English 201

Intermediate Composition

University of Wisconsin-Marathon County

Spring 2004

Instructor: Dr. Holly Hassel

Phone: 715-842-0995 (h) or 715-261-6265 (O)    

 

“The Bewildered Pupil” by Gina Knee

 

Thinking is seeing.... Every human science is based on deduction, which is a slow process of seeing by which we work up from the effect to the cause; or, in a wider sense, all poetry like every work of art proceeds from a swift vision of things.

                                                                        Honore de Balzac

 

Aim and Scope

 

English 201 is a course devoted to the theory and practice of writing prose that presents information and ideas and is intended to inform and or/persuade.  This semester, the course will focus on three major themes that will explore the role of education in communities and knowledge and learning as “cultural currency,” the idea that what we know shapes how we can interact within our culture.  

Our first readings will look at the “liberal arts,” or the set of subjects that we study within the university. How have these been defined, and how do they continue to evolve or remain stable with the vicissitudes of populations attending college, community and governmental support for education, and the changes of the corporate and public marketplaces that demand educated workers. The second theme we will discuss and write about is “cultural literacy,” a term coined in the book of the same name that makes assertions about what is “essential” to know to be successful in American society. Hirsch, and others, document what is considered knowledge that makes one “literate,” or fluent and conversational, in the cultures we inhabit. Under debate and scrutiny of course are what exactly constitutes the “right” kinds of knowledge and how we define cultural literacy. We’ll talk about how cultural literacy intersects with higher education, which is often seen as the fashioners and bearers of such knowledge to the public. Finally, our last theme is civic engagement, which will help us think about the role of educational institutions within our society. What obligations to institutions of higher learning have to the communities that support them? What is the role of colleges and universities in our culture, and how does that role change—what will it be in the future?

As we read professional writers’ inspections of issues and ideas of intellectual, social, and personal importance to them, I will ask you to begin to consider your own passions: what parts of the world evoke wonder, anger, sadness, outrage, in you? These events, ideas, institutions, systems, whether local or global, will become the subject of your writing this semester.  Three major projects will focus on examining your own role within broader contexts: the institutions, groups, communities that shape our lives. English 201 is a demanding course. The readings are engaging but challenging. Furthermore,  in order to facilitate the functioning of our daily meetings, students must complete the assigned readings. Sometimes I will give short quizzes at the beginning of each class period. If you are ready to make the commitment to completing this work, I assure you that the writing, reading, thinking, and talking we do throughout the semester will be challenging, refreshing, fascinating, enlightening, and occasionally fun. We’ll be working hard this semester, but it will be worth it. Welcome to English 201!

Course objectives:

 

“Learning without thinking is labor lost; thinking without learning is dangerous.”

                        Chinese Proverb

 

By the completion of this course, students should be able to

  • create effective written texts with attention to form, purpose, and audience.

·         Write prose that effectively presents information and ideas on a relatively advanced level.

  • Work through the writing process from stages of invention to drafting, revising, and editing
  • Determine avenues of intellectual interest, develop intellectual curiosity, and pursue scholarly inquiry
  • read, comprehend, and respond to advanced nonfiction prose both by peers and published professionals
  • locate, assess, and evaluate secondary sources, field research, information from electronic databases
  • effectively and judiciously integrate research and secondary sources into nonfiction prose
  • reflect critically on language, literature, and culture

 

Materials

 

“I would not be hurried by any love of system, by any exaggeration of instincts, to underrate the Book.  We all know, that, as the human body can be nourished on any food, though it were boiled grass and the broth of shoes, so the human mind can be fed by any knowledge.”

                        Ralph Waldo Emerson, “The American Scholar”

 

Reading Packet (available in the bookstore—you should get a three-ring binder to put this in!)

A good dictionary of your choice

Cultural Literacy by Ed Hirsch

The Elements of Style by Strunk and White

 

Requirements

Three Projects, 10% each

  • Education Autobiography 10 %
  • Cultural literacy response and definition essay 10%
  • Civic Engagement argument  10%
  • Daily work: in-class writing, homework assignments, reading responses, quizzes on reading, etc. 30%
  • Final Portfolio: revise all three papers 20%
  • Citizenship (attendance, discussion) 20% Citizenship is something like participation but entails a bit more; it means being a good student: arriving to class on time and prepared, participating in large and small group discussions actively, attentively, and effectively, refraining from distracting or obnoxious behavior in class, bringing copies on workshop days, and consistently engaging and investing in the work of the course and in one’s own development as a writer, reader, and thinker.  This letter grade will be assigned based on how active you have been in class (active meaning making an informed comment during discussions, being consistently prepared for the day’s activities, etc.).  A-level will indicate almost constant involvement, B-level will indicate solid, frequent involvement, and C-level will indicate minimal involvement.  I will expect an active commitment toward learning from each and every student in the course; we will be working hard this semester, but it will be worth it!
  • Large Group Peer Review: All students are required to participate in large group peer review.  This will require signing up for a date, making and bringing enough copies of your rough draft for the whole class, reading the essay to the class, and listening to the class’s responses.  You must save the copies which are annotated and returned to you and turn them in with your portfolio.   Failure to appear or be prepared on the day you are signed up for large group peer review will result in a one-letter grade deduction from the final grade of the portfolio in which the paper is submitted.  You will also periodically be asked to bring in two or three copies of rough drafts for small group peer review. 

 

Policies and Procedures

 

Grades:

 

Grades are equal to the following percentages:

A+        98-100

A          93-97

A-         90-92

B+        87-89

B          83-86

B-         80-82

C+        77-79

C          73-76

C-         70-72

D+        67-69

D          63-66

D-         60-62

F          59 and below

 

I reserve the right to assign borderline grades as I deem appropriate.

 

A Note on Grades: An “A” grade is not a gift you get at the end of the semester for always coming to class and participating and completing your work on time.  For that, you earn a “C.” Beyond that, your work must be more than average—it must be good to earn a “B” and excellent to earn an “A.”  Please also remember that you are not your grades—you are a person, not a letter.  Good people can get average grades and vice versa.

 

Attendance: Since many of the activities in this class are interactive and occur during class, attendance is crucial. Students should plan to attend every class meeting. Work done in class cannot be made up unless exigent circumstances present themselves. Excessive absenteeism will adversely affect your final grade.

 

Academic Dishonesty:  Plagiarism is a kind of academic dishonest that involves the use of another person’s language/words or ideas without proper citation. If you use more than four words in a row from another source, you should put quotation marks around them. If you borrow an idea from a published source, you need to use parenthetical documentation to give proper credit to that source. Any quote, paraphrase, or indirect quote must be cited appropriately. Please be aware that I will not hesitate to check on sources that seem incorrectly documented. The consequences of plagiarism are spelled out in the Student Rights and Regulations handbook.  For the purposes of this course, deliberate misuse of language or ideas will result in, at the least, failure of the assignment or paper, and possibly failure of the course with referral of the student to a disciplinary committee for further action by the university.

 

Policy on Late Work: Late work will not be accepted except in apocalyptic circumstances.  Assignments are due on the date listed in the syllabus. Students will be granted one 24-hour grace period (see attached form). One major assignment may be turned in late using this “coupon.”

 

Participation: All students are expected and required to participate actively in class.

 

Policy Policy

 

Ideally, this syllabus would cover every contingency of every possibility that might arise in the course of the semester. Of course, reality dictates that will not be the case. Thus, I reserve the right to make changes to this syllabus as the need arises.

 

Philosophy:  This class operates under a workshop format, which values peer response and reader feedback as key principles of generating good writing. You should be prepared to participate fully in the revising and refining stages of the writing process as a collaborative contributor to the work of your classmates.

 

Writing Center: The writing center is a valuable, FREE service available to help writers with their individual writing needs. Once the schedule is set, students can “walk-in” during open hours where you will work one-on-one with an experienced writer. For questions, talk to the director, Linda Yost at 261-6270, email her at lyost@uwc.edu, or stop by her office, room 322.

 

Students with Disabilities: Students with physical disabilities that will in any way affect their work in this course should let me know so that I can work with you.  Also, please contact an advisor in Student Services to make arrangements for any necessary special services.

 

 

Schedule

 

Week One

  • Monday, January 26

      Introduction to course and to each other

      Dear Holly letter

      Student Job Description

 

The Liberal Arts

  • Wednesday, January 28

            Liberal Arts: What is it?

            Read Cronon article (Packet)

            Discussion

  • Friday January 30

      Field Research—effectively conducting it

      Education—what counts? Formal vs. informal

      Discussion

     

Week Two

  • Monday February 2

      Structuring an academic essay

      Special needs of narratives

      Telling a story/creative nonfiction

      Brainstorming/Invention

      Writing an introduction, thesis, outline, conclusions

      Citing field research

      Read from packet: “Statement on Liberal Learning”

  • Wed February 4          

      Read:  CQ Researcher article: “Liberal Arts Education”

  • Fri February 6

      In-class workshop: bring an introduction (with a thesis statement), a detailed outline, a full conclusion

 

Week Three

  • Mon Feb 9

      Read:    “Eclipse of Liberal Education in the 21st Century” : Corson

                  “Can Liberal Education Survive Liberal Democracy”: Schaub

  • Wed Feb 11

      Small Group Peer Review: bring three copies of your essay

  • Fri Feb 13

      Large Group Peer Review

      ____________________

      ____________________

 

 

Cultural Literacy

Week Four

  • Mon Feb 16

      Introduction to Project Two

      Read: Cultural Literacy Prefaces, Chapter I         

      Read: “General Education, Revisited Again,” Stearns (from packet)

      Discussion

      Education Autobiography Due: please turn in portfolio style, organized according to the   guidelines provided.

  • Wed Feb 18

      Read: Cultural Literacy: Chapter II and Chapter III

      Read: “O Brave New Curriculum: Feminist and the Future of the Liberal Arts”:  Wolfe (from packet)

      Discussion

  • Fri Feb 20

      Library Orientation

     

Week Five

  • Mon Feb 23

      Style workshop: sentences from Project One for dissection and revisions

      Mechanics refresher

  • Wed Feb 25

      Incorporating Research: Bring three sources for your project

      Signal Phrases and orphan quotations

  • Fri Feb 27

      Read: Cultural Literacy: Chapter IX and Chapter V            

      Read: “Remarks of Secretary Paige…” (from Packet)

 

Week Six

  • Mon March 1

      Read: Cultural Literacy Chapter XI and Appendix

      Read: “Wars in American Libraries”: Davis (from packet)

      Read: “CFP’s Eleven Principles of Character Education”: (from packet)

  • Wed March 3

      In-class workshop: bring an introduction (with a thesis statement), a detailed outline, a full   conclusion

      Read: “When the Medium is the Message”: Mallory and Thomas

  • Fri March 5

      Integrating sources part 2: bring two paragraphs from your essay: each should contain at least one             outside source (not field research!)

Week Seven

  • Mon March 8

      Small Group Peer Review: Bring Three copies of your essay draft

  • Wed March 10

      Large Group Peer Review

      _____________________

      _____________________

      Read: “The Politics of Cultural Literacy”: Grant, from packet

  • Fri March 12

      Large Group Peer Review

      _____________________

      _____________________

      Read: “The Cultural Literacy Test: A Validation and Factor Analysis”: Pentony, et al (from Packet)

 

Civic Engagement

Week Eight

  • Mon March 15

      Introduction to Project Three

      Read: “Cultural Literacy and Common Sense”: Hallpike and Sworder (packet) and

      “A Plea for Thinking Heads”: Cottle (packet)

  • Wed March 17

      Introduction to Argumentation

      Structuring an Argument            

      Project Two Due: Turn in Portfolio Style

  • Fri March 19

      Logic and Logical Fallacies

      Read:  “Commentary: Democracy in America and Education at the end of the American Century…”:             Slater (packet)

Week Nine

  • Spring Break!

 

Week Ten

  • Mon March 29

      Read: “Greater Expectations and Civic Engagement”: from packet

  • Wed March 31

      Classroom Debates: modeling and practicing arguments

  • Fri April 2

      Classroom Debates: modeling and practicing arguments

 

Week Eleven

  • Mon April 5

      Read: “Toward the Engaged Academy”: Schneider, from packet

  • Wed April 7

      In-class workshop: bring an introduction (with a thesis statement), a detailed outline, a full conclusion

  • Fri April 9

      Style workshop: sentences from Project Two for dissection and revisions

      Mechanics refresher

 

Week Twelve

  • Mon April 12

      Read: “Renewing the Civic Mission of the American Research University”: Checkoway, packet

  • Wed April 14

      Small Group Peer Review: Bring three copies of your draft

  • Fri April 16

      Large Group Peer Review

      _____________________

      _____________________

 

Week Thirteen

  • Mon April 19

      Read: “Have we Lost the Public in Higher Education?” Zemsky, packet

  • Wed April 21

      Read: Elements                        

      Revisions explained

      Project Three Due

  • Fri April 23

      Read: Elements: bring the draft you’re revising for style attention.

      Read: “Democracy, Diversty, and Civic Engagement”: Butler (packet)

     

Week Fourteen

  • Mon April 26

      Read: Elements

      Read: “Civic Pedagogies and Liberal-Democratic Curricula”: Coleman (packet)

  • Wed April 28

      Small group peer review: bring three copies of the essay you’re currently revising

  • Fri April 30

      Style workshop: sentences from Project three for dissection and revisions

      Mechanics refresher

 

Week Fifteen

  • Mon May 3: no class, conferences—meet in my office at your assigned time
  • Wed May 5: no class, conferences—meet in my office at your assigned time
  • Fri May 7         

      Large Group Peer Review

      _____________________

      _____________________

Week Sixteen

  • Mon May 10

      Large Group Peer Review

      _____________________

      _____________________

  • Wed May 12

      Final Portfolios Due

      Celebrations! Evaluations! Conversations!

 

Final’s Week