Half of this course is argument. These are the agreements that make argument productive rather than merely loud.
What we agree to
- Attack the idea, never the person. “That reading ignores the last act” is analysis. “You never do the reading” ends the discussion for everybody.
- Bring the text. A claim with a page number behind it beats a confident one without.
- Steelman before you object. Say the strongest version of the other position before you take it apart. It is the single most useful habit in this room, and it will still be useful in twenty years.
- You may pass, and nobody will ask why.
- Changing your mind out loud is the best thing that happens here, and it will always be treated that way.
- What is said about somebody’s own life stays here.
The texts, and what they deal with
This year includes a play about a feud that kills children, a novel about a community cut off during a collapse, short fiction about violence and grief, and media that is designed to move you without your noticing. Every text page names what it deals with at the top.
If you need to step out of a class, step out. You do not need to explain, and it costs you nothing. Come and see me afterwards and we will find another way in.
Reading Indigenous writing
Moon of the Crusted Snow is by Waubgeshig Rice, who is Anishinaabe from Wasauksing First Nation, and the novel is set in an Anishinaabe community. We name the nation, we use the words the writer uses, and we do not decide on a community’s behalf what its story is “really” about — the reasoning is on Whose Reading Counts.
Using AI honestly
A language model can produce a paragraph about Romeo and Juliet in four seconds. It cannot read for you, and every assessment in this course measures reading.
| Fine | Not fine |
|---|---|
| Asking what a Shakespearean word meant in 1595 | Asking what a scene means |
| Asking it to quiz you before a seminar | Asking it to generate your seminar questions |
| Asking for a synonym you are reaching for | Asking it to rewrite your paragraph |
Where you use it, say so and say how, in a line at the end. That is the rule professionals work under and it costs you nothing.
Curriculum connection
A1.2
select and use appropriate active listening strategies when participating in a variety of classroom interactions (e.g., ask questions and respond to the ideas of others during a class discussion about a short story; maintain attentiveness and focus during a guest speaker’s presentation)
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A2.1
communicate orally for a variety of purposes, using language appropriate for the intended audience (e.g., prepare a group read-aloud of a short story for a school-wide literary festival; prepare a “Speakers’ Corner” message about a contemporary issue; create and present a skit involving characters who hold opposing views on a topic; make a class presentation on the issues affecting Aboriginal communities)
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D3.2
select a media form to suit the topic, purpose, and audience for a media text they plan to create, and explain why it is an appropriate choice (e.g., explain why a posting on a videosharing website would be the best way to promote a new song)
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