Detailed course schedule, ENG 482, Spring 2009

Visit the course web site for a syllabus, assignments, and other documents.

Weeks which have passed are at the bottom of this page.

This schedule is complete!


Exam week: May 14

Preparing for class:

  1. No readings.
  2. Complete your revision and submit it by 5/14.
  3. Review your notes of the books and from class in preparation for our final examination.

In class:
  1. Final examination 5/14 8:00am.

Past weeks

Week 1: Jan 20, 22

Preparing for class:

  1. Read syllabus & all assignments carefully.
  2. Enter all due dates in your calendar.
  3. Purchase Barthes, Rollyson, Williams, and Zinsser all books (available at the WIU Bookstore).
  4. Read Bearman, "The Legend of Master Legend."
  5. Begin thinking about your autobiography assignment, given the objectives on the assignment sheet.
  6. Write an introduction which includes your writing experience, career goals, and goals for the course. Email to me by 1/22. Hey folks, do this, even if it's after the deadline!

In class:
  1. Discuss syllabus and assignments in depth. Questions.
  2. Discuss Bearman. Why can the article be considered life writing? How well does it achieve the  objectives of life writing named on the syllabus?

Week 2: Jan 27, 29

Preparing for class:
  1. Read Zinsser, considering the discussion prompts below.
  2. Prepare notes or a brief outline of WAYL Zinsser which addresses these points.
  3. Turn in prospectus by 1/29. (Samples on the course web site.)

In class:
  1. Discuss Zinsser, Writing About Your Life (Tue and Thu)
    1. Form: is the texts' mix of biography, autobiography, and reflection effective? Why or why not?
    2. How to write: review some of the breakouts which provide how-to content, as well as the sections which are integrated into the text. What patterns emerge? Do you agree with the advice? Why or why not?
    3. Reading: Zinsser speaks almost as often about his reading as his writing. Why? What instructions does this add up to in the end?
    4. Writing style: what does Zinsser recommend?
    5. Disciplinarity: does Writing About Your Life speak to a broad audience, or is it specific to journalists and professional writers?
  2. Discuss any questions about your autobiography and/or prospectus. (Thu)

Week 3: Feb 3, 5

Preparing for class:
  1. Read as much of Evasion as you can. At the least, read all the frontmatter and backmatter, and sections five and one. (You can read the book online, print it out, or get it from my door to copy., or check out one of the copies I've put on library reserve.)
  2. Consider the issues below.
  3. Write a brief (one or two page) story based on your own life and modeled on Evasion. (For Thu.)

In class:
  1. Discuss Evasion (Tue and Thu)
    1. Issues of truth and authenticity, are raised often, explicitly in the "anti-copyright" page. How does Evasion approach truth? What broader implications for life writing are raised?
    2. The book is obviously rough in many places. Some of this is deliberate, but can the lo-fi ethos account for all of the lack of polish?
    3. There are quite a few flaws with the text. What can or should "Mac" do better?
    4. What do you think about the arguments about being vegan and/or straight-edge, avoiding corporations, and against consumerism?
    5. Evaluate Evasion using the quality standards proposed by Zinsser. How does it measure up? How does it fail to measure up?
  2. Spend a few minutes discussing the autobiography assignment and workshop preparation. (Thu)

Week 4: Feb 10

Preparing for class:

  1. Note no class 2/12 (Lincoln's Birthday).
  2. No readings. Prepare a draft of your autobiography for the 2/10 workshop. Read the workshop prompt (which I'll add to the course web site soon) so you can hit the ground running.

In class:
  1. Collaborate with two other students to workshop your essay, Tues 2/10.
  2. Submit a written summary of your workshop to me via email by 2/12.

Week 5: Feb 17, 19

Preparing for class:

  1. Finish your autobiography assignment. Upload your autobiography to Google Docs on 2/17.
  2. Review the biography assignment.
  3. Read Rollyson:
    1. For Tuesday, read: introduction, Autobiography, Biography and the Academic Disciplines, Details, Privacy.
    2. For Thursday, read: Carlyle, Censorship, Children's Biography, Editorializing, Innovative Biography, Malcolm, Marketplace, Popular History and Biography.

In class:
  1. (Tue) Brief Google Docs demo.
  2. (Tue) Discuss the biography assignment.
  3. Discuss Rollyson:
    1. Introduction: Why a dictionary format? What does "quirky" mean? Why "user's guide?"
    2. What in Autobiography can you relate to, now having written one? What seems off? What needs to be explained more?
    3. Does how-to content emerge? Why or why not? If so, what?
    4. How do the concepts of vulgar greatness and backstage define privacy for Rollyson?
    5. What ethical issues does Malcolm's story raise?
    6. Is your biography innovative in the ways Rollyson describes? Why or why not?
    7. What is bio-pop? Are standards different for it than other forms?

Week 6: Feb 24, 26

Preparing for class:

  1. Review the class participation review assignment.
  2. Find passages where Angelou does the following. Make notes and bring to class. (You will turn this in after our discussion.)
    1. Uses a short anecdote to connect to a larger point
    2. Use dialogue effectively
    3. Gets too sentimental or emotional
    4. Writes an amazing sentence or paragraph
    5. Theorizes truth
    6. Is wrong
    7. Is subtle
    8. Is far, far from subtle
    9. Makes you laugh
    10. Makes you sad
  3. Read Angelou, focusing on the issues below.
  4. Email your class participation review to me by 2/26.
  5. Email your biography prospectus to me by 2/26. (Oops, left this off.)

In class:
  1. (Tue) Any last minute questions about class participation review?
  2. Discuss Angelou.
    1. Look at her subject headings in the table of contents. What do they tell you about the book to come?
    2. Angelou's first piece is a letter to the reader. A daughter. How does it function? Is it effective? Are you Angelou's daughter? Do you want to be?
    3. Some of the pieces are very short. Are these more or less effective than the longer ones?
    4. What does the order of the essays tell us about Angelou's life?

Week 7: Mar 3, 5

Preparing for class:

  1. Read the research essay I distributed in class.
  2. Read Rollyson: Archive, Evidence, Fair Use, Interviews, Letters.
  3. Meet with me if necessary regarding your class participation review.
  4. Bring three copies of your draft biography to class Thu 3/5 for a workshop.

In class:
  1. Discuss the research readings (Tue).
    1. Have you engaged archival work for your biography? Interviews? Use of letters or emails?
    2. What experience do you have dealing with fair use in any context? What about it applies to your "regular" work in English or Journalism?
    3. Discuss the how-to content of the readings. What lessons do you take away from them for your biography?
  2. Workshop 3/5. The usual framework applies: in-class work 3/5, summary email to writers, cc:me by 3/8.

Week 8: Mar 10

Preparing for class:

  1. No readings.
  2. If you wish to have your biography workshopped by the class Tue Mar 10, upload it to Google Docs and share it with me (cbdilger@gmail.com) by Sunday, Mar 8 at 8:00pm.
  3. Finish your biography assignment and upload it to Google Docs by Thu 3/12 (shared as usual).

In class:
  1. Any last questions on biography assignment.
  2. Large group workshops of drafts; as many as we have time for.
  3. I will post the final (auto)bio assignment for you to read over the break.
  4. No class Thu 3/12.

Spring break: Mar 17, 19

No readings or assignments.

Week 9: Mar 24, 26

Preparing for class:

  1. Read Barthes: 1-82, 179-187.
    1. Barthes begins by writing, "as if spoken by a character in a novel." That's how a lot of us felt about Master Legend. Any other similarities to discuss? Differences?
    2. The selection begins with photos. (How) do the captions explain them? See also the key, 185-6.
    3. The vignettes cover a lot of ground. Pick two or three from throughout the text and write out brief reactions to them we can use to spark discussion.
    4. Do the last two entries (179-180) epitomize the book? Why (not)?
    5. Barthes offers a biography on 184. Comments?
  2. Review the final (auto)bio assignment carefully.
  3. Review the book review assignment carefully.

In class:
  1. No class Mar 24.
  2. Discuss final (auto)bio and book review assignments.
  3. Discuss Barthes, given the focus above.

Week 10: Mar 31, Apr 2

Preparing for class:

  1. Read Kingsolver:
    1. It's a big book. If you get bored, skip a bit. Skip the recipes and short essays if you want. Get through at least ch 14 by Tuesday (1-237).
    2. Do the non-fiction commentaries and sections detract from the story?
    3. Have you read any other "year in the life" books? Does the concept appeal to you?
    4. Have you made similar wholesale lifestyle changes or moves?
    5. Have you eaten any local foods? Grown your own? Does your experience compare to Kingsolver's?
    6. What are you learning about food? agriculture? business? ecology? cooking? other things?
    7. How does Kingsolver's book fit in our other texts? Is it an autobiography?
  2. Review your comments on your autobiography and biography assignments.
  3. Complete your prospectus for the final (auto)bio; email it to me by 4/2. Tuesday, 4/7.

In class:
  1. Discuss Kingsolver.

Week 11: Apr 7, Apr 9

Preparing for class:

  1. Email your prospectus to me by 4/7. Please do it earlier if you can!
  2. Read Williams.
    1. How do the principles of actions and characters summarize his entire argument?
    2. How is style defined for Williams, and how does it function?
    3. How well does Williams's work apply to life writing?
  3. Read paramedic method handout.
  4. Re-read the essay you will be revising.

    1. Isolate a paragraph which you can rework with Williams's method.

    2. Print copies which are ready for workshopping.


In class:
  1. Discuss Williams.
  2. Discuss (auto)bio revision with Williams in mind.
  3. Workshop 4/9.
    1. The usual framework: read, discuss, comment, email summary cc: me by 4/14.
    2. Ensure you work on a few sample sentences selected from your biographies: revise by his method and/or Lanham's paramedic method.

Week 12: Apr 14, 16

Preparing for class:

  1. Read Cash:
    1. What themes and patterns emerge which make Cash's work similar or different to others we've read?
    2. What do you know about Cash? How does that square with what you read here?
    3. How would you characterize the structure of the book? Would you prefer another?
    4. What parts of his story are the most and least compelling?
    5. Find a passage (2-3pp) which is well-crafted. Be prepared to talk about in class.
  2. Compare the pictures in Barthes to those in Cash.
  3. Finish your book review and upload it to Google Docs by 4/16.

In class:
  1. Tue: Any last minute questions about your review.
  2. Discuss Cash (see above).

Week 13: Apr 21, 23

Preparing for class:

  1. Read Streissguth:
    1. The cover speaks of myth. How does the Cash myth which comes through Cash's autobiography hold up after reading?
    2. More pictures. Compare these to the ones from the autobiography.
    3. How does the portrayal of negatives differ from the biography--the abuse of friends, wives, drugs?
    4. Find a passage (2-3pp) which is well-crafted. Be prepared to talk about in class.
  2. Review Rollyson.
    1. Review Autobiography, Letters, Popular History and Biography.

In class:
  1. Discuss Streissguth.
  2. Alice Robertson will observe class Thursday as part of my tenure & promotion reviews.

Week 15: May 5, 7

Preparing for class:

  1. No readings.
  2. Prepare for a workshop Tue 5/5, bringing one copy of the draft you are reviewing three copies of your draft to class.
  3. Review your first class participation review, my reply, and the assignment. Write your review and email to me by Thu 5/7.

In class:
  1. Complete a workshop Tue 5/5. The usual framework will apply. Keep the email reviews brief, though.
  2. Complete final course evaluations Thu 5/7. We did this 4/28.
  3. Discuss final examination and any questions about final (auto)bio essay Thu 5/7. We did this 4/28.
  4. Finish screening Walk the Line 5/7.
  5. Wrap up discussion on 5/7: let's talk about all of the texts, form and content.