ENGL 200 B: Reading Literary Forms

Reading Refugee Forms: Belonging Beyond Walls and Across Oceans

Instructor: Megan Butler, PhD, mbb67@uw.edu
Class Meets:  MW 12:30-2:20pm, ECE 003
Drop-in office hours: Tuesdays 2-4 in person (Padelford A-302) or by appointment on Zoom

COURSE CALENDAR :  Because things change, our course calendar is in this google doc.  Please make a habit of checking it after every class so you know what you need to read to be prepared for our next class (and to see how far we’ve come!).  A list of our class readings in MLA format is at the end of the calendar.

Reading Refugee Forms

How does narrative construct the refugee figure? In this class we’ll read fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and journalism, watch two films, and play a game on an app to seek an answer to that question and explore the charged categories of “refugee” and “migrant.”  Refugee and migration narratives negotiate crossing physical and psychological thresholds, journeys that relate to the shifting identities refugees must produce in order to be heard. As a class, we’ll also take a journey using “close reading” to develop new relationships to migration, humanitarian action, sympathy, and authorial authenticity.  We’ll discuss what our readings tell us about being free to come and go as we please and consider what kind of transformations refugee narratives can inspire. Our class archive shows that different hardships persist throughout the varied stages of a refugee’s journey.  We’ll use our writing and discussion to make those hardships visible by thinking about the forces—political, material, and social—that benefit from describing migrants and refugees as dangerous “others,” or in defending their right to rights without conferring them. 

The American philosopher Martha Nussbaum writes that “the literary imagination is an essential part of both the theory and the practice of citizenship” and Berthold Brecht, the German playwright, urges that “art should not be a release valve, but a combustion engine.” Yes!  In the spirit of both thinkers, we’ll use high quality evidence to discuss refugee and migration issues that will encourage you to engage in respectful, rigorous, intellectual debate, discuss complex questions, and learn from one another. 

CLASS TEXTS (in the order that we’ll read them)

1. Behrouz Boochani, No Friend But the Mountains (Anansi Press, ISBN 978-1-4870-0683-9, $18.95)
2. Omar El Akkad, What Strange Paradise (Vintage Press, ISBN 978-1984899248, $16.95)
3. Bury Me, My Love (Plug In Digital 2017, mobile app download, $2.99)
4. Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson, When Stars Are Scattered (Faber & Faber, ISBN 978-0571363858, $13.99)
5. Mohsin Hamid, Exit West (Riverhead Books, ISBN 978-073521220, $9.99)

Please buy/borrow these particular physical books (new or used) at the beginning of the quarter. If buying online search by the ISBN number. Prices are for new books from Amazon.  Used versions can be found at significantly lower prices also on Amazon or AbeBooks. Just make sure you purchase the right edition so we are on the page during discussions.

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS

• A notebook for in-class writing and out-of-class reading notes
• A folder to keep class materials together
• All supplemental class materials and links will be posted on our course website or available as printed handouts
• Internet access, UW Net ID and password, UW email account that you check every day.

COURSEWORK

As a “W” course, this quarter you will be writing two formal essays, each with a first (rough) draft and a final draft. You will also be asked to engage in a series of informal Question/Answer discussion posts and replies both in-class and on Canvas, which will provide you with low-stakes opportunities to practice developing your analyses of the texts we will be spending so much time with this quarter. Our emphasis on composition and analytical skills will serve you throughout your academic and professional career. 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Develop skills to be flexible and adaptable writers by composing effectively across differing contexts and purposes using an array of strategies.
• Learn strategies to pay close attention to texts, both on the micro level (syntax, structure, wordplay, connotation), and the macro level (patterns, structure, historical context).
• Connect this course to your life outside UW.
• Have an appreciation for and knowledge of literature’s relationship to related areas or disciplines.

REQUIREMENTS:

Class Participation (10 points): Participation is about being a good citizen in our intellectual community.  That includes coming to class with an open mind, doing the assigned readings, being on time & courteous, contributing actively to large- and small-group discussion, and completing our in-class writing assignments.  Simply being present is not the same as active participation; I expect to hear your voice, your ideas, and your questions.

Weekly Response Posts (15 points):  Once a week (except for essay submission weeks) you will submit a 200-300 word post to Canvas in which you reflect upon an idea you’ve encountered in our discussions or readings or a quote that I offer. Your responses should incorporate material from the text we’re reading, reflections on in-class discussions, and your own critical thinking.  I’m looking for written evidence of your thought process as you articulate a problem or develop the seed of a potential essay topic.  Your posts will be graded on completion.

Discussion Question and Facilitation (15 points): For one class meeting you and one or two others will lead the discussion for 30 minutes. This allows you more agency in shaping class discussion and encourages deeper, more careful class preparation from you. Each team will submit a discussion guide and be asked to distribute paper copies of this guide to the class on the day that you lead discussion (please bring 41 copies). 

You must e-mail me your discussion guide for approval by 5pm the day before you lead discussion. I will either approve your guide or ask you to make some revisions by 8pm that evening. If you are unsure of what to do, please visit me during drop-in hours or make an appointment.

Discussion guides should include some variation of the following components, which will ideally incorporate and reflect on the discussions—both in class and online—that have come prior:

• • Informative heading (name, date, title, etc.)
  • Relevant texts
  • Agenda
  • Learning goals/outcomes
  • Planned activity(ies), with rough time increments 
  • Discussion questions (which may be used in planned activities or for unstructured discussion)
  • Related external research, which can include some combination of:
    • Relevant info about the text, author, critical reception of the text, or setting
    • Info about themes discussed across the course 

Midterm essay (4-5 pages: first draft 5 points, final submission 25 points): Analytical close reading essay (with thesis) on a topic related to class material and discussions. We will peer review this essay in class and then revise for final submission. You will receive feedback from a peer on your first draft; I will give you written feedback on your final draft. Your first draft will be given a completion grade, while your final draft will receive a formal grade from me. Due to the requirements of “W” courses, I will not be able to accept final drafts that do not meet the page count requirement. Assignment prompt to follow.

Creative project OR final essay (4-5 pages: first draft 5 points, final submission 25 points):  Analysis of a topic related to class material/discussions in the form of an essay or a non-essay project that uses library research and creates critical perspective on the material. As with the midterm essay, we will peer review in class and then revise for final submission. You will receive feedback from a peer on your first draft; I will give you written feedback on your final draft. Your first draft will be given a completion grade, while your final draft will receive a formal grade from me. Due to the requirements of “W” courses, I will not be able to accept final drafts that do not meet the page count requirement. Assignment prompt to follow.

Total points: 100

POLICIES

ATTENDANCE
This is a discussion-based class, not a lecture so attending class and participating in discussions are critical. That said, do not come to class if you are sick. Lack of attendance will have a significant impact on your participation grade.

Food for thought:  “Class attendance appears to be a better predictor of college grades than any other known predictor of college grades—including SAT scores, high school GPA, studying skills, and the amount of time spent studying. Indeed, the relationship is so strong as to suggest that dramatic improvements in average grades (and failure rates) could be achieved by efforts to increase class attendance rate among college students.”
--Credé et al. “Class attendance in College:  A Meta-Analytic Review of the Relationship of Class Attendance with Grades and Student Characteristics.” Review of Education Research, June 2010, p. 290.

MISSING CLASS
It is expected that you will attend all classes. However, I understand that things come up or you get sick. Please send me an email at mbb67@uw.edu before class if you will miss. It goes without sating but I will, do not schedule appointments during class time.

CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS
You will be working together throughout the quarter. Disagreement can be productive, and people in many fields depend on disagreement to strengthen their arguments, discover errors, and challenge their own thinking. However, in order for disagreement to be productive, it must be respectful and courteous. Be generous with others and try to assume good intentions. Personal attacks, disrespectful language, and disrespectful behavior have no place in the classroom. Hate speech will not be tolerated. You are expected to use language and actions that show respect for your fellow classmates at all times.

TECHNOLOGY

1. No laptops or phones may be used in class. I will remind everyone at the start of each class session to put devices on ‘do not disturb’ and then put them away, out of sight. Certain technologies are more useful in certain situations: pen, paper, and physical books allow for better focus and less disruption in a discussion course.
2. Research in a number of fields shows that deep reading is best facilitated by reading print texts and manually taking notes. Life gives us plenty of opportunity to read shallowly; here we will embrace the cognitive challenge of deep, slow, focused reading and discussion.
3. You may use a tablet or an e-reader for note taking or referencing a digital copy that supplements our texts, but nothing else. Paper notebooks are strongly encouraged and preferred.
4. If there are accessibility reasons you need to use a device in class, or if you are concerned about this policy, please see me.

LATE WORK
All assignments will be submitted on Canvas (unless otherwise specified), and are due on the time and date specified in the syllabus and on Canvas. An assignment arriving late will be deducted 1 point (out of 25) per day.  Keep in mind that if you submit your essay late, peer review will be affected. You may not be assigned an essay to peer review (in which case you will lose those participation points), and you may not receive peer feedback on your essay. This is true whether or not we work out an alternate deadline for the assignment.  Any assignments more than 5 days late will not receive feedback.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
We will be using Canvas to submit all work. All assignments (unless otherwise noted) should be formatted according to MLA (Modern Language Association) guidelines. This includes (but is not limited to):

• 12 pt. Times New Roman font
• Standard Margins (1-inch)
• Double-spacing
• Page numbers in upper right corner with surname/family name (e.g., Butler 4)
• Parenthetical citations for quoted material

If you feel unsure about what any of this means, or if you have concerns, please come talk to me. For assistance with grammar, punctuation, and formatting, I also recommend the Purdue OWL website (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/).

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Plagiarism, or academic dishonesty, is presenting someone else’s ideas or writing as your own. In your writing for this class, you are encouraged to refer to other people’s thoughts and writing – as long as you cite them. As a matter of policy, any student found to have plagiarized any piece of writing in this class will be immediately reported to the College of Arts and Sciences for review.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
All work submitted for this course must be your own. Any use of generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, when working on assignments is forbidden. Use of generative AI will be considered academic misconduct and, as above, reported for review. The assignments in this class have been designed to challenge you to develop creativity, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills. Using AI technology will limit your capacity to develop these skills and to meet the learning goals of this course.

Do not use generative artificial intelligence to write for you. This course is an opportunity to develop your writing skills. Outsourcing your writing to generative AI services like ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity, and Claude slows your development as a university-level writer and violates academic integrity policies. (Not to mention that a conversation with ChatGPT can consume 16 ounces of fresh water, the size of the water bottle you brought to class.)

You may use generative artificial intelligence for research, such as to identify a source, summarize an article, or format a citation. But be aware that even this brings risks: models can “hallucinate” incorrect information; sources that are not cited can put you at risk of plagiarism; and groups that are not represented in that model’s training data will be excluded, which can bias your research.

Here's what you can do to cover yourself against plagiarism or collusion:

• • At every stage of your writing, keep your drafts, notes, papers, and research materials. If a question of plagiarism or AI use arises, you'll have a paper trail (paper trails protect you in a variety of academic, public, and work-related contexts)
  • Don't use editing services. Don't ask anyone, even family or friends, to edit your paper or help you write it. You need to do that work yourself.
  • If you need additional help with your writing, visit one of UW’s Writing Centers (in Odegaard or Mary Gates Hall), where trained professionals are there to help you.
  • Last but not least, ask me if you have any questions about honesty.

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATIONS CLAUSE
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 Faculty Syllabus Guidelines and Resources. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form available at https://registrar.washington.edu/students/religious-accommodations-request/.