers (1-2 pages
pages required for some time—and yet I didn’t
each) written in response to a series of prompts I
feel that I was teaching the art of writing as
would offer every few weeks throughout the
effectively as I might, especially when faced with
quarter. By making the students write constantly
35-40 students in a class that typically over-
throughout the quarter rather than in one big push
enrolled based on demand and where I could only
at the end of the term, it was my intent to build up
dole out so much to a GTA limited to 10 hours of
“muscle tone” in writing over time. Rather than
work a week. I consequently leapt at the chance
sprinting in the final week(s) to collate a number
to convert this course to a “WI” section,
of ideas and images into a grand project, they
eliminating the midterm exam in favor of even
would incrementally think about smaller facets of
more in-class time dedicated to teaching students
our overall philosophical trajectory, drawing from
how to effectively construct and persuasively
their own experience to provide concrete
argue theses from a myriad of prompts. The
examples of these trends. To my great relief (and
reduction of the class from 30(+) to 15 students
wee bit of surprise, I must admit), these short
will also afford me the opportunity to require re-
papers elicited much better written responses than
writes and successive drafts of the shorter papers,
I initially expected. Furthermore, I could see
a “luxury” I never could have managed with the
demonstrable progress from those students who
larger class. Effectually, then, I have been able

5
not only to preserve the course’s content and 5. Using the summary provided by your
focus in the conversion, but also to augment it readings in Bierlein’s Parallel Myths, write a
through the writing process itself, illuminating for “position paper” supporting the views of
my students in on-going written statements the Myth and Archetypes as professed by S.
on-going process of archetypal reformulation Freud, C. Jung or C. Levi-Strauss (choose
itself. one!). To do this effectively, you’ll need
Specifically, I have the following writing to note how your chosen figure differs
exercises in place for my next “Archetypes” from the other two in their approaches to
course, with the goal of constant, incremental the purpose, function and future of these
writing and revision leading to a substantive, supposedly “universal” ideas and figures.
polished verbal argument at the conclusion of the (2-3 pages)
quarter.
1. Define “archetype” and “stereotype” Students will henceforth be required to revise at
using a dictionary and your own least two of these short responses, though I’m
extrapolations of these terms. How are still debating whether or not to assign which
they similar, different or connected? specific ones that should be or to allow the
Provide an example of each from student to choose which ones (s)he wishes to re-
contemporary culture, and note if these assay. My fear with the latter scenario is that
might change over time. (1-2 pages) students will automatically select those responses
2. Write your own, original Creation Myth for which they received a lower mark (more on
incorporating the major themes we’ve my grading schema to follow), rather than
encountered thus far in class. Remember, choosing to re-write those topics which deserve
even if you subscribe to a particular the most elaboration and refinement—even if
religious or scientific worldview, you job they earned a decent score for it to begin with!
is to write a fictional, hypothetical myth My inclination at present is that I will split the
that covers the same “big questions” as difference with these revisions, meaning that I will
other myths we’ve seen. P.S. If it’s dictate a particular short response that each
“plausible” in your universe, it doesn’t individual student must revise as per my notes and
necessarily have to be “possible” in ours. that each student will be able to select another
(2-3 pages) short paper to re-work (or even the one I’ve
3. Argue pro or con for the following: selected, in yet another iteration?) within one week
modern rhapsodes carry on the same of its receipt. This will, ideally, both spread my
essential duties as their ancient own grading workload out more so throughout
predecessors. You’ll need to: define a the quarter, as well as provide each student with a
“rhapsode,” noting techniques and goals; sense of agency in the selection of which piece(s)
look at 20/21c culture, determine who or of writing they wish to refine in an attempt to
what—a person/character, institution, improve their rhetorical skills.
form of media, etc.—best fulfills this Students will also be required to submit a
ancient role (if at all!); and note if there smaller project on an “intermediary archetype”
are any telling discrepancies between the near the midterm mark, falling between the third
classical model and more modern and fourth prompts listed above. The specifics
examples. (2-3 pages) for this written assignment are as follows:
4. Why do we have “Super-Heroes” in the Once you have selected an ancient archetype
20/21c, while classical societies merely of which you are particularly fond (e.g. the
had “Heroes”? What’s the difference, Trickster as seen in the Norse stories of Loki),
and when/why might it have come your job will be to trace the evolution of your
about? And why do today’s “Super- figure over time and/or geographical distance.
Heroes” need a “secret identity,” while You need to be able to tell me what specific
ancient heroes did not? Has something form this archetype took in both time(s) and
changed in society or our ideals? (2-3 place(s) (note any essential characteristics or
pages) symbols); what connections there are between
the two societies (e.g. influence a la Greece (cid:198)

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