Petition Letter
Dear Associate Dean (Studies),
I am appealing for a review of my fall and winter term papers and my second short paper in ENGL 292, Introduction to Literary Criticism and Theory. I believe I received my grades on these works as a result of my instructor¿¿s bias. During this school year, I had been confused, stressed and enervated by my instructor¿¿s discrimination against me.
Since the second class of this course, my instructor had been showing a reluctance to let me speak in class, in contrast with her attitude towards certain other students. In a class before I handed in my first term paper, my instructor ignored my hand twice and, when I spoke, gave me sarcastic feedbacks on my course-related comments. Later, when I was unable to retrieve my assignment due to my loss of passport in China during the winter break, I emailed my instructor about my situation. Having been following the class etiquette, I also talked about my essay pick-up with her as soon as I was back in school. However, on the same day when I was supposed to pick up my essay in my instructor¿¿s office, she walked to me after the lecture and put my essay on my desk, telling me it had been in her office for ages in front of my classmates. My grade and the way I received it deeply disappointed and stressed me.
My TA¿¿s feedback, on the essay as well as during her office hours, featured an unfamiliarity with the course material. To explain the mechanism of Stanley Fish¿¿s reader-response theory, I highlighted the variability and arbitrariness of the relationship between the signified and the signifier, which is fundamental to the meaning-making of any text. I also proposed a parallel between Freud¿¿s conceptualization of psychoanalytic activity and Fish¿¿s idea of interpretation. Both concepts, presented on the course slides and in the assigned reading, feature a subjective, constructive nature. More importantly, they can be explained in linguistic terms. However, my TA invalidated my essay by stating that my introduction of the linguistic ideas is confusing. Therefore I believe my essay is substantially under-evaluated in terms of perspective and content.
My TA told me that my instructor read my paper and would be firm about the grading. However, when I went to my instructor, she offered me to either rewrite the essay or to have an informal review. After we virtually went over the entire essay, my instructor, encouraging me to rewrite it, indicated that she was unwilling to change the mark due to her appreciation of my TA¿¿s work. Although I agreed to rewrite the paper, I was nevertheless troubled by their personalized explanations while still perceiving a hostile study environment, in which my instructor appeared irritable from time to time.
I was additionally troubled by the vagueness of my instructor¿¿s marking scheme. For example, in the winter term, one of my classmates told me she received 95 on her mini project comprised of paper cranes. I received 80 on mine, which is a letter to a theorist. My instructor gave me very positive feedback, pointing no weakness in my letter, and made emotional comments, telling me part of my letter was humorous. But I did not intend it to be. In this case, I further sensed a strong subjectivity in her evaluation and believed a difference in grade such as 15 should somehow be explained more.
As my overall anxiety about my schoolwork, and my insecurity in ENGL 292 accumulated, I went to the counselling services and presented my instructor a document for extension for my winter term paper. My instructor then became colder towards me. After I received my grade on my second term paper and my short paper, I again sensed an under-evaluation, especially of the short paper. To conclude how ENGL 292 changed me, I emphasized that the post-humanistic trend introduced in the winter term, which is primarily concerned with social forces and the social implications of literary works, caused me a sense of confusion about interpretive activities. I demonstrated my increased awareness of the diverse interpretations of self which characterize post-humanism, as the course focused on class, race, gender, sexuality and disability. However, in response, my instructor briefly indicated she did not know what I was trying to say.
Because of my overall experience in ENGL 292 and my perceived bias of my instructor, who unilaterally made our communication difficult, showed little concern for my performance, and significantly damaged my mental health, I was emotionally incapable of rewriting my first term paper. I believe my term papers and my second short paper need a review by independent reviewers.
Thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely,
Yijia Xu
I am appealing for a review of my fall and winter term papers and my second short paper in ENGL 292, Introduction to Literary Criticism and Theory. I believe I received my grades on these works as a result of my instructor¿¿s bias. During this school year, I had been confused, stressed and enervated by my instructor¿¿s discrimination against me.
Since the second class of this course, my instructor had been showing a reluctance to let me speak in class, in contrast with her attitude towards certain other students. In a class before I handed in my first term paper, my instructor ignored my hand twice and, when I spoke, gave me sarcastic feedbacks on my course-related comments. Later, when I was unable to retrieve my assignment due to my loss of passport in China during the winter break, I emailed my instructor about my situation. Having been following the class etiquette, I also talked about my essay pick-up with her as soon as I was back in school. However, on the same day when I was supposed to pick up my essay in my instructor¿¿s office, she walked to me after the lecture and put my essay on my desk, telling me it had been in her office for ages in front of my classmates. My grade and the way I received it deeply disappointed and stressed me.
My TA¿¿s feedback, on the essay as well as during her office hours, featured an unfamiliarity with the course material. To explain the mechanism of Stanley Fish¿¿s reader-response theory, I highlighted the variability and arbitrariness of the relationship between the signified and the signifier, which is fundamental to the meaning-making of any text. I also proposed a parallel between Freud¿¿s conceptualization of psychoanalytic activity and Fish¿¿s idea of interpretation. Both concepts, presented on the course slides and in the assigned reading, feature a subjective, constructive nature. More importantly, they can be explained in linguistic terms. However, my TA invalidated my essay by stating that my introduction of the linguistic ideas is confusing. Therefore I believe my essay is substantially under-evaluated in terms of perspective and content.
My TA told me that my instructor read my paper and would be firm about the grading. However, when I went to my instructor, she offered me to either rewrite the essay or to have an informal review. After we virtually went over the entire essay, my instructor, encouraging me to rewrite it, indicated that she was unwilling to change the mark due to her appreciation of my TA¿¿s work. Although I agreed to rewrite the paper, I was nevertheless troubled by their personalized explanations while still perceiving a hostile study environment, in which my instructor appeared irritable from time to time.
I was additionally troubled by the vagueness of my instructor¿¿s marking scheme. For example, in the winter term, one of my classmates told me she received 95 on her mini project comprised of paper cranes. I received 80 on mine, which is a letter to a theorist. My instructor gave me very positive feedback, pointing no weakness in my letter, and made emotional comments, telling me part of my letter was humorous. But I did not intend it to be. In this case, I further sensed a strong subjectivity in her evaluation and believed a difference in grade such as 15 should somehow be explained more.
As my overall anxiety about my schoolwork, and my insecurity in ENGL 292 accumulated, I went to the counselling services and presented my instructor a document for extension for my winter term paper. My instructor then became colder towards me. After I received my grade on my second term paper and my short paper, I again sensed an under-evaluation, especially of the short paper. To conclude how ENGL 292 changed me, I emphasized that the post-humanistic trend introduced in the winter term, which is primarily concerned with social forces and the social implications of literary works, caused me a sense of confusion about interpretive activities. I demonstrated my increased awareness of the diverse interpretations of self which characterize post-humanism, as the course focused on class, race, gender, sexuality and disability. However, in response, my instructor briefly indicated she did not know what I was trying to say.
Because of my overall experience in ENGL 292 and my perceived bias of my instructor, who unilaterally made our communication difficult, showed little concern for my performance, and significantly damaged my mental health, I was emotionally incapable of rewriting my first term paper. I believe my term papers and my second short paper need a review by independent reviewers.
Thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely,
Yijia Xu