Lesson Plans

Syllabus:
3/16
In Class: Written Lives Presentations. Overview of Final Project. Uncovering your topics. Freewrite to consider your topic for your final project; see SMH 3a, “Exploring a topic,” and SMH 13a-h to review and reflect upon purpose, whether your statement can be argued, formulating your thesis, and developing support. Bring in chaos/ ideas/ clusters.

In Class:

Speakers:

• Responses
• Considerations
• Revisions?

Readings:

• Heger's Arrival at Sachsenhausen (Triangles Roses) (A bit outside of our geographical area)
  Ruthie and Connie: Every Room in the House (film synopsis)
  Ruth Ellis
  Ruth Ellis: Portrait of a 100-Year-Old Lesbian (Curve Magazine)
  Ruth Ellis 1899-2000 (Lesbian Legacy Collection at USC)
  Harvey Milk
  Dave Kopay Profile
  Poster Boy
  Optional:
  Out of the Past, documentary at PBS-- click on timeline and dates
  "Musician's Death at 74 Reveals He Was a Woman" New York Times, Feb 2, 1989. p. A18
  AIDS Quilt Images from CT: Imperial Court CT; Hospital of St. Raphael; St. Luke's Community Church, Stamford; Mid-Fairfield AIDS Project, Norwalk; In Memory of Our Patients, Norwalk Hospital; Friends and Family of Windham Tech, Windham; To The AIDS Victims of Litchfield County; HIV/AIDS Unit Hartford CT
  Melvin Dixon (Bio.), "Aunt Ida Pieces a Quilt"

Final Research Project:
(there will be another, 'shorter,' paper due in the interim)

Your topic should be:

• Interesting to YOU -- what readings intrigued you most and why? what is your major/ area of interest? How can you work with your interests and this course's theme?
• Important. Consider the purpose of your writing. Often, we write to persuade or to teach. Writers can influence people, and as corny as it may sound, writing can change the world. How can you use writing to make a difference?
• Original. This can be the hardest part, as it may feel to you that everything has been covered before. Think of music-- love songs. Think about how many times you can stand to hear the same song over and over on the radio-- even your favorite song can set your teeth on edge. That doesn't mean, however, that all love songs are exactly the same. Lyrics and performance can change perspectives. Even working from a common base (consider remakes!) can lead an artist to create something original.
  .....One way to consider how you will make your writing original is to consider what you uniquely can bring to a work. If you've played team sports for ten years, might you not have something stronger to add to a conversation concerning gays in sports? If you're a psych. major, do you have a way to analyze homophobia among members of the psych. profession?
• Researchable. Ok. Not sure if that's even a word. In truth, everything is, as you will need to establish authority in your paper, and one way in which to do so is to demonstrate your awareness of scholarship concerning your topic. Remember that your research may take you in different directions than you may suppose. If you're writing about the media and gay stereotypes, consider researching psychology journals for studies concerning repeated exposure and perception of norms ("media" and "gay" might not be found in these articles, but don't the concepts apply?).
• Fun. You may not think that this is possible, but it should be. You're going to spend a lot of time researching and writing. Find something that is interesting and fun, one that offers you opportunities to think, to perhaps be a little creative. This is an academic paper, but academic shouldn't equal boring/painful/tedious.

Timeline:

• 4/25: Research Project Proposal (500 words, plus prospective outline of project) [5%]
  See previous guidelines for proposal for an idea.
• 5/2: Annotated Bibliography for your specific topic. Minimum 10 sources. [10%]
  Sample AB entry is in SMH 14.i (Substantive/Evaluative Entry). Grading based on Citation, Summary, and Analysis. Note how the sample entry is brief, yet covers the necessary information. See below for more info. as to types of sources.
• 5/11 (reading day): Researched Analysis (2500 words minimum plus Works Cited and Outline). Min. 7 sources (not including reference materials) [20%]
  As always, sources are used to add to your analysis-- which this paper is, first and foremost. Sources must be appropriate for college level (generally, no general use websites or news sources; if your topic leads you to these types of sources, please meet with me to discuss). Consider how you will create something that is original scholarship, providing a different means of consideration, interpretation, or analysis. I would suggest moving beyond the blanket topics of gay adoption, gay marriage, or gays in the military, as people seem to be getting caught in many cliches.
• Fin.: Oral Presentation: Final Research Project (5-10 mins.) [5%]
  

Looking Ahead:
3/28
Read & Blog: Sacrifices and Standards. In Class: Essay II Proposal.