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......................Skyline
College
English
110:
Composition,
Literature & Critical Thinking--Spring
2000
Course Meetings: T
Th 11:10am-12:25pm
Tues in Rm 8222 & in Lab Thurs-blg 2
Schedule #30315 - Engl 110AG, Units
3.0
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"We all go
through various transformations in the course of growing
older, and become several different people even in our own
brief lives. The soul is a process, not a thing; therefore
you cannot put it in a box (or a book) and close the lid. It
will crawl out and keep changing."
-- Erica Jong How
to Save Your Own Life
Course
Prerequisites:
Completion of English
100 or 105 with a letter grade of "C" or better.
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:
"The only
good thing you can say about banning certain books is it
gets kids to read
them" - Dennis
Miller, The Rants. Here are the books you'll be
reading this semester:
The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature, 5th
edition, by Michael Meyer
Texts and Contexts, 2nd edition, by Steven Lynn
$5 Computer Usage card - can be purchased at Skyline's
bookstore
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
"Words set
things in motion. I've seen them doing it. Words set up
atmospheres, electrical fields, charges." --Toni Cade
Bambara
Course Policies:
(1) Attendance-- Your attendance is crucial to realize the
objectives of this course. A maximum of four absences is
permitted; each absence after the 4th will significantly
lower your grade.
(2) Late Assignments-- 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 has two "late tickets" during the semester; twice
students may choose to turn an assignment in the following
class period after the due date. Late assignments beyond
this will not be accepted.
(3) 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 can result in failure. During the course of
this semester, we will carefully look at how to use outside
sources and at the proper ways in which to document those
sources.
(4) Class participation--- Remember that participation
counts--both for your grade and in your life. It is
essential that you become consciously involved in class by
participating in discussions and contributing thoughtful
comments, questions, and answers.
"I'll find my
father through words. I'll bring him back to life with
words.
I will build a cathedral of words. I'll create a country
with my words.
In my words I'll find the universe and I'll understand the
eternal present
though my words. In my words, I will find, I will end, I
will become the words
themselves, become words, words, words, I will incarnate
words, words, words."
-- Arturo Arias After the Bombs
Papers:
Six major papers will be written for this class. The
requirements are as follows:
(1) Due Dates--Paper #1 (2-4 pages, 500-1000
words)........Draft
due 2/3, Revised 2/10
...........................Paper
#2 (3-5 pages, 750-1250
words)........Draft
due 2/29, Revised 3/7
...........................Paper
#3: Midterm essay exam 3/16
Collaborative Research Paper #4: (4-6 pages, 1000-1500
words)....Draft
due 4/27, Revised 5/4
...........................Paper
#5 (4-6 pages, 1000-1500
words)........Draft
due 5/18, Revised 5/25
...........................Paper
#6: Final essay exam-2 ½ hours on Thursday, May 25th
11:10am-1:40pm
"A play should
give you something to think about. When I see a play
and understand it the first time, then I know it can't be
much good." -- T.S. Eliot
(2) Revision-- Louis Brandels
said,
"There is no such thing as good writing, only good
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 on
each of his/her papers through class workshop 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.
(3) Workshopping-- This class will serve as a sort of a
writing community in which each student can draw, as well as
contribute, valuable ideas, insight, and advise on writing
and presenting arguments. Each paper will be read,
discussed, and commented upon by student workshop groups of
three. Workshop days are very important, and therefore a
missed workshop day will count as two (2) absences and a
late paper will not be accepted. Students without a
completed paper (meeting page and format requirements) will
not be allowed to participate in the workshop. Below are the
workshop dates--students must bring a copy of their paper
for themselves as well as for the other members of their
group:
Workshop for Paper #1:
Thurs 2/3
Workshop for Paper #2: Tues 2/29
Workshop for Paper #4: Thurs 4/27
Workshop for Paper #5: Thurs 5/18
(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.
"The West
thinks of itself as masculine--big guns, big industry, big
money-so the East [the Orient] is feminine--weak,
delicate, poor…but good at art, and full of inscrutable
wisdom--
the feminine mystique. Her mouth says no, but her eyes say
yes. The West believes the East, deep down, wants to be
dominated-because a woman can't think for herself"
-David Henry Hwang M. Butterfly
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-In
Class.................10%
..........................................Score for
Paper 3 ______ x .10 = ______
Paper 4 .............................
15%
..........................................Score for
Paper 4 ______ x .15 = ______
Paper 5 .............................
15%
..........................................Score
for Paper 5 ______ x .15 = ______
Paper 6--Final Exam 5/25..
15%
..........................................Score
for Paper 5 ______ x .15 = ______
Quizzes
..............................15%
.......................................Average Quiz
Score ______ x .15 = ______
* Participation
...................
10% .........
..........................................Participation
______ x .10 = ______
.................................................................................................*TOTAL:
(convert total to %) ________
* Participation includes being prepared each day,
meeting
with me at least once during the course of the semester,
...............* Deduct
1% for each absence over allowed 4.
adding to daily discussion, and giving your
classmates
......................Scoring
as follows: 100-90=A, 89-80=B
thoughtful responses to their writing in
workshops.
...............................79-70=C, 69-60=D,
59-0=F
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