Skyline College
|
Professor:
Rachel Bell |
Course Number
41578 and 41622 |
|
Office
Location: 7306 and Office Phone: 738-4349 |
Class Meeting
online: http://smccd.mrooms.net/ |
|
Web Address: http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/
|
Office
hours: Tues/Thurs 10-11am and
2:30-4:30pm |
|
E-mail: bellr@smccd.edu
and bellrachel@hotmail.com |
Course dates: 1/13/14 to 5/15/14 |
|
English
office & mailboxes: Room 8112-8114, 738-4202 |
Tutoring in the Learning Center
in 5-100 |
"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.
Course
Description:
Transfer-level
course introduces students to major imaginative genres of poetry, drama, and
fiction from diverse cultural sources and literary critical perspectives.
Students will write analytical essays, employing methods of literary analysis
and research and demonstrating critical thinking skills appropriate to a
college-level writing class. 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.
Student Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the semester,
students will be able to do the following:
1. ESSAYS: Write
focused, organized, well-developed, and text-based essays appropriate to the
advanced college transfer level using the conventions of literary analysis and
criticism, and demonstrate competence in standard English grammar and usage.
2. CRITICAL ANALYSIS: Demonstrate critical reading, writing, and thinking
skills through synthesis and evaluation of important ideas and through
analyzing major themes and literary techniques.
3. SOURCES: Effectively evaluate and fluidly integrate relevant sources, using
appropriate research strategies and tools, and documenting them according to
MLA guidelines.
Required
Textbooks and 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 our 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 Best Women’s Travel Writing: 2011 ed.
Lavinia Spalding
(4)Play: The Overwhelming by J.T. Rogers
(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) 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.
(2) 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.
(3) 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.
(4) Disabled Students— In coordination with the Disability Resource Center
office, reasonable accommodation will be provided for eligible students with
disabilities. For more assistance,
please contact the DRC Bldg 5, Room 5132 or call 650-738-4228.
(5) Plagiarism-- The work you submit/present must be your
own. All paraphrases and quotations must
be cited appropriately. The Skyline College Student Handbook has a complete
statement defining cheating and plagiarism, available online. If you are caught cheating or plagiarizing
another person’s work, you may be disciplined in one or more of the following
ways:
1.
You will be given an F on the assignment;
2. Your name will be
submitted to the dean and your name will be added to a list of students who
have been guilty of plagiarizing and this list can be shared with your current
and future instructors.
3. You may be
referred to the College Disciplinarian for further sanctions which range from a
warning to expulsion from Skyline College.
Please note, if you have any questions
about appropriate ways to cite sources or if you are unsure how to incorporate
your own ideas with ideas you read, please ask.
“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 2/4, Revised 2/11
Research
Paper #2 (3-5 pages, 750-1250 words) Draft
due 3/11, Revised 3/18
Paper #3
Midterm 75-minute essay exam on Tuesday, April 8th
Collaborative Research Paper #4 (4-6
pages, 1000-1500 words) Draft 5/6,
Revised 5/13
Paper #5
Final essay exam—2 ½ hours on Thursday, May 15th
(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: 2/4 Paper #2 Workshop: 3/11 Paper #4 Workshop: 5/6
(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 =
_____
Forum
postings 10% Average
of Forum Posts ______ x .10 =
_____
Quizzes 10% Average
Quiz score ______ x .10 =
_____
Peer Paper Review 5% Average
Peer Review ______ x .05 =
_____
Homework 5% Average
of homework ______ x .05 =
_____
TOTAL:
(convert total to %) ________
Scoring as follows:
100-90=A, 89-80=B
79-70=C, 69-60=D, 59-0=F
For an online
grade calculator, go to: http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/ReaderGradingMenu.htm
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.
“Not all those who wander are lost.” ~J.R.R. Tolkien