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Last revised 1 November 2005

Course Syllabus for IRLS 588-01: Documenting Diverse Cultures and Communities


 Spring 2006 Instructor: William Welburn



COURSE NAME, NUMBER, AND PREREQUISITES


Documenting Diverse Cultures and Communities

IRLS 588 001
Mondays, 3:30 - 6pm
Modern Languages 411



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COURSE DESCRIPTION

Addresses themes associated with the production of information artifacts and issues in documenting cultural diversity across the American cultural landscape.  The practices of collecting and documenting cultures and communities will be explored in relation to the mission of libraries, archives, historical societies, and other cultural institutions concerned with the acquisition of information in books, journals, and other textual materials, and in sound and visual documents. 

As this course is designed as a seminar, students will be expected to participate in and lead class discussions drawn from an array of readings selected by the instructor and prepare and present a seminar paper. 

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COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of the semester, students will have:
  1. Gained exposure to important theoretical perspectives relevant to the study of documenting diverse cultures and communities, including theores of memory and authenticity
  2. Applied theories to the collection of information artifacts as instruments of memory, including printed works, oral histories, sound recordings, and visual works
  3. Given consideration to the proliferation of digital cultural artifacts
  4. Identified and performed preliminary research on a topic of choice

 

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REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS

James P. Danky and Wayne Weigand, Print Culture in a Diverse America.  (University of Illinois Press, 2001), $30
Studs Terkel.  Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression.  (Norton, 2000), $16.95
Carolyn Eastwood.  Near West Side Stories: Struggles for Community in Chicago's Maxwell Street Neighborhood.  (Lake Claremont Press, 2002), $17.95
Erika Brady.  A Spiral Way: How the Phonograph Changed Ethnography.  (University Press of Mississippi, 1999). $15.00

Other readings and videorecordings as assigned.

 

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COURSE REQUIREMENTS

All students are expected to participate in and lead classroom discussions over topics and readings as set by the instructor and prepare and present a seminar paper. 

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COURSE POLICIES

Academic Code of Integrity

Students are expected to abide by The University of Arizona Code of Academic Integrity (one theme of which is that The guiding principle of academic integrity is that a student's submitted work must be the student's own.). If you have any questions regarding what is acceptable practice under this Code, please ask an Instructor.

Accommodating Disabilities

The University has a Disability Resource Center . If you anticipate the need for reasonable accommodations to meet the requirements of this course, you must register with the Disability Resource Center and request that the DRC send me, the Instructor, official notification of your accommodation needs as soon as possible. Please plan to meet with me by appointment or during office hours to discuss accommodations and how my course requirements and activities may impact your ability to fully participate.

Assignment Policies

Seminar Paper:  Approximately 15 - 20 pages, word processed, double-spaced, and written in accordance with a manual of style of your preference (MLA, APA, or Chicago).  Your paper is due at the end of the final class.  Late submissions will lose 10% of the original grade for each day beyond the deadline.

All students are expected to be fully prepared for discussion.  Discussion leaders should be prepare to give a synopsis of an assigned topic and accompanying text and to generate questions for group discussion.

Incompletes

The 1997-8 University of Arizona General Academic Manual, p.23 reads

The grade of I may be awarded only at the end of a semester, when all but a minor portion of the course work has been satisfactorily completed. The grade of I is not to be awarded when the student is expected to repeat the course; in such a case the grade of E must be assigned. Students should make arrangements with the instructor to receive an incompete grade before the end of the semester ...

If the incomplete is not removed by the instructor within one year the I grade will revert to a failing grade.

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GRADING

All final grades will be determined by the seminar paper (70%) and class participation (30%).

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CONTACTING ME

You may contact me at any time at wwelburn@u.arizona.edu, 520-621-5221, or in my office (Rm. 10, SIRLS).

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