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English 2050-04: Self-Staging in Everyday Life MW 12:30-1:50 p.m. Pafford 102 Dr. Lori Wilson Snaith Pafford 323 lsnaith@westga.edu |
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Self-Aware Communication: Culture, Practice, and Context After you've carefully and completely read our course policies, below, you may click here to jump to our schedule. COURSE OBJECTIVES Students will be able to identify, analyze, and practice the various discursive modes involved in everyday self-presentation. Students will demonstrate the ability to appropriately adapt their oral communication to specific purposes and audiences. Students will learn and practice techniques of effective conflict resolution, collaborative working, and the presentation of self in a variety of professional and personal contexts. Students will study and discuss contemporary theories of communication. Students will learn how to express themselves more precisely and articulately by expanding their vocabulary and leading/participating in current events discussions. Other materials: You'll need: TEXTBOOK: GOOD NEWS and BAD NEWS I will ask students who don't
bring their materials or who bring them but haven't Before you look at the specifics of how I'll be assessing your work this semester, please read the following excerpt regarding "Five Habits of Mind" from From Students to Citizens and Workers: An Interview with Deborah Meier by Janice Molloy, which briefly outlines the intellectual skills you'll need to cultivate in order to succeed in this (and any other) college course:
I will base your final grade according to the following: Vocabulary mastery--two tests: 15 % (cumulative) Participation and assignments:
reading preparation, presentation
proposals First Presentation: 10% Group Presentation:
15% Weekly journal 10% Final presentation 20 % Professional Interview 15% Please note: on the rare occasions when I ask
you to complete a formal writing assignment, I will not accept
electronic submissions.
ATTENDANCE:
Every absence after your third one, however, will result in a 5-point
decrease
in your final average
.
GROUP ASSESSMENT AND COLLABORATION Several of the projects in class will require you to work with other students, and some will require you to assess other students in their degree of success/competency. I expect, therefore, that you will work with each in a constructive, compassionate and rigorous environment, sharing ideas and expertise for the benefit of the group as a whole.. Part of your responsibility in this class is to help each other improve, and this means that you must point out your classmates’ strengths as well as their areas of weakness in order that every student might grow in his or oral communication skills. I expect you to deliver your feedback in an honest and tactful manner.
WEEKLY JOURNAL: Throughout this semester,
your class's journal day will always
be
Monday
**THIS IS A FORMAL WRITING ASSIGNMENT, AND I EXPECT COLLEGE-LEVEL ATTENTION TO SPELLING, SENTENCE STRUCTURE, AND SOPHISITCATION OF IDEAS** ...please complete this important assignment as follows-- 1) Each entry must be 1-1\2 to 2 typed pages (not counting headings) , double-spaced, 12-point font--proofread and spellchecked! I do not give any credit whatsoever to journal entries that do not meet this length requirement. 2) Bind each entry in your double-pocket folder... always bind your LATEST journal entry on top. 3) In each entry, please describe a communication skill you learned in class the previous week, and how you applied it in your everyday interactions outside of class...also, you might want to discuss what worked for you and what you'll do differently next time, as well as other relevant points you'd like to make. 4) You must submit TEN journal entries during the semester; Week 14 is the last week in which I will be accepting journal submissions. 5) Note: the spirit of this assignment--namely, a method of regular, reflective learning and self-evaluation--prohibits writing journal entries weeks in advance. 6) I will only give credit for ONE journal entry per week, so please keep track of the number of entries you submit so that you can fulfil the ten-entry requirement by the last day to submit journals. 7) I welcome your candor in journal entries, and I never share anything you write with any other person inside or outside of class. I do ask, however, that whatever your comments, you maintain a tone of respect both for yourself, your classmates, and your teachers. I only accept journals that are formatted the way I've described above; I do not accept journals via e-mail. You must submit TEN complete journal entries this semester; I do not accept electronic submissions. University of West Georgia
students are provided a MyUWG e-mail
account.
The University considers this account to be an official means of communication between the University and the student. The purpose of the official use of the student e-mail account is to provide an effective means of communicating important University related information to UWG students in a timely manner. It is the student's responsibility to check his or her email. In other words, you should e-mail me from your MyWestga account, not from a personal account, such as Yahoo, Hotmail, etc. LATE WORK POLICY I do not accept any late work (sorry). Being late with your class work hinders your own progress as well as that of your classmates, especially in a class of this nature. I define a "late assignment" as one that you have not given to me (not left in my drop-box, but physically placed in my hands ) before I leave campus on the day the assignment's due. Spring 2012--IMPORTANT DATES January 14: Drop/Add ends January 16: MLK Day Observance (No Classes) March 2: Withdrawal Deadline (with a grade of “W”) March 19-23: Spring Break (No Classes) March 27th: Honors Convocation--no afternoon classes April 23-27: Final exam week
UNIT I: The Public Self Week 1 01/09 M Welcome to English 2050! Introductions, syllabus, class goals, etc. 01/11 W Beginning Improv and getting to know one another. Print out, read, and bring to class the following articles: Three Modes of Communication, and Classroom (N)etiquette. Discussion: the building blocks of self-aware communication. Week 2--First Week to Submit Journals (see above for instructions) 01/16 M Martin Luther King, Jr. Day--no class today 01/18 W Print out this Vocabulary list , write each word's definition(s), and bring it to class today (test on January 30th). Print out, read, and bring to class: Arthur Asa Berger: "Homo Postmodernus-- A New Kind of Human Being?" Communication and postmodernism: From Caesar to Sarah Silverman The public self, continued--levels of oral communication. Week 3 01/23 M Presentation Assignment #1 and proposal assignment discussion. Subtext and one-minute impromptus. 01/25 W Print out, read, and bring to class: "Ten Dimensions of Creativity." Improv. and impromptu speaking, concluded. Subtext analysis for Monday: observe and write about at least three instances of non-verbal subtext you see or use, and draw a conclusion about the power of subtext, the ways in which you can interpret or misinterpret it, and how you can master your own subtext so that you transmit precisely the message you intend. Week 4--Mandatory Journal Assignment this week: Subtext Analysis (see above). Due Monday; no make-ups. 01/30 M Presentation proposals due. Vocabulary test #1. 02/01 W Bring (and be prepared to discuss) TWO news articles and/or opinion pieces regarding a political or social issue that's important to you. Current events discussion: identifying biases, and examining all sides of an issue. Week 5 02/06 M Catch-up day: one minute impromptus, current events discussion wrap-up; presentation prep. Risk-taking, lateral thinking, and comfort zones. 02/08 W Unit II preview: Stress management lab; Don't miss this class--make sure you're on time, and have all your supplies ready to go! -- crayons
and a Sharpie -- larger water cup with EXACTLY 12 oz. water in it. --self-addressed, stamped envelope. Week 6--In order to get participation credit for this week, you must print out and bring to class enough student presentation evaluations for each of your classmates (you'll have 22 classmates to evaluate, so you'll be making 11 copies of the above document). 02/13 M REVISED Presentation #1 Schedule 02/15 W Presentations and feedback: bring a red pen to class today. "Letter to Myself" Assignment --due at the beginning of class TODAY Week 7 02/20 M Presentations and feedback. 02/22 W No class today; I will be at a conference. UNIT II: The Self in Conflict-- Week 8 --with the Self 02/27 M Print out, read, and bring to class these articles . Discussion: stress inventory, and defining the individual life. 02/29 W Print out, read, and bring to class: Kwame Anthony Appiah, "The Shattered Mirror." In-class writing and discussion: managing expectations; delineating and articulating boundaries. Anger, fear, and triggers: theory and practice. Recognizing the stages of conflict, and cultivating the skill of active listening. Week 9 --with Others 03/05 M Discussion: confrontation strategies and personal investment in a conflict. 03/07 W Bring your completed conflict analysis mini-essays to class today. Print out, read, and bring to class: Kwame Anthony Appiah, "Moral Disagreement." . Looking ahead: print out, read, and bring to class on Monday 3/12 Week 10--across Contexts 03/12 M Civil disagreement round-table: politics and religion. Print out, read, and bring the articles to class: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/s/same_sex_marriage/index.html http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-militia-stone-youths-death-emo-style-171115804.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMLZO-sObzQ 03/14 W Reducing ambiguity and navigating shifting subjectivities. Groupthink and recognizing unexamined presuppositions. Bring (and be prepared to present) your examples of group think to class today Week 11--Spring Break! Yahoooooo!! Unit III: The Self in Collaboration Week 12--with the Self 03/26 M Developing and maintaining a steady practice of self-inventory 03/28 W Expectations and ambiguity Team assignments GROUP PROJECT Week 13--with Others 04/02 M Group projects: trial run 04/04 W Monday's trial run--collaboration recap. Group project. Looking ahead: Final exam assignment, Part 1: Two-minute Impromptus Final exam assignment, Part 2: Professional Interview Materials Final exam assignment, Part 3: Vocabulary Test #2 Week 14--Last Week to Submit Journals 04/09 M Preparing for the Professional Interview. Bring a relevant job description or posting to class--one for which you are currently qualified. Professional interview materials--workshop. 04/11 W Group projects--no class meeting this today; work with your group this week. Week 15--Last Week of Class 04/16 M Group projects--no class meeting today 04/18 W Group presentations: Assessment Rubric. Remember--these are professional presentations, and any professional evaluator is looking for perfection! Final Presentations and Vocabulary Test #2 04/25 W 11:00 a.m. Professional Interview Materials due today. Have a Wonderful Summer! 
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