Click here to download the Course Syllabus as a PDF file.
Laura Garrett
Office: E & T 608; phone (323) 343-4156 (Mail Room: E & T 636)
Office Hours: M/W 11:40-1:20 and 3:20-4:00
Email:
Course Web Site: http://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/lgarret/102
Prerequisites: Completion of English 101 with a grade of C or better at
CSULA, or the
equivalent.
Course
Catalog Description: Prerequisite--
ENGL 101 or equivalent. Continuing to practice the rhetorical skills
introduced in ENGL 101, students will develop analytical, interpretive,
and information literacy skills necessary for constructing a
well-supported, researched, academic argument. Graded A,B,C/NC.
Overall
Objective: The purpose of this course
is relatively straight-forward: To
work on improving your ability to think critically about texts (in
whatever form you encounter them) and communicate clearly your ideas.
No magic solutions will be offered nor will you be taught a one-size-fits-all
college essay format. We will build on ideas of audience, purpose, and
the use of rhetorical strategies and organizations which you will have
studied in English 101, and extend these ideas to larger projects
requiring research and dealing with specialized audiences.
Furthermore, because the broad theme of this course is
technology, ethics and the human body, my goal is that you will become
more aware, not only of your own writing, but also about how we might
imagine our future and how we live in the present.
Learning
Objectives –The students
will
- develop
an ability to write about problems from historical, philosophical,
rhetorical and/or cross-cultural and interdisciplinary perspectives;
- engage
in group discussions and activities to develop critical
perspectives, a clear sense of audience, and a fluent and effective
style;
- plan,
write, and revise three to four formal essays approximately 4-6
pages in length, at least one of which will involve research and the
integration of multiple sources. Essays will include analytic,
interpretive, and persuasive strategies to present and support a
considered position;
- continue
to develop critical attitudes toward culture and media;
- evaluate
the relevance, validity and authority of information, and use and
cite this information ethically.
Description
Thin-film
substrates, wafer fabrication, and electrical circuits shrinking daily
to the width of an individual atom make possible the satellites taking
high-resolution photographs of your backyard available on the Internet,
and the terabytes and more of data streaming across fiber-optic trunk
lines. This syllabus, in fact, comes to you through the miracle of
modern technology.
That
our technologies have developed at a tremendous rate is an historical
fact. That technology is both savior and demon, benefactor and tyrant,
is a banality that should surprise no one. But when these technologies
converge, as they are, on the human body, what will be the result? What
has technology made possible? What has technology made impossible? Where
are we going with it, or where will it lead us? Are we living in the
last of the human times? What
are the ethical implications of our love of all things technical?
These
and other questions will guide us on our all-too-brief survey of the
impact of technology on the “human,” and in fact, what that word
might mean in the future. Through careful examination of texts and
focused work on the writing process, we will explore these issues while
improving our ability to focus, organize, develop, and articulate our
ideas.
Course
Requirements
There
is much reading and writing in this class.
You will need to be diligent about planning ahead and completing
your tasks on time. Please
note that all assignments are required.
Listed below are the required assignments for this course:
- Two 4-5 page papers that
analyze texts. (first draft 5 points each; revised draft 25 points
each—30% of total)
- One 6-8 page research
paper. (50 points—25%)
- A presentation of an
ethical/technological problem. (20 points—10%)
- Two group presentations on
assigned topics. (10 points each—10% of total)
- One midterm essay. (10
points—5 % of total)
- One reading response (short
1-2 page essay). (10 points—5% of total)
- A final exam essay.
(15—7.5%)
- Attendance and
participation. (15 points—7.5%)
Policies
Grading
Policy:The distribution of points for the individual assignments in this
course is listed in “Requirements” above. For the quarter, 200
points are possible. Plus and minus grades are used in the class.
Please
note that in order to receive credit for this course, you must earn a
grade of C or better (73% or higher).
A grade of C- or below (72% and below) is a No Credit grade.
If you receive a NC grade, you will have to take English 102
again.
In
order to pass this course all assignments (papers and exams) must be
legitimately attempted. Plagiarism
(see description below) does not
constitute a legitimate attempt of the assignment.
Cell Phones and Pagers: Please turn off all cell phones, pagers, portable radios, iPods, televisions, computers, MP3/CD/DVD players, and any other electronic communication and/or entertainment devices before coming to class. When people text during class, they send a message that they are not interested in what the instructor or other students are saying. This indicates they are not interested in passing the class. They often get their wish!
Contacting
the Instructor: Email is
the most effective way of communicating with me outside of class and my
office hours. However, be reasonable. If you email me at 2:00 AM the
morning before a paper is due, don’t expect an immediate response.
Attendance:
Regular and prompt attendance is essential. Arriving late to class is
rude and disruptive and will not be tolerated. If you cannot arrive to
class on time you should consider taking classes at times more suited to
your schedule. Regardless of the reason, failure
to attend class or arriving to class late will affect your final quarter
grade.
I also expect you to come awake, prepared and ready to engage in
whatever work lies before you.
Note:
English Department policy states that composition students must attend
the first two class meetings of the quarter to retain their place in
the class. Any student who
is absent either the first or second class meeting will be dropped and
the space given to another student who is trying to add.
Written
Assignments: Please note
the following carefully when preparing your written assignments for this
class:
Written
assignments must be typed following standard formatting practices for
college writing—use a readable type style (12 point type), indent
paragraphs, double space between lines, and use one inch margins. Any
style guide will contain information on formatting your written
assignments for submission.
Before
handing in written assignments, edit and proofread your work carefully.
Do
not use plastic covers or report folders or title pages on your first
two written assignments. Each assignment, though, should have your name,
the course number, the date, and my name on separate lines
(double-spaced) in the upper left corner of the first page. If the paper
has a title, center it on the first page, after the above information.
The research paper does require a title page (but no folders).
Use
page numbers and place them in the upper right corner of the page. If
you are uncertain how to have word processing software generate the
correct page number in the header of your document, ask someone in one
of the labs.
Be
consistent in your use of a citation format. You may use either MLA or
APA. For a guide to these two citation systems, see the campus
library’s APA or MLA style guides (available in the library or
online). I prefer MLA.
Late
papers are not accepted. The assignment due dates are distributed on the
first day of class, and the assignments are made available often weeks
before they are due.
Academic
Dishonesty/Cheating:
Collaborating with others is encouraged when you are planning your
papers, reviewing each other’s work, preparing for presentations or
for exams. Study or reading groups can be effective ways to study and
learn. However, when you write your papers, the text needs to be your
own.
You
must carefully observe the standard rules for acknowledging the sources
of words and ideas. If you make use of a phrase or a quote or if you
paraphrase another writer’s words or ideas, you must acknowledge the
source of these words or ideas telling us the source of these materials.
APA and MLA style differ on the exact format of this attribution, but
the simple version is the name of the author and the page number (if
appropriate) in parentheses at the end of the sentence containing the
use of the source material. If you fail to acknowledge properly the
source of your text, you will receive a zero on the assignment and be
reported to the Student Disciplinary Officer.
If
you plagiarize or otherwise misrepresent the source of your work, you
will receive a zero on the assignment and be reported to the Student
Disciplinary Officer. YOU WILL FAIL THE CLASS.
If
you panic and are tempted to plagiarize or cheat, DO NOT.
Contact me and we can negotiate a solution.
Once you cheat, it is too late for you to negotiate anything.
Textbook
I have ordered the following texts for this class:
Required: Aldous
Huxley, Brave New World.
Phillip K. Dick,
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Birkenstein, Cathy and Gerald
Graff, They Say, I Say
Other required readings will be
distributed in class or made available online.