"Only connect! That was the whole of her sermon. Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its height. Live in fragments no longer.” E. M. Forster, Howards End (1910), ch. 22
In addition to our theme, "Only Connect," we will focus on two of the core values of this university: Discovery and Leadership; and two related values: Compassion and Diversity, especially as they relate to Pre-Med and related concentrations. We will take excursions during class and outside of class to develop a sense of this state, this town, and especially this university, as your place, your Alma Mater (nurturing mother).To prepare you for your college and later careers we will develop our digital, information, and print literacy and will practice time management, writing, speaking, listening, discussing, defending ideas, analyzing and completing assignments. We will also focus on compassion especially as it relates to Pre-Med and related concentrations.
Writing. Inspired by the Leadershape program of the College of Engineering, we will write autobiographical essays and leadership visions to motivate us during our college years and beyond. This writing will require digital literacy (multimedia and web skills) as well as print literacy. Students should be familiar with keyboarding, operating systems, word processing, electronic mail, web-browsing, downloading and uploading files, Facebook, and Power Point. In addition,you will need to know (or learn how to) burn files onto a CD, create personal websites, blogs, and electronic portfolios, all with images. You will use Facebook for discussions of the readings, U.T.’s Blackboard system for keeping track of your grades, and a peer editing site called SWORD to critique the papers of other students. Because the secret of writing is rewriting and almost perfect final drafts, procrastination will be heavily penalized. Obviously, time management is essential.
Reading. We will begin with learning how to read directions and complete assignments. In the first semester we will read about the origin and purpose of universities, especially this one, and get to know a few of its leaders. Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People will teach us with time management and leadership. Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass will serve an an amusing guide to leadership, discovery learning, and diversity in the college experience. Hardy's Jude the Obscure will inspire us to discuss college dreams and nature, a topic also of our discussions of Dobie's Longhorns and Mustangs, Darwin's Origin of Species, and Coetzee's Elizabeth Costello. The latter also discusses Africa and Australia and, during the second semester we will journey to India via Hesse's Siddartha (via German). We will assume that students who choose this section will have already read many of the older masterworks of Western civilization, but in the second semester we will also read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and selections from the Bible and Virgil, as well as from the Qur'an. Reading comprehension will be tested by Discussion Board entries and by pop quizzes.
Grades. About 50% of the final grade will be determined by multimedia web projects (15% for each first draft—150 points each, 10% for each revision—100 points each), 14% by the portfolio (140 points); 36% by informal writing (360 points); and up to 24% by class participation (240 points). 1000 points (out of 1,200 or more) are required for an A-; 900 for a B-; 800 for a C-; 700 for a D-. Because more than 1200 points will be available, students can emphasize formal over informal writing or vice versa, class discussion more than the portfolio, etc. However, at the end of the course, students will receive exactly the grade recorded in the online gradebook, even if it is one point short of the next higher grade.
Discovery learning. Students’ "formal writing," their multimedia web projects, will focus on discovering one’s passion, identity, and leadership vision. For these assignments especially, students should be prepared to think for themselves. Discovery learning means that there will be fewer instructions for projects than what students may be used to from other courses. This can be frustrating for some, especially those who want a detailed formula that will guarantee them a good grade. Instead students will be encouraged to be creative and write about what is most important to them.
Print Literacy. Required books consist of the course anthology*; the Annotated Alice (Norton, 0-393-04847-0) -- BUY ONLY THIS EDITION; Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Simon and Schuster 2004 0-7432-6951-9); the third Norton Critical Edition of Darwin (2001 - 0-393-95849-3)-- BUY ONLY THIS EDITION, J. M. Coetzee's Elizabeth Costello (Penguin 2003 01420.0481), Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure (1999 Norton Critical Edition, 0-393-97278-X and Lester Faigley’s The Little Penguin Handbook (Pearson Longman 2007 032124401X). *FOR THE FIRST ASSIGNMENT, students will need the course anthology, which is a collection of xeroxed materials from Jenn's, 2000 Guadalupe (basement of the Church of Scientology at 22nd and Guadalupe, 473-8669). It will cost about $50. Jenn’s takes major credit cards, of course. If you don’t get there within the first few days you might want to call ahead to make sure they have a copy reserved for you.
Digital Literacy. Because the "Five Characteristics of a Successful Student at U.T." include "Good computer skills" as well as "Strong writing skills," students will be expected to check their email frequently (maintaining the correct email address in the U.T. Direct system) along with the course Discussion Boards and Online Gradebook in Blackboard, all especially the day before class. Students will download pictures from our class web sites and use multimedia to fulfill all the writing requirements and ultimately collect everything on one portfolio web site. The portfolio will include some of the materials you uploaded to Facebook, where we will have a closed group "to help students develop a small community within the larger whole"(Carnegie's Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America’s Research Universities ). TO CREATE THE WEBSITES REQUIRED FOR THIS CLASS STUDENTS ARE ADVISED TO ACQUIRE IN ADVANCE (AND LEARN HOW TO USE) A WEBSITE CREATION PROGRAM SUCH AS DREAMWEAVER OR IWEB. Students who need more training in digital literacy are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible for some of the free classes, tutorials, and handouts:
http://www.utexas.edu/its/training/
Particularly important are the web publishing tutorials
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“The University of Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471- 6259, 471-6441 TTY."
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About the Professor. Jerome Bump has been awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, a N. D. E. A. Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship, the Jeanne Holloway Award for undergraduate teaching, the Dad's Association Centennial Teaching Fellowship for instructing freshmen, the Rhodes Centennial Teaching Fellowship for directing the Computer Writing and Research Laboratory (devoted primarily to lower division instruction), and chosen as a Mortar Board Preferred Professor. He was an editor of Texas Studies in Language and Literature and has written Gerard Manley Hopkins and over fifty articles. For more information about him, his teaching philosophy, or his courses see
http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/
