Writing 150: Issues in Sustainability



Dr. Jessica Piazza / WRITING 150

Fall 2020: Issues in Sustainability

E-mail: jpiazza@usc.edu

Office Hours: Wednesdays, 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM (PST) and by appointment (online in

our Zoom classroom)

ZOOM CLASS LINK:



Meeting ID: 989 0057 7552

Passcode: 405384

Required Texts and Materials

--Camera on and ready to go for EVERY CLASS

--WRIT 150 Course Book (E-Book)

Our readings will be posted on Blackboard, primarily in the Content section, and you are expected to read everything there over the course of the semester.

Course Objectives

“Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly, and to think clearly is a necessary first step toward political regeneration: so that the fight against bad English is not frivolous and is not the exclusive concern of professional writers.” ~ George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language”

“The really significant education…we're supposed to get in a place like this isn't really about the capacity to think, but rather about the choice of what to think about.” ~ David Foster Wallace, 2005 Kenyon College Commencement Address

We live in a world of words. Regardless of your career path—whether law, engineering, biochemistry, etc.—some skills are universal. All professions prize rigorous thinking, careful reading, articulate and passionate speaking and clear writing. Writing 150 develops these skills in the context of the academic community you are entering as a college student. You’ll do a significant amount of writing in this course, focusing on writing as a process. You’ll learn strategies for invention of ideas, for arranging those ideas, and for developing a unique style and technique for revision. At its most basic level, this course will help you think critically, critique arguments and develop your capacity for analysis and argumentation.

In this class we’ll be learning the skills necessary for success in college and your careers, but furthermore, at its best the objective of this class is to make you a better citizen, and maybe, just maybe, a better person. If this sounds crazy, think about it: in this world, right now, the words we read and hear aren’t neutral. MANY people accumulate money and power when we – implicitly or explicitly, consciously or unconsciously – agree with their words. Most of them are really happy when we don’t think about whether we should agree, and instead do it automatically. But believing is a choice, and the freedom you have to research, to understand, to believe and to persuade is both real and powerful.

Our class is a workshop. I’m legitimately interested in what you think, my goal is to help you cultivate and refine your thoughts and opinions. So, we will all talk here, rather than me imparting knowledge from on high. (However, I admit that I talk a lot. Do me, and yourselves, a favor: take the imaginary mic away from me!) Have something to say, and say it. Proudly. It’ll make your thoughts better. It’ll make your grades better.

Writing 150 and the Context of Sustainability

Our section of Writing 150 will focus on questions pertaining to Sustainability. Sustainability, or Sustainable Development, is a movement that attempts to link the concerns of the environment, the economy and social justice, but it’s so much more, too. Our activities will probe issues stemming from complex relationships between overlapping realms, such as global warming, poverty in developing nations, consumer culture, loss of biodiversity, and social issues that complicate stability, to name a few. Connected to all of these issues is the overarching question of responsibility—to the planet, to other species, to each other, and to the future. Hovering over it all is politics, and how we can make real progress.

In addition to the fields of ecological sciences, economics, and development in under-resourced areas, Sustainability has significance across many other disciplines, such as government, health sciences, sociology, philosophy, history, literature, art, engineering, culture studies, social work, law and business.

In other words, this is a sustainability thematic, but not specifically an environmentalism thematic. I encourage you to consider sustainability from whatever angle moves and interests you.

Grading and Course Requirements

The evaluation of your writing will follow the Grading and Evaluation Rubric, which is provided in the Writing 150 Course Book. The provisional grading allotments are as follows:

WP1: 10%

WP2: 15%

WP3: 20%

WP4 / Final Project: 35%

Ancillary Writing Activities: 15%

HW Completion: 5%

Rough Drafts: 2%

Graded Ancillary Assignments (TBD): 3%

Writing Center Visit (Online) 1%

Social Media Essay: 2.5%

Participation and Attendance: 6.5%

Course Components

Class Sessions

While writing involves many forms of knowledge, it is principally a form of action: something one does, rather than a subject of study. Toward this end, WRIT 150 will be conducted as a praxis course, a workshop in which we practice various forms of writing, critical reading and reasoning.

Conferences

Conferences provide you with highly focused, individualized feedback on your writing projects. For several major assignments, you will have the option to meet to discuss your essay. All conferences will be held online in our Zoom classroom. Skipped or missed conferences will not be rescheduled and count as an absence.

Office Hours

Office hours are Wednesdays, 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM (PST) and by appointment (online

in our Zoom classroom).

Ancillary Writing Activities (AWAs)

Ancillary Writing Activities assignments intended to prepare you to participate in class discussion and to keep you on pace with your major Writing Projects. They include homework (which is completion-based only, as long as they are completed satisfactorily) and rough drafts of papers. Some AWAs will be done in class, but most will be assigned as homework to be submitted to Blackboard. Some (like the social media essay) are not completion only, and graded.

The Writing Center

You are required to visit the Writing Center (which is on the second floor of Taper Hall / TTH, but they are now operating online) once per semester, at some point during your WP1 – WP3 due dates. The appointments fill up quickly, so make them early. You can make appointments online at the Writing Center website. Hot tip: get on the waiting list if there’s no appointment available. They open up often.

Writing Projects

Writing projects are formal papers, sequenced so that each subsequent project can draw upon the topical readings and rhetorical skills from previous assignments. The four Writing Projects make up the bulk of your course grade.

Final Projects

The final writing project will consist of Writing Project 4, plus a final assignment (which might be an oral/visual presentation or something else entirely). Together this makes up the final major grade, and is a culminating submission which should offer your very best efforts.

Course Policies

Attendance / Lateness

You are allowed two absences, excused or unexcused, without penalty. After that, you may have one more EXCUSED absence, with the proper paperwork. Late arrivals of more than five minutes will count as a tardy, which is one third of an absence; late arrivals of more than a half hour count as a full absence. After three absences, you will lose a full grade level (on your attendance/participation grade) for each subsequent class missed.

Six absences or more, FOR ANY REASON, excused or unexcused, will result in a failing final class grade (or in some cases an incomplete). If there are justifiable extenuating circumstances that require excessive absences, please see me as early as possible so I can help work on finding a satisfactory solution. The later you see me about these sort of problems, however, the less likely we are to find a solution.

YOUR COMPUTER CAMERAS NEED TO STAY ON FOR THE DURATION OF CLASS TO BE MARKED PRESENT. If you have mitigating circumstances that make this difficult, please contact me immediately.

For those who have been approved (because they reside abroad, in a time zone that is incompatible with this class) to watch the recorded lectures: In order to meet the attendance policy, I’m requiring every student who chooses this option to write and submit a detailed summary of the recorded lecture within 24 hours of its posting. By detailed, I mean not just that we talked about a particular reading, for example, but what was actually said about it. You’ll have to cover everything you actually learned, or what we actually said, in order to get attendance credit for that class. (This option, again, does not apply to students who do NOT have a significant time difference. Those students must attend in real time. Watching recordings is the much more difficult way to take the class!)

NOTE: If you don’t have your paper submitted on the day it’s due, this is NOT a good reason to be absent that day, as we will be laying the foundation for the next Writing Project.

There is no need to send me an email if you can’t attend class, as long as you’re within your allowable missed class limit.

Class Participation

Participation will be a bigger part of the course grade than in previous semesters. Because active discussion and participating in activities are a big part of my class, we’ll all need to actually engage to overcome the Zoom distance. To get the full participation grade, you must be ready and willing to speak up and contribute, as weird as it is over Zoom. This means that you should contribute in one way or another to EVERY class discussion. You should have questions for me. You should make it clear that you’ve done the readings and work and are willing to discuss them.

Participation entails being prepared and ready to work. It also implies a willingness to engage in dialogue: to listen with an open mind, and in turn to allow your own arguments to be criticized. Participation and attendance go together; if you’re not here, you certainly can’t participate in classroom activities or discussions.

Communication and Email

When possible, I will respond to specific questions about an assignment or review a paragraph-length passage. Please preface such requests for email assistance with a particular question. Questions such as “Is this ok?” do not pose a critical matter to be resolved. I try to respond to emails within 24 to 48 hours, so don’t leave a pressing question to the day before the assignment is due.

We also have a Slack channel for our class. Using Slack will allow you to ask questions not only to me, but to your peers, who will often know the answer and be ready with it before I will. (You can also use Slack just to get to know each other better, which is cool since we’re not in the classroom together.)

Paper Formats

All papers are formal essays and should follow MLA conventions unless otherwise stated. (You can look these up online!)

All papers should be submitted via blackboard. Please format as follows:

Double-spaced, 1” margins, Times New Roman, 12 pt. font.

“Your last name / Page #” should be in the header (on the right) on all pages.

All papers should have a title, but no title page.

In the top left corner of the first page, include the following information:

Your name

Dr. Piazza

Date

Assignment #

TITLE

Late Papers

Late papers will be penalized by a half letter grade for each CLASS they are late. I don’t accept papers more than a week after the due date. Please note that homework assignments (AWAs) are due when called for and cannot be made up.

Grace Period

You get a grace period of one class for one paper (WP 1-3 only; WP4 is due on the last day of class without exception.) You do not have to inform me that you’re taking the grace period; I will see at the end while calculating the final grade that you were one class late for one of those three papers, and will not penalize you.

Technology / Cameras

If for some reason you have some special circumstance that makes it difficult for you to keep your camera on the whole time, please contact me and we’ll try and work something out. If your camera or connection gets messed up for a minute here or there, obviously it happens, but in general you need to be there, camera on, ready to participate.

Please do not text, browse, or otherwise engage with other electronic devices, apps or sites during class time. I am serious about this; I give any student caught texting or doing other things online a tardy.

For those who miss class or feel they might benefit from it, the lecture recording are available to you in the Content section of BB under “Recorded Lectures.” While they don’t count to make up an absence in the gradebook, they are immensely helpful when you do miss class because you’ll still be able to have the benefit of the discussion.

Plagiarism

A plagiarized paper will receive a failing grade, seriously imperil your standing in the class, and may result in further university sanctions. Consult the Course Book for explanations concerning unacknowledged use of another’s work.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We are dedicated to anti-bias in and out of the classroom. We wholeheartedly stand against racism, dehumanization, oppression, colonization, xenophobia, and white supremacy. We will pursue anti-racism and anti-bias in our class consistently and with mindfulness by engaging in open, honest, and at times uncomfortable discussions confronting institutionalized racism and bias. We will be accountable to one another by acknowledging, confronting, and dismantling bias, as well as engaging in collaborative, multimodal, and intersectional work as a class.

Additional Support

The Writing Center

The Writing center offers support to students on any stage of the writing process. You may schedule half-hour appointments for help with brainstorming, organization, producing initial paragraphs or any sentence-level concern. It is located on the second floor of Taper Hall. For an appointment, call 213-740-3691.

The Library

You cannot really imagine how helpful the librarians are, not just for finding sources, but also with developing and even creating paper topics. Go chat with them. They’re amazing. Ask for help, and you’ll get it.

In addition, the USC Libraries and the Writing Center have collaborated to create a set of research guides developed specifically for Writing 150. I strongly recommend that you begin any of your research for the class here:

Disability Services

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure to deliver this letter to me early in the semester. DSP is located in STU 301; call 213-740-0776.

Support Systems

Student Counseling Services (SCS) - (213) 740-7711 – 24/7 on call

Free and confidential mental health treatment for students, including short-term psychotherapy, group counseling, stress fitness workshops, and crisis intervention.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline - 1-800-273-8255

Provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Services (RSVP) - (213) 740-4900 - 24/7 on call

Free and confidential therapy services, workshops, and training for situations related to gender-based harm.

Sexual Assault Resource Center

For more information about how to get help or help a survivor, rights, reporting options, and additional resources, visit the website:

Office of Equity and Diversity (OED)/Title IX Compliance – (213) 740-5086

Works with faculty, staff, visitors, applicants, and students around issues of protected class.

Bias Assessment Response and Support

Incidents of bias, hate crimes and microaggressions need to be reported allowing for appropriate investigation and response.

The Office of Disability Services and Programs 

Provides certification for students with disabilities and helps arrange relevant accommodations.

Student Support and Advocacy – (213) 821-4710

Assists students and families in resolving complex issues adversely affecting their success as a student EX: personal, financial, and academic.

 

Diversity at USC 

Information on events, programs and training, the Diversity Task Force (including representatives for each school), chronology, participation, and various resources for students.

USC Emergency Information

Provides safety and other updates, including ways in which instruction will be continued if an officially declared emergency makes travel to campus infeasible,

USC Department of Public Safety  – 213-740-4321 (UPC) and 323-442-1000 (HSC) for 24-hour emergency assistance or to report a crime. 

Provides overall safety to USC community.

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