HONORS 392G01 FALL 2008
The Ghosts That Haunt Us:
Texts and Cultural Con/Texts
Prof. Connie Griffin <cgriffin@comcol.umass.edu>
Monday/Wednesday Schedule 2:30-4:10 Herter 225
Office: Goodell 408 Office Hours: MTWTH – 1:30-2:20 and by appt.
The Course
The Ghosts that Haunt Us provides an opportunity to explore complex cross-cultural connections between the visible and the invisible, the spoken and the unspoken. It provides a time and space to investigate interactions and relationships across our different identities, histories, and social positions. This semester we will study memoirs that reflect the experiences of those involved with and affected by the child welfare system in the U.S., from foster children to foster and birth parents, a caseworker, and across the spectrum of public policy, family services organizations, and the infrastructure that addresses the wellbeing of children in the U.S..
The memoirs we will read this semester give voice to those who remain culturally invisible, those who too frequently are silenced, those whose stories continue to reach us, even if from among society’s shadows. We also will draw on journalistic coverage, documentary accounts, and explore cultural texts and con/texts, such as federal and state legislation, economic policy, historical documents, community and religious organizations, as well as child welfare services and public policies in the U.S.
The dynamic nature of public and private discourse about controversial subjects invites us to examine how public policy affects private lives and how personal narrative implicates public policies. To this end, we will delve into questions of how the personal and the political interact in constructing and deconstructing cultural paradigms. This will bring to the foreground of our discussion a greater awareness of social frames of reference on which we rely as citizens and media consumers. As we deconstruct political slogans and wordplay, we will attempt to reveal what lies behind the rhetorical use of language.
Our goal is to study these concerns within a learning community that applies interdisciplinary approaches to analysis, values collaborative process, and commits to a rigorous process incorporating the intellectual, personal, critical, and creative aspects of our selves.
Class Format and Pedagogical Philosophy
Class will include brief lectures, collaborative projects, peer discussion groups, and individual presentations. We will also draw on multiple media sources, viewing and discussing documentary and news clips addressing the various themes we are studying. I expect to bring in several guest speakers. We will be creating a collaboratively based, interactive class environment where we each participate in and take responsibility for our own learning. Reading the literature is merely the beginning; you are asked to apply critical thinking skills to the complex and contradictory issues raised by the readings and to draw on readings and research in secondary sources in order to more fully contribute to classroom discussion. In other words, I, the professor, am not the single source of knowledge in the classroom, but will be encouraging you as students to move from being passive recipients to active participants and colleagues in your analyses and responses to the complex concepts we will be exploring together this semester.
Course Goals
Students will broaden their understanding of the links between literature and society, public and private life, and develop as individuals by actively participating in a team-based learning process. Students will develop critical and creative thinking skills through research and writing, small and large group discussion, presentations, and group projects. Students will write analytical essays, propose and develop research projects, give group and/or individual presentations, and write a reflective essay.
Course Policies
Attendance is mandatory; any absence will weaken your grade, as will a pattern of tardiness. More than two absences will seriously affect your course grade. More than four absences constitute grounds for failure. I reserve the right to reject late work, no matter the excuse. It is important that you organize your time well; do not ask for extensions except in emergencies (things beyond your control, not lack of time management). I do not accept electronic paper submissions unless I request that form of submission or you have made previous arrangements with me, so please ask for approval before submitting any of your work via email. DO NOT print out or copy your work on the day of or the night before it is due; something will go wrong and I will have no sympathy. Any missed assignments are the student’s responsibility, not the professor’s.
Email Protocol
It is important that you check your email regularly as I communicate with students through the UMASS email system at times. If you have a separate account and do not check your UMASS email, you must have your email automatically forwarded to your personal account. Student-Professor emails should include the course title, “GHOSTS That Haunt Us,” course schedule (M/W or T/TH) in the subject line. Your full name should be included at the end of the email–below the name or nickname you go by. Please address emails as you would a letter: Dear Prof. Griffin.
Required Texts – Available at Food for Thought Books, Amherst
Three Little Words, Ashley Rhodes-Courter, Atheneum, 2008.
One Small Boat, Kathy Harrison, Tarcher/Penguin, 2006.
Turning Stones: My Days and Nights with Children at Risk, Marc Parent, Random House, 1998.
Surrendered Child, Karen Salyer McElmurray, U of Georgia Press, 2004.
Fall 2008 Calendar
392G01 HONORS – GHOSTS THAT HAUNT US – Prof. Connie Griffin
MONDAY-WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE
*PLEASE NOTE: All readings must be completed prior to the class date listed.
SEPT 3 – WED
Introduction and overview of the course, course policies, practices, and pedagogical approach. Reading Memoir: The Commingling of Literature and Culture, or, TEXT AND CON/TEXT—The WORLD as TEXT.
SEPT 8 –MON
Three Little Words: Preface through Chap 4. DUE: Reader Response Essay (RRE)
SEPT 10 – WED
Three Little Words: Chap5 through Chap 8. DUE: RRE
SEPT 15 – MON [LAST DAY TO DROP/ADD]
Three Little Words: Chap 9 through Chap 11. DUE: RRE
SEPT 17 – WED
Three Little Words: Chap 12 through end of book. DUE: RRE
SEPT 22 –MON
One Small Boat: Prologue through Chap 6. DUE: RRE
Kathy Harrison, author of One Small Boat, will speak to the class today!
SEPT 24 – WED
One Small Boat: Chap7 through end of book. DUE: RRE
SEPT 29 – MON
AGING OUT – DOCUMENTARY SCREENING
OCT 1 – WED
AGING OUT CLASS DISCUSSION
OCT 6 – MON
Turning Stones: My Days and Nights with Children at Risk: Prologue through CHAP 2.
DUE: RRE
OCT 8 – WED
Turning Stones: My Days and Nights with Children at Risk: CHAP 3 through CHAP 4.
DUE: RRE
OCT 13 – MON [COLUMBUS DAY OBSERVED]
OCT 14 – TUES [MONDAY CLASS SCHEDULE]—Study Day (continue reading Parent)
Turning Stones: My Days and Nights with Children at Risk: CHAP 5 through CHAP 7.
OCT 15 – WED
Turning Stones: My Days and Nights with Children at Risk: CHAP 8, Epilogue, & Afterword.
DUE: RRE
OCT 20 – MON
Surrendered Child: A Birth Mother’s Journey: CHAP 1 through CHAP 3. DUE: RRE
OCT 22 – WED
Surrendered Child: A Birth Mother’s Journey: CHAP 4 through CHAP 6. DUE: RRE
DUE: PROPOSAL for your semester’s RESEARCH TOPIC and Three Questions exploring your topic (approximately 250 words).
OCT 27 – MON
Surrendered Child: A Birth Mother’s Journey: CHAP 7 through CHAP 9
DUE: RRE (for those not presenting today)
MID-TERM DUE: 1) ORAL PRESENTATIONS of RESEARCH FINDINGS, and 2) an outline and annotated bibliography, and 3) a reflective essay addressing your research process. Panels will be grouped by topics.
OCT 29 – WED
Surrendered Child: A Birth Mother’s Journey: CHAP 7 through CHAP 9
DUE: RRE (for those not presenting today)
MID-TERM DUE: 1) ORAL PRESENTATIONS of RESEARCH FINDINGS, and 2) an outline and annotated bibliography, and 3) a reflective essay addressing your research process. Panels will be grouped by topics.
NOV 3 – MON
Surrendered Child: A Birth Mother’s Journey: CHAP 10 & Afterword. DUE: RRE
NOV 5 – WED
DUE: Proposal for Action Research (250 words)
NOV 10 – MON [FIELD RESEARCH PROJECT] – ACTION RESEARCH
NOV 12 – WED [TUESDAY CLASS SCHEDULE] – ACTION RESEARCH
NOV 17 – MON
DUE: FINDINGS FROM ACTION RESEARCH – 8-MINUTE POWER POINT PRESENTATION (PPT), which must include visuals
NOV 19 – WED
DUE: FINDINGS FROM ACTION RESEARCH – 8-MINUTE POWER POINT PRESENTATION (PPT), which must include visuals
NOV 24 – MON
Documentary Screening and Review for final projects and presenations
NOV 26 – WED
Review for final projects and presentations
DEC 1 – MON
FINAL STUDENT PROJECTS & PRESENTATIONS
DEC 3 – WED
FINAL STUDENT PROJECTS & PRESENTATIONS
DEC 8 – MON
FINAL STUDENT PROJECTS & PRESENTATIONS
DEC 10 – WED
FINAL STUDENT PROJECTS & PRESENTATIONS
DUE: FINAL RESEARCH ESSAY & Personal, Reflective Essay
COURSE PROJECTS & GUIDELINES
1. Reader Response Essays (RRE) and Class Participation –300-500 words (20% of final grade).
Reader Response Essays should provide an analysis of the literature we are reading by selecting a passage of your choosing from the text and applying it to the work as a whole. Include the passage (with complete citation-MLA Style) at the top of your essay. Your essay word count does not include the passage. The passage you choose can be a paragraph or a few excerpts from different parts of the required reading–whatever you find particularly evocative or provocative. Your essay should be a well-written, expository essay. Let your close reading of your chosen passage(s) support and assist you in your analysis of the larger themes you find in the text and back up your interpretations and claims with quotations from the text and include in-text citations, MLA Style. Reader Response Essays do not require secondary research sources, but you may always draw on them to deepen your discussion.
2. Projects and Presentations
So, what are you most interested in? What is your major field of study? What questions would you like to pursue about the stories, themes, issues, policies, or experiences of those whose lives we are studying? Do you see historical, political, economic, or socio-cultural issues into which you might inquire? How might you approach the central inquiry of the course–the point where visibility and invisibility intersect, and, where private lives and public policy interact? Perhaps you would like to explore how the genres we’re studying illuminate this nexus of private and public? The possibilities are endless; you and your group will decide what you are interested in pursuing for your research projects and presentations for the course.
3. What is the process by which you will come to your Research Projects and Presentations?
1) In your peer groups you will be discussing the readings and finding those points where interpretations and interests overlap and diverge. 2) In peer group discussions you will develop three research questions 3) that you will follow up on by exploring credible research sources, and 4) then share your findings with the class. 5) On the day your midterm presentation is due you will turn in an outline, an annotated bibliography/research log (MLA Style), and a reflective essay addressing your research process. Your presentation and reflection should include a discussion on why you believe your three research questions are important and how your thinking about the content, themes, or larger issues of the course may have changed based on your research. This is not an argument, but rather an exploration.
4. Each Student will participate in Three Research Projects and Presentations over the course of the semester—A Mid-term (15%), an Action Research Project and PowerPoint development and presentation (15%), and a Final Research Essay (20%) and Presentation (20%) on those dates listed in the Course Calendar.
In your Presentations, each student will:
1) inform the class of your research topic and three questions;
2) explain why the question is important to understanding the topic;
3) discuss how s/he went about the research to explore, analyze, and come to a greater understanding of the issues.
What is Action Research?
Action Research is a systematic form of inquiry resulting in an analysis of the issues with specific recommendations about how the researcher’s findings might be addressed. It is collaborative, creative, and critical of its findings; it does not take authoritative answers at face value, but reflects on and analyzes those findings. It has a practical purpose that is an important step in addressing socio-political problems that affect real people.
Action Research is initially a reflective investigation of an interest, problem, or challenge. This semester’s research process unfolds in a series of stages, which begin with 1) formulating a central cluster of questions, which may be illuminated, if not answered, by research and reflection; 2) acting as collectors of information (through observation, service work, reading and research, interviews, interaction, and/or personal experience); 3) providing a thorough analysis that addresses the questions and findings; i.e., your own views and, as well as your own interpretations of the information gathered. Then, if you would like to receive extra credit, individuals or groups may 4) generate an Action Plan that addresses the team’s research findings.
What is An Action Plan?
The Action Plan makes recommendations for how to solve the social or economic problems that your research addressed. Recommendations could be made through public policy, community efforts, public relations, educational efforts, foundation or grant funding, legislation, and so on.
Research Requirements for Presentations, Annotated Bibliography, and Research Essay.
Students must draw on no fewer than three of Du Bois’s Library’s Online Databases, and no fewer than five of the following sources:
• a scholarly journal;
• a book on library shelves;
• an interview conducted by the student with a faculty, graduate student, or professional in the field;
• attendance at informative meetings;
• exploration of a credible website: NOTE: If you draw on a website with a particular point of view, be sure to draw on another website with alternative points of view;
• service work in which you have engaged;
• WIKIPEDIA is not a credible source for academic exploration. It will NOT be accepted as a research source.
• Final presentations must include some of the following: Visual Aids: handouts, PowerPoint, digital photos, websites, brochures, pamphlets from community centers or organizations, news stories. These are just a few of the many possibilities.
Potential Approaches
~ Social scientists might look at single mothers, welfare, and health problems (One Small Boat), or, how U.S. foreign policies or Global Trade Agreements affect the economies of other countries and the implications on immigration;
~ A literary critic might look at how literature engages, informs, and educates us about how the personal story brings the trends, statistics, and historical perspectives to life in a deeply personal way (while also exploring those trends, statistics, and historical perspectives);
~ An economist might look at the global economy, socio-economic relations of the U.S. and other countries, and the resulting implications at the individual, community, and national level;
~ An historian might explore issues over time to get an historical perspective;
~ A psychologist might explore early childhood development, generational trends and the perpetuation of psychological patterns.
5. Final Research Essay (20%)
Your final research essay may be based on your mid-term research and will be a written form of your final presentation. This is a five-page formal essay with a thesis statement or research question and a bibliography using Modern Language Association (MLA) style.
6. Final Personal, Reflective Essay (10%)
Each student is asked to write a personal, self-reflective essay (under 1, 000 words) exploring what this course was like for you, intellectually and experientially, as well as how the subject matter and methodology of this course contributed to your intellectual and personal development. Please feel free to discuss its strengths and weaknesses as I am always making changes to courses based on student feedback.