Course Description
An examination of how Bali is represented in writing (by both Balinese and non-Balinese authors) and how writing about personal experiences in Bali hones observational skills, encourages self- reflection, and promotes critical thinking about current issues relevant to the linkages between contemporary Balinese culture and mass tourism.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students and those taking the course for Honors option
will be required to produce a synthetic 10-page literature review
of some genre of Balinese literature, selected in consultation
with the instructor.
Athena Title
Writing Bali
Non-Traditional Format
This course is part of the UGA Bali and Beyond Maymester Study Abroad program. During the program, we travel throughout the island of Bali visiting numerous towns and communities, temples, markets, and historical sites conducting ethnographic interviews with numerous people and being exposed to a diversity of perspectives. These field-based activities are supplemented by extensive reading and writing and daily class discussions. This version of the course will be taught as writing intensive, which means that the course will include substantial and ongoing writing assignments that a) relate clearly to course learning; b) teach the communication values of a discipline— for example, its practices of argument, evidence, credibility, and format; and c) prepare students for further writing in their academic work, in graduate school, and in professional life. The written assignments will result in a significant and diverse body of written work (the equivalent of 6000 words or 25 pages) and the instructor (and/or the teaching assistant assigned to the course) will be closely involved in student writing, providing opportunities for feedback and substantive revision.
Corequisite
ANTH 4242/6242
Semester Course Offered
Offered summer semester every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Bali is represented in many different literary forms, by many different authors, and for many different audiences. This course will examine how Bali is represented in writing (by both Balinese and non-Balinese authors) and how writing about personal experiences in Bali hones observational skills, encourages self-reflection, and promotes critical thinking about current issues. The course will include Balinese guest speakers engaged in different forms of writing for different purposes and audiences: creative writers, literature professors, singers/songwriters, and tourism website managers, in addition to artists or photographers; they will present their own perspectives about what they are representing and to whom. We will also examine and discuss various writings about Bali: (1) translated text from an ancient Balinese literature form called lontar (palm-leaf manuscripts dating to 14th century or earlier), (2) a novel by a Balinese novelist (Earth Dance by Oka Rusmini), (3) a passage of popular writing about Bali by non-Balinese author (Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert), (4) an academic article about Bali famous for its literary value (Clifford Geertz: “Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight”), (5) song lyrics by a contemporary Balinese songwriter (by the popular - and highly political - Balinese rock group “Superman is Dead”), (6) various texts from tourism literature and online media (guidebooks, websites, brochures, social media). We will analyze these various texts in terms of meaning (the content), motivation (the purpose or motive), and form (the mechanics of writing and grammar). This course will also use writing as a way to reflect on and connect readings from this course and the complementary course to each other and to personal experiences, taking an ethnographic field writing approach. Students will produce several types of writing during this course: daily on-site field notes, a daily field journal, freewrites during class sessions, and a series of three polished essays based on these writings that have undergone several rounds of feedback from fellow students and the instructor. Students will learn not just the fundamentals of proper writing, but also how to use writing as a vehicle for deeper thought and contemplation about people, places, and ideas. Through various types of writing, they will learn to connect ideas; reflect on impressions, experiences, and personal biases; ask questions that lead to more questions; and explore options for finding answers. There will be two types of grading on writing assignments: depth of content (amount of thought and effort put into the assignment) and the mechanics of writing (correct grammar, clarity of writing, correct use of vocabulary, logical flow, clear argument/main point, etc.). Learning Outcomes • Students will receive feedback from the instructor, the teaching assistant, and fellow classmates on the quality, content, and grammatical mechanics of their writing, and they will see improvement in their writing style as the course progresses. • Through both guided, in-class writing sessions and independent writing assignments, students will learn to “follow their curiosity” through a cycle including initial inspirations, increased knowledge and focused research, and analytical reflection. • Students will learn to analyze various texts in terms of meaning, motivation, and form, enhancing their understanding of Bali’s long literary history and modern writings about Bali by both Balinese and non-Balinese writers. • Students will learn several ethnographic writing methods and approaches that will hone their observational skills, encourage self-reflection, and inspire critical thinking about current issues in Bali. • As a key element of ethnography is talking directly with local people and then producing written texts, students will have guided interactions with Balinese writers, scholars, and artists and will learn to accurately record physical details and passages of dialogue. • Students will learn to work cooperatively in small groups and provide constructive advice on improving the work of fellow classmates; learning to critique without criticizing is a skill that is vital in daily life as well as academia.
Topical Outline
Orientation I: Introduction to Program; Health, Safety, and Etiquette Orientation II: Program Themes: Culture and Tourism/Representation and Perspective Introduction to Ethnographic Writing Freewrite + Revision Discussion about Lontar Texts (ancient Balinese literature) Student Critique Session of Essay #1 Discussion about Tourism Literature (online and print media) Freewrite + Revision Discussion of “Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight” (ethnographic writing about Bali) Discussion of “Earth Dance” (contemporary Balinese literature) Discussion of “Eat, Pray, Love” (popular writing by non- Balinese author) Presentation by Balinese Artist/Photographer Student Critique Session of Essay #2 Discussion of “Superman is Dead” (song lyrics as political texts) Freewrite + Revision Individual meetings with instructor Student critique session of Essay #3