Course: English 112 – English Composition -- Summer 07 Instructor: Julie Barak

Office: 446/452 Lowell Heiny Hall Office Hours: 11:30-12:30 M-Th, or by appt.

Phone: 248-1072 E-mail: [email protected]

Home page: http://www.mesastate.edu/~jbarak

Course Goals: To examine, discuss, and practice composing various styles and modes of writing in order to develop the confidence, independence, and skills necessary to tackle virtually any writing task assigned in any college class. This includes learning to read, think and write critically about literature and other types of texts; discovering the steps in the research process and applying those steps in our own writing; analyzing, summarizing, paraphrasing, quoting and citing source material without plagiarizing; eliminating distracting mechanical errors, developing an awareness of various citation styles, including, but not limited to, MLA.

State-wide General Education Requirements: This course has been accepted by the CCHE as a General Education Transfer course. To meet this requirement, the course must meet minimum reading and writing requirements, as well as address the following critical thinking skills: a) Identifying and differentiating questions, problems and arguments, b) Evaluating the appropriateness of various methods of reasoning and verification, c) Identifying and assessing stated and unstated assumptions, d) Critically comparing different points of view, e) Formulating questions and problems, f) Constructing and developing cogent arguments, g) Discussing alternative points of view, h) Evaluating the quality of evidence and reasoning.

MESA STATE GENERAL EDUCATION OBJECTIVES ADDRESSED IN THIS COURSE:

The following have been chosen from the list of General Education Objectives shown in its entirety in the Mesa State College Catalog:

OBJECTIVE 1—Students will be able to think critically and recognize issues across a broad spectrum of subjects.

OBJECTIVE 2—Students will be able to communicate effectively in the English Language.

Course Methods: Two things are important about the course in terms of methods. First of all, the course is designed as a writing workshop. That means that we’ll spend most of our class time writing, reading, and talking about writing and/or reading. We’ll write about others’ writing, write about our own writing process, write about various subjects, read our own writing out loud in large and small groups, read others’ writing, and discuss everything! Second, I’ve chosen a topic to help us begin our reading/writing/conversing. That topic is race/race relationships. In particular, we’ll be looking at race from a postcolonial context. As we read and discuss the literature and the essays I’ve selected for the class, research topics and projects should begin to develop for you. We’ll spend time investigating how to turn these ideas into a researched writing project.

Required Texts:

Blum, Lawrence, “I’m not a Racist But . . .”: The Moral Quandary of Race. Cornell UP: 2002.

Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Norton Critical Edition, 3^rd Edition: 1988.

Graff, Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing. Norton: 2004.

Shakespeare, William. The Tempest: A Case Study in Critical Controversy. Bedford/St. Martin’s: 2000.

Other Expenses:

Occasional copies of your own writing for large and small group discussion.

Course Requirements:

1) Three Papers: One essay on The Tempest (10%), one on Heart of Darkness (15%), and one extended research paper that has its source in a chapter of Blum (25%). More details about and explanation of these assignments will follow.

2) Writing Process Journal: This journal reflects on your writing process and on the readings. Prompts will be provided. We will spend 15 minutes a day in class writing about our thoughts, ideas, struggles, and plans for our writing and sharing that writing with each other. Journals will be turned in each day. (10%)

3) Literature Discussion Guide: Several students will lead the discussions of the readings on assigned days. You should come to class with a piece of writing that records observations, questions, connections that will promote a discussion of the text under scrutiny. Sign-up sheets will be circulated and posted so that everyone knows who is responsible for what when. (5%)

4) Summary of one critical article on The Tempest or Heart of Darkness.. A brief (2 page double-spaced, 500 words) summary of one of the critics in the back of Shakespeare and Conrad. See sign-up for dates. (10%)

5) Essay Discussion Leadership: A brief (2-3 double-spaced pages, 500-750 words) summary/response to one of the readings from Blum. You will 1) summarize the chapter, 2) address what you consider to be the most significant questions/issues/concerns raised in the essay and 3) lead the class in a discussion of the piece of writing based around that issue. The last paragraph in the essay should be devoted to meditating on possible research topics that derive from the essay. What did it leave you wanting to know more about? What are some sources it referenced that you’d like to check into? What connections does it make with other issues you are curious about? Sign-up sheets will be circulated and posted. (10%)

6) Various Short Daily Assignments: Research Question, Bibliography, prospectus, etc. (15%)

7) Attendance, Participation, and Late Work: In a workshop setting, your contributions to discussion are very important. If you’re not here, you can’t share what you know and we all miss out. So, show up and speak up. You get three hours of free absences during the session. After those three hours, you lose one letter grade for every hour of absence. So if you have an “A” average for the work you’ve turned in, but you’ve missed four hours of class, your final grade drops to a “B.” If you’ve missed five hours, your final grade drops to a “C,” and so on. Late work will be accepted, but the grade for the paper will be dropped one letter grade for each day it’s late. So, for example, an “A” paper turned in two days late, earns a “C.”

Policies and Procedures:

Academic Misconduct. Please read the section on cheating and plagiarism in the student handbook. The consequences for cheating and plagiarism are severe, including failure for the assignment, possible failure of the course, disciplinary referral to the dean, and possible expulsion from the college. If you have questions about these violations of academic honesty, please come and see me.

Disabilities. If you have any condition, such as a physical or mental disability, which will make it difficult for you to carry out the work for the course, please talk to me and we will work with the support services here at Mesa State to provide you with the necessary assistance.

Schedule:

	Date	Reading Assignment	Writing or Responses Due
Week 1	May 21^st	The Tempest – Acts 1, 2, 3	--Journal Response (in class)
	May 22^nd	The Tempest – to end Chapters 8 and 9 of Graff	--Literature Discussion Guide Due (See sign-up) --Journal Response (in class)
	May 23rd	Part 1 of Graff Takaki, Kermode, Brower	--Journal Response (in class) --Critical Summaries Due
	May 24^th	Barker and Hulme, Willis Loomba and Thompson	--Journal Response (in class) --Critical Summaries Due
Week 2		No Class – Memorial Day
	May 29^th	Conrad – 1^st half Part 2 of Graff	--Paper 1 Due – Summary/Response King Lear. Post to K drive or bring copy to class. --Literature Discussion Guide Due (See sign-up) --Journal Response (in class)
	May 30^th	Conrad – to end	--Literature Discussion Guide Due (See sign-up) --Journal Response (in class)
	May 31^st	Achebe, Hawkins, Armstrong	--Journal Response (in class) --Critical Summaries Due
Week 3	June 4^th	Chapter 7 of Graff Said, Miller, Hawthorne	--Journal Response (in class) --Critical Summaries Due
	June 5^th	Chapters 1-4 of Blum	--Paper 2 Due – Position on Conrad. Post to K drive or bring copies to class. --Discussion Leadership Response (See sign-up) -- Journal Response (in class)
	June 6^th	Chapters 5-9 of Blum	--Discussion Leadership Response (See sign-up) --Journal Response (in class)
	June 7^th	Library Day	--Research Question(s) Due – short piece --Journal Response (in class)
Week 4	June 11^th	Workshop	--Bibliography and Prospectus due. Post to K drive or bring copies --Journal Response (in class)
	June 12^th	Conferences – Groups 1, 2 & 3	--Journal Response (in class)
	June 13^th	Conferences – Groups 4, 5 & 6	--Journal Response (in class)
	June 14^th	Readings	--Research paper due. Post to turnitin and the K drive, or bring a hard copy to class. --Journal Response (in class)