Skyline
College
Instructor: Rachel Bell
Web
page: http://www.skylinecollege.edu/bellr
Office Hours: T Th
2-4pm in 7306 (email me to book an appointment)
"A person needs at intervals to separate
from family and companions and go to new places.
One must go
without familiars in order to be open to influences, to change"
--Katharine Butler Hathaway
"As
the traveler who has once been from home is wiser than he who has never left
his own doorstep,
so a knowledge
of one other culture should sharpen our ability to scrutinize more steadily,
to appreciate more lovingly, our own. --Margaret Mead
Course Prerequisites:
Completion of
English 100 or 105 with a letter grade of “C” or better. Transfer: UC; CSU (A2, A3, C2).
The Online Environment: Online
is not easier than the traditional educational process. In fact, many
learners say it requires much more time and commitment, so be prepared for this
as you take an online English course. Be
willing to commit 5 to 10 hours per week per online course. Also, you will need a "Plan B" in
case your home computer experiences any difficulties. Skyline has two computer labs in the TLC (bldg 5)
and the CALT (bldg
2) that students have access to with Internet connected PC and Mac computers. Missing any online quizzes, exams, or
postings due to technical difficulties will not be a valid excuse. With that said, taking an online course can
open up new ways of learning for you and often increases student participation
with the pressures of public speaking in the traditional classroom removed.
Course Objectives: By the end of the semester, you will have developed
a strong understanding of what it means to think, read, and write critically as
these skills apply to the analysis of fiction, poetry, drama, and literary
criticism. Through the writing and
reading you do in this course, you will be able to understand the relationship
between meaning in literature and language; to evaluate and analyze the
relationship between meaning and the use of sophisticated literary forms and
strategies; to identify unstated premises and hidden assumptions in writing; to
recognize the similarities and differences between arguments of an author and
his/her character(s); to evaluate arguments in literary criticism; and to
properly integrate source material into essay writing.
Required Materials: "We read to know we're not alone"
-- C.S. Lewis
(1)
SMCCD
EMAIL ACCOUNT: All the
course emails (about 2 to 5 per week) will be sent to your smccd.edu email
account so you must set it up (activate your account by logging in at http://my.smccd.edu/) and then check it daily
throughout the semester. If you prefer,
there are directions in the online classroom on how to forward your smccd email to another email account.
(2)
Poetry: American
Diaspora: Poetry of Displacement
eds. V. Suarez and R. Van Cleave
(3)
Short
stories: The Literary Traveler ed.
Larry Dark
(4) Play:
Valparaiso by Don DeLillo
(5) Novel:
A Woman in
Jerusalem
by A.B. Yehoshua
(6)
Optional:
Unless you prefer a print version (which
you can purchase in Skyline’s Bookstore),
you are
not required to purchase the course reader as it will be provided for you electronically
at:
http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/Reader.htm
Course Policies:
(1) Plagiarism—Paraphrasing or directly copying any text and
using it as your own without proper attribution, done intentionally or not, is
plagiarism and will result in failure.
In an online environment with its anonymity, it might be tempting to
pull material from online sources without acknowledging their source. Plagiarism is a serious academic
offense and will result in full prosecution according to school policy.
(2) Late
Assignments—No late work
will be accepted. All due dates are
given well in advance; therefore I feel that it is unfair to the students who complete their work on time to accept the work
from those who do not. However, because
“life happens,” each student will be allowed two “late tickets” during the
semester; twice students may choose to turn an assignment in 48
hours after the initial due date.
Late assignments beyond this will not be accepted. Late tickets cannot be used for timed online
exams. When you post a late assignment,
you must email me to let me know, so I know to go back and give you credit.
Please note: technical difficulties
will not be accepted as an excuse for late work. Due dates are given well in advance so don't
wait until the last minute and risk a blackout or computer crash that occurs
right on a deadline.
(3) Class
participation—In an online classroom, it is essential that you become
consciously involved by participating in forum and chat discussions and
contributing thoughtful comments, questions, and answers.
(4) Saving and
Submitting Work—You must create a back up file of every piece of work you
submit for grading. All files should be
in DOC or RTF file formats (note: Do not post .docx
files as not all students can open this type of file). When sending any email,
identify yourself fully by name. I will check email frequently and will respond
to course-related questions within 24-48 hours.
(5) Disabled Students—Reasonable accommodation will be provided for eligible
students with disabilities. Contact the DSPS office for an accommodation letter
(650) 738-4280.
“The
more you have thought and written on a given theme, the more you can still
write.
Thought
breeds thought. It grows under your
hands” -- Henry
David Thoreau
Papers: Five
major papers will be written for this class.
The requirements are as follows (all due by 12am on due date):
(1) Due Dates-- Paper
#1 (2-4 pages, 500-1000 words) Draft
due 9/11, Revised 9/18
Research
Paper #2 (3-5 pages, 750-1250 words) Draft
due 10/16, Revised 10/23
Paper #3 Midterm 75-minute essay exam on Tuesday,
November 6th
Collaborative Research Paper #4 (4-6
pages, 1000-1500 words) Draft 12/4,
Revised 12/11
Paper #5
Final essay exam—2 ½ hours on Weds, December 12th
(2) Revision-- E.B. White said, “The best writing is rewriting.” Because revising or “re-seeing” a piece of
writing is such an important aspect of the writing process, each of the papers
has two due dates. Each student will
receive feedback and suggestions on each of his/her papers through online class
workshop/discussion groups; then each student will be asked to revise each
paper based on peer feedback.
Please note: if the first due
date for a paper is missed, the paper cannot be turned in at all and will not
receive a grade.
(3) Workshopping-- Each paper will be read, discussed, and commented upon by student
workshop groups. Students without a
completed paper on the day of the workshop will not be allowed to participate
in the workshop. Students not
participating in workshops will lose their peer participation points for that
activity, they will not receive the benefit of commentary on their writing, and
if they do not turn a paper in on the workshop date, they cannot turn in a
revised paper a week later for a grade.
You cannot pass the course if you fail to turn in one of the 5 major
papers for the course. Below are the
workshop dates--students must upload a copy of their paper for their group
members and comment on the writing of their group members on the day specified:
Paper #1
Workshop: 9/11 Paper #2 Workshop: 10/16
Paper #4 Workshop: 12/4
(4) Format—Papers must meet the required minimum length or run
the risk of not being accepted. All
papers must be typed, double-spaced, have 1” margins, and have a font of 12.
“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by
demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat
worry,
and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other,
we
may even become friends.” --Maya Angelou
Course Grade: Record
Your Own Grades:
Paper 1 10% Score
for Paper 1 ______ x .10 = _____
Paper 2 10% Score
for Paper 2 ______ x .10 = _____
Paper 3—Midterm 10% Score
for Paper 3 ______ x .10 = _____
Paper 4 20% Score
for Paper 4 ______ x .20 = _____
Paper 5—Final 20% Score
for Paper 5 ______ x .20 = _____
Presentation 10% Presentation
score ______ x .10 =
_____
* Participation 10% Participation ______ x .10 =
_____
TOTAL:
(convert total to %) ________
Participation
includes contributing timely and well
constructed postings, chat discussions, providing Scoring as
follows: 100-90=A, 89-80=B
thoughtful peer feedback on papers and postings, and 79-70=C, 69-60=D, 59-0=F
communicating with me during online/phone office hours.
For an online grade
calculator, go to: http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/ReaderGradingMenu.htm
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien
Additional
campus information:
Available Support Services: The Learning
Center (Building 5) provides support for writing, reading, math, and other
subjects. Sign up for LSKL 800 for
general tutoring, or for LSKL 853 for reading and
writing support through the Writing & Reading Lab in the Learning
Center. Librarians, on the 2nd
floor of building 5, can assist with research projects and library questions.
Academic counselors, health services, and other student support services are
available in the Student Services Center in Building 2.