Professor S Name: Marcus Johnson Office: E005 Baker Hall

Professor’s Name: Marcus Johnson Office: E005 Baker Hall Class Time: T/Th 7:30 p.m. – 8:50 p.m. E-mail: [email protected] Classroom: 1976 Hall 026 (Butler) Mailbox: Baker S001 Office Hours: Thurs, 4-6 and by appointment

WRI 186: Politics and Identities Course Information

In the runaway Broadway hit, Hamilton raps to Jefferson: “Thomas. That was a real nice declaration/Welcome to the present, we’re running a real nation/Would you like to join us, or stay mellow/Doin’ whatever the hell it is you do in Monticello.” While a battle rap can make any debate more sensational, the musical Hamilton demonstrates that the politics of the U.S. Constitution’s framers were every bit as contentious as the politics of the present. In this Writing Seminar, we use American politics as a point of departure to ask why bright boundaries between identities form and why these boundaries at times engender bitter conflict. We begin by investigating the historical roots of polarization through the lens of Hamilton and Madison’s Federalist Paper No. 10. We then grapple with Tajfel and Hobsbawm’s constructivist theories to explain real-world cases of political identities in conflict, from the millennial/baby boomer divide to the black/white divide. For the research essay, students make an argument that intervenes in an important scholarly conversation about political or social identity. Topics might include evolving white attitudes toward the Black Lives Matter movement, the construction of British nationalism during the Brexit campaign, or the effect of women’s suffrage in 1920 on public portrayals of femininity.

The social sciences provide paradigms and tools for breaking down complex social phenomena, like identities, into discernable patterns. There are no hard-and-fast laws of social phenomena, since humans are unpredictable variables. But in all fields, including the social sciences, the idea is to interpret the evidence. To that end, this writing seminar asks you to be a critical and analytical thinker, as you approach familiar ideas and concepts with a new lens.

OVERVIEW OF ASSIGNMENTS

The Essays Essay One – Make an argument using evidence from a close reading (5 pages) Identify a tension or contradiction in Hamilton’s portrayal of the practice of politics. Through the close analysis of one scene, make an argument that situates Hamilton in the debate between Obama’s concept of a “better politics” (as outlined in his 2016 State of the Union Address) and the Framers’ concept of structured conflict (as articulated in Madison’s Federalist Paper No. 10).

Essay Two – Critique and refine a scholarly argument with real world evidence (7 pages) Critique and refine Tajfel’s or Hobsbawm’s theory of identity and conflict by choosing a case study from the Public Insight Map. Inform—and complicate—your argument with reference to an additional case or to the theorist who is not the main focus of your paper.

Essay Three – Original research paper (10-12 pages)

1 Make a researched argument that intervenes in an important scholarly conversation about political or social identity.

Dean’s Date Assignment – Personal Reflection (3-4 pages) Thinking back over the course of this recent election season, choose a particular dimension of your social identity and reflect on how the campaign politicized that particular part of your self. You can also approach this assignment visually, but if you choose this option please submit it with a letter of reflection.

IMPORTANT DATES

Essay Due Dates Essay One, Draft (D1): Oct. 1 Essay One, Revision (R1): Oct. 15 Essay Two, Draft (D2): Oct. 22 Essay Two, Revision (R2): Nov. 12 Essay Three, Draft (D3): Dec. 3 Essay Three, Revision (R3): Dec. 17 Dean’s Date Assignment: Jan 16

Other Important Dates Draft Workshop 1: Oct. 4 & 6 Conferences, Round 1: Oct. 3-6 Draft Workshop 2: Oct. 25 & 27 Conferences, Round 2: Oct. 24-27 Draft Workshop 3: Dec. 6 & 8 Conferences, Round 3: Dec. 5-8 Portfolio: Jan 17

Final Class Session

Our final class session will take place during Reading Period, on Thursday January 12 (time TBA). Please plan to return to campus to attend this required class.

This Week on the Campaign… Starting in week 2 (until week 7), 2 class members will make a five-minute presentation on piece of news that recently emerged from the campaign trail. In the first week of class you and a partner will sign up for a week to present. The bulk of your presentation (~3 or 4 minutes) should directly address the prompt for your assigned week (I will email you the prompt at the end of class on the Thursday before your scheduled presentation). In the final minute or two, you should raise one or more questions or ideas provoked by your find.

“This week on the Campaign…” will allow you to practice various skills that are critical to clear, effective scholarly writing. Feel free to search mainstream publications like the NYT, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, as well as radio programs, television segments, or blogs. This means that you should all keep an eye on current news sources, from print and internet sources to radio and television. The idea is to think about the kinds of issues that are arising on the campaign through the lens of a scholar.

2 REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS

Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers, A Pocket Style Manual, 7th edition, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2014. E-book version. [Available from Labyrinth Books on Nassau Street]

Lyrics and music  Spotify – link to download on Blackboard under “Links”  Hamilton – link to the lyrics on Blackboard under “Links”

Articles and book chapters – PDF and e-book versions of all readings available on Blackboard under “Course Readings”  Gaipa, Mark. "Breaking into the conversation: How students can acquire authority for their writing." Pedagogy 4.3 (2004): 419-437.  Hobsbawm, Eric. "Identity politics and the left." New Left Review 217 (1996): 38.  Hobsbawm, Eric J. Nations and nationalism since 1780: Programme, myth, reality. Cambridge University Press, 2012.  Madison, James. "The federalist no. 10." November 22.1787 (1787): 1787-88.  Munck, Gerardo L., and Richard Snyder. Passion, craft, and method in comparative politics. JHU Press, 2008. (Available on Blackboard under E-reserves)  Obama, Barack H. “State of the Union Address.” 2016 State of the Union. Capitol Building. Washington, D.C. 12 Jan 2016. Address.  Tajfel, Henri, et al. "Social categorization and intergroup behaviour."European journal of social psychology 1.2 (1971): 149-178.

The Writing Center writing.princeton.edu/center

Located in Whitman College, The Writing Center offers student writers free one-on-one conferences with experienced fellow writers trained to consult on assignments in any discipline. The Writing Center is one of Princeton’s most popular academic resources, holding nearly 6,000 conferences each year. I strongly urge you to sign up for an appointment. To do so, visit the Writing Center’s online scheduler at wriapps.princeton.edu/scheduler/appointments. Writing Center Fellows also hold drop-in hours Sunday through Thursday evenings during the semester. Enter through Baker Hall.

WRITING SEMINAR POLICIES

Conferences We will have four conferences over the course of the term to discuss your writing and ideas: two 45-minute individual draft conferences and, in the third unit, an individual conference on your research proposal and a group conference on your draft. I expect you to be prepared for these conferences—to have reviewed your writing and to have developed a plan of attack. Missed conferences may not be rescheduled. Please note that there will be no mandatory conference to discuss the draft of the Dean’s Date Assignment, though I will be available for consultation.

Office Hours

3 I’m also happy to meet with you by appointment to discuss writing, reading, or any other issues pertaining to this seminar. Just ask or e-mail me, and we can arrange a time to meet.

E-mail

In an effort to hold in-class announcements to a minimum, I will be using e-mail to relay most of the nuts and bolts of the course, which, logistically, is quite complex. I ask that you check your e-mail every day. You are responsible for any information that I pass along via this medium.

Paper Format

Writing assignments must be word-processed. For drafts and revisions, please follow the format of the sample paper that I’ll hand out. Drafts and revisions that deviate from this format will not be accepted. Also, always:

• Use Times 12 or its close equivalent.

• Set your margins at 1” and don’t “justify” your right-hand margin.

• Use your word-processing program’s automatic pagination function to number your pages. Tip: Your first page will be a cover letter, so set this page number to 0 (in Word, select “Page Numbers” from the “Insert” menu, and click on “Format”).

• Proofread your writing for typographical, grammatical, and punctuation errors. If you consistently make these kinds of errors, your grade will drop.

• Avoid computer disaster by regularly saving your work. Get in the habit of saving your work to a file hosting service like Google Drive, which store your files in a cloud where they’re always accessible.

Submission Method

You will be submitting all writing for this course, unless otherwise specified, via our course Blackboard site at http://blackboard.princeton.edu. Simply log on and select our Writing Seminar. Blackboard is relatively intuitive to use, but feel free to contact the Blackboard help desk if you need assistance: 609 258-0737 or [email protected].

On Blackboard, you’ll submit your work to the “Shared Dropbox” folder on the menu, where everyone in our class can access it. Please name your documents by combining your Net ID with the assignment abbreviation (e.g. “R1” for “Revision of Paper #1”). Thus, Tiger Princeton’s draft of Paper #3 would be named tigerpD3.doc.

Course Portfolio

At the end of the semester, you will turn in a portfolio of all the writing you did in the course— so please save the copies with comments!

Extensions and Late Assignments

4 All deadlines in this Writing Seminar are firm. Except in the case of medical or family emergency or religious observance, I give no individual extensions. If for such a reason, you cannot meet a deadline, please contact me as soon as possible so that we may work out an alternative schedule of due dates and times. In the event of a medical emergency, you must bring a note from the University Health Service. In the event of a family emergency, please ask your residential college Dean or Director of Studies to contact me by e-mail.

A late pre-draft assignment or a late draft will receive no written feedback. A late revision will be graded down by a third of a grade for every 24 hours that it’s late, up until the final extended deadline, at which point you may not complete the course (see the “Completion of Work” policy below).

These policies have two concrete benefits for everyone in the class: (1) you may be less likely to fall behind, and (2) you can count on being treated the same as your classmates.

Missed Conferences

Conferences will not be rescheduled except in cases of documented illness or family emergency. When signing up, please be aware of any reason that might prevent your attendance in a given time slot, and please notify me in advance should an unavoidable conflict arise.

Final Grades

The majority of your final grade (85%) comes from the major writing assignments. They are weighted more significantly as the semester goes along in order to reward your improvement and acknowledge the assignments’ increasing complexity. Here is the grade breakdown: 15% Paper #1 25% Paper #2 5% Pre-draft 3.2 35% Paper #3 10% Dean’s Date Assignment 10% Good citizenship (class participation, cover letters and draft responses and participation in writing groups)

Citizenship Grade

Your good citizenship grade will be determined based on your fulfillment in our class of the following aspects of citizenship: honesty, compassion, respect, and responsibility. This means you should be honest with your classmates, respectful toward their thoughts and opinions, and compassionate toward your subject matter and the views of your peers. It also means you have a responsibility to prepare properly for class and to participate regularly. The good citizenship grade, therefore, includes not only your participation in class, but also your response to other student writing, your preparation for individual and group conferences, and the attitude of respect you display toward your classmates and me.

During the first draft conference, I’ll give you feedback on your class participation and other written work, so you’ll have a sense of what you’re doing well and how you might strengthen your citizenship in the coming weeks.

5 The Citizenship portion of your final grade will be evaluated using the following criteria and the accompanying grading scale:  The student is always on time and prepared.  The student participates actively in class & makes a positive contribution to the day-to- day quality of the seminar for everyone.  The student writes cover letters that reflect thoughtfully and critically on their own writing.  The student submits thoughtful and complete pre-draft assignments.  The student writes draft response letters that offer fellow students substantive criticism and suggestions for revision while demonstrating constructive engagement with the paper at hand.  The student participates actively in group draft conferences, joining in the conversation about their fellow group members’ essays.

Grading Scale:  A student who earns an A-range grade for citizenship meets or surpasses all of the above criteria in a striking way.  A student who earns a B-range grade for citizenship commendably satisfies most or all of the above criteria.  A student who earns a C-range grade for citizenship meets few of the above criteria.

Midterm Grade

To calculate your midterm grade, I’ll average your grade on the revision of essay #1 and your current citizenship grade. Please note that for your final course grade, essay #1 will count as 15% and citizenship 15%.

Grading Standards on Revisions

When grading, I evaluate the words on the page. Although neither effort nor improvement is factored into the essay grade, writing does tend to improve through revision. Effort and engagement are accounted for in the course citizenship grade. Below are the common standards to which papers are held in the Writing Seminars. Pluses and minuses represent shades of difference.

A paper in the A range demonstrates a high degree of command in the fundamentals of academic writing: it advances an interesting, arguable thesis; establishes a compelling motive to suggest why the thesis is original or worthwhile; employs a logical and progressive structure; analyzes evidence insightfully and in depth; and draws from well-chosen sources.

A B-range paper resembles an A-range paper in some ways, but may exhibit a vague or inconsistently argued thesis; establish a functional but unsubstantial motive; employ a generally logical but somewhat disorganized or underdeveloped structure; include well-chosen but sometimes unanalyzed and undigested evidence; or use sources in a limited fashion; confusing prose may at times obscure the argument.

A C-range paper resembles a B-range paper in some ways, but may also feature a confusing or descriptive thesis; provide a simplistic motive or none at all; lack a coherent structure or rely on an

6 overly rigid structure like the five paragraph essay; fail to present enough evidence, or present evidence that is insufficiently analyzed; and drop in sources without properly contextualizing or citing them.

A D paper (there is no D+ or D- at Princeton) resembles a C-range paper but lacks a thesis or motive. It may have an undeveloped structure and draw on little analyzed evidence and sources. A D paper has trouble engaging with the assignment and may not show awareness of the conventions of academic discourse. It does, however, show signs of beginning to engage with the issues, topics, and sources of the assignment.

An F paper is similar to a D paper but is half the assigned length and addresses the assignment superficially.

A 0 paper is less than half the assigned length and does not fulfill the basic expectations of the assignment (for example, in a research paper, there is evidence of little or no research). Unlike an F paper, a 0 does not count as successful completion of the assignment and puts the student in jeopardy of failing the course.

• Attendance: Your active engagement in writing workshops and other in-class activities is integral to the Writing Seminar experience, which is grounded in a strong community of readers and writers. For this reason, you are normally expected to attend every class, with two absences considered cause for concern, and more than four absences grounds for not being permitted to complete the course.

Please note that a late arrival to class of more than 15 minutes will count as an absence.

• Completion of Work: Writing Seminars are organized as a planned sequence of assignments, with each piece of writing building on previous writing. For this reason, you must complete all four of the major assignments to pass the course, and you must complete them within the schedule of the course, not in the last few days of the semester. If you fail to submit the final version of a major assignment by the final due date in that unit, you will receive an e-mail from your professor specifying (1) the new date by which you must submit the late work and (2) any late penalties that will apply (these will be waived in the case of documented medical problems and family emergencies). The e-mail will be copied to your Dean and Director of Studies, as well as the Writing Program Director. If you fail to meet the new deadline, you may not complete the course. • Acknowledgment of Original Work: This course follows Princeton University policies on plagiarism, stated in Rights, Rules, Responsibilities and discussed at greater length in Academic Integrity at Princeton. According to these policies, you must properly cite your sources to distinguish your ideas from others’. You must also write the following pledge at the end of all drafts and revisions and then sign your name: “This paper represents my own work in accordance with University regulations.” Suspicions of plagiarism will be reported to the Committee on Discipline and may have serious consequences.

• Acknowledgment of Feedback and Support: In keeping with common scholarly practice, you should express your indebtedness in an Acknowledgments section or footnote to anyone who gave you feedback on drafts or contributed informally to your thinking on your topic—for example, your classmates, roommates, and family members. Exceptions are the professor of this course and Writing Center Fellows.

7 Politics and Identities: course schedule

Week 1

Tues Sept 20 • In-class: Name your Values; Close Reading of Hamilton; Critical Reading (Jurecic Handout)

Thurs Sept 22 • Reading Assignment: 2016 SOTU address (Starting with paragraph “We the people”); Federalist No. 10 • Writing Assignment: “Active Reading”/ “Jurecic” (handout); “Political Science Terms” (handout); Pre-draft 1.1 • In-class: Motive in SOTU and Fed 10; Review “Political Science Terms” Week 2

8 Tues Sept 27 • Reading Assignment: Pick a scene from Hamilton (see Pre-draft Assignment 1); “A Writing Lexicon”; Sample student essay (TBA) • Writing Assignment: Pre-draft 1.2 (bring hard copy to class) • In-class: Writing Lexicon & Sample student essay; Project Falcon

Thurs Sept 29 • Reading Assignment: Munck • Writing Assignment: Draft chunk • In-class: Paragraph and essay structure

Sat Oct 1 Draft of Essay #1 Due on Blackboard in WebSpace. NB: please include your Noon cover letter in the document rather than as a separate attachment.

Week 3—Draft Workshops / Conferences

Tues Oct 4 • Reading Assignment: Workshop materials; sample introductions (TBD). • Writing Assignment: Draft Response* to draft writer (2 copies); bring hard copy of your own introduction. • In-class: Draft workshop: introductions; thesis spot check

Thurs Oct 6 • Reading Assignment: Workshop materials, handout on conclusions. • Writing Assignment: Draft Response* to draft writer (2 copies); bring hard copy of your own conclusion. • In-class: Draft workshop; conclusions

Conferences: conferences scheduled from Oct 3—6 (sign-up online).

Assignment Sequence: Essay 1 Essay 1 assignment: Make an argument using evidence from a close reading

Identify a tension or contradiction in Hamilton’s portrayal of the practice of politics. Through the close analysis of one scene, make an argument that situates Hamilton in the debate between Obama’s concept of a “better politics” (as outlined in his 2016 State of the Union Address) and the Framers’ concept of structured conflict (as articulated in Madison’s Federalist Paper No. 10).

Assignment note: As an additional resource, I encourage you to use Lin Manuel Miranda’s annotations of his lyrics.*

Suggested Selections from Hamilton

“What’d I miss” “Cabinet Battle # 1”

9 “The Room Where it Happens” “Schuyler Defeated” “Cabinet Battle #2” “Washington on Your Side” “The Election of 1800” “Your Obedient Servant”

If you’d like to write about a scene that’s not on the list, just let me know and we can talk it over in advance.

Goals of this Essay Sequence Writing this essay will help you learn to: ⁃ Formulate an arguable thesis ⁃ Develop and express motive for writing ⁃ Develop ability for close reading/analysis ⁃ Develop an argument by using the insights from one text to complicate the interpretation of another set of texts ⁃ Structure an essay organically - moving away from summaries and 5 paragraph formats ⁃ Use MLA Pre-draft Writing Assignments For each of the essays you will write for this course (except the final Dean’s Date Assignment) you will complete one or more pre-draft writing assignments. These assignments are not so much free-standing writing tasks as they are important first steps toward your first draft. While some thinking and even writing from these pre-draft assignments will make it into your final drafts, expect that some of what you initially produce will be transformed and changed in your thinking process.

Pre-draft 1.1 (~1 page) Pre-draft assignment: Do a close reading of the scene from Hamilton that you plan to use for Essay 1. In 1 page articulate why this scene makes you think about democratic politics in a way that you previously had not before.

Pre-draft 1.2 (1 paragraph or less) In the same “Pre-draft 1.1” document, make an argument about the relationship between your new perspective on politics (that you discovered in your close reading) and the presentation of politics in Obama’s SOTU and Fed 10. If you are stuck, try using one of the key terms from the “Political Science Terms” assignment to anchor your argument.

Note: If you feel like you are far enough along on your Draft of Essay 1, feel free to just bring in the chunk of your draft where you state your new perspective from Pre-Draft 1.1 and your original argument.

Draft of Essay #1 Your draft should not be a “rough draft.” It should represent sustained thinking on your part about your topic, and should be composed and organized with care. Well-organized essays are easier to read, and they are also easier to revise, because you will get far better commentary on an essay that your readers can understand without too much of a struggle.

Essay #1 Draft Cover Letter

10 Each time you hand in a draft, you’ll hand in a cover letter along with it. For the draft of Essay #1, please write a letter, addressed to your readers—that is, to the class at large—in which you answer the following questions and present any other concerns that you have. Think of the letter as an opportunity to ask for the kind of feedback you think you particularly need. Your cover letter should be about a page long, single-spaced. Paginate it as 0 (in Word, select “Page Numbers” from the “Insert” menu, then select “Format”; the rest is intuitive).

 What do you see as your main idea or point?  What are the biggest problems you’re having at this point in the writing process?  What idea or point do you feel you’ve made most successfully? least successfully?  What’s the number one question about your essay that you’d like your reader to focus on? Use “A Writing Lexicon” vocabulary here: thesis, structure, use of evidence, style, etc.

Essay #1 Draft Response Each time you read other students’ drafts in this course, you’ll write a letter in response, which you’ll bring two copies of to class on workshop days (one for the writer, one for me). Please take some time to draft these letters and try to make comments that you think will help the writer revise.

Please also avoid picayune commentary (changing a word here, a phrase there) and think in larger terms about what this writing really needs. No draft submitted in this course will be in such good shape that it requires just minor tinkering. Do not feel obligated to “be nice” to your fellow writers. The great English poet William Blake wrote that “opposition is true friendship”— be a friend, and offer helpful and thoughtful commentary. Having said that, please also recognize that your comments should be kind and constructive, not harsh and critical in tone.

Directions: As you read and re-read each essay, draw a squiggly line under awkwardly expressed sentence and phrases whose meanings are unclear. Write marginal notes to the writer on anything that puzzles you. Likewise, draw straight lines under words, phrases, or passages that seem especially important or successful. Straight lines indicate something positive and important is happening in this writing.

After re-reading the essay, write a short letter to the writer in which you address these questions:

 In your own words, what is this paper about? What is its idea? Do not assume that the writer knows what his or her own essay is about! You might even doubt the stated thesis (if there is one) and find the “real” meaning of the writing elsewhere.  What are this draft’s strengths?  Look at the “Lexicon for Writers” and identify two elements that you think the writer should focus on in revising, and suggest how you might begin going about doing this. Try to point to specific sentences and paragraphs when possible.

Essay #1 Revision Cover Letter Each time you hand in a revision (three times) you’ll hand in a cover letter along with it. This time around, please answer the following questions and address any other concerns you have:

 What is your thesis? How has it changed from draft to revision?  What are you happiest with in this revision?

11  What was most challenging in your drafting and revision process? How did you approach those challenges?  What would you continue to work on in further revision?  Choose two elements from the “Lexicon”—one that you think works well, and one that feels less successful—and describe why.

Week 4

Tues Oct 11 • Reading Assignment: Hobsbawm; Tajfel; Hacker on MLA • Writing Assignment: visually depict the main argument in Hobsbawm and in Tajfel • In-class: Argument map; Assumptions Handout; (Bring Laptops) The role of evidence & MLA

Thurs Oct 13 • Reading Assignment: This American Life, “Red State Blue State” prologue • Writing Assignment: none. • In-class: Observable implications and evaluating the evidence; Review Slow Reading (handout)

Sat Oct 15 Revision of Essay #1 Due on Blackboard, with cover letter, by 5:00pm.*

Week 5

Tues Oct 18 • Reading Assignment: Slow read Tajfel or Hobsbawm (see Pre-draft 2)

12 • Writing Assignment: Pre-draft writing assignment 2 • In-class: Library discovery session- “Whistling Web of Science”

Thurs Oct 20 • Reading Assignment: student essay (TBD); Gaipa • Writing Assignment: Draft chunk (3-4 pages) • In-class: paragraph workshop; Gaipa cartoons

Sat Oct 22 Draft of Essay #2 due with Draft Cover Letter on Blackboard by Noon.

Week 6 (Midterm Week) –- Workshops / Conferences

Tues Oct 25 • Reading Assignment: workshop materials. • Writing Assignment: draft response to draft writers (2 copies). • In-class: draft workshop (2).

Thurs Oct 27 • Reading Assignment: workshop materials. • Writing Assignment: draft response to draft writers (2 copies). • In-class: draft workshops (2); midterm evals

Conferences: conferences scheduled on Oct 24—27 (sign up on line).

Sat Nov 12 Revision of Essay 2 due with cover letter on Blackboard by Noon.

Assignment Sequence: Essay 2 Essay 2 Assignment: critique and refine a scholarly argument with real world evidence (7 pages)

Critique and refine Tajfel’s or Hobsbawm’s theory of identity and conflict by choosing a case study from the Public Insight Map. Inform—and complicate—your argument with reference to an additional case or to the theorist who is not the main focus of your paper.

Assignment notes: You may select a case for this essay besides those provided on the Public Insight Map but if you want to do so please run it by me first. We’ll want to determine together that it fits with the assignment’s overall theme of identity and conflict.

Goals of this Essay Sequence Writing this essay will help you learn to:  Work with a complex theoretical source.  Critically evaluate a complex theoretical argument using evidence  Develop a progressive structure for your essay’s argument.  Develop your style by composing interesting, exciting sentences and paragraphs.

13 Pre-draft Writing Assignments Just like last time, this initial assignment is not so much a free-standing writing task as it is an important first step toward your draft.

Pre-draft 2 (~2 pages) Pre-draft assignment: Slow read Hobsbawm/Tajfel (whichever text you will use in Essay 2) from the perspective that you are highly skeptical of the argument. After you slow read, identify a case from the Public Insight Series that challenges one of the observable implications of the theory and write a 1 ½ - 2 page response that explains this inconsistency.

Draft of Essay #2 Again, your draft should not be a “rough draft.” It should represent sustained thinking on your part about your topic, and should be composed and organized with care.

Essay #2 Draft Cover Letter Again, for the draft of Essay #2, please write a letter addressed to your readers in which you answer the following questions and present any other concerns that you have. Remember, your letter is an opportunity to ask for the kind of feedback you think you need. Your cover letter should be about a page long, single-spaced. Paginate it as 0 (in Word, select “Page Numbers” from the “Insert” menu, then select “Format”).

 What do you see as your main idea?  How are you refining Tajfel/Hobsbawm? Why does the argument need to be refined?  What are the potential areas for growth with respect to your critique of Tajfel/Hobsbawm? your use of evidence from the Insight Series Map?  What’s the number one question about your essay that you’d like your reader to focus on? Use the “Lexicon” vocabulary here: thesis, structure, use of evidence, style, etc.

Essay #2 Draft Response As with your previous response, please avoid picayune commentary and think in larger terms about what this writing really needs. Draw straight (seems important) and squiggly (problematic) lines, write marginal notes, and write a short letter to the writer in which you address these questions:

 In your own words, what is this paper about? What is its idea? Do not assume that the writer knows what his or her own essay is about!  What is the author’s motive for refining Tajfel/Hobsbawm?  What are this draft’s strengths?  Look at “A Writing Lexicon” handout and identify two elements that you think the writer should focus on in revising, and suggest how you might begin going about doing this. Try to point to specific sentences and paragraphs when possible.

Essay #2 Revision Cover Letter This time around, please answer the following questions and address any other concerns you have:

 What are your thesis and your motive? How have they changed from draft to revision?  What are you happiest with in this revision?

14  What was most challenging in your drafting and revision process? How did you approach those challenges?  What would you continue to work on in further revision?  Choose two “Lexicon” elements—one that you think works well, and one that feels less successful—and describe why.

FALL BREAK Sat Oct 29 – Sun Nov 6

Week 7

Tues Nov 8 • Reading Assignment: None • Writing Assignment: Continue revising Essay 2 • In-class: Election reflection; asking analytical questions, brainstorming topics; introduction of Essay 3 assignment

Thurs Nov 10 • Reading Assignment: Booth, your research materials • Writing Assignment: Continue revising Essay 2; Pre-draft 3.1 • In-class: Source use and plagiarism prevention workshop

Sat Nov 12 Revision of Essay #2 with Revision Cover Letter* submitted to Blackboard by 11:59 pm.

Week 8

Tues Nov 15 • Reading Assignment: Your research materials • Writing Assignment: None

15 • In-class: Library session 2 - Research Clinic

Thurs Nov 17 • Reading Assignment: Your research materials; Bueno and Dunning. • Writing Assignment: None. • In-class: Evidence and Analysis

Week 9

Tues Nov 22 • Reading Assignment: your research materials • Writing Assignment: Pre-draft 3.2 due (bring hard-copy to class and post to Blackboard). • In-class: What a source can do; working with pre-drafts/tightening topics

Thurs Nov 24 **No class: Thanksgiving**

THANKSGIVING BREAK Wed Nov 23 – Sun Nov 27

Week 10

Tues Nov 29 • Reading Assignment: Your research materials. • Writing Assignment: “Anthology of Quotes” assignment (handout). • In-class: Structuring from sources; plagiarism prevention workshop

Thurs Dec 1 • Reading Assignment: Gaipa • Writing Assignment: draft chunk (please bring hard copy to class). • In-class: situating yourself in the ballroom; sentence revision workshop

Sat Dec 3 Draft of Essay 3 with cover letter due on Blackboard by noon.

Week 11

Tues Dec 6 • Reading Assignment: Workshop materials. • Writing Assignment: Draft response to draft writers (3). • In-class: Draft workshops.

Thurs Dec 8 • Reading Assignment: Workshop materials. • Writing Assignment: Draft response to draft writers (3). • In-class: Draft workshops

Conferences scheduled Dec. 5 - 8. Sign up in class.

Week 12

Tues Dec 13 • Reading Assignment: Workshop materials. • Writing Assignment: None • In-class: Doubting your own argument; Strategies for paraphrase

16 Thurs Dec 15 • Reading Assignment: Identity points (Taeku Lee) • Writing Assignment: None. • In-class: Introduction to Dean’s Date assignment

Sat Dec 17 Revision of Essay #3 due on Blackboard with cover letter at noon*

Reading Period (Jan 9 - 16)

Mon Jan 16 Dean’s Date eve

Tue Jan 17 Dean’s Date

Assignment Sequence: Essay 3 Essay 3 Assignment: research and use sources to make an original argument (10-12 pages)

Make a researched argument that intervenes in an important scholarly conversation about political or social identity.

Assignment notes: I have provided a brief and somewhat arbitrary list of topics and cases (see below) that would be suitable as subjects for this assignment. You are free to choose a topic and/or case not represented in the list below—in fact, I encourage you to do so. The main criterion for an acceptable topic is that it treats the subject of political or social identity in some way. The idea of the assignment is to identify an unresolved, scholarly debate on identity and make a researched argument that identifies something unexpected, interprets a puzzle or contradiction, or nuances the existing arguments in the debate.

Your argument should have a place “in the ballroom,” as Mark Gaipa would say. Hobsbawm and Tajfel et al. are good places to start, though there are numerous other possibilities we can discuss.

Possible topics:  The causes of group conflict - Western-European responses to the Syrian refugee crisis

17  The socio-political construction and deconstruction of identity groups – changing U.S. census categories  Perceptions of discrimination – The Movement for Black Lives  Why voters’ self-identification matters – Gender in the 2016 Presidential Campaign

Goals of this Essay Sequence Writing this essay will help you learn to:  Conduct original research  Use that research to develop and refine a motivated, arguable thesis  Evaluate sources and use them in a variety of ways  Continue developing your writing organization  Write clear and effective sentences and paragraphs  Develop your ability to cite sources in the conventions of MLA style

Pre-draft Writing Assignments 3.1 Bring in two to four topics you’d like to research for Essay 3. You should describe each one in a sentence or two. This assignment should be typed—you will hand it in.

It’s crucial to have a sense of a question to make the second library session to be Tuesday Nov. 15 valuable. But note: a “topic” in this case is essentially a hunch you have about a real world observation. We’ll spend some time in class figuring out which topic idea makes the most sense, so don’t worry at this point about coming up with the perfect topic idea—this is a brainstorming exercise.

**GRADED ASSIGNMENT** 3.2 Write a research proposal, with a brief annotated bibliography (proposal ~2 pages plus annotated bibliography).

You should annotate each source in your bibliography with a brief description of what its overall argument is, and also what it means for your nascent argument. Annotations need to be only three to four sentences per source.

Draft of Essay #3 Again, your draft should not be a “rough draft.” It should represent sustained thinking on your part about your topic, and should be composed and organized with care.

Essay #3 Draft Cover Letter For the draft of Essay #3, please write a letter addressed to your readers in which you pay particular attention to your essay’s place at the table and your use of evidence. Please use the prompt below and present any other concerns that you have. Remember, your letter is an opportunity to ask for the kind of feedback you think you need. Your cover letter should be about a page long, single-spaced. Paginate it as 0 (in Word, select “Page Numbers” from the “Insert” menu, then select “Format”).  Before drafting your cover letter, use a different color highlighter to highlight the places where you use evidence from each source in the paper. Do not highlight the places where you are making an original argument or interpretation. After this exercise, state in your

18 letter which Gaipa cartoon comes closest to depicting how you engage with your sources v.s. how you intend to engage with the sources? Is there a tension?  In your letter identify an example of a strong use of evidence to support your argument and an example of a weaker use of evidence. Please explain why you feel that the use of evidence is strong/weak.  What’s the number one question about your essay that you’d like your reader to focus on? Use the “Lexicon” vocabulary here: thesis, structure, use of evidence, style, etc.

Essay #2 Draft Response As with your previous response, please avoid picayune commentary and think in larger terms about what this writing really needs. Draw straight (seems important) and squiggly (problematic) lines, write marginal notes, and write a short letter to the writer in which you address these questions:  In your own words, what is this paper about? What is its idea? Do not assume that the writer knows what his or her own essay is about!  What was the author’s strongest use of evidence? the weakest? Briefly explain why.  What are this draft’s strengths?  Look at “A Writing Lexicon” handout and identify two elements that you think the writer should focus on in revising, and suggest how you might begin going about doing this. Try to point to specific sentences and paragraphs when possible.

Essay #2 Revision Cover Letter This time around, please reflect on your revision using the “Doubting your own argument” format that we reviewed in class.

Dean’s Date Assignment: Personal Reflection (3-4 pp) Thinking back over the course of this recent election season, choose a particular dimension of your social identity and reflect on how the campaign politicized that particular part of your self. You can also approach this assignment visually, but if you choose this option please submit it with a letter of reflection.

End-of Term Reflection (1-2 pages) Assignment: please read through all of the drafts and revisions that you wrote for this class and then write a cover letter in which you reflect on your development as a writer this term.

Here are some questions to consider:

 Comparing your first papers of the semester with your last, where do you see the most progress with regard to such aspects of academic writing as formulating an arguable thesis, structuring your ideas coherently, and using sources strategically?

 What skills of academic writing do you still need to work on? How do you plan on going about improving and refining these skills?

 What skills that you’ve developed in your writing seminar do you think will be particularly useful in other courses?

19 Please feel free to address any other aspect of your development as a writer in this seminar.