WHAT’S IN A HOBBY?
WRD 110: Research and Inquiry
SUMMARY:
Hobbies are more than something that one does: for many people, hobbies become inextricable aspects of their identity. Hobbies shape how we view ourselves and how other people view us. We meet friends through shared hobbies, then talk about those hobbies with those friends. We post about our hobbies to social media and discuss our hobbies with other hobbyists on platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and reddit. Hobbies have their own peculiar histories; their own fierce debates; their own rivalries, brand loyalties, and schools of thought.
In this class, you will research a hobby of your choice—from skiing to video games, fishing to knitting, collecting vintage typewriters to horseback riding, and everything in between. This research will take shape over a variety of smaller research and writing projects which will, at semester’s end, be repurposed and reworked into a podcast.
Along the way, you will learn as much about research and inquiry as you do your hobby itself. You will learn how to ask effective research questions, how to evaluate sources, and how to use your research to become more effective writers across a variety of genres.
MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS:
The Rhetoric of Hobbyist Issues
For this assignment, you will select an article about an issue within your hobby written by a credible secondary source. Then, you will select one instance of an online community (TikTok, Twitter, reddit, etc.) discussing this issue. You will then compare the rhetorical situations of these two pieces of content—using the terminology discussed in class—in a 750-word essay.
A Brief History of a Hobby
In this five-minute research presentation, you will share both your own personal history with your hobby and a brief history of the hobby itself. You will be expected to use and cite three sources (two non-scholarly, one scholarly) during this presentation. In addition to presenting your research, you will have to submit to Canvas the 350-word script that you use for your presentation.
Hobbyist Discussion
For this project, you will record a brief interview with another person who is deeply invested in your hobby. The purpose of this interview is to uncover why your interviewee enjoys the hobby, what their personal history with it is, whether they’re active in hobbyist groups online or in-person, and how they feel about the issue you discussed in the semester’s first paper. After the interview, you will compose a 500-word reflection on the process of interviewing another hobbyist and submit that along with your recorded interview.
Hobby Radio Ad
Continuing our work with audio editing software, you will put together a 30- to 45-second radio (or podcast) advertisement related to your hobby. This could be an ad for a fictional company whose products are used in your hobby; it could also be an ad for the hobby itself and why someone should pick it up. Regardless, this ad should include at least one secondary sound—audio, sound effect, etc.
The Podcast
For the final project of the semester, you will take the materials that you’ve previously composed—the issue discussion, the history presentation, the advertisement, and the interview—and repurpose them to create a 10-minute podcast. During this time, you are free to revise or alter any of the materials that you have produced previously. This podcast should begin by describing what your hobby is and its brief history; provide an overview of a debate in the hobby; feature a “radio ad” interlude in which you advertise your hobby; an excerpt of your interview with another hobbyist; and a final reflection on what you podcast has shared with the listener (and why it matters!) Along with this 10-minute podcast, you will submit a 750-word personal reflection on the semester-long research project.
PARTICIPATION ASSIGNMENTS:
Participation
This grade is based on several factors, including but not limited to: how frequently your respond to or ask questions in class; your level of engagement in in-class activities; the completion of participation assignments on Canvas; and your own participation self-evaluations.
Peer Review
Providing and receiving feedback is an essential part of how we become better writers. As such, this course will feature numerous structure peer review assignments. In order to participate in peer review, you must submit a reasonably complete working draft of the assignment being reviewed by midnight of the night before the in-class peer review session. You will partner with a classmate and offer guided feedback on their work by completing a peer review worksheet, followed by discussing your feedback with them. This peer review worksheet will be submitted to Canvas and graded based on the thoughtfulness and thoroughness of your feedback to your peer.
Weekly Journals
For the duration of the semester, you will complete a weekly journal entry that asks you to reflect on a question about research and inquiry posed by the course that week. These journal entries are a chance for you to practice your writing, develop your thoughts, and think about your own learning in the course. Journal entries will be graded on a completion basis as long as they 1) respond to the week’s prompt in some way, and 2) are at least 250 words long.
Grade Distribution:
90% – 100% = A
80% – 89.9% = B
70% – 79.9% = C
60% – 69.9% = D
59.9% and below = E
Major Assignments: 65%
The Rhetoric of Hobbyist Issues: 10%
A Brief History of a Hobby: 10%
Hobbyist Discussion: 10%
Hobby Radio Ad: 10%
The Podcast: 25%
Participation Assignments: 35%
Participation: 15%
Peer Review: 10%
Weekly Journals: 10%
