You can download a copy of the syllabus here.
English 1012 (18587) Spring 2015 Syllabus
Composition
II - Myths and Folktales
Instructor: J. Caroccio
Office Hours: Room
2311B, Tuesdays 11 am to 12 pm
Email:
jcaroccio@brooklyn.cuny.edu
Meetings: Tuesdays & Thursdays,
9:30 - 10:45 am
Room: Boylan
3113
Website: http://bccomp1012tthspr2015.blogspot.com
Course Objective:
Brooklyn College’s composition program aims to
instill in every student the capacity to think critically and the capability to
produce thoughtful academic writing. The second component of this program is
research writing. This course will help you to develop the necessary skills to
do research and compose an academic research paper. We will accomplish this by
reading essays, fiction, memoirs, speeches, scholarly articles and other types
of texts. The readings assigned are meant to give you examples of thoughtful,
coherent, and persuasive work that deals with the act of research in relation
to the theme of myths and folktales. These works are written from varying perspectives
and on topics related to mythmaking, belief systems, and the way humans record
the world. There will also be more be critically, and at times difficult, texts
that use different types of research methods to better explore these ideas. This
will require you to think critically and use personal experience, knowledge and
observations when tackling these readings. You will also study the many components
of research, such as vetting sources, analyzing arguments, developing a thesis,
drafting and revising. The course will culminate in a 7-10 page MLA formatted
research paper.
Class Expectations:
Ø Attendance
- You are
expected to come to class on time, prepared with any assignments due that day
and the reading in hand, and read. You are allowed up to three unexcused
absences, after that your grade will suffer. If for some reason there is an
emergency that restricts you from coming to class for more than three times
please contact the instructor right away. More than 5 unexcused absences will
result in a failure for this class, as per Brooklyn College policy.
Ø Assignments
- You will be
assigned: 2 formal essays; informal weekly writing assignments, in the form of
a blog; 2 presentations; and a research project, which will consist of several
parts that will be completed throughout the second half of the semester. Late Work will be accepted at the
instructor's discretion and if accepted, will be lowered one letter interval
(e.g: an A will become a A-). You are allowed to hand in one assignment pass
the due date without penalty only if you notify the instructor 48 hours prior
to the due date.
Blog - This course
will have an class website. This is an outside of the classroom component that
will provide an online space for writing resources, class assignments, and
everyone’s individual blog. Your blog will be where you post responses (weekly
informal writing assignments) to the texts that we will tackle in class. Responses
should be a question, comment, or critique you have with the text, and should not
be a mere summary. They are for your benefit because they can be used as a safe
way to experiment with style or technique and practice your writing. These
responses should be about 300 words, and be posted to your individual class
blog before that Tuesday’s class session. You are then required to read and
comment on at least two of your fellow classmates’ posts before class that
Thursday. You are required to do a total
of ten posts, but you are allowed to miss one blog post (with corresponding
comments) without it negatively affecting your grade, so manage your work and
time wisely. These informal writings will not be graded but will be checked.
Formal Essays
– During the first half of the semester you will be given two essay prompts
(forthcoming) that will draw from the readings and require you to have a thesis
(argument) and use textual and contextual evidence to support your claims.
These essays will have proper heading, MLA citation and works cited list. They should
be 12 point font, an appropriate font type (i.e. Arial or Times New Roman),
double spaced, one inch margins throughout and include your last name and page
number on every page.
Research Project - The second half of the semester will focus on working
on your research project. This will include:
o
Annotated
MLA bibliography- ten sources, 6 articles from scholarly
journals or academic books, and 4 from other sources (books, ted talks,
interviews, essays). Each source should be properly formatted and include a
description (about one paragraph) about why this applies to your paper and how
you plan to implement this source.
o
Prospectus-
will be due shortly
after so keep this in mind when developing your bibliography. This is a
description of your paper (3-4 pages), which will include a working thesis,
sources that you plan to use and will explain to the reader how you will go
about proving your thesis and what your plan of action will be.
o
First
draft of your paper will be handed in and workshopped
in class. This should be a rough draft, but still a full MLA paper (5-6 pages).
o
Final
draft (7- 10 pages not including bibliography) with
works cited list will be due the last day of class. All parts of the research
project should follow the same format for formal writings.
o
Presentations
– Two short 5-minute presentation on your final
research project will be expected. The first presentations will be scheduled
for some time during the middle of the semester, and the second one will be given
during the last two weeks of the semester. This will be a chance to experience
formally presenting your paper in front of an audience, and to also showcase
the work put into your project.
Ø Participation
and Conduct – You are expected you to actively
participate in class discussions and peer review sessions. When you do
participate, you should be courteous and respectful to the instructor and your
fellow classmates. That includes no offensive or harassing comments and
disabling of electronic devices. This class will be discussing topics that can
be sensitive or controversial, and it’s hope is to have an exchange of ideas
and perspectives. You are free to express yourself and with that freedom you
will be required to defend your argument in an intelligent and professional
manner.
Ø Plagiarism - When you present someone else's ideas, writing, or work as your
own or if you insufficiently cite your sources you are plagiarizing. In no way
is plagiarism acceptable or tolerated. If one of your assignments has been
found to be plagiarized you will fail that assignment, and can possibly fail the
class and face academic disciplinary action. You can find
the full CUNY Academic Integrity Policy here:
http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies. If you are unsure if you might be
plagiarizing please check this site or consult me before submitting work.
Ø Required
Texts
o
A
Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker
o
The
Craft of Research Third edition by Wayne C. Booth, Et all. (ISBN
9780226065663)
o
All
other required readings will be available on the class website.
o
Suggested Texts
·
The
Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White
·
Woe
is I by
Patricia T. O'Connor
Ø Grading
- Grades for
English 1012 range from A+ to C- & F. There is no grade of D given. A grade
of NC (No Credit) is also given, while it does not give credit, it does not
affect a student's GPA. It can be given if a student has done the work for the
class but isn't yet writing on a level to pass the class.
Participation and Attendance - 15%
Blog Posts -
10%
Essays -
20% (10% each)
Presentations -
10% (5% each)
Research Project - 45%
v
Annotated Bibliography - 5%
v
Prospectus -
10%
v
First Draft -
15%
v
Final Draft -
15%
Resources:
Ø
The Learning Center, 1300 Boylan
Ø
The ESL Lab, 1408 Ingersoll
Ø
SEEK Tutoring, 1428 Ingersoll
Ø
Pudue OWl (Online Writing lab),
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
Religious
Holidays: If you must miss class because of religious
observance that is your right. If this is the case, then please contact the
instructor beforehand so you can set up an alternative arrangement for a
possible missed assignment.
Americans
with Disabilities Act: If you
have a disability, or suspect that you may have a disability, and need
accommodations you must register with the Center for Student Disability
Services at 138 Roosevelt Hall (718.951.5538.) You can contact the Director,
Valerie Stewart-Lovell, vstewart@brooklyn.cuny.edu. Once registered please
speak to the instructor so you can set up accommodations.
Email
Etiquette and Policy: All
correspondence to the instructor (applicable to all courses) should be in a
professional capacity. This means they should include a title in the subject
line, such as, “Question about Essay 1,” conform to standard formal English,
include a salutation & sign off, and a brief indication of which class you
are in. Please refrain from using text short-hand, or emoticons or emojis, as
fun as they are, they are inappropriate for emails with instructors (or
prospective supervisors). When sending an email please allow for a response
time of at least 24 hours, or at least 48 hours during the weekends.
Tentative
Schedule -
Dates, readings and texts are subject to change.
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Date
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Readings
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Assignments Due
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Thu 1/29
|
Syllabus,
Introductions
|
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Tue
2/3
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Aesop’s Fables
and “Aesop, Aristotle, and Animals: The Role of Fables in Human Life” by
Edward Clayton
|
1st
Blog Post Due
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Thu
2/5
|
The Craft of Research “
Prologue: Becoming A Researcher“ and Ch. 1 " Thinking
in Print”
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Tue
2/10
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Living Folklore
by Martha Sims and The Craft of Research Ch. 2 “Connecting with Your Reader”
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2nd
Blog Post Due
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Thu
2/12
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NO CLASS
|
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Tue
2/17
|
“East
Vs West–The Myths That Mystify” Ted Talk by
Devdutt Pattanaik (Watch in
class)
|
First Essay
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Thu
2/19
|
The Craft of Research
“Prologue: Planning Your Project” and Ch. 3 “From
Topics to Questions”
|
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Tue
2/24
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The Three Wishes by Ricardo E. Alegria & critical text
|
3rd
Blog Post Due
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Thu
2/26
|
The Craft of Research
Ch. 4 “From
Questions to a Problem”
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Tue
3/3
|
American Indian Myths and Legends
Ed. by Richard Erdoes & Alfonso Ortiz & critical text
|
4th
Blog Post Due
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Thu
3/5
|
The Craft of Research Ch.
5 “From Problems to Sources”
|
1 ¶Research Proposal
|
Tue
3/10
|
Library
Visit
|
Second Essay
|
Thu
3/12
|
The Craft of Research Ch.
6 “ Engaging Sources”
|
|
Tue
3/17
|
Sandman Vol. 1
by Neil Gaiman & critical text
|
5th
Blog Post Due
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Thu
3/19
|
The Craft of Research
“Prologue: Assembling A Research Argument”
& Ch. 7 “Making Good Arguments”
|
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Tue
3/24
|
by
Michael D. Boatright American Born
Chinese by Gene Luen Yang & “Graphic
Memoirs Come of Age” by William Bradley
|
6th
Blog Post Due
|
Thu
3/26
|
The Craft of Research Ch.
8 “ Claims “ & Ch. 9 “ Reasons
and Evidence”
|
Bibliography
|
Tue
3/31
|
Trickster Tales Ed. by
Matt Dembicki & critical text
|
7th
Blog Post Due
|
Thu
4/2
|
The Craft of Research
Ch. 10 “Acknowledgments
and Responses”
|
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Tue
4/7
|
BREAK NO CLASS
|
8th
Blog Post Due
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Thu
4/9
|
BREAK NO CLASS
|
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Tue
4/14
|
Tales From Outer Suburbia
by Shaun Tan & “Graphic Journeys: Graphic Novels' Representations of
Immigrant Experiences”
|
Prospectus
|
Thu
4/16
|
The Craft of Research
Ch. 11 “Warrants”
and “Prologue: Planning Again”
|
|
Tue
4/21
|
The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston & “The Female
Individual and the Empire” by Feng Lan
|
9th
Blog Post Due
|
Thu
4/23
|
The Craft of Research
Ch. 12 “Planning”
& Ch. 13 “Drafting Your Report” by Feng Lan
|
|
Tue
4/28
|
“Anansi
Stories” by Ashley Bryan & critical text
|
10th
Blog Post Due
|
Thu
4/30
|
“Narrative
Humility” by Sayantani DasGupta (Watch
in class)
|
Draft of Research Paper
|
Tue
5/7
|
The Craft of Research
Ch. 14 “Revising
Your Organization and Argument”
|
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Thu
5/12
|
The Craft of Research
Ch. 16 “Introductions
and Conclusions”
|
Peer Editing Workshop Bring in 2 copies of
Draft
|
Tue
5/14
|
Presentations
|
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Thu
5/12
|
The Craft of Research
Ch. 17“Revising Style: Telling Your Story Clearly”
|
Presentations
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Tue
5/13
|
Presentations
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Thu
5/15
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Presentations/Final Draft of Research Paper
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