Winter Quarter 2004

Monday and Wednesday 10- 11:20 IC3009

 textbooks:

Worlds of Fiction  2nd edition. eds., Roberta Rubenstein, Charles R. Larson

Writing Analytically 3rd. edition. David Rosenwasser, Jill Stephen.

Some Goals of the Course

1. To introduce you to international authors and literature you might not already be familiar with.

2. Through reading a variety of works by international writers, to challenge you to think about your own position in the world, the human condition, and contemporary life in ways that are informed by perspectives other than those typically encountered on a daily basis in the U.S.

3. Through writing reflectively  and in response to the literature you read in the course, to develop your own thinking about international perspectives.

4. Through writing analytically  and in response to the literature you read in the course, to  synthesize multiple perspectives on contemporary life.

5. Through lecture, discussion, and writing, to introduce you to key methods and tools of academic work.

Attendance and Completion of Assignments 
I expect consistent and punctual class attendance, responsible performance on assignments and participation in class and group activities and discussion. Due to the amount of material that we will cover and time constraints, absence is strongly discouraged. If you miss more than three classes, your course grade will drop one letter grade; if you miss four or more, you may fail the entire class.  If you have questions about assignments or problems in completing them, speak to me after class, contact me by phone or e-mail, or come to my office hours. You do not have to call to tell me you are/were absent. That will be obvious. Also, the reason for your absence doesn't change the fact that you weren't there and didn't have the benefit of class, turn in your assignment, etc., so I don't need to see doctors' notes, etc. However, I want you to succeed in this class--if you find yourself in a real jam that will affect your attendance over several class sessions, let me know at once so we can work out what to do.

Written Assignments 
You must complete all written assignments with a serious attitude toward revising, editing and proofreading your own work. All written work must be typed unless otherwise specified.  Rough drafts of papers should be as complete as possible and viewed as essays to be revised rather than rough outlines. I don't collect drafts and "correct" them for you, but we do critique them in class, and you do receive significant points on your papers for both drafts and critiques.  I will gladly review  topic proposals or rough drafts at any stage with you during my office hours. . All papers must be turned in with drafts, critiques, and other pertinent assignments, contained in a FOLDER so I do not lose any of your work.

WEB SITE:

The 102  “Honors” website, has linked readings, a homework page, help for assignments and general writing help. I hope you will find it a useful tool and visit it often. You can access it through my home page: www.cod.edu/people/faculty/bobtam/website/index.htm.  Then click the 102 “Honors” button on the navigation bar.

Revisions of graded work will be accepted anytime on or before 3/22/02  with prior approval for a  revision plan. When you submit a revision, include the rough and final drafts of your paper and the grade sheet.

REVISION POLICY

Late Assignments and Drafts 
Essays, drafts, and other out-of-class assignments are due at the beginning of the class period for which they are assigned. Peer critiques and other short out-of-class assignments are not accepted late. There is no makeup of in-class work. 

Scholastic Honesty 
Turning in work that is not your own,  or any other form of scholastic dishonesty will result in a major course penalty, including possible failure of the course. A report of the incident may be made to the Office of the Vice-president of Student Affairs.. Be sure that you read and understand the Statement on Scholastic Responsibility in the Student Guide. If you have any questions about that statement, ask me. We will discuss how to cite sources in class. If you have any questions during the semester about the use of source material, talk to me before turning in the assignment in question.  need help with your work, you may use the tutoring services at the Academic Support Center. 

Grades 
Grades will be calculated as follows: 

Paper #1                                        20%
Paper #2                                        25%
Paper #3                                        30 %

Responses to Stories                       15%
Class Assignments and Homework  10%

NOTICE THAT LATER PAPERS INCREASE IN VALUE. I EXPECT EACH PAPER TO REFLECT WHAT YOU LEARNED IN EARLIER ASSIGNMENTS AND TO SHOW INCREASED RHETORICAL SKILLS.

Letter grades assigned to papers will have the following numerical values: 

A 100-90
B  89-80
C 79-70
D 69-60
F 59-1

WHAT YOU'LL  PRODUCE

1.Written responses to EVERY assigned reading

No, you don't have to keep a special notebook for these. You may certainly write these on a computer, but in whatever form, every reading must be responded to in writing. Most often there will be a question or series of questions to address, so while your personal responses to readings are important and may be included, there will be specific areas of focus for each reading. I may collect them the day they are due (the same day the reading is supposed to be done) or ask you to include them with your papers. Also, you may be asked to read aloud from them, so always bring them to class.

A few of these responses will take the form of short essays and be graded, while the rest will earn points for being satisfactorily completed. Don’t think of journal responses as stream-of-consciousness anything goes writing, but as expressions of thought, analysis, and curiosity. These writings are places to explore why a text elicits a specific response from you. If it bores you, where has the writer failed? If you laughed, what did you find funny?

2. Three major (fully developed, supported, and if necessary, researched) Essays

Specific instructions for each assignment will be given in class, but here are general guidelines.

a. Personal argument responding to some aspect of one or more stories in the first unit dealing with racial or cultural dislocation/conflict/connection. Your writing will reflect on the factors (cultural, economic, religious, education) that inform your response to various parts of the chosen texts.

 b. new link

c. Analysis and response to the use of  irony/satire/comedy in the work of two or more of the writers. This will be written as an argument of fact, relationship, definition, or value:   use everything you've learned to write a fully supported, possibly researched paper that argues something you can get passionate about, choosing one of the larger topics we've discussed.

TESTS: I don't generally give tests in a composition class. However, I may do so if I feel it's necessary.