First Year Seminar in Honors – Hon: 110.301
(Fall 2009, T – 4-6:30pm)

 

 

Prof. Chad Montrie                                                              
306 Coburn Hall (ext. 4275)                                                                           
chad_montrie@uml.edu
Office Hours: Tues., 12-1, Thurs., 12-2, 
and by appointment

 

This course is designed to introduce you to Lowell , past and present.  You will learn about the city through readings, lectures, and films, but also by touring old industrial sites, attending a city council meeting, visiting a homeless ministry, and making other ventures beyond the classroom.  In addition, this course will be one of several opportunities to get to know your University, its history, its faculty and staff, and how to navigate your way through the next few years toward graduation. 

 

Assigned Reading :

John Coolidge, Mill and Mansion
Thomas Dublin, Women at Work
Jack Kerouac, The Town and the City


Assignments
:

Analytical Essays (3) – 30%
In-Class Exercises (5) – 20%
Immigration Food Share and Report Back – 10%
Video Essay Project – 30%

Reflection Essays: Your primary writing assignment will be three analytical essays, responding to prompts that I will give you several weeks prior to the particular due dates.  Each of the essays should be 2-3 pp in length, double-spaced, with one-inch margins, and stapled.  You must submit them on the dates listed below in class (neither before nor after).  I will grade them in terms of grammar, organization, and analysis.  Each is worth 10% of your final course grade, for a total of 30%.

In-Class Exercises: At different points during the semester we will be doing exercises with maps, primary sources, and other materials.  These will happen in class and do not require additional preparation beyond keeping up with the readings.  I will assess them in terms of your comprehension and active participation.  Each exercise is worth 4% of your final course grade, for a total of 20%.

Immigration Report Back: On September 29th we will dedicate the class meeting to a discussion of immigration in Lowell .  Prior to class you should make arrangements to buy food from one of the city’s many ethnic restaurants (I will give you a list and coordinate students’ choices so that we don’t end up with food from the same place).  You should also make an effort to learn as much as possible about the restaurant’s history, the ethnic group it represents, and the dish you plan to bring.  You will write a 1-2 pp. paper about this and make a very brief report in class, taken together worth 10% of your final course grade. 

Video Essay Project: The final project for the course is a short documentary, focused on some aspect of Lowell .  You will work with a partner, first selecting a topic and writing a proposal, then shooting necessary footage (interview, b-roll, etc.) and editing that footage.  I will teach you how to use a camera and how to edit, but it will be up to you to spend time outside class completing each step.  The proposal is worth 5% of your final course grade, the rough cut (we will critique these the last day of class) is worth 5%, and the final cut (due by the day scheduled for our final exam) is worth 20%.  A rough cut or final cut submitted late will receive an “F”. 

Late Assignment Policy: For this course you are allowed two late submissions of an assignment (with the exception of the video essay rough cut and final cut) due to excused absences.  These absences must be documented with the attached form (see below) and some other written record of the reason for your absence (e.g., a doctor’s note, a relative’s obituary, court papers, etc.).  Any assignment you missed as a result of your absence must be turned in or made up during the next class meeting, when you return, in which case it will receive no penalty.  Once you have used your two excused absences, however, any assignment not submitted on the day it is due, in class, will receive an “F”.  Over-sleeping, family vacations, and other such reasons for missing class and failing to turn in an assignment are not legitimate as grounds for an excused absence, even with documentation.

Grading Scale: On all assignments the grading scale is as follows: A (92.5 and above), A- (89.5 to 92.4), B+ (87.5 to 89.4), B (82.5 to 87.4), B- (79.5 to 82.4), C+ (77.5 to 79.4), C (72.5 to 77.4), C- (69.5 to 72.4), D+ (67.5 to 69.4), D (62.5 to 67.4), and F (62.4 and below).  If at any time you have questions about the grading on an assignment and/or wish to dispute a grade you should come see me during office hours.  I will only consider serious and well-reasoned arguments for changing a grade.

Plagiarism and Cheating:  When you use the words or ideas of others, you must document your source with the proper method of citation.  For this course, you will be expected to use footnotes to indicate your sources.  The one exception to this rule is the use of lecture material.  Evidence of plagiarism—in violation of University policy—will result in an “F” on the assignment or exam and might lead to a formal disciplinary procedure (refer to the University’s course catalog for more details).

Classroom/Course Accommodations: If you have any special learning needs please let me know and I will see about making the course and/or classroom more accommodating (typically you must have documentation from Disability Services).  Also notify me if your religious observances conflict at some point with assignment due dates or examinations and we will make different arrangements if necessary.



Tentative Lecture and Reading Schedule


Week 1

Sept. 8 – Introductions; Map Exercise; Native Americans

Reading : Coolidge, Mill and Mansion


Week 2

Sept. 15 – Industry, Labor, and Nature; Document Analysis Exercise

Reading : Coolidge, Mill and Mansion


Week 3

Sept. 22 – Concord River Greenway/Lowell Cemetery Field Trip; Coolidge Analytical Essay due

Reading : A Profile of the Foreign Born; Dublin , Women at Work


Week 4

Sept. 29 – Immigration Food Share and Report due; View Monkey Dance

Reading : Dublin , Women at Work


Week 5

Oct. 6 – Churches, Synagogues, and Temples (guest presenter: Marie Frank); City Government Website and Power Analysis Exercise

Reading : “No Miracle in Lowell ”; Lowell Plan overview; Dublin , Women at Work


Week 6

Oct. 13 – Attend City Council Meeting (6:30pm, City Council Chambers, Lowell)

Reading : Dublin , Women at Work


Week 7

Oct. 20 – Gentrification and Homelessness, meet at Living Waters ( 9 West Adams Street , Lowell ); Interview Exercise

Reading : Dublin , Women at Work


Week 8

Oct. 27 – Museums and Parks Field Trip, meet at the Boott Cotton Mills (2d floor, 115 John Street , Lowell ); Dublin Analytical Essay due

Reading : Kerouac, The Town and the City


Week 9

Nov. 3 – Video Essay Training – Camera and Editing, meet at Media Center South (O’Leary Library)

Reading : Kerouac, The Town and the City


Week 10

Nov. 10 – Interpreting the Past, meet at the Center for Lowell History/Mogan Center ( 40 French Street , Lowell ); Video Essay Proposal due

Reading : Kerouac, The Town and the City


Week 11

Nov. 17 – UML History (guest presenter: Mary Blewett); Campus History Exercise

Reading : Kerouac, The Town and the City


Week 12

Nov. 24 – Edit Video Essays, Media Center South 

Reading : Kerouac, The Town and the City


Week 13

Dec. 1 – Jack Kerouac (guest presenter: Paul Marion); Kerouac Analytical Essay due

Edit Video Essay


Week 14

Dec. 8 – Video Essay Rough Cut Critique

Final Cut of Video Essay due by date scheduled for final examination






Petition for Excused Absence

Name:

Date of Absence:

Assignment Submitted Late:

Reason for Absence:

 

Please also attach written documentation indicating the reason for your absence (e.g., doctor’s note, a relative’s obituary, court papers, etc.).