- Winter 2023
Syllabus Description:
1) American Poets in the 21st Century: Poetics of Social Engagement
Edited by: Claudia Rankine ; Michael Dowdy 2018; Wesleyan University Press
Available online via UW Libraries
2) packets provided as PDFs, in Canvas.
PLEASE contact me through Canvas, not through email.
Office Hours: Tuesdays 2:30-3:30 pm and by appointment in B-434 Padelford Hall and on ZOOM:
https://washington.zoom.us/j/8045275920
Course Description
When 22-year-old Amanda Gorman delivered her stunning poem at the 2021 inauguration, she was drawing from decades of spoken word performances, jazz and blues riffs, and the poetry of Robert Frost, Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou. Gorman’s poem charts a new course for American civic life: a young, exuberant way forward. Her work joins a national conversation about the value of poetry as a public art form. This course will ask the question: "What can poems do?" To explore that, we'll look at different examples of how poetry has entered public venues since 1950. We’ll work on group projects that might include: the history of Spoken Word, The Beats, Poets Laureate, Digital Participatory Poetics, Poetry Outreach programs with vulnerable populations, Feminist Poets, Documentary Poetry, Poets in Residence and other socially-engaged movements that bring poetry into civic life. Together, we will listen, view, read and discuss poems arising from our research and collaborations about what poems can actually do.
Course Learning Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
- Show evidence of analyzing text, image, media through conversation and verbal presentation;
- Research historical movements in poetry of the last 70 years and create annotated bibliographies;
- Create written evidence of understanding the structures, metaphoric implications and literal events within poems on the page, stage and in digital spaces.
- Create descriptions, arguments and inquiries in writing and in conversation.
- Identify elements of form and craft in poetry.
- Articulate individual learning.
- Argue for the study of poetry as a critical and lifelong activity that prepares individuals to engage with a wide range of experiences, information and points of view.
Outline of Grading Deliverables:
- Annotated Bibliography of a particular movement/school in American poetry--20 points
- Video Presentation on poems from a particular movement (The Beats, Spoken Word, Political Protest Poetry, Outreach etc.)-- 10 points
- A one-page, single spaced paper (500 words)--10 points
- Group project that is the equivalent of 35+ total pages of text (delivered in media, script, traditional paper or other format to be negotiated)-- 30 points
- 4 Reading Quizzes-- 5 points each-- 20 points total
- Participation-- engaged attendance-- 10 points total
Computers and Electronics: Because a number of the readings will be posted to the course website, you are permitted to bring a computer or other device to class if you prefer to read them in electronic form rather than printing. However, I expect that this is the only use to which you will put said devices.
Disability Accommodations: Your experience in this class is important to me. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please activate your accommodations via myDRS so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course. If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), contact DRS directly to set up an Access Plan. DRS facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations. Contact DRS at https://disability.uw.edu Links to an external site..
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: The UW English Department aims to help students become more incisive thinkers, effective communicators, and imaginative writers by acknowledging that language and its use are powerful and hold the potential to empower individuals and communities; to provide the means to engage in meaningful conversation and collaboration across differences and with those with whom we disagree; and to offer methods for exploring, understanding, problem solving, and responding to the many pressing collective issues we face in our world--skills that align with and support the University of Washington’s mission to educate “a diverse student body to become responsible global citizens and future leaders through a challenging learning environment informed by cutting-edge scholarship.”
As a department, we begin with the conviction that language and texts play crucial roles in the constitution of cultures and communities, past, present, and future. Our disciplinary commitments to the study of English (its history, multiplicity, and development; its literary and artistic uses; and its global role in shaping and changing cultures) require of us a willingness to engage openly and critically with questions of power and difference. As such, in our teaching, service, and scholarship we frequently initiate and encourage conversations about topics such as race and racism, immigration, gender, sexuality, class, indigeneity, and colonialisms. These topics are fundamental to the inquiry we pursue. We are proud of this fact, and we are committed to creating an environment in which our faculty and students can do so confidently and securely, knowing that they have the backing of the department.
Religious Accommodation: Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy (https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy/) Links to an external site.. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form (https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/) Links to an external site..
Academic Integrity: When quoting, paraphrasing, or referring to another writer’s words or ideas (including any you might find on the Internet), you must cite the source properly using MLA citation guidelines, which I will explain before the first essay assignment is due. Don’t hesitate to ask me if you have questions about proper attribution. I will hand over any plagiarized work to the Dean’s Committee on Academic Conduct, and plagiarism may result in a failing grade on the assignment or the course. For further information on what constitutes plagiarism, see http://depts.washington.edu/grading/issue1/honesty.htm#misconduct Links to an external site..
Do not plagiarize. Plagiarism includes lifting material from the web, collusion, and the use of sources without citation. If you have any questions regarding what constitutes plagiarism, consult me. All sources must be documented, and papers are to be the result of your own labor.
This syllabus is subject to change. You are responsible for keeping up with any modifications to schedule or assignments.
Grades
|
≥ 95% = 4.0
|
89 = 3.4
|
83=2.8
|
77=2.2
|
71=1.6
|
65=1.0
|
|
94 = 3.9
|
88=3.3
|
82=2.7
|
76=2.1
|
70=1.5
|
64=.9
|
|
93 = 3.8
|
87=3.2
|
81=2.6
|
75=2.0
|
69=1.4
|
63=.8
|
|
92 = 3.7
|
86=3.1
|
80=2.5
|
74=1.9
|
68=1.3
|
62=.7
|
|
91 = 3.6
|
85=3.0
|
79=2.4
|
73=1.8
|
67=1.2
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<.7=0
|
|
90 = 3.5
|
84=2.9
|
78=2.3
|
72=1.7
|
66=1.1 |
Students are required to follow the University’s COVID-19 Face Covering Policy at all times when on-site at the University, including any posted requirements in specific buildings or spaces. If a student refuses to comply with the policy, the student can be sent home (to an on or off-campus residence). Student Conduct offices are available for consultations on potential violations of student conduct if needed. University personnel who have concerns that a student or group of students are not complying with this policy should speak with their supervisor, a representative of the academic unit, or report it to the Environmental Health & Safety Department (Links to an external site.).
This class is conducted in person. Therefore, unless you meet the criteria for an accommodation from Disability Resources for Students (DRS) or other special arrangement approved by the instructor that allows you to take the course remotely you should only register for this class if you can attend in-person.
- Please contact UW Disability Resources for Students (DRS) directly if you feel you may be eligible for an accommodation based on your status as an immune- compromised individual or based on other diagnosed physical or mental health conditions that might prevent you from being able to take classes in-person.
All UW students are expected to complete their vaccine attestation (Links to an external site.) before arriving on campus and to follow the campus-wide face-covering policy (Links to an external site.) at all times. You are expected to follow state (Links to an external site.), local (Links to an external site.), and UW COVID-19 policies and recommendations (Links to an external site.). If you feel ill, have been exposed to COVID-19, or exhibit possible COVID symptoms, you should not come to class. If you need to temporarily quarantine or isolate per CDC guidance and/or campus policy, you are responsible for notifying your instructors as soon as possible by email. If you have a known exposure to COVID-19 or receive a positive COVID-19 test result, you must report to campus Environmental Health & Safety (Links to an external site.) (EH&S).
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- Receiving a positive test for COVID-19
- Being told by your doctor that they suspect you have COVID-19
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You can notify the COVID-19 Response and Prevention Team by emailing covidehc@uw.edu or calling 206-616-3344.