English 161: Researching City Cultures -- Spring 2001

44908 MWF 11 AM 321 Lincoln Hall and 45284 MWF 12 PM 207 Stevenson Hall

Joe Alter -- 1831 University Hall -- (312)-413-2200 -- jalter@uic.edu

Writing

Academic writing is a little bit like conversation. In academic writing, as in "ordinary" conversation, one listens to what the other speakers have to say, responds to what has been said, and so on. Sometimes, but not always, the quality of a conversation is enhanced by the number of participants. You might also say a good conversation like good academic writing needs some kind of central topic or organizing idea. On the other hand, good conversations, academic or otherwise, don't necessarily have to adhere to a single topic; in fact, some of the most memorable conversations I have had drift off into seemingly unrelated areas only to circle back to their original idea with a richer, more complex understanding. Digression can be good. It allows us to see old ideas with fresh eyes, even if it churns up a lot of garbage along the way.

Academic writing differs from ordinary conversations in that it sacrifices the liveliness and spontaneity of free-wheeling conversations for something more deliberate, careful, and scripted. This is a good thing in so far as ideas, concepts, and arguments can be presented cleanly, and coherently. This is what we mean by editing. The problem, though, is that once academic writing enters the editorial stage it surrenders the very thing that can make ordinary "live" conversations so very insightful.

So what is to be done? Well, to start, I recommend that we consider Peter Elbow's idea that writing involves two distinct components: the writing process and the editorial stage. The final academic research essay that you will produce in this class will be an edited document, and as such will reflect the stylistic and formal expectations for an academic essay. When it is time, probably in the last three weeks of the semester, we will specifically work on editorial strategies. In the meantime, I propose that we focus on what is to my mind the more critical, but less understood, component of academic work: how to nurture and develop your inquiry through the writing process itself.

It might seem circular. But what I want to stress in this class is that contrary to the common sense idea, you are (or least should be) always writing throughout the process of developing a research paper, not just the night, or week before the final paper is due. Writing should become an integral part of your idea development process. My feeling is that through "free-writing", you will find your way to a position -- toward what you really want to say about your research. Allowing yourself time to write in a raw and unedited manner throughout the semester will give you time to try out and discard various positions, and, I hope, will provide you with the resources necessary to produce a superb and engaging research essay when the time comes.

Researching City Cultures

This focus of this class will become clearer once we dig into the readings. In some sense, the direction of the class will take shape in the first few weeks depending upon what the class brings to the readings, discussions, and free-writes. In general, the readings I have selected deal with some facet of culture, mainly American culture. Your individual projects will grow out of one or more of the running conversations we will be having in the class about what culture is and how it works. As a group, we will hash out some of the key words and key concepts of cultural studies which will inform the way you go about formulating and presenting your own work later in the semester.

2 Required Texts

Peter Elbow. Writing Without Teachers. 2^nd Ed. Oxford UP: New York, 1998. ISBN: 0195120167

A Course Packet (approximately $12.00) will be available after January 15th at:

Aires Press -- 1026 West Van Buren Street (about 1 block west of Morgan on the north side of the street)

312-226-2121

CASH ONLY. no checks, no credit cards, no barter

Course work

• daily reading responses
• a midterm essay
• a narrative bibliography
• a final paper

Attendance Policy

4 absences will lower your grade by one letter. You will be asked to drop the class if you miss more than six classes.

Plagiarism

Academic dishonesty of any kind will result in a failing grade in this class. Not only is trying to pass off someone else's ideas and/or language as your own a bad idea, it could get you kicked out of the university. Don't do it. If you are unsure about how to acknowledge or cite the work of other writers, please talk to me.

General Resources

The Writing Center -- 413-2206 -- 1st Floor Douglass Hall.

The best place to get a honest listener/reader for your writing in a comfortable and non-intimidating atmosphere. Walk-ins and by apt.

UIC Main Library -- 996-2724

• The Reference Desk Second Floor. Here you can find a reference librarian who can help you refine your library search strategies, whether you are having trouble finding material with the various electronic search systems, or you need help finding reference materials.
• Special Collections and Archives Third Floor, South. This collection contains thousands of primary documents, archival records, photographs, sound recordings, and rare books relating to the history of the University of Illinois at Chicago, Jane Addams Hull House, A Century of Progress International Exposition (1933-34), the Chicago Urban League, and various other collections of local interest.
• Micro-forms Third floor, South. A source for newspaper and magazine articles.

Harold Washington Library Center -- 400 South State Street.

HW Special Collections is good for Chicago neighborhood history.

Chicago Historical Society -- Clark Street at North Avenue 312-642-4600

Chicago in the Year 2000

A year long photo-documentary of life in Chicago. 366 shot exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington runs through March 4. Some work also on display at the Harold Washington Library. www.chicagointheyear2000.org