ENGLISH 102C: SYLLABUS


Rebecca Whitus, Instructor         Office:  Heavilon Hall 225
Spring 1998                                     Phone:  49-43740 (main office-message)
TTH 9:00 - 10:15                             E-mail:  whitusr@omni.cc.purdue.edu
ENAD  233                                      Office Hours:  TTH 3:00-4:00

Required:
        Holeton, Richard.  Encountering Cultures, 2nd ed.  Prentice-Hall.  Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 1995
        2 -- 3.5 discs formated for use on the Mac

Recommended:
        The Savy Student's Guide to Library Research  (Available at all campus bookstores)
 

Class Policy
1. Come to class every time.           2. Keep up with reading assignments.

3. Turn work in on time.                4. Keep a copy of all work handed in.

5. Take an active and civil part        6. Do not plagiarize.
   in class discussion

7. If you don't understand something--ASK.
 

Course Description

102c is the second course in the composition sequence.  102 is intended to help you develop and exercise your critical thinking, reading, research, and writing skills; 102c offers you the added advantage of access to computer technologies, such as word processing, email, and the internet.  102c is not, however, a computer technology class; it is first and foremost a writing class, and most of our time in this class will be spent on reading and discussing the writing of others, and creating and producing our own.  This particular section of 102c is based on examining and responding to cultural issues.  You must be prepared to spend a great deal of time and energy on this class, but remember as well that you can play a major role in choosing the materials you will read, the issues you will discuss, and the topics about which you will write--and, equally important, you will have fun!

Welcome to the class.

Attendance

Regular attendance is required as individual and group work  and class discussion will form a significant part of fulfilling the course objectives.  Additionally, at least 10% of your final grade will be based upon participation--and if you don't attend, you can't participate.   More than 3 absenceswill be considered excessive, and will adversely affect your final grade.  If you do miss a class, you are still responsible for the material covered that day  and for getting any assignments due during that class to me as soon as possible.  After I have learned your names, I will pass around a daily sign up sheet.  Please be sure you have signed it each day as this is the record of your attendance.
 

Participation

Please remember that this is not a lecture but a workshop/discussion based course.  I will expect you to participate in all class activities, especially in small group and whole class discussion.  Your thoughts, insights, and observations have value and will effectively add value to the learning experience for yourself and your classmates.  Please remember you are no longer in high school; do not spend class time discussing outside activities, doing work for other classes, reading the Exponent, surfing the Net, etc.  I notice such behaviors even when I don't appear to, and you can believe me when I say you won't like my response, so let's not.
 

Assignment Preparation and Timeliness

You are expected to produce high-quality professional papers.  Neatness, visual appeal, and mechanical and grammatical correctness do matter, though they do not by themselves guarantee that a paper is well written. Major papers must be word-processed and printed on a letter quality printer (such as those available in the computer labs) and should have appropriate margins, spacing, pagination, etc.

Papers and corresponding assignments are due at the beginning of the designated class period unless otherwise announced.  Please turn in all your work on time as I find it extremely distasteful to have to reduce a grade simply because the assignment was late.  On rare occasions I do grant a short extension if circumstances warrant it.  If you need one, ASK.
 

E-mail (listserv) Journal

Beginning the second week of class you will be required keep a journal having to do with the topics and issues raised in the class.  You must write and post to the listserv at least one journal entry each week.  Journal entries may be about what we've discussed in class; readings from the book or outside materials which have a bearing on the issues raised; your own thoughts, opinions, and ideas which perhaps were not raised in class discussion; and so on.
 

The Writing Lab

You are encouraged to take advantage of the Writing Lab (Heav 226) for help with your writing.  Instructors are available there to help you at any point in the writing process (obviously, the earlier in the process the better).  The Writing Lab informs instructors when their students have visited the lab for help, and I will give extra credit for such visits.

Finally: I hope you are looking forward to this semester as much as I am.  We're going to be doing a lot of reading, a lot of writing, a lot of talking, a lot of learning-- and we're going to have a good time while we're at it!  Again, welcome to my class!

Rebecca


English 102c Schedule
Spring 1998
The following is subject to modifications {additions, deletions, substitutions, etc.} as needed throughout the semester.  You will be given adequate advance notice of any major changes.
 

Introduction to the course

I       Reading Assignments

 Gender Stereotypes
Read:   Brief Encounters, Chapter I


 Encountering Stereotypes
Read:   Brief Encounters, Chapter 2


   Encountering Diversity
Read:   Brief Encounters, Chapter 5


    Ethnicity and Identity
Read:   Brief Encounters, Chapter 6

    Class, Ethnicity, Assimilation
Read:   Brief Encounters, Chapter 7     Encountering Global Diversity
Read:   Brief Encounters, Chapter 9


II      Writing Assignments

        Paper 1 - due:  2-19-98

        Paper 2 - due:  3-5-98

        Annotated bibliography - due:  4-02-98

        Research Paper - due:    4-30-98
 

III      The Research Paper

This is the major assignment of the course.  You will be expected to select, develop, research and argue an issue you find interesting.  The only criteria for the selection of a topic is that it be based on culture.  There are many culture based topics in all disciplines.  For example, you might choose to do something with advertisements; cultural community events, interviews in which cultures are compared; gender differences in various cultures; how culture affects company practices; how foreign cultures are affected (or have been affected) by American culture; what films and/or television tell us about cultural stereotypes; etc.
 
 

Grades will broken down as follows :

        Attendance                                                              10 %
        Participation                                                            10 %
        Miscellaneous papers and exercises                        10 %
        Journal                                                                    10 %
        Paper 1 -- (3-5 pages)                                             10 %
        Paper 2 -- (3-5 pages)                                             10 %
        Annotated Bib. project -- (9 entries)                       10 %
        Research Paper -- (7 - 10 pages)                             30 %
                                                                                      100 %

At this point, I plan no midterm or final -- I may, however, modify that plan as the semester goes on based upon what I judge to be your progress and your needs.  If major exams become necessary, I will of course change the grading percentages accordingly.