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• 1 2014-09-18T11:41:40-07:00 Appendix 4: Fall 2014 Schedule 8 plain 2014-11-19T13:20:37-08:00

  eading Schedule

  • Please complete assignments listed on this syllabus by the class start time on the date they appear.
  • The items listed here are not formatted like they would be on an academic bibliography or works cited list; information is simplified for quick access.
  • This schedule is subject to change (with reasonable notice) and does not include all out-of-class assignments or assignments we will complete in class meetings. Additional assignments may be announced in class and provided there and via email or Blackboard. Be sure to check your email daily for possible updates.

   

  September 3 Wednesday	Course Introductions
  September 8 Monday              Last day to register or add a class online	READ: Writing With Substance (WWS), http://scalar.usc.edu/works/writing-with-substance- What's with all the cat stuff?  Who is this cat nut talking to me in this nutty way Introduction (Stop) Arguing (For Now) Reading Finding Books Using Lexicat (& WATCH: VIDEOS) Reading and Writing Assignment 1 “Home Is Where the Hatred Is: The case for reparations: a narrative bibliography” (linked to R&W Assignment 1)   COMPLETE: R&W Assignment 1 (follow directions therein for submission requirements)
  September 10 Wednesday	***PLEASE ATTEND Faculty Research Day – Come find me there for credit, 11:00am – 2:00pm, Student Center, Multipurpose Room)**   READ:  WWS, “Reading Academic Scholarship” http://scalar.usc.edu/works/writing-with-substance-/finding-scholarly-things-to-read   COMPLETE: R&W Assignment 2 (follow directions therein for submission requirements)
  September 15 Monday	COMPLETE: R&W Assignment 3  (follow directions therein for submission requirements)   [In Class: Watch Terms and Conditions May Apply]
  September 17 Wednesday	READ: 1) Waters, “Student Data is the New Oil” http://hackeducation.com/2013/10/17/student-data-is-the-new-oil/   COMPLETE: R&W Assignment 4 (follow directions therein for submission requirements)

   

  September 22 Monday	READ: 1) Robinson Meyer “Everything We Know About Facebook's Secret Mood Manipulation Experiment”http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/everything-we-know-about-facebooks-secret-mood-manipulation-experiment/373648/   2) Tracy Mitrano, “Facebook and the New World Order” https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/law-policy-and-it/facebook-and-new-world-order   3) “I know where your cat lives” http://iknowwhereyourcatlives.com/about/   4) Sam Fiorella, “The Insidiousness of Facebook” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-fiorella/the-insidiousness-of-face_b_4365645.html     5) Adam D. I. Kramer, Jamie E. Guillory, and Jeffrey T. Hancock, “Experimental evidence of massive-scale emotional contagion through social networks”(PNAS 2014) http://www.pnas.org/content/111/24/8788.full
  September 24 Wednesday	Class Takes Place Online! (no meeting on campus)   READ: “Finding Something to Read Using Library Databases” in WWShttp://scalar.usc.edu/works/writing-with-substance-/using-research-databases-to-find-something-to-read;   WATCH: All three videos (in lieu of an in-class workshop) in the above   COMPLETE: R&W Assignment 5 (follow directions therein for submission requirements)
  September 29 Monday         Absolute last day to register or add a class     September 30 Last day to drop a course without receiving a "W" grade on transcript.	READ: 1) Sylvan Lane, “10 Things you Didn’t Know you Agreed to” http://mashable.com/2014/07/24/terms-of-service-secrets/   2) E. Alex Jung, “Wages for Facebook” http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/wages-for-facebook   3) “Senators Introduce Data Privacy Changes to FERPA”http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2014/07/31/senators-introduce-data-privacy-changes-ferpa   4) Christopher Piehler, “California Assembly Approves Bill Restricting Companies' Use of Student Data” http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/08/26/california-assembly-approves-student-data-privacy-bill.aspx   5) Joseph Faherty, “Where the Internet of Things Meets Office Space”http://www.wired.com/2014/07/when-the-internet-of-things-meets-office-space   6) Kate Crawford, “The Anxieties of Big Data” http://thenewinquiry.com/essays/the-anxieties-of-big-data/
  October 1 Wednesday	Complete: R&W Assignment 6 (In-Class: Workshop on quotations and MLA Documentation. DO NOT MISS CLASS!)
  October 6 Monday	READ: 1) WWS, “Finding Substance Through History” http://scalar.usc.edu/works/writing-with-substance-/finding-substance-through-history   2) Natalia Cecire, “Beyoncé's Second Skin (Part I)” http://nataliacecire.blogspot.com/2014/05/beyonces-second-skin-part-i.html   3) Tressie McMillan Cottom, “The University and the Company Man” http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/the-university-and-the-company-man   Complete: R&W Assignment 7 (follow directions therein for submission requirements)
  October 8 Wednesday                 October 8 Wednesday CONT’D	READ: 1) David Evans, “Adjunct Hiring and ‘Quality’“ http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Adjunct-Faculty-and/7319   2) David Evans, “Budget Realities and Adjunct Hiring” http://chronicle.com/blogs/onhiring/budget-realitiesadjunct-hiring/7325   3) David Evans, “A brief Taxonomy of Adjunct Labor”  http://chronicle.com/blogs/onhiring/a-brief-taxonomy-of-adjunct-labor/7336   4) Maria Maisto, “Higher Education’s Darkest Secret” http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/01/22/higher-educations-darkest-secret   5) Tim Goral, “Unintended consequences: The rise—and fall—of adjuncts in higher education” http://tinyurl.com/mo7p7mv   6) Joseph Fruscione. “When a College Contracts ‘Adjunctivitis,’ it’s the Students Who Lose”  http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/when-a-college-contracts-adjunctivitis-its-the-students-who-lose/    In class: Watching Con Job documentary (2014)
  October 13 Monday	1. READ: WWS, “Writing”; R&W Assignment 8; R&W Assignment 9 and R&W Assignment 9 3/4 (all of which require that you also read Assignment 10!)   2. COMPLETE: R&W Assignment 8  (follow directions therein for submission requirements)   3. FIND/READ: TWO (2)  Peer-Reviewed/Scholarly Articles on the history of contingent labor in higher education in our library research databases. For search terms, try any or all of the above: “adjunct professor,” “adjuncts and composition” “labor in academe” or “labor in academia” “university labor,” “university hiring”; try adding other terms as well, such as “history” and “trends” to find more useful material. 4. WRITE a paragraph summary of your two chosen articles along with the citation information formatted according to MLA style (as in the example below): Dolby, Nadine. “Research in Youth Culture and Policy: Current Conditions and Future Directions.” Social Work and Society: The International Online-Only Journal 6.2 (2008): n. pag. Web. 13 Oct 2014. 5. PRINT OUT your document with citations and summaries of the two articles and bring this document to class, along with your laptop or tablet. (Please let me know via email if you’re unable to bring one)  In class: Watching Con Job documentary (2014)
  October 15 Wednesday	REVIEW: R&W Assignment 9, 10, and 9 3/4. Assigned work to be filled In by teams! I will meet with some of you about individual paper topics
  October 20 Monday	READ: WWS, “Identifying and Formulating Claims” http://scalar.usc.edu/works/writing-with-substance-/identifying-and-formulating-claims Additional Assigned work to be filled In by teams! I will meet with some of you about individual paper topics
  October 22 Wednesday	Additional Assigned work to be filled In by teams! I will meet with some of you about individual paper topics
  October 27 Monday	Additional Assigned work to be filled In by teams! Some class time devoted to individual paper topics
  October 29 Wednesday	Additional Assigned work to be filled In by teams! Some class times devoted individual paper topics
  November 3 Monday	COMPLETE: Collaborative Paper (Assignment 9 ¾) Outlines, due by class start time
  November 5 Wednesday	SUBMIT: Annotated bibliography of some of your POTENTIAL sources for your individual papers (Assignment 9 & 10) & short ¶ or two on your plans for historicizing your topic (Upload to Turnitin Link on Blackboard)
  November 10 Monday	READ: WWS, “Knowing Teh Rulz (Insofar as there are any”http://scalar.usc.edu/works/writing-with-substance-/teh-rulz-insofar-as-there-are-any   Additional Assigned work to be filled In by teams!
  November 12 Wednesday   November 13 Last day to file the Repeat Course form   Last day to withdraw from an individual course	COMPLETE: Draft of Collaborative Paper “R&W Assignment 9¾” on Google Docs (In-Class: Time for Individual Work on Assignment 9)   In Class: Revision & Peer Review Session
  November 17 Monday	COMPLETE: R&W Assignment 9 Draft (follow directions therein for submission requirements) In-Class: Peer Review
  November 19 Wednesday	COMPLETE: R&W Assignment 9 Final Draft (follow directions for Final Draft submission) NEW DATE: FRIDAY NOV. 21 by 6PM
  November 24 Monday	Conversion day- ALL classes follow a FRIDAY schedule NO CLASS Read: REVISION & Comments on Assignment 9 3/4 Work on Assignment 10 on your Own
  November 26 Wednesday	Thanksgiving Break NO CLASS Work on Assignment 10 on your Own
  December 1 Monday	Read: Comments on Assignment 9 & 9¾ In-Class: Revisions on Assignment 9 ¾ ; goals for Assignment 10
  December 3 Wednesday	Complete: Report on Assignment 10 In-Class: Final Revisions on Assignment 9 ¾; work on Assignment 10.
  December 8 Monday	Read: Comments on Assignment 9 ¾ Complete: Report on Assignment 10 In-Class: work on Assignment 10; individual public reports on contributions to Assignment 9 ¾; group member evaluations; course evaluations.
  December 10 Wednesday	Last day to completely withdraw for all courses - for Undergraduate students. Tie up loose ends, individual meetings
  December 12 Friday	Snow/Study/Reading day for Undergraduate classes only.
  December 15-20 Mon-Sat	Final exams for all classes. Your Final Draft of Assignment 10 is due on the scheduled date of the exam. (we will meet for presentations of your research!)

• 1 2014-08-29T13:02:31-07:00 Reading and Writing Assignment 9 8 Review of History & Literature (Subject Overview Essay) plain 2014-10-09T17:10:19-07:00
  For this Assignment (one of three major papers for this course) is linked to the research you will conduct on your chosen topic for Assignment 10: you will write an overview of the history and existing scholarship on it. This kind of overview is an important part of any substantive academic project; accordingly, this assignment gives you an opportunity to learn more about the library and online databases so that you will be comfortable using these resources throughout your academic career. It will also give you practice at producing academic prose; in particular, this paper requires you to improve your ability to integrate source materials––through summary, paraphrase and direct quotations––into a discussion of a topic. This skill will be invaluable as you take more advanced coursework in college.
  The mode of this paper will be similar to the "Narrative Bibliography" you read for Reading and Writing Assignment 1 and wrote for Assignment 6. It should be more formal in style than your previous attempt for Assignment 6; though you may use the first-person pronouns "I" and "we," you should frame your discussion as an overview of existing work rather than as an account of your own journey through the topic.   
  After conducting preliminary research on the topic you have chosen for your final paper for this course, you will discuss what you've learned about the available research. You will start the writing process by taking good notes on what you read and then doing some basic free writing. What elements of your sources are worth discussing? For each source, consider the following:
  • The argument an author makes
  • The trajectory of the author’s argument
  • The structure of the study (introductory matter? Specific chapters?)
  • The various kinds of research a study includes. What kinds of information does the study cover? Where does the information come from? How does a scholar support his or her claims?

  After writing about these aspects of your source material, develop a working thesis about your sources. NOTE: this thesis should NOT be a thesis about the topic itself so much as a claim about how scholars have approached that topic.

  Towards this end, contemplate possible relationships amongst your sources.

  • Does one source cite or invoke others you've read?
  • Do any of your sources cover exactly the same things? What distinctions do you see in coverage/attention/areas of focus?
  • Does one update the information in the other? How do they work together chronologically? See if you notice a particular trajectory that scholarship has followed over time, or whether specific events or discoveries have had impact on the way scholars treat a subject.
  • Are there “new faces” that have surfaced in studies of the topic's history? (i.e., previously ignored groups or people)

  If you don't see many overt connections amongst your sources, you can still focus on the various aspects of your topic that get covered in academic work: “Some scholars focus strictly on [x]; some discuss [y]. Others focus on [z]. Those who focus on [z] offer diverse perspectives. Collectively, they demonstrate the range of responses engendered by [topic].”
  Finally, you'll need to conclude your paper with some thoughts on how you will enter into the discussion. What questions do your sources raise or leave open for your consideration? How might you bring the questions and answers your sources offer to bear locally, for our campus, your major, or other communities in which you are a participant?  
  Primary Objectives for this Assignment
  • To learn strategies for conducting academic research;
  • To gain experience using the university's library resources;
  • To gain practice reading academic scholarship;
  • To build a foundation upon which a final paper in the class will be based;
  • To teach your classmates historical/cultural information that will enhance their understanding of the literary works we will read in the class;
  • To learn material that you will share with your classmates; 
  • To improve your ability to discuss source materials in writing;
  • To develop your skill at summarizing and paraphrasing;
  • To improve your ability to introduce and comment on quotations;
  • To develop your skill and efficiency at crafting smooth transitions between ideas and paragraphs;
  • To review and apply the basic tenets of MLA documentation; 
  • To produce clean, clear, academic prose that is as free of grammatical and mechanical errors as possible.
  Requirements and Tips
  Your final draft of this assignment will be 4-5 pages and should address several of the following questions: What aspects of the topic’s history are most interesting to you and your audience? What aspects of this history have scholars explored and addressed? What particular arguments do these scholars make about the topic? What conversations and debates seem to be taking place, or have taken place, over time? What does this scholarship teach us about your topic? Of course, you shouldn't answer each of these questions one by one--such a response will read more like a list than an a discussion. Begin by freewriting about each question, and then work on organizing what you've read into a visual map or outline.
  Your paper should discuss at least three academic sources and at least one public source (newspapers or blogs or anything you find online that you believe is credible and appropriate). Ideally, you will cover a variety of academic sources, including books and articles, older sources as well as more recent ones (1990 and later).  
  Your academic sources must be refereed academic sources obtained from Hofstra’s library databases. You may not use an encyclopedia (neither on-line nor print) as a major source of information in your paper, but feel free to begin your research process with one.
  You should conceive of your audience as being an academic one; you are writing for the Hofstra community at large, which includes me and members of our course as well as other students, professors, and staff members. This audience will expect a tone and style that are formal and your sources should be credible to critical readers. 
  Keep in mind that this paper should cover primarily the historical background for your topic and a basic overview of what scholars say about your topic––what you'll hear sometimes described as a "review of literature." 
  In Assignment 10, you will be writing more specific arguments about this topic; here, in Assignment 9, you are providing yourself and your readers with the foundation that will lead to a deeper understanding and the ability to make and understand more sophisticated claims about it. That said, in reading the scholarly work of others, you should learn quite a bit about the topic itself along the way. You will eventually channel what you learn from this paper into a longer essay for Assignment 10, in which you will write your own argument about your topic using these and other sources as evidence for your claims. 
  You will practice writing Assignment 10 by working collaboratively with other members in the class to write a paper that meets most of these requirements (but will be significantly longer) in Assignment 9 3/4.
• 1 2014-09-02T13:50:19-07:00 Appendix 2: Assignments 9, 10, and 9 3/4 6 Assignments 9 and 10 plain 2014-10-09T17:08:08-07:00
  Assignments 1-8 in this course all lead up to the final three assignments: 
  The final and most important will be Assignment 10, a 5-6 page discussion of a topic relevant to a university audience; we will use Assignment 8 to lay out possible topics; you will post the topics to a Discussion forum and I and your classmates will comment upon them. Once I approve a topic/course of study for you, you can embark on the research for the paper that will form the basis for both Assignments 9 and 10.
   
  Assignment 9 is a 4-5 page historical overview of scholarship on your topic; you will use it to practice basic writing skills and the communication of complex ideas. The feedback I give you on this paper will be applicable for your work on Assignment 10.
  The idea behind both assignments is that you will write with substance if you are given the opportunity to think substantively about a topic and learn about it from multiple perspectives and at length.
  In order to give you additional opportunities to practice writing a substantive academic discussion, you will also work on Assignment 9 3/4, in which you will fulfill most of the requirements for Assignment 10 by writing a collaborative essay on one of two topics, the phenomenon of "adjunctification" or the use of student data in the university setting. Through the process of writing this paper, you'll learn the skills and methods appropriate to college-level writing.