THE ART OF REMEMBERING Jackie Bartley
IN AN AGE OF FORGETTING 314 Lubbers
Course Description Office ext. 7122
TR 10:00AM-10:50 AM Home: 392-6556
Office hours: noon-2:00PM T & R e-mail: <Bartley>
or by appointment
BOOKS & MATERIALS REQUIRED:
* Baxter, Charles, ed. The Business of Memory: The Art of Remembering in an Age of Forgetting. Saint Paul: Graywolf, 1999.
* Lee, Li-Young. Rose. Brockport, NY: Boa, 1986.
* selected articles, short stories and poems handed out in class
* a three-ring binder, paper, pens to bring to every class
HOW THIS SEMINAR CAME TO BE:
Professor Shaughnessy is a research methodologist whose focus is experimental research on memory. For many years, he researched and taught about such processes as forgetting, the effects of different types of repetition on memory, and the accuracy of our knowledge about memory. On a recent sabbatical, he developed a course called Practical Aspects of Memory. This course covered topics such as autobiographical memory, eyewitness testimony, expert witnesses, and recovered memories.
Being a poet and visual artist, I’m interested in the creative nature of memory and, since Alzheimer’s Disease occurs in my family, I’m also interested in the ways in which memory shapes us as individuals and what we have learned about the brain that can help us understand the nature of both remembering and forgetting.
Thus, both Dr. Shaughnessy and I have a shared fascination with
the topic of memory. The way we approach the topic, however, sometimes differs
because of our differing backgrounds in science and in the arts. Often as
we began working on this course, though, we found that much of what we know
about memory based on scientific research parallels and/or complements what
we know about it as evidenced in the arts. We enjoy the discoveries we’ve
made in our discussions and have been pleased to find that these discoveries
continue to enhance the research we do and the art we make as well as how
we talk about memory. We hope that in this seminar the same sort of ongoing
discussion and connections can help you discover things about yourself and
your own interests.
A FEW WORDS ABOUT HOW TWO CLASSES WILL ADDRESS ONE TOPIC:
Since the seminar (discussion) format works best in smaller groups, most of our class sessions will be in separate rooms. Professor Shaughnessy’s class will meet on the lower level of East 8th St. and Professor Bartley’s class will meet on the second floor. When we need to pool resources or share our expertise, we will meet jointly in the larger classroom on the second floor. We’ll try to keep you posted on when the classes will meet together. In addition, while we both work together closely to compose assignments, choreograph class sessions, and assess your progress in the course, we will remain individually responsible to those of you assigned to us as advisees and students.
GOALS OF THE FIRST YEAR SEMINAR:
· To become comfortable with the seminar (discussion-driven) setting as a means of gathering and sharing knowledge and ideas.
· To become better (and more comfortable) at articulating knowledge and ideas.
· To become better listeners, more discerning in the ways we receive and process knowledge and ideas.
· To become acquainted with other students and share your experiences (difficult, pleasant, or hard-to-categorize) as you make the transition from high school to college.
· To become acquainted with your advisor (and vice versa!).
· To become acquainted with the college’s library information system AND at least one reference librarian who can help you now and in the future.
· To become accustomed to the ambiguities of life and learning in an academic setting.
· To begin to consider memory—both personal and collective—in ways that might
cultivate the curiosity and wonder that lead to a rich experience in the liberal arts and a life-long love of learning.
OBJECTIVES (or how we’ll go about accomplishing these lofty goals in this
class):
Sometimes we’ll talk about readings, writings and experiences as a class. More often, we’ll break into smaller groups for discussion. You’ll usually do some reading or listening before these discussions and, often, you’ll have prepared something in advance (short written responses, questions, impressions of readings or other events). These writings will help to focus the discussion. Sometimes we’ll write in class as a way to work out how we’re feeling and thinking about an aspect of memory. You’ll write a short formal response paper to a short story by Toni Morrison and also record and seek verification of a personal memory fairly early in the semester. We’ll attend some evening events like readings in the Visiting Writers Series and one, possibly two, movies and a play as well. We’ll also work closely with reference librarian David O’Brien who’ll help you become more adept at gathering information from books, periodicals, web sites, and other sources.
As the semester proceeds, you’ll begin work on an individual research question based on some aspect of eyewitness testimony which you’ll then present in class. You’ll have time after the presentation to reflect further on how to articulate your impressions in writing of this and other aspects of memory as they’ve developed over the course of the semester. The outside assignments and events will take an average of about four hours of your time outside of class every week. You’ll be evaluated on these criteria as follows:
GRADING: Class engagement (includes journals, written
responses to reading and discussion questions,
short papers, pair presentations, outside events) 35%
Library assignments (tour, tutorial, partner topic
research, eye-witness testimony research) 15%
Personal memory assignment 10%
Eyewitness testimony research paper 10%
Longer individual presentation (portfolios or posters) 30%
A FEW WORDS ABOUT CLASS ENGAGEMENT:
We are in this together. Attendance means you accept that. By attendance, I mean not just being here, but BEING here—with written responses completed, willing to talk, emote, question, laugh, cry, anything to keep the experience alive and moving. Some of you may not be "talkers," but you'll have your writing to rely on. If you complete the written responses, you can always just read from the page! After you do that for a while, talking gets easier. Eventually, you and we will get to know your voice and to trust it.
But soon I hope you’ll accustom yourself to the idea that discussion is more than talk, that it is, in fact, an active engagement within a community. It works best when the participants feel knowledgeable, comfortable expressing what they know, and comfortable that what they say will be received by others as a worthwhile contribution to the discussion. Communities in which people know each other and feel respected by others are not born but made. We’ll strive to build such a community. That is not to say that such a community need be “terminally nice.” Respectful disagreement is essential to good discussion; in fact, respectful disagreement is often one of the highest compliments you can pay to another person’s ideas or s/he can pay to yours!
To assure that you get the most from class discussions, only two unexcused absences are acceptable, though not entirely desirable. By "unexcused absence" I mean a failure to attend class without a notice from the Dean of Student Affairs. It's up to you to obtain this notice. If you are on a team or in an organization that will require you to be away during class time more than twice, please see me to work out an alternative plan for the semester. Regardless of the reason, with every unexcused absence beyond 2, your final grade will drop by 5 percentage points.
A FEW MORE WORDS ABOUT STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW:
· You have to complete all of the assignments in order to pass the course.
· Don't plagiarize anything, ever. Respect the ideas and words of others and work toward articulating your ideas in words of your own choosing.
· I’m not an expert, but I am here to help. Do not be afraid to e-mail me, call, stop by before or after class, see me during office hours or at some other prearranged time to talk about any concerns you have about this class or other experiences affecting your life and learning while you’re here at Hope!