FORT VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY: Department of
English and Foreign Languages
Current Syllabus, good through 12/05
ENGL 1102 Composition and Literature
online course location: http://webct.usg.edu
non-online course web site: http://www.keithmurphy.info/1102.htm
Instructor: Keith
Murphy, Ph.D.
http://www.keithmurphy.info
Office: 238 HMB.
Office hours announced in class.
Telephone: (912)825-6680 (messages only: 6392) Fax: (912)825-6110
Email: Sophist@Bigfoot.Com
DEPARTMENTAL POLICIES
Course Description:
English 1102 is a continuation of the study of rhetoric and research practices begun
in English 1101, using the reading of literature as a basis for the teaching of writing.
The course will introduce the student to the elements of literature and guide him/her
through the processes of reading and analyzing selected short stories, poetry, and essays
and of writing critical and evaluative responses to these selected works. Instruction and
practice will also be given in writing an analytical essay with documented assistance from
secondary sources, on a selected literary work, genre, or author.
Course Objectives:
Upon the completion of this course, the student will be able to develop a unified
and coherent essay in response to a selected literary work or passage within a specified
time period. The essay should reflect a thorough reading of the work and an understanding
of essential literary and rhetorical terminology.
In order to achieve this goal, the student will perform the following tasks:
General Education or Major Outcomes:
Grading Breakdown:
Essays/Portfolio 85%
Research Project 10%
WIN grade 5%
Quarter grades are determined as follows: A=90-100%; B=80-89%; C=70-79%; D=60-69%; F=59-0%. Thus, since you need a C to pass this class, the minimum passing requirement for all assignments in 70%.
Course Policies:
1. Attendance. The student will attend class regularly. Attendance will be recorded daily. If a student arrives late, it is their responsibility to make certain the instructor records them as present. The student, not the instructor, is responsible for any work missed whether or not the absence is excused. Be Aware: This is NOT a class that one can pass by merely getting there in time to sign the roster.
FVSU has an official policy on "cuts" or unexcused absences which states that students may be absent from class a number of times equivalent to the credit hour value of the class. This is a 3 credit class, thus, you have 3 allowed absences. The policy also states:
The student may expect to lose one percentage point for each absence in excess of the above scale. (Points to be deducted from the final course average.) Exceptions to this policy in regard to point reduction may be approved by the instructors involving death in the family, illness of the
student or member of the immediate family, or military duty. It is the student's responsibility to provide legitimate written excuses (From the office of the Vice President for Student Affairs) to the instructors of classes involved. Other reasons not covered here must be cleared with the appropriate school office.
An absence may be excused if cleared with the instructor in advance or if the student can provide a written excuse with the date, signature, and phone number from some responsible person. Graded assignments missed due to excused absences may be made up within one weeks of the student's return to class; however, it is the student's responsibility to initiate such arrangements and to persist in efforts to complete the work within the deadline.
Assignment Format:
Unless instructed otherwise, all essays must be typed or LEGIBLY written in blue or black ink on 8 1/2" by 11" paper. The research project MUST be typed. All assignments become the property of Fort Valley State University; they will be kept on file for one quarter after the present semester and then destroyed.
Recording:
Some classes may be recorded to be archived as "podcast lectures" which will be available for use by students in online sections of 1102 as well as students who take future sections of this course in a "normal" classroom setting. If you do not wish to have your voice recorded, please let me know, in writing, within 5 business days of receiving notice of the location of this syllabus, that you wish to be exempt from recording sessions and I will make separate arrangements for you. To listen to a podcast from previous semesters, click HERE and then scroll down beneath the picture of Sigmund Freud's head exploding. There you'll find a list of available podcasts which you can either download to an Ipod-type device or just steam through your computer.
If you wish to make your own audio recordings of the classes, that is fine with me as long as the making of the recordings are not interfering with any other student's ability to hear and understand what I am saying. The second restriction that you must abide by is that these lectures are copyrighted by me. I own them. It's like buying a ticket to go see a concert. You, legally, can make a recording of the concert if you can PROVE that you won't make copies of your recording and sell them at a profit. Since there is no way to police that, most judges have sided with the artists and have simply not allowed any concert-goers to record, videotape, or photograph (up close at least) a concert of a big-name band. So, in this case, I'm trusting you to not violate my copyright and go out and make some huge hit rap song by sampling one of my 1102 lectures (like that's really gonna happen...but you get the idea.)
Oh, and if you start selling t-shirts with my image on them, I want my 15% cut...understand?
Required Texts and Materials:
Texts: Toby Fulwiler and Alan R. Hayakawa. The Blair Handbook. 5th Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007. (or most recent version available in bookstore or online). Click here to read more about this book from Amazon.com and from Prentice Hall. This Text is Required for BOTH 1101 and 1102 and, if you are smart, you will want to hang on to it for the rest of your college career.
Materials: Pens and writing paper.
High Density 3.5" diskette and/or a USB flash drive.
A standard college desk dictionary.
Email Adress: All students are expected to have an active email address through which they can contact the instructor and the instructor can contact them. If you do not have an email address, you may register for one at: http://bunniwerks.zzn.com
Grading Criteria:
To earn a grade of C, an essay must:
- Contain either a clearly implied or explicitly stated central idea.
- Be unified and coherent. The paragraphs must stand in clear relation to the thesis and each other.
- Be fully developed. Each paragraph should contain a leading idea and specific details or examples that clarify, support, and explain the leading idea.
- Contain clear sentences that are in general conformity with standard English. Errors in grammar and/or mechanics must be so minimal that they do not distract from the meaning of the essay.
- Preferably the essay will end with a paragraph, or at least a sentence, which conveys a sense of completion.
An essay fulfilling the above criteria represents acceptable college work. To exceed this criteria, an essay must show superiority in content and development, organization and coherence, sentence style, and vocabulary.
Tentative course schedule:
Online courses: reading assignments are embedded in the course content
For non-online students, reading Assignments will be made in class.