Liberal
Arts and
English,
Foreign Languages, and Journalism (EFLJ)Department
Fall
2004
TTh
Dr. Jane Frick
Professor
of English and
Office:
Office
phone: 816 271-4315
Office Hours: 9 – 9:30 and 11 – 1:30 TTH
Other
times by appointment
ENG
11285 Honors Composition and Rhetoric
Freedom
or French Fries: Culture and Identity Learning Community
Learning Community Description: ENG 11285 and HON19585 will investigate how history,
politics, tradition, and education shape society and its culture, emphasizing
American and French cultures. In order to better understand one another, we
will come to a deeper understanding of American culture by analyzing
differences between
Learning
Community Goals for ENG 11285:
To acquire and integrate knowledge
and ideas regarding our learning community theme, “Feedom
or French Fries: Culture and Identity”
To collaborate in developing and
presenting course projects
To engage in reflective practice and
synthesis of course content
ENG 112 Course Objectives/Requirements as
Adopted by the EFLJ Department:
Students will complete five writing projects in ENG
112 Honors Composition and Rhetoric, an accelerated course which fulfills the
college’s six-hour General Studies composition requirement. At least one of the
ENG 112 writing projects will be a research paper involving library and on-line
research. Final drafts of papers will be word processed, and students will keep
complete portfolios of all writing done in the course. Before any grade appeal
will be processed for a student in ENG 100, 104, 108, or 112, the complete
portfolio of writings will have to be submitted to the Departmental Review
Committee.
SKILL AREAS
I. Communicating
To develop students’ effective use of the English
language and quantitative and other symbolic systems essential to their success
in school and in the world. Students should be able to read and listen
critically and to write and speak with thoughtfulness, clarity, coherence, and
persuasiveness.
A. Analyze and evaluate
their own and others’ speaking and writing.
B. Conceive of writing as a recursive process that
involves many strategies, including generating material, evaluating sources
when used, drafting, revising, and editing.
C. Make formal written and oral presentations employing
correct diction, syntax, usage, grammar, and mechanics.
D. Focus on a purpose (e.g., explaining, problem
solving, argument) and vary approaches to writing and
speaking based on that purpose.
E. Respond to the needs
of different audiences and choose words for appropriateness and effect.
II. Higher-Order
Thinking
To develop students’ ability to
distinguish among opinions, facts, and inferences; to identify underlying or
implicit assumptions; to make informed judgments; and to solve problems by
applying evaluative standards.
A. Recognize the problematic elements of presentations
of information and argument.
B. Formulate questions for clarifying issues and solving
problems.
C. Use linguistic, mathematical or other symbolic
approaches to describe problems, identify alternative solutions, and make
reasoned choices among those solutions.
D. Analyze and synthesize information from a variety of
relevant sources and use the results to address complex situations and
problems.
E. Defend conclusions
using relevant evidence and reasoned argument.
F. Reflect on and
evaluate their critical-thinking processes.
III. Managing
Information
To develop students’ abilities to
locate, organize, store, retrieve, evaluate, synthesize, and annotate
information from print, electronic, and other sources in preparation for
solving problems and making informed decisions.
Required Texts (available
at discounted price when purchased as shrink-wrapped package):
Columbo, Gary, Robert
Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Rereading
Hacker, Diana. The
Course Grade:
Points
will be awarded for all projects. At the end of the term, I will divide your
points by the number of possible points and award grades on the basis of the
following percentages:
90-99% Course Grade A
80-89% Course Grade B
70-79% Course Grade C
60-69% Course Grade D
Below 60% Course Grade F
I anticipate the following number of possible points
for the term:
Up to 100 possible points for in-class discussions and
out-of-class journaling/reflection,
usually regarding our texts and/or other assigned readings, which will be
allocated in 5 - 10 points per activity. No make-ups or late work will be
accepted for these activities.
150 possible points for Writing Project # 1 (Group PowerPoint publication and
presentation, summarizing and showcasing and selecting which readings the class
will study from one of the thematic units in Rereading America: “True
Women and Real Men: The Myths of Gender” 412 – 546; “Learning Power: The Myth
of Education and Empowerment” 135 – 293; “Money and Success: The Myth of
Individual Opportunity” 293 – 404; or “Created Equal: The Myth of the Melting
Pot” 546 – 701. Assignment details and scoring criteria will be distributed in
class on September 2.)
250 possible points for Writing Project # 2 (A series of letters to the editor, initiated by
readings from “True Women and Real Men: The Myths of Gender.” Assignment
details and scoring criteria will be distributed in class on September 16, and
subsequently posted to our class Web site and/or in the class “O” drive folder.)
250 possible points for Writing
Project #3 (An annotated bibliography
of resources related to a topic developed from one of the class’s thematic
units of study. Assignment details and scoring criteria will be distributed in
class on September 30, and subsequently posted to our class Web site and/or in
the class “O” drive folder.)
250 possible points for Writing Project #4 (A research project which results in a Web page OR a
multi-genre paper based on the annotated bibliography. Assignment details and
scoring criteria will be distributed in class on September 30, and subsequently
posted to our class Web site and/or in the class “O” drive folder.)
500 possible points for Writing Project #5 (A research project which results in a memorandum or
academic essay comparing and contrasting an aspect of American and French
culture which we have studied during the Freedom or French Fries Learning
Community. Assignment details and scoring criteria will be distributed in class
on September 30, and subsequently posted to our class Web site and/or in the
class “O” drive folder.)
150 possible points for Final Exam (Twenty-minute group presentations to the
class—PowerPoint, dramatization, panel discussion, game show, news cast,
etc.—dramatizing similarities and differences between French and American
cultures. Assignment details and scoring criteria will be distributed in class
on September 30, and subsequently posted to our class Web site and/or in the
class “O” drive folder.)
Attendance Policy:
Come
to class. There are no makeup points for missing work completed in class.
Due
Dates:
Papers
and projects are due at the beginning of the hour on the assigned date. Late
submissions will be lowered points equivalent to one letter grade per day late.
Students
with Disabilities:
Any
student in this course who has a disability that prevents or hinders the
completion of class requirements must notify me in writing before
Honesty
Policy:
It
is expected that all students will submit their own work and will document (MLA
or APA format) all sources and materials they research. Plagiarism or cheating
on papers or quizzes is not acceptable. The first instance of plagiarism will
result in a failing grade, or 0-59% of possible points, on the assignment. The
second instance of plagiarism will result in a failing grade for the course.
Course Plan
Detailed
assignments, handouts and materials will be available to you for downloading
and printing from the Class Web site and/or O drive: English folder/Frick
folder/ENG 112 Class Materials folder.
The reading assignments listed below should be completed prior to class
sessions (RA = Rereading America; Hacker = Bedford Handbook).
Specific reading assignments for focused units will be added to the syllabus on
September 15.
Focus
on “
703
– 823
Week One
MW Colloquium: “Meet
the Aborigines” 3 - 13
T
8/31: Introductions; RA: “
Th 9/2: Hacker “Document design” 101-134; RA:
D’Souza “
Week TWO
MW Colloquium: “The
Land on Their Mind” 15 – 29 and “Private Space” 32 - 45
T
9/7: RA “The Oblivious Empire” 729 – 741; “Poem for Benjamin Franklin”
752-753; “Let
Th 9/9: Hacker “Find the exact words” 227 – 238; RA: Spence “Easy in the Harness: The Tyranny of Freedom” 805 – 814
Focus
on “True Women and Real Men: Myths of Gender” 412 – 546
Week Three MW Colloquium: “Grandeur Is Better” 48 – 61; “The Art of Eloquence,”
61 – 73; “Until-the-Bitter-End-Ism” 75 – 85; “World War II: The Unforgotten
War” 86 – 99
T 9/14: Class
goes to college’s annual convocation. This year’s speaker, Washington Post
editor Bob Woodward: “Plan of Attack: President Bush and the War on Terrorism”
at
Th 9/16: Writing Project # 1 Deadline:
PowerPoint Presentations
Hacker “Recognizing Sexist Language” 222 – 236
Week Four MW Colloquium: “
T 9/21: Hacker
“Evaluating arguments” 506 - 518
Th 9/23:
Week Five MW Colloquium: Project # 1 due; In-class presentations
T 9/28: Hacker “Writing about texts” 478 - 491
Th 9/30:
Writing
Project # 2 Deadline: Letters to the Editor
Focus on “Learning Power: The
Myth of Education and Empowerment” 135 – 293
Week Six MW Colloquium: “The Penchant for Absolutism” 114 – 123; “The State:
One for All, and All for One” 142; “Dogs, Towns, and Local Government” 143 -
159; “Strong Language” 161 - 175
T 10/5: Hacker “Constructing reasonable arguments” 492 - 505
Th 10/7:
Week Seven MW Colloquium: “Elite Education” 177 – 190; “The Enarchy”
192 – 203
T 10/12: Hacker “Researched Writing” 519 - 568
Th 10/14:
Week Eight MW Colloquium: Le Divorce film viewing
T 10/19: Hacker “Writing MLA Papers” 569 – 645
W 10/20: Midterm grades due
Th 10/21:
Writing
Project # 3 Deadline: Annotated Bibliography
Focus on “Money and Success: The
Myth of Individual
Week Nine MW Colloquium: “In the Name of the Law” 205 – 220; Guest lecture; French
Watch Log II due
T
10/26
Th 10/28
Week Ten MW Colloquium: “Civil Society: Invisible Helping Hands” 221 – 223;
“The Choreography of Protest” 233 – 245; “Redistributing Wealth” 247 – 260;
“Economic Intervention: The State Will Do” 261 - 278
T
11/2
Th 11/4
Week Eleven MW Colloquium: “The World According to
T
11/9:
Th 11/13:
Writing
Project #4 Deadline: Research Project – Web page OR Multi-Genre Format
Focus on “Created Equal: The Myth
of the Melting Pot” 546 – 701
Week
Twelve MW Colloquium:
The Dinner Game film showing
T 11/16:
Th 11/18: Frick is absent – annual National
Writing Project director’s meeting, held in conjunction with the National
Council of Teachers of English meeting –
Week
Thirteen MW Colloquium: “The French Melting Pot” 295 – 392; French Watch Log III due
T
11/23:
Week Fourteen MW Colloquium: “New Checks and Balances” 313 – 324; “The Meaning of
T
11/30:
Th 12/2:
Week Fifteen MW Colloquium: Final Project and French Watch Log due; class
discussion of projects
T
12/7:
Th 12/9:
Writing
Project # 5 Deadline: Research Memorandum or Paper
Th 12/16: