FALL 2025: FYS 161 – 11/First Year Seminar: Why Study Literature?

FYS `161 – 11 1 course unit no prerequisites Term: Fall 2025 Time: 3:30-4:50pm TF Room: Bliss Annex 147

Prof. Glenn Steinberg Office: Bliss Hall 216 Office Phone: 771-2106 Office Hours: 2-5:30pm on Mondays or by appointment E-mail: gsteinbe@tcnj.edu

TEXTBOOKS:

• • Cormac McCarthy, The Road (Vintage, 2006), ISBN 9780307387899
  • Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye (Vintage, 1998), ISBN 9780307278449
  • at least one month’s subscription to Viki PASS

COURSE DESCRIPTION.  As the cornerstone of the College’s Liberal Learning Program, the First-Year Seminar is designed to provide all first-year students with an intellectually exciting and challenging experience. Each seminar is designed around a topic selected for its special interest by an individual professor.  Students are encouraged to use the First-Year Seminar to deepen their current interests or to explore new academic opportunities while developing critical thinking skills that will apply to other course work. Each seminar is limited to about 18 students, is writing intensive, and demands the active participation of all students. Limited to first-year students; does not fulfill major requirements.

In this seminar (on “Why Study Literature?”), we begin by briefly examining current criticisms of literary studies as a discipline – its perceived impracticality, its supposed inappropriateness as career preparation, and its alleged politicization and subjection to identity politics. Then we look more specifically at what literary scholars actually do when they study literature, reading some literary theory on how reading works (Peter Rabinowitz), how language works (Jacques Derrida), how gender works (Judith Butler), how culture works (Clifford Geertz), and how ideology works (Louis Althusser). We read a couple literary texts (The Road by Cormac McCarthy and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison) to practice the application of these theories. Finally, we use the theories and skills of literary studies to analyze real-world media (such as film, advertising, social media, video games, websites, memes, YouTube videos, K-dramas, and theme parks). In the process, we answer the question of why the study of literature is useful — even crucial — in our world.

When the College went through a curriculum revision several years ago, the vast majority of undergraduate courses were “transformed” from 3-credit to 4-credit (1-unit) learning experiences.  While most of the classes continued to meet for only 3 academic hours per week, it was understood that the “transformed” courses offered a depth of learning with additional learning tasks unfolding in the equivalent of a fourth hour, including, sometimes, an actual additional hour of class interaction.  As the equivalent of the fourth hour in this course,

F) students are assigned additional learning tasks that make the semester’s learning experience more deeply engaged and rigorous, and no other additional classroom space is needed.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND EXPECTATIONS.  The principal learning activities in this course are reading, writing, and discussion.  The readings that I have chosen to assign to you are the foundation of your learning.  If you do not do the readings, you miss out on that foundation, so keeping up with the readings is absolutely essential.  Some readings for class are not traditional readings at all but TV shows, websites, or other media that you are to watch or explore.  These “readings” are just as important as the more traditional readings taken from printed texts.

Upon the foundation of the class’s readings, you build by writing response papers, which are more about writing-to-learn than writing-as-assessment.  Response papers are a safe, low-stress space for you to try out ideas, increase your understanding of concepts, and improve your retention of what you’re learning.  By writing, you reinforce and expand the learning that you’re gaining from your reading.  But in order for response papers to serve this function (to help you think through the readings to increase understanding and deepen learning), you need to actually write them yourself.  Using generative AI to write them defeats the purpose.  For this reason, you are not allowed to use generative AI of any kind for any assistance with the writing of your response papers – not for brainstorming, not for the actual writing, not even for checking grammar and punctuation.  If I suspect in the slightest that you have used AI to write a response paper, I will fail the response paper – no appeals or arguments.  This means that any response paper will fail that includes “hallucinations” (errors concerning the facts, plot, characters, or words of the reading assignment), that is excessively vague and general, or that exhibits a sophistication that you have not shown me in class to be within your wheelhouse.

Building on your reading and writing, discussion is also very important for your learning in this class.  In general, my approach to class discussion is to begin by posing a question or topic, then to have us brainstorm lots of ideas together in response to the opening question/topic, then to move to evaluating the ideas that we’ve brainstormed, and finally to come to a consensus, as a class, about the best answers/conclusions to the opening question/topic.  Your input to the discussion is absolutely critical.  Even if you’re shy and hate to speak up in class, we need your ideas in the mix.  Everyone has a different perspective, and if you don’t speak up, we miss out on yours.  Even though I may have taught the materials in this class many, many times before, no two classes have ever had exactly the same discussion about them.  Different classes come up with different ideas, arrive at different conclusions, offer different perspectives.  As the professor, I’m not looking for one idea or one conclusion or one perspective in particular.  I want us to think things through together – to throw out as many ideas as possible, to test and evaluate those ideas against the evidence of the material in front of us, and to draw the best conclusions that we can.  We all learn so much by working together in a free and open discussion to answer a question or explore a topic.  I learn so much from you, and you learn so much from each other.  But this means that our class discussions always depend on your preparedness (how thoroughly and thoughtfully you’ve done your assigned homework) and on your participation (how willing you are to take risks, to brainstorm, and to share ideas – even when your ideas are only half-baked).  I can’t make a good discussion happen.  Only you all can do that.  I can work to create a classroom space that feels safe for you and pose provocative questions for us to discuss, but a good discussion – along with the incredible learning that comes from a good discussion – only happens if you all come to class prepared and willing to join in.

GOALS.  The assignments and activities in this course are designed to help students progress in terms of the following goals:

1. 1. Students will grow ever more responsible for and independent in their own learning.
   2. Students will become more intellectually curious.
   3. Students will become more confident engaging in ongoing conversations regarding questions, controversies, and differing points of view.
   4. Students will improve their ability to share their ideas effectively in discussions and oral presentations.
   5. Students will be able to respectfully give and receive constructive criticism.
   6. Students will find, evaluate, and use reliable information to support their ideas.
   7. Students will be able to write for a specific audience, with a specific purpose.
   8. Students will be able to write rhetorically effective and well-structured arguments with clear thesis statements which accurately forecast the paper.
   9. Students will be able to apply feedback received on writing to revise all elements of an argument, from its organization and logic to its paragraph unity and coherence.
   10. Students will be able to offer tactful and productive feedback to others on their written arguments.

REQUIREMENTS.  For this course, you must complete the following graded assignments:

1. 1. eight two-page response papers (together worth 10% of your final grade),
   2. a midterm exam (10% of your final grade),
   3. a cumulative, comprehensive final exam (15%),
   4. a group project of leading class discussion for one class meeting (15%),
   5. ESSAY 1 (10%),
   6. ESSAY 2 (20%), and
   7. ESSAY 3 (20%).

Your final grade will be based on the following scale:  A = 93%-100%, A- = 90%-92%, B+ = 87%-89%, B = 83%-86%, B- = 80%-82%, C+ = 77%-79%, C = 73%-76%, C- = 70%-72%, D+ = 67%-69%, D = 60%-66%, and F = below 60%.  This scale is absolute.  Because the response papers are in a sense a form of extra credit built into this course from the start, I do not give extra credit at the end of the semester to help students raise their grade even a whisker.  So, even if, at the end of the semester, you are just .0001 points away from an A-, your final grade will be a B+.

RESPONSE PAPERS.  In the course of the term, you are required to submit eight short, informal papers (about 2 pages each) on the assignments for class.  You may choose for which days you want to write a response paper, as long as you have completed eight response papers by the end of the term.  You must, however, submit at least one response paper before the midterm exam.  If you have not submitted at least one response paper by then, you will receive a zero for one of your eight response papers that you cannot make up (and you will immediately see how not doing just one response paper negatively affects your final grade).

For each response paper, choose one of the following topics and analyze the assignment for the day with respect to the topic you’ve chosen:

1. 1. Interpellation.  How does the assignment interpellate its audience as a subject?  What kind of individual does the assignment hail (and recruit)?  What clues exist in the assignment about the type of subject it is hailing?  How does the assignment hail/appeal to/recruit that audience specifically?  Into what kind of ideology does the assignment hail (and recruit) its audience?  What world view, identity, and material behavior does the assignment expect/demand of the audience?  In what rituals, practices, or ideological apparatuses does the assignment hail its audience to participate?
   2. Gender Performance.  How does the assignment portray the performance of gender?  In what ways is gender portrayed as natural and essential rather than performative and socially determined?  In what ways is the reverse true?  Where is gender fluid or performative in nature?  How do the characters “do” their gender?  How much room for individual interpretation is allowed in gender performances?  What makes a good or bad performance?  How are characters punished (or rewarded) for doing their gender wrong (or right)?
   3. Deconstruction. Where does the assignment seem to intentionally deconstruct itself?  Where does it seem to unintentionally deconstruct?  How is meaning deferred by the assignment’s language?  What traces of différance defer and destabilize meaning?  Where does the assignment’s language deconstruct its attempts to stabilize meaning?  What does the assignment try (but fail) to hide through its language?
   4. Convention. How is the assignment like an unassembled swing set?  What instructions are in the assignment itself and what tools does the audience need outside it to assemble the swing set properly?  Where does the audience need to start as their point of departure for interpretation?  Is there more than one potential point of departure that works?  What are the conventional limitations on choice for the author/creator in creating and for the audience in interpreting?  What does the author/creator assume about the audience?  How do rules of notice, signification, and configuration apply to the assignment?
   5. Thick Description.  How is the assignment a wink, a parody, or a rehearsal rather than just a twitch?  How do we construe its meaning?  What is the cultural context that gives it intelligibility and accessibility? How does it fit into the curve of a social discourse?  What are its structures of signification and its social ground and import?

You should submit each response paper by “sharing” it with me as a Google Doc before class on the assigned day.  Be sure to grant me “editing” or “commenting” status when you share the Google Doc with me (so that I can comment directly on the paper).  Please note that, when you do a response paper, you are writing about the assignment for the day on which you’re submitting the paper. So, you’re writing about the assignment before we discuss it in class and submitting the paper before the class meeting for which that assignment is assigned. You can’t submit a response paper about a past day’s assignment.

The purpose of the response papers is

1. 1. to help you in your preparation for class discussion,
   2. to allow you to try out new and different ideas in a safe, low-stress space,
   3. to help me see where you’re struggling with the concepts and assignments in class,
   4. to help you reinforce and expand on what you’re learning in class, and
   5. to help you develop your intellectual independence and confidence.

Response papers are graded Pass/Fail, so they need not be a perfect, polished product (and you should not use AI assistants, such as Grammerly, to polish them).  Rather, response papers should be just what their name says – a response.  Think about one of the topics  that I have asked you to consider; then write a response.  Don’t worry about typos or comma splices or organization.  Don’t worry about answering every question I ask under a particular topic.  In fact, focus on the one question that seems most interesting to you, and be as specific as you can, getting down as much as you can, as quickly as you can.  Treat response papers more like a journal entry than like a formal paper.  I don’t want a five-paragraph theme.  Rather, I want an exploration – as detailed and specific as possible – of the assignment for the day.  But don’t focus too narrowly on just one scene or passage or page or image from the assignment.  Try to generalize about the assignment and then look at specific examples from all over to support your generalization.

Normally, as long as you submit a response paper of suitable length, detail, and thoughtfulness (and as long as you submit it before class on the assigned day), you will receive all the points that the response paper is worth.  You may submit more than eight response papers in the course of the semester (to make up for any response papers that do not pass), but no matter how many extra response papers you turn in, you will not receive credit for more than eight total.  You may not submit more than one response paper for a single day’s assignment, nor may you submit a response paper for a day that you are absent from class.  But you may submit more than one response paper on the same novel or TV series or website if there are multiple assignments spread over multiple days for that novel/series/site.  The response papers should then each be on a different assignment from a different day.

NOTE: At the start of the semester, we read essays by five theorists (Geertz, Butler, Althusser, Rabinowitz, and Derrida).  The ideas of these theorists are the foundation of the response paper topics above.  You may not write response papers about these theorists’ essays.  In your response papers, you should be applying the ideas from the essays to the literary texts, TV series, websites, and other media assigned to you – NEVER to the theorists themselves or their essays.  Also, you may not submit a response paper for a day without a specific homework assignment for class (e.g., exam days or the days that essays are due), but you may submit response papers on the days that groups are making the assignment for class and leading class discussion.

ALSO NOTE: Even if you do not submit a response paper on a particular day, you should still come to class prepared to discuss the response paper topics in relation to the assignment for the day, since we will focus on these topics in our in-class discussions all semester.  In other words, the response paper topics above are a great guide for your class prep and studying every day, even when you’re not writing a response paper.

EXAMS.  The exams in this course are an assessment of how well you have learned, understood, and retained the material in class.  The exams assess your retention of important character names, settings, critical terms, and concepts by asking you to identify and describe them.  They also ask you to consider important passages, scenes, and examples that we discussed in class and explain what we learned from them.  Finally, the exams offer you the opportunity to draw together the different strands of what you’ve been learning in class in an essay that asks you to look broadly at overarching themes and ideas over the whole semester.

ESSAYS. The specific assignment for each of your three essays follows below, but there are a few things that are true for all the essays.

First, you need not use any outside sources for any of your essays other than the story, TV series, or website that is the focus of the essay assignment.  In fact, I would encourage you not to use other sources (because I’d rather hear what you think than what some published scholar, online blogger, or AI thinks).  But if you do use any other sources (whether scholarly, online, or AI) for ANYTHING (an idea, a piece of background information, an overall perspective, a phrase or wording, a grammar check), be sure to cite and document those sources appropriately (in notes or with a “Works Cited” page).  If you use AI to assist you in any way on an essay, explain how you used it IN DETAIL in a note at the end of your paper.  If you fail to cite sources or AI that you used, you are violating academic integrity.  You do not need notes or a “Works Cited” page just for the story, TV series, or website that is your focus if that’s the only source that you’re using.  Just cite page numbers (for stories), episode and time (for TV series), or URLs (for web pages) in parentheses at the end of your sentence.

Second, all three essays will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. 1. Does the paper have a clear, specific thesis?  Does the thesis offer an interesting perspective or “hook” that is provocative without being gimmicky or offensive?
   2. Does the paper’s analysis progress logically?  Does the paper have a clear and consistent overall organization that relates all the ideas of the paper together in support of the thesis with appropriate transitions to aid the reader (rather than simply a list of random ideas without relation to one another or to the thesis)?  Does the paper have appropriate transitions to aid the reader in following the paper’s logic (rather than weak transitions like “The first…,” “Another…,” and “…also…”)?
   3. Are the paper’s paragraphs properly developed – neither too long and broad nor too short and skimpy?  Are the topics of the individual paragraphs suitably narrow and focused on a single claim rather than vague and general?  Once a paragraph gets specific about anything, does it stay focused on that one thing to the end?
   4. Does the paper provide relevant, concrete evidence and logically persuasive reasons for every assertion?
   5. Does the paper exhibit confidence and insight when analyzing material never discussed in class?
   6. Does the introduction to the paper offer an interesting, helpful preview of the content, logic, and organization of the paper?
   7. Is factual information in the paper accurate?
   8. Is the writing in the paper clear, effective, and appropriate to an academic setting?

Third, you have the option (encouraged but not required), before each essay is due, to submit a thesis paragraph (a draft of the first paragraph of your paper or just a paragraph that describes what you plan to write about) by “sharing” it with me as a Google Doc (making sure to give me “editing” or “commenting” status, so that I can comment directly on your paragraph).  If you do so by the dates noted in the course schedule below, I will give you feedback on your proposed thesis.  If you submit a thesis paragraph later than the date noted in the course schedule, I will try to get you feedback and will do so as quickly as possible, but I cannot guarantee that it will be fast enough to be of use to you before the essay itself is due.

Finally, you have the option (encouraged but not required) to revise one of your essays for a new grade.  The revision will be due on the date indicated for “optional revisions” in the course schedule below.  Your revision should take into account the feedback that you received on the original essay and should be substantive (rather than simply superficial and cosmetic).  Whatever grade the revision earns will totally replace your original grade for the essay – whether the revision’s grade is better or worse than the original grade.  Note that the higher your original grade, the harder it is to improve the essay enough to earn a better grade.  There is just less to improve upon to start, and the issues that keep an A- or a B+ essay from getting an A are usually pretty difficult to resolve in just a short time.  On the other hand, a C paper is easier to improve upon (more to improve upon from the start and often much less complicated issues to address), but it’s never very likely that a paper will be able to improve from a C to an A in just one revision – so keep your expectations reasonable to avoid disappointment.

ESSAY 1. Read “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner (available in Canvas under “Files”).  Choose one of the response paper topics.  In a paper of 3-5 pages, argue a clear, specific, interesting thesis about “A Rose for Emily” based on your chosen response paper topic.  You cannot – and should not try to – say everything that you think about the story.  Instead, distill your thoughts into a clear, specific thesis, focused very narrowly on one concrete claim about the story that you are arguing in your paper.

ESSAY 2.  Watch the South Korean TV series Summer Strike (2022), starring Im Si-wan and Kim Seol-hyun (available in Viki).  Choose one of the response paper topics.  In a paper of 3-5 pages, argue a clear, specific, interesting thesis about Summer Strike based on your chosen response paper topic.  You cannot – and should not try to – say everything that you think about the show.  Instead, distill your thoughts into a clear, specific thesis, focused very narrowly on one concrete claim about the show that you are arguing in your paper.

ESSAY 3. Explore the websites at https://www.ncl.com/ and https://www.ritzcarltonyachtcollection.com/.  Choose one of the response paper topics.  In a paper of 3-5 pages, argue a clear, specific, interesting thesis about the websites based on your chosen response paper topic.  You cannot – and should not try to – say everything that you think about the websites.  Instead, distill your thoughts into a clear, specific thesis, focused very narrowly on one concrete claim about the websites that you are arguing in your paper.

GROUP PROJECT. About halfway through the semester, I will randomly assign you to groups in Canvas, and each group will lead class discussion for one class meeting in the last couple weeks of the semester.  The groups will choose, as the topic of their class meeting, a kind of text, experience, or artifact that we have not covered in class before (e.g., film, advertising, social media, video games, corporate websites, memes, podcasts, theme parks).  The groups will research their chosen topic, deciding which specific examples would be most important or interesting for their classmates to discuss.  Based on their research, the groups will determine the assignment for the class meeting on which they will lead class discussion.  They will send the assignment to their classmates via Canvas at least one week before the day that they will lead class. Keep in mind that your assignment must be easily accessible to all your classmates (and to your professor), so don’t choose something that is only available to those who have subscribed to a particular service, own a specific game console, or have an account on a certain platform.  Your assignment should be freely available online (or on campus) or should consist of your own screenshots or videos that you create and can circulate with your classmates.

On the group’s assigned day, I recommend that the group spend around 15 minutes on background and spend the rest of the class facilitating substantive discussion with their classmates.  You may use appropriate technology and props to facilitate discussion, but I recommend that you not use PowerPoint.  As soon as you start a PowerPoint presentation, everyone will focus on the PowerPoint slides rather than engage in a free and open discussion.  Class discussion falters, and you just start filling time with more and more slides.  Instead of a PowerPoint, think about group work or an activity for the whole class that will help your classmates talk about the assignment.  Come prepared to talk about two or three different ideas (perhaps based on response paper topics), and don’t just skim the surface.  Make your classmates delve deeply into the assignment, talking it through thoroughly.  Don’t pose a simple question, get one answer, and move on.  Open with a complex question or problem, have your classmates brainstorm about it, and then evaluate together the ideas that have been proposed in order to come to a consensus about them.

Each person in the group will be graded individually according to the following criteria:

1. 1. Did your group make logical, interesting choices in terms of what it assigned for class?
   2. Did you yourself contribute meaningfully to the group’s facilitation of discussion and to the activities in class?
   3. Did your group think creatively about how to engage classmates in discussion?
   4. Was the discussion substantive (rather than superficial)?  Did you engage your classmates in a serious exploration of topics relevant to the assignment?  Did you engage your classmates in a serious exploration of topics relevant to the course overall?
   5. Did you look (and have your classmates look) closely and carefully at concrete details in the assignment (rather than simply generalize broadly or talk abstractly)?
   6. Did your group effectively integrate each individual group member’s contribution into a coherent overall presentation?  Did the group share the overall organization of their presentation with their classmates at the start?

PROFESSOR’S AVAILABILITY.  My office is Bliss Hall 216.  My in-person office hours this term are 2-5:30pm on Mondays.  If you have questions about class (or just want to talk about stuff), feel free to stop by during these hours (no appointment necessary).  I can also meet over Zoom during my office hours if that’s more convenient for you; let me know, and I’ll send you a Zoom invitation.  If you cannot come during my scheduled office hours, talk to me about meeting at another time, and we can set up an appointment.  Outside of class, you may contact me by email (gsteinbe@tcnj.edu) or by calling my office phone (609-771-2106) and leaving a message (if I do not answer), but email is usually the best way to get in touch with me.  You may also leave a written message for me in my box at the English Department offices in Bliss Hall 124.

ATTENDANCE.  Regular attendance is a virtual necessity for successful completion of this class.  Class discussion constitutes important, useful preparation for your graded work.  If you miss a class, you will essentially lose out on that day’s contribution to your preparation, since it is never really possible to reproduce or recapture the dynamics and flow of information for a missed class meeting (even if you get notes from someone).  If, however, you positively must miss a class, I expect you to find out from a classmate what you missed and to come fully prepared – without excuses – to the next class meeting.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY.  Academic dishonesty is any attempt by a student to gain academic advantage through dishonest means, to submit, as your own, work which has not been done by you, or to give improper aid to another student in the completion of an assignment. Such dishonesty would include, but is not limited to, submitting as your own a project, paper, report, test, or speech copied, partially copied, or paraphrased from the work of another (whether AI-generated, in print, on the Internet, or another student’s work). Credit must always be given for words quoted or paraphrased and for ideas or information taken from somewhere else. The rules apply to any academic dishonesty, whether the work is graded or ungraded, group or individual, written or oral.

ACCOMMODATIONS.  The College of New Jersey prohibits discrimination against any student on the basis of physical or mental disability or perceived disability. The College will also provide reasonable and appropriate accommodations to enable students with disabilities to participate in the life of the campus community. If you require such accommodations, I will make every reasonable effort to meet your needs and to create an environment where your special abilities are respected.  Go to the website of the Accessibility Resource Center (ARC) for more information about how to arrange for accommodations.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION. We are all enriched by greater diversity, and we all bring different perspectives to this class. I want to create a learning environment that supports diversity and honors your identities and perspectives (including your race, gender, sexuality, social class, religion, mental and physical health, differing abilities, politics, etc.). If, for example, you go by a name and/or set of pronouns that differ from those that appear in your official records, please let me know. If you feel that your performance in class is being impacted outside of class by a hostile environment related to your identity, please don’t hesitate to talk to me. If something is said or posted in class (by anyone, including me) that you consider hostile or offensive to your identity, please talk to me about it. I will expect our whole class (including me) to strive always to honor every form of diversity.

SCREENS.  Unless required as an accommodation for a physical or mental disability, you may not use screens (laptops, phones, or ipads) in this class.  In the last ten years, there has been a ton of research that shows that screens are bad for learning – that you are less likely to remember what happens in class if you take notes on an electronic device rather than with pen and paper, that you are less likely to comprehend and remember what you read if you read it on a screen rather than in a printed format, that you are more likely to be distracted and miss things in class if you use an electronic device during class time.  I am not a Luddite (someone who despises all technology); I love my screens and use them a lot.  But I have watched a lot of students, especially over the last few years, perform much worse in my classes than they could (or should) have performed, because they used screens for taking notes and reading.  And my anecdotal experience with students over the last few years is nothing in comparison with the towering tsunami of research that shows just how bad screens are for learning in the classroom.

For that reason, you may not use any electronic devices in this class.  Note that, when we need to watch scenes from assigned TV episodes in class, I will play what we need on the large screen at the front of the room.  You will not need your own screen for playing scenes.  The same is true for assignments that are pdf’s in Canvas, websites, or other online media.  I will project them in the front of the class.  You will not need your own screen for them.

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT AND COMMITMENT TO STUDENT SUCCESS, SAFETY, AND WELL-BEING.  The TCNJ community is dedicated to the success, safety, and well-being of each student. TCNJ strictly follows key policies that govern all TCNJ community members’ rights and responsibilities in and out of the classroom. In addition, TCNJ has established several student support offices that can provide the support and resources to help students achieve their personal and professional goals and to promote health and well-being. You can find more information about these policies and resources at the “TCNJ Student Support Resources and Classroom Policies” webpage at https://academicaffairs.tcnj.edu/tcnj-syllabus-resources/.

Students who anticipate and/or experience barriers in this course are encouraged to contact the instructor as early in the semester as possible. The Accessibility Resource Center (ARC) is available to facilitate the removal of barriers and to ensure reasonable accommodations. For more information about ARC, please visit https://arc.tcnj.edu/.

COURSE SCHEDULE.  The schedule below is subject to revision at the discretion of the professor.  Changes in the schedule made after the first day of class will be shown in red.

Date	Assignment/Topic
T Aug 26	Introductions
F Aug 29	Althusser, especially pp. 162-177 (available in Canvas under “Files”) McCarthy, The Road, pp. 1-50
T Sep 2	NO CLASS (follow your Monday schedule instead)
F Sep 5	Butler (available in Canvas under “Files”) McCarthy, The Road, pp. 51-106
T Sep 9	Derrida (available in Canvas under “Files”) McCarthy, The Road, pp. 107-167
F Sep 12	Rabinowitz, especially pp. 20-29 and 36-46 (available in Canvas under “Files”) McCarthy, The Road, pp. 168-221
T Sep 16	Geertz, especially pp. 3-10 and 13-23 (available in Canvas under “Files”) McCarthy, The Road, pp. 222-287
F Sep 19	generating ideas for writing (heuristics) Morrison, The Bluest Eye, pp. 1-58
T Sep 23	coming up with a good thesis Morrison, The Bluest Eye, pp. 59-131 Thesis Paragraphs for ESSAY 1 due as shared Google Docs by 11:59pm
F Sep 26	organizing writing in paragraphs Morrison, The Bluest Eye, pp. 132-206
T Sep 30	last-minute writing advice and time for questions ESSAY 1 DUE in Canvas by 11:59pm
F Oct 3	Episodes 1-4 of Strong Woman Do Bong-Soon (2017), starring Park Hyung-sik and Park Bo-young (available in Viki)
T Oct 7	NO CLASS (Fall Break)
F Oct 10	Episodes 5-8 of Strong Woman Do Bong-Soon
T Oct 14	Episodes 9-12 of Strong Woman Do Bong-Soon
F Oct 17	Episodes 13-16 of Strong Woman Do Bong-Soon
T Oct 21	MIDTERM EXAM
F Oct 24	evidence in writing
T Oct 28	writing for different audiences in different genres Thesis Paragraphs for ESSAY 2 due as shared Google Docs by 11:59pm LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW FROM CLASS WITH A W OR TO REQUEST UNGRADED OPTION
F Oct 31	PEER EDITING WORKSHOP (bring one printed copy of a draft of your ESSAY 2 to class to share with classmates for feedback – failure to bring a draft of at least two pages may affect your grade on ESSAY 2)
T Nov 4	last-minute writing advice and time for questions ESSAY 2 DUE in Canvas by 11:59pm
F Nov 7	preparation for Group Projects https://about.mattel.com/ https://www.bestbuy.com/ https://www.tacobell.com/ https://www.homedepot.com/
T Nov 11	https://www.amazon.com/ https://www.uber.com/us/en/ride/ https://open.spotify.com/ https://www.viki.com/
F Nov 14	https://www.walmart.com/ https://www.target.com/ https://www.ollies.com/ https://www.bergdorfgoodman.com/ Thesis Paragraphs for ESSAY 3 due as shared Google Docs by 11:59pm
T Nov 18	last-minute writing advice and time for questions ESSAY 3 DUE in Canvas by 11:59pm
F Nov 21	GROUP 1’s ASSIGNMENT and DISCUSSION
T Nov 25	GROUP 2’s ASSIGNMENT and DISCUSSION
W Nov 26	OPTIONAL REVISIONS DUE in Canvas by 11:59pm (resubmit your revision as ESSAY 1, ESSAY 2, or ESSAY 3 as appropriate)
F Nov 28	NO CLASS (Thanksgiving Break)
T Dec 2	GROUP 3’s ASSIGNMENT and DISCUSSION
F Dec 5	GROUP 4’s ASSIGNMENT and DISCUSSION
TBA (in PAWS)	FINAL EXAM