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ENGLISH 15Writing Beyond Text

Section 205, Summer 2015 - 202 Ford, 11:10am-12:25pm Monday-Friday 

 Adam Haley Office Hours :adamhaley@psu.edu / noendofneon.net  Monday-Friday 12:45-2:00pm

noendofneon.net/beyondtext  and by appointment (outside 202 Ford)

When we talk about writing in the classroom, we typically channel a very limited sense of whatwriting is, where and how it happens, and what it can do. Likewise, when op-eds in major nationalnewspapers bemoan the erosion of literacy in the 21st century, they rely on a similarly restrictive sense ofwhat literacy is, of what counts as reading and writing. Accordingly, the project of this course is to expandour sense of writing and composition beyond the limited ways we typically imagine it, to think about writingthat doesn’t necessarily always look like the expository essay or the op-ed or the research paper but thatmight nonetheless accomplish some of the same intellectual tasks. Broadly speaking, we will follow thisproject along two main trajectories.

First, we will consider how the landscape of reading and writing have changed in recent decades withthe development and expansion of a complex media ecosystem encompassing more than just the printedword. What  we read and write, when we read and write, where we read and write, how  we read and write—all of these have been significantly reshaped by shifts in technology and culture. The cliches about howno one writes letters or reads novels anymore are cliches, certainly, but they’re also to a large extent true.This class takes these shifts not as a grand tragedy, or as a triumph of technological efficiency, but as a set ofphenomena with complex ramifications to be carefully thought through—to be read about, talked about,written about, in both “old” and “new” media. What does it mean to read and write in the shadow of amedia society, or in the era of the supremacy of the internet? What do reading, writing, and literacy look likein the 21st century? How have television or radio or Twitter or photography or cell phones reshaped how weread and write? What communicative skills are you expected to have now that people in generations past

weren’t expected to have? What skills have become less relevant? How have some older forms of literacypersisted where others have all but disappeared? How is the context of your reading and writing differentfrom the context of your parents’ reading and writing, or your grandparents’? What will your kids’ literacypractices look like, or their kids’? You can bet they’ll laugh at least as much at Snapchat and Whatsapp asyou do about whatever old-fashioned things your parents used to do (payphones? cell phones the size oftoaster ovens? writing actual letters?).

Second, we will think about writing in relation to other kinds of communicative and expressivemedia. For instance: in an increasingly image-oriented world, what can writing learn from visual media likepainting, film, or photography? How do composition and rhetoric, even in purely textual form, alreadydepend on the phenomenon of the image? How does some writing conjure images in its audience’s heads,

and how do those images embody or enable the act of persuasion? How might writing and sound, or writingand performance, be connected? When we talk about “voice” in writing, what do we mean by that, andhow is it related to or dependent on the movement of our vocal cords to produce speech, song, and so on?Even within the textual register, what could the essay learn from the poem, or the story, or the screenplay?

This course will argue that writing does not exist—and never has existed—in a vacuum, that it isconstantly influenced by (and influencing!) other modes of communication, expression, and thought in othergenres, contexts, and media forms. By paying attention to the endlessly multiple places and contexts inwhich we write, the effects of those contexts on our writing, and the dizzying variety of purposes to whichwe put our writing, we will become better and more nimble writers in both academic and non-academiccontexts.

http://noendofneon.net/http://noendofneon.net/http://noendofneon.net/beyondtexthttp://noendofneon.net/beyondtexthttp://noendofneon.net/

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If the “composition” part of the “rhetoric and composition” course listing gives you nightmare visionsof diagramming sentences and being quizzed on parts of speech, fear not. At this point in your academiclives, that sort of thing is of little use to you—and it’s not fun for me unless I’m feeling particularly sadistic.(That’s the good news; the bad news is that I will expect you to have a reasonable facility with the writtenword, and to do the necessary work to strengthen that facility, even without quizzes looming over you.) Ibelieve in the value of addressing your writing and your writing styles individually, with the goal of helpingyou develop a credible, persuasive authorial voice—I want to help you find your own identities as writers

and thinkers. With that said, I will nonetheless help you with the mechanics of your writing to whateverextent the parameters of our class allow: sloppy sentences, mixed-up words, careless punctuation, andunsophisticated language will make it less likely others will take you seriously, whether you’re writing to aprofessor or a potential employer.

Over the duration of this course, I will ask a lot of you. Above all, I will ask you to be intellectuallycurious —to be interested and interesting . I will ask you to read, watch, and listen in ways you may not beaccustomed to, and I will ask you to think critically about things you may not have thought much aboutbefore. Mostly, though, I will ask you to engage in the class, in whatever sense is most appropriate andproductive for you. This will mean the obvious things—coming to class prepared, keeping up with thereadings, writing the papers, etc.—but it will also mean actively involving yourself in class discussions, in

smaller conversations with me or with other students, in draft workshops, in the class’s online spaces, and inthe community at large. I don’t need to tell you that you’re no longer in high school, or that college will besignificantly different from what you’ve known and experienced before (and I don’t just mean frat parties andwalks of shame). It’s no longer enough to just “show up”—I will ask more of you than that.

For instance, I don’t want to read a paper that bores you to write any more than you want to write it.As such, I urge you to choose writing topics you can be genuinely invested in—things you know about andhave opinions on, or things you’re otherwise interested in looking into. Some of our topics for writing anddiscussion will likely stray relatively far from the sorts of dull, formulaic, academic essays you may have hadto write in high school. Not only is that okay, it’s exactly what I want out of you. In return, I will bethoroughly dedicated to helping you achieve the goals of this course; I will give you as much feedback as

you need to get your writing where you want it to be, during and long after this course; and I will do mydamnedest to keep this class from looking anything like the kind of dry, sleep-inducing first-year writing classabout which you may have had nightmares.

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Dead-Tree Texts (all other texts available online, via the class website)

*The Norton Field Guide to Writing (3rd  Edition)*Penn Statements (volume 34, spring 2015 edition)

Grading Breakdown: 

rhetorical description: 10%  online writing: 10%rhetorical analysis: 15%  citizenship: 15%manifesto: 15% (includes discussion, in-class writing,personal belief podcast: 15% homework, group work, etc.)hybrid self-narrative: 20%

http://www.amazon.com/Norton-Field-Guide-Writing-Third/dp/0393919560/http://www.amazon.com/Norton-Field-Guide-Writing-Third/dp/0393919560/http://www.amazon.com/Norton-Field-Guide-Writing-Third/dp/0393919560/http://www.amazon.com/Norton-Field-Guide-Writing-Third/dp/0393919560/http://www.amazon.com/Norton-Field-Guide-Writing-Third/dp/0393919560/

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To pass this course you must complete all of the major paper assignments, as well as the smaller writingassignments. Papers must be handed in on time. Missing deadlines will make the rest of the coursesignificantly more difficult, and it will make my life considerably more stressful, which will in turn make memuch less pleasant to deal with, which will in turn lead to nuclear apocalypse. (Maybe not.) Unexcusedlate papers will normally be docked one full letter grade per day, unless you get my approval for anextension. Moral of the story: if you think you’re going to have a legitimate problem getting something in on

time, talk to me well in advance, and we’ll figure something out. Much better than a belatedly emailedexpression of desperate shame.

If you feel that your assignment was graded unfairly, see me during office hours. There we will settle thematter using the ancient Germanic law method of trial by combat. You may pick your weapon of choicefrom the bottom left drawer of my desk, but the broadsword is mine. We will align ourselves perpendicularto the sun so neither party has an advantage, in a quarterstave sixty feet square (somewhere behind the HUB,I think), as standardized during the Great Schwabenspiegel Grade Dispute of 1275.

* * *

Attendance:  Regular attendance is required. Please come to every class, and please come on time, or I willsend vengeful ninjas to your dorm room. Your grade will be lowered if your attendance is poor, down to andincluding "F." This is University policy. Specifically, you are permitted two (2!) absences; after that, yourgrade begins to drop. Excused absences for illness or emergency are appropriate, but beyond that, let merepeat PSU policy (Policies and Rules, 42-27): a student whose absences are excessive "may run the risk ofreceiving a lower grade or a failing grade," whether or not some of those absences are "excused." In otherwords: don't miss class.  Don't be That Student™. If you miss a class, it's your responsibility to getassignments, catch up, and submit papers on time—not my responsibility to make sure you do those things.

Citizenship: Often this is referred to as “participation,” but I prefer the terminology of “citizenship,” becausethis is a collective endeavor, and it matters how we all relate to one another—not just that we show up. Bycitizenship, I mean something more than your mere bodily presence in the classroom, or your timeliness inturning in assignments, or your restraint in turning your cell phone off at the start of each class, or what haveyou. I mean your general presence in the class, how much you enrich your classmates’ experience of theclass, how you treat them and me, how much you commit to the project of the class beyond just passing agen-ed requirement you don’t care much about. Citizenship is not just meeting the basic requirements orfollowing the rules (by my measure, that’s good enough for a C, but no better); it is an active, positive,deliberate assertion of your engagement in what’s going on around you. In other words, this is about yourethical commitment to being an active, generous, thoughtful contributor to the community that is this class

and these people around you. I hope you'll feel comfortable weighing in during class discussions, and thatyou make others feel similarly comfortable. Even if you're not normally inclined to talk in class, I'dencourage you to step outside your comfort zone in this class. We won't bite. (Addendum: please do notbite.)

Online Writing:  In lieu of a sixth paper (the horror!), you’ll design and maintain an online writing presence,updated throughout the summer session. Further details available on the course website.

http://pwr.la.psu.edu/about/grading-standardshttp://pwr.la.psu.edu/about/grading-standardshttp://pwr.la.psu.edu/about/grading-standards

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Plagiarism:  If you have any questions about plagiarism or its consequences, please ask. Plagiarismdemonstrates contempt for ethical standards, contempt for me, and contempt for your peers. If you arecaught plagiarizing, you run an extremely high risk of failing the course and wasting your tuition money. Youmay also be referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs, and this may result in probation, suspension, orexpulsion for academic dishonesty. You will be roundly mocked, your teeth and hair will fall out, yourbreath will start to smell. You'll be an outcast from the community of your peers and will be unable to carry

on conversations with attractive men/women. Kittens will flee from you. In other words: Bad Things WillHappen™, so avoid going down that road (if you have any doubts at all about whether what you’re doing isplagiarism, ask me—always better safe than sorry).

Academic Freedom: In English classrooms, academic freedom most frequently comes up in two contexts:charges of "offensiveness" on the one hand, "brainwashing" or "indoctrination" on the other. On the firstcount: while you have the right to be free of gratuitous insult, you do not have the right not to be offended. Imean something very specific by this: at a university, you do not have the right to be protected from words,ideas, values, or beliefs—whether conservative or liberal, religious or secular, putatively obscene, or anyother category—that you find distasteful. A key part of any education is the careful scrutiny of received

ideas, however unpalatable their content or expression. By the same token, you should feel free to disagree,either verbally or in your written assignments, with any idea expressed in class, whether by me or by anystudent. Your grade will not be determined by how closely your thought agrees with mine or how aptly youmimic my own views in your papers; rather, it will be the product of the quality of both your thinking andyour expression of that thinking. Every semester, I happily give "A" grades to students with whom I stronglydisagree, because they write and speak with admirable clarity and grace.

Penn State Sexual Harassment Policy AD-41: Penn State is committed to an open, sensitive, understanding,and responsive campus environment, and as such, sexual harassment of faculty, staff, or students will not betolerated.  Penn State's sexual harassment policy is available in greater detail online.

Penn State Accommodations Policy:  It is Penn State’s policy not to discriminate against qualified studentswith documented disabilities in its educational programs. If you have a disability-related need formodifications in this course, contact the Office for Disability Services at University Park (located in 116Boucke Building) at 863-1807, preferably as early as possible.

http://www.psu.edu/dept/aaoffice/sexharass.htmhttp://www.psu.edu/dept/aaoffice/access_accom.htmhttp://www.psu.edu/dept/aaoffice/access_accom.htmhttp://www.psu.edu/dept/aaoffice/sexharass.htmhttp://www.psu.edu/dept/aaoffice/access_accom.htm

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Date Reading Due Writing Due

7.1

7.2  Norton Field Guide  (NFG) p. 1-24 introductory letter 

7.3NO CLASS - the Fourth of July! eat delicious things, watch fireworks

(do not get confused and eat fireworks, please)

7.6(M)

7.7Megan Amram - “ America  : A Review”; Tim Kreider - “I Know What You Think of Me”;Mike Lacher - “I’m Comic Sans, Asshole”

7.8Barry Gilmore - “Every Internet Dating Profile Ever”; Jamaica Kincaid - “Girl”; Sherman Alexie - “Father Coming Home” (readings page); Chuck Klosterman on obituaries (readingspage)

rhetoricaldescription proposal

7.9 NFG p. 367-375; Penn Statements (PS) p. 151-153

7.10 rhetoricaldescription draft

7.13(M)

NFG p. 275-285rhetorical

description final

7.14 Understanding Rhetoric  ch. 1 (readings page)

7.15Marissa - “Go Where? Sex, Gender, and Toilets”; The Coquette - “Jeremy Meeks and the Trouble with the Viral Mugshot”

7.16 Corinne Segal - “What the Confederate flag’s design says about its legacy”

7.17 PS p. 7-12 and 23-27 rhetorical analysisproposal

7.20(M)

Nicole Papaioannou - “The Dangers of Thinking in Five Paragraphs”; Sarah Nicole Prickett- “The Fake as More” (readings page)

7.21rhetorical analysis

draft

7.22Emma Woolley - “What it’s like being a teen girl”; Derrick Jensen - “Apocalypse” and“Premises”

7.23  Ta-Nehisi Coates - “Letter to My Son”; John Metta - “I, Racist”rhetorical analysis

final

7.24Max More - “A Letter to Mother Nature: Amendments to the Human Constitution”;Humanity+ - “What is transhumanism,” “What are the reasons to expect all these changes,”“Isn’t this tampering with nature,” and “Will transhuman technologies make us inhuman”

7.27(M)

Lindy West - “Fuck Your Delicate Sensibilities, I’m Going to Swear as Much as I Want”;Melissa Mohr - “The modern history of swearing: Where all the dirtiest words come from”

7.28 NFG p. 577-599; KillerGibsons - “Why I Make Terrible Decisions, or, poverty thoughts”;game: Spent 

manifesto proposal

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/america-a-reviewhttp://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/america-a-reviewhttp://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/america-a-reviewhttp://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/america-a-reviewhttp://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/i-know-what-you-think-of-me/http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/i-know-what-you-think-of-me/http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/im-comic-sans-assholehttp://thoughtcatalog.com/barry-gilmore/2011/01/every-internet-dating-profile-ever/http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/fiction/Girl/story.asphttp://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/fiction/Girl/story.asphttp://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2010/09/02/guest-post-go-where-sex-gender-and-toilets/http://www.nerve.com/life/handsome-felon-mugshot-jeremy-meeks-exploitationhttp://www.nerve.com/life/handsome-felon-mugshot-jeremy-meeks-exploitationhttp://www.nerve.com/life/handsome-felon-mugshot-jeremy-meeks-exploitationhttp://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/confederate-flags-design-says-legacy/http://np-composition.blogspot.com/2011/09/dangers-of-thinking-in-five-paragraphs.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.ca/emma-woolley/sexual-harassment_b_2007466.htmlhttp://www.derrickjensen.org/work/endgame/endgame-excerpt-apocalypse/http://www.derrickjensen.org/work/endgame/endgame-premises-english/http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/07/tanehisi-coates-between-the-world-and-me/397619/https://thsppl.com/i-racist-538512462265http://strategicphilosophy.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-about-ten-years-since-i-wrote.htmlhttp://humanityplus.org/philosophy/transhumanist-faq/#answer_19http://humanityplus.org/philosophy/transhumanist-faq/#answer_19http://humanityplus.org/philosophy/transhumanist-faq/#answer_50http://humanityplus.org/philosophy/transhumanist-faq/#answer_41http://humanityplus.org/philosophy/transhumanist-faq/#answer_42http://jezebel.com/fuck-your-delicate-sensibilities-im-going-to-swear-as-505730841http://jezebel.com/fuck-your-delicate-sensibilities-im-going-to-swear-as-505730841http://www.salon.com/2013/05/11/the_modern_history_of_swearing_where_all_the_dirtiest_words_come_from/http://killermartinis.kinja.com/why-i-make-terrible-decisions-or-poverty-thoughts-1450123558http://playspent.org/http://playspent.org/http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/america-a-reviewhttp://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/america-a-reviewhttp://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/america-a-reviewhttp://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/15/i-know-what-you-think-of-me/http://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/im-comic-sans-assholehttp://thoughtcatalog.com/barry-gilmore/2011/01/every-internet-dating-profile-ever/http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/virtualit/fiction/Girl/story.asphttp://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/confederate-flags-design-says-legacy/http://jezebel.com/fuck-your-delicate-sensibilities-im-going-to-swear-as-505730841http://www.salon.com/2013/05/11/the_modern_history_of_swearing_where_all_the_dirtiest_words_come_from/http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/07/tanehisi-coates-between-the-world-and-me/397619/http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/emma-woolley/sexual-harassment_b_2007466.htmlhttp://www.derrickjensen.org/work/endgame/endgame-excerpt-apocalypse/http://www.derrickjensen.org/work/endgame/endgame-premises-english/http://strategicphilosophy.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-about-ten-years-since-i-wrote.htmlhttp://humanityplus.org/philosophy/transhumanist-faq/#answer_19http://humanityplus.org/philosophy/transhumanist-faq/#answer_50http://humanityplus.org/philosophy/transhumanist-faq/#answer_41http://humanityplus.org/philosophy/transhumanist-faq/#answer_42http://np-composition.blogspot.com/2011/09/dangers-of-thinking-in-five-paragraphs.htmlhttp://killermartinis.kinja.com/why-i-make-terrible-decisions-or-poverty-thoughts-1450123558http://playspent.org/https://thsppl.com/i-racist-538512462265http://www.nerve.com/life/handsome-felon-mugshot-jeremy-meeks-exploitationhttp://www.nerve.com/life/handsome-felon-mugshot-jeremy-meeks-exploitationhttp://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2010/09/02/guest-post-go-where-sex-gender-and-toilets/

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7.29 manifesto draft

7.30Eric Hayot - “Luck and the Welfare State, and Jules” and “How Someone Ends Up Working in Disability Studies”; John Scalzi - “Things I Don’t Have to Think About Today”

7.31Lucy Bryan Green - “I Believe in Retracing My Steps”; Rachel Proctor May - “A RejectedSubmission to NPR’s ‘This I Believe’”; NFG p. 183-190

manifesto final

8.3(M)

browse the “This I Believe” sections at NPR  and  WPSU, listen to at least five total; NFG p.214-221 and 387-395

8.4 PS p. 158-162 and listen to the podcast versionspersonal belief

podcast proposal

8.5personal belief

podcast script draft

8.6 James Franco - “The Meanings of the Selfie”; Marie McGrory - “The Un-Selfie: TakingBack the Self-Portrait”; Jared Keller - “What do your selfies say about you?”; Sheila Packa -“The Never-ending Selfie: Who Is the I?”

8.7 Laura Bogart - “Rage”; Kiese Laymon - “How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America: A Remembrance” personal belief podcast final

8.10(M)

Colleen Frakes - “My Childhood on Inmate Island”; NFG p. 235-248

8.11 PS p. 137-140 and 146-148hybrid self-portrait

proposal

8.12hybrid self-portrait

draft

Final draft of the hybrid self-portrait due via Box by 11:59pm on Thursday, August 13th.

http://printculture.com/luck-and-the-welfare-state-and-jules/http://printculture.com/luck-and-the-welfare-state-and-jules/http://printculture.com/how-someone-ends-up-in-disability-studies/http://printculture.com/how-someone-ends-up-in-disability-studies/http://printculture.com/how-someone-ends-up-in-disability-studies/http://printculture.com/how-someone-ends-up-in-disability-studies/http://whatever.scalzi.com/2010/10/18/things-i-dont-have-to-think-about-today/http://radio.wpsu.org/post/i-believe-retracing-my-stepshttp://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-rejected-submission-to-nprs-this-i-believehttp://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-rejected-submission-to-nprs-this-i-believehttp://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-rejected-submission-to-nprs-this-i-believehttp://thisibelieve.org/essays/featured/http://radio.wpsu.org/programs/wpsus-i-believehttp://radio.wpsu.org/programs/wpsus-i-believehttp://radio.wpsu.org/programs/wpsus-i-believehttp://sites.psu.edu/pennstatements/personal-narrativememoir-podcasts/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/29/arts/the-meanings-of-the-selfie.htmlhttp://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2014/06/09/the-un-selfie-taking-back-the-self-portrait/http://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2014/06/09/the-un-selfie-taking-back-the-self-portrait/http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/4/7/selfie-psychologydata.htmlhttp://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/4/7/selfie-psychologydata.htmlhttp://sheilapacka.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-never-ending-selfie-who-is-i.htmlhttp://therumpus.net/2013/06/the-sunday-rumpus-essay-rage/http://therumpus.net/2013/06/the-sunday-rumpus-essay-rage/http://gawker.com/5927452/how-to-slowly-kill-yourself-and-others-in-america-a-remembrancehttp://gawker.com/5927452/how-to-slowly-kill-yourself-and-others-in-america-a-remembrancehttp://narrative.ly/stories/my-childhood-on-inmate-island/http://narrative.ly/stories/my-childhood-on-inmate-island/http://box.psu.edu/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/29/arts/the-meanings-of-the-selfie.htmlhttp://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2014/06/09/the-un-selfie-taking-back-the-self-portrait/http://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2014/06/09/the-un-selfie-taking-back-the-self-portrait/http://gawker.com/5927452/how-to-slowly-kill-yourself-and-others-in-america-a-remembrancehttp://gawker.com/5927452/how-to-slowly-kill-yourself-and-others-in-america-a-remembrancehttp://therumpus.net/2013/06/the-sunday-rumpus-essay-rage/http://printculture.com/luck-and-the-welfare-state-and-jules/http://whatever.scalzi.com/2010/10/18/things-i-dont-have-to-think-about-today/http://thisibelieve.org/essays/featured/http://radio.wpsu.org/programs/wpsus-i-believehttp://printculture.com/how-someone-ends-up-in-disability-studies/http://printculture.com/how-someone-ends-up-in-disability-studies/http://radio.wpsu.org/post/i-believe-retracing-my-stepshttp://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-rejected-submission-to-nprs-this-i-believehttp://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/a-rejected-submission-to-nprs-this-i-believehttp://sites.psu.edu/pennstatements/personal-narrativememoir-podcasts/http://sheilapacka.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-never-ending-selfie-who-is-i.htmlhttp://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/4/7/selfie-psychologydata.htmlhttp://narrative.ly/stories/my-childhood-on-inmate-island/http://box.psu.edu/