Warren Writing 10B

Warren Writing 10B
Ecology

Rachel D. Shaw
Office UC 410 #8
(619) 534-3068
For Work-Related Use Only:
(619) (between 10am and 7pm only)
rshaw @ ucsd.edu

Synopsis of Course

Welcome to Warren 10B: Ecology! The purpose of this course is to expand and develop the writing skills learned in Warren 10A. Through the writing of exploratory papers, workshops, and weekly discussions, you will hone the thinking and writing skills necessary to develop and present your ideas in an intelligent and effective manner. The course is graded only on a pass/no pass basis in order to encourage the kind of exploration that letter-graded classes tend to discourage. At midquarter and at the end of the year you will receive instead a qualitative evaluation of your performance as a writer and as a participant in the course.

This is not an easy course . It requires a substantial amount of preparation and participation. Thus:

If you fail to complete all the assignments , you will not pass.

If you miss more than two classes, you will not pass.

The compensation for this is the freedom to explore new ideas without fear of getting them "wrong."

Therefore, if you are unable to make the necessary time and intellectual commitment to this course, I strongly advise you to reconsider taking this course at this time.

The subject of this class is ecology, broadly defined. In it we will examine the issues of world hunger, pollution, animal rights, environmental justice, eco-feminism, and related issues. The central tenet of this course is that “nature” or “environment” or “ecology” exists in a human social context, from which it cannot be separated. At the same time, human beings are part of a wider ecosystem, and likewise cannot be separated from it. By looking at ecological issues we can understand wider social relationships; at the same time, we cannot understand ecological problems without an awareness of the societies that produce them and offer solutions to them. As this course moves beyond the popular conceptions of environmentalism, therefore, it is expected that both environmentalists and those who reject that label will find this course challenging and thought-provoking.

Required Materials

___ Ecotopia;
___ Reader;
___ Green Essentials;
___ copying for assignments (essays, outlines, and presentations);
___ two (2) Manilla folders, 8” x 11” size;
___ one (1) self-addressed, stamped envelope for final evaluation

Required Assignments

Papers

Assignment 1 : ecological place and ideas of nature; 6-8 pages.
Assignment 2 : media analysis; 6-8 pages.
Assignment 3 : critique or revision of Ecotopia essay and/or diary entries; 6-8 pages.
Assignment 4 : problems and solutions; 6-8 pages.
Assignment 5 : revision of one of these essays; one presentation, with outline and questions; 8-10 pages.

PLUS

An outline of each essay (1-2 pages each).
A self-evaluative essay (1-2 pages each).
Group presentation on the readings (2-3 pages).
Portfolio kept up to date

In Greater Detail

Required Materials

These are the materials that you are required to purchase for the course. You will need:

A course Reader (available at CalCopy);
Ernest Callenbach’s Ecotopia. (available at Groundworks and perhaps other local bookstores);
Two manila folders (9”x12” standard folders -- available at the UCSD bookstore, the General Store, some grocery stores, and all office supply stores. Get only the cream-colored ones.);
One self-addressed, stamped envelope (for your-end-of-year evaluation).
Copying (for all assignments, outlines, and presentation materials)

Recommended Materials
(not required, but useful)

Geoffrey C. Saigin’s Green Essentials: What You Need to Know About the Environment. Four copies are on reserve at the Warren Writing Program Office.
A grammar handbook: Kate Turabian’s Manual for Writers; Little, Brown grammar handbook; Strunk and White; Chicago Manual of Style, etc.
A dictionary
An atlas
A thesaurus
A compact encyclopedia
(These can be found in any competent bookstore or library.)

General Course Requirements

As noted above, you will write four papers, plus one revision, and you will write a brief outline of each paper the week before it is due. You will give a minimum of one presentation, but no more than two. You will maintain a folder containing copies of all assignments and comments received on them. You will write a brief self-evaluation mid-quarter. You will participate in discussions and workshops in class. And, hopefully, you will have fun, too!

Papers

You will be writing four papers of 6-8 pages in length, plus one 8-10 page revision. Papers that fail to meet the minimum requirements will be subject to rejection and/or additional revision.
You must draw up an outline for each paper (see schedule below) for discussion in class. It will be used to help you organize your argument before you write the paper. It should include a list of your claims, your grounds, and your warrants (how the grounds will support the claim(s)). It should also include a brief paragraph or two explaining what you would like to accomplish in the paper. It should be typed, and no longer than 2 pages.
Rough drafts are unacceptable. Papers must be neat; typed; stapled; proofread for grammar, spelling, organization, and typos (OASIS is a valuable resource for those who wish or need to improve their skills in these areas). You must cite any and all sources quoted, summarized, paraphrased, etc. Failure to do so is both unethical and illegal.
Margins are 1” all around; fonts should be 12-point; spacing is double-spaced. Your name, the date, and the name of this section (Warren 10B: Ecology) should be at the top on the first page. As this is a class dealing with the use and waste of resources, the use of recycled paper and double-sided printing is encouraged (but be sure that the paper is suitable for the printer or typewriter you are using to avoid misfeeds and blurred text).
Each paper must have a title indicative of its contents, such as “The Myth of Hunger: An Analysis of Food Distribution in Third World Countries.” Titles such as “Assignment A: Hunger” are unacceptable.
Work must be in on time! Late work will not receive adequate peer attention and will be noted in your end-of-year evaluation.

Workshops and Copies

Thinking and writing both benefit from interaction with your peers and colleagues. Therefore, a sizable component to this course will be spent in discussion (explained below) and workshops. For workshops to function smoothly, the writer whose work is being considered must provide legible copies in sufficient amounts for those peers to read and write comments upon. Please budget for this! At minimum, you will need to make copies for the small group, a copy for yourself (see portfolios), and a copy for me. If you are to be workshopped by the large group (determined the previous class) you will need to make additional copies to ensure that everyone gets one.

As discussion and workshopping are integral to the functioning of this course, tardies and absences must be kept to a minimum. You are allowed a total of two absences this quarter. Tardies of more than 30 minutes will be considered absences. Tardies of less than 30 minutes will be noted; if they exceed 60 minutes by quarter’s end, they will be considered equivalent to an absence.
More than two absences (or their equivalent in tardies) = a no-passing grade!

Presentations

To ensure participation and efficient introduction of the texts, each student will be required to give at least one -- probably two -- presentations this quarter. Such presentations will be given by pairs of students according to the schedule below. Presentations must include the following: summaries, questions, outline.
You are required to summarize the materials briefly for the group. This does not mean a paragraph by paragraph description of an article’s contents (presumably your classmates have already read the material). Rather, your summary should focus on the author’s argument. What are his/her main claims? What grounds does he/she use? How is the material warranted? You might also want to note any weak areas of the argument (such as grounds that don’t seem warranted), but only briefly at this point.
You will also need to make a presentation outline. This is a brief description (one paragraph maximum per article or essay in Ecotopia) of the claims, grounds, and warrants of the arguments in that day’s reading. It should also include a list of questions (10 maximum) to promote discussion and understanding of those materials, either individually or as a group. Make enough copies to have one for everybody, including yourself and for me.

One of the more effective ways to do a presentation is as follows:

1) Introduce the article to be summarized - who is the author, what is the title, etc.
2) Summarize the argument, as described above.
3) Read the questions you have prepared relating to that article, but do not discuss them yet. (People need time to think about them.)
4) Go on to the next article and repeat.
5) After the last article is presented, go back to the questions, reading them all again from the beginning. Now you can ask them to respond to either a specific question, focus on a specific article, or to respond to any question that interests them.

Handling questions and discussion:

1) People always need time to think about the question before they answer. After you’ve asked a question, don’t assume that no one is interested if no one answers right away. Wait at least 10 seconds (count in your head -- it seems longer than you’d think) before moving on.
2) “Open-ended” questions are better for discussion than ones needing only a yes/no answer. (Example: Hardin argues that we have no obligation to look after others. Does his argument seem reasonable? Why/why not? Not so good: How many agree that Hardin’s argument is wrong? What metaphor does Hardin use to make his point? (Both of these last two could be salvaged by asking for more information -- why it is/is not “wrong” or ineffective, what does the metaphor imply, etc.)
3) Try not to pass judgement in the questions. By this, I mean, do not phrase the question so that there is only one “right” answer. If everyone “agrees” it is hard to have a good discussion. (Examples: Obviously, only an idiot would disagree with this argument. What makes it so good? Or: Hardin’s argument is stupid and confusing. Why doesn’t it make sense? Better: Hardin’s argument has both strengths and weaknesses. What are they? Does his argument hold together despite the weaknesses?)

If you want, I will be happy to make an appointment with you, or see you during office hours, to discuss your presentation before you give it.

A final note -- when summarizing the sections from Ecotopia, your primary focus should be author Callenbach’s arguments, not the arguments of character Will Weston. You may discuss the claims Weston makes, the grounds he offers, etc., but keep in mind that it is Callenbach who put the words in Weston’s mouth and the ink in Weston’s pen. Note also that although Callenbach’s main arguments usually lie in the essay sections, there are arguments within Weston’s diary entries as well. These might be worth noting, even if you choose not to explore them in detail.

Conferences

Mid-quarter you will meet with me, one-on-one, to discuss your work in the course. This will be counted as equivalent to one class period. You must bring to conference a brief self-evaluation (1-2 pages), which should follow the format of your other written work:

Write the equivalent of one paragraph each evaluating each of the following:
a) your performance in workshops;
b) your ability to understand, critique, and use the course readings;
c) your writing style, grammar, organization, etc.

Write the equivalent of 1-2 paragraphs evaluating your use and understanding of claims, grounds, warrants, and qualifiers.

Finally, write the equivalent of one paragraph identifying areas that need work or which should be developed during the remainder of the quarter.

This paper can be as formal or as informal as you wish, but it should be typewritten and include the above information.
This is also a good time to bring in any work in progress or any questions you might have about the course, your work, upcoming assignments, etc.

Portfolios

The two manila folders will become your portfolios. One I will keep, containing the originals of all the work you turn in, plus comments. I will use this to write your evaluations, so it must be complete and up to date. The other you will keep; it should have a copy of every assignment you turn in -- including revised work. I recommend making copies of the comments you receive on your work as well. This folder is your insurance in case anything happens to the originals (such as fire or flood damage).

The process of maintaining the portfolios will proceed as follows:
1) You turn in the assignment.
2) I read it and write comments on it; so do your peers. The assignment is returned.
3) You read the comments, and make copies of them, if desired.
4) You place a copy of the assignment (with or without comments, preferably with) in your portfolio.
5) You return the original -- that is, the one you turned in and on which I wrote -- to me to keep. This process should not take more than a week!
At the end of the year I will check both portfolios to make sure that I have all the originals back, and that you have a copy of each.

Caveats and Pet Peeves
(Warnings and Things that Annoy Me)

Every instructor has his or her pet peeves. The requirements for papers, portfolios, etc. are listed above, and each serves a purpose (which I will be happy to explain if you so wish). Some, however, are less obvious.

Among these:
1) misuse of the words “bias” and “site.” One has a bias, or one is biased. “He is bias” is non-standard English. A site is a location, and to site is to place something; to cite is to acknowledge an author whose work you have used. If you write “she sited the authors”, what you are really saying is that she picked the authors up and placed them somewhere!
2) apostrophes. ‘s is used to indicate either A) possession -- the dog’s bone; or B) to indicate that a letter has been left out -- don’t = do not, can’t = can not, it’s = it is, etc. The only exception is the possessive “its” -- its feet, its tires. Therefore, do not write things like “There were many automobile’s on the road today.” Your readers will assume you have been poorly educated.
3) be aware of gendered language, such as referring to “mankind” when you mean “humankind” or “he” when you mean “a person.” (For example, consider the familiar phrase, “posture maketh the man”. “Posture maketh the human” is more accurate, unless you truly believe that only adult male human beings were involved in the process (and not children or women).) If this seems unduly fussy to you, be aware that most academic audiences reading such language will assume that A) you are using “mankind” or other gendered language on purpose, and are therefore sexist, B) that you don’t know any better, and need to be taught, or C) (unlikely) that you are writing only about the adult male of the species. Remember, what seems like “common sense” in one context may be unwarranted in another.
4) use of jargon like "impact" and "utilize" when a simpler word, like "effect" or "use" will do.
5) "Thesauritis" -- although it is good to expand your vocabulary, do not try to do it all in a single paper. Also be wary of using new words when you do not fully understand their meaning and connotations; when in doubt, a simpler, more familiar word is often more effective.

Schedule of Readings, Presentations, and Assignments

Week One
Tuesday, January 6
Introduction to Course.

Thursday, January 8
Discussion of Assignment 1 and readings.
Reading:
Reader pp. 1-11. Haynes-Siqueiros, “Plagarism and Proper Documentation”; Hardin, “We Have a Responsibility to Take Care of Ourselves, Not Others”; Trainer, “Third World Poverty”; Lee, “Responsibility among the Dakotas”
Ecotopia: “Weston’s Next Assignment”; May 3 diary entry (a); “William Weston on His Journey to Ecotopia”; May 3 diary entry (b).

Week Two
Tuesday, January 13
Reading:
Reader pp. 12-36. Evernden, “The Social Use of Nature,” “Nature and Norm,” “The Fragile Division”
Ecotopia: “Crossing the Ecotopian Border”; May 4 diary entry; “The Streets of Ecotopia’s Capital”; May 5 diary entry; “Food, Sewage, and Stable States”; May 7 diary entry.

Thursday, January 15
Assignment 1 due.
Workshop of Assignment 1.

Week Three
Tuesday, January 20
Papers returned, next assignment given.
Reading:
Reader pp. 37-78. Steger and Bowermeister, “Garbage”; Urrea, “Trash,” “Coffee,” “The Serranos,” “Negra”; Bunyard, “Nuclear Energy After Chernobyl”; Cooper-Marcus, “Design as if People Mattered”
Ecotopia: “Car-Less Living in Ecotopia’s New Towns”; May 8 diary entry; “The Unsporting Life of Ecotopia”; May 10 diary entry; “Ecotopian Television and Its Wares”
Presentation:

__________________________

Thursday, January 22
Discussion of Assignment 2 . Outline Due.

Week Four
Tuesday, January 27
Reading: Reader pp. 79-123.