as i describe HERE, use your writing experience to "speak to the next generation of students, through the syllabus: that is to say, my students, as ancestors, contribute to the next syllabus together, by critiquing what came before & improving what will go after."
we will reflect what we VALUE as a writing community, & pass down what we can to those who follow us.
as a Generation, now, you as a class will change the syllabus, add to it, offer a gift to the next generation of students, as you see fit. this is one-fifth of your Participation grade.
past Generations,for example, have added Workshops as required elements of the Participation grade, in order to build in good-faith Accountability;
another discovered the flexibility of the metaphor of Ancestor, & added that element to what is now our version of Problem:Response; — they showed how we can be a discourse with an Ancestor, whether literal, cultural, intellectual, etc.
this led us to choosing Dear Martin as a novel to analyze & learn from, for its use of multiple genres to tell a unified story, while nevertheless remaining in & deepening a discourse with a cultural ancestor, Martin Luther King, among many others in that story.
the use of this novel created a foundation for allowing ourselves to use multiple genres within one text, the Final Portfolio. we let it teach us to be playful, as long as we agreed to tell the story in a meaningful way. workshops helped, if used well.
this led to a new decision, in a future semester: we no longer needed Dear Martin as a model text(!), since there were now ample very good examples of final ancestorPortfolios we could study, & evolve the new "genre" from there; we therefore made it an option for the next Generation, who chose to study just the ancestorPortfolios(!).
in the same way, we can change the system of this syllabus in a way that helps future Generations really appreciate the Agency they have as they explore genre and meaning, problem solving, & metaphor-making.
how can we best make use of this time? let's leave it behind as a gift for those who follow us.
how you accomplish this, is up to you. as a class, you will need to have a space to communicate where i'm not present. i suggest a class GroupMe.
how you make decisions, is up to you.
but let them reflect what you value :)
I wish we could consolidate all the syllabus into a smaller, less overwhelming form. Maybe put these through ChatGPT.
I genuinely appreciate all the freedom we got in this class -- essay topics, how to handel each assignments, using AI, how to manage our essay's progress.... It relived a lot of stress because of it. But then, sometimes it is too much for me as a freshmen in a new environment, trying to figure things out. It kinda adds to the chaos of life a little bit (its not necessarily a bad thing!) But I would appreciate a clearer instruction (ie: a consolidate syllabus and a few deadlines that doesnt have to be dead but just there for reference)which would definitely guide me to explore much more of both the potential of this course and myself :D
The syllabus was extremely digestible over time and I appreciated the pace at which we completed the scavenger hunts. In terms of the "actual" writing/portfolio where we create our own thing, I think it would be useful to set personal deadlines for ourselves and have you hold us a bit accountable for those deadlines set, because I personally found it really easy to procrastinate during those times. However, I did appreciate the freedom and flexibility that it provided to me as a freshman trying to juggle three STEM classes in one semester and overall not having certainty on my future. So, this was a good space to reflect on the things I thought about outside of academics (which would be most of the time), and really transform as a person. In addition, I think the instructions can be clearer and better divided to communicate NECESSARY pieces of information vs reassurance because they are a bit convoluted right now. :))<3
I liked how unstructured the writing assignments were but wished classes were structured in a way that felt more productive.
This class is what you make of it. There’s no fixed map — just paths you’ll trace through questions, stories, and each other’s voices. Write boldly, even if it feels messy. Read generously. Don’t wait for permission to try something strange or meaningful. What you leave behind isn’t just a syllabus — it’s a signal. Someone will pick it up. Let them find something worth continuing.