Professor
Kathryn Conrad
Spring 2017
TR 1-2:15 pm, 4021 Wescoe
Office
hours: W 2-4, 3043 Wescoe
Page last updated 4-14-17
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course explores literature that asks, explicitly or implicitly, how do we know what we think we know? What is the "reality" we think we are accessing? What limits our capacity for knowledge? We will examine a variety of texts, including poetry, essays, and novels, in order to begin to probe those questions and more, with a special focus on the relationship between humans and their tools for knowing. Topics we will consider will include metaphor, time perception, language, technology, the nature of the human, and the concept of the "noosphere." Authors will include William Blake, Oliver Sacks, Sherry Turkle, Jaron Lanier, Bram Stoker, Brooke Gladstone, Alan Lightman, and Daniel Suarez.
THIS COURSE FULFILLS:
All KU students must take two Core 2.1 courses. Students pursuing a BA in the College are required to take either ENGL 101 and 102, or ENGL 102/105 and a second Goal 2.1 course. All 200-level English courses satisfy the second Goal 2.1 requirement. This course fulfills the second KU Core Goal 2.1 (written communication) requirement. It will also count as one of the two required written communication courses for the BA in the College.
As a KU Core Goal 2.1 course, this course is intended to help you develop your writing, from idea and research through revision and final product, for multiple genres and communication situations. Writing will be the supermajority of your grade in the course, in keeping with Goal 2.1 standards.
This course also serves as one of the Honors Course Requirements for the KU Honors Program.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Students
will be expected to write in a variety of genres: a literary analysis,
an
analysis of visual rhetoric, a research paper, and blog postings
focused on
several kinds of genres and evaluative tasks.
OTHER
REQUIREMENTS:
Grading details:
1. 10%:
Attendance and participation in discussion (in class and/or online, if
absent or shy), group work, and short assignments. You will be
expected to access materials online and participate in Blackboard
discussion blogs. You must participate in the Blake blog, any blog
discussions that replace days cancelled by the University or by Prof.
Conrad, any days that you miss class (excused OR unexcused), and at
least four other prompts (see Blogging FAQ below). This means
responding to five blog prompts for certain, and more if class is
cancelled or if you miss class. All readings and blog postings
should be completed before class on the date listed on the syllabus
(unless I say otherwise in class). The only exception to this is if you
miss class; in that case, you may make up participation for that day
after the fact by posting on a prompt for the text we discussed while
you were absent.
You are expected
to attend every class and have with you any paper texts (i.e., books)
we are scheduled to discuss; contact me by e-mail (kconrad @ ku.edu)
before or as soon as possible after your absence if you must miss
class. Please do not attend class if you are ill with a virus.
Documentation will assure an excused absence, but is not required for
me to excuse an absence. Do not abuse this. My 25 years of
experience teaching suggest strongly that you will not succeed if you
do not attend regularly.
Electronic
devices: You are welcome to use laptops, notebooks, and tablets
in class for reading of assigned material, notetaking, and other tasks
directly related to the course material we are discussing during the
class session. Social media use, emailing, and other activities
not related to the class discussion are strictly prohibited. If you are
discovered partaking in activities not directly related to the course
during class time, your participation grade will suffer, and you will
be asked to leave, with the attendant impact on your participation
grade.
2. 20%: 5 required blog posts. See below, Blogging FAQ.
3.
70%: Three papers. Each assignment will have a specific word count
range, from 800 (low end of visual analysis paper range) to 1700 (high
end of research paper range), but these will be guides, since quality
is more important than absolute word count. Be concise and
precise but also be sure to take the space needed to make your
argument. Paper topics will be available online two weeks prior to the
due date on Blackboard website. You should read the grading guidelines,
available on Blackboard, and review the plagiarism policy below before
handing in your papers (including the rough drafts).
TEXTS:
In addition to several texts available online, I have ordered the following texts:
RESOURCES, POLICIES, & CONTACTS (Adapted from statements and policies from the KU Registrar, CLAS, the Writing Center, the KU Faculty Council, and the English Department)
Grading: In this course we will be using the +/- grading scale, approved by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to describe intermediate levels of performance between a maximum of A and a minimum of F. Intermediate grades represented by plus or minus shall be calculated as .3 units above or below the corresponding letter grade.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism
is stealing and passing off someone else's ideas
or words as one's own or using information from another's work without
crediting the source. Any detected cheating offense--including but not
limited
to plagiarism; the unauthorized use of crib sheets, texts, or other
materials
during an examination or quiz; the copying of another student's work
(even with
the permission or aid of that student, who is thereby culpable); the
use of
prewritten essays (the student's own or someone else's); the uncredited
adoption of another writer's interpretation of a work; or the
unauthorized use
of work written for another assignment or class--will be reported to
the
University. A record of each verified offense will be kept throughout
the
student's association with the University.
Plagiarism
is not a game, nor is it simply a
"shortcut" when time presses. It is a very serious form of academic
misconduct and will be treated as such in this class. When you consult
outside
sources for ideas--through published or unpublished essays, interviews,
the
Internet, conversation, etc.--you must cite those sources in your work.
I
understand that academic work can be daunting: if you are struggling
with an
assignment, are unclear about my expectations, or are behind on your
work,
please consult me. There is always a better path than plagiarism; I can
work
with you to help you find your own voice while incorporating others'
ideas
appropriately. If after reading the statement above, you are still
unclear
about what constitutes plagiarism, ask me BEFORE turning in an
assignment.
A
plagiarized assignment will result in failure of the
assignment (no credit given); it also impacts your larger course grade
more
than a paper that merely receives an F, and will usually result in
failure of
the course. The Department of English has a zero-tolerance policy on
plagiarism. Formal records are currently kept by the Department of
English and
the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. I may also send a copy of the
plagiarism form to the home department or school of any student who is
found to
have plagiarized.
KU Statement on Diversity
and Inclusion:
As a premier international research university, the University of
Kansas is committed to an open, diverse and inclusive learning and
working environment that nurtures the growth and development of all. KU
holds steadfast in the belief that an array of values, interests,
experiences, and intellectual and cultural viewpoints enrich learning
and our workplace. The promotion of and support for a diverse and
inclusive community of mutual respect require the engagement of the
entire university.
Recording of Classes: At KU, course materials prepared by the instructor, together with the content of lectures, are the property of the instructor. Video and audio recording of lectures and review sessions without the consent of the instructor is prohibited. On request, the instructor will usually grant permission for students to audio tape lectures, on the condition that these audio tapes are only used as a study aid by the individual making the recording. Unless explicit permission is obtained from the instructor, recordings of lectures and review sessions may not be modified and must not be transferred or transmitted to any other person, whether or not that individual is enrolled in the course.
Attendance
and Termination
of Enrollment:Students
may neither add nor change sections in any English course after Monday
January 23 without departmental permission. The last day to petition to
add classes is Monday, February 13.
The Department of English reserves the right to terminate
administratively the enrollment of any student who misses two
consecutive class meetings during the first two weeks of the semester.*
Should an emergency situation cause the student to miss two consecutive
class meetings, the student should contact the instructor(s) or the
English Department, 864-4520, immediately.
Students who decide to drop English classes should do so promptly so
that other students may enroll in the class. The last day to
withdraw from classes under any circumstances is Monday April 17.
Drop policy: If you are having trouble succeeding in the course, it is especially important that you consult with me so that we can develop a plan of action that may enable you to complete the course. If you decide to drop this class, please refer to the Website below:
http://www.registrar.ku.edu/current/schedule.shtml
From
Monday February 6 to Monday April 17 , you will be assigned a grade of
W. You may not drop or withdraw after April 17.
Policy on Student Academic Creations: Since one of the aims of this course is to teach students to write for specific audiences, ungraded student-authored work may be shared with other class members during the semester in which you are enrolled in the class. Please do not submit materials on sensitive subjects that you would not want your classmates to see or read, unless you inform the instructor in advance that you do not want your work shared with others.
Other uses of student-authored work are subject to the University's Policy on Intellectual Property and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. If your instructor desires to use your work outside of this class (e.g. as a sample for another class or future classes), you will be asked to fill out and sign a written form authorizing such use.
Writing
Resources: For
help
with your writing, I strongly encourage you to contact
the KU Writing Center. At the Writing Center you can talk
about
your
writing with trained tutors or consult reference materials in a
comfortable
working environment. You may ask for feedback on your papers,
advice and
tips on writing (for all your courses), or for guidance on special
writing
tasks. Please check the website
at http://www.writing.ku.edu/students/ for
current locations and
hours. The Writing Center welcomes both drop-ins and appointments, and
there is
no charge for their services. For more information, please call (785)
864-2399
or send an e-mail to <writing@ku.edu>.
The
website is loaded with helpful information about writing
of all sorts, so even if you consider yourself a good writer, I
encourage you
to visit.
Weather cancellations: Call 864-SNOW to discover whether classes have been cancelled by the University due to inclement weather. Cancelled classes will be made up via online assignments; see Blackboard for details. Be sure that Blackboard has your correct contact information, since I will use it to send e-mail in case of a cancellation.
Religious observances:
According to university regulations, in cases of conflicts between
regularly scheduled class activities and mandated religious
observances, the student is responsible for initiating discussion with
the instructor to reach a mutually acceptable solution. Please speak
with me privately if scheduled examinations/activities conflict with
religious observances, so that a make-up examination/activity may be
scheduled for you at a mutually acceptable time.
Sexual harassment and violence.
Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and
gender are Civil Rights offenses subject to the same kinds of
accountability and support applied to offenses against other protected
categories such as race, national origin, etc. If you or someone you
know has been harassed or assaulted, and you wish to speak in
confidence to a trained counselor, contact the Sexual Trauma and Abuse
Center (785-843-8985 or support@stacarecenter.org). You may also wish
to contact Lawrence Memorial Hospital Emergency Room (785-505-6162). If
you want to pursue disciplinary action or criminal charges against the
perpetrator, you may contact the Office of Institutional Opportunity
and Access (785-864-6414; instructions on how to file a complaint can
be found at http://ioa.ku.edu/file-complaint); and the KU Police
(785-864-5900) or the Lawrence Police (785-832-7509). For the
protection of students who experience harassment or violence,
instructors are mandated reporters; if you report harassment or
violence to an instructor, the instructor must report it to both a
supervisor and the police.
Academic Advising:
Academic advising and planning can help students learn how to
successfully and purposefully navigate the opportunities available to
them throughout their time as a Jayhawk. Academic advising sets up an
active, teaching-learning partnership between advisors and advisees
that will enable students to graduate in a timely manner, identify
educational and career options, as well as gain the knowledge and
skills necessary to accomplish their life goals. During advising
appointments, students will be able to establish short- and long-term
goals for their college career (ex: graduating with Honors,
participating in Study Abroad trips, getting an internship), create a
semester-by-semester graduation plan, discuss course selection for
upcoming semesters and navigate the policies surrounding their choices
(e.g., add/drop/change schedule, late withdraw, academic
standing/probation).
In addition to mentors, project advisors, and
instructors who provide informal mentoring, there are three members of
the English Department available for formal academic advising. See
below for names and contact information.
Darren Canady, Undergraduate Director
canady@ku.edu
785-864-3642
3138 Wescoe Hall
Mary Klayder, Associate Undergraduate Director and Honors Faculty Fellow
mklayder@ku.edu
785-864-2582
3019 Wescoe Hall
Amy Schmidt, CLAS Academic Advisor
amyschmidt@ku.edu
785-864-3500
3001P Wescoe Hall
BLOGGING FAQ:
*How
many
blog postings are required?
You
should post 5 times, including any required posts listed on
the syllabus. These must be completed before class time on the
date on
which we discuss the text or topic.
If you
miss a class for any reason, you should post on the text or
topic for which you missed discussion (AKA, an 'absence
post'). This will help mitigate the
loss of
participation. Any 'absence
posts'
do not count toward the 5 required posts, although you may post on a
text as a
required post and then post again on the same text as an 'absence
post.' 'Absence
posts' may be completed after the date on which
the text or topic was
discussed; required posts may not.
If you are inclined to shyness in the classroom, you may also use the
blog as an opportunity for participation--again, in addition to the 5
required posts and any absence posts.
*Why
a blog?
We'll be
using a course blog much the same way other
courses use discussion boards. The benefit of the blog format is that
it is
easy to follow the thread of the discussion visually. Blogging allows
you to
share your ideas on the material, starting from a prompt provided by
the
instructor. Unlike classroom discussion, which is spontaneous and
sometimes
fast-paced, blogging offers an opportunity for you to provide a
thoughtful,
articulate response.
*What's a "substantial blog
posting"?
A
substantial blog posting is a short paragraph
response either to the instructor prompt or to another student's
posting on the
topic. A substantial posting also takes into consideration the entire
conversation, even if it is directed primarily toward one comment. In
other
words, read other people's posts before posting.
Blog discussions, like any discussions, can get off
topic; that's fine, but the blog postings that count toward your
requirement
are those that are on-topic.
*Do
all
of my postings
have to be "substantial"?
Not at
all. You are welcome to use the blog
informally, just as in any discussion. Only substantial posts, however, will count toward the required number.
*Can I start a new thread?
Yes, you
can start a new thread. Please do so only if
you feel it is a significantly different issue than that raised by the
initial
thread(s), just to ensure you get a good audience that isn't divided
between
threads. There may be days where
there is no prompt; you are welcome to start a thread on those days as
well.
*Will you
tell me how many posts I have completed or that I have
left to complete?
No. *You
are
responsible for keeping track of your required and absence posts over
the
course of the semester.* I will
tally them all at the end of the semester.
Schedule of readings:
1/17/17 Introduction; Romantic approaches
to knowing.
William
Blake, "Introduction" (to Songs of
Innocence), "Introduction" (to Songs
of
Experience).
1/19/17 Blake: "The Little Black
Boy" (SOI), "The Chimney
Sweeper"
(SOI and SOE); "The Lamb" (SOI),
"The Tyger" (SOE).
The poems (text only, without images) are available in the Erdman edition here:
http://erdman.blakearchive.org/
--look for I. The Works in Illuminated Printing [v to open menu] Songs of Innocence and Experience
The illuminated poems (with images) are here:
http://www.blakearchive.org/work/songsie
To compare images, pick a 'copy' from the gallery, pick a poem from the gallery, and then choose 'Objects from the Same Matrix'.
1/24/17 Blake, "The Lamb"
(SOI),
"The Tyger" (SOE). See links above.
1/26/17 Samuel
Taylor Coleridge, "Eolian Harp" http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/183957
Coleridge,
"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" http://www.bartleby.com/101/549.html
1/31/17 Coleridge, "Kubla
Khan" with preface (poem begins with "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan" http://www.victorianweb.org/previctorian/stc/kktext.html
2/2/17 [Writing
literary essays (lecture/discussion, in class)]
2/7/17 Bram Stoker, Dracula, through Ch. VII.
2/9/17 Dracula, through Ch. XII. First
draft of
literary analysis due.
2/14/17 Dracula, through Ch. XX.
2/16/17 Dracula, to end.
2/21/17 Dracula,
finish discussion. Visual ways of knowing. [Dracula,
politics, "science," and physiognomy: slideshow in class]
2/23/17 John Szarkowski, "The
Photographer's Eye." http://pages.ramapo.edu/~jlipkin/206/readings/2.the.photographers.eye.pdf Read the introduction to "The Photographer's Eye" here (you
needn't answer the questions at the beginning, but we may discuss them). http://www.cabrillo.edu/~vmay/AP46a_john_szarkowski.pdf
2/28/17 Brooke Gladstone, The
Influencing Machine, through p. 34 [Writing
visual rhetorical analyses.]
3/2/17 Gladstone, The
Influencing Machine, through p. 127. Take the Implicit
association test, Harvard.
3/7/17 Gladstone, The
Influencing Machine, finish.
3/9/17 Oliver
Sacks, "What the Blind
See." http://powers.media.mit.edu/wiki/upload/MindsEye.pdf
Visual
rhetorical analysis drafts due.
3/14/17 Metaphor and mind. Lakoff
& Johnson, selections from "Concepts We Live By" at
http://theliterarylink.com/metaphors.html
3/16/17 lan
Lightman, Einstein's
Dreams, through p. 60 ("15 May"). [Writing research papers]
3/21/17 NO
CLASS; SPRING BREAK. Finish Einstein's
Dreams, and if you get done, get started on Kill Decision.
3/23/17 NO CLASS; SPRING
BREAK
3/28/17 Alan
Lightman, Einstein's
Dreams, through end.
3/30/17 [Writing day; class does not meet]
4/4/17 Technology, epistemology, ethics. Daniel Suarez, Kill Decision, through ch. 18.
4/6/17 Suarez, Kill
Decision, through ch. 24.
4/11/17 Kill Decision, finish.
4/13/17 The
Hive Mind: http://io9.com/how-much-longer-until-humanity-becomes-a-hive-mind-453848055
AI: http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/03/elon-musk-billion-dollar-crusade-to-stop-ai-space-x
Research paper drafts due.
4/18/17 Sherri
Turkle, Alone
Together, Intro
+ Chs. 1-2. Available online through KU libraries as an ebook. (You can
search through KU's catalog or try just going straight there:)
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ku/reader.action?docID=684281&ppg=40
4/20/17 Sherri
Turkle, Alone
Together, Chs 4-6.
4/25/17 [Movie in class: The Matrix.]
4/27/17 [Movie in class: The Matrix.]
5/2/17 [The Matrix], finish; discuss
essays.
Essays. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulation_hypothesis
http://discovermagazine.com/2013/dec/09-do-we-live-in-the-matrix
http://www.simulation-argument.com/matrix2.html
http://www.gizmag.com/3d-hologram-universe-laser-fermilab-experiment/33546/
5/4/17 Finish discussion of The Matrix and essays.
Evaluations of instructor. Last day
of classes. Finish any absence posts by midnight tonight
5/9/17 (Thursday): Portfolio of writing (ALL first drafts with comments & original self-evaluation forms + final drafts) due by 4 pm in 3043 Wescoe Hall. I will be in my office from 2-4 pm. You may turn essays in under the door prior to that point.