Welcome to COA Spring 2010English 1A, Spring 2010
Course codes: 23043/23044
Class Meetings: Jan. 21—May 20, 8-9 & 9-10, MTWTh
Location: Room D-206/D-205
Holidays: 2/12-15, 3/19 (staff development), Spring Break: 4/4-10
Final Exam Week: May 24-28
Each One, Pull One (Thinking of Lorraine Hansberry)
…We must say it all, as clearly
as we can. For, even before we are dead,
they are busy
trying to bury us.
—Alice Walker
Syllabus for English 1A: College Composition and Reading
English 1A is the first transferable college writing course. Don’t get nervous, hopefully you took English 201 and passed with a B or better. Perhaps you’re fresh out of high school, did okay on the placement exam and voila wound up here. Maybe you’re returning to college after a significant hiatus and aren’t confident in your writing, yet once again passed that placement exam, which, if you recall, tested grammar not writing. Keep your receipt and notice the dates, so you can get a full refund if you cut your losses and drop by Feb.16, or Apr. 30 with a W :-) So my joke wasn’t funny? Hang in there and you’ll do fine in the class if you:
1. Know what an essay is
2. Have written one before
3. Are ready to commit yourself to the task of writing
Plan to have a challenging, yet intellectually stimulating 18 weeks, which I hope you begin by setting goals for yourself. Make a schedule and join or create a study group. Writing is a social activity, especially the type of writing you’ll be doing here. We always consider our audience, have purpose or reason to write, and use research to substantiate our claims, even those we are considered experts in.
I believe we’re supposed to write about 8000 words or so at this level course. This includes drafts. What this amounts to is time at home writing, time in the library researching, reading documents to increase your facility with the ideas or themes your are contemplating, before you once again sit at your desk writing, revising, and writing some more.
Writing is a lonely process. No one can write for you. The social aspect comes into play once you are finished and you have an opportunity to share.
This semester we will look at women and girls and the inequities which make their lives more difficult just because of the gender biases present in most of the developed and underdeveloped world.
No, you didn’t accidentally end up in a public policy or cultural anthropology class; however, I found the arguments presented in Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, compelling and thought provoking.
We will write an essay based on the themes from this book. The other book is a collection of poetry, Alehouse 2009, and the last book is Stewart Pidd Hates English. I am not going to spend any more time on SPHE (reference my introductory letter). Suffice it to say, either you hate the book or love it. I have grown to appreciate the lessons Stewart imparts via his writing, which always needs revising. He is a great case study in post-secondary composition—
All writing is research writing so students will not write one long essay, rather three shorter essays: Half the Sky, an essay based on the book you chose written by a woman or about a woman, and the third is on a social entrepreneur. You meet many examples of SE in Half the Sky. I will introduce you to others in the program, The New Heroes and also in on-line programs from Frontline World.
If you have a grammar style book, you can carry it once we complete SPHE, until then you don’t need it. I am not going to ask students to purchase one this semester unless you have already completed, SPHE, then my preferred recommendation is: Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers, (St. Martin’s Press). Students also need a notebook for in-class writing with a folder for handouts. You also need a couple of ink pens, a pencil with an eraser, a hole puncher, a stapler and a travel drive for saving one’s work.
We’ll read the Lysistrata in March and celebrate love in February. We will also contemplate the cost of war in March as well.
We will keep a reading log for Half the Sky. Discussion groups will meet each week. This reading log or journal will be where students jot down key ideas and outlined responses for each discussion section, along with themes which arise, vocabulary and key arguments, along with primary writing strategies employed: description, process analysis, narration, argument, cause and effect, compare and contrast, definition, problem solving.
Additional Readings
Each student is to choose a book written by a woman or about a woman this semester, preferably nonfiction. If you choose fiction, let me see the book first. I’d like the author to live here in the San Francisco Bay Area, but if you’d like to argue for someone who lives elsewhere, I will listen.
Each student will make a book presentation and write a paper that takes its topic of theme from the book. The essay will be about 3-4 pages long.
Research Project
Each student will locate a social entrepreneur to profile in an essay. The person has to be alive, preferably living in Northern California and has been working in their field for over 5 years and have documented resources you can draw from: books, essays, articles, films.
The paper will be between 5-7 pages. This will include a works cited page and bibliography. Students will make 5-10 minute presentations of these papers in May. The paper will be due about two-three weeks prior to the presentation. We’ll discuss this task further later on. Start thinking of whom you might want to profile now. Hint: define social entrepreneur first.
New Heroes
Visit PBS.org The New Heroes, to read about social entrepreneurs. (I’ll show you a few episodes from the series.) Too often people feel helpless or hopeless when there is a lot you can do as an individual as soon as you realize the answer lies inside of you. If possible chose an entrepreneur who lives in Northern California, someone you’d like to interview and perhaps meet. There is also a series on PBS called Frontline World with many SE profiled.
Academic Blog
In this course, students will submit essays and other written work on-line. The academic blog is an opportunity for students to utilize multiple intelligences as they engage one another in a variety modalities.
The site is: http://www.professorwandasposse.blogspot.com
Student Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course students will have an altered or heightened awareness of the world around them, especially discourse: speech and text. Students will see that everything is an argument, whether that is a cartoon, advertisement, or lyrics in a song. Students will be able to analyze and critique each incident or contact to evaluate its author’s purpose, audience, and evidence to determine whether or not such goal was met and if appropriate, act accordingly.
This course is intended to be both a group learning experience as well as an individually rewarding one. Mid-semester we will schedule conferences so students can confer with the instructor to evaluate his or her progress in the course. Classroom instruction will consist of lectures, small group work, and students working in pairs. This is an effective way for students to exchange ideas with classmates, compare reactions to readings and practice giving and receiving constructive feedback on class work.
Preparation for class, regular attendance and active participation is imperative for those students who wish to succeed in this course.
It is a student’s responsibility to contact the instructor if he or she plans to miss class. The student is responsible for all materials and information given during the class time, so please get telephone numbers for three (3) classmates in case you are late or absent. You will not be able to make up in-class assignments when you miss class.
Requirements for homework assignments:
Not late papers are accepted unless arranged in advance. Any papers below a C grade are an automatic revision or rewrite. Essays range between 2-3 pages, 500-750 words (English 201B students write the longer essays).
Choose topics which give you enough to write about. We will use documentation to substantiate all of our claims. With this in mind, I expect all papers to utilize at least two (2) different outside print sources, in addition to the occasional interview, and broadcast news, that is, radio or television, Internet also.
You will learn to document sources; we will practice citing sources in text, using footnotes and endnotes, and writing bibliographies and notes pages. Remember save all your work! This is a portfolio course.
All essay assignments you receive comments on have to be revised prior to resubmission; included with the revision is a student narrative to me regarding your understanding of what needed to be done; a student can prepare this as a part of the Writing Center visit (see below), especially if said student is unclear over what steps to take.
Library Sessions: Wednesday, February 17. We will meet in the library instead of the classroom.Reading great authors and writers helps you develop your style. It’s similar to eating a balanced meal for optimum health. A writer is only as intellectually healthy as the material he or she reads. Models are often a great way to practice a style of writing. I will occasionally make copies of articles from magazines and textbooks I think illustrate a particular style of writing I’d like you to practice, or perhaps an argument which has peaked my interest. If you find an argument, either a visual one or a written one you’d like to share please do so.
Jot down briefly what your goals are this semester. List them in order of importance.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Please put your name, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address on the card you’ve been given, then answer the following questions on an index card (Feb. 17, 2010):
What strengths do you bring to the class? What skills or knowledge would you like to leave with once the class ends? What can I do to help you achieve this? Is there anything I need to know, such as a hidden disability, childcare issues, etc., which might jeopardize this goal?
Grading:
Half the Sky: 15 percent
SPHE: 20 percent
Student Book—presentation and essay: 15 percent
Research Essay 15 percent
Presentation: 5 percent
Portfolio: 15 percent
Participation: 15 percent
The cyber-essays and comments on student work are practice essays and count as participation. I changed the calculation this semester to force students to participate in our on-line discussions. This portion of your grade is 15 percent. Presentations accompany the major essays, but we have other presentations as well connected to the cyber-assignments. 35 percent is attached to two paper presentations: research and independent study. The portfolio, which is a collection of your major work this semester, is another hefty chunk. Save all your graded assignments for inclusion.
Plan to visit the Writing Center (L-234-231, 748-2132) weekly. Have a teacher evaluate your essays for form and content; the aim is lucid, precise, and clear prose. Tutors are also available and we have two study hours weekly: Monday and Wednesdays in the library, 12-1 and 1-2 respectively with Dominique West.
The Writing Center
The Writing Lab is a great place to get one-on-on assistance on your essays, from brainstorming and planning the essays, to critique on the essay for clarity, organization, clearly stated thesis, evidence of support, logical conclusions, and grammatical problems for referrals to other ancillary materials to build strong writing muscles such as SkillsBank, the Bedford Handbook on-line, Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers on-line, Townsend Press, and other such computer and cyber-based resources. The Lab is open M-Th 8-7, Fridays, 8-2. It is also open on Saturday. There is an Open Lab for checking e-mail, a Math Lab, an Accounting Lab and there will be an ESL Lab. All academic labs are located in the Learning Resource Center (LRC) second floor.
Students need a student ID to use the labs and to check out books. The IDs are free and you can take the photo in the F-Building, Student Services. There is also a Cyber Café in the F-Building on the second floor in the cafeteria area. Students need to enroll in a free class to use the academic labs. See the staff in the tutoring center or your counselor.
Revisions
Have a tutor or teacher sign off on your essays before you turn them in; if you have an “R,” which means revision necessary for a grade or “NC” which means “no credit.” Return both the graded original and the revision (with signature) to me. Revise does not mean “rewrite,” it means to “see again.” Also include a short narrative stating what you did to improve the essay.
When getting assistance on an essay, the teacher or tutor is not an editor, so have questions prepared for them to make best use of the 15 minute session in the Lab. I will give students a handout designating five (5) areas s/he might want to have the tutor or teacher look at. For more specific assistance sign up for one-on-one tutoring, another free service. For those of you on other campuses, you can get assistance at the Merritt Colleges’ Writing Center, as well as Laney’s. You can also come see me during my office hours. I am here everyday except Friday.
All essay assignments you receive comments on have to be revised prior to resubmission; included with the revision is a student narrative to me regarding your understanding of what needed to be done; a student can prepare this as a part of the Lab visit, especially if said student is unclear over what steps to take.
Students can also visit me in office hours for assistance. Again, prepare your questions in advance to best make use of the time. Do not leave class without understanding the comments on a paper. I don’t mind reading them to you.
Pedagogy or Waxing Philosophical
English language fluency in writing and reading, a certain comfort and ease with the language, confidence and skillful application of literary skills associated with academic writing, familiarity if not mastery of the rhetorical styles used in argumentation, exposition and narration will be addressed in this class and is a key student learning outcome (SLO).
We will be evaluating what we know and how we came to know what we know, a field called epistemology or the study of knowledge. Granted, the perspective is western culture which eliminates the values of the majority populations, so-called underdeveloped or undeveloped countries or cultures. Let us not fall into typical superiority traps. Try to maintain a mental elasticity and a willingness to let go of concepts which not only limit your growth as an intelligent being, but put you at a distinct disadvantage as a species.
This is a highly charged and potentially revolutionary process - critical thinking. The process of evaluating all that you swallowed without chewing up to now is possibly even dangerous. This is one of the problems with bigotry; it’s easier to go with tradition than toss it, and create a new, more just, alternative protocol.
Evaluation—Getting that “A”
We will be honest with one another. Grades are not necessarily the best response to work; grades do not take into consideration the effort or time spent, only whether or not a student can demonstrate mastery of a skill - in this case: essay writing. Grades are an approximation, arbitrary at best, no matter how many safeguards one tries to put in place to avoid such ambiguity. Suffice it to say, your portfolio will illustrate your competence. It will represent your progress, your success or failure this summer session in meeting your goals. I like to post essays on the academic blog as examples for other students. I will be asking students from time to time to submit copies for posting. The blog is cumulative, so you can read essays from Spring 2006 to now. I have posted a welcome letter on the syllabus. The address is http://professorwandasposse.blogspot.com/
Office Hours
I’d like to wish everyone good luck. I am available for consultation on TTh 10:00-12:00, and by appointment on MW after 3 p.m. in L-236. Let me know the day before, if possible, when you’d like to meet with me. My office number is (510) 748-2131, e-mail professorwandasposse@gmail.com. Ask me for my cell phone number. I do not mind sharing it with you.
I don’t check my e-mail on weekends so I’d advise you to exchange phone numbers with classmates (2), so if you have a concern, it can be addressed more expediently. Again study groups are recommended, especially for those students finding the readings difficult; don’t forget, you can also discuss the readings as a group in the Lab with a teacher or tutor acting as facilitator. Keep a vocabulary log for the semester and an error chart (taken from comments on essay assignments). List the words you need to look up in the dictionary, also list where you first encountered them: page, book and definition, also use the word in a sentence. You will turn this in with your portfolio.
Students are expected to complete their work on time. If you need more time on an assignment, discuss this with me in advance, if possible, to keep full credit. You loose credit each day an assignment is late and certain assignments, such as in-class essays cannot be made up. All assignments prepared outside of class are to be typed, 12-pt. font, double-spaced lines, indentations on paragraphs, 1-inch margins around the written work (see Hacker: The Writing Process; Document Design.)
Cheating
Plagiarism is ethically abhorrent, and if any student tries to take credit for work authored by another person the result will be a failed grade on the assignment and possibly a failed grade in the course if this is attempted again. This is a graded course.
Homework
If you do not identify the assignment, I cannot grade it. If you do not return the original assignment you revised, I cannot compare what changed. If you accidentally toss out or loose the original assignment, you get a zero on the assignment to be revised. I will not look at revisions without the original attached - no exceptions.
All assignments completed away from class should be typed. Use blue or black ink when writing responses in class. You can annotate your books in pencil.
Textbooks Recap:
Kristof, Nicholas D., and Sheryl WuDunn. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009.
Pollitt, Gary. Craig Baker. Stewart Pidd Hates English: Grammar, Punctuation, and Writing Exercises. First or Second Edition. California: Attack the Text Publishing, 2008/9. ISBN: 13: 978-0-9755923-4-2
Rubin, Jay, ed. Alehouse Number 3 2009. Poetry on Tap. San Francisco: Alehouse Press, 2009
Students need to choose a book by a woman author or about a woman, who lives here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Biographies and autobiographies are great. If you want to read a novel, let me see it first. Students will have a paper and a presentation based on the book. Choose one now and when we finish Half the Sky you can start reading it. The presentation and paper will be due in April.
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. Fourth or Fifth edition. Bedford/St. Martins.
(required for those students who have completed SPHE)
Students also need a dictionary. I recommend: The American Heritage Dictionary. Fourth Edition.
A Grammar Style Book if you have completed Stewart Pidd Hates English:
Rules for Writers. Fifth or Sixth Edition. Diana Hacker. You can visit my office and see others you might like better.
Recommended:
The American Heritage Dictionary. Fourth Edition.
Also stay abreast of the news. Buy a daily paper. Listen to alternative radio: KPFA 94.1 FM, KQED 88.5, KALW 91.7. Visit news websites: AllAfrica.com, Al Jazeera, CNN.com, AlterNet.org, DemocracyNow.org, FlashPoint.org, CBS 60Minutes on-line.
Homework
Respond to the syllabus by Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010. The goals list is for you. You don’t have to post it, although many of you shared your goals and objectives in your introductory letters. Perhaps you can comment on how the ride has been so far and now that you know where we are going, what you think about the map.
