Syllabus

CT Fall 2019 Syl Friday AEid

English 1101 Course Syllabus

Fall 2019

Professor: Anthony Eid

Office Phone: (718) 260-5392

Office: Namm 529

Office Hours: Sat: 12:50-1:50

Email: AEid@citytech.cuny.edu

Classroom Location: Namm N-1005

Online Location: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/eng-1100-d375-fall-2019/

Course Description:

Welcome to the class. In English 1101, students will add onto the fundamentals they come into the class with and will combine the new and old to eventually use them together as writers working towards their future goals. This will be done by analyzing what students have achieved in the past, what they are doing within the class, and what they want to use these both towards. Students will be asked to read, listen, and write in a wide array of genres and within different rhetorical situations to this end.

Change, growth, and the reason behind and for both will be the core of our class. Some assignments will ask you to address your own personal change/growth, and others will be centered around change/growth within one piece(altering, shifting, and re-purposing it for a particular audience or discourse community). All assignments will build towards a piece that will be a culmination of all the skills learned throughout the semester that students will use throughout their academic careers.

Prerequisite: CUNY proficiency in reading and writing.

Learning Outcomes:

Read and listen critically and analytically in a variety of genres and rhetorical situations: Identify and evaluate exigencies, purposes, claims, supporting evidence, and underlying assumptions in a variety of texts, genres, and media.

Adapt to and compose in a variety of genres: Adapt writing conventions in ways that are suitable to different exigencies and purposes in a variety of contexts, including academic, workplace, and civic audiences. When appropriate, repurpose prior work to new genres, audiences, and media by adjusting delivery, design, tone, organization, and language.

Use research as a process of inquiry and engagement with multiple perspectives: Learn to focus on a topic and develop research questions that lead to propositions and claims that can be supported with well-reasoned arguments. Persuasively communicate and repurpose research projects across a variety of contexts, purposes, audiences, and media. Demonstrate research skills through attribution and citation gathering, evaluating, and synthesizing both primary and secondary sources. Learn how to use appropriate citation styles depending on disciplinary and situational requirements (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.).

Use reflection and other metacognitive processes to revise prior assumptions about reading and writing and transfer acquired knowledge into new writing situations: Students write reflections of their own reading and writing process from the beginning and throughout the semester with the intention to transfer their acquired knowledge about genre and composing practices into new writing situations.

Demonstrate the social and ethical responsibilities and consequences of writing: Recognize that first-year writing includes academic, workplace, and civic contexts, all of which require careful deliberation concerning the ethical and social ramifications concerning fairness, inclusivity, and respect for diversity. Write and revise for academic and broader, public audiences accordingly.

Compose in 21st Century Environments: Learn to choose among the most current and effective delivery methods for different composing situations. Students learn to compose in new media environments, including alphabetic texts, still and moving images, sonic, and mixed media compositions. Use digital media platforms appropriate to audience and purpose.

Readings/Texts

Readings will be provided to students. Either they will be loaded onto the Openlab site, or copies will be made.

University Policies

Accessibility Statement

City Tech is committed to supporting the educational goals of enrolled students with disabilities in the areas of enrollment, academic advisement, tutoring, assistive technologies, and testing accommodations. If you have or think you may have a disability, you may be eligible for reasonable accommodations or academic adjustments as provided under applicable federal, state, and/or city laws. You may also request services for temporary conditions or medical issues under certain circumstances. If you have questions about your eligibility and/or would like to seek accommodation services and/or academic adjustments, please contact the Student Accessibility Center (SAC) at 300 Jay Street. Room L-237; telephone: 718-260-5143; http://www.citytech.cuny.edu/accessibility/.

Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Statement

“Students and all others who work with information, ideas, texts, images, music, inventions, and other intellectual property owe their audience and sources accuracy and honesty in using, crediting, and citing sources. As a community of intellectual and professional workers, the College recognizes its responsibility for providing instruction in information literacy and academic integrity, offering models of good practice, and responding vigilantly and appropriately to infractions of academic integrity. Accordingly, academic dishonesty is prohibited in The City University of New York and at New York City College of Technology and is punishable by penalties, including failing grades, suspension, and expulsion.”

Tutoring

The Atrium Learning Center (ALC), located in LG-18, has free writing tutors who can assist you at any stage of planning, writing, or revising any of the essays for this class. Call 1-718-260-5874 for more information, or visit the website at https://www.citytech.cuny.edu/alc/writing.aspx

Course Policies

Attendance:

Attendance will count as 15% of your final grade. 5 absences will lead to a failing grade for this portion of your class grade. Extended lateness (more than 20 minutes from when class begins) or leaving the class early (more than an hour after the class starts) will also result in being marked absent.

You will also be responsible for work missed in class. Please contact someone to be informed about what was missed. If you are going to be absent, keep on top of the work and try to reach out to another student in the class. I will try to get back to you in a timely manner (within 24/48 hours), but exchange contact information with some others from class too at the start of the semester.

Late Papers and Being Unprepared for Class:

Being absent from class, late, or having to leave early does not excuse you from assignments due on that day. These situations may arise and may be outside of your control. However, submitting your work should always be a priority. Late papers will have points taken away from the final drafts if handed in more than 3 days after the due date.

Students will be asked to always be prepared for class. For example, there will be some instances when I will ask the class to print and bring in their papers (workshops). If you come to class without them, this will count as an absence and will impact your attendance and participation grade.

Participation:

Coming to class completely underprepared will influence your participation grade. However, please note that confusion or questions will not indicate you are unprepared for class. As long as a student comes in with some understanding, we can all help each other to fully come to know what was read or discussed in/for class.

Word Load

This is a three-credit course, and students may be expected to spend at least 9 hours a week doing work for this class. The work will be varied, and what students will spend their time on each week will change as well. By the end of the semester, students are expected to write at a minimum 6,000 words (approximately 24 pages double spaced split up among your different pieces).

Required Format for Papers:

All papers will be in Times New Roman 12 pt font and double spaced. In addition, a majority of our papers will be done in MLA format. Depending upon the assignment and the need for it, some papers may be done in other formats (APA/Chicago).

Major Assignments

Literary Narrative-

Within each of us, there are stories. These stories are constantly growing and changing. Oftentimes, experiences from the past shape them. However, sometimes, what is ahead of us alters the path these stories are taking. In some cases, they may be warped by influences from the outside world, but there are instances where our stories make those changes to it.

One specific tale that all of us can tell is about our relation to literacy. There are some instances that may have been struggles, but the lessons learned from them turned into the foundations to every confident decision we will ever make as writers. However, both are important to explore and rediscover for all of us to come to understand who we are now and who we will be as writers. What were those instances that spurred you on, and what were the stumbling points? Were there individuals that helped you every step of the way, or were they a rare occurrence in your life that you cherished? Where we are/were, who we are/were, and what is/was going on in the world also shape/d us. Pick one point in your educational past and express how some of these factors may have influenced you then up until now. Please discuss within 4 pages.

Discourse Community Assignment-

The old saying goes, “before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes,” but what is that criticism when one has already walked that mile? When one is within a discourse community, it is just communication from within. In addition, that critique is repurposed as information to be used for feedback with the rest of its members.

So, for this piece, you will be asked to put on some new hats, and possibly some old ones. Try and imagine how sets of information can be expressed and shared within a particular discourse community. How would a science fiction movie be discussed by a group of astronomers or a group going to Comic-Con? You will be asked to express this distinctly in three separate parts, but all in one paper. Take one topic, within 6 pages, and express this in the way three separate communities would.

Argumentative Research Assignment-

In this world, many views and opinions are thrown about carelessly. Sometimes, they are pushed forward aggressively without proper backing or consideration for all sides. For an argument to be just that, it must have proper backing and, to one extent or another, also provide the other side of the issue one is writing about.

For this paper, you may choose to pick any topic you find important: personally, based on the field of your future academic pursuits, or just something that you are passionate about or interested in that you would like to explore more. For whatever reason, please make sure to give all sides a voice, but you must take a stance that pushes forward your purpose for this essay. Please do so within 6 pages.

Reflection Assignment-

There is no such thing as a final draft, as some may say. Even when you put the last period on a page, one can still go back, revise, comment, extend, and, most importantly, all writing is built and builds upon itself. Papers are somewhat like organs in a body. All are important and represent the whole. As such, the development of one may influence the health and/or qualities of others in the future.

You will be asked after you write each assignment this semester to reflect upon them in no less than 2 pages. Reflection can incorporate many aspects. You can look back at the process of that paper. You can blend in portions from your literacy journals to show the development of the piece, and possibly what influenced your choices. You can even look into what’s next and how those pieces will connect with future work you will do. All in all, discover, examine, reexamine, imagine, and find purpose in your writing. In total, 2 pages per assignment, please submit this as a 6-page assignment.

Other Graded projects-

Students will be asked to do some presentations during the semester. All will directly relate to work being done or was completed. Some will be done individually, and others will be done in a group.

Extra Credit:

Extra credit will always be considered when students aid each other. For example, if one student is absent and someone helps that student with what was missed in class or for homework, extra credit may be due. In addition, helping yourself, via tutoring, will yield extra credit consideration.

Grading

Above, I have listed the numerical range for each letter grade received. The class will receive a letter grade for every assignment, project, and items dealing with class policy that will be averaged together at the end of the semester

Grade Break Down:

Class Papers (Literary analysis, Discourse, Argumentative Research, and Reflection)- 40%

Attendance- 15%

Participation-10%

Blog posts- 15%

Presentations- 15%

Final- 5%

Course Calendar:

Please note: This schedule for the classes and assignments may change based upon the needs of the class. I will always discuss these changes with you in class prior to making these changes.

Unit 1:

Literacy

Class 1 8/30:

Class introductions, reading of and discussion about class syllabus, discussion about the class and expectations, and discussion about literacy, metacognition (journaling assignments), and transfer. In-class reading: Ernie Smith, “Ebonics: A Case History” and Gloria Anzaldua, “How to Tame a Wild Tongue”. Discussion about outlining, brainstorming, and drafting. Discussion about Literacy Narrativepaper.

HW: Please go to, signup for, and explore our class’ Openlab site. Please read Joanne Kilgour Dowdy, “Doublespeak” and Nancy Sommers, “I Stand Here Writing”. Respond to them on Openlab and bring the response to class. In addition, please bring to next class your Literacy Narrative outline.

Class 2 9/6:

Discussion about “Doublespeak” and “I Stand Here Writing”. Discussion about code switching. In-class reading from a portion of Nancy Sommer and Laura Saltz, “The Novice as Expert”. Discussion about peer workshops. Conferences and peer workshops for Literacy Narrative outlines.

HW: Please read Donald Murray, “All Writing is Autobiography” and respond to it on Openlab and bring the response to class. In addition, please submit the first draft of your Literacy Narrative by 9/11 and bring in two copies of it to next class.

Class 3 9/13:

Discussion about “All Writing is Autobiography”. Discussion about reflective writing. Discussion about peer review, revision, editing, and proof reading. Small group peer review sessions for Literacy Narrative.

HW: Please read Jeff Anderson, “Sharing Our Vulnerabilities as Writers”. Please respond to it on Openlab and bring the response to next class for a presentation. Submit the final draft of the Literacy Narrative and Part One of reflection by 9/18.

Unit 2:

Rhetoric, Genre, and Discourse

Class 4 9/20:

Short presentations for Literacy Narrative. Discussion about discourse community and genre. Students will then break into smaller groups of their own discourse communities based upon the presentations given on the Literacy Narrative papers.

HW: Please read Erik Borg, “Discourse Community” and Kerry Dirk, “Navigating Genres” and respond to them on Openlab. Bring the response to next class.

Class 5 9/27:

Discussion about “Discourse Community” and “Navigating Genres”. Discussion about rhetoric and audience. Discussion about Discourse Community assignment. Discussion and group work about Reddit. Literacy Narrative conferences.

HW: Read Christopher Mueller, “Positive Feedback Loops” and respond to it on Openlab. Bring response to next class. In addition, outline your Discourse Community assignment and bring it to next class and write at least one portion of your Discourse Communityassignment and submit it by 10/2.

Class 6 10/4:

Library research session. Students will find one source that ties into their Discourse Community assignment. Discussion about “Positive Feedback Loops”. Discussion about critical analysis. Discussion about analysis and synthesis. Peer-to-peer workshops for Discourse Community assignment outline. In-class conferences for Discourse Community assignment.

HW: Please read Helena Popović, “Good Comedy and the Limits of Humour” and Rob King, “Retheorizing Comedic and Political Discourse, or What Do Jon Stewart and Charlie Chaplin Have in Common?”and respond to them on Openlab. Bring the response to next class. Please print out and/or bring in the piece you will use for your Discourse Community assignment to next class and write an analysis for it and how you will use it in your piece in 1-2 pages.

Class 7 10/11:

Discussion about inquiry. Discussion about “Good Comedy and the Limits of Humour” and “Retheorizing Comedic and Political Discourse, or What Do Jon Stewart and Charlie Chaplin Have in Common?”. Group work on analysis and synthesis. Per workshops and conferences for Discourse Community assignment analysis.

HW: Write the second draft of your Discourse Community assignment and submit it by 10/16 and bring in two copies to next class.

Class 8 10/18:

Discussion about research citation formats. In-class group work for Discourse Community assignment second draft.

HW: Please read Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz, “Examining the Intersection of Race and Gender in Video Game Advertising” and respond to it on Openlab. Bring the response to next class. Please submit the final version of Discourse Community assignment and Part two of reflection by 10/23.

Class 9 10/25:

Discussion about “Examining the Intersection of Race and Gender in Video Game Advertising”. Discussion about primary and secondary sources. Discussion about research planning. Conferences about Midterm grades.

HW: Please read Good, Parsons, Yuill and Brosnan, “Virtual Reality and Robots for Autism” and Hwang and Sampson, “Divergent Pathways of Gentrification” and respond to them on Openlab. In addition, please chose one of the pieces above and write a 2-page critical analysis for it. Print and bring to next class.

Class 10 11/1:

Discussion about use of texts and argumentation. Discussion and peer workshops about “Virtual Reality and Robots for Autism” and “Divergent Pathways of Gentrification”. Discussion about proposals. Conferences for Discourse Community assignment.

HW: Write a proposal for an argumentative paper using the pieces “Examining the Intersection of Race and Gender in Video Game Advertising”, “Virtual Reality and Robots for Autism” and “Divergent Pathways of Gentrification”.

Unit 3:

Research, Inquiry, and Argument

Class 11 11/8:

Brainstorming topics for Argumentative Research papers. Peer review and conferences for proposals.

HW: Bring in an outline for your Argumentative Research papers next class. In addition, write a proposal for your paper. Please also write a critical analysis about one piece of research you find for your paper. Print both the proposal and critical analysis and bring them to next class.

Class 12 11/15:

In-class work for the Argumentative Research papers (computer lab). Conferences for the proposals and critical analysis.

HW: Write the first draft of argumentative research paper and submit it by 11/20. In addition, please print out at least 2 copies and bring it to class.

Class 13 11/22:

Peer workshops for Argumentative Research paper.

HW: Submit the final draft of Argumentative Research paper,  and Part three of reflection (with Part one and two) by 11/27.

Class 14 12/6:

Final review. Argument Research paper and reflection conferences.

Class 15 12/20:

Final