Arts of Expression: Writing the Disciplines
0504-319-10
TR 12-1:50
Building 07, 1541

Course Description

Humanity's relationship with its own excrement is complicated. Although not given much thought in day-to-day life, human feces have been the cause of huge social, technological and cultural changes, as well as the means by which humans have come to understand their relationship with the outside world and their own bodies. Human excrement can be understood from the perspective of myriad disciplines.

This class is about poop and its effects. Students will produce final projects that contribute to knowledge about the lower half of the digestive system, from the perspective of their own major. Note that coming up with a project that relates the course theme to your major will require a great deal of creative thinking on your part, but it can be done, and done well. You will meet with me individually to decide on the topic for your final project, which will include a major written component as well as a visual component. Other assignments include in-class writing assignments; a review of a book outside the course texts; a letter to a newspaper editor; a letter to your congressional representative; and an annotated bibliography of sources for your final project.

Note: Since the course is devoted to waste, with each assignment you are required to hand in not only the final version, but also a separate document of what you decided not to use to meet the final requirements. The writing process is mostly revision, and revision involves a great deal of cutting. Production must always include waste. You will turn in to me what would have otherwise been left on the cutting room floor.

The main course objective is to habituate students to using the tools of their discipline to address issues of concern to non-experts. In other words, students will learn why their discipline matters. Students will gain experience researching in their discipline and making their expertise available to a public audience.

Required Reading

• The Excrement Poem. Maxine Kumin.
• Mystery of Disgust. Erik D'Amato.
• Civilization & Sludge: Notes on the History of the Management of Human Excreta. Abby A. Rockefeller.
• Civilization and its Discontents. Sigmund Freud.
• The Sociology of Odors. Gale Peter Largey and David Rodney Watson.
• Factors affecting the degradation of amoxicillin in composting toilet. Kakimoto T, Funamizu N.
• The Toilet Entertainment System. Pär Stenberg and Johan Thoresson.
• The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic -- And How it Changed Cities, Science, and The Modern World. Steven Johnson.
• Poop Culture: How America is Shaped by its Grossest National Product. Dave Praeger.

Day			Topic	Reading	Assignment
Week 1	T, 9/4	Introduction		Maxine Kumin poem
	R, 9/6	Individuals		"Mystery of Disgust" "Civilization and Sludge" (handouts)	How do the first two articles relate? (in-class writing)
Week 2	T, 9/11	Groups		"Mystery of Disgust" "Civilization and Sludge" (handouts)
	R, 9/13			Civilization and its Discontents, pp. 10-36
Week 3	T, 9/18	Repression and sublimation		Civilization and its Discontents, pp. 37-63	Bring popular news article related to major
	R, 9/20	Writing in the disciplines		"The Sociology of Odors" "Factors Affecting the degradation..."(handout)	Bring peer-reviewed article related to major (in-class writing)
Week 4	T, 9/25	Mores and taboos		Civilization and its Discontents, pp. 64-82
	R, 9/27	Discussion of bibliography/guilt and redemption		Civilization and its Discontents, pp. 83-112	Analyze Freud in an area of your expertise (in-class writing)
Week 5	T, 10/2	Letter to editor assignment		"Toilet Entertainment Syste" (handout)	First bibliography (required but not graded)
	R, 10/4	Public health		Ghost Map, pp. 1-55
Week 6	T, 10/9	Letter to representative assignment and strategies		Ghost Map, pp. 57-109	Letter to editor (5%)
	R, 10/11	The public and the private		Ghost Map, pp. 111-190	Steven Johnson:  Field house...p.m.
Week 7	T, 10/16	Globalization; final assignment		Ghost Map, pp. 191-256	Response to Johnson (in-class writing); Letter to representative (5%)
	R, 10/18				Meetings (today and tomorrow)
Week 8	T, 10/23	Book review assignment		Poop Culture, pp. 17-88
	R, 10/25	Annotated bibliography assignment		Poop Culture, pp. 89-144
Week 9	T, 10/30			Poop Culture, pp. 145-188	Book review (15%)
	R, 11/1	Progress report due as email attachment (required but not graded)
Week 10	T, 11/6			Poop Culture, pp. 189-219
	R, 11/8	Course wrap-up			Annotated bibliography (15%)
Week 11	Presentation of final projects during final exam time (TBA)