Great to see you for Part 2 of our Orientation to ENG 5020 “Writing Theory & Practice”!  Our second meeting was a chance to further acclimate as we continue to set up the course together.  Your early responses to the “Image Gallery” check-in exercise were insightful, and it helps to get to know each other (incrementally) as we embark on this journey together.  Thanks for your generosity in participating.

I am glad we achieved as much as we did regarding our Calendar plan.  For now, we have all the dates designated (each of you knows which night you are slated to “take the lead”).   I hope you will take the next couple of weeks to select some readings (have some 1st, 2nd, & 3rd choices in mind).  When we are together again on 9/27 we will confirm all the readings and have the map of our work together completed.  

Centering ourselves at the beginning

I am glad we took a moment to write a Spiral Journal together. Writing can be a powerful way to sharpen your own observational precision, especially in terms of self-reflection. I believe it is useful to take stock of where we are at, at the start of the grad school journey. It will help you in setting an intentional direction for new growth in your life. We have our work cut out for us in this course, and yet, I also hope that our rhythm and our way of proceeding together will genuinely be something all of us to look forward to.  We will pace ourselves as we dive deeper into the world of writing theory, seeking that bridge to writing praxis.  Your preparations for the next couple of weeks will continue to be “light” as we warm-up and acclimate together.

Your “to-do” list:

Week 9/13- 9/20: Blog #1 (Due 9/20 ) – Please reflect on our start together, the early short articles & podcast, and/or & your thoughts on anything we discussed thus far in class, the Spiral Journal reflection, etc.  Your selected reflections and the highlights emerging from the first two weeks of class is should be the topic/content of your first blog.

Week 9/20-/27: Independent Work: NO MEETING on 9/20; Read:  Janice M. Lauer “Rhetoric and Composition”;  Blog #2 (Due 9/27) – A reflection/response on the Lauer reading; 

See you in person soon!

Dr. Zamora