Slavic 367

The East European Immigrant Experience in America

Lecture: TR 10:30-12:18 Central Classrooms 0304

Instructor: Thad Fortney

E-mail: twfortney@hotmail.com , fortney.20@osu.edu

Phone: DSEEL 292-6733

Office: Hagerty Hall 483

Office Hours: M 12:00-2:00

W 12:00-2:00 and by appointment

Through the course of this class we will be learning about the Russians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Ukrainians, and other East European nationalities (including Krakozhians) that traveled to America to benefit from the freedoms and opportunities America had to offer. With that, we will also learn how America and its people have benefited from the influx of immigrants from the world over. Whether it is the culture these immigrants brought with them or the cultures they created when they arrived, America has become the enigmatic and wondrous country it is today because of the people who made this journey.

We will spend time briefly discussing the history of immigration as well as issues concerning assimilation versus multi-culturalism, the American Dream, stereotypes and racism, what success is, what the definition of home is, and an America without immigrants. It is also my hope that as this class continues, you will also present issues and ideas that you feel are necessary to furthering our discussion.

Course Objectives

This class is designed to meet the requirements of a second year writing course by expanding and improving the writing skills of the students. Students will write in three different modalities in an attempt to expose them to essay styles to which they may not be accustomed, or to make the students more comfortable in their future attempts at writing academic works. Students will focus on the main elements of writing, including grammar, style, form, editing and voice to strengthen their own output.

Grading Scale

Grades will be assigned based on the following scale:
93–100	A	80–82	B–	68–69	D+
90–92	A–	78–79	C+	65–67	D
88–89	B+	73–77	C	0-65	E
83–87	B	70–72	C–

Graded Work

Attendance, Participation, and Professionalism (30% of the grade)

-This is the most important element of your work in this class. You can only hope to improve both your knowledge of the East European peoples as well as your writing skills by being present for every class and by being prepared to participate. This part of your grade will also include your in-class writings, any pop quizzes that are given, and your participation in our class discussions. I reserve the right to quiz you whenever I feel that class participation is lacking or the class as a whole seems unprepared.

Essays (45% of the grade)

-This class requires you to write three essays: a position paper, a review essay, and a research paper. The values of the papers are as follows:

15% Position Paper (3-4 pages)

15% Review Essay (3-4 pages)

15% Research Paper (4-5 pages)

You are expected to have your papers finished on the day they are due, and late papers will be penalized unless there is a prior excuse (a doctor = s appointment, family emergencies, etc.). Late papers will be marked down one letter grade for each day they are late. For the first two papers you will be given the opportunity to rewrite the essay to improve your grade. If you choose to do a rewrite, you will receive the better of the two grades, but all rewrites must be turned back in NO LATER THAN ONE WEEK after they are handed back to you. To receive credit for the rewrite you must turn in the original graded essay and its comment sheet with your rewritten copy. Papers that were turned in late for the original deadline will still receive the opportunity to do a rewrite but you will not be able to earn a grade higher than a 90%. Late rewrites will not be accepted and you will receive the original grade.

Peer Editing (15% of the grade)

-Just as it is important for you to improve your writing skills, it is equally important that you improve your ability to edit and revise a paper. The day of the peer editing, you will work with a partner and each of you will grade the other = s paper. You will give not only comments and suggestions in questions of punctuation and grammar, but you will also make comments at the end of the paper examining the strengths and weaknesses of the work. If time permits, we will switch partners again and have a second round of editing. You are required to bring ONE COPY of your paper to class on peer editing day. If you are absent from class and it is excused, you will still be required to edit someone = s paper on your own time. Unexcused absences will receive 0% for that day = s work and will not be allowed to make it up.

Final Project Journal (10% of the grade)

-Every day you will be spending ten minutes doing an in-class writing on the various topics we will be discussing. Writing is much like a sport in the sense that the more time we spend practicing, the better we become. At the end of the quarter each of you will be expected to turn in a journal of your work. For this reason you are required to buy a composition notebook (the black and white kind with the non perforated pages) in which you will write all of your in-class writings. Students who do not have a composition notebook by the second class period will not receive participation points for each day they do not have it (this includes forgetting the notebook even though you may have purchased it already). With that, you are to also turn in a one page letter (single spaced) that in some detail identifies the writing that reflects your best work, the writing that reflects your worst work, your favorite topic, your least favorite topic and why you chose them for these requirements. Any further comments on your part are not required, but strongly encouraged.

General Format Guidelines

Your papers are to meet the following requirements:

-Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, standard margins (One inch on all sides), double-spaced with your name, my name, and the class name in the upper right.

-When turning in your final copy to me, make sure your paper is stapled.

-Half pages will count exactly as that, a half of a page. If the requirement says 4-5 pages, DO NOT expect full credit if your paper is 3.5 pages.

-Be sure to use citations in your work when it is required, and also to have a works cited page. If you do not cite your references properly or you do not have a works cited page, it will be considered plagiarism.

-Do not email me your papers. I will only accept those papers that are handed to me in class, unless extenuating circumstances prevent you from coming to class that day.

Plagiarism

"Plagiarism is defined as > the taking and passing off the thoughts, writings, etc., of other people as your own = . In short, it is intellectual theft."

(http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/plagiarism/advice.html)

Any students found plagiarizing will receive any automatic E for the intended work and they will be reported to the Office of Academic Misconduct. Further penalties will be enforced as per recommendation of the Office of Academic Misconduct. If you are curious whether or not part of your work is plagiarized, do not hesitate to contact me.

Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities should inform me as soon as possible of how it is that I can facilitate their learning. Make sure that you provide the appropriate information and documentation from the Office of Disability Services.

Class Policies

These are just some general guidelines on class behavior

-All cell phones, pagers, two ways, sidekicks, walkie-talkies and any other electronic contraption that could possibly make noise should be turned off upon entering my classroom.

-I encourage you to participate in discussion, but I don = t find it necessary that someone raise their hand before speaking. I only ask that you not interrupt your colleagues when they have the floor.

-If you find it necessary to break these rules please ask yourself why they do not apply to you. Also consider why these rules are applicable to your fellow classmates. I can guarantee that I will be thinking this if you choose to take this course of action.

Required Texts (Available at SBX 1806 N. High St. and the Library Reserve)

My Antonia by Willa Cather (SBX)

Foreign Woman by Sergeii Dovlatov (LR)

-I hope that I will be able to Xerox a copy of this text for you since it is considerably longer than "The Light House Keeper." If not, you will have the opportunity to do so at the Library Reserve before the assignment is due.

"The Light House Keeper" by Henryk Sienkiewicz (LR)

It's Me, Eddie by Edward Limonov

Be prepared for each class by bringing your texts with you to class. Failure to do so is considered an inability to participate and therefore you will receive no credit for that day's participation. Also, I may add more texts to the list but I will be sure to give you ample amounts of time to get a hold of it if I can not give it to you.

Additional Texts

These might be helpful for your work in this course but they are not required.

http://cstw.osu.edu/

-The Center for the Study and Teaching of Writingwebsite will only be slightly helpful, you should consider going to their office at 485 Mendenhall Laboratory for further insight.

-MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers

-This is a nice text to consult for rules on style and form. There are other texts that can also be used (Chicago Manual of Style), but this is a common book, and often it can be found for less than $10 online.

Schedule of Reading for Required Texts (Tentative)

(Reading Assignments are due the following class)

Week One - Where is East Europe? Who is East European?

3/29 Class Introduction

3/31 East European History

-Fiddler on the Roof

Week Two - The Journey to America

4/5 An American Tail

4/7 Position Paper Debates

Week Three - Settling Down: Making America Home

4/12 Lecture on Willa Cather and My Antonia

-Position Papers due for Peer Editing

4/14 My Antonia: Introduction through Book One, Chapter XIV due

-Final Position Papers Due

Week Four -

4/19 My Antonia: Book One, Chap XV through Book Two, Chap III

4/21 My Antonia: Book Two, Chap IV through Book Three, Chap III

-Book Review Presentations due

Week Five - Opposing Viewpoints: The Émigré on Immigration

4/26 My Antonia: Book Three, Chap IV through The End (Begin thinking about Review Essay)

4/28 "The Light House Keeper" by Henryk Sienkiewicz Due

Week Six - The Third Wave: Soviet Immigration

5/3 Moscow on the Hudson

-Review Essays Due for Peer Editing

5/5 Moscow on the Hudson(cont.)

-Final Review Essays Due

Week Seven -

5/10 Foreign Woman pp.3-80 Due

5/12 Foreign Woman pp.81-113 Due

-One page paper on Research group due

Week Eight - From the Reserved to the Outright Bizarre: The Underground Émigré

5/17 Selections of It's Me, Eddie by Edward Limonov TBA

5/19 Selections of It's Me, Eddie by Edward Limonov TBA

Week Nine - Where are they today? The new path for the East European Immigrant

5/24 Dirty Pretty Things

5/26 Movie continued

Week Ten - Who are we today? The New America and the New American Immigrants

5/31 The Terminal

-Research Papers due for Peer Editing

6/2 Movie continued

-Final Research Papers Due

Week Eleven (Finals Week)

THERE WILL BE NO FINAL FOR THIS COURSE . Final Journal Projects will be due no later than Tuesday at 5pm in my office mailbox. If this presents a problem, please contact me and we can work something out.