Ideas are dangerous and transformative. Writing, then, is creative work for which we are responsible, accountable. Writing requires our constant care and integrity. —Karen Tei Yamashita

Course Requirements & Policies

• Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. Unexcused absence and lack of participation will adversely affect your final grade. Late arrivals accumulate as an absence. Please notify me prior to class with a legitimate explanation if you will not be present or will be late. In the case of absence, you are still responsible for turning in assigned work on time. If you are absent more than 3 times for any reasons other than religious holidays, documented medical problems, or events designated by official college policy, I will contact your Dean and you will receive a course warning. I will treat you like adults…no need to ask for permission to use the bathroom, eat, or drink.
• Participation: Because this course relies on the lively exchange of ideas, full participation is expected in our discussions. Come to class ready to listen carefully, propose thoughtful questions, share responses to readings, and add to the contributions of your peers. You may also be asked to lead discussions.
• Blog:  Our class website will host the syllabus, course materials, assignments, related links, news updates, etc. You will also be asked to share and turn in writing here.
• Readings: All assigned reading is required prior to the corresponding class. Always bring physical reading materials to class with you or I will mark you as unprepared.
• Reading Responses: Frequent reading responses on our blog will allow you to focus on specific aspects of the work under discussion in exploratory ways, and to prepare for discussion. Please never summarize or generalize. Note that I always value quality over quantity. Some written work will be shared (and workshopped) with the whole class.
• Film Responses: You will be required to independently view films on your own time. For each film you are required to contribute a brief response on the blog.
• Weekly Takeaways: We often find ourselves thinking about ideas from class discussions days later. Before the week ends (by every Friday, 5pm), share 1 thought/question that has resonated for you.
• Communications Policy: Students should allow a 24-hr response time to emails. I will not respond to emails over the weekend. Questions about papers either 24 hours before the due date or 24 hours after received feedback will not be addressed. I cannot read multiple drafts of your essays in entirety beyond the 1^st draft and revision, but I can respond to all related questions. Generally speaking, if you have an issue or question that I cannot address in a sentence or two, I’d much prefer to discuss it during office hours, but please do not wait until the last minute. Logistical queries and requests for minor clarifications are welcome if the answers cannot be found by first reading the syllabus closely. Remember etiquette: please address emails with a salutation (such as “Dear Professor Cassarino”) and sign off appropriately; if someone takes time to craft a substantive email reply, it is polite to acknowledge this message with a brief note of thanks. Keep in mind that I always prefer honesty and directness.
• Conferences: You will meet with me regularly to discuss ideas and drafts, and anything else relevant along the way. These conferences can be extremely beneficial to your brainstorming and revision process, but only if you are prepared for them, and only if you take responsibility for directing them.
• Extra Assistance in Writing: If you need extra assistance from someone other than me (either because you would rather consult someone else or because my schedule doesn’t match yours), you may contact the Peer Writing Tutor for this class, Essi Wunderman. If your tutor is not available, you may also consult anyone in the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Research. Do not be shy about asking for assistance. You can benefit from intelligent readings of your drafts and help with your thinking, whatever your writing level.
• A Note about Respect: I expect you to listen carefully, respond thoughtfully, and challenge each other respectfully. I value honesty in our communications, timeliness to class, open-mindedness in moments of discomfort, attention to detail, and commitment to pushing your own boundaries. Remember to cultivate curiosity and respect — people come to this course with different backgrounds and levels of knowledge; each of us has a lot to offer and a lot to learn, including your professor.
• A Note about Technology: Discussion is impossible to follow if you are digitally distracted. For this reason, I require that you leave laptops, iPads, iPhones, Apple watches, and all other devices at home, and keep cellphones silenced and out of sight from the moment you enter the classroom until the moment you exit. No exceptions. In exchange, I offer you my own undivided attention.
• Final Note: Expect change. I will freely adapt the syllabus and modify assignments as we proceed throughout the semester.

Academic Integrity and the Honor Code: As an academic community devoted to the life of the mind, Middlebury requires of every student complete intellectual honesty in the preparation and submission of all academic work. Details of our Academic Honesty, Honor Code, and Related Disciplinary Policies are available in Middlebury’s handbook. The minimum penalty for academic misconduct will be a failing grade for the course – further academic and disciplinary penalties may be assessed.  If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me. The accepted citation style guide in literary study is The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, which gives models of proper citation for both paper and electronic sources. You must write out and sign your name to the Honor Code Statement at the end of each essay you prepare for this course. 

Center for Teaching, Learning, and Research: The CTLR provides academic support for students in many specific content areas and in writing across the curriculum through both professional tutors and peer tutors.  The Center is also the place where students can find assistance in time-management and study skills.  These services are free to all students. For more information on how to get the help you need, go to http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/resources/ctlr/students.  

Disability Resource Center: Students who have Letters of Accommodation in this class are encouraged to contact me as early in the semester as possible to ensure accommodations are implemented. For those without LOA, assistance is available to eligible students through the Disability Resource Center (DRC). Please contact ADA Coordinators Jodi Litchfield and Peter Ploegman of the DRC at ada@middlebury.edu for more information. All discussions will remain confidential.

*I am interested in every student having the best learning experience possible in our classroom; please me know right away what we can do to maximize your learning potential, participation, and general access in this course. I am available to meet with you in person or to discuss matters via email.

Major Assignments

• Essay 1 (4-5 pages)
• Essay 2 (5-7 pages)
• Essay 3 (7-10 pages)
• Final Creative Project
• Final Self-Reflection

You will write three formal essays, plus revisions. Prompts may be provided in advance, though you may be free to create your own prompts with my approval. One of these essays will require outside critical research beyond the primary text. Papers will be peer-reviewed and occasionally workshopped. It is important that you proofread all work thoroughly; excessive errors in grammar, syntax, formatting, and spelling will negatively affect your grade. I may ask you to resubmit any piece that seems rushed or careless. Incomplete drafts will not be accepted; drafts must represent serious effort if you are to benefit from conferences, peer review, and workshops.

Essay Guidelines: typed, double-spaced, 1-in margins (left-justified), 12-pt Times/Garamond, title (center), page #s (lower right), header with name/date/draft # (upper left); adherent to MLA format for citations. Each draft must include a WRITER’S MEMO — a brief note of self-evaluation explaining: (1) what you are trying to accomplish in the essay; (2) what you think works well in the draft; (3) elements that, you believe, need work. This can only help us as we work out, in conference, what you need to do next. Each revision must include a WRITER’S MEMO, a brief note of self-evaluation explaining: (1) what you have done to address the issues you raised in your note to me regarding your draft, as well as any other considerations that have occurred to you since, (2) what you have done to address my overall comments on your draft; (3) grade proposal with reasoning; consider how the essay is improved, and, if you wish, you may also discuss what you think might still need work in the paper and in your writing. All Peer Review letters received must be included with your revision. 

Emailed Work: Since you will be required to email essays, your email subject must indicate the assignment name (ie. Essay 1, Draft 1), your file must be attached as a .docx (no pdfs will be accepted), and the document file name must include your first & last name and assignment name (ie. Stacie Cassarino, Essay 1, Draft 1). Late papers will not be accepted without my prior approval. Papers over 1 week late will receive an F. The absence of any major assignment will lead to a failing grade for the course. If you are having issues, please communicate with me. If you feel you must request an extension, do so well in advance of the due date.

Additional Possible Assignments: Personal Narrative, Short Fiction, Poetry, Podcast, Video Essay, Digital Story, Performance, Oral Presentation, etc.

Required Texts

• Gloria Anzaldua: Borderlands/La Frontera
• Alison Bechdel: Fun Home
• Justin Torres: We the Animals
• Toni Morrison: Sula 
• James Baldwin: Giovanni’s Room
• Claudia Rankine: Citizen
• All other readings will be linked on website

And finally . . . It is my hope that as a collaborative, engaged learning community we agree to intentionally create and cultivate a safe and respectful learning environment in which each individual is welcomed, respected, and heard. Within our collaborative learning space, please be willing to engage in difficult discussions with care and a deep respect for each other. We’ll share these guidelines as a common baseline for class discussions, and revisit or modify as needed throughout the semester. 

1. Allow everyone a chance to speak.
2. Listen respectfully and actively.
3. Criticize ideas, not individuals.
4. Commit to learning, not debating.
5. Avoid blame, speculation, inflammatory language.
6. Avoid assumptions about others, especially based on their perceived social group.
7. Rather than directing your comments to your professor, remember that you are part of an engaged room. Before you speak, take a moment to reflect on comments by peers, and when you are done speaking, look for the next person who may want to contribute, then “toss” the conversation off to them. 
8. Lean into discomfort.
9. Cultivate presence
10. Maintain transparency, vulnerability, accountability. (Oops moments are inevitable, just remember to acknowledge hurtful words, biases, mistakes, and to offer apologies.)
11. Step up / Step back: lean into growth edges to contribute if you tend to be more introverted, share opportunities of space for others by remaining silent if you tend to be more talkative. (You are encouraged to engage and permitted to pass.)
12. Cultivate gratitude wherever/whenever possible.
13. Appreciate silences as moments of meaning-making, reflection, and presence. Here’s the quote I shared from Jenny Odell’s How to Do Nothing, quoting Gilles Deleuze in Negotiations: “We’re riddled with pointless talk, insane quantities of words and images. Stupidity’s never blind or mute. So it’s not a problem of getting people to express themselves but of providing little gaps of solitude and silence in which they might eventually find something to say. Repressive forces don’t stop people expressing themselves but rather force them to express themselves; what a relief to have nothing to say, the right to say nothing, because only then is there a chance of framing the rare, and even rarer, thing that might be worth saying.”