1. EWRT 1B
Week 1 Class 1

2. Adding the Class
• I will only take 30 students
• As of now, I have 40 who are enrolled or on the waiting list.
• If you are on the waiting list, you can stay. I won’t hand out
add codes until Monday of next week, and then, only if there
is room.
• As we go over the syllabus, consider whether you will stay in
the class. If you want out, please let me know, so I can offer
your seat to another student.
• If you are not on the waiting list, it is very unlikely you will get
into the class unless we have a mass exodus after the syllabus!

3. Requirements:
• Active participation in class discussions and regular
attendance.
• Keeping up-to-date on the assignments and reading.
• Five formal papers, two of which will be written in class.
• A series of posts to the class website = journal/ blog.
• Tests, quizzes, and in-class assignments.

4. Texts and Required Materials:
PRIMARY TEXTS
Available on the Website
• Chesnutt, Charles “The Passing of Grandison”
• Far, Sui Sin, “Leaves from the Mental Portfolio of an Eurasian”
• Hughes, Langston, “Passing,” (the poem), “Passing,” (short story),
and “Who’s Passing for Who.”
• Moraga, Cherrie, “La Guera
• Morrison, Toni, “Recitatif”
Available at the Bookstore
• Feinberg, Leslie, Stone Butch Blues
• Hwang, David Henry, M Butterfly
SECONDARY TEXTS
Available on the Website
• Assorted Journal Articles

5. CLASS POLICIES:
• Academic Dishonesty:
Plagiarism includes quoting or paraphrasing material without documentation
and copying from other students or professionals. Intentional plagiarism is a
grave offense; the resulting response will be distasteful. Depending upon the
severity, instances of plagiarism may result in a failing grade for the paper or the
course and possible administrative action. All assignments will be scanned and
scrutinized for academic dishonesty. Please refer to your handbook for more
information regarding plagiarism.
• Attendance: Attendance is a significant part of this course, and success in this
course depends on regular attendance and active participation. If excessive
absences become a problem, you may be dropped from this course (see your
handbook for more on De Anza’s official attendance policy). Tardies and early
departures may count as absences. You will be allowed two absences during the
semester though you are still responsible for timely submission of all work due
on any day you are absent. Because YOU WILL LOSE 10 POINTS PER ABSENCE
after two absences, you should save them for emergencies, work
conflicts, weddings, jury duty, or any other issues that might arise in your life.

6. • Conduct, Courtesy, and Electronic Devices: In this class, we will
regularly engage in the discussion of topics that may stir passionate
debates. Please speak freely and candidly; however, while your
thoughts and ideas are important to me and to the dynamics of the
class, you must also respect others and their opinions. Courtesy will
allow each person to have the opportunity to express his or her
ideas in a comfortable environment.
• Courtesy includes but is not limited to politely listening to others
when they contribute to class discussions or while they give
presentations, not slamming the classroom door or walking in front
of classmates giving presentations if you do arrive late, and
maintaining a positive learning environment for your fellow
classmates. To help maintain a positive learning environment, please
focus on the work assigned, turn off all cell phones and ipods before
class, and do not text-message in class. If your behavior becomes
disruptive to the learning environment of the class, you may be
asked to leave and/or be marked absent.
• Participation:
• Participation includes doing all work asked of you inside and outside
of class, maintaining a positive learning environment for your
classmates, and contributing to class discussion.

7. Website:
• Our class website is http://palmoreenglish.wordpress.com. In order
to do the homework, you must establish an account. To make your
own FREE Word Press account, go to wordpress.com and click on the
large, orange button that says, “Get started here.” The system will
walk you through a series of steps that will allow you to set up your
own user-friendly Word Press page. You may use either your name
or a pseudonym, if you prefer to remain anonymous. Make sure you
sign in with YOUR Word Press username before you post on our
class page so you get credit for your work. Please email me your
username if it is significantly different from your real name.
• If you cannot establish your website and username, please come to
my office hours this week, and I will help you with the process.
Much of our work will take place online, so establishing this
connection is mandatory.

8. Syllabus
• The syllabus is a tentative schedule of agenda.
• It may be revised during the quarter.
• Use it to determine how to prepare for class.
For Example

9. Terms Tests QHQ
• The terms are listed • A QHQ is a
on the website. We thoughtful response
will go over a few to your reading. They
each time we meet.
We will have four will be posted on our
terms exams. The website for all to
first three are worth read and consider.
25 points. The last The directions for
one is writing the QHQ are
comprehensive and posted on the
will be worth 50
points. website under
“writing help.”

10. Questions?

11. What is Identity?

12. A person’s mental representation of
who he or she is
• Components of identity include a sense of personal continuity
and of uniqueness from other people. In addition to carving
out a personal identity based on the need for
uniqueness, people also acquire a social identity based on
their membership in various groups—
familial, ethnic, occupational, and others. These group
identities, in addition to satisfying the need
for affiliation, help people define themselves in the eyes of
both others and themselves.

13. Cultural Identity
•What is it?
•Think of it in terms of
both a dictionary type
definition and what it
means to you
personally.

14. Suggest dimensions of culture that
contribute to your identity
Reflect on your own culture and the dimensions of
that culture with which you identify. Take two
minutes and jot down some notes to yourself.
• Where in your life does your culture emerge?
• How do you see yourself within your culture?
• How does your family manifest culture?
• What would you tell others about your culture?

15. Volunteer?
• I need someone to come to the
board to write down ideas on the
board.

16. More ideas about defining cultural
identity?
• Music
• Food
• Faith, religion
• Values
• Language
• Family structure

17. How about these?
• Education
• Race
• Gender
• Sexual Orientation
• Social Class

18. Defining ourselves versus
Defining others
How do these differ?

19. Nitza Hidalgo’s “three levels of
culture”
• the Concrete: This is the most visible and
tangible level of culture. These aspects of
culture are often those that provide the focus
for multicultural "festivals" or "celebrations."
• the Behavioral: This level of culture clarifies
how we define our social roles, the language(s)
we speak, and our approaches to nonverbal
communication.
• the Symbolic: This level of culture includes our
values and beliefs.

20. Consider further how you define yourself within these categories. Look over the
categories and the items on the board for a few moments. Put our list into their
proper categories.
• the Concrete: This is the most visible and
tangible level of culture. These aspects of
culture are often those that provide the focus
for multicultural "festivals" or "celebrations."
• the Behavioral: This level of culture clarifies
how we define our social roles, the language(s)
we speak, and our approaches to nonverbal
communication.
• the Symbolic: This level of culture includes our
values and beliefs.

21. The Concrete
• Which items go here?

22. The Behavioral?
• And which here?

23. The Symbolic?
• And here?

24. How do we see others?
• When you meet somebody, which of those
items (under any of the categories) do you use
to understand them culturally?
• Is your attempt to understand others culturally
consistent with how you want to be viewed
and understood?
• What forces in our society might contribute to
our simplification of the culture of others,
even though we don't want to be defined
simplistically ourselves?

25. Passing
•How does our simplistic
judgment of people lead to the
desire or need to “pass”?

26. In-Class Writing
• How do we express our own identities?
• How much do we reveal about ourselves and
when do we do so?
• How do we decide?
• What does society expect from us in terms of
revealing who we are?

27. Homework
• Make your webpage.
• Writing: Finish your in-class writing and post it.
• Blog Shot #1 Write a paragraph or two describing a time when
you were unfairly judged on concrete identity characteristics.
OR
• Write a paragraph or two describing a time when you passed
as someone or something you were not. The passing can be
either purposeful or inadvertent.