office: 126c LA	hours: T TH 11:30-1 p.m. and by appointment
phone: 801.863.8573	email: thorntde@uvsc.edu

The pages in this directory are designed solely for the use of people enrolled in Deb Thornton's English classes. Global policies are outlined on this page, while class-specific information appears in the page dedicated to the course.

  Courses    Click the link for your Summer 2003 class

English 1010 Composition	English 2500 Introduction to Literature
English 2010 Composition	English 2520 American Literature 1865-present
English 2020 Composition: Science and Technology	English 3020 Grammars
English 2050 Basic Editing	English 3530 American Literature
English 2310 Technical Editing	English 471R Eminent Authors
English 2540 World Literature	English 486R Place: Geographies of Being

Policies
Fairness  First and foremost, all students are entitled to the same fair treatment. I work very hard to honor both the individuality of each student and the integrity of the classroom community. To that end, I keep regular office hours, meet with students by appointment, and hold individual paper conferences. I also read and answer email regularly. Everyone is entitled to the same timely feedback and information regarding his or her progress in the course. Because fairness is the most important aspect of creating an authentic learning space, please help me to be fair to you and your peers by not requesting exceptions to any policies, deadlines, or expectations. In other words, don't request an exception that should not pertain to everyone in the class.

Governmental Policies  The legal rights of individuals with disabilities, as stated in the college catalog. In brief, Required Statement: "Attention Students with Disabilities: If you have any disability which may impair your ability to successfully complete this course, please contact the Accessibility Services office, 863-8747, BU 146. Academic accommodations are granted for all students who have qualified documented disabilities. All services are coordinated with the Accessibility Services office."

Responsible Scholarship   Please do your own thinking and your own work for the course; document your research carefully. According to UVSC policy, anyone caught plagiarising will fail the course. (What is plagiarism?)

Attendance and participation  Please bring your mind and body to class, well rested and prepared for discussion of the day's reading assignments. Again, to be fair to all members of a class, excessive absences (more than 6) will result in precipitous declines in your grade.

Grades   I adhere strictly to the standard grading formula for passing grades:

		87-89		B+		77-79		C+		67-69		D+
100-95	A	84-86		B		74-76		C		64-66		D
90-94	A-	80-84		B-		70-74		C-		60-64		D-

Other   Class-specific policies are listed in the pages for individual classes.

A Metaphor for the Classroom
Alchemy, the applied study of transformation, is my primary metaphor of teaching. The early alchemists believed that every atom in the universe was slowly becoming more refined, gradually becoming the purest element, gold. They believed it was possible, through means both chemical and philosophical, to accelerate the transformation of particles in time by combining all of the elements--earth, air, fire, and water--in the right combinations, then adding the great mystery ingredient: the philosopher's stone.

The classroom is the crucible, the space of possibility; language is the prime mover, and everyone in the room can change for the better through the exchange of thoughts and ideas. The philosopher's stone is the page, and whether we are studying the process of writing or reading words already written and responding to them, alchemy is happening, people are changing, perspectives are becoming clearer, and the classroom community increases and expands the capacities of each individual. The world changes, one idea at a time, one word at a time, one soul at a time.

Call me an optimist, a fool, a dreamer. Thirteen years of teaching have taught me that I still have everything to learn. The compressed interval of each semester brings new questions, new elements, new individuals with whom to share the crucible of the present.

Endless Education
A list of the institutions in which I've suffered for years on end so that I can practice the alchemy of language with you. After I served my sentences, the following walking papers were conferred upon me, with all attendant rights and responsibilities. Transcripts are available upon request, so you can see that I did indeed fail calculus twice, but do not ask to see the ones that reveal how many years I wasted in the ABD (all but dead) waste land.

B.A., English, Brigham Young University, 1986
M.A., English, Brigham Young University, 1991
Ph.D., English, University of New Mexico, 1999
Yes, I am still a student, currently pursuing an AVC certificate through UVSC.

Other Interests and a Diagnosis
I'm pretty obsessed with teaching and the reading and writing life that accompanies it. Sometimes when I've finished a great book for the 14th time to prepare for class, I pause and laugh out loud, thinking that it's my job to read and discuss literature. Then for a moment I feel sorry for the people who hate their jobs. And then I realize that they probably make more money than I do. But even my paycheck can't buy the bliss of a good paragraph.

I'm something of a computer geek, internet addict, racquetball player, pinochle fiend, and endless talker. I'll drive 260 miles one way in hopes of finding a rare bird. I spent my twenties with a walkman in my ears listening to a pantheon that includes Joni Mitchell as the Most High, Dar Williams, Nanci Griffith, and a dozen other folk singers and songwriters. However, in a perverse twist of fate in 1999, I found the perfect voice, the one that rearranges my DNA, in a Broadway singer. My other grand obsession is the Colorado Plateau. Here are a few photographs.