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Joyce Fisher |
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Winter 2005 Current Courses This semester, I'm teaching English 131 and English 135, and I work in the Writing Lab. In English 131, we approach essays through rhetorical modes, culminating in argument/persuasion and the combining of modes to achieve a specific end. The readings range from the humorous-yet-serious "The Dangers of Doublespeak" to the sobering "Holocaust" to the Declaration of Independence, one of history's most important--and beautifully structured -- written arguments (We bravely plow through the dated diction of the last mentioned to appreciate the underlying structure of the argument and its legacy.) English 135 is a wonderfully varied, albeit challenging, course that focuses on professional writing. After "easing" into semester by way of the memorandum and employment documents, we focus on the documented analytical research paper, including supplements and visuals. Most of these papers address career-related or actual workplace problems (a considerable number of 135 students work full-time). Some of the completed reports are impressive, and a few have actually been positively received and implemented by students' employers. In short, the results are gratifying for my students (not to mention me!) Admittedly a lot of work, English 135 is a very worthwhile course. The bonus is that it's accepted as equivalent to upper-level writing courses at several institutions: English 270 (Engineering English) at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, English 211D (Technical and Report Writing) at Northern Michigan, and English 312 (Workshop in Professional Writing) at Michigan State, to mention a few.
Teaching Style I suppose that I might be described as having a traditional approach to teaching. Having taught at the college/university level full-time for 30+ years, I have a fairly straightforward approach in the classroom. I expect students to attend classes, participate, and do the assignments. In turn, I do my best to help students understand that they're quite able to master the skills necessary to meet the demands of academic and workplace writing. Doing so isn't a "talent" that they either have or don't. All it requires is a commitment to learning some basic principles and then practice, practice, and more practice. Ugh. Sounds like work. Well, it is, but we often have fun, too. I encourage students to select their own topics for most assignments, believing that we write best when we write about what we know and live. My hope is that they'll complete the class with stronger writing skills and the ability to be their own best editors.
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Other In my "other" life, my loves are family, Clive (our cat), gardening, and reading. My graduate work was in English Literature, and I remain actively interested in Jane Austen studies. I'm a lifetime member (one of the early ones!) of JASNA, long before Gwyneth Paltrow & Co. made Jane Austen a household name. Having lived in many different places and traveled a lot, I seem to be morphing into a homebody of sorts and just love being home in "grubbies" (not to be confused with grubs...yuck!) in the garden.
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