Reflective Tutorial (RFT) Syllabus

Learning Community F, Borderlands: The Construction of Nations and Identities

Fall 2002, Wagner College

Dr. Pranav Jani and Dr. Margarita Sŕnchez

 

I.          Course Description:

The RFT for LC F will allow students to explore the topic of “Borderlands” in more detail while developing the skills necessary for effective critical reading and writing.  You will be introduced to the fundamental elements that contribute to producing an analytical academic paper.  You are expected to participate actively in class by sharing their ideas, their research, and their writing with other students.  The main components of this RFT are field trips, discussions, writing workshops, and presentations.  By the end of the semester, you will be able to compose an expository essay that reflects your own point of view as it demonstrates thoughtful engagement with complex readings and ideas.

 

II.        Readings and Resources:

Articles and essays will be distributed in class.  For an excellent reference for writing, see Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/.  For information on the Wagner Writing Center see http://www.wagner.edu/writingcenter/.

 

III.       Requirements and Guidelines:

1.     Attendance: 

A significant portion of your grade will depend upon oral participation.  Attendance is therefore mandatory.  Three absences will lower the participation grade by 10%; more than three will lower it proportionately.  Three late arrivals will count as an absence.  Any absences due to extracurricular events should be reported to the professors at the beginning of the semester.

2.     Evaluation:

Participation (15%): As the purpose of this course is to prepare you to critically analyze information and ideas and to develop your individual responses to them, you are expected to participate actively in classroom discussion.  The participation grade also takes into account your work in the workshops and presentations, as well as your attendance on all field trips.

Journals (10%): Writing is one of the main elements of the RFT.  You will be asked to keep a journal, making one weekly entry that reflects on the analytical process, the readings and films, the classroom discussion, and/or the field trips.

Papers (50%): There will be five papers, increasing in length as the course progresses. 

Paper must be typed in a 12-point font, double-spaced, and with no more than 1.25-inch margins.  Peer reviews and drafts will help improve the quality of your papers.

Final Project (25%): You will have more than three weeks prior to the end of the semester to start thinking about their final project (10-12 pages), usually constructed in groups of four.  10% of this grade is based on the oral presentation on the project.

3.     Make-ups: As a general rule, no late work will be accepted.  Coordinate your classwork with the RFT syllabus.

 

4.     Plagiarism:  Any student found guilty of plagiarism will be handed over to the Academic Honest Committee and risks failing the paper and/or the class.  Here’s a quick definition of plagiarism:

 

Plagiarism is the representation of words or ideas of another as one’s own in any academic exercise.  To avoid plagiarism, every direct quotation must be identified by quotation marks or by appropriate indentation and must be properly cited in the text or in a footnote. 

 

Acknowledgement is required when material from another source stored in print, electronic, or other medium is paraphrased or summarized in whole or in part in one’s own words.  To acknowledge a paraphrase properly, one might state “to paraphrase Plato’s comment…” and conclude with a footnote identifying the exact reference.  A footnote acknowledging only a directly quoted statement does not suffice to notify the reader of any preceding or succeeding paraphrased material.

 

Information which is common knowledge, such as names of leaders of prominent nations, basic scientific laws, etc., need not be footnoted.

 

5.     Special Needs: Help is available for any student with reading disabilities or other conditions.  Please inform us or Academic Advisement so that you can complete the course requirements.

 

IV.       Course Outline:

 

Week 1

M 8/26            Introduction

W 8/28                        Basic Definitions: Nations, Identities, Borderlands

F 8/30              What is Critical Analysis?

 

Week 2

M 9/2              NO CLASS – Labor Day

W 9/4              Discuss readings on race in the US

F 9/6                Field Trip: Harlem and Spanish Harlem

 

Week 3

M 9/9              Presentation and Discussion: Harlem

W 9/11                        September 11 and Borderlands

F 9/13              Draft of First Paper Due (2-3 pages)

Writing Workshop: Peer Review (bring three copies)

                       

Week 4

M 9/16            First Paper Due

                        Discuss readings on September 11

W 9/18                        How to Analyze a Text

Th 9/19            NYC Conference (TBA)

F 9/20              Field Trip: Brooklyn/Jewish and Arab communities

                       

Week 5

M 9/23            Presentation and Discussion: Brooklyn

W 9/25                        How to Correct a Draft

F 9/27              Draft of Second Paper Due

Writing Workshop: Peer Review

                       

Week 6

M 9/30            Second Paper Due

                        Discuss readings on Asian and white immigration

W 10/2                        The Godfather versus The Sopranos

F 10/4              Field Trip: Chinatown and Little Italy

 

Week 7

M 10/7            Presentation and Discussion: Chinatown and Little Italy

W 10/9                        Discuss readings on Columbus

F 10/11            Columbus Project

 

Week 8

M 10/14          NO CLASS – Columbus Day

T 10/15           Presentations on Columbus

W 10/16          Presentations on Columbus

F 10/18            Field Trip: Lower East Side/Tenement Museum

 

Week 9

M 10/21          Presentation and Discussion: Lower East Side

W 10/23          How to Analyze a Text

F 10/25            Draft of Third Paper Due

Writing Workshop: Peer Review

 

Week 10

M 10/28          NO CLASS – Fall Break

W 10/30          Third Paper Due

                        Discuss readings on gender and sexuality

F 11/1              Field Trip: Greenwich Village/alternative communities

 

Week 11

M 11/4            Presentation and Discussion: The Village

W 11/6                        Discuss Final Projects

F 11/8              Draft of Fourth Paper Due

Writing Workshop: Peer Review

 

                        6:30 pm – Bash: A Gaggle of Saints (play)

                        Gate House Lounge, Harborview

 

Week 12

M 11/11          Fourth Paper Due

                        Discuss readings on immigration

W 11/13          OPEN DATE

F 11/16            Field Trip: Queens/Colombian and Indian communities

 

Week 13

M 11/18          Presentation and Discussion: Queens

W 11/20          Present Outlines of Final Projects

F 11/22            Draft of Fifth Paper Due

Writing Workshop: Peer Review

 

Week 14         

M 11/25          Fifth Paper Due

                        OPEN DATE

 

Week 15

M 12/2            Oral Presentations of Final Projects

W 12/4                        Oral Presentations of Final Projects

                        Final Projects Due (10-12 pages)