Composition 1B:
From Silent Spring to Jurassic Park –
Nature in the American Psyche
Fall 2015
Instructor: Sarah Sutton
Meeting Time: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 12–12:50 p.m.
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 11–12
Email:
Course Summary:
The broad goal of composition is to learn to summarize, analyze, and evaluate the texts of other writers, and then to synthesize your ideas into your own original arguments. In this course we will also learn basic research and citation skills. Over the course of the semester, we will critically analyze course readings, and learn to compose clearly written, concise, well-argued essays on three different topics.
The topic of this course is nature and the environment in the American psyche – how do we think about the natural world and our relationship to it? How is nature depicted in popular media? And how do our ideas about nature affect the modern environmental movement, worldwide?
Required Texts:
All readings will be handed out in class or posted on Latte.
Course Evaluation:
The grading breakdown for this course is as follows:
Attendance and participation 20 %
Short Assignments/presentations 15 %
Essay 1 20 %
Essay 2 25 %
Essay 3 30 %
Major Assignments:
Essay 1: Close Reading a Landscape (3-4 pages)
You will closely analyze a landscape of your choice – it must be a place that you can visit, or have visited in the past. Using the principles derived from essays we read in class, you will craft an argument about how “natural” or “wild” it is, and how human interactions have shaped the landscape over time.
Essay 2: Lens essay – Ideas about nature in Jurassic Park (5-6 pages)
For this essay, you will choose one of the pieces we have read so far about how humans think about nature. Using your selected text as a lens, you’ll write an essay about how the film Jurassic Park depicts the natural world and ideas about wilderness.
Essay 3: Mini Research Essay/Op-Ed (7-8 pages)
You will research an environmental movement, either in America or abroad. In this essay, you will first synthesize the arguments of several assigned readings about environmentalism. Based on your understandings of the readings, you will compose an op-ed about your chosen environmental movement.
Class Policies, A – Z:
Academic Integrity
It is critical that the work you present is original and that when you use outside sources you cite them appropriately. The Brandeis policy on academic integrity is available in Section 3 of the Rights and Responsibilities Handbook (available at http://www.brandeis.edu/studentaffairs/sdc/rr/). Instances of suspected dishonesty will be referred to the Office of Student Development and Conduct and may result in sanctions including but not limited to failure in the course, failure on the assignment in question, suspension from the University and/or educational programs. If you have questions about plagiarism or academic standards of originality, please see me.
Attendance (Important!!)
· If you know you will not be able to attend class, please contact me as soon as you know you will be unable to make it.
· Each absence after the third will result in a full letter grade being deducted from your final grade.
· More than six absences may result in a failing grade.
Course packet
I will hand out a packet of readings on the first day of class. Please bring it with you every day!
Communication
I will do my best to respond to your emails within 24 hours of receiving them. If by any chance I fail to respond within 48 hours, please feel free to email me again. It probably just means I forgot or missed the email!
Disabilities
If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me immediately.
Essays and Assignments
Please print your assignments and give them to me as hard copies in class on the day they are due.
Laptops in the classroom
I will often encourage you to use your laptops for in-class activities, and will let you know in advance if we will be doing an exercise that requires a computer. Otherwise, please keep your laptops in your bags.
Late Work
If extenuating circumstances will prevent you from turning in a paper on time, please notify me at least one week in advance and I will accommodate you. Otherwise late papers without will lose a third of a grade for each day it is late.
Peer Review Workshops
We will conduct peer reviews for each essay. You will be assigned to a group of three that will exchange drafts in the seminar on draft deadline days. ***On these days, please bring in a draft for each member of your group!
Writing Center
The Writing Center, which offers one-on-one tutorials with trained consultants, is an excellent resource and I strongly encourage you to take your drafts there. To learn more, visit http://www.brandeis.edu/writingprogram/center/. If you take your draft there, you may have your consultant fill out a Writing Center Reward Form, which will earn you a 24-hour extension on the final draft of your paper (only one extension per paper).
*** Four-Credit Course (with three hours of class-time per week)
Success in this 4 credit hour course is based on the expectation that students will spend a minimum of 9 hours of study time per week in preparation for class (readings, papers, discussion sections, preparation for exams, etc.).
Schedule of Assignments:
Week 1:
Thurs., Aug 27 – Introductions, Syllabus, Writing Diagnostic
Week 2:
Mon., August 31 – Read Jennifer Price, "Looking for Nature at the Mall: A Field Guide to the Nature Company" in course packet
Wed., Sept 2 – Read “Writing a college essay” and “elements of the academic essay” in course packet.
Thurs., Sept 3 – Find one news article about nature and/or an environmental issue and post it on latte. Brief presentations in class.
Week 3:
Wed., Sept. 9 – Excerpt from Rachel Carson, Silent Spring in course packet
Thurs., Sept 10 (Brandeis Monday) – Short assignment due today: brief 1-2 paragraph description of your chosen site; brief presentations in class. Work on thesis and motive
Week 4:
Wed., Sept 16 – Read William Cronon, “The Trouble With Wilderness,” in class
Thursday, Sept. 17 – Draft of essay #1 due; Peer review workshop.
***Please bring three hard copies to class – one for me, and two for your peers
Week 5:
Mon., Sept 21 – Read sample student close reading essay in course packet
Thurs., Sept. 24 – Final draft of close reading due in class, discuss lens essay assignment
Week 6:
Tues., Sept 29 – No in-class meeting today, watch Jurassic Park by tomorrow’s class instead and post a 2-paragraph response on Latte
Wed., Sept. 30 – Discuss Jurassic Park
Thurs., Oct. 1 – Read sample student lens essay introductions in course packet; discuss thesis and motive in the lens essay
Week 7:
Wed., Oct. 7 – Read Elizabeth Kolbert, “Recall of the Wild”
Thurs., Oct 8 – Read Sample student lens essay in course packet, evidence and analysis in the lens essay
Week 8:
Mon., Oct. 12 – Listen to “Raising Crane,” Radiolab short – on Latte
Wed., Oct. 14 – Lens essay pre-draft – introductory paragraph with thesis and motive.
Thurs., Oct. 15 – Writing and grammar boot camp
Week 9:
Mon., Oct. 19 – Draft of Lens Essay due in class today, Peer review workshops
Wed., Oct. 21 – in-class conferences, lens essay (sign up on latte)
Thurs., Oct. 22 – in-class conferences, lens essay (sign up on latte)
Week 10:
Mon., Oct. 26 – Final draft lens essay due today; hand out research paper assignment
Wed., Oct. 28 –
Thurs., Oct. 29 – Bring article about the environmental movement you think you will research to class, share with class. Discussion on composing a research question.
Week 11:
Mon., Nov. 2 – Ramachandra Guha, “Radical American Environmentalism and Wilderness Preservation: AThird World Critique," in course packet
Wed., Nov. 4 – How to write a research proposal
Thurs., Nov. 5 –Short Assignment: research proposal. Meet with me to discuss research topic (sign-up on Latte)
Week 12:
Mon., Nov. 9 – Read Stuart Brand, “Scale, Scope, Stakes, Speed” and “City Planet” in course packet
Wed., Nov. 11 – Library Scavenger Hunt
Thurs, Nov. 12 – Bring three or articles you found in the library to class for citation workshop
Week 13:
Mon. Nov. 16 – Read Bill McKibben, “Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math”
Wed., Nov. 18 – Read sample student research essay
Thurs, Nov. 19 – Annotated bibliography due, discuss in class.
Week 14:
Mon., Nov. 23 – Draft of research essay due; Bring 3 copies of your papers for in-class peer-review session.
Week 15
Mon., Nov. 30 –in-class conferences
Wed., Dec. 2 – in-class conferences
Thurs., Dec. 3 – Brief research paper presentations
Week 16
Mon., Dec. 7 – Brief research paper presentations
Wed., Dec. 9 – Final draft of research essays due/end of year celebration!
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