WRITING 150: Writing and Critical Reasoning, Fall 2019

Identity and Diversity in American Contexts

Instructor: Professor Christina Belcher

(But what should you call me? “Professor Belcher” or “Dr. Belcher” are your
options – go with whichever you prefer.)

E-mail: cbelcher@usc.edu
Office: JEF 243 (the green building on the corner of Jefferson and McClintock – second
floor, corner office facing USC Village)
Office Hours: T/Th 2:15 – 3:15

Sections/Times:

64455R 8:00 – 9:20 T/Th GFS 112

64250R 9:30 – 10:50 T/Th VKC 208

64560R 12:30 – 1:50 T/Th MRF 206

64925R 3:30 – 4:50 T/Th GFS 114

Course Texts and Materials

 Writing 150 Course Book

The course book is digital and you can buy your unique code/card at the
counter of the USC Bookstore. You’ll need that code need to create a unique
login ID.

 Blackboard, and course readings posted therein

Course Objectives and Description

Writing 150 is designed to develop your ability to think critically, read actively, discuss
heatedly, and communicate your ideas thoughtfully and effectively by adhering to the
forms and conventions of the academic discourse community. You will do a significant
amount of writing in this course, in which we focus on writing as a process. You will
learn strategies for invention, or generating ideas, for effectively arranging those ideas,
and for developing your own unique style and techniques for revision. Furthermore, this
course will also help you to critique arguments and develop your capacity for analysis
and argumentation. Our writing course will be run as a workshop: I will not be imparting
knowledge to you. Instead, I hope to provide a structured environment in which you will
make your own intellectual discoveries.
Those discoveries will occur in the realm of our course thematic: “Identity and
Diversity." That said, Writing 150 is not a social science or cultural studies class. As the
name implies, it is a writing class, but one in which our discussions will be focused on
our common topic. Our identities and others' identities are at play in just about any
situation involving people and institutions, so this course provides us a unique
opportunity to ask questions across disciplinary boundaries, think locally and globally,
and make connections between our experiences and the world around us. Obviously, the
umbrella terms “identity” and “diversity” are so broad, that this course can’t cover every
aspect of what falls under them. As such, you’ll have ample opportunities to follow your
own interests, and to make new discoveries about the issues in identity and diversity that
interest you most.

Course Policies

Attendance: Because this class is primarily a workshop, your learning depends in large
part upon your peers’ generous, alert participation in class, just as their learning depends
upon your engagement. Therefore, attendance is mandatory. Missing class hurts your
grade simply because doing so deprives you of lessons designed to help you write better
essays. In addition to that indirect penalty, students also face the direct penalties for
unexcused absences. Since circumstances sometimes make it essential for people to miss
class for unexcused reasons, you will not be penalized for your first two unexcused
absences.

Beyond that, direct penalties apply, and you can find that program-wide policy in the
Writing 150 Course Book. In short, any student who misses three or more weeks of
class—for any reason—will be required to either drop the class or take a final grade of
“F.” Three weeks is six class meetings, and this includes documented, university-
sponsored absences.

Absences for documented illness, religious holidays, or approved university-sponsored

events are excused absences and generally do not count against your grades, up to that
three week mark. However, if you miss class for any of these reasons, you must still
either contact me as soon as possible to explain and provide written verification (in the
case of illness or emergency) or give me one week’s advance notice along with written
verification and arrange to make up any missed work (in the case of holidays and
university-sponsored events). If you are missing class for any undocumented reason,
please do not email me to tell me or explain why. You are responsible for getting the
homework, the notes, and any handouts/materials from other students, not from me.
That means that you should take down some of your peers’ emails. If you miss class, do
not email me after the fact asking what you missed. I will not respond.

Coming in late: A student who arrives after I have taken roll (aloud or silently) is
considered tardy. In general, three tardies constitute one absence. I consider up to 15
minutes late, tardy – anything beyond that is an absence, even if you eventually show up.
Late papers: Unless otherwise noted on the syllabus, papers are due at the beginning of
the class period. Late papers will be penalized one grade step (i.e., from a B+ to a B) for
each class session that they are past due. That is, if the paper is due on Tuesday and you
don’t submit it until the following Tuesday, the final grade will be lowered three grade
steps. Please note that I will not accept an essay handed in more than a week after the due
date unless you discuss the matter with me before the due date passes. Finally, failure to
hand in any essay will result in an F for that assignment, and students may not hand in the
final portfolio if any of the major writing projects are missing. Thus, if you miss one
major assignment, you should drop the class, because you will receive an overall course
grade of F. This is also the extension policy – you can turn in your work up to a week
late, but there are penalties, so don’t choose to do so lightly.

Participation: To succeed in a college classroom, you must be willing and prepared to

engage with the class: the entire group and with your peers in smaller group discussions.
Your ability to show up to conferences and peer writing workshops with the required
amount of work done is key to participation. Complete your reading and come to class
with ideas and questions for discussion. If you are nervous about speaking up in class, try
listing ideas, questions, etc. as you read the material so that you feel more comfortable
contributing to class discussions.

E-mail assistance: I am happy to answer specific questions about your papers over
email. Please note that I cannot accept entire drafts over email. If you wish to receive
feedback on small sections of a draft (e.g., a thesis or a paragraph), that’s best done
during office hours. I hold two each week, in addition to conferences for each paper.
There are plenty of opportunities for you to work with me one on one – plan ahead and
utilize them, rather than holding out for email assistance, which I find less effective. I
only accept and answer email M-F between the hours of 8am and 5pm - do not send me
emails during any other hours. Once I receive your email, I will respond as soon as I can,
usually within twenty-four hours, unless you email me Friday at 5, in which case I’ll
respond on Monday. If it’s been more than 36 hours since you emailed me and you
haven’t received a response, it is appropriate to re-send, but not before that 36 hour
marker.

Office Hours: I will hold two office hours each week. On the weeks when we have
conferences, I will not hold office hours, as I will be conferencing with students for the
duration of these days.

Grading: I will evaluate your essays and final portfolio according to the Writing
Program's rubric, which is explained in your Course Book. We will also go over the
rubric in detail in class during each assignment cycle.
Course assignments are weighted as follows:

Writing Project 1 10%

Writing Project 2 15%
Writing Project 3 30%
Writing Project 4 & Portfolio 30%
Ancillary Work 15%

Conferences: We will have four sets of conferences, during which we will meet in either
individual or small group settings to discuss your writing. Conferences provide a good
opportunity to receive individualized and highly targeted feedback on your writing prior
to submitting a paper. Finally, before scheduling a conference, be sure that you do not
have any time conflicts: I will count a missed conference as an absence. Check your
email on a daily basis – conferences are announced via email and you sign up
electronically. If you miss the email and fail to sign up, I will not make an exception and
open more time slots for you. There are slots offer for all 60 of my students, but I close
the conference polls 24 hours before the first conferences start. You cannot, under any
circumstances, make up or re-schedule a conference that you scheduled and missed
or canceled. If you simply do not schedule a conference, it won’t be counted as an
absence, but the conferences are the best way to improve your writing, so you do so at
your own detriment.

Ancillary Assignments: Ancillary assignments are sometimes creative writing exercises

and sometimes benchmarks in the writing process, depending on what we need as a class
at that time. They are intended to prepare you for the type of writing I’m asking from you
on WP4, as well as to keep you on track to succeed in the course overall. They will not
receive feedback, and are graded credit/no credit, but I will check for their submission on
Blackboard before the class in which they are due, usually before taking attendance.
Keep track of how many you have submitted on Blackboard; I will not provide you with
that info as the semester goes on.

Writing Projects: Writing Projects are thesis-driven, argumentative essays and you will
be asked to complete four of them during the course of the semester. The Writing
Projects are sequenced so that each subsequent essay can build upon the reading and
writing done in earlier Projects. Writing Projects constitute the main determinate of your
grade. Writing Projects are weighted so that later Projects receive heavier grade weights
than earlier ones. A specific prompt, writing guidelines, and schedule of relevant readings
and assignments for each essay will be distributed in class. Essays are due at the
beginning of your section time on the due date listed on the assignment sheet.

The Writing Project sequence this semester will work as follows:

WP1: Argument Analysis (You will read and analyze other writers’ work, with a focus
on critical reading and thinking, as well as response). This essay will focus on identity,
with particular questions surrounding issues of gender, sexuality, and race.
WP2: Textual Analysis (You will encounter and analyze a creative work, i.e. a film or
TV show, with a focus on developing your own original argument about that work). This
essay will allow you to choose your own text on which to work, so you have the choice
of investigating questions of either identity or diversity.

The two latter assignments will be topically connected:

WP3: Researched Essay (You will choose a topic within the realm of identity and
diversity to research, with a focus on learning what others have said so that you might
offer your own insight into the problem). *The essay must be written on a topic to which
you have a personal, communal, or familial connection, as it will also serve as the base
level of research for your WP4. In class, we will practice our skills using a “test case”
that asks questions about diversity, particularly socio-economic class.

WP4: Scholarly Personal Narrative (You will combine academic scholarship—your

WP3—and personal experience to craft a creative narrative with the intention of moving a
popular audience). This essay will be about you, your communities, or communities
about which you care deeply, in relation to the research you did during the weeks prior.

While our schedule does not accommodate extensive feedback at the draft stage of any
writing project, the conferences we hold are meant to be used as feedback sessions, as are
our in-class peer workshops. You should also use the evaluation you get on your previous
essays as jumping off points to write the next.

Final Portfolio: The Final Portfolio consists of a creative presentation of your ancillary
work. It will be completed on our last class day.

Classroom Etiquette: One of the norms of the academic discourse community is respect
for others' racial, ethnic, and class backgrounds, nationality, immigration status, religious
and political beliefs, sexual orientations, and gender expressions. This norm should be
respected in your written work, as well as in class discussion.

No phones usage during class time. If you are looking at your phone while I am talking or
a peer is talking, I will ask you to stop doing so or leave, which will count as an absence.
You may have your laptop screen upright when we are doing work on laptops, but when
we are having a discussion, I expect them to be turned down. Sometimes I’ll remind you,
if people seem distracted.

Academic Conduct: Plagiarism – presenting someone else’s ideas as your own, either
verbatim or recast in your own words – is a serious academic offense with serious
consequences. Please familiarize yourself with the discussion of plagiarism
in SCampus in Part B, Section 11, “Behavior Violating University Standards”
https://policy.usc.edu/scampus-part-b/. Other forms of academic dishonesty are equally
unacceptable. See additional information in SCampus and university policies on
scientific misconduct, http://policy.usc.edu/scientific-misconduct.
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.
https://engemannshc.usc.edu/counseling/

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. http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

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. https://engemannshc.usc.edu/rsvp/

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:
http://sarc.usc.edu/

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.
https://equity.usc.edu/

Bias Assessment Response and Support: Incidents of bias, hate crimes and
microaggressions need to be reported allowing for appropriate investigation and
response. https://studentaffairs.usc.edu/bias-assessment-response-support/

The Office of Disability Services and Programs: Provides certification for students with
disabilities and helps arrange relevant accommodations. http://dsp.usc.edu

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. https://studentaffairs.usc.edu/ssa/

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. https://diversity.usc.edu/

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, http://emergency.usc.edu

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. http://dps.usc.edu
DSP: Please let me know if you require specific academic accommodations for this class.
Students requesting such accommodations are required to register with Disability
Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved
accommodations can be obtained from DSP, which is located in STU 301 and is open
8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-
0776.

The Writing Center: The Writing Center, located in THH 216, is an incredibly valuable
and free resource available to all students at USC. Experienced consultants will work
with you on any stage of the writing process, from interpreting a prompt, to creating a
rough plan, to polishing your final draft. The Writing Center consultants will not
proofread or edit your paper for you, but they will help you to develop skills to revise
your own work. You may sign up in advance or walk in for a thirty-minute one-on-one
consultation. In order to maximize your meeting with a Writing Center consultant, come
prepared with a copy of your assignment, all drafts and prewriting, and specific
questions. Make an appointment here: http://dornsife.usc.edu/writingcenter/

Safe Harbor Statement: I hereby express my willingness to act on behalf of students

despite the risks involved in civil disobedience. As an instructor, I recognize the
vulnerability for women, for lesbian, gay, and transgender people, for indigenous and
native people, and for people of color among all too many others, that requires continuing
and intensified efforts to address. In accordance with principles of academic freedom and
orientation toward the public good, I am dedicated to providing resources and support
regardless of immigration status, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, or any other
category of socio-political identity, to those who teach and learn in and outside of formal
educational institutions. If you need resources, please feel free to reach out. My office
and classroom are safe harbor spaces.