Evergreen Course Blog | Spring 2011 | Reclaiming Public Spaces

Hi All,

I have been having trouble with the blog until just today, so I apologize for the late addition.  Please check this regularly from now on, because I now know how to fix the blog when it breaks! Readings will be posted soon (for Weds lecture).  For now, here is today’s schedule:

–When not in class of your peers, or your class (your design), come to my classroom for writing work, teaching work, etc.  That is, working with me is the default, and until further notice, my classroom when you are not teaching or in a peer class will be where you should be on Weds and Sat. We’ll then move from the classroom to another area, giving student-teachers/facilitators our classroom to work in.

This also holds for WEDNESDAY.  That is, same as Saturday, Wednesday from 7-8 if you are not taking or teaching a class, meet me right after my 1 hour Weds. lecture, and we’ll move to a room and continue working.

–Sat Classes:

4-5pm Nicky, Melissa, Nico

Will

Maren

Nicole

Tommy

Alexa

Franny

4-5pm Max, Andrew, Alex

Jane

Adrienne

Carl

Kate

Jennie

Jake

5-6pm Will, Maren, Alexa

Max

Jane

Alex

Nicole

Jake

5-6pm Adrienne, Tommy, Kate

Nicky

Jennie

Ally

Melissa

Franny

UPDATE: SEE BELOW FOR EXPLANATION OF/REGARDING NEW/LAST WEEK AS THIS WEEK READINGS:

1) Robert Kocik, Overcoming Fitness (Introduction) — Below (horribly unformatted) and will send to you as pdf tonight (Tues) if I can fix the email problem

2) Amy King, The What Else of Queer Poetry   HERE

3) Re-read all of last week’s readings – a couple posts below (Retallack, Oppen, Zolf, Nonsite Draft, etc).  

That’s it.  I want everyone to focus on connections and disjunctions regarding these readings.  Now that you’ve had an exam on them, and graded one another’s exams, we will hopefully be in a position to talk thru the issues I raised, you raised, and that the authors raised.

David

Dear All,

Due to email problems AND problems with formatting and this blog, I am still working on this week’s readings.  For now READ AGAIN (or if you didn’t before:) ) ALL READINGS FROM LAST WEEK.  THESE WILL BE THE PRIMARY READINGS FOR THIS WEEK’S LECTURE (RETALLACK, JOHNSON, ZOLF, ETC).  

IN ADDITION there will be a couple short readings that compliment issues of identity, agency, & authorship as seen thru the lens of translation, building that bridge for us into pedagogical practices. One is the introduction to Robert Kocik’s AMAZING Overcoming Fitness (poorly pasted below).  

CHECK THE BLOG AGAIN ON TUESDAY AFTER 6PM for these readings, including the Kocik fixed and formatted properly.  For now, go a few posts below and do the earlier readings, re-read, as you’ll need to re-familiarize yourself with these.  And read this short piece by Robert Kocik too (one of the couple of extra short pieces that are due in addition for this week, readings that require me to figure out how to get them to you–as you’ll see below, the formatting is gone, as this is from a pdf).  Make do with the below for now…

AND PLEASE CHECK THIS BLOG AFTER 6PM ON TUESDAY.  Since you will have read the vast majority of what we’ll cover already, having 1 plus day to read the rest should not be an issue.

David

 

INTRODUCING OVERCOMING FITNESS

What do I have against fitness) Hash’t fitness gotten

us this far? It must be doing something right.

Why would I rule it out) Why would I claim that its

contrary is as credible) What’s so bad about being

adept) Why promote ineptitude)

There are different types of fitness:

evolutionalY fitness As in survival of the fittestlife’s

inherent eugenics which goes by the name of

Natural Selection. The lifeform editorial tasks that

meddling, sentimental, error prone, self-interested,

low fidelity creatures have naturally been spared. I

place evolutionary fitness at the top of the list

because it often serves as general model for other

phenomena-as indubitable evidence for the ways

in which things work, why things are the way they

are and why they can’t be otherwise-ohen corroborating

questionable social behaviors such as

‘getting ahead’ ‘watching out for number one,

‘dog eat dog’ and ‘free trading’.

social fitness The view that the bright and strong

and qualified rightfully find their way to the top.

Today we say “survival of the best-informed”.

Equal opportunity as enlightenment.

market fitness Or capitalism. Business behavior is

self-regulating because the best product at the best

price will prevail. Anywhere prices are going up,

the market has been restrained. Market fitness is an

incentive safeguard and spur (in sharp contrast to

the sluggishness of social isms).

fitness fusion Fusion of social/politicaVeconomic

sectors as Market Democracy. With the demise of

communism, Market Democracy has become the

dominant political system. And, like dominant lifeforms,

a dominant political form’ spreads’.

synthetic fitness Surgery, bioengineering, gene

therapy, pharmacogenetics, medical treatment in

general. Saving and prolonging lives.

spiritual eugenics Only those who merit salvation

will be saved. Only the moral will know peace of

mind. Competing paradises.

radst fitness Fitness is out to win. Taken to its

extreme it leads to the notion of supremacy-what

Dr Martin Luther King Jr. referred to as the drum

major instinct-to be out ahead of all the others.

The race-based collective version of this form of fitness

is of course ‘racism’.

physical fitness Staying in shape. The vanity of

looking good. Because I am a manual laborer, I

tend to think of physical fitness as the pre or post

workday training programs of others. (As vitamins

are to food, fitness is to lifestyle). An indication of

lopsided living; just as I have a shortage of sedentary

time-seated at a desk, lounging, lying on the

grass, lotus like. Enough resources to be maladaptive.

Money to burn. Fat to burn off.

subtle fitness Fitness overcome.

Fitness can be viewed as benign or malign.

According to the friendly version, fitness keeps us

on our toes. It keeps re-sharpening the cutting

edge. life under fitness is robust. A little worker

insecurity is good for the economy. According to

the cruel version, fitness is a deeply rooted, distrustful,

ruthless behavior based on elimination of

Please read this carefully, and in group starting Saturday, we’ll work on these.  Final proposals are due on Sun night at 1159pm of Week 6.  Teaching begins Weds of week 6.  Enjoy!

David

“Teaching” Group Proposal (total approx. 4-8 double spaced pages TOTAL)

 

ATTACH IN EMAIL AS WORD OR RTF DOC THIS PROPOSAL, DUE BY SUN NIGHT WEEK 6.

 

Where will you be meeting and when?

 

What is the title, if any, of your course?

 

How will you be evaluating students on their work?

 

How will your students evaluate your work?

 

What will be the “organizational politics,” the way your class will be run (division of labor between the three teachers, etc)? –1-2pp double spaced

 

Please describe your course’s covenant, or your plans for a covenant, or your reasons for not having a covenant

 

Please give me a course description (brief)—up to 1 paragraph

 

Please describe your course’s pedagogical approach, and please reference this approach with a) what you plan to do in the classroom, and b) what you plan for students outside the classroom (inside and outside are metaphors here, that is, I mean within the space of meeting time and outside that meeting time) – up to 2pp double spaced

 

Please attach your syllabus, including class by class what you will be doing, or if you do not have a syllabus, attach a statement regarding why you do not have one—pedagogical reasons–up to 3pp, double spaced

 

Please attach your reading list, or if you do not have a reading list, attach a statement regarding why you don’t have one—pedagogical reasons—up to 1pg, double spaced

 

 

RULES:

 

There are very few rules here, but these are iron clad. 

 

–Remember, this is a 4 credit course, so workload should be no more than one would expect from a 4 credit class meeting once a week for three weeks.

 

–You may or may not have a covenant, but any unfair treatment of one another, any expression of bias based on anything including race, gender, ethnicity, etc (for example, in your evaluation of students), is, as goes without saying, not permissible.  Also, it should go without saying that empathy, deep interpersonal caring, and treating one another as subjects is not only ethically important, but will help all of you get along and thus help make the course, regardless of design, work better.  NOTE: I feel this needs to be in writing, but you have all been caring and helpful to one another thus far, so I don’t expect any problems.

 

–All classes each week can only be 1 hour long, unless all (students and teachers) agree to meet for longer or during other times.

 

–Final evaluations of students in Experiments In Text are written by me, but you are responsible for RESPONSIBLY evaluating one another.  And you are as groups responsible for figuring out how to convey these evaluations of students to me (see question above), which I will then factor in to my overall course evaluations.  Note: evaluations can be creative, and do not have to be “teacher driven” etc.  It’s up to you as to how you will evaluate, but there must be some written evidence of how the course has gone, and what people did.  I will be meeting with you to discuss this if I have any questions based on your proposals.

 

–The course must be a text arts course (the arts of poetry, prose, mixed genre writing, etc).  Consider this the major constraint viz a viz your course’s content.

 

TIPS:

 

Remember to contact “your” “students” prior to the beginning of class so they know where/when to meet!

 

If you have any troubles, individually, or as a group, students or teachers, contact me.  But REMEMBER: I will be meeting with each group at least once for check ins, and we will also individually meet when possible (meetings reserved for Saturdays).  So, contact me if these are issues that need immediate attention and cannot be attended to during either our group or individual meetings.

 

Remember that “serious playfulness” – rigor and enjoyment – can be a useful way of thinking when attending to your proposal, and afterwards during your classes.

 

Hi All -

FYI, here’s my spring program offering.  If you are interested in taking it, do sign up asap or talk to me, as these slots fill fast… David

Writing: Poets Theater, Guerilla Poetry, & The Politics of Language

Note: This 8-credit program will meet from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and from 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturdays.

What does it mean to perform the text? What happens when genres collide? This creative writing program will bring together several terms often thought to be well-defined—including “poetry,” “prose,” “theater,” “politics,” and “essay” —and, through experiments in writing, reading, and collaborating, re-narrate their meanings and implications. Along the way we’ll investigate key concepts and texts in poets theater and guerilla poetry, mining them to create our own individual and collaborative writings. Our work will culminate in “poets theater week,” a week at the end of the quarter dedicated to showcasing our work as part of the final series of PRESS literary events of 2009-10. Working in groups, we’ll spread out into the larger Olympia community and “perform” or “stage” our pieces. (To learn more about PRESS, visit David’s public blog: davidwolach.blogspot.com )

During the quarter, our meetings will consist of weekly seminars, lectures, and “language labs”—times for brainstorming, rehearsing, and trying out language experiments. Guest artists will also come to campus to work with us. By the end of the quarter students will have a new portfolio of writings and, where appropriate, will have developed existing portfolios through collaborative refashioning and critique. Readings will include selections from The Kenning Anthology of Poets Theater, Adorno’s Aesthetic Theory, Ranciere’s The Politics of Aesthetics, and individual pieces by Bertoldt Brecht, Hannah Weiner, Tina Darragh, Chris Mann, Thalia Field, BARGE, Nonsense Company, Tonya Foster, Kaia Sand and Jules Boykoff, Laura Elrick, and Rodrigo Toscano. Though helpful, students are not expected to have a background in either creative writing or theater to do well in this program.

REMINDER: READINGS FOR TOMORROW ARE BELOW THIS POST

 

Please join us in welcoming composer and linguistic wizard Chris Mann

this Thursday for a reading and discussion of new work

 

Where: The Evergreen State College, Building Sem II, B1107

When: Thursday, 8pm

 

Mann is a composer working in Compositional Linguistics, whose work is mainly to do with the technology and philosophy of speech. Performer (voice), since 1989 with Machine for Making Sense and most recently Chris Mann and the Impediments. 1999 Artist in Residence, Harvestworks and RPI. His commissions include: Astra Choir, John Cage, Composers Forum, Paris Autumn Festival, Australian Biennale, Radio France, Ars Electronica, Radio Telefis Eirann, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, National Public Radio, Revue Telematique d’Art Contemporain, Dance Works, Dance Exchange, Lingua, Art et Lectures, Abraxas, Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, la revue parlée, V2, Australian Network for Art and Technology,Goethe Institut, Shire of Healesville, Anzart, Christian Television Association, Commission for the Future, International Synergy, ABC Staff Union, Australia Council, Perth Institute for Contemporary Art, Festival de la Batie, Sprach Ton Art, Brisbane Biennial, BBC, Taklos Festival, ORF, Urban Aboriginal, American Society for Cybernetics, bobeobi, Adelaide Festival, Experimenta, Interpretations.

 

For more on his past appearances, see:

http://slought.org/content/11181/

 

And to listen to excerpts from “The Use,” check out: 

http://www.lovely.com/titles/cd3091.html

http://theuse.info/