The Folklore Studies Program at George Mason University and the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress are pleased to announce the 2012 Summer Field School for Cultural Documentation.
July 9-31, 2012
For four weeks this summer, The Folklore Programs at George Mason University Folklore Studies Program will offer a course on cultural documentation which will be held in Arlington, Virginia as part of the Columbia Pike Oral History Initiative.
The 3-credit course welcomes advanced undergraduates, graduate students and community members to receive intensive hands-on ethnographic training focusing on the documentation of local cultural resources, the preservation of documentary materials, and the public presentation of cultural heritage. Instruction will cover areas such as planning a community-based ethnographic project, research ethics, interviewing and sound recording techniques, ethnographic observation and field note writing. Training will also be provided on the archival organization of documentary materials gathered in the field and the use of documentary materials in exhibitions, publications and other public presentations. Course instruction will include lectures, hands-on workshops, and discussions form more information and the application (primarily the first week of the course) and supervised team-based fieldwork with the Columbia Pike Documentary Project (during the final two weeks of the course).
Students will work in groups and conduct in-depth ethnographic research with one of several pre-selected groups on the Columbia Pike. Possible research areas include historic African-American neighborhoods, religious and spiritual communities, ethnic restaurants, neighborhood associations, or one of the many ethnic communities that call Columbia Pike home.
For more information about the course, please see http://folkloreprograms.gmu.edu/fieldschool. You can fill out the application form on-line following this link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHZWdUk2Q3pfS1JuQVM3WG9aM2FBWGc6MQ
Feel free to send your questions to Prof. Debra Lattanzi Shutika at dshutika@gmu.edu.
Friday, 27 April 2012
Thursday, 19 April 2012
What happens after I've passed my thesis/dissertation defense?
After you have successfully defended:
· Make any and all revisions deemed necessary by your committee.
· Take your revised thesis/dissertation and your Thesis/Dissertation Format and Style form (signed by Dr. Evelyn Funda) to the grad school to be reviewed by Steve Beck, Assistant Dean of Graduate School (Old Main, Rm 164). He will contact Candi Checketts for pick up once he is finished.
· Candi will review the mark-ups before notifying the student via email to pick up thesis/dissertation.
· Make corrections that Steve Beck has outlined on your thesis/dissertation.
· Bring the revised thesis/dissertation back to Candi Checketts; she will do what is called a “red-line check”
o She will double check to make sure you have made all corrections per Steve’s request .
o If anything has been missed, Candi will notify you via email; you make corrections and send them back via email.
Once these steps have been completed, Candi will take your final thesis/dissertation to the grad school. When the grad school has done the final check of your thesis/dissertation, they will inform you via email that you can pick it up. You will need to take it to the library to be bound. There is a one-time $15.00 fee for processing and handling. For every copy you wish to have bound, you will need to bring printed copies of your thesis/dissertation. Each copy will cost $15.00. After you have paid for the binding, you will get a receipt that you need to take back to the grad school to close your file out so you can graduate. The library will also give you a date that you can pick up your bound thesis/dissertation. If you have any questions you can call the library and speak with Lindsey at 435-797-2894.
You can also click here to find out more about the binding fee's card.
You can also click here to find out more about the binding fee's card.
Utah State University Ethnographic Field School
Anth 5130/6130 (6 credits): May 7th-June 15th, 2012
This course provides hands-on training for students interested applying anthropological insights to health-related issues. It combines classroom instruction in the principles of ethnographic research with the opportunity to apply these concepts “in the field” with health providers and advocates! Course is limited to 16 students and entrance into course is by application only. Applications are attached to this e-mail; please turn them into the Anthropology Staff Assistant in the Anthropology Office (Old Main 245). Applications are due April 10th, 2012 by 5pm.
For questions about the course, please contact:
Bonnie Glass-Coffin, PhD
Professor of Anthropology
e-mail: bonnie.glasscoffin@usu.edu
Phone: 435-797-4064
For questions about the course, please contact:
Bonnie Glass-Coffin, PhD
Professor of Anthropology
e-mail: bonnie.glasscoffin@usu.edu
Phone: 435-797-4064
Are you a little confused about graduation...
Here are a few things to help reduce stress all around while preparing:
If you have additional questions or concerns, contact Candi Checketts, RWST 213 E, 435-797-2729.
Here are a few things to help reduce stress all around while preparing:
- In order to walk, you must defend by April 27.
- You must defend by May 4, 5 pm, in order for the defense to count as part of this semester and in order for you to receive the summer as the "grace" semester
- If you defend after May 4, you will need to register for summer semester (and summer will not be your "grace" semester; fall will be)
If you have additional questions or concerns, contact Candi Checketts, RWST 213 E, 435-797-2729.
How many credits are required for GIs?
Graduate Credits required for Full-time Status:
A reminder to new graduate students beginning to register for Fall semester: Full-time enrollment for graduate students who are not teaching is 9 credit hours per semester; however, if you will be a Graduate Instructor in our department teaching two classes, you can enroll in as few as 6 credit hours during the semester and still be considered full-time. The typical load for an incoming Graduate Instructor is to take 6820 (the Writing Practicum class) and one other class (in American Studies or Folklore, that second class will probably be the Theory and Methods course in your area). Most GIs will take 6 credit hours, and taking more than 9 hours per semester is not advisable.
A reminder to new graduate students beginning to register for Fall semester: Full-time enrollment for graduate students who are not teaching is 9 credit hours per semester; however, if you will be a Graduate Instructor in our department teaching two classes, you can enroll in as few as 6 credit hours during the semester and still be considered full-time. The typical load for an incoming Graduate Instructor is to take 6820 (the Writing Practicum class) and one other class (in American Studies or Folklore, that second class will probably be the Theory and Methods course in your area). Most GIs will take 6 credit hours, and taking more than 9 hours per semester is not advisable.
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
The 31st annual Fife Honor Lecture:
The 31st annual Fife Honor Lecture:
Women in Times of Persecution in Jewish Folk Legends
PROFESSOR HAYA BAR-ITZHAK UNIVERSITY OF HAIFA
Thursday, April 12, 12:30 p.m.
Library Room 101
Library Room 101
Utah State University Folklore Program
The public is invited and attendance is free. Light refreshments will be served.
The 31st annual Fife Honor Lecture, saluting the pioneering work of local folklorists Austin and Alta Fife and hosted by the Utah State University Folklore Program, will be held on Thursday, April 12, at 12:30 p.m. in Library 101. This year Professor Haya Bar-Itzhak, of the University of Haifa, in Israel, will speak on "Women in Times of Persecution in Jewish Folk Legends." The public is invited and attendance is free. Light refreshments will be served.
In her lecture, Professor Bar-Itzhak will discuss legends from Eastern Europe from the 17th century to the Holocaust in which women act as heroines. She notes that many Jewish folk legends are set in times of persecution, due to the history of the Jewish people. It might be assumed that female characters would be passive victims, but the opposite is true. Professor Bar-Itzhak will discuss the reasons behind the phenomenon of Jewish patriarchal society legitimizing women acting in the public sphere as active and brave heroines.
A professor of literature and folklore, Professor Bar-Itzhak has served as chair of the Department of Hebrew and Comparative Literature and Folklore Studies at the University of Haifa as well as director of the Israel Folktale Archives. The focus of her research is Jewish folk literature, with an emphasis on the ethnographic and poetic aspects. She has published nine books, including Jewish Moroccan Folk Narratives from Israel (with Aliza Shenhar); Jewish Poland : Legends of Origin; Israeli Folk Narratives: Settlement, Immigration, Ethnicity; The Power of a Tale(with Idit Pintel Ginsberg); and Pioneers of Jewish Ethnography and Folkloristics in Eastern Europe. Her two-volume Encyclopedia of Jewish Folklore is due out this month.
Professor Bar-Itzhak is also the recipient of several awards, among them the American National Jewish Book Award and the Lerner Foundation for Yiddish Culture Award. She has been a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of California, Berkeley, a Fulbright Scholar in Residence at Penn State University, a Fellow at the Simon Dubnow Center in Leipzig, Germany, and is currently a Schusterman Israeli Visiting Professor at Indiana University.
The Fife Honor Lecture is sponsored by the Folklore Program, the Department of English Speaker Series, and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
For more information, please contact Steve Siporin (steve.siporin@usu.edu or 797-2722).
I wanted to invite all graduate and undergraduate students who are interested to join my Folklore Fieldwork class this Thursday afternoon since we will have a special guest folklorist---Professor Haya Bar-Itzhak, of the University of Haifa. The class meets this week from 4:30 to 5:30 in RBW 113.
And of course everyone is invited to her lecture, "Women in Times of Persecution in Jewish Folk Legends," in Library 101 on Thursday at 12:30. A reception with exceptionally good food will follow.
Steve Siporin
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
Kristin Ladd Library Exhibit
During the month of April, USU's Student Sustainability Office is putting on events all around campus to help students learn how to live more sustainably, connect with their community, and discover the new and fresh. As part of this, their Campus Outreach intern, Kristin Ladd with the help of the English Department, the May Swenson Project, and the Special Collections' staff, has designed an exhibit for Merrill-Cazier's Special Collections & Archives window displays in the basement of the library entitled "See Yourself in the Wild." The exhibit focuses on the three nature-writing authors: Jack London, Gary Snyder, and May Swenson to highlight their special connections to USU and to conservation through the power of writing and narrative. The exhibit also explores topics of gender, photography, and the wilderness so that students can discover new ways to see their natural surroundings and themselves. Once you've stopped by, check out the exhibit just about the Special Collections to learn more about the wilderness and inspire yourself to get outdoors this month! Stop by some time and see yourself in the wild!
Graduation Information
If the steps outlined below are completed after April 4 but before April 27, a student may still participate in commencement, but his/her name will not appear in the commencement program until next May.
- All graduation forms must be completed and submitted to the School of Graduate Studies. Graduation forms include the commencement data card, Diploma Fee Payment form ($15), and alumni file card. Plans A, B, and doctoral students will receive these forms at their final defense. Plan C students will receive these forms in the mail after the Graduate School receives their Completion of Requirements (Plan C) form.
- Plans A, B, and doctoral students: Students must have had a successful defense, and the signed Record of Examination form indicating such must be returned to the Graduate School.
- Plan C students: Your department will submit a Completion of Requirements (Plan C) form to the School of Graduate Studies during the first 4 weeks of your final semester.
Monday, 9 April 2012
Utah Residency:
Nonresident students who are employed by the department at a half-time rate (usually a Graduate Instructorship with a .5 FTE) are eligible for have entered an on-campus Master's program or PhD program Fall 2011 or before will need to obtain residency in order to avoid the cost of nonresident tuition during the Fall 2012 semester. Students will need evidences of establishing domicile: Utah driver license, Utah vehicle registration, and Utah voter registration. ALL of these must have an issue date of at least 3 MONTHS BEFORE THE SEMESTER BEGINS. For the Fall 2012 semester, students should have these items by the first week in June.
Cache Valley Historical Society
The Cache Valley Historical Society will award two $1,000 scholarships, for use in the 2012-2013 school year, to either undergraduate or graduate students who are involved in a faculty-supervised project focused on Cache Valley History. The project may be a research paper, thesis, archival collection, exhibit, etc. We are defining Cache Valley history broadly as folklore, anthropology, archeology, preservation, public history, etc. Projects may be new proposals but our selection committee will give equal consideration to those with projects already in progress. The project need not be limited to Cache Valley but may include surrounding areas, even the entire state and southern Idaho provided the focus is on how Cache Valley fits in.
Nominations may be made by faculty members or applications may be made by students. Nominations or applications must contain the following information in the same order:
Name of nominee or applicant.
Address.
E-mail address.
Current student status (e.g. senior, 2 year nd master student, etc.).
Major.
Name of faculty supervisor.
University address of supervisor.
E-mail address of faculty supervisor.
Description of proposed project.
What will the end product of the project be (e.g., paper, thesis, musical composition, historical drama,
exhibit, etc.)?
How will the project increase knowledge and/or awareness of Cache Valley history?
Any information that indicates your qualifications (e.g., interest in subject, previous experience, any
previous related work, etc.).
Any biographical information that applicant or nominator thinks might be helpful to the selection
committee.
In addition, the committee must have a letter of recommendation from the faculty supervisor for the
project.
Applications or nominations are to be submitted by April 15, 2012 to:
CVHS Scholarship Committee
513 East 700 South
River Heights, UT
Phone: 435-752-1800
E-mail: gashcroft@q.com
Winning applicants will be expected to report on the completed project at a meeting of the Cache Valley Historical Association.
Nominations may be made by faculty members or applications may be made by students. Nominations or applications must contain the following information in the same order:
Name of nominee or applicant.
Address.
E-mail address.
Current student status (e.g. senior, 2 year nd master student, etc.).
Major.
Name of faculty supervisor.
University address of supervisor.
E-mail address of faculty supervisor.
Description of proposed project.
What will the end product of the project be (e.g., paper, thesis, musical composition, historical drama,
exhibit, etc.)?
How will the project increase knowledge and/or awareness of Cache Valley history?
Any information that indicates your qualifications (e.g., interest in subject, previous experience, any
previous related work, etc.).
Any biographical information that applicant or nominator thinks might be helpful to the selection
committee.
In addition, the committee must have a letter of recommendation from the faculty supervisor for the
project.
Applications or nominations are to be submitted by April 15, 2012 to:
CVHS Scholarship Committee
513 East 700 South
River Heights, UT
Phone: 435-752-1800
E-mail: gashcroft@q.com
Winning applicants will be expected to report on the completed project at a meeting of the Cache Valley Historical Association.
Friday, 6 April 2012
April Brown Bag
Hi Everyone,
We are planning to have a brown bag lunch this month, it will be April 18th from 11:30-1:30 in RWST 308. The topic will be announced next week, so look for the flyer!
~Grad Program
We are planning to have a brown bag lunch this month, it will be April 18th from 11:30-1:30 in RWST 308. The topic will be announced next week, so look for the flyer!
~Grad Program
Monday, 2 April 2012
What graduate courses (summer workshops) are being offered in Summer 2012?
All summer courses offered by English are offered through the Regional Campuses Distance Ed Program. For more info, see: http://distance.usu.edu/summer_credit_workshops/
Summer Credit Workshops, 2012:
ENGL 4750/6750; HIST 4750/6750 - Fife Folklore Workshop: Fairytales and Film
Instructor: Lynne McNeill
Credits: 3
Room: BUS 215
Days: May 21-25
Times: 8:00 - 5:00 pm
Participants in the 2010 Fife Folklore Workshop will gain a thorough understanding of folk- and fairy tales as a unique cultural form. During class students will read traditional tales, watch film versions of the same stories, and will consider the way in which the tales are altered, improved upon, diminished, repurposed, or reinterpreted by filmmakers. As folklorist Jack Zipes has noted, "folk and fairy tales pervade our lives constantly through television soap operas and commercials, in comic books and cartoons, in school plays and storytelling performances, in our superstitions and prayers for miracles, and in our dreams and daydreams. The artistic re-creations of fairy-tale plots and characters in film mirror possibilities of estranging ourselves from designated roles, along with the conventional patterns of the classical tales". This workshop will touch on topics such as feminist approaches to folktales, the contemporary reimaging of traditional subjects, the visualizing of a textual form, and the appropriation of cross-cultural materials.
ENGL 5400/6460 - Preparing Posters, Brochures, and Newsletters
Instructor: Ron Shook
Credits: 3
Room: RBW 101
Days: July 23-27
Times: 8:00 - 4:30 pm
In this workshop we will study how to communicate information using the full range of tools available in modern word processing. The class will use format, page design, color, illustrations, and graphics to inform readers. It will begin with a poster design, which forces the communicator to be effective in all aspects of design. Then, it will move on to brochures, and finally newsletters. There will be a minimum of lecture and a maximum of hands-on. The class will feature both individual and group projects. The class will use MS Word as its basic design tool, and some familiarity with MS Word would be helpful.
ENGL 6460/5400 - Photography for Writers
Instructor: Ron Shook
Credits: 3
Room: RBW 101
Days: May 7-11
Times: 8:00 - 4:30 pm
ENGL 6800/4340 - Appreciating Fantasy Fiction
Instructor: Ron Shook
Credits: 3
Room: RBW 306
Days: May 21-25
Time: 8:00-4:30
This workshop is designed to foster a deeper understanding of the genre known as fantasy. The workshop will trace the genre from its beginnings (some of the earliest novels were fantasy) to its world-wide popularity today.
Required TextsJohnson-Sheehan, R. (2008). Writing proposals. 2nd ed. New York: Pearson/Longman. ISBN-13: 0-205-58314-0
Mikelonis, V.M., Betsinger, S.T., and Kampf, C. (2004). Grant Seeking in an Electronic Age. New York: Pearson Longman. ISBN: 0-321-16007-X
AssignmentsWeekly discussion forum posts
Short position papers
Problem Statement/Proposal
Proposal or article
Course Requirements: In order to promote on-going conversation about the required readings and issues raised by the class, you are required to participate weekly in a variety of ways. Each week you will be asked to read from the textbooks and online articles and to respond to these readings in our discussion forums. In addition, you will post weekly course development projects, review your peers’ course development materials, and discuss issues related to course development. The final assignment requires you to plan and build an online course ready for instruction. In addition to creating the online course, you will write a rhetorical analysis that theoretically situates your course within the current theory and practice of online writing instruction.
Summer Credit Workshops, 2012:
English 5400/6470Preparing Posters, Brochures, and Newsletters
Instructor: Ron Shook
Dates TBA
English 6890/7890 (Online) - The Theory and Practice of Informative Photography
Prof. Ron Shook
English 6890/7890 (Online)
Summer, 2012 (June 4 – July 18)
Prof. Ron Shook
English 6890/7890 (Online)
Summer, 2012 (June 4 – July 18)
This course has two purposes:
· To discuss and practice taking photographs that inform
· To discuss and practice using photographs in various specialized documents
Generally, we’ll discuss a topic, then analyze specific examples, then produce them. You will be required to give input into blackboard in a number of ways. Since this is a highly visual class, you’ll need to take lots of photos. You will need a digital camera, a way to download information to a computer, and some basic photo manipulation software. We’ll be doing only basic stuff – cropping and adjusting exposure. The emphasis will be on the getting the photo right the first time.
ENGL 4360/6630; HIST 6630 - Film Technique, Genre, and History
Instructor: Brian McCuskey
Credits: 3
Room: ENGR 203
Days: May 7-11
Times: 8:00 - 5:00 pm
In this workshop, we will study particular film techniques: mise en scene, cinematography, editing, and sound and learn how each contributes to a film's meaning. The workshop will begin in the late nineteenth century to observe the birth of cinema, and then move forward into the twentieth century, to study the rise of genre films. We will emphasize the Western, "the original genre film" but our survey of film history will also include film noir, romantic comedy, science fiction, and Alfred Hitchcock. Our discussion will thus be both microscopic and macroscopic: we will zoom in on films to examine closely their techniques, but we will also zoom out to consider broadly their historical and cultural contexts. The workshop includes group discussion and presentations, an exam on the textbook and lecture material, an essay due the following week, and various in-class assignments.
Instructor: Brian McCuskey
Credits: 3
Room: ENGR 203
Days: May 7-11
Times: 8:00 - 5:00 pm
In this workshop, we will study particular film techniques: mise en scene, cinematography, editing, and sound and learn how each contributes to a film's meaning. The workshop will begin in the late nineteenth century to observe the birth of cinema, and then move forward into the twentieth century, to study the rise of genre films. We will emphasize the Western, "the original genre film" but our survey of film history will also include film noir, romantic comedy, science fiction, and Alfred Hitchcock. Our discussion will thus be both microscopic and macroscopic: we will zoom in on films to examine closely their techniques, but we will also zoom out to consider broadly their historical and cultural contexts. The workshop includes group discussion and presentations, an exam on the textbook and lecture material, an essay due the following week, and various in-class assignments.
ENGL 4750/6750; HIST 4750/6750 - Fife Folklore Workshop: Fairytales and Film
Instructor: Lynne McNeill
Credits: 3
Room: BUS 215
Days: May 21-25
Times: 8:00 - 5:00 pm
Participants in the 2010 Fife Folklore Workshop will gain a thorough understanding of folk- and fairy tales as a unique cultural form. During class students will read traditional tales, watch film versions of the same stories, and will consider the way in which the tales are altered, improved upon, diminished, repurposed, or reinterpreted by filmmakers. As folklorist Jack Zipes has noted, "folk and fairy tales pervade our lives constantly through television soap operas and commercials, in comic books and cartoons, in school plays and storytelling performances, in our superstitions and prayers for miracles, and in our dreams and daydreams. The artistic re-creations of fairy-tale plots and characters in film mirror possibilities of estranging ourselves from designated roles, along with the conventional patterns of the classical tales". This workshop will touch on topics such as feminist approaches to folktales, the contemporary reimaging of traditional subjects, the visualizing of a textual form, and the appropriation of cross-cultural materials.
ENGL 5400/6470 - Preparing Resumes and Electronic Portfolios
Instructor: Rebecca Walton
Credits: 3
Room: RBW 101/102
Days: May 14-18
Times: 8:00 - 5:30 pm
This workshop will teach you how to represent yourself professionally through resumes, portfolios, and social media. You will learn what hiring managers look for in electronic portfolios, how research on recruiters? skimming processes can help you optimize your resume, and how to apply best practices in resume and portfolio design. In this workshop, you will develop a well-designed, attractive, and easy-to-skim resume for print and online use. You will also develop or update your professional online presence through social media and a portfolio website. You will leave the workshop with tangible products (including a resume and an online portfolio, as well as a better understanding of how to use social media and visual design strategies to represent yourself professionally. No prior knowledge of web design is required for this class. People with a wide range of technology skills (including beginner level) will benefit.
Instructor: Rebecca Walton
Credits: 3
Room: RBW 101/102
Days: May 14-18
Times: 8:00 - 5:30 pm
This workshop will teach you how to represent yourself professionally through resumes, portfolios, and social media. You will learn what hiring managers look for in electronic portfolios, how research on recruiters? skimming processes can help you optimize your resume, and how to apply best practices in resume and portfolio design. In this workshop, you will develop a well-designed, attractive, and easy-to-skim resume for print and online use. You will also develop or update your professional online presence through social media and a portfolio website. You will leave the workshop with tangible products (including a resume and an online portfolio, as well as a better understanding of how to use social media and visual design strategies to represent yourself professionally. No prior knowledge of web design is required for this class. People with a wide range of technology skills (including beginner level) will benefit.
ENGL 5400/ENGL 6470 - Proposal and Grant Writing for Science, Business, and Fundraising
Instructor: John McLaughlin
Credits: 3
Room: RBW 214
Days: May 21-25
Times: 8:00 - 5:00 pm
Proposal and grant writing is an integral part of every business or nonprofit's life. Knowing how to plan and prepare these documents is a fundamentally simple, but practically difficult process. This course will prepare you for the task of customer analysis, competitive assessment, and rhetorical presentation which, when done properly, can make the difference between a successful proposal and an unsuccessful one. Through practical application and job-based instruction you will learn how to use these tools most successfully.
Instructor: John McLaughlin
Credits: 3
Room: RBW 214
Days: May 21-25
Times: 8:00 - 5:00 pm
Proposal and grant writing is an integral part of every business or nonprofit's life. Knowing how to plan and prepare these documents is a fundamentally simple, but practically difficult process. This course will prepare you for the task of customer analysis, competitive assessment, and rhetorical presentation which, when done properly, can make the difference between a successful proposal and an unsuccessful one. Through practical application and job-based instruction you will learn how to use these tools most successfully.
ENGL 5400/6460 - Preparing Posters, Brochures, and Newsletters
Instructor: Ron Shook
Credits: 3
Room: RBW 101
Days: July 23-27
Times: 8:00 - 4:30 pm
In this workshop we will study how to communicate information using the full range of tools available in modern word processing. The class will use format, page design, color, illustrations, and graphics to inform readers. It will begin with a poster design, which forces the communicator to be effective in all aspects of design. Then, it will move on to brochures, and finally newsletters. There will be a minimum of lecture and a maximum of hands-on. The class will feature both individual and group projects. The class will use MS Word as its basic design tool, and some familiarity with MS Word would be helpful.
ENGL 6460/5400 - Photography for Writers
Instructor: Ron Shook
Credits: 3
Room: RBW 101
Days: May 7-11
Times: 8:00 - 4:30 pm
This workshop is for writers who are (at present) not photographers, but who work with pictures as part of their document production. The class will cover
· Planning documents that are designed with photographs in mind
· Preparing documents built around photos
· Taking and downloading pictures for use on a computer
· Basic manipulations of photos on a computer
We will create a number of project documents based around photographs. Very little background in either photography or computer use is required. The emphasis in this class is not on artistic expression but on communicating effectively. Class members will need to have access to a digital camera (a point-and-shoot or a good quality camera phone will do) and the means to download pictures to a PC. The class will include very little advanced picture manipulation. We will concentrate on taking good photos in the first place, then adjusting exposure in the computer and cropping for effective presentation.ENGL 6800/4340 - Appreciating Fantasy Fiction
Instructor: Ron Shook
Credits: 3
Room: RBW 306
Days: May 21-25
Time: 8:00-4:30
This workshop is designed to foster a deeper understanding of the genre known as fantasy. The workshop will trace the genre from its beginnings (some of the earliest novels were fantasy) to its world-wide popularity today.
Class members will
· Read and discuss a representative sample of contemporary fantasy fiction in the form of short stories and one novel.
· Study the development of fantasy as a creative form.
· Learn the ways of creating plot, character, and setting that are generally found in fantasy fiction.
· Share their preferences in fantasy fiction with other members of the class.
· Write a series of short “explorations” on fantasy as a genre.
· Read and report on one major fantasy novel as an out-of-class project.
English 6920 - Bennion
English 6920 - Bennion
Profs Jennifer Sinor and Michael Sowder are co-teaching the Bennion this summer. The dates are July 30
August 3 from 9AM -5PM. Students would register for a specific section of English 6920. Space is limited and preference is begin given to secondary teachers in the field and those who will teach in the future. There are a few spaces for those interested in the subject in general. Students would register through the Mountain West Center.
English 6470: Specialized Documents: Proposal Writing
Professor Ryan "rylish" Moeller
June 25 - August 10, 2012
This course will introduce you to genre of the proposal. Johnson-Sheehan (2008), the author of one of our textbooks, defines a proposal as a "tool for managing change" (p.1). Mikelonis, Betsinger, and Rampf (2004) define proposals as solutions to particular problems: "a proposal is a persuasive document that defines a problem or need, proposes a solution to that problem, and requests funding or other resources to implement the solution" (p.474). However you define the genre, it is clear that technical and professional writers are key players in the proposal genre, acting as proposal writers, development team members, and as consultants.
We will investigate the genre of proposal writing using genre field analysis as our primary methodology. Genre field analysis allows researchers and proposal writers the ability to map the systems in which genres operate by identify the various agents, transformative locales, and play scenarios available at any given time. As a student of this course, you will either identify a particular problem in your workplace or in the field of technical communication and suggest a solution (or solutions) by applying genre field analysis and writing an effective proposal, OR you will conduct research on proposal writing and write up your results for an appropriate publication in your field.
By the end of the course, you should be able to course description and objectives:The Open Space of Democracy: How Place Writing Transforms
Classrooms, Communities, and the World
This workshop will ask participants to consider how democracy is not simply an idea, but a place. By
looking to the land around us, we can better understand how democracy is always interdependent,
situated, circular, and associative. Through close observation and study, we can write ourselves into our
own landscapes, demonstrating our connections with place, the past, and each other.
English 6470: Specialized Documents: Proposal Writing
Professor Ryan "rylish" Moeller
June 25 - August 10, 2012
This course will introduce you to genre of the proposal. Johnson-Sheehan (2008), the author of one of our textbooks, defines a proposal as a "tool for managing change" (p.1). Mikelonis, Betsinger, and Rampf (2004) define proposals as solutions to particular problems: "a proposal is a persuasive document that defines a problem or need, proposes a solution to that problem, and requests funding or other resources to implement the solution" (p.474). However you define the genre, it is clear that technical and professional writers are key players in the proposal genre, acting as proposal writers, development team members, and as consultants.
We will investigate the genre of proposal writing using genre field analysis as our primary methodology. Genre field analysis allows researchers and proposal writers the ability to map the systems in which genres operate by identify the various agents, transformative locales, and play scenarios available at any given time. As a student of this course, you will either identify a particular problem in your workplace or in the field of technical communication and suggest a solution (or solutions) by applying genre field analysis and writing an effective proposal, OR you will conduct research on proposal writing and write up your results for an appropriate publication in your field.
By the end of the course, you should be able to course description and objectives:The Open Space of Democracy: How Place Writing Transforms
Classrooms, Communities, and the World
This workshop will ask participants to consider how democracy is not simply an idea, but a place. By
looking to the land around us, we can better understand how democracy is always interdependent,
situated, circular, and associative. Through close observation and study, we can write ourselves into our
own landscapes, demonstrating our connections with place, the past, and each other.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the proposal as a generic construct central to the field of technical communication (IDEA Objective I.1).
- Identify, explain, and illustrate the implications of a particular problem in your field(s), the solution to which requires funding or resources beyond the scope of your current employment to implement, and propose a well-researched solution to the problem you identify, using the generic conventions of the proposal to create an effective argument.(IDEA Objective II.4).
- Create an effectively designed, persuasive document that proposes a solution to the problem you have identified and requests the necessary resources for implementing that solution OR create a publishable article in an appropriate venue of your choice that documents graduate-level research on proposal writing in the field of technical and professional communication (IDEA Objective V.9).
Required TextsJohnson-Sheehan, R. (2008). Writing proposals. 2nd ed. New York: Pearson/Longman. ISBN-13: 0-205-58314-0
Mikelonis, V.M., Betsinger, S.T., and Kampf, C. (2004). Grant Seeking in an Electronic Age. New York: Pearson Longman. ISBN: 0-321-16007-X
AssignmentsWeekly discussion forum posts
Short position papers
Problem Statement/Proposal
Proposal or article
ENGL 6800; Theory & Practice of Online Education in Writing
Instructor: Keith Gibson
Credits: 3
Dates: May 7 - June 22
Dates: May 7 - June 22
Online
This course examines online writing instruction (OWI), and we will cover the following topics:
This course examines online writing instruction (OWI), and we will cover the following topics:
1. What are the best practices for OWI, and what pedagogical theories will help us learn them?
2. How is effective OWI designed and developed?
3. How do we best get students involved in online instruction?
4. How should writing instructors assess students online?
5. What technology choices do we have for OWI? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
Students will demonstrate their mastery of these topics by building a course website for an online writing class and writing a rhetorical analysis of their site.
Objectives
By the end of this course, you’ll be expected to demonstrate these competencies:
• To understand the historical development of OWI
• To describe and apply theories of online education to OWI
• To describe the changing roles of students and instructors in online learning environments
• To design an online writing course ready for instruction
• To determine the effectiveness of various online teaching tools and environments
• To assess students and quality in online courses
• To describe and apply theories of online education to OWI
• To describe the changing roles of students and instructors in online learning environments
• To design an online writing course ready for instruction
• To determine the effectiveness of various online teaching tools and environments
• To assess students and quality in online courses
Course Requirements: In order to promote on-going conversation about the required readings and issues raised by the class, you are required to participate weekly in a variety of ways. Each week you will be asked to read from the textbooks and online articles and to respond to these readings in our discussion forums. In addition, you will post weekly course development projects, review your peers’ course development materials, and discuss issues related to course development. The final assignment requires you to plan and build an online course ready for instruction. In addition to creating the online course, you will write a rhetorical analysis that theoretically situates your course within the current theory and practice of online writing instruction.
In this workshop we will study how to communicate information using the full range of tools available in modern word processing. The class will use format, page design, color, illustrations, and graphics to inform readers. It will begin with a poster design, which forces the communicator to be effective in all aspects of design. Then, it will move on to brochures, and finally newsletters. There will be a minimum of lecture and a maximum of hands-on. The class will feature both individual and group projects. The class will use MSWord as its basic design tool, and some familiarity with MSWord would be helpful.
What graduate courses will be offered in Fall 2012?
The following are course descriptions for courses being offered in Fall 2012. Please note that I don’t have all the descriptions yet. More descriptions will be posted as they become available.
Required Texts
Johnson-Sheehan, R. (2008). Writing proposals. 2nd ed. New York: Pearson/Longman. ISBN-13: 0-205-58314-0
Mikelonis, V.M., Betsinger, S.T., and Kampf, C. (2004). Grant Seeking in an Electronic Age. New York: Pearson Longman. ISBN: 0-321-16007-X
Assignments
Weekly discussion forum posts
Short position papers
Problem Statement/Proposal
Proposal or article
Fall 2012 OnlineEnglish 6410/7410: Theory and Research in Professional CommunicationProfessor Ryan "rylish" Moeller
course description and objectives
This course will introduce you to many of the major contemporary theories of written discourse as they are influencing research in professional communication. By reading and writing about this material, you will have an opportunity to explore the complexities of communication: how communication has been differently defined and circumscribed and why these differences matter to people who study and produce practical documents.
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
Required Texts
Spilka, R. (2009). Digital literacy for technical communication. New York: Routledge. ISBN-13: 978-0-8058-5274-5Required for 7410 only: Zachry, M., & Thralls, C. (2007). Communicative practices in workplaces and the professions. Amityville, NY: Baywood. ISBN-13: 978-0-89503-372-7
ENGL 6470 AO1 3 Online Ryan Moeller 2012-06-25 2012-08-10English 6470: Specialized DocumentsProposal Writing
Professor Ryan "rylish" Moeller
course description and objectives
This course will introduce you to genre of the proposal. Johnson-Sheehan (2008), the author of one of our textbooks, defines a proposal as a "tool for managing change" (p.1). Mikelonis, Betsinger, and Rampf (2004) define proposals as solutions to particular problems: "a proposal is a persuasive document that defines a problem or need, proposes a solution to that problem, and requests funding or other resources to implement the solution" (p.474). However you define the genre, it is clear that technical and professional writers are key players in the proposal genre, acting as proposal writers, development team members, and as consultants.
We will investigate the genre of proposal writing using genre field analysis as our primary methodology. Genre field analysis allows researchers and proposal writers the ability to map the systems in which genres operate by identify the various agents, transformative locales, and play scenarios available at any given time. As a student of this course, you will either identify a particular problem in your workplace or in the field of technical communication and suggest a solution (or solutions) by applying genre field analysis and writing an effective proposal, OR you will conduct research on proposal writing and write up your results for an appropriate publication in your field.
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
Professor Ryan "rylish" Moeller
course description and objectives
This course will introduce you to genre of the proposal. Johnson-Sheehan (2008), the author of one of our textbooks, defines a proposal as a "tool for managing change" (p.1). Mikelonis, Betsinger, and Rampf (2004) define proposals as solutions to particular problems: "a proposal is a persuasive document that defines a problem or need, proposes a solution to that problem, and requests funding or other resources to implement the solution" (p.474). However you define the genre, it is clear that technical and professional writers are key players in the proposal genre, acting as proposal writers, development team members, and as consultants.
We will investigate the genre of proposal writing using genre field analysis as our primary methodology. Genre field analysis allows researchers and proposal writers the ability to map the systems in which genres operate by identify the various agents, transformative locales, and play scenarios available at any given time. As a student of this course, you will either identify a particular problem in your workplace or in the field of technical communication and suggest a solution (or solutions) by applying genre field analysis and writing an effective proposal, OR you will conduct research on proposal writing and write up your results for an appropriate publication in your field.
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of the proposal as a generic construct central to the field of technical communication (IDEA Objective I.1).
- Identify, explain, and illustrate the implications of a particular problem in your field(s), the solution to which requires funding or resources beyond the scope of your current employment to implement, and propose a well-researched solution to the problem you identify, using the generic conventions of the proposal to create an effective argument (IDEA Objective II.4).
- Create an effectively designed, persuasive document that proposes a solution to the problem you have identified and requests the necessary resources for implementing that solution OR create a publishable article in an appropriate venue of your choice that documents graduate-level research on proposal writing in the field of technical and professional communication (IDEA Objective V.9).
Required Texts
Johnson-Sheehan, R. (2008). Writing proposals. 2nd ed. New York: Pearson/Longman. ISBN-13: 0-205-58314-0
Mikelonis, V.M., Betsinger, S.T., and Kampf, C. (2004). Grant Seeking in an Electronic Age. New York: Pearson Longman. ISBN: 0-321-16007-X
Assignments
Weekly discussion forum posts
Short position papers
Problem Statement/Proposal
Proposal or article
Fall 2012 OnlineEnglish 6410/7410: Theory and Research in Professional CommunicationProfessor Ryan "rylish" Moeller
course description and objectives
This course will introduce you to many of the major contemporary theories of written discourse as they are influencing research in professional communication. By reading and writing about this material, you will have an opportunity to explore the complexities of communication: how communication has been differently defined and circumscribed and why these differences matter to people who study and produce practical documents.
By the end of the course, you should be able to:
- Define and map differences among some of the major theories that are currently most influential within the community of scholars studying professional and technical communication.
- Explain and illustrate the implications of some of these theories on our perceptions of what texts are and how they function in organizational life. Some examples include: transferring information, constructing realities, regulating conduct, and creating identities.
- Explain and illustrate the implications of some of these theories for people conducting research. For example, what questions do researchers decide to ask and how do those questions affect the outcome of the research? What aspects of communication do researchers decide to look at? How do researchers interact with subjects? What do researchers perceive as their role with respect to the research site and elsewhere?
- Explain and illustrate the implications of some of these theories for communication specialists. For example, how do practitioners understand their roles in ways both similar and different from researchers? How do practitioners carry out their communication tasks? How are practitioners implicated within wider systems both inside and outside organizations?
Required Texts
Spilka, R. (2009). Digital literacy for technical communication. New York: Routledge. ISBN-13: 978-0-8058-5274-5Required for 7410 only: Zachry, M., & Thralls, C. (2007). Communicative practices in workplaces and the professions. Amityville, NY: Baywood. ISBN-13: 978-0-89503-372-7
English 6330-Kris Miller, Topics in Literary Studies
This course will focus on post-9/11 literature, art, and culture. We will read non-fiction (The 9-11 Commission Report, news stories, some literary critical and cultural essays), comics (Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón’s The 9-11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation and Art Spiegelman’s In the Shadow of No Towers), and fiction (including Patrick McGrath’s Ghost Town, Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jess Walter’s The Zero, Amy Waldman’s The Submission, Matt Ruff’s Mirage, and Colum McCann’s Let the Great World Spin). Students will learn to analyze the cultural narratives that shaped public understanding of 9/11 and to compare those cultural narratives to both the artistic narratives of post-9/11 comics and the literary narratives of post-9/11 fiction.
English 6350-Paul Crumbley, American Literature and Culture
This course centers on the work of Jack London and coincides with a London conference scheduled to take place at Utah State in October. Students will attend the conference and get to know leading London scholars. In preparation for the conference, class members will read important London texts, such as The Call of the Wild, White Fang, and Burning Daylight. The class will also look at London manuscripts and correspondence that are part of USU’s Special Collections. Following the conference, the class will look at other writers from the London circle, such as Mary Austin, and develop individual projects linked to London.
English 6700-Steve Siporin, Folklore Theory and Methods
This course serves as an orientation for new graduate students in folklore and for other students who want to learn the theories and methods of folk cultural studies. The course introduces students to the history of folkloristics, comparative annotation, folklore indices, oral-formulaic theory, psychoanalytic theory in folklore, performance theory, contextual analysis, and other approaches. We also learn and practice the conventions of scholarly writing, including proper citation form and style. We develop critical abilities through writing and discussion.
English 6820-Brock Dethier, Teaching English Practicum
English 6820 is a course for those teaching English 1010 for the first time; as such, enrollment is required and reserved for first year Graduate Instructors. We discuss the theory and practice of teaching composition. Students write several papers and lead a whole-class presentation.
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