English 1012 (50386) Spring 2014 Syllabus
Myths
and Folktales
Instructor: J. Caroccio
Office Hours: Room
2311B, Tuesdays 11 am to 12 pm
Email:
jcaroccio@brooklyn.cuny.edu
Days: Tuesdays &
Thursdays
Time: 9:30 - 10:45 am
Room: Boylan 3113
Website: http://comp2spring2014.blogspot.com/
Course Objective:
Brooklyn College’s composition program wants
to instill in every student the capacity to think critically, develop the
necessary skills to do research and produce academic writing. We will accomplish
this by reading essays, fiction, memoirs, written speeches, interviews and
other types of texts. The readings assigned are meant to give you examples of
thoughtful, coherent, and persuasive work. They are also meant to evoke strong reactions,
feelings, or thoughts in the reader. These works are written from varying perspectives
and on topics related to myth, folklore, and the way humans record the world. This
will require you to think critically and use personal experience, knowledge and
observations when tackling these works. All of which will culminate in a 7 - 10
page MLA formatted research paper.
Class Expectations:
Ø Attendance
- I will expect
that you come to class on time, prepared with any assignments due that day and
the reading in hand and read. You are allowed up to three unexcused absences,
after that your grade will suffer. If for some reason there is an emergency
that restricts you from coming to class for more than three times please
contact me right away. More than 5 unexcused absences will result in a failure
for this class, as per Brooklyn College policy.
Ø Assignments
- You will be
assigned 2 formal essays, informal weekly writing assignments in the form of a
blog, and a research project, which will consist of several parts, completed
throughout the second half of the semester. Late Work will be accepted at the instructor's discretion and if
accepted will be lowered one letter interval (for ex: a B will become a B-).
You are allowed to hand in one assignment pass the due date without penalty
only if you inform me 48 hours prior to the due date.
Blog - This course
will have an outside of the classroom component that will provide an online
space for writing resources, class assignments, and everyone’s individual blog.
Your blog will be where you post responses to the texts that we will tackle in
class. Responses should be a question, comment, or critique you have with the
text and should not be a mere summary. They are for your benefit because they
can be used as a safe way to experiment with style or technique and practice
your writing. Weekly blog posts of about 300 words should be posted to your
class blog before that Tuesday’s class session. You are then required to read
and comment on at least two of your fellow classmates’ posts before class that
Thursday. You are required to do a total
of ten posts, but you are allowed to miss one blog post (with corresponding
comments) without it negatively affecting your grade, so manage your work and
time wisely. These informal writings will not be graded but will be checked.
Formal Essays
– During the first half of the semester you will be given two essay prompts
(forthcoming) that will draw from the readings and require you to have a thesis
(argument) and use textual and contextual evidence to support your claim. These
essays will have proper MLA citation and works cited list. They are to be 4-5
pages, 12 point font, an appropriate font type (i.e. Arial or Times New Roman),
double spaced, one inch margins throughout and include your last name and page
number on every page.
Research Project - The second half of the semester will focus on
composing your research project and all its components. This will include an annotated MLA bibliography of ten
sources, 5 articles from scholarly journals and 5 from other sources (books,
ted talks, interviews, essays). Each source should be properly formatted and
include a description (about one paragraph) about why this applies to your
paper and how you plan to implement this source. A prospectus will be due shortly after so keep this in mind when
developing your bibliography. This is a description of your paper (3-4 pages),
which will include a working thesis, sources that you plan to use and will
explain to the reader how you will go about proving your thesis and what your
plan of action will be. A first draft
of your paper will be handed in and work shopped in class. This should be a
rough draft, but still a full MLA paper (5-6 pages). Your final draft (7- 10 pages not including bibliography) with works
cited list will be due the last day of class. All parts of the research project
should follow the same format for formal writings.
Presentation – A
short 5 minute presentation on your final research paper will be given the last
two weeks of class. This will be a chance to experience formally presenting
your paper in front of an audience, and to also showcase the work put into your
project.
Ø Participation
and Conduct -
I will expect you to actively participate in class discussions and peer review
sessions. When you do participate, you should be courteous and respectful to me
and your fellow classmates. That includes no offensive or harassing comments
and disabling of electronic devices. This class will be discussing topics that
can be sensitive or controversial, and I hope that we can have an exchange of
ideas and perspectives. You are free to express yourself and with that freedom
you will be required to defend your argument in an intelligent and professional
manner.
Ø Plagiarism - When you present someone else's ideas,
writing, or work as your own or if you insufficiently cite your sources you are
plagiarizing. In no way is plagiarism acceptable or tolerated. If one of your
assignments has been found to be plagiarized you will fail that assignment, and
can possibly fail the class and face academic disciplinary action. You can find
the full CUNY Academic Integrity Policy here: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies.
If you are unsure if you might be plagiarizing please check this site or
consult me before submitting work.
Ø Required
Texts
o
A
Writer's Reference By Diana Hacker
Ø All
other required texts will be given to you electronically or in class.
Ø Non-required
texts, but suggested
o
The
Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White
o
Woe
is I by
Patricia T. O'Connor
Ø Grading
- Grades for
English 1012 range from an A+ to a C- & F. There is no grade of D given. A
grade of NC (No Credit) does not affect a student's GPA but is still non
passing. It can be given if a student has done the work for the class but isn't
yet writing on a level to pass the class.
Participation and Attendance - 10%
Blog Posts -
10%
Essays -
30% (15% each)
Presentation -
5%
Research Project - 45%
v
Annotated Bibliography - 5%
v
Prospectus -
10%
v
First Draft -
15%
v
Final Draft -
15%
Resources:
Ø
The Learning Center, 1300 Boylan
Ø
The ESL Lab, 1408 Ingersoll
Ø
SEEK Tutoring, 1428 Ingersoll
Ø
Pudue OWl (Online Writing lab), http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
Religious
Holidays: If you must miss class because of religious
observance that is your right. If this is the case then please contact me
beforehand so we can set up an alternative arrangement.
Americans
with Disabilities Act: If you
have a disability, or suspect that you may have a disability, and need
accommodations you must register with the Center for Student Disability
Services at 138 Roosevelt Hall (718.951.5538.) You can contact the Director,
Valerie Stewart-Lovell, vstewart@brooklyn.cuny.edu. Once registered please
speak to me so we can set up accommodations for you.
Tentative Schedule - Dates, readings and texts are subject to
change.
|
||
Date
|
Readings
|
Assignments
Due
|
Tue 1/28
|
Syllabus, Introductions
|
|
Thu 1/30
|
Aesop’s Fables
|
|
Tue 2/4
|
“Aesop, Aristotle, and Animals: The Role of
Fables in Human Life” by Edward Clayton
|
1st Blog Post Due
|
Thu 2/6
|
Living
Folklore
by Martha Sims
|
|
Tue 2/11
|
“The Sociopsychological Analysis of
Folktales” by J. L. Fischer
|
2nd Blog Post Due
|
Thu 2/13
|
“East Vs West -- The Myths That Mystify” Ted
Talk by Devdutt Pattanaik (Watch in class)
|
First
Paper
|
Tue 2/18
|
The
Three Wishes by Ricardo E. Alegria and “Porto Rican
Foldlore” by Peter J. Hamilton
|
3rd Blog Post Due
|
Thu 2/20
|
MONDAY SCHEDULE NO CLASS
|
|
Tue 2/25
|
American
Indian Myths and Legends
Ed. by Richard Erdoes & Alfonso Ortiz
|
4th Blog Post Due
|
Thu 2/27
|
“A Rhetorical and Sociolinguistic Model for the Analysis of Narrative” by Karen Ann Watson | |
Tue 3/4
|
Library Visit
|
|
Thu 3/6
|
The
Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston
|
|
Tue 3/11
|
Critical text on The Woman Warrior
|
6th Blog Post Due
|
Thu 3/13
|
“Graphic Journeys: Graphic Novels'
Representations of Immigrant Experiences” by Michael D. Boatright
|
|
Tue 3/18
|
American
Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
|
Bibliography
|
Thu 3/20
|
Trickster
Tales Ed. by
Matt Dembicki
|
|
Tue 3/25
|
“Graphic Memoirs Come of Age” by William
Bradley
|
7th Blog Post Due
|
Thu 3/27
|
Tales
From Outer Suburbia
by Shaun Tan
|
Prospectus
|
Tue 4/1
|
Latino
USA
by Ilan Stavans
|
8th Blog Post Due
|
Thu 4/3
|
Critical Text TBD
|
|
Tue 4/8
|
Sandman
Vol. 1
by Neil Gaiman
|
9th Blog Post Due
|
Thu 4/10
|
Critical Text on Sandman
|
|
Tue 4/15
|
BREAK NO CLASS
|
|
Thu 4/17
|
BREAK NO CLASS
|
|
Tue 4/22
|
BREAK NO CLASS
|
|
Thu 4/24
|
TEDTalk “Stories, Repositories and Folklore”
by Aghan Odero Agan (Watch in class)
|
First
Draft of Research Paper
|
Tue 4/29
|
Editing Workshop
|
10th Blog Post Due
|
Thu 5/1
|
Editing Workshop
|
|
Tue 5/6
|
Presentations
|
|
Thu 5/8
|
Presentations
|
|
Tue 5/13
|
Presentations
|
|
Thu 5/15
|
Presentations
|
Final
Draft of Research Paper
|
