GOALS AND METHODS
This
First-Year Experience course at Wells College is designed to introduce you to
the liberal arts, with an emphasis on approaches and concepts from the social
sciences, fine arts, humanities, and natural and mathematical sciences. Juxtaposing well-known and
"classic" texts with less familiar but related contemporary readings,
WLLS 101 also aims to help you develop skills needed for advanced work in college,
including the ability to
-
think,
read, and write critically, reasonably, and humanely
-
discuss
complex issues
-
communicate
effectively
-
learn
collaboratively
-
use college
resources effectively
-
engage the
intellectual and cultural life of the college
-
respect
differences in a variety of texts and people
-
be
responsible for the material assigned.
WLLS
101 reflects our understanding that scholarly and creative works have common
goals and methods. Academic disciplines
share intellectual skills, such as observing, imagining, comparing, and
interpreting, regardless of their distinctive fields of study. WLLS 101 will help you see the connections
among the many disciplines that make up the curriculum at Wells College.
ORGANIZATION OF WELLS 101
This
course is taught in a discussion and workshop format, which allows you to
participate fully in class and to receive individualized attention for your
work. Each section of WLLS 101 shares a common syllabus, and all first-year
students will be reading the same texts and doing the same assignments. In
addition, we will be developing a vocabulary for talking about writing that you
can apply to future academic work. Due dates for writing assignments are listed
below and, barring emergencies, should be consistent from section to section.
Sections will vary, however, in the pace at which material is covered, use of
classroom time, and class policies. Because discussion and collaborative work
are essential to building an effective intellectual community, your attendance at
all class sessions is expected.
Your
WLLS 101 professor will distribute her or his office hours and codes of conduct
for your section. You should feel free
to consult your WLLS 101 professor – who also serves as your academic advisor –
about your work not only for this course but also for other matters, such as
your class schedule and concerns about college work.
WLLS
101 meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:05 - 12:20 and Fridays from 1:45 -
3:00.
STUDENT-LEARNING OUTCOMES
At
the conclusion of WLLS 101, you will have read, reflected on, discussed, and
written about enduring and contemporary concerns central to a liberal arts
education. While you will have only
begun the journey toward a liberal arts education, you will have new knowledge
and skills that will support your studies at Wells College after your first
semester. Students who complete WLLS
101 in Fall 2002 will demonstrate what they learn, as indicated by these
student learning outcomes:
1.
Students
will recognize and use methods of argumentation, research, and standard forms
of citation for disciplines in the liberal arts.
2.
Students
will demonstrate their ability to communicate effectively and analytically.
3.
Students
will increase their abilities to engage in collaborative learning.
4.
Students
will demonstrate their awareness of historical and cultural contexts.
5.
Students
will demonstrate their ability to use theory-based analysis to interpret texts,
including written works and film.
WLLS
101 professors will use the assignments, class discussion, and various
classroom activities that embody the purpose and goals to assess student
learning outcomes. This process will
contribute to the overall assessment of WLLS 101 and the First-Year Experience
at Wells College.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Your
assignments for WLLS 101 are designed to enhance class participation, oral
presentation, and writing skills, including the use of library resources. You will write four essays this semester,
each intended to help you develop critical skills that will serve you
throughout your college education. You will receive written instructions for
writing projects; all writing assignments include in-class workshops and
revisions. You also will work with quantitative data relevant to some of the
issues we discuss. You will take a
one-hour midterm examination and a final examination, which will be based on
readings, in-class discussions and activities, and plenary presentations.
Cultural events: Because
we regard campus cultural events as part of the interdisciplinary experience of
the course, we ask that you attend ten (10) cultural events over the semester.
You should go to a broad spectrum of events, such as visiting writers, the Arts
and Lectures series, art exhibits, science colloquia, and social science
colloquia, including at least three events sponsored by the Performing Arts
Program (Music, Theatre and Dance). Your professor will circulate a sheet for
you to indicate the events you attended.
Attendance and Participation: Each
professor crafts her/his policies for attendance and participation, which will
be reviewed and discussed.
Basis for Grading:
Writing Assignment 1 10 %
Writing
Assignment 2
10 %
Writing Assignment 3 15 %
Writing Assignment 4 10 %
Library Assignments 10 %
Mid-term & Final Exam 20 %
Cultural Events 10 %
discussion questions,
and
data
analysis/interpretation
WRITING ASSIGNMENT MECHANICS
Each
draft of your writing assignments must be prepared on and printed by computer.
Your work should be submitted double-spaced on standard white 8.5 x 11-inch
paper with 1-inch margins. Please use a
12-point font. Place your title, name,
course, date, and professor’s name on the first page. The paper should be paginated in standard form: the first page is
counted but not numbered, and all subsequent pages are numbered in the top
right-hand corner. Be sure you hand in a clear, dark, proofread copy. Please do not wait until the last minute to
write, edit, or print your papers.
Academic Honesty and Plagiarism: Plagiarism is any use of another person’s
ideas or words as if they were your own.
Note that plagiarism is not simply using ideas or words -- we borrow
ideas and phrases
from
each other frequently in academic work.
The key to plagiarism lies in the phrase “as if they were your own.” As
long as you acknowledge that you have borrowed ideas or words, you have not
violated the code of honesty that links us as members of the academic
community. Plagiarism is a very serious offense in the academic community, but
it is also easy to avoid: Acknowledge
your sources. However, it is not
necessary to acknowledge ideas or phrases that are common knowledge. For example, you do not have to acknowledge
Sir Isaac Newton if you refer to gravity.
If you do not know whether an idea is “common” or “public” enough to be
included without an acknowledgment, err on the side of caution or ask your
professor. (See the discussion of
plagiarism in The Everyday Writer,
pp. 119-122.)
IMPORTANT RESOURCES FOR WELLS STUDENTS
The Writing Center, Macmillan 112. Writing Center tutors offer individual help
with writing assignments. Look for
posters announcing hours for Fall Semester.
The
Math Clinic, Macmillan
120. Math Clinic tutors offers
individual help with any math-related assignments. Look for posters announcing hours for Fall Semester.
Long
Library Reference Service provides individualized help to students in
locating information and in finding their way around the library. Reference services are available from 8:30
a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday - Thursday, and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30
p.m. Appointments are not necessary.
Janet
Snoyer, Learning Strategies Counselor, holds workshops on particular learning strategies, such as
time management and note-taking, and is available for individual
conferences. Appointments for
individual conferences can be made through Erna Coon in Macmillan 207.
TEXTS AND READINGS
James
Baldwin, The Fire Next Time
Rachel
Carson, Silent Spring
Michael
Frayn, Copenhagen
Robert
Jones, The Dramatic Imagination
Maxine
Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior
Andrea
Lunsford, The Everyday Writer
Michael Lewis, Next: The Future Just
Happened
Linda
Nochlin, "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?"
Plato,
Phaedo
Neil
Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death
Mary
Shelley, Frankenstein
Selected
essays, films, and plenary sessions, as assigned
SCHEDULE
·
All reading
assignments should be completed for class discussion on the day the text is
listed.
·
We are
requiring your attendance at one event outside regular class times on Tuesday,
November 5.
·
Be prepared
to discuss material presented in Plenary
sessions at your next section meeting.
·
Assignments
for The Everyday Writer are included
in writing assignments.
SEARCHING
FOR THE SELF
Thursday,
8/ 29
Kingsolver,
The Bean Trees revisited
Introduction and review of syllabus
Library Assignment 1: Learning the
Library Building
Friday,
8/30
Plenary:
"Your College Experience -- Ready?
Set? Act!" Ellen W. Hall, Dean of the College and Vice-President for
Academic Affairs,
Cleveland Auditorium
Week 1
Tuesday
9/3
Kingston,
The Woman Warrior, pp. 3-53
Writing Discussion Questions
DUE: Library
Assignment 1: Learning the Library
Building
Thursday
9/5
Kingston,
The Woman Warrior, pp. 55-109
Library Assignment 2: Basic Library
Research
Friday
9/6
Writing Assignment 1: Analytical
Interpretative Essay
Week 2
Tuesday
9/10
Kingston,
The Woman Warrior, pp. 111-209
Library Assignment 3: Using Databases
DUE:
Library Assignment 2: Basic
Library Research
Thursday
9/12
Baldwin, "My
Dungeon Shook" in The Fire Next Time
DUE: Draft
of Writing Assignment 1: Analytical
Interpretative Essay
Bring three copies for peer
editing
Friday
9/13
Plenary: The Price of the Ticket -- Video documentary, Cleveland Auditorium
RECOMMENDED
EVENT: Friday and Saturday 9/13 and 9/14
The Schemings of Scapin by Molière, a Wells College Production, Phipps Auditorium,
7:30 p.m.
Searching for the Self - Continued
Week 3
Tuesday
9/17
Baldwin,
" Down at the Cross" in The
Fire Next Time
DUE:
Library Assignment 3: Using
Databases
Thursday
9/19
Baldwin,
The Fire Next Time
Friday
9/20
Plenary: Forgotten Fires -- Video documentary, Cleveland
Auditorium
DUE:
Final Draft of Writing Assignment 1: Analytical Interpretative Essay
Week 4
Tuesday
9/24
Data Analysis and Interpretation: The Demographics of Income
Thursday
9/26
Plato,
Phaedo, pp. vii-xxiii; xxix; 1-28
Friday
9/27
Plenary: A Moment of Excellence -- Video documentary, Cleveland
Auditorium
RECOMMENDED
EVENT: Saturday 9/28
Native American Festival, Wells College Campus
Week 5
Tuesday
10/1
Plato,
Phaedo, pp. 30-79
Library Assignment 4: Searching and Evaluating the Internet
Thursday
10/3
Review for Midterm Exam
Friday
10/4
Midterm Exam
IMAGINING
NEW WORLDS
Week 6
Tuesday
10/8
Nochlin, "Why Have There Been No
Great Women Artists?" http://www.csupomona.edu/~plin/ews410/nogreatwomen.html
DUE: Library Assignment 4: Searching and Evaluating the Internet
Imagining New Worlds - Continued
Week 7
Thursday
10/10
Jones,
The Dramatic Imagination, pp. 5-68
Friday
10/11
Plenary:
"Women in
the Arts", interdisciplinary panel discussion, Cleveland Auditorium
Tuesday 10/15
NO CLASS - FALL HOLIDAY
Thursday
10/17
Jones,
The Dramatic Imagination, pp. 69-130;
151-156
Writing Assignment 2: Theory-based Essay
DUE:
Two questions based on Women in the Arts plenary session on October 11
Frayn,
Copenhagen
Plenary: Interdisciplinary panel discussion on Copenhagen, Cleveland Auditorium
EVENT: Saturday 10/19
Augusto Soledade and BrazzDance Theatre, Phipps Auditorium,
7:30 p.m.
Week 8
Tuesday
10/22
Frayn,
Copenhagen
Library Assignment 5: The Organization of Knowledge
Thursday
10/24
Frayn,
Copenhagen
DUE:
Draft Writing Assignment 2:
Theory-based Essay
Bring
two copies for peer editing
Friday
10/25
Plenary:
Cry at the End of the 20th Century – Video
documentary, Cleveland Auditorium
RECOMMENDED
EVENT: 10/25
"Ex Post Papa: Life as a Freelance Dyke Dad
Bear, Performance Artist, Phipps
Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.
Week 9
Tuesday
10/29
Frayn,
Copenhagen
DUE:
Writing Assignment 2:
Theory-based Essay
RECONCEIVING
THE NATURAL WORLD
Thursday
10/31
Carson,
"Introduction" in Silent Spring
Chapter Assignment: Silent Spring
Writing Assignment 3: Problem/Solution
Essay
DUE:
Library Assignment 5: The
Organization of Knowledge
Friday
11/1
Plenary: Rachel Carson's Silent Spring -- Video documentary, Cleveland Auditorium
Week 10
Tuesday
11/5
Students report on assigned chapters from
Silent Spring.
REQUIRED EVENT: Public lecture by Winona LaDuke, 7:30
p.m. (location TBA)
Thursday
11/7
Discuss
LaDuke presentation & Silent Spring,
continued
Data Analysis and Interpretation: Environmental Impacts
Library Assignment 6: Expanding and Narrowing Online Search
Results
DUE:
Library Assignment 5: The
Hierarchy of Knowledge
Friday
11/8
DUE: Writing Assignment 3:
Problem/Solution Essay
Bring
three copies for peer editing
RECOMMENDED
EVENT: Friday and Saturday, 11/8 and
11/9
Faculty Fall Dance Concert, Phipps Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.
REINVENTING
OURSELVES
Week 11
Tuesday
11/12
Shelley,
Frankenstein, pp. vii – 58
Thursday
11/14
Shelley, Frankenstein, pp. 58 – 101
DUE:
Library Assignment 6: Expanding
and Narrowing Online Search Results
Friday
11/15
Shelley,
Frankenstein, pp. 103 – 156
Week 12
Tuesday
11/19
Postman,
Amusing Ourselves to Death, pp. vii -
29;
DUE:
Writing Assignment 3: Problem/Solution Essay
Thursday
11/21
Postman,
Amusing Ourselves to Death, pp. 44 -
98
Friday
11/22
Postman,
Amusing Ourselves to Death, pp. 99
-113; 125 -141
Writing Assignment 4: Revising an Essay
Week 13
Tuesday
11/26
Postman,
Amusing Ourselves to Death, pp.
142-163
Thursday
11/28 and Friday 11/29
No Classes
Thanksgiving Holiday
Week 14
Tuesday
12/3
Lewis,
Next:
The Future Just Happened, pp. 12 - 149
Thursday
12/5
Lewis,
Next: The Future Just Happened, pp.
153 - 209
Friday
12/6
Lewis,
Next:
The Future Just Happened, pp. 213 - 241
Week 15
Tuesday
12/10
Review
for Final Exam
DUE:
Final Draft of Writing Assignment:
Revising An Essay
Final Exam
Thursday 12/18
2:00 - 5:00
