Course Description

English Composition is the standard freshman writing course. The course introduces students to academic writing. By its conclusion, students will be ready for the writing they will be asked to do in advanced courses across the curriculum. Students completing ENG 1101 will have mastered the fundamentals of college-level reading and writing, including developing a thesis-driven response to the writing of others and following the basic conventions of citation
and documentation. They will have practiced what Mike Rose calls the “habits of mind” necessary for success in college and in the larger world: summarizing, classifying, comparing, contrasting, and analyzing. Students will be introduced to basic research methods and MLA documentation and complete a research project. Students are required to take a departmental final exam that requires the composition of a thesis-driven essay utilizing two texts and your own
thesis and ideas.

What is a social movement? What does it mean to build a movement? How does the way that we interact affect our ability to organize? Can Facebook, Twitter and Instagram stir a generation to civic activism and social change? What is the legacy of past great movements such as the Civil Rights and the Southern Freedom Movements for the #Dreamers of today? Is social
media just one more tool in the playbook of communicating connection, or is it its own political infrastructure and platform? As a society, how do we come to place value humans? A myriad of questions as we begin to delve into discussions on social movements. This course examines the historical elements of activism, advocacy and social movements in the past and in the present. Through discourse, we will consider the many cultural and political facets that underscore why
movements occur and the effectiveness of pre and post internet on social movements.

Prerequisites: 

CUNY certification in reading and writing.

Student Learning Outcomes

Preamble: The audiences for the learning outcomes below are instructors, students, and the larger college and university communities. These outcomes include instances of specialized language that may be unfamiliar to new students but that can be easily understood with the guidance of their instructor.

It is expected that at a minimum, students in ENG 1101 will:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.).
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.