Course Description & Trajectory
What roles does literacy play in U.S. society? Who has access to literacy and who/what are the gatekeepers of that access? What are the historical and political implications behind how literacy education is valued and traditionally approached? What is the relationship between literacy and social differences, such as race and culture? How are we—the readers and writers participating in this class—affected by the ways that literacy functions in the U.S.? These are the kinds of questions that will guide the work we do in this FIQWS class, a two-section, collaboratively taught course that strives as much to engage students in critical thinking and reading about the issue of literacy as it does to mentor students in learning and practicing conventions of standard academic writing. In a way, then, we can understand this course as drawing on the topic of literacy as a vehicle for critically analyzing our own literacies and developing especially our academic and information literacies.
In the first phase of the course, we’ll explore how social differences affect one’s experience with literacy, gain some practice with rhetorical reading and paraphrase, and then draw on our own experiences as readers and writers to compose a digital literacy narrative. In Phase 2 we’ll explore various linguistic theories and engage with course readings, making connections and discovering areas of tension. We’ll practice writing summary, synthesis, and argument to enhance our understandings and positions. In Phase 3 we’ll gain additional insight into the ideological “myths” impacting our views of language and literacies, and we will produce a well-supported research paper. While this phase emphasizes research, source use, and substantial revision, we will also draw on the practices in academic literacy introduced in Phases 1-3. Phase 4 will be devoted to your portfolio completion as well as your final reflection essay where you will address the rhetorical choices you made for each of the course assignments.
Course Texts and Materials
This is a “ZERO textbook cost” course. As such, all materials will be accessible online or distributed in class.
Many of our readings will be available on the course website in PDF form. We will also read a collection of student writing (yours, your peers’, and others’). Please print all course documents for class (or have digital access to them). If you decide to print them, plan to get to campus early to take advantage of free printing.
Open Education Resources
https://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/write/fieldguide/index.asp
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/englishcomp1v2xmaster/
