Skyline College

English 110 Online: Composition, Literature & Critical Thinking—Spring 2016

Course Theme—Living on the Margins

Professor: Rachel Bell	Course Number 44389, 3.0 units
Office Location: 7306 and Office Phone: 738-4349	Online Classroom: http://smccd.mrooms.net/
Web Address: http://accounts.smccd.edu/bellr/	Office hours: Tues/Thurs 2:30-5pm Call or email to book an appointment
E-mail: bellr@smccd.edu and bellrachel@hotmail.com	Course dates: 1/20/16 to 5/19/16
English office & mailboxes: Room 8112-8114, 738-4202 Online course orientation: http://accounts.smccd.edu/bellr/Orientation.htm	Take advantage of campus support services: Bldg 5: Tutoring in Learning Center (1^st floor) and Librarian assistance (2^nd floor). Bldg 2: Academic counselors, health services, and other support services. Bldg 8—rooms 8119 & 8121: Computers and printers for students.

"Most of us hold simultaneous membership in a number of groups based, for example, on our personal
and physical characteristics, on our abilities and class backgrounds, and on our cultural, racial, or religious identifications.
We may find ourselves both in groups targeted for oppression and in those dominant groups granted relatively higher degrees of
power and prestige. By examining how we are disadvantaged as well as looking at the privileges we have, we can develop
empathy for individuals different from ourselves and create a basis for alliances" (3). - Warren J. Blumenfeld


Course Prerequisites:
Completion of English 100 or 105 with a letter grade of “C” or better.

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. You need to be a strongly self-motivated learner and 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. The Skyline campus has computers for student use in the Library (bldg. 5), in the Learning Center (bldg. 5), and in the Business Lab (rooms 8119-8121, bldg. 8): http://www.skylinecollege.edu/academics/technology.php. 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 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).

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

"One must be careful of books, and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us."
—Cassandra Clare, The Infernal Devices

(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: African American Poetry: an Anthology 1773-1927 ed. Joan R. Sherman

(3)Short stories: Sexual Metamorphosis: An Anthology of Transsexual Memoirs ed. Ames

(4)Plays: Asian American Plays for a New Generation eds. Lee, Eitel, and Shiomi

(5)Novel: If I Should Speak: a Novel by Umm Zakiyyah

(6) Department Rhetoric--Optional: Unless you prefer a print version (which you can
purchase in Skyline’s Bookstore). The Rhetoric is provided for you electronically at:
http://www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/


Course Policies:

(1) Participation—Remember that participation counts both for your grade and in your life. Active participation means regularly logging in, posting on time in forums, and providing thoughtful written feedback for workshop peer review. It also means emailing your instructor when you have questions or want quick feedback or when you want more detailed feedback, making an office or phone appointment. Forum postings are 10% of your course grade and peer review is 5%.

Please note: technical difficulties are not a valid 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) Late Assignments—No late work will be accepted. All due dates are given well in advance so it’s 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 due date. Late assignments beyond this will not be accepted. You cannot use late tickets on timed exams. Please note: When you post a late assignment, you must email me to let me know, so I know to go back and give you credit.

(3) Saving and Submitting Work—You must create a backup 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-- Paraphrasing or directly copying any text and using it as your own without proper attribution, whether you’ve done it intentionally or not, is plagiarism and is unacceptable and will result in failure. We will carefully look at how to integrate and properly document outside sources. Students will also submit an “Honesty Pledge” at the beginning of the semester, stating that all work submitted will be their own: http://www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/10Plagiarism.htm


“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 2/16, Revised 2/23

Research Paper #2 (3-5 pages, 750-1250 words) Draft due 3/15, Revised 3/22

Paper #3 Midterm 75-minute essay exam on Tuesday, April 12^th
Collaborative Research Paper #4 (4-6 pages, 1000-1500 words) Draft 5/10, Revised 5/17

Paper #5 Final essay exam—2 ½ hours on Thursday, May 19^th

For detailed paper guidelines and topics, visit: http://www.smccd.edu/accounts/bellr/papertopics110S16online.htm

(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. The first draft is not graded and is used for class workshopping, so students can give and receive advice to apply to the graded revision due a week later. If you would like instructor feedback on your draft, make an office or phone appointment. On papers, you must meet the page minimums. 5% deducted for half a page under and minus 10% for each full page under the minimum.

(3) Workshopping—Each draft will be read and commented upon by student workshop groups. You do not want to use a late ticket on a draft because: (1) you cannot participate in the workshop without a draft; (2) you won’t get any peer feedback on your draft; (3) you won’t be able to give written feedback on your peers’ drafts so will receive zero scores and peer review counts as 5% of your overall course grade; (4) if you do not submit a draft, you cannot turn in a revision a week later for a grade and you cannot pass this class if you fail to turn in one of the major papers. Below are the important workshop dates:

Paper #1 Workshop: 2/16 Paper #2 Workshop: 3/15 Paper #4 Workshop: 5/10

(4) Format— All papers must meet the required minimum length, and they must be typed, double-spaced, have 1” margins, and have a font of 12. When you email me assignments as attachments or post assignments in WebAccess, they must be in .DOC, .RTF or .PDF format or else I will not be able to open your document and your work will not be counted as on time.

“If the aim is globalization without marginalization, we can no longer tolerate a world in which there live
side by side the immensely rich and the miserably poor, the have-nots deprived even of essentials and people who
thoughtlessly waste what others so desperately need. Such countries are an affront to the dignity of the human person.”
–Pope John Paul II

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

Departmental Grading Standards: http://www.skylinecollege.edu/skyenglish/6EvaluatingWriting.htm
Online grade calculator: http://accounts.smccd.edu/bellr/GradingMenu.htm


TITLE IX:
The San Mateo County Community College District is committed to maintaining safe and caring college environments at Cañada College, College of San Mateo and Skyline College. The District has established policies and procedures regarding Sexual Misconduct, Harassment, and Assault. A District website has also been developed which provides you with important information about sexual misconduct and sexual assault. http://smccd.edu/titleix/.  To learn more about these issues and how you can help prevent them, you are encouraged to view the “Not Anymore” videos, which can be found on WebSMART under the Student Services link.