Mahoney ENG 001 Syllabus 4

Kutztown University

ENG 001 English Composition

Spring 2003

Sec. 020 MWF 9-9:50am RL 29

Sec. 030 MWF 10-10:50am RL 26

Professor: Kevin Mahoney

Office: LY 167

Phone: 3-4734

Email:

Hours: Monday 1-2pm & 4-5pm

Wednesday 11am-1:00pm

Friday 11am-12pm

Web: faculty.kutztown.edu/mahoney

Introduction:

The main goal of this course is to assist you in developing writing skills that will serve you well in college and the world beyond. Over the next several years of your studies here at Kutztown, you will be asked to negotiate a range of audiences, engage in original and independent research, and express yourself both clearly and critically. Academic writing, like all forms of writing, has its own conventions and values that are distinct from writing that you may already be familiar with. One of the goals of this course is to ensure that you will be taken seriously as a student and intellectual in the university community.

We will be focusing on critical writing—writing that is consciously situated within distinct “modes of intelligibility” or “world views.” That is, while every individual may have unique experiences, HOW we make sense of those experiences relies upon the historically available ways of understanding those experiences. This class assumes that when we write we are taking part in a collective process of making knowledge. Writing is both an individual act and a social act simultaneously. For example, when we are writing about something we utilize the available cultural explanations, narratives, and knowledges to make our writing “cohere”—to explain cause and effect, to assign intention, and to draw lines of inclusion and exclusion. In short, writing is a process of making sense that connects the individual to the social in a way that positions a writer politically, socially, and materially within an on-going historical struggle over the meaning and organization of society and culture.

Writing, then, is not merely a set of rules reducible to “grammar” and “usage.” More to the point, “good writing” is not the same as “correct writing.” In other words, it is possible to produce a piece of “bad writing” that is grammatically perfect. One of the things we will focus on in this class is how to distinguish “good” writing from “bad” writing and the cultural assumptions implicit in such a distinction. For now, think of “bad” writing as writing that simply restates someone else’s ideas. For writing to be “good” it is not enough to “report” what you have read; it is necessary to become an active agent in the production of meaning. This will require a dramatically different approach to writing than what you may have been exposed to in high school.

Specific Areas of Focus in ENG 001:

  1. The composing process with attention to your individual relationship to writing and how your relationship to writing is bound up in social and political networks.
  2. Revision strategies for both conceptual and formal issues.
  3. Writing as a means of generating ideas, concepts, and arguments.
  4. Writing for a range of contexts, purposes, and audiences with special emphasis on academic writing.
  5. Questions of organization, style, and effectiveness.
  6. Critical reading and analysis.
  7. Summary and synthesis of a range of texts by other writers.
  8. Research skills including the use of KU’s online catalogue and internet resources.
  9. Evaluation skills.
  10. Grammar, punctuation, spelling as needed.
  11. Modern Language Association (MLA) style conventions.

Required Textbooks and Supplies:

·  In Context: Participating in Cultural Conversations. Edited by Ann Merle Feldman, Nancy Downs, and Ellen McManus

·  Easy Writer, Andrea Lunsford.

·  A good college dictionary

·  Email account

·  Notebook for class notes

·  Additional notebook for journal

·  Folder to keep assignment sheets, copies of your papers, and class syllabus

You will also be asked to make several copies of your papers for in-class writing workshops.

Major Writing Assignments and Grading:

You will receive detailed assignment sheets for each paper.

Paper #1 (2-3 pages) [due 2/14] 10%

Paper #2 (3-4 pages) [due 3/7] 20%

Paper #3 (2 pages) [due 3/14] 10%

Paper #4 (5-7 pages) [due 5/9] 30%

Research Paper Proposal (500 words max) [due 4/16] P/F

Reflective Essay (with portfolio) [due 5/12] 10%

Journal [collected periodically] 10%

Participation 10%

100%

Note on Grading:

You will be graded on a plus/minus system on each paper. However, Kutztown University does not use a plus/minus grading system for calculating your GPA. I use the plus/minus system throughout the semester to provide you with a better sense of your performance in the class.

General Writing Guidelines:

·  All papers must be word-processed or typed, double-spaced, stapled (not paper-clipped or folded), and follow MLA style guidelines.

·  For each paper you hand in you should include a title page with the following information:

  1. your name
  2. the assignment name/paper number
  3. the date you are handing in the paper
  4. a title
  5. course name and section number
  6. my name

·  Save all your work! I can’t stress this point enough.

Late Papers and Email Copies:

·  To receive full-credit you must hand in your papers in class on the due date. If you hand in your paper late, you will be graded down for that paper. For each day your paper is late, you will be graded down by a third of a letter grade. In other words, an “A” becomes an “A-;” an “A-” becomes a “B+,” and so on. If you do not hand in a paper, you will receive a zero (0) for that assignment.

·  Emailing papers. If you cannot make it to class on the date a paper is due, or if you need to hand in a paper on a non-class day, you may email me your paper. To be accepted, you must send your paper as an attached Microsoft Word file. DO NOT copy your paper in the body of an email message, and DO NOT send your paper as a Microsoft Works file. Make sure your name is on your paper and you “sign” your email. Never send an email copy of your paper without a short message telling me what you are sending. Papers received by 5pm on the due date will not be marked late. You must also provide me with a hard copy of your paper the next class period. If you do not provide me with a hard copy the following class, your paper will be considered an additional day late.

Class Policies:

·  It is crucial that you attend every class to do well. Unlike a lecture class, this course depends on active discussion and in-class work. If you need to be absent, it is up to you to find out what happened in class from another student.

·  You should be prepared for each class. This includes doing all the reading and assignments due on that day. Reading is not optional.

·  Turn off or set to silent all cell phones prior to class.

·  Respect your classmates.

·  You must meet with me at least twice during the course of the semester. I will cancel classes a couple of classes during the semester for conferences. If you cannot make a conference during the times I have scheduled, it is up to you to arrange another time to meet. Conferences are considered as part of your participation and paper grade.

Special Note on Plagiarism:

Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this class. Plagiarizing one of your papers or a significant portion of one of your papers will result in failure of the course. In addition to failing the course, I will notify the Dean of the violation.

Special needs:

If you have any special needs including physical or mental disabilities, please contact the Office of Services to Students with Disabilities (SAB 220) so that we can make all the necessary accommodations.


Course Calendar

All readings from In Context unless otherwise noted

Week 1

Wed 1/22

Introduction

Assignment: In your journal, write on the following questions: What is art? What should art do? What is the purpose of art? What is culture? How would you describe “American culture?” What do you think of as “American art?” Where do you experience “art” and “culture?”

Fri 1/24

Discussion of journal entries.

Read: “Contexts for Conversations,” pp. 1-14.

Journal: re-read the article by Phat Chiem. How many different ways is graffiti represented? Write the specific words or phrases used to describe it and who described it that way.

Week 2

Mon 1/27

Discussion of Chiem’s article. Context, Genre, Language, Consequences.

Read: bell hooks, “Art on My Mind: Visual Politics,” pp. 45-53.

Journal: what is the relationship between the first few paragraphs of hooks’s essay and her concluding paragraphs? Also, identify key terms for class discussion.

Wed 1/29

Read: Gloria Anzaldúa, “Chicana Artists: Exploring Nepalanta, el Lugar de la Frontera,” pp. 96-104.

Journal: write a thoughtful response to question #2 on p. 104 using examples from the essay.

Fri 1/31

Borders, Cultures, Identities, and Institutions

Handout: Paper #1 [due 2/14]

Read: Thomas Frank, “A Cultural Perpetual Motion Machine: Management Theory and Consumer Revolution in the 1960s,” pp. 105-121.

Journal: Carefully respond to question #1 on p. 121. Try to pay particular attention to the different “stories” Frank is putting forth and who advocates each story. Also, identify difficult terms, circle them in your book, and look them up in your dictionary. Make sure to record the definitions in your journal.

I will collect some of your journals on Monday.

Week 3

Mon 2/3

Close reading, academic discourse, and intertextuality.

I will collect some journals today.

Prep: Bring journals and reading notes to conferences. In your conference, be prepared to discuss how you are planning on writing your first paper. Come prepared to discuss specific passages in the essays we have read.

Tues 2/4 Conferences

Wed 2/5 Class Cancelled for Conferences

Thurs 2/6 Conferences

Fri 2/7

Draft of Paper #1 Due

Week 4

Mon 2/10

Return of drafts of Paper #1. Discussion of editing marks and strategies for revision. Assign peer groups for work on Wednesday. You will need to arrange to get a copy of your text to the other person/people in your group and read each other’s work before class.

Wed 2/12

Peer Group Response to Drafts

Fri 2/14 Paper #1 Due

Organizing groups for Case Study Project. List the names and contact information of the people in your group in the space below:

______

Read: Marc Spiegler, “Marketing Street Culture: Bringing Hip-Hop to the Mainstream,” pp. 122-133; and James Ledbetter, “Imitation of Life,” pp. 134-138.

Journal: How do you think Spiegler and Ledbetter would respond to each other’s essays? Do you think they would be allies? In opposition? Have points of overlap? Why? What do each of these authors have to say about the intersection of the market and culture?

I will collect some journals on Tuesday.

Week 5

Tue 2/18

Discussion of “sides” and “binaries” in argument, the limits of “bias” as a critical term, and the difference between a “position” and an “opinion.” Also, will introduce questions of ideology and the politics of discourse.

Read: Nell Bernstein, “Goin’ Gangsta, Choosin’ Cholita,” pp. 78-83.

Journal: Write a short piece documenting the kind of “styles” you see on campus. Does there seem to be a dominant “look?” What influences are present?

Wed 2/19

Culture, Identity, Ownership, and Appropriation.

Read: Case Study #1, “Contesting the Ownership of Music,” pp. 148-155.

Response Paper: Write a one-page response paper to the article from The Washington Post, “U2’s Double Trouble,” by Richard Harrington. Identify arguments and institutional supports.

Fri 2/21

In class work on mapping the case. Listening to Negativland’s single that is the source of the controversy.

Handout: Paper #2

Read: Case Study Document, “Excerpts from the Island/Warner-Chappell Lawsuit,” pp. 156-162.

Journal: What are the specific features of this legal document? What distinguishes it from the other kinds of arguments/essays you have read? What counts as evidence and legitimate argument in a legal document?

Week 6

Mon 2/24

Discussion of law as genre and group work.

Read: Case Study Documents: “U2 Negativland: The Case from Our Side,” pp. 163-169; “Excerpts from Chapter 1 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act,” pp. 170-173; “In Fair Use Debate, Art Must Come First,” pp. 174-175; and “Sampling Without Permission is Theft,” pp. 176-177.

Journal: What are the differences between the way Negativland makes its argument, and the way the record companies made their argument in the legal documents? How would you describe the kind of language Negativland uses? Are their particular academic disciplines associated with this kind of argument?

Wed 2/26

Genre, purpose, and intervention into public discourse. Mapping the materiality of cultural production.

Fri 2/28

In-class workshop

Handout: Paper #3—Group Presentation

Draft of Paper #2 Due in class

Week 7

Mon 3/3 Classes cancelled for conferences

Wed 3/5 Classes cancelled for conferences

Fri 3/7 Paper #2 Due

In-class work preparing for presentations

Week 8

Mon 3/10 Presentations

Wed 3/12 Presentations

Fri 3/14 Presentations

Paper #3 Due

SPRING BREAK [CCCC’s March 19-22]

Week 9

Mon 3/24 Introduction to Work, Democracy, and Globalization

Handout: Paper #4 and Guidelines for Paper Proposal

Read: Thomas Friedman, “The Lexus and the Olive Tree,” pp. 477-484; and Robert Reich, “Becoming a Knowledge Worker,” pp. 497-509.

Journal: What do you think about the visions offered by Friedman and Reich? What do they assume? Who is the “subject” of their narrative?

Wed 3/26

Read: Joel Spring, “Education and the Rise of the Global Economy,” pp. 510-520.

Fri 3/28

Read: Chan Lean Heng, “Women on the Global Assembly Line,” pp. 522-529; and Marta B. Calás and Linda Smircich, “The ‘Feminine-in-Management’ Meets ‘Globalization,’” pp. 531-543.

Research Assignment Handout

Week 10

Mon 3/31

Refining notions of globalization.

Assignment: Preparation for library research.

Wed 4/2

Library

Read: Robyn Meredith, “For This We Sent You to College?,” pp. 547-557

Fri 4/4

Read: Barbara Ehrenreich, “Nickel-and-Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America,” pp. 594-611.

Assignment: Formalize research notes and bring to class on Monday.