ENG 495E: Capstone in Literature
Ecology and Environment in Native American Literature
Fall 2004

Office Hours            TR 1:45-2:30

Course Web Site     www.users.muohio.edu/johnso58

Required Texts

Louise Erdrich, Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country
Louise Erdrich, Tracks

Linda Hogan, The Woman Who Watches Over the World
Linda Hogan, Mean Spirit
Linda Hogan, Solar Storms

Thomas King, Green Grass, Running Water

Winona LaDuke, All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life

N. Scott Momaday, The Way to Rainy Mountain

Leslie Marmon Silko, Ceremony

Donald A. Grinde and Bruce E. Johansen, Ecocide of Native America: Environmental Destruction of Indian Lands and Peoples

Ward Churchill, Struggle for the Land: Native North American Resistance to Genocide, Ecocide, and Colonization

Electronic Reserve Readings:

Ramona Bennett, "The Puyallup Tribe Rose from the Ashes"
Linda Hogan, Dwellings (excerpts)
Sarah James, "We Are the Caribou People"
selected poems by Simon Ortiz
Elaine Salinas, "Still Grieving over the Loss of the Land"
Leslie Marmon Silko, "The People and the Land ARE Inseparable" and "Interior and Exterior Landscapes"

Course Description

From the Miami Bulletin:  Capstone in Literature. Intensive study, including reading and independent research. Specific course requirements vary according to instructor and topic, but all Capstones include extensive reading, writing, and discussion. Students read and think as informed readers and respond to issues or problems in an analytic and creative manner. Capstones in literature are selected annually from proposals submitted by faculty. Prerequisite: completion of all survey courses, completion of at least two of the distribution requirements (sub-requirements 3-5), and senior standing.

Ecology and Environment in Native American Literature focuses on the interconnections among landscape, environment, and culture as they appear in Native American writings. You will independently and collaboratively contextualize course readings with research on relevant government policies, treaties, and practices in particular places at particular moments in U.S. history. Interdisciplinary in approach, this course draws together literature, environmental writings, science, sociology, cultural studies, and history, allowing students to understand, and perhaps participate in, the nation’s evolving environmental policies.

This seminar will fulfill the University’s vision for the Capstone Experience. You will, from the beginning of course, determine its direction in their assignments both inside and outside the classroom. In addition to choosing your own group projects, you will also frequently lead class discussions by writing discussion questions and reading you’re your weekly short writings. As active learners, you will be responsible for integrating liberal learning and specialized knowledge you have accumulated during the course of your education. Moreover, although many capstone courses are precursors to action, this course requires some action—at the local level in the form of the group project, and in a more global sense in their collaborative letter. This approach will allow you to engage with other learners, even beyond Miami University.

You will write two traditional literary analyses of the course novel(s) of your choice. The second literary analysis will require you to make connections across geographical, cultural, and historical boundaries in synthesizing two or more course texts. You will collaborate in groups to produce two additional pieces of work: 1) a collaborative letter to an agency, which you must identify and research, in which you argue your stance on an environmental topic relevant to Native America today; and 2) a group project, to be determined by each group, on a topic of the group’s choosing—perhaps a web page on water rights and the Diné (Navajo), a multimedia presentation on the cultural effects of environmental change, a group analysis of the role of the land in ceremonies and spiritual practices among a particular people, a draft of legislation on an environmental topic, or some other appropriate project. You will present the final project during the last week of classes, and your final projects are due at our appointed exam time during the week of Final Exams. For the remainder of your course grade, you will be graded on weekly short writings on the texts. Active and positive class participation in this discussion-based course is also expected and required. A part of your participation grade will also emerge out of a semester-long class project in which you articulate your own environmental policy sensitive to cultural and ecological diversity in the United States.

Course Grading

Critical Analyses (2)                                         50%
Group Project                                                  20%
Collaborative Letter                                          20%
Short Writings                                                  10%
Participation                                                     10%

Final grades will not be posted. In the interest of student privacy, grades will not be released in advance of official notification from the Office of Records and Registration.

Class Participation. You will be graded on your active and positive participation. You may choose to participate by completing homework, engaging in group work, volunteering during class discussion, and completing assigned readings. You should bring the assigned readings to every class meeting. Participation in these areas will be graded on the following criteria:

A =      Regular active participation demonstrating superior understanding and analysis of

            assigned material; willingness to engage theories, perspectives, and group

members

B =      Frequent participation that demonstrates accurate and thoughtful familiarity with

the material; participation in group interaction

C =      Contributions are infrequent and/or demonstrate little familiarity with the

material; or contributions are not relevant to material being discussed

D =      In attendance but does not participate in discussion

0 =       Not in attendance or sleeping in class

Group Work. At the beginning of the semester, I will assign you to a group with which you will work all semester. Groups will collaborate for in-class assignments, a group project, small-group discussion, and a collaborative letter. Your participation in group work will be calculated into your participation grade. For the group project and collaborative letter, grades will be assigned to individuals, not to the entire group.

Papers. You will complete two literary analysis papers in this course on topics to be determined in conjunction with your professor. You will receive in class both written explanation and detailed descriptions of the assignments. All papers must conform to stated guidelines. Papers may not be submitted electronically (technology is not always reliable). Late papers will be penalized 10% each calendar day until the paper is turned in. Students who fail to turn in one of the four major projects in this course--literary analyses, group project, collaborative letter--will not pass the class.

Short Writings. Throughout the semester, I will assign ten short papers, based on readings or lectures, to be word-processed in advanced and brought to class. Short writings are formal papers and should be revised and formatted according to paper guidelines. In addition to writing practice, these assignments offer you the opportunity to focus your ideas and comments before coming to class. The short assignments will be collected at the end of each class. No late papers will be accepted. Electronic submissions will not be accepted.

 Evaluation of short writing assignments will be based on the following guidelines (the criteria each week may be tailored slightly to the specifics of the individual assignment):

10 =     Demonstrates superior familiarity with the material as well as analytical and

critical thinking; points are clearly articulated and easy to follow

8 =       Demonstrates basic familiarity with the material; points are raised but not

developed or supported; or provides a solid summary of material but little analysis

or reflection

6 =       Demonstrates only passing familiarity with material; analysis is absent or

simplistic; points are poorly articulated or hard to follow; or provides only crude

summary of material

5 =       Turns in assignment, but demonstrates no significant familiarity with material or

analysis of material

0 =       Does not complete assignment

Student Responsibilities

Paper Guidelines. All papers will be word processed and double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman with standard 1”- or 1 ¼”-inch margins. You may use either Word or WordPerfect, but papers may not be typed on a typewriter. If you do not have a computer, please take advantage of the campus computer labs, which I will be happy to show you at any time during the semester. You are expected to use MLA citation style, but if you are more familiar or comfortable with a different style, please let me know.

Attendance. Attendance will be taken at each class meeting. Regular attendance is expected. The University’s attendance policy is available at http://www.miami.muohio.edu/documents_and_policies/handbook/academic_regulations/acadregspvii.cfm.

Beyond this policy, students may miss up to three classes without penalty (though they will earn a zero for daily participation and/or group work for all days missed). No explanation is required, and these first three absences are considered “excused.” Any student who misses four classes must meet with me during office hours to determine her/his future in this course. Twenty-four hours after the fifth absence, the student will be dropped from the class. (If the final date to drop the class has already passed, the student will be dropped with a grade of WF for the course, which is calculated into the grade point at Miami University.) Students receiving financial aid should consider carefully their absences as they are ultimately responsible for complying with regulations, and exceptions to the attendance policy will not be made for financial aid eligibility. Individual exceptions may be negotiated on a case-by-case basis under extraordinary circumstances.

Tardiness. You are expected to arrive in the classroom before the appointed class hour so that we may begin our work on time. Because students who arrive late disrupt class, tardiness will be penalized. Everyone will be allowed one tardy. After that initial late arrival, I will count two tardies as an absence. After four late arrivals, students will dropped from the course. (If the final date to drop the class has already passed, the student will be dropped with a grade of WF for the course, which is calculated into the grade point at Miami University.)

Technology. Please turn cell phones and pagers OFF (not to vibrate) when you enter the classroom. Students who use cell phones or check messages—voice or text—will be asked to leave the classroom and marked absent for the day. Any missed work cannot be made up.

Information for Students with Disabilities. If you have a disability or any other special circumstance that may have some impact on your work in this class, and for which you may require accommodations, please contact me early in the semester so that appropriate accommodations can be made in a timely manner. The Office of Disability Services at Hamilton, located in Rentschler Hall, is the designated office on campus to provide services and accommodations to students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Mary Vogel, Coordinator of Disability Services, by telephone at 513-785-3211 (TTY/TDD accessible) or via email at vogelmm@muohio.edu.

 Plagiarism. Academic honesty is expected and required. All cases of plagiarism will be referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs. Miami University’s policy in plagiarism can be found in your student handbook and on-line at  http://www.miami.muohio.edu/documents_and_policies/handbook/

By remaining in this course, you are agreeing to the terms of this syllabus.