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Week 1: Course Overview & Discourse Communities

Class Info

  • Dates: Thursday, 1/26-Wednesday, 2/1
  • Meeting Info: 10:00-11:15am in room N618

Objectives

  • To read, write, talk, and explore to get acquainted with the course, each other, and the concept of discourse communities

Action

Reading

  • Read the course’s Syllabus, which includes the description of the course, policies, what I expect from you, and what you can expect from me; the course’s schedule for an overview of the semester, as well as the “Welcome, Students” post and other materials on our site to get familiar with what’s available and to be ready to ask any questions you might have.
  • Read “Tips for Success” from The OpenLab for Students, plus any other sections that you find important.
  • Read Reading/Writing resource Essay “How to Read like a Writer” by Mike Bunn, and review the summary “RLW” (Reading like a Writer) PowerPoint by Laura Westengard.
  • Read the Personal Narrative “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan
  • Watch the Video, “What is Code Switching?” by Lisa Beasley and other videos on the same subject that you find.
  • Read your classmates’ contributions to the discussions you’re all participating in on our site.

Writing

In Class, Thursday, 1/26:

  • Welcome
  • Introductions to ENG 1121
  • Introductions to each other
    • brainstorm interview questions: what are questions that you would want to ask a classmate or that you would want a classmate to ask you?
      • what are your plans/hopes/dreams for after college
      • what are some of your hobbies?
      • where do you do your work for school?
      • what type of environment do you like to do your work in?
      • what challenges do you hope to overcome this semester?
      • what challenged you last semester? how did you deal with it?
      • what’s your major? how do you like it?
      • what’s something you’re proud of?
      • any other questions?
    • choose 3 questions for your group to interview each other
    • interview classmates
    • introduce your interviewees
  • Q&A
  • Reading together
  • reflections

In Class, Tuesday, 1/31:

  • Annotating the Syllabus
    • what stands out from the syllabus?
    • what questions do you have?
    • what do you want to emphasize for your classmates?
    • what is our grading policy for the semester?
    • reviewing our course site and policies
  • Writing: What are your goals for this semester? How to they relate to your goals for college, for your career, for your future?
  • Discussing “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan in the context of our code-switching resources:
    • vernacular, words you don’t know, words you know but don’t understand how they’re being used, words you love, impactful words, highlight things to take notice of, what does this mean about the author or the author’s message, make notes in the margin
    • Amy Tan writes, “Recently, I was made keenly aware of the different Englishes I do use.” What are these different Englishes Tan refers to? When, where and how does she use them? What are Tan’s different communities, and what does the essay illustrate about Tan’s feelings about her different communities and the way she moves between these groups?
    • What resources did we find about code switching, and how do they apply to Amy Tan and to ourselves?
  • highlights of Mike Bunn: what advice to we take away from this essay about reading and writing?
  • Preview for Thursday