English 2: Capitalism in Literature
English 2 Composition Lauren Belski
Spring 2012
T.TH. 6:30-7:45 PM Office: 2311 Boylan
Required Texts
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller
God Bless You Mr. Rosewater, Kurt Vonnegut
Films:
Roger and Me
The Pursuit of Happyness
A Writer's Reference by Diane Hacker (Bedford/St.Martin's ISBN # 0312479824)
Course Goals
The first goal of any course is for you to exit the room asking questions and observing the world in a way you haven’t before. What is literature? Why do people read it? What is its purpose in our society? Why do certain works endure? What do they say about who we, the readers, are? If you do not see a place for yourself, the reader, in the books you study than you will not be able to ask why they say what they do and whether it is relevant. Our goal is for you to realize that every piece of work is transmitting a message. What is that message? How does it relate to the world we live in? Through in class discussions, we will be guiding ourselves to draw connections between literature, criticism, and the cultural climate of today. These connections will lead us to strong questions that will drive research based on the themes of the class. From this research each student will develop a thesis statement. These thesis statements will eventually manifest themselves into research papers that reflect the independent, brilliant thoughts of each member of the class.
Another goal: Not to be afraid of your ability to produce an independent, brilliant thought.
One more: To write clearly and academically in complete sentences which are driven by the need to communicate as opposed to the need to “take up space”.
ThematicDescription
We will be exploring fiction and nonfiction works that explore the role of money and capitalism in society. Specifically, how do the choices big businesses make effect the lives of American people? And, inversely, how does the drive for wealth in a character affect that person’s life? Through the exploration of these subjects, you will be expected to make original observations on the work we read, and incorporate them into a well thought out and researched essay.
Grading Rubric
Research Paper Total—55%
Topic Proposal—5%
Annotated Bibliography—10%
Rough Draft—10%
Final Research Paper—15%
Presentations—15%
Reading Responses—25%
Quizzes—20 %
Research Requirements
Research Paper: The research paper will require individual, out-of-class research on a topic loosely related to our readings and discussions. Choosing a topic worthy of your interests and passions is paramount to your success in this class. Your research must be properly incorporated into your writing using the Modern Language Association (MLA) format. The assignments and course are designed so that your research and writing will gradually evolve into a polished product. For this reason, due dates are mandatory for assignments involved withyour research paper, which include the topic proposal, annotated bibliography, rough draft, and final draft. The final draft will be due no later than the last day of final exams.
Topic Proposal: You must hand in an official topic proposal in which you identify a specific topic that you will research, the connection between your topic and the themes of the course, a tentative—but original and debatable—thesis, and five appropriate sources with which you will start your research.
Annotated Bibliography: You must hand in an annotated bibliography which will include a more clearly defined topic proposal, along with annotations and bibliographic information for seven primary and secondary sources that pertain to your emerging thesis.
Rough Draft: You must hand me a rough draft of your research paper. At this point, your rough draft might be a mix between a draft and an outline, but your introduction, thesis, topic sentences, transitions, and quotes from other texts should be identified and organized. The rough draft should be at least 4 pages.
Other Requirements
Writing Exercises: Though the goal of this class is to produce a research paper, I am of the belief that creative writing leads to academic thought and observation. Throughout this course you will be producing personal essays based on your own experiences as well as written responses to the texts as a means to enrich your experience with the literature we study.
Quizzes: A quiz is my way of making sure you are keeping up with the reading assignments. However, they are not your a-typical type of exam. Any in-class written assignment you are asked to work on, whether in a group or individually, counts as “a quiz”. They are graded out of 5 points, and at the end of the semester are averaged together for one numeric grade.
Other Class Rules and Regulations
Attendance:The English Department regulates that more than 3 unexcused absences is an automatic F. Being absent is not an excuse for late papers.
Late Assignments: Late assignments lose one letter grade for each day they are missing and are not accepted after one week.
Plagiarism:This is a free thinking zone where you are encouraged to go out on a limb to think independently. Plagiarism is not only an insult to your own intelligence, it’s academically unacceptable. Anyone caught plagiarizing will receive an automatic F on the assignment, and be subject to expulsion from the course. A Writer’s Reference clearly defines what constitutes plagiarism.
Office Hours:My office hours will be between 4pm-5pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays or by appointment. You will all be visiting me at least once during the semester to discuss your research assignments.
Schedule
DATE / TOPICS/READING ASSIGNMENT / PAPERS/ASSIGNMENTS TO HAND INT 1/31 / What is Criticism? How are we critics?
Th 2/2 / Ayn Rand, “The Meaning of Money” and “The Moral Meaning of Capitalism”
T 2/7 / What is our relationship to money?
Screening: Roger and Me, Library
Th 2/9 / Roger and Me discussion / “The Meaning of Money”
personal essay (3-5pgs)
T 2/14 / The Great Gatsby (1-2) / 8 Quotes, explanation
Th 2/16 / Gatsby (3-5) / 8 Quotes, explanation
T 2/21 / CONVERSION DAY—no class
Th 2/23 / Gatsby (finish book)
T 2/28 / Grammar workshop / “Class Clash”, personal essay
Th 3/1 / Themes/Topics in Gatsby and Roger and Me
T 3/6 / “What Should a Billionaire Give and What Should You”, Singer
TED Talks, Jessica Jackley Founder of KIVA / Notes/Thoughts on how these two pieces relate to one another
Th 3/8 / Using your curiosity to find a research topic/Diana Hacker
T 3/13 / Analyzing Texts: Is this useful for my research
Th 3/15 / Library Visit
T 3/20 / Death of a Salesman, first half / 1 quote, two paragraph analysis
Th 3/22 / Death of a Salesman, finish play / 1 quote, two paragraph analysis
T 3/27 / Proposal Workshop
Th 3/29 / Naomi Klein, “Mergers and Synergy” from No Logo
T 4/3 / Example Student Research Paper, group analysis, workshop / Annotated Bibliography
Th 4/5 / Introduction/Thesis Workshop / A well-crafted introductory paragraph that introduces your topic
4/6-4/15 / SPRING BREAK
T 4/17 / God Bless You Mr. Rosewater (chapters 1-3)
Th 4/19 / God Bless You Mr. Rosewater (chapters 4-7) / 8 quotes
T 4/24 / God Bless You Mr. Rosewater (finish book) / Rough Draft
Th 4/26 / Rough Draft Workshop
T 5/1 / “The Century of the Self” BBC, Part 1
Th 5/3 / “The Declaration of Independence,” and “The Bill of Rights”
T 5/8 / Presentations
Th 5/10 / Presentations / Research Paper Due
T 5/15 / Last Class Roundtable Discussion, “WTF? OMG.”