|
|
|
|
 :  :  :  :  :  |
 |
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Fall 2004 Advance Course Information This information effective for Fall 2004. Check with instructor the first day of class for any changes. [AMST-002] 2. California and the CaliforniansLectures (Classroom Unit 2), TTh 8:00-9:45 AM
Course Description This course is an introduction to American Studies. It grounds its approach to its subject in historical narrative, but ranges widely through literature, architecture, film, photography, autobiography, travel writing, and varieties of popular culture. The emphasis throughout is on diversity-of people, of places, and of approaches to them. It is the goal of the course to bring students to an enhanced understanding of California and its place in the larger world. Attendance is required at all lectures and film screenings. The roll will be taken. More than two unexcused absences from required meetings will be grounds for a No Record in the course. Assigned reading must be completed on time. There will be frequent quizzes. Each student will be assigned a Teaching Assistant. The TAs will be responsible for monitoring attendance, evaluating written work, grading examinations, and meeting with students at regular office hours. Get to know your TA! There are three required essays. The first essay, of 2 pages (500 words), will be due on Tuesday, October 12. The second essay, of 3 pages (750 words), will be due on Tuesday, November 9. The final essay, of 5 pages (1,250 words), will be due on Thursday, December 2. The final examination is scheduled for Wednesday, December 8, at 8:00-11:00 AM, in Classroom Unit 2. The following texts are required reading for the course. The books are on sale at the Literary Guillotine, at 204 Locust Street in downtown Santa Cruz. The course reader is on sale at the Bay Tree Bookstore.
********** American Studies 2 Write a 2-page (no more than 500 word) essay on the topic "My California." Reflect in your essay on what California means to you. How does the state figure in your background? Are you a first generation Californian? Were your parents? Your grandparents? What brought you here? Were expectations met, or was California a letdown? What's your hometown like? What has it meant to you? Is it a "typical" California sort of place? How did your experience there prepare you for college? What do you like about California? What do you dislike? Do you think of California as a place of opportunity? In what sense is it your "home"? Do you plan to stay? Is it a good place to raise children? You cannot answer all of these questions, or all of the other questions one might reasonably ask about your sense of California. Are these the most relevant questions about your California? Think about it. As you ruminate on your life in this place, try to identify the most important elements in your experience. What kinds of feelings attach to those leading memories? In developing your ideas, try to be as concrete as possible. The point here is not to capture some generally accepted view of California, but rather to articulate in a clear and coherent way what the place has meant in particular to you. You may of course bring your family into the picture; but you may also find that other elements—school, friends, vacations, music and art, literature—are more expressive of your personal sense of things. Whatever the case, be sure to focus your discussion clearly right from the start. Strive for lucidity and economy in your writing. Revise. Check all spelling and typing (papers must be typed and double-spaced). If you need help, ask for it. The essay is due on Tuesday October 12. Please do not send essays by
e-mail. ********** American Studies 2 Write an essay of 3 pages (no more than 750 words) in which you analyze
a "text" relevant to our study of California. A "text"
may of course be a literary work, but other forms of art, film, and architecture
will serve just as well. Your task is to set out a reasoned and coherent
interpretation of your text. It is not enough to describe the object of
study. Rather, you must try to draw out its meaning or meanings, paying
attention, as necessary, to the text's point of view, tone, structural
features, implied audience, social and political trajectories, historical
and biographical context, and so on. An essay on Steinbeck's "The
Red Pony," for example, would probably give attention to the values
that attach to owning and raising a pony, to class, race, gender, and
generational tensions, and to the significance of the term "westering."
An essay on the Golden Gate Bridge, by contrast, would almost inevitably
turn to such matters as the historical context in which the bridge was
planned and constructed, the values and aspirations emergent from that
process, and the ways in which the bridge has been meaningful to those
who live in or visit San Francisco. You are encouraged to undertake research
on your text if you feel it will be an aid to understanding. Develop your
ideas in a clear and coherent way, taking care when possible to ground
your main points in the analysis of details. Be sure to focus your discussion
clearly and right from the start. Strive for lucidity and economy in your
writing. Revise. Check all spelling and typing (papers must be typed and
double-spaced). You may select your text from the materials of the course. I can imagine
fine essays on many of the writers represented in the reader, on West
or Muir, or on any number of California authors. You may also draw from
our schedule of films, or from others that seem particularly relevant.
Architecture (Hearst Castle, Cowell College, the Bradbury Building, Watts
Towers, Hoover Dam, Kresge College, domestic design by Maybeck, Greene
and Greene, Morgan, and many others) is also perfectly suitable. I encourage
you to get started as soon as possible. Once you have a text in mind,
talk it over with your TA, giving special attention to possible lines
of analysis. The essay is due on Tuesday, November 9. Please do not send essays by
e-mail. ********** American Studies 2 Write an essay of 5 pages (no more than 1,250 words) on a topic of your
own choosing. Topics may range widely across the history and culture of
California. You may write on specific historical events or periods, on
the lives of famous and not-so-famous people, on art, architecture, literature,
film, music, sport-to mention only the more obvious possibilities. Select
a topic that interests you, and that you want to know more about. Write
on something that you have not already covered in your earlier papers
for the course. If research will make your essay stronger, do some. When
you have decided on a topic, clear it with your TA (preferably by sending
a brief description by e-mail). If you want help with your writing, visit
your TA during office hours. Be sure to develop your ideas in a clear
and coherent way. Strive for lucidity and economy in your writing. Check
all spelling and typing for errors (papers must be typed and double-spaced).
Final essays are due on Thursday, December 2. Please do not send essays
by e-mail. |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home : Publications and Scheduling : Enrollment : Fees : Transcripts : Special Programs : Graduation |  |
 To
print this page in its entirety, set your printer preferences to 'landscape' |
 |
