Pulaski Technical College Course Syllabus ENGL 2330 Creative Writing I Fall 2011 - Online Instructor Information Name:

Melody Berning Office: By Appointment Telephone: 501.758.7663 (Dire emergencies only.) Office hours: By Appointment Only, MWF Mailbox location: Bldg A Email: mberning@pulaskitech.edu This is official for more serious matters, etc. and personal concerns should be sent to either of these two for confidential communications: Everette16@gmail.com II. Catalog Description

3 Credit Hours (3 hours lecture per week) Principles and techniques of expository and persuasive composition, analysis of texts with introduction to research methods, and critical thinking. PREREQUISITE: Students enrolled in ENGL 1311 must meet one of the following requirements: Completion of ENGL 1311 with a grade of a C or better. III. Course Resources

Required text: Provided as the Semester progresses. IV. Division Objectives

The Fine Arts and Humanities Division upholds and promotes the general education objectives stated in the PTC Catalog by requiring students taking classes in the Fine Arts and Humanities Division to: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Think creatively. Act with integrity Write across the borders Demonstrate computer literacy Demonstrate information literacy Demonstrate cultural literacy and sensitivity Understand the importance of class and community involvement

V.

Course Objectives and Course Content

The student will: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Respond appropriately to various rhetorical situations, purposes, and audiences Use writing and reading for inquiry, learning, thinking, and communicating Integrate original ideas with those of others Develop flexible strategies for generating, revising, editing, and proof-reading Use collaborative writing processes 6. Demonstrate knowledge of structure, paragraphing, tone, mechanics, syntax, grammar, and documentation * All writing assignments must be completed and evaluated in order for students to pass this course. Students will write a minimum of fifteen pages of creative writing assignments in the genres poetry and fiction. However, the idea of genre is changing. Experimenting in and out of a genre or form is encouraged. VI. Attendance Policy

Agencies granting financial assistance may be notified of the violation of the attendance policy by students receiving financial aid.
In an online class, eligibility for financial aid is based on student participation. Logging in to the course does not constitute participation. Examples of participation include, but are not limited to, posting to the discussion board, submitting an assignment, taking an assessment, or emailing the instructor about the course. Students who do not participate will not be able to collect financial aid for an online class.

Attendance is taken starting the first day of the semester, with the exception of students who enroll after classes have started. Teachers have the right to count students as absent if they arrive late to class, leave class early, or go in and out of the classroom during class time. Teachers have the right to lower a students grade based on excessive absences. Teachers have the right to enforce PTCs administrative drop policy for days of consecutive nonattendance. Such particulars as determined by the instructor are detailed in the paragraph below. Because this Introduction to Creative Writing is entirely online, your presence is graded on the amount of effort you spend both on submitting your own work, replying to writing prompts, discussions, queries, etc., and inspiring and reciprocating the same conduct in others. This course is YOUR CLASS. This course is your CLASSMATES CLASS. Creative involvement is the measure most important, with emphasis on your creative writing production. Presence is vital. Here are the specifics: A minimum requirement is participation online in increments close to what is required in a physical classroom. Even if you believe you are the most creative person on the planet, you have to participate online as proof. Because this Creative Writing I class is online and the environment is new to some of us, consider these rules valid by the second week of class.
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If days go by without your visible online presence, I will implement an administrative drop. .

VII.

Classroom Policies

The PTC Student Handbook rules and regulations will be enforced in this class at all times. Professional behavior is required. Punctual attendance and intelligent participation are expected. Particulars as determined by the instructor are detailed in the paragraph below. Show: Courtesy, Creativity, Construction Criticism, Conscience, Connection to all kinds. You are serious about exploring the vast nature of a creative existence. Appropriate behavior is expected for all communications, including any notes, email messages, or telephone conversations. Guidelines for communication will likely be added as the semester progresses. VIII. Grading

Letter grades will be based on the following scale: 90 to 100% 80 to 89% 70 to 79% 60 to 69% 0 to 59% A B C D F

15 to 20 pages solid creative writing showing strides toward bettering your stature as a writer. Grades are determined be such things as plagiarism (DONT DO IT), participation, attendance, peer editing, QUALITY WORK, etc. IX. Academic Integrity

It is expected that all students who attend PTC conduct themselves in a manner appropriate for the college experience. Academic integrity is a vital component of collegiate behavior. The PTC Student Handbook states, The gaining of knowledge and the practice of honesty go handin-hand. The handbook also states, The responsibility and authority of initiating discipline arising from violations of the rules against dishonesty during the process of the course are vested in the instructor of that course. The complete Academic Integrity Policy can be found in the PTC Student Handbook. THIS IS VITAL: NOTE: WHILE THIS APPLIES MORE TO COMP AND LIT CLASSES, THE PHILIPSOPHY REMAINS THE SAME. Plagiarism, a serious form of intellectual dishonesty, is defined as the use of ideas & phrases in the writings of others as ones own without crediting the source. Sources can include books, papers written by someone else, editorials, opinions, reference articles, or other media, including the Internet. Paraphrasing must be cited & credited as well. Credit must be given either internally in the text or in formal notes. Students who assist other students in acts of plagiarism and/or cheating, or who otherwise contribute to acts of intellectual dishonesty, such as providing a term paper, lab report, or other assignment paper for unauthorized use, are subject to appropriate penalties.
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So lets briefly review: you cannot, will not, better not Copy an essay or article from the Internet, on-line source, or electronic database without quoting or giving credit. Cut and paste from more than one source to create a paper without quoting or giving credit. Allow someone else to write the paper or do the work. Borrow words or ideas from other students or sources without giving credit. Fail to put quotation marks around the words of others. Fabricate a quotation or a source. Paraphrase and summarize poorly: changing a few words without changing the sentence structure of the original, changing the sentence structure but not the words, or using words from the original that are not part of one's vocabulary. Turn in a previously written essay that you wrote for another class. Regardless of intent, any paper that contains any form of plagiarism will earn a 0% for the assignment and, in cases of blatant academic dishonesty, an F for the course. Examples of blatant academic dishonesty, which is defined as an attempt to deceive, include: Submitting part or whole of material from the Internet as if it is the students original composition; Copying material from a source with no attempt at using quotation marks and/or documentation of the source; Paraphrasing material from a source with no attempt at documentation of the source; Recycling material from previous classes; Simultaneously using material from another class without the permission of both instructors involved; Buying papers; Letting others write part or all of a paper; and All other instances in which the student attempts to circumvent creating an original composition for that assignment and/or attempts to deceive the audience about the sources used when composing the assignment. Examples of accidental plagiarism, which is defined as sloppiness when working with sources, include: Word-for-word copying from a presented source without the use of quotation marks; Failure to acknowledge all quoted material from a presented source; Patchwork plagiarism; Paraphrase without documentation or with incomplete documentation; and All other instances in which the student, through carelessness with punctuation and/or documentation, fails to demonstrate good scholarship.

Students should review the information about plagiarism in textbooks and the Academic Integrity Policy in the PTC Student Handbook, as it is the students responsibility to demonstrate good scholarship in his or her writing. X. Accommodation Policy

Services for Students with Disabilities: PTC is committed to fulfilling all federal requirements as stated in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Accommodations are available to students who have documented disabilities. Students who
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request accommodations must register with the Coordinator of Disability Services in Counseling Services (501-812-2220 or www.pulaskitech.edu) prior to the semester of planned enrollment, and must provide recent documentation of medical, educational, and/or psychological records. Students who need accommodations should inform the instructor at the beginning of the course. Accommodations will only be provided if the instructor receives a letter of approved accommodations from the Coordinator of Disability Services. Failure to provide sufficient notification may result in a delay of services. XI. Course Evaluations

Students may be asked to evaluate their instructor and course near the end of the semester. These student evaluations are very important to the improvement in the quality of instruction and course materials. All results are anonymous and shared with the faculty only after the semester is over and grades have been posted. XII. Information Literacy

PTC is committed to the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education as established by the Association of College and Research Libraries and endorsed by the National Forum on Information Literacy. Therefore, all courses will incorporate an information literacy component so that, by graduation, all students will be able to recognize the need for information, then locate, evaluate, synthesize, and communicate information in an ethical manner. Information literacy encompasses critical thinking, research, media, technology, health, business, and visual literacy skills to produce lifelong learners who can make informed decisions in the workplace and in their personal lives. XIII. New Student Philosophy Statement Pulaski Technical College is committed to the academic, personal, and professional development of its students. The quality of the new student experience is critical to the achievement of the colleges mission and lays the foundation upon which future educational successes will be built. This commitment obligates the PTC community to cooperatively and intentionally structure programs, activities, and services to promote the success of new and returning students. XIV. Course Schedule/Course Content

NOTE: I am intent on challenge. Should there be material youd rather use as a Write with your eyes like painters, with your ears like musicians, with your feet like dancers. You are the truthsayer with quill and torch. Write with your tongues on fire. Gloria Anzaldua We cannot work in isolation, or in fear of other voices. --Adrienne Rich I have been in prison five years. I'm doing twenty-five years. I like poetry because I tell on myself... and it does something for me as a man.
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--Raymond Webster Poetry is not a luxury. It is a vital necessity of our existence. It forms the quality of the light within which we predicate our hopes and dreams toward survival and change, first made into language, then into idea, then into more tangible action. Poetry is the way we help give name to the nameless so it can be thought. - Audre Lorde The deepest secret in our heart of hearts is that we are writing because we love the world. --Natalie Goldberg The world is made of water.Parmenides ADD YOUR OWN QUOTATIONS.

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES and ASSIGNMENTS: Students who successfully complete "Introduction to Creative Writing" will be able to demonstrate skills and knowledge of the craft of creative writing, social action as it applies to creative writing, the writing process, interdisciplinary art, presentation and distribution of original writing, and group production and involvement. 1. Craft: Understand the basic elements of craft as they apply to the genres of poetry and the short story, with sense of respect and departure from form that might be considered normal. Learn the process of revision. Write, at an introductory undergraduate level, creative non-fiction (life story, memoir) poetry, and short story. Develop a sense of what constitutes strong writing, by critiquing your own and others work. Produce a portfolio of original creative writings. Assignments: Write and re-write 20 pages as mixed anthology as one autobiography/life-story, one poem, one short story, and one response to a social issue that came up during the semester (any genre), OR as anthology after consultation with your instructor. Read assigned poetry and short stories (as appearing on Blackboard) of established poets and writers, and actively discuss craft. Participate actively and thoughtfully in the workshop process (as online discussion): read with attention and offer constructive written comments. Make appointments with instructor, as needed, to discuss writing. Documentation of craft: Hand in a portfolio of writings: keep electronic copies (in a folder) of the writing you submit to class, along with my comments and collected discussion threads. However, there is no need to become A.D.D. about it. The CREATIVE WRITING I course letter grade at the end of the semester will be based, in addition to progress made during the three months, on evidence of your serous-minded creative process. The required Portfolio as a 20-page collection of your finest writing will essentially be your semester grade. 3. Writing Process: a. Learn what roadblocks silence you in the writing process and remove them.
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b. C

Recognize, implement, and sustain your creative writing process. Learn what you want to write about and write it, in poetry, short story, and other genres.

Discover and write in your "authentic voice" -- "What you hear when no one is listening." (Adrienne Rich) Assignments: Read suggested samples of writing, as assigned Actively participate in class discussions. Make appointment and discuss with instructor. Apply to your own writing. Documentation: Keep a journal of your writing process throughout the semester. This is for your eyes only. After portfolio is completed at the end of the semester, write and hand in an analysis of your writing process, and reflect on what you've learned. 4. Interdisciplinarity: Understand interdisciplinarity as enhancement of your writings. Assignment and Documentation: Produce an original visual representation of your writings. 5. Presentation and Distribution, in the context of Group Production and Involvement: Develop presentation and distribution skills. Learn and practice sensitivity, thoughtfulness, and respect for group partners. Learn to produce, collaboratively. THIS IS A BEST-CASE SCENARIO: Group production and involvement: Present your original writing and art to a diverse public audience, in an end-of semester public reading. Produce a collaborative witness of what came out of the CREATIVE WRITING class, incorporating writings and visuals from students.

NOTES:

1. ANY adjustments to the syllabus and a students requirements will be communicated in

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. a professional manner. The lines of communication must remain OPEN, in case there is need for changes. DO NOT BE RESISTANT to what you THINK is a lot of work. Expect your Creative Writing experience to be challenging and engaging and a motivation to write well. Expect your Creative Writing experience to come to a close with you being prepared to do well in the next level. Expect your Creative Writing experience to be strong enough to motivate you to SUBMIT.

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XV. Week 1 Aug 15 21

Course Schedule/Course Content

Assignment/Activity What can happen in minutes? Nineteen minutes related videos: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Nineteen+minutes&aq=f 4 minutes youtube results: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=4+minutes&aq=0 Vier Minuten: http://youtu.be/duHGXK1PZEM Under what circumstances would you ask, Take me on? http://youtu.be/djV11Xbc914 Have you ever misheard lyrics? http://youtu.be/4Bg9M_GjqVg This semester is a lot about reading, observing, brainstorming and WRITING. Here is a song Sea Lion Woman by two distinctly stylish women: http://youtu.be/1l7xfuu8ja8

http://youtu.be/xfMp6zcmcFw You never know what idea will lead to the next new or reclaimed idea. Can you conjure up a story or poem to songs, e.g. Lykke Li > http://www.youtube.com/user/lykkelivideos. Lykke Li also acts. Imagine your interpretation on Sadness Is a Blessing > http://youtu.be/Xu-b3u5jDiU.
THEME: WRITERS ON WHY I WRITE JOAN DIDION Excerpt from Why I Write NYT Magazine, 12.05.1976: http://www.idiom.com/~rick/html/why_i_write.htm Joan Didion on Keeping a Notebook: http://www.h-ngm-n.com/storage/didion%20-%20on%20keeping%20a %20notebook.pdf Joan Didion > When Everything Changes > Joan Didion on Losing Husband John Dunne and Daughter Quintana Roo > http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/books/14633/ Look up Didions works: Slouching Towards Bethlehem, The White Album, and The Year o f Magical Thinking. George Orwell, Why I Write: http://orwell.ru/library/essays/wiw/english/e_wiw NATALIE GOLDBERG On writing as practice a priori http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIxFxB2MVMY Writing process: Natalie Goldberg - Old Friend from Far Away - Book Video http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=e17SIiSRIwY Pen and Notebook: http://smokelong.com/flash/8016.asp How to generate ideas and with ease: Zen power writing: http://writetodone.com/2008/04/20/zen-powerwriting-15-tips-on-how-to-generate-ideas-and-write-with-ease/ SEMESTER-LONG ASSIGNMENT: SUBMIT AND PARTICIPATE ONLINE. Consider the collaborative journal idea: http://www.1000journalsfilm.com/ Think experiment: http://www.youtube.com/user/1000journals Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1d_Bp8ogbw 1000 Journals Project http://www.1000journals.com/index.php?view=Journals%2FIndex THIS WEEK IS ABOUT THE WRITERS BRUSH PROMPT: Create in any genre a work about how seeing an image (or series) makes an impact that compels you to write. http://www.writingfix.com/Classroom_Tools/Writers_Notebooks.htm Writing Prompts: For Writer's Notebooks twenty-eight lessons to inspire originality in your classroom's writer's notebooks
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2 AUG 22 28

3 AUG 29 SEP 4

______________________________________________________________________________ THE WRITERS BRUSH Donald Friedman > http://www.donaldfriedman.com/ http://www.anitashapolskygallery.com/past_exhibits_writers.html Anita Shapolsky Gallery: Exceptional images http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/16/sunday/main3623529.shtml CBS Summary http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/books/review/Cohen-t.html NYT Review http://www.thewritersbrush.com/praise.htm Promotional media http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en-us&um=1&q=the+writer %27s+brush&sa=N&start=20&ndsp=20 Images galore

An Illustrated Life by Danny Gregory: a Preview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odpf_PcXJZo More Danny Gregory http://www.youtube.com/user/DannyGregory Danny Gregorys Blog http://www.dannygregory.com/ Yorkshire: Richard Bell & Danny Gregory (Parts 1& 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxBPwhkhuBs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1hvQsXLSk0

NICK BANTOCK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7EKfz94kCo

4 SEP 5 - 11

The Illusion of Openness PROMPT. Mimic a short story below (or your choice) in your own writing. A good imitation is the best compliment to a writer or performance. ForaTv is an site: http://www.youtube.com/user/ForaTv Joyce Carol Oates On Writing Characters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgJ809QKmas

5 SEP 1218

"All My Poems Are Love Poems": When Two Poets Fall In Love >
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19458 Donald Hall http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/264 & Jane Kenyon
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http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/361 Life at Eagle Pond: The Poetry of Jane Kenyon and Donald Hall http://www.library.unh.edu/special/index.php/exhibits/jane-kenyon-and-donald-hall Ted Berrigan http://writing.upenn.edu/pennsound/x/Berrigan.php & Alice Notley http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/767 GIVE SOME THOUGHT ABOUT THIS CONCEPT AS A CLASS ACT: The McSweeneys Book of POETS PICKING POETS http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review?oid=oid%3A475802 When poetry was all the rage, think Lower East Side: 6 SEP 19 25

ALL POETS WELCOME: TH E LOWER EAST SIDE POETS POETRY SCENE IN THE 1960S Daniel Kan, ed., with CD, 2003. http://tiny.cc/666UU

A SECRET LOCATION ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE: ADVENTURES IN WRITING, 1960 1980, eds. Steven Clay and Rodney Philips, 1998. http://tiny.cc/dNx2K O TO 9: THE COMPLETE MAGAZINE: 1967-1969, eds. Vito Acconci & Bernadette Mayer http://www.artbook.com/1933254203.html

PROMPT: Prepare and submit as a sequence your short fiction or poems or a mixture 7 Imagine subjecting Miltons Paradise Lost to manual erasure. Think radi os, Donald Johnson. SEP http://saysomethingwonderful.blogspot.com/2005/04/poems-to-know-radi-os.html 26 WACK: Pure kicks: Suggest a required book on a class syllabus youd love to submit to the erasure OCT2 experiment. THIS WEEK IS ABOUT: Saints of Hysteria: A Half-Century of Collaborative American Poetry http://www.softskull.com/detailedbook.php?isbn=1-933368-18-7 Silliman Commentary: http://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2007/06/great-idea-badly-executed-can-be-much.html

8 OCT 3-9

9 OCT 10 16

WOMEN POETS ON MENTORSHIP: http://www.womenpoetsonmentorship.com/ Contents: http://www.womenpoetsonmentorship.com/toc.htm Do you have a mentor? Or muse? Try to locate resources about male poets on mentorship. Collaborations Lyn Hejinian and Emilie Clark: Unexpected Art http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5928 Jenny Factor -West Coast Correspondent http://thebestamericanpoetry.typepad.com/the_best_american_poetry/jenny_factor_west_coast_correspondent/ Gertrude Stein & Alice B, Toklas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FasbBkzbnNE An excellent source as prompts: Tender Buttons http://www.bartleby.com/140/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjRXUqS-PsQ
10 OCT 17 23 11 OCT 24 USE THIS WEEK TO CATCH UP ON YOUR OWN. SHARE ON BLACKBOARD.

Mary Ruefle http://maryruefle.com/ Lunch Poems Mary Ruefle Reading http://youtu.be/ZDWUUyUB-Wg

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Notice other related videos. LITTLE WHITE SHADOW: http://www.octopusmagazine.com/issue08/reviews/cynthia_arrieu_king_ruefle.htm WRITING PROMPT: Choose a longer piece you wrote. Randomly erase words or phrases and see what happens. WRITING PROMPT: Open the nearest book to you. Open it to page 55. Write down sentence seven. PARIS WAS A WOMAN Romaine Brooks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfurgtbOCyA

12 OCT 31 NOV 6

Natalie Barney http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIEjchr3FKg

THE BODY ELECTRIC Walt Whitman, I Sing the Body Electric: http://bartleby.com/142/19.html Twilight Zone Episode (1962): I Sing the Body Electric http://www.fancast.com/tv/The-Twilight-Zone/97525/662965590/The-Twilight-Zone-(12-hr)---I-Sing-The-BodyElectric/videos Rush song, The Body Electric: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1vy1g_rush-the-body-electric_music The Electric Grandmother (clip): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrZEdqBGDC4

13 NOV 7-13

14 NOV 14-20 15 NOV 21-27

KEEP WRITING and SHARING and PARTICIPATING in your ONLINE CLASS.

KEEP WRITING and SHARING and PARTICIPATING in your ONLINE CLASS.

16 NOV 25 = DEC 4

This week is about polishing your Portfolios. DEC 3 LAST DAY CLASS. Id like to have your PORTFOLIOS as early as Dec 4. You have BETWEEN DEC. 4 UNTIL DEC 10 to submit your PORTFOLIOS to me. You
need to SUBMIT AS HARD COPY or ELECTRONICALLY, via READABLE EMAIL ATTACHMENTS.. This requires you to see to it your printed PORTFOLIO is delivered to the BLDG. A OFFICE. Be sure your name is on your work, so the person in charge can deliver it to my mailbox. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK ELECTRONICALLY.

Final Exam Schedule: The Portfolio will be your Final Grade.

Disclaimer: This schedule is a guide for the semester. The instructor reserves the right to amend the schedule as necessary.
XVI. Grading Criteria

Grading Criteria is based on a students conscientious work to improve on their pursuit of their
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creativity in general, and creative writing, in particular. *Please note: Regardless of intent, any paper that contains any form of plagiarism will earn a 0% for the assignment and, in cases of blatant academic dishonesty, an F for the course. Examples of blatant academic dishonesty, which is defined as an attempt to deceive, include submitting part or whole of material from the Internet as if it is the students original composition; copying material from a source with no attempt at using quotation marks and/or documentation of the source; paraphrasing material from a source with no attempt at documentation of the source; recycling material from previous classes; simultaneously using material from another class without the permission of both instructors involved; buying papers; letting others write part or all of a paper; and all other instances in which the student attempts to circumvent creating an original composition for that assignment and/or attempts to deceive the audience about the sources used when composing the assignment. Examples of accidental plagiarism, which is defined as sloppiness when working with sources, include word-for-word copying from a presented source without the use of quotation marks; failure to acknowledge all quoted material from a presented source; patchwork plagiarism; paraphrase without documentation or with incomplete documentation; and all other instances in which the student, through carelessness with punctuation and/or documentation, fails to demonstrate good scholarship. Students should review the information about plagiarism in textbooks and the Academic Integrity Policy in the PTC Student Handbook, as it is the students responsibility to demonstrate good scholarship in his or her writing. Last updated 8/5/2009

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XVII.

Course Agreement Form

Read, complete, and return to instructor: I have read the course syllabus for MEL BERNING CREATIVE WRITING 1 class at Pulaski Technical College, and I understand its content. I also understand the rules for the class, and I will follow and abide by these rules, including those relating to attendance, assignments, grading criteria, plagiarism, and behavior. Date Print name Signature Email address Telephone

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