Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Tuesday
11:00-1:00pm
Wednesday
10:30-11:15am
1:30-3:30pm
Thursday
11:00-1:00pm
Friday
10:30-11:15am
and by appointment
Course Description: Many of you are entering First Year Seminar having completed First Year
Seminar in Expository Writing (FYSE). Others of you are taking the course as transfer students.
For whatever reason you may be taking FYS this term, make sure to speak with Mr. Wright,
your course instructor, and Dean Martha Billips, coordinator of the First-Year Program, to learn
more about the sequence of courses of which FYS is a part.
In this section of FYS, we will pose a few questions of concern throughout all cultures: What are
health and wellbeing? What does it mean to be healthy and well? How does our sense of
wellbeing depend upon culture? In this FYS course, we will examine the influences of culture on
the definition and practice of human health. We will critically read, talk, and write about the
values, beliefs, and behaviors that inform interpretations of wellbeing across communities,
cultures, and subculturesboth in the United States and abroad. In particular, we will grapple
with the challenging and frequently volatile intersections of these interpretations in intercultural
societies that continue to negotiate different modes of knowing, being, and healing.
The major focus of our study depends is on the connection between reading and writing. You
will learn to clearly, concisely write about what you read. Through essay assignments and
shorter writing assignments (SWAs), you will develop your ability to analyze and argue as part
of the academic community.
Equally important is the opportunity to cultivate cross-cultural understanding and
responsiveness. We will read texts as cultures and cultures as texts, considering values and
viewpoints, question differences, and grapple with assumptions. These texts will include essays,
films, professional blogs, art exhibitions, community engagement events, and more. Ultimately,
we will work toward confident, clear, and convincing expression of our own thinking on matters
of global importance.
Required Texts
Graff, Gerald
and Cathy
Birkenstein.
They Say, I
Say. New
York: Norton,
2014.
Attend and participate in every class session. Missing class, arriving unprepared, or
engaging in non-class related activities during class time may lower your final grade. Of
course, illness or other unpredicted emergencies will occurand one or two emergency
absences will not hurt your grade, but more than two will take a toll. Keep in mind that there
are no excused absences and all absences will be recorded. If you are late for or absent
from a scheduled and required individual or group activity, you will not receive credit for that
activity. If you miss class, you are responsible for learning what you missed (find at least
one classmate to swap phone numbers and/or email addresses with).
Come to class prepared. We will consider our time together in class to be a time devoted to
conversation. You need to come to class prepared to discuss what you have been assigned
for that class period, to reflect upon and express your interpretation of assigned reading,
and to test your interpretation of the text in light of what others have to say. Please complete
all assigned reading and writing assignments prior to class time. Take time to carefully read
assigned texts at least once fully, to look up any unfamiliar terms or references, and to
compose annotations so you are prepared to discuss the text. Then, be sure to bring
annotated copies of texts to class on days they will be discussed. If you choose to access
texts electronically (i.e., on a laptop or tablet), you are responsible for having an app or
program with which you can annotate. If you are having trouble understanding anything,
communicate with classmates, writing center consultants, ACE peer mentors, and Mr.
Wright. Were all here to help you, but we cannot read minds.
Complete all assigned prewriting (e.g., proposals, outlines) and revision work (e.g., revision
plans) for essays, including all small writing group review sessions and voluntary one-to-one
conferences with Mr. Wright.
When given the opportunity, always revise your work substantially, according to suggestions
provided to you in course texts and feedback from peers (including Writing Center
consultants) and Mr. Wright.
Take yourself seriously as a student writer, but remember this also means allowing yourself
time and permission to make mistakes and learn from them.
Be respectful. This includes paying attention when others are speaking, reading others work
carefully and thoughtfully, being considerate of other students feelings, using appropriate
language, not monopolizing class conversations, and making your points without being
combative or confrontational. Disagreement with others ideas or statements is perfectly
acceptable, even encouraged; thats part of learning to think about and engage with the
different ideas and worldviews around you. However, if you disagree with someone, explain
why you disagree without attacking the person. Ask questions that will help you understand
what a person means before you decide to counter what they are saying. Hateful,
discriminatory language will not be tolerated in the classroom, in your writing, or in any
space related to coursework.
Diversity and Inclusion and Title IX Commitment: In our Transylvania community and in this
course, we celebrate the richness that comes from a range of all our individual differences,
including dimensions of age, culture, education, ethnicity, exceptionalities, gender, geographical
origin, language, politics, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. Carefully
note that your participation gradeand all other gradesdepend on your reasonable, fair, and
authentic commitment to these values through demonstration of engaged cultural
responsiveness and respectincluding observance of all Title IX principles and procedures.
Click here for more on Diversity and Inclusion and here for more on Title IX.
Assignments and Assessment
Participation and Attendance (20%)
A Rubric for Participation and Attendance Grade
An A grade:
Actively engages and listens to professor and peers, including careful note-taking
Arrives fully prepared to every class session
Completes all writing and presentation assignments
Attends and contributes fully to all (4) required ACE/FYSE Academic Peer Mentor sessions
Always reflects regularly on classmates blog posts
Plays an active role in full-class and/or group discussions
Class comments advance the level and depth of discussion
Level of class/group discussion is always better because of students presence
Attends and reflects on/responds to all required events out-of-class, including community engagement
and campus corner events
A B grade:
A C grade:
Attends some and reflects on/responds to required events out-of-class, including community
engagement and campus corner events
A D grade:
An F grade:
You will write a minimum of eighteen (18) shorter writing assignments (referred to as SWA in
the schedule). Each of these will be responded to and evaluated using the rubric below. The
purpose of these assignments is to get you to question and respond to class readings,
events, and classmates views and to ask (and possibly answer) complex questions. SWAs
also help you work toward your three (3) longer essays. SWAs, as you will see, are less
formal than your essays, so you should relax and enjoy them. However, you should still take
them seriously and allow time to address them with respect and attention, which includes
using the best grammar, spelling, and mechanics you can. Lastly, make sure to remember
that whatever you compose and post is visible publicallyto everyone and anyone.
- (1 point)
(2 points)
Not submitted
or late
Submitted on time,
Submitted on time,
but not on topic or is on topic, sufficient
underdeveloped
thought/content
+ (3 points)
Submitted on time, on
topic, strong
thought/content
Academic Honesty: All students at Transylvania University are expected to adhere to the
highest standards of academic integrity. Students who are found guilty of academic dishonesty
will be sanctioned in a manner that is appropriate to the infraction. Sanctions may include
receiving a failing grade on the assignment or being assigned a failing grade in the course. For
more information, see the undergraduate
catalogue: http://www.transy.edu/academics/catalog/1213/acad_program.pdf.
Disability Services: We all have different learning preferences, styles, and abilities. If you are
having any trouble with course delivery methods or expectations, talk with Mr. Wright to
determine how to best address the situation. Additionally, Transylvania University adheres to the
Americans with Disabilities Act. Qualified students with disabilities needing appropriate
academic adjustments should contact Mr. Wright as soon as possible to ensure that their needs
are met in a timely manner. To request accommodations or discuss accessibility at Transylvania,
please contact Brenda Dennis, disability services coordinator, at (859) 281-3682 or
bdennis@transy.edu.
Writing Center Services: For personal, one-on-one assistance with writing assignments, visit
the Writing Center located in Haupt Humanities 12 and 15. Schedule an appointment by using
the online appointment scheduler at https://transy.mywconline.com or by contacting Becky Mills
by email at bmills@transy.edu. You may also visit her at the Center to schedule your
appointment. For more information about Writing Center services, visit the webpage:
http://transy.edu/academics/writing.htm.
Learning Skills: If you would like to sharpen your study, reading, and test-taking skills, then join
the Learning Skills Program and take Master Student classes with Greg Strouse. For more
information, visit the Learning Skills Program (LSP) webpage:
http://outside.transy.edu:2054/pages/learning_skills/. You may also contact the director of the
LSP, Professor Greg Strouse, at gstrouse@transy.edu.