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400-Level Urban Geography (Writing-Intensive)
WRITING AND THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT THE CITY
There's a significant rate of improvement
from the drafts to the final copy. And I guess that's what it's all
about, just trying to get them to improve. You could take it to the
extreme and have them doing first draft, second draft, third draft,
fourth draft, and the improvement would be even greater, but then at
some point you have to say, "The writing is important, but the
content is also important." And you try and get writing exercises
that teach content. That's a form of compromise. But ultimately you
can't just do writing for writing's sake. That needs to be done in a
different kind of class.— Professor Jon Goss
COURSE GOALS
Students gain knowledge of
the city and the process of urbanization using the methodological and
theoretical approaches of urban social geography. The course also has a
practical focus in that the students and the instructor explore the
concept of "city" together, thinking about and applying
abstract concepts to the local context of multi-ethnic Honolulu.
Students research and test theories using urban data sources, with
special emphasis on access to housing. The end result of the research
will be a publishable document. Students further apply what they have
learned about local urban geography in practical writing formats and
styles, such as letters to politicians and in statements policy
recommendations.
WRITING ACTIVITIES
The professor gives students
first draft due dates and final draft due dates for the five assignments
listed below. He returns each first draft to students with comments at
the end of the paper. The students use the comments to help them improve
their papers before submitting a final draft. In the syllabus, the
professor writes, "You may (are encouraged to) submit your
individual assignments anytime before the due date and to resubmit them
if you feel you can improve your grade." He also suggests that
students have a friend or classmate read and respond to their drafts to
help them have a sense of audience and focus on communication rather
than on simply getting a grade.
When grading a written
assignment, the professor weighs students’ knowledge and critical
reasoning more heavily than their spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
Students receive detailed written instructions for assignments 2 - 5.
"To
be fair to multiple-choice objective-type courses, you're learning facts
which you can then use to support a point of view. You have to have the
facts. But the facts by themselves don't mean anything until you write
them down or until you talk about them, until you try and use them to
convince somebody. So I think that's the point [of WI classes]. The
point is to try and teach or to get the students to apply what they
learn. And writing it in the classroom for papers is the first
step."--Professor Goss
1. A PERSONAL RESPONSE TO URBAN ISSUES
The assignment sheet for the
first paper reads:
This
assignment is intended to get you thinking and writing on the concept
of the city, that is its meaning, whether as a physical object,
a sign and symbol, or a sphere of interaction that might define a
"way of life." You are not required to review or cite any
literature and are asked to write an original and personal piece. You
should write a minimum of two pages (typed and double-spaced or
equivalent) to be submitted by [date].
You are asked to
critically interpret (and agree, disagree, support with
evidence, expand upon, illustrate, etc.) one of the following quotes
by more or less famous commentators. Do not be afraid to express
yourself in whatever form and style you wish—that is what this
freestyle assignment is all about—and do not be afraid to take issue
with these authors. Points are awarded for engaging, creative and
imaginative thinking, as well as the usual concern with form and
content. If you wish I can give you citations for the selection of
quotations.
Critically discuss only one
of the following:
"You know, I see
everybody worried about the homeless these days asking, ‘Oh what can
we do about the homeless?’ But the police still come and harass us
all the time. And the government doesn’t make it very easy for us.
And no one wants to hire homeless people. Like here, in the industrial
section, there are always trucks that need to be unloaded or things to
be hauled about. And there are men here who want to work, who would
work and could use the money. But no one'll hire them."— Tom,
homeless in Hawai‘i.
"The city is a moral
universe in which helpfulness is extended beyond kinsfolk to
strangers. In a modern city, public institutions aspire to provide
solace or uplift to all, often with cool efficiency that is rewarding
in its way as is the warmth usually credited to small communities. A
close reading of the city scene reveals inconspicuous artifacts of
consideration such as telephone booths and wheelchair ramps on
sidewalks that symbolize the principles of communication and
access."— Yi-Fu Tuan, geographer.
Students have about fourteen
quotes to choose from. After completing a first draft, students meet in
feedback groups and respond to each others’ papers following peer
review guidelines provided. Before submitting the first draft to the
professor, students can use their peers’ comments to improve their
draft. The instructor reads and comments on the second draft. Students
have another chance to improve their draft using his comments.
PURPOSE:
This short assignment helps students think critically about urban
issues—the quotes are somewhat controversial and some contradict each
other—and to be creative. The instructor uses this assignment to
diagnose students’ writing strengths and weaknesses and to introduce
them to peer-group conferencing/editing. The assignment also gets
students excited about the course content.
2. ANALYZING RESIDENCY PATTERNS
The instructor provides
population data on a computer disk and step-by-step instructions
regarding the use of the software and its calculation and cartographic
functions. Using the data, students calculate indices to determine the
extent of residential segregation in Honolulu among various ethnic and
national groups defined by the U.S. Census of 1980. Students are
required to obtain additional raw data from the census volume available
at the library.
Students then apply
statistical techniques to the data, calculating the "Index of
Dissimilarity" and "Location Quotient." Referring to
their matrices, students posit hypotheses about the nature of
segregation and write an analysis and explanation of the results of
their data. On the assignment sheet, the instructor lists specific
questions for the students to answer such as,
-
"What do the data
tell you about the segregation and the possible nature of
interaction between ethnic Japanese and others?"
-
"How do Japanese
and Koreans differ in their IDs with other groups and what might
explain this?"
Finally, students select two
ethnic groups, map the data for each on two census tract maps, compare
the maps, and explain the different patterns for each group. Students
may do further analysis beyond the required analysis for bonus points.
PURPOSE:
This writing activity builds student confidence and introduces
research techniques and a computer cartographic program. Students also
demonstrate their analytical skills and the technical knowledge gained
in class when they combine the historical, economic, social and
geographic data, develop reasonable hypotheses and support their
explanations.
Students chose a book that
relates to the course content, either fiction or non-fiction, and
analyze its geographic aspects. The instructor encourages the students
to choose fiction so they see how theories they study in class can be
applied to everyday life. They may read, for example, Tom Wolfe's Bonfire
of the Vanities and examine the ways racial, gender, or class
conflict contribute to the social constriction of New York
neighborhoods. The instructor gives students "a
letter from a journal editor" requesting a book review and
explaining the format for the review: not to exceed three pages
(double-spaced), direct quotes single-spaced and indented on the page,
references and notes at the end of the text, etc.
If students submit
incorrectly formatted reviews, the instructor "rejects" the
reviews and requests properly formatted revisions. The instructor also
provides a two-page handout on "Principles
of Book Reviewing" that briefly explains the purpose of a book
review and covers the various parts of a review: text/author
introduction, description of the text, critique, evaluation.
PURPOSE:
Students practice critical reading skills and applying theories they
learned in class to a text with a realistic setting. This assignment
also introduces them to writing in a tightly controlled format often
expected of published reviews.
4. GROUP FEASIBILITY STUDY AND CLASS PRESENTATION
Students work on this group
project throughout the semester. The instructor breaks it into
manageable stages for the students:
-
Form groups of 2 or 3
(in-class)
-
Identify common interest
and topic of concern (in-class)
-
Formulate research
questions
-
Conduct
"feasibility study"
-
Determine research
design
-
Collect data
-
Analyze data
-
Prepare class
presentation
-
Write personal
statement.
Each stage is described and
examples of "thinking" are provided in a handout. Under stage
4, the instructor writes, "Example—Let’s suppose you are
interested in knowing to what extent Chinatown is owned by Chinese
nationals or those of Chinese decent. Is data on land ownership
available? How are you going to get it? Can you distinguish Chinese
ownership by name on the land title? What problems might be encountered?
Could the error incurred be estimated using a sampling procedure?"
The group makes a 25-minute
presentation of their project which includes background information,
literature review, statement of hypothesis/research question, research
design, data, analysis, and conclusions/policy recommendations. Students
comment on and grade each groups’ presentation (a common evaluation
form is used).
Each group submits one
folder containing all the research materials plus a personal
statement from each group member. In these statements (four pages in
length) students critically discuss the research in their own words. And
they indicate what insights the research provided, how it is limited,
and how it might be extended. Finally, they state what they have
personally gained from the assignment (if anything).
PURPOSE:
This assignment allows students to develop a research project on a topic
they are interested in. Unlike the second assignment, the data and
methods are not provided for them. They learn how to formulate a
research question, develop a suitable method, collect data, and draw
conclusions. It also gets students to practice writing and presenting in
an academic style.
5. LETTER TO ELECTED REPRESENTATIVE
Students write a letter
(three pages minimum) to a politician regarding an issue of urban
governance or policy. The letter requests attention and realistic
specific action by the government. The letter must be in layperson’s
terms, informative, persuasive, and contain evidence and cite studies
that support the student’s arguments.
PURPOSE:
In writing the letter, students apply the theories and knowledge they've
accumulated through the course, as well as exercise a practical and
important mode of writing.
RELATED WRITING ACTIVITIES
1. JOURNALS
Students log their learning
experience, pose questions to the instructor, and develop proposals for
papers and assignments. The journals are informal, may be personal, and
are collected weekly, but are not graded.
PURPOSE:
The instructor found that journals help students develop ideas, are
useful to students when they work on other writing assignments, and
increase the amount of communication between him and the students.
2. EXAMS
As part of both midterm and
final exams, students choose two of four essay topics.
Professor Goss comments on his class
(excerpts from an interview):
The first draft
gives them the tools to edit, basically teaching them about the
whole concept of writing drafts. But they don't understand that
unless they have had a writing-intensive course before. So one of
the best ways to introduce the whole concept of writing is to
introduce your own experience and to bring a paper to tell them,
to show them how many times your paper has been revised before it
gets published. They get the idea that what they write to start
with isn't perfect and they need to get their peers, their
parents, their girlfriends and boyfriends or whoever it is to look
at it, and ultimately myself too, to look at it and give it back
with some comments, and then they can go and improve on it.
The final assignment
was a letter, a letter-writing assignment. And as it turned out,
this was done for extra credit. That was negotiated in class
because they decided they had too much work; and I agreed, because
a lot of it was difficult and had taken a long time. So instead of
requiring this it became an extra-credit assignment which half the
class did. Sometimes they did get peer comments on their drafts,
sometimes they didn't. And I'm toying with the idea of making that
required so they have to be able to [prove] that it has been
reviewed by a classmate. That gets to be again difficult because
of the coordination among the students. And ultimately I think if
you want to be able to do this effectively, you're going to have
to set up a period of time where in class they have to review each
other's papers, because otherwise they come with excuses.
What I have in mind is
an alternative to having 15% of the course grade as participation.
What I would do is to break that up and have 10% participation in
class, and then 5% editing participation. I thought I'd have
students hand in drafts, reviewed by a student editor who signs on
the bottom, and then I grade the editor with points, or bonus
points. So the editor actually gets some benefit.
The idea of the book
review is to get them reading — students don't seem to realize
that what they learn in this course is true, actually, applied to
everyday life. It's not supposed to be a bunch of abstract
concepts you put in your closet when you leave school. So the idea
then is to get them to think about how the abstract academic
concepts they learn can be applied to the real world or to the
fantasy world of fiction. It's a surprisingly enjoyable
assignment. I think they get a lot out of doing that.
What we have in the
range of assignments are five different types of writing. And I
think it's important to recognize, if you're doing a
writing-intensive course, that there is writing for specific
purposes, that there are different styles of writing and each one
is valuable. Letter-writing, I know, is probably something that
people don't think about doing in class as being an effective way
of teaching content or actually you spend time teaching with. But
when you think about it, letter-writing will probably be the main
form of writing that most people are going to be doing.
Professionals will be writing reports and stuff like that, I
guess; probably for most people the most writing they do is when
they write a letter. And if they can craft good letters and make
persuasive arguments in their letters, good for them because then
their letters will be taken seriously by people that matter.
Writing is a means of
mastering, to practice in mastering the content of the course. The
kind of knowledge that you get through a non-writing class, which
is tested through objective-type tests, multiple-choice-type tests
at the end of the semester, is impractical. It doesn't apply to
anything else but multiple-choice tests at the end of the
semester. Basically you are spending the whole semester learning
material in order to take a test, whereas if you teach a writing
course, what you're teaching, or what you're giving the students,
is the ability to go out of the classroom with a tool — writing.
To be fair to the multiple-choice objective-type courses, you're
learning facts which you can then use to support a point of view.
You have to have the facts. But the facts by themselves don't mean
anything until you write them down or until you talk about them,
until you try and use them to convince somebody. So I think that's
the point. The point is to get the students to apply what they
learn. And writing it in the classroom for papers is the first
step. I mean it is artificial . . . even the letter and the book
review were artificial in the sense that I was telling them to do
them. But those kinds of things are practical. They can take those
out of the classroom and use them in their everyday life. They can
write letters to congresspersons or whatever, and they can
critically read books and they can write about them as well. |
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