Honors English 400

Professor: Dr. Robert Lynch
Office: Grainger G08
Office Hours: MW 11-11:50, TR, 8:30-9:30 and by appt.
Telephone: 395-2167
Email: Lynchrl

Texts and Materials:

A college dictionary, a stapler; manilla envelopes for turning in assignments; a notebook of your choice for organizing notes, assignments, handouts, readings for this course; computer media as needed (disks or cds); assorted electronic readings, readings on reserve in the library, or as distributed in class (to be kept in notebook and brought to class daily); and finally, A modest budget for photocopying and display supplies

Course Description:

Develops rhetorical skills needed for citizenship in a democracy. Includes interdisciplinary inquiry into and analysis of at least one significant public issue across all sections. Prerequisite: Fulfillment of Goals 2 and 3; 75 credit hours or permission of the Chair of the General Education Committee. 3 credits.

Course Objectives:

Course Goals and Outcomes
This semester, we will work to achieve the following goals:

The ability to synthesize and critically analyze through written discourse and a common educational experience information pertaining to issues of citizen leadership with these outcomes, as described in the University’s General Education guidelines:

Reading Schedule (this schedule is tentative and subject to revision, especially the essays)

Aug. 24: Course Introduction
What is English 400? What is Citizen Leadership? What constitutes Community?

26: The Writing Process: Investigating Writing, Documentation, and Style Within Your Discipline
      Lazere, Chapter One, 3-16, Reed, Jr, "Majoring in Debt-19-22 and one other essay from the chapter
      Literacy and College Graduates

28: Lazere, pp. 105-116 —“A Model of the Writing Process in a Student Paper”
       In Class Writing #1

31: Letters, Memos, Workplace Politics
       Oliu, Chapter 8
              How Should Colleges Assess and Improve Student Learning?

Sept 02: : Finding and Creating Opportunities for Public Writing
Read ML King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (online)

04: Memo on Types of Writing and Style Within Discipline Due
Twain, Chapters 1-8

09: Lazere, Chapter 3, 54-68, Nussbaum, "Can Patriotism Be Compassionate"
Twain, Chapters 9-13

21:   Attaining an Open Mind
      Lazere. Chapter 6 125-130, plus one essay
      Business Correspondence Due

28: Semantics in Rhetoric and Critical Thinking
Lazere, Chapter 4 78-88 and Lakoff essay
Proposal due

Oct 2 : Twain, Chapters 18-21
In-class public document analysis--FEMA Memo and other Political Documents
Taking Choice For Granted

05: Questioning Culturally Conditioned Assumptions and Ethnocentrism
Lazere, Chapter 6, 131-147, Read either the Woolf or Jensen essay
Robert Frost's "Mending Wall"

07 Uses and Misues of Emotional Appeal
      Lazere:, Chapter 12, 242-244, 250-257
       Twain (in Lazere), 257-259
       Informal Report Due

19: Thinking Critically About Political Rhetoric
      Lazere, Chapter 13
      Moore, Michael, Fahrenheit 9/11
      Piercy, Marge, poem

21: Writing for the Web: Rhetorical Principles
Oliu, Chapter 15
Twain, Chapters 34-37

26: Giving Presentations and Conducting Meetings
Oliu, Chapter 14
Twain, Chapters 37-40

Nov. 02: Employment Correspondence
Oliu, Chapter 17: “Finding the Right Job”

06: Job Application and Resume Due
Discuss Projects and Workshop Format
Distribute First Set of Workshop Materials

Course Requirements:

English 400 is a writing seminar and we will be writing frequently inside and outside of class. Thus, you should be prepared to write in class daily. If you compose at the computer it would be wise to plan to bring your laptop to class daily.

Effective writers (as well as good citizens) are active, engaged readers and observers of language and the ways it is put to use. One goal of this course is encourage your reading and observational skills as a means of helping you begin to explore how language is used to shape the world around us—our families, our workplaces, our communities.

1) daily/weekly routine writing and speaking assignments (responses to reading assignments, reflections, online discussions, in-class writing, etc.);

3) a substantial “real world” project in which you engage a topic of interest potentially related to our semester’s theme and apply rhetorically appropriate and varied genres in order to communicate effectively through oral, visual, and verbal (written) means.

Grading:

Attendance Policy:

The attendance policy for this course is the same as the university policy in the University Catalog and the Student Handbook. Thus if you miss three or more times your grade may be reduced. Tardies will count as absences after roll is taken or unless I'm notified beforehand. No quizzes will be given out to those who come late.

Honor Code:

Students are expected to live by the Longwood University Honor Code. All work done for the class must be pledged. Your instructor will not tolerate any form of cheating. You are expected to know what constitutes plagiarism and how to avoid it. All ideas taken from sources, whether in texts or online, must be cited. Remember that your instructor also has access to these materials and they are easy to track on-line. Any student caught plagiarizing will automatically fail the course and his/her name will be forwarded to the Honor Board.

Class Discussion:

Students are expected to make regular and significant contributions to class discussion. Your grade in this regard will be based upon both daily contributions during the semester and taking the lead in guiding class discussion for at least one class.

Class Participation Grading Scale:

90-100%	Student is well prepared and enthusiastically participates in all class activities; is very considerate and cooperative with the rest of the class; asks questions and responds to questions; demonstrates knowledge of course materials; consistently practices critical thinking; actively helps to create a vibrant learning community.
80-89%	Student is generally prepared and willing to participate in class activities; is relatively cooperative with the rest of the class; asks questions and responds to questions most of the time; makes an inconsistent effort to refer to readings and course topics; generally practices critical thinking; helps to create a vibrant learning community.
70-79%	Student is often unprepared and reluctantly or sporadically participates in class activities; often does not ask questions or respond to questions; rarely makes an effort to demonstrate knowledge of course materials; rarely practices critical thinking; does not show much interest in creating a vibrant learning community.
60-69%	Student is generally unprepared, unwilling to participate in class activities and unable to answer questions; does not formulate questions or responses; demonstrates little understanding of course materials; does not practice critical thinking; distracts from the creation of a vibrant learning community.
0-59%	Student is absent (physically or mentally), unprepared, inattentive, uncooperative or disruptive in class.

Paper Policy:

All papers are due on the date assigned at the beginning of class. Late papers will not be accepted. No exceptions. Learning to handle your workload and deal with deadlines is a part of life.

Office Hours:

My office hours are posted and I will be available during these times. If you need to see me and these times are not convenient, please feel free to schedule a conference for some other mutually agreeable time.

Inclement Weather and Class Cancellation:

In the event of classes being cancelled, students are expected to keep up with the reading.

English 400: Active Citizenship: An Advanced Writing Seminar

Fall 2009