This is going to be a great seminar class.  Last week we discussed  the overall purpose of the course, and began to think about our “research identity”.  There is ground to cover in understanding what research in Writing Studies can/might entail.  And perhaps there is even more ground to cover in discovering the kind of research you might like to pursue in the future.  We will cover a great deal of foundational material together in this key seminar, as we strive to discover different forms of research in the field.  When I see you next, we will start by picking up on that early discussion of your current research identity.

The intimate nature of the course will lend itself to an atmosphere of attentive discussion and thoughtful group reflection.  We will ponder the shared readings and consider many examples of established research protocols, as we continue to develop a more personal sense of ourselves as researchers in the field of Writing Studies.

For next week:
-Send me the url for your class blog which will be syndicated on this site.

-Please read the article by James Purdy and Joyce Walker:  Liminal Spaces and Research Identity: The Construction of Introductory Composition Students as Researchers.  This reading will jump start our opening reflections for the course.

-Please search our class Reading Roster for chapters or articles of relative interest and choose a couple of readings for your discussion lead evening.  While you are reviewing the roster, remember that the two texts marked with asterisks on our list are considered our “anchor texts”.  Please try to start your consideration by selecting some material from the anchor texts, and then also compliment your “anchor text” choices with further supplemental ideas and articles to represent your more individual research interests.

When we meet next Monday:

-We will open with a discussion of our developing research identities.

-We will also have a discussion of the Purdy & Walker article and reflect further on research identity in the field.

-We will have a workshop on Hypothes.is – our group annotation tool that is an integral part of the course and our weekly procedures. Everyone will sign up for an account at that time, and we will all “test drive” our first group annotation effort.  The goal is to make sure that everyone is ready and clear on how to use this tool.

-After break, our last part of class will be dedicated to planning the course schedule.  Please come with some possible dates in mind, and some possible readings lined up (i.e. first choice, second choice…).  We will negotiate as a group until we have our course schedule settled.

See you on Monday!  Looking forward to it,

Dr. Zamora