Reflective Tutorial (RFT) Syllabus
Learning Community S, Borderlands: The Construction of Nations and
Identities
Fall 2003, Wagner College
Dr. Pranav Jani and Dr. Margarita Sànchez
I. Course Description:
The RFT for LC S 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 your ideas, your research, and your 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:
You are required to purchase Keys for Writers (3rd edition) by Anne Raimes. Other articles and essays will be distributed in class. For Wagner Writing Center information, go to 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 four papers, not including the written portion of the Final Project, increasing in length as the semester 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.
COURSE OUTLINE
Week 1: Introduction
T 8/26 Basic Definitions (Nations, Identities, Borderlands)
Experiential Learning in LC S (19)
Meet Writing and Research Tutors
Th 8/28 Discussion: Analyzing the Wagner experience
Writing: The Writing Process (Raimes, pp. 1-36)
Weeks 2-3: Harlem, Race, and American Identity
T 9/2 Library Day – Meet at Hormann Library
Writing: How to Write a Thesis Statement (Raimes, pp. 36-62)
Th 9/4 Discussion: Harlem and Race
Choose two readings from www.wagner.edu/faculty/users/pjani/Harlemreading.htm
F 9/5 Field Trip: Harlem
T 9/9 Presentations: Harlem Experience
Peer Review: Bring 3 copies
of first draft on Harlem
Th 9/11 Discussion: 9/11 and American national identity (handouts)
T 9/16 Film: Islam: Empire of Faith
Th 9/18 Discussion: Perceptions of Arabs and Muslims (film clips and handouts)
Due: First
Paper (Harlem, 2-3 pages)
T 9/23 Discussion: Women and Islam (handouts)
Writing: Textual Analysis
W 9/24 7:30 pm: Writing Workshop on MLA style (required)
See also Raimes, pp. 122-58.
Th 9/25 Field
Trip: Atlantic Avenue (Arab-American community)
T 9/29 Presentation: Atlantic Avenue trip
Peer Review: Bring 3 copies of first draft on Atlantic Avenue
Th 10/2 Discussion: Civil Liberties and 9/11
T 10/7 Discussion: The Sopranos and other media representations of Italian-Americans
Groups discuss and plan Columbus Project
Th 10/9 Writing: How To Do Research (meet in Spiro Hall)
Due: Second
Paper (Atlantic Ave, 3-4 pages)
Visit Chinatown/Little Italy/Lower East Side by 10/27
T 10/14 NO CLASS – Monday classes
Th 10/16 Presentations on Columbus Projects
Week 9: So You Need to do Research?
T 10/21 Writing: Choosing a Research Topic (Raimes, pp. 65-120)
Th 10/23 Library Day with Research and Writing Tutors
Weeks 10-12: Immigrant New York
T 10/28 Presentations on Chinatown/Little Italy/Lower East Side
Th 10/30 Peer Review: Bring 3 copes of first draft on paper 3
Su 11/2, 12 noon: “Passport to Diversity” event (required)
T 11/4 Discussion: “Passport to Diversity”
Th 11/6 Writing: Discuss Process of Writing
Due: Third Paper (Research Paper, 4-5 pages)
T 11/11 Choose Groups for Final Project (Includes Field Trip and Final Paper)
Play:
“The Indian Wants the Bronx” (Gatehouse Lounge, 6:30p)
Th 11/13 Discussion: “The Indian Wants the Bronx”
Weeks 13-14: Sexual Identities
T 11/18 Field Trip: Greenwich Village
Th 11/20 Presentation: Greenwich Village
T 11/25 Discussion: Gay Marriage in the US
Th 11/27 NO CLASS – Thanksgiving holiday
T 12/2 Group-work on Final Projects
T 12/9 Final Presentations