Sarah Pedzinski
Instructional Consultant
Indiana University Bloomington
Syllabi
W131 Reading, Writing, & Inquiry -- W131 Basic Writing -- LCCL-L Wretched Worlds -- Dragonlogy
Below you will find sample copies of each of my syllabi for the courses I've taught or designed. Each syllabus also includes a sample course schedule.
L204 Introduction to Fiction: How We Tell Stories (Indiana University course)
Course Description
As a course that satisfies both the College of Arts and Sciences "Breadth of Inquiry" Arts and Humanities credit as well as an intensive writing credit, this course is designed to examine fiction in order to develop intellectual, communicative, and emotional tools for critically examining the world. By reading a series of short stories and a novel and composing informal short responses, formal essays, and a revision portfolio, we practice close-reading, analytical writing, and collaborative research and presenting skills.
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My own section of L204 focuses on the ways in which we approach and tell stories. By studying the complexities of narrative and giving students the discipline-specific vocabulary, we analyze the multiple ways authors engage with their audience and introspectively examine ourselves as we approach fictional texts.
W131 Reading, Writing, & Inquiry: Monster Culture (Indiana University course)
Welcome to W131!
In this course, we will be developing skills of analytical thinking, reading, and writing that are key to your success as a university student. To meet that goal, we will examine essays, films, photographs, and a range of other cultural objects. In addition to drawing on your own personal experience, we will also consider the perspectives and concepts that other writers bring to the ideas we will discuss. Through your conscientious and dedicated work this semester, you will find yourself well prepared to participate in the forms of inquiry and expression that define academic discourse.
W131 Basic Writing (Indiana University Course)
Course Goals
The goal of W131 is to introduce you to a variety of reading, writing, and thinking strategies that will better enable you to meet the challenges of future academic writing tasks. Accordingly, this course will provide you with instruction in and opportunities to practice strategies for reading texts with understanding (including techniques for annotating, paraphrasing, and summarizing texts), strategies for explaining concepts, evaluating texts, analyzing causes and effects, and proposing solutions to problems, and strategies for developing your own argument on an issue using outside sources. To this end, virtually all formal writing assignments in this class will require the use of at least one outside source.
CLLC-L 110 Wretched Worlds: Dystopias in Fiction (designed by Sarah Pedzinski, taught at Indiana University)
Course Objectives
Through a variety of texts, we will engage ourselves in a realm of dystopias and their “wretched worlds.” We will define what a dystopia is, where it comes from, and examine why we have, and always will be, fascinated with dystopian worlds and visions of the dark future. When we approach texts, we will approach them wholly, examining their creators and historical context along with the worlds themselves. We will search for tropes and traditions in the genre. While we will focus heavily on dystopian literary texts, this nature of this course is interdisciplinary; thus a variety of assignments will be incorporated into the course. Students will explore primarily through creative and argumentative academic writing, but this course will also include a multimedia presentation evaluation. Ultimately, students will be able not only to discuss the genre and its implications, but also how these wretched worlds and dark futures have developed throughout time.
Dragonology (designed by Sarah Pedzinski)
Course Objectives
While the superficial aim for this course is to give students a greater understanding of the Western dragon figure and its many forms, the course also purposes to catalyze students into questioning the cultural and historical significance of mythic figures as well as analyze the historical circumstances and contexts in which these figures both arise and maintain reputation throughout millennia. As an interdisciplinary course, students must be able to investigate a number of different forms and genres from a variety of time periods and apply cultural and historical lenses to their inquiry. In addition, the incorporation of both creative and research-based projects will allow students to diversely develop and express methods of critical analysis. At the conclusion of the course, students will be able to define the Western dragon and its cultural significance and explain how its connotation and reception has changed throughout time. In addition, students will have the capacity to make educated and well-researched decisions on mythic figures and explain these ideas to those unfamiliar with the historical background in both a verbal and written context.