Acoustic Environments
English 496: Senior Seminar, Fall 2006
Instructor: Dr. Nicholas Laudadio
Office: Morton 135
Office Hours: Tuesday, 12-3, and by appt.
E-mail: laudadion@uncw.edu
http://people.uncw.edu/laudadion/

Course Description
Beginning with Stephen Handel's assertion that "listening is centripetal--it pulls you into the world," this class will investigate the various ways that we are drawn into a world whose acoustic environment has changed drastically over the course of the last century. Attending to issues of both sonic production and reproduction, we will confront the ecological, musical, and technological aspects of the "soundscape" in an attempt to better understand how it affects our lives and our art.

Required texts
• Course reserves available through the online course schedule in pdf or txt format.
• Bull & Black (eds). The Auditory Culture Reader. Berg, 2003.
• Schafer, R. Murray. The Soundscape: Our Sonic Environment and the Tuning of the World. Destiny Books, 1994.
These books are available from the university bookstore, but feel free to buy them used from amazon.com or bookfinder.com if you would prefer. Just make sure you have all your books by the time we discuss them.

Supplies
• Folder with pockets for your journal entries and essays/reviews; paper for taking notes; drive for backing up your computer work.
• Save all writing you do this semester in at least two locations (i.e on disk and in hard copy). Keep all work that I hand back to you in your journal.
NB: Always save repeatedly and backup regularly as important documents have a tendency to disappear and crashes/losses are not an acceptable excuse for late/missing assignments.

Class requirements and assignments
• You will be required to maintain a listening journal (see below), complete a final written project and a midterm, write three shorter papers, participate in class discussions, and attend class regularly (see attendance policy below).
• Each assignment (including journal entries) should be typed in a standard 10 or 12 point serifed font (Times or Times New Roman) in MLA style (refer to the website for more info). Hand in all versions of the paper with your final drafts.
• I do not guarantee acceptance of late assignments without notification before the due date. When accepted, all late assignments will be reduced by one-third of a grade per class day. (Absence from class on the date due (as well as computer problems) does not excuse the lateness of your assignment.)

Listening Journals
This semester you will be writing regular 500 word journal entries that discuss/analyze/criticize/meditate on the ways that you perceive your acoustic environment, whether that be through creating a "sound map" of your neighborhood or working bit by bit through a complicated song/sound recording or essay/article. Generally, I will assign specific writing topics for your journal, but often it will be up to you to come up with topics—I won’t be reminding you. These entries will be graded at various times through the semester and you will often be called on to read them aloud in class. On days when you do not have a response due, I still expect you to bring in a (preferably) written idea or question relevant to the text under discussion.

Breakdown of grades
Final project (30%), midterm essay (20%), three assignments (20%)
Listening journal responses: (20%) (all work must be in order, titled, dated, and typed).
Participation: includes in-class work, reading quizzes, class participation, attendance, and general attitude (10%)

Attendance
You are allowed to miss two classes before you are penalized. Use these wisely (i.e. save them for when you are really sick). After three missed classes, your participation grade drops a level. After four missed classes, your final grade drops by a third. After five missed classes, you will receive a failing grade. The class depends upon your presence and you CAN and WILL fail if you do not show up.
• If you miss more than one class, you must contact me in person; otherwise, I will assume you have dropped the class.
• Do not schedule meetings with your advisor, doctor’s appointments or anything else during this class time. (Having a doctor’s note does not gain you a “free” absence.)
• Don’t leave class early.

Lateness
If you are late to class two times (that is, if you come in after I have taken attendance), you will receive one absence. If you are late, please make sure that I have marked you present. If you find that parking is a problem on the first day (and it almost always is) come earlier.

Incompletes
The incomplete grade may be given only to students who have 1) fulfilled the attendance requirement for the course and 2) completed all but one of the written assignments.

Academic Dishonesty
Unfortunately, I am too often forced to fail a student for turning in plagiarized work. Do not be this person, as it is a terrible experience for everyone involved.
As a reminder: plagiarism is using another person’s words (even just a few words and even if they are from some old website) and/or ideas as if they were your own. To avoid plagiarism, simply put the material you have taken in quotation marks and cite the person’s name and publication information in your paper. Please note that turning in an assignment that you wrote for another class also falls under the heading of academic dishonesty and is prohibited. If you turn in any such assignments, you will receive an “F” for the course and I will notify the Dean.

Writer’s Block
Feel free to stop in during office hours for any reason; as paper time draws near, you’ll probably want to schedule an appointment if you’re desperate for additional feedback. Please do not wait until the last minute to do so; I cannot (as you can probably imagine) schedule time for very many students two days before the deadline. If you need additional assistance on your paper draft beyond this meeting, please seek out the Writing Place; the staff are there to provide feedback on papers. (Please keep in mind, however, that merely having someone on the staff read your paper does not ensure you a higher grade. http://www.uncw.edu/stuaff/writingplace/ 962-7155 (appointments are recommended) Hours: M-Th 10-9; Friday 10-3; Sun 6 p.m.-9 p.m.

Disabilities
If you have a disability and need reasonable accommodation, you should inform me of this fact in writing within the first week of class. If you have not already done so, you must register with the Office of Disability Services in Westside Hall (extension 3746) and obtain a copy of your Accommodation Letter. You should then schedule an appointment with me to make mutually agreeable arrangements based on the recommendations in your letter.