Professor Laura Chrisman
B401 Padelford
Spring 2025
Office hours: W 3-4pm or by appointment
English 496: Honors Thesis Seminar
Guggenheim Hall, room 204
M/W 12.30-2.20pm
During the quarter you’ll be writing your honors thesis, the culmination of your work as an English Honors student. We will meet together as a group or in small groups on some days; on others, I’ll be available for individual conferences. Generally students tend to base their honors thesis on a paper begun in another class, but you may start from scratch if you wish. The most important things to remember are: (1) that since you’ll be working intensively on your paper for a quarter you’ll want to choose a project that engages you both intellectually and emotionally; and (2) that, especially if you are starting from scratch, you have under two months to write your entire project, so don’t try to take on the world, and (3) that deadlines are crucial. I expect you to be in class on the days that we do meet. If you are not able to make a class, please notify me in advance.
For those of you doing a traditional academic research project:
Your paper should be typed, double-spaced, and between 23-30 pages long, not including the primary sources bibliography and secondary bibliography sections. Your paper needs:
* A clear, significant argument about a topic of value to you in literary/cultural studies. Your argument should be fully developed, rigorous, coherent, and free from major flaws in reasoning. Though you do not need to say so directly in your paper, you must be clear in your own mind what the intellectual and personal stakes are for you in your topic and argument.
* Arguments based on textual evidence and grounded in attentive close reading.
* An engagement in the “critical conversation” that takes the essay beyond a competent close reading. That is, you need to do significant research in secondary scholarly sources-- not to substitute for your own ideas, but rather to put your argument in dialogue with what others have written on your topic.
* Effective organization that demonstrates purposefulness, a logical progression of thought, and rhetorical skill.
* Lucid and engaging prose style.
* Freedom from stylistic missteps and mechanical errors.
* Correct documentation as presented in the MLA Handbook. If you do not already own one, you can find one in the library or pick one up at your local bookstore. There is a short, more informal version available on-line at the Purdue OWL site. Once on the site, look for "MLA formatting."
For those of you doing a non-traditional, public-facing project:
As well as your public-facing project (length and form to be determined by yourself, in consultation with me), you will need to attach a 7-10 page reflection on your experience of writing the work.
Grade for this thesis seminar:
Your final grade for this seminar is based equally on the quality of your final project and the quality of your participation in the seminar itself.
Provisional Syllabus
Week 1.
March 31: Introduction.
April 1: Questionnaire due, Canvas, 5pm.
April 2: Read through at least one of the Honors thesis samples I’ve uploaded to Canvas, as an example of a traditional academic thesis project and an example of a research paper. Come prepared with any questions you have so far, about writing research papers or public-facing projects.
Start working with the UW library (and librarians) to identify research materials/resources for your project, and begin (if you have not already done so) serious research for your project. You will be submitting a bibliography in week 3.
Week 2.
April 7: Bring to class a short presentation about your project, 3-4 minutes in length, that explains why you care enough about it to want to spend a quarter living with it. Make four or five keywords the basis of your talk, that sum up your project’s themes, issues, approaches.
April 9: We will divide you up into small groups for future peer reviewing and workshopping, and discuss models for providing feedback. Read Peter Elbow’s guidelines in advance of this class.
Week 3. NO CLASSES; BIBLIOGRAPHY SUBMISSION.
April 14: No class.
April 16: No class.
April 17. By 5 pm, submit on Canvas a bibliography, formatted MLA style, of ten or more secondary readings for your topic. You should aim to have completed reading these by today. If there are any that you have yet to read, indicate that on the bibliography. Your bibliography should include ten different sources (an anthology of essays for example, counts as one source). Your bibliography needs to include some recent publications (to indicate that you are current with the state of scholarly research and debate and/or public-facing production). By recent I mean items published in 2021 or sooner.
If you are pursuing a traditional academic project:
Your primary literary materials (ie, the items that you are focusing your thesis on) are NOT to be included among these. Your bibliographical readings must be scholarly books (entire books or selected chapters), and academic journal articles. No on-line sources except those scholarly journal articles you access on-line, and no encyclopedias.
If you are doing a public-facing project:
Your bibliographical items may include scholarly books (entire books or selected chapters) and academic journal articles, creative works, journalism, archival artefacts, and miscellaneous inspirational objects.
Week 4. WRITE UP YOUR FIRST DRAFT.
NO CLASS. Work on writing up your first draft.
Week 5. FIRST DRAFTS SUBMITTED AND PEER-REVIEWED.
First drafts due Monday, April 28, 11.59pm.
On peer reviewing: we will use Peter Elbow’s guidelines (pdf in Files). Please decide which type (Criterion-based or Reader-based) you wish to receive from your peers, and indicate your choice on your first draft. Your work will be read by two peers. You can choose to have both kinds of feedback (one from each reviewer).
April 28: no class. Finalize your draft and submit it for peer review.
April 29: read and review the two drafts you have been assigned to peer review.
April 30: In-class peer reviewing in your groups of three. Aim to devote 30-35 minutes to each of the three papers.
April 30: Submit your written peer reviews by 11.59pm.
Remainder of the week: work on revising your papers in light of peer review.
Week 6. REVISE YOUR PAPER.
NO CLASS; continue working on your paper.
Week 7. SUBMIT YOUR REVISED DRAFT.
Submit your revised, proofread draft via Canvas by Monday, May 12, 11.59pm.
May 12: Class: Come prepared to discuss the pleasures and difficulties of your writing so far. Sign up in class for mandatory one-on-one conferences, which will take place Monday and Wednesday of Week 8.
May 14: No class.
Week 8. MY FEEDBACK ON YOUR REVISED PAPERS, FOLLOWED BY YOUR FINAL REVISIONS.
No class; mandatory conferences in my office.
Week 9. CONTINUE FINAL REVISIONS.
No class; work on finalizing your draft.
Week 10. PRESENTATIONS ON FINAL DRAFTS.
June 2: 8 students give a brief individual presentations of their final paper.
June 4: 8 remaining students give their final paper presentation.
FINALS WEEK.
Final paper (plus 7-10 metacognitive reflection for the public-facing folks), to Canvas by June 9, 5pm.
Class policies, etc.
Office Hours: This is a time where you and I can meet outside class to discuss assignments, questions about the reading, concerns about expectations, etc. If my scheduled hours are inaccessible to you, please email me to make appointments for another time.
Emailing: Do not e-mail me questions that are answered explicitly in the syllabus or elsewhere on the Canvas site. I will delete these without replying…
Academic Honesty: It is essential that you properly cite other people’s ideas and language in your writing. Academic integrity is a fundamental university value. Through the honest completion of academic work, students sustain the integrity of the university while facilitating the university’s imperative for the transmission of knowledge and culture based upon the generation of new and innovative ideas.
When an instance of suspected or alleged academic dishonesty by a student arises, it shall be resolved according to the procedures standard at the University of Washington. These procedures are listed here:
https://depts.washington.edu/grading/pdf/AcademicResponsibility.pdf
English Department’s Statement of Values:
The UW English Department aims to help students become more incisive thinkers, effective communicators, and imaginative writers by acknowledging that language and its use is powerful and holds 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. Our disciplinary commitments to the study of language, literature, and culture 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, immigration, gender, sexuality, and class. 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.
Towards that aim, we value the inherent dignity and uniqueness of individuals and communities. We aspire to be a place where human rights are respected and where any of us can seek support. This includes people of all ethnicities, faiths, genders, national origins, political views, and citizenship status; LGBQTIA+; those with disabilities; veterans; and anyone who has been targeted, abused, or disenfranchised.
Statement on 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 here:
https://registrar.washington.edu/staffandfaculty/religious-accommodations-policy
Disability:
If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs 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), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability.uw.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.
Writing Centers
Wherever you fall on the spectrum of writing in this course— whether you are struggling with a writing assignment or seeking to “reach the next level”— take advantage of the UW’s writing centers. You will receive feedback and guidance on your writing from me and from your classmates, but it’s also valuable to get the perspective of someone outside the course (especially someone with expertise in producing academic writing!). UW’s writing centers are free for students and provide individual attention from trained readers and writing coaches.
The Odegaard Writing and Research Center (OWRC) offers free, one-on-one help with all aspects of writing at any stage in the writing process. You can consult with a writing tutor at any stage of the writing process, from the very beginning (when you are planning a paper) to near the end (when you are thinking about how to revise a draft to submit to your instructor). To make the best use of your time there, please bring a copy of your assignment with you and double-space any drafts you want to bring in. While OWRC writing consultants are eager to help you improve your writing, they will not proofread your paper. Available spots are limited, so book your appointments early!