English 110C::Summer 2002

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English 110C—First-Year Writing

Summer 2002 Syllabus

• The Rhetoric of Visual Culture

Instructor: Ben McCorkle
Office: 503 Denney Hall
Office Phone: 292.1702
Mailbox: 421 Denney Hall (the box under my name)
Class: M/W 9:30 - 11:18 AM
Room: 312 Denney Hall
Office Hours: M/W 11:30 AM - 1 PM & by appt.
email: mccorkle.12@osu.edu

Note: Syllabus is subject to change as needed.

"Television is teaching all the time. It does more educating than all the schools and all the institutions of higher learning."— Marshall McLuhan

course description:

English 110 is designed to accomplish two broad goals: not only improving your skills as a writer and communicator within an academic environment, but also developing your awareness as a critical thinker and reader of texts. We’ll focus on cultivating these rhetorical and analytical skills, both of which serve to make you a better writer and thinker beyond this class. The ways in which this goal will be met include: discussions of various readings throughout the quarter, several writing assignments, reader response sessions during which you provide worthwhile commentary on your classmates’ essays, and the willingness to put forth the necessary thought and effort.

Specific to our class, however, is a focus on the role of visual representations in the shaping of culture. Throughout this course, you will learn a variety of techniques for examining critically and writing clearly about an assortment of "texts"—art, websites, essays, narratives, images, photographs, advertisement, academic essays, television, and film, to name a few— in order to see our world with a fresh perspective. Together, as a class, we will continually ask ourselves and the texts we analyze the following questions: Who can represent whom? How do visual technologies and conventions shape knowledge and identities? How do visual and text-based representations aid in constructing hierarchies within communities or to silence the views of oppressed/marginalized groups? Conversely, how have particular rhetorical strategies been used by marginalized groups to contest dominant representations and to stimulate resistance? And how does personal experience shape our processes of interpreting and writing about visual texts?

texts:

Convergences. Robert Atwan, ed. New York: Bedford Books/St. Martin’s Press, 2002. (SBX has these.)
The New St. Martin’s Handbook. Robert Connors and Andrea Lunsford, eds. New York:St. Martin’s Press, 2002. (Again, SBX.)
course packet (available from COP-EZ later this quarter.)

class requirements:

Essays--There will be two short essays, 4-5 pages in length, assigned this quarter. They will each be revised once; if desired, however, you may revise both of these papers one additional time by the end of the quarter.
Readings--Several readings are assigned throughout the quarter. We’ll be discussing and writing about these at length, so actually reading them is essential to the functionality of our class. If it seems that we are having trouble completing the readings for class, I will begin assigning impromptu quizzes which will figure into the final participation grade.
Listserv--Outside of class proper, I’ve set up an email listserv. During the course of the quarter, I’d like each student to make at least 10 short contributions to this listserv: 5 directly responding to our readings or in-class discussions, and 5 replies to your classmates’ responses.
Final Web Writing Project—This final project will involve the development of an individual web site, which will be based on an initial writing assignment.

evaluation:

Essays One and Two: 20% each (40% total)

Web Writing project: 20%

Listserv Discussion: 25%

Class Participation: 15%

class policies:

Plagiarism--Refer to the online version of The Writer’s Companion for a definition of plagiarism at <http://english.osu.edu/programs/fywp/>. This will be treated in all cases as a serious offense, and work suspected as plagiarized will be forwarded to the proper personnel. You can avoid this by being extra-careful when you cite your sources.

Student Work--Any work left in my office after the end of the quarter will remain there for an additional two quarters (in this case, until the end of WI 03). If you’d like to pick anything up after the quarter, contact me so we can make arrangements to do so.

Late Work--Essay drafts can be up to three days late, but with each passing day, your grade on the assignment will drop 1/3 of a letter grade (from a B+ to a B after one day, from a B to a B- after two days, etc.). Additionally, if you fail to produce copies of your drafts in time for reader response sessions (when Draft One is due for each essay), your class participation grade will drop one letter grade.

Attendance--You are both expected and encouraged to come to each class meeting. Department policy will not allow more than four unexcused absences--that means, simply, that you must fail the course. Additionally, after two unexcused absences, I will lower your final grade by 1/2 (from a B+ to a B-, for example); this fine is doubled on reader response days. Tardiness of more than 15 minutes is considered an unexcused absence, and persistent tardiness (i.e., more than three) of less than 15 minutes will count as one unexcused absence. For an absence to be excused, it must be documented, for instance a doctor’s note. For a list of what the University deems excused absences, refer to the online version of The Writer’s Companion at the URL listed above.

additional resources:

Again, I stress that I am available to you as a resource outside of the classroom; after all, it is in both our interests that you meet with some degree of success in this class. However, there are a number of other resources that may prove useful to you this quarter. Among these are:

Ombud--The Ombud serves as an intermediary who helps to resolve conflicts between students and instructors. Please feel free to contact the Ombud if you have any concerns about this course. The Writing Programs Ombud is Matt Cariello, and his office information is as follows: hours TBA; Rm 533 Denney Hall; 292-5778; cariello.1@osu.edu .

The OSU Writing Center--This office offers free individual tutoring. Please see the Writing Center's handout or ask me for more information. < www.cstw.ohio-state.edu >

Office of Disability Services--If you have a disability and need particular accommodations, please feel free to discuss the issue with me during my office hours. Students with disabilities should be registered at the Office of Disability Services to obtain necessary accommodations. Call 292-3307 or visit < http://www.ods.ohio-state.edu >.

daily schedule:

It is your responsibility to keep current with this schedule, but remember also that the schedule may change. Readings listed for any particular day are to be completed in advance of that day; you need to be prepared to discuss them in class.
Abbreviation Key:
CON = Convergences
CP = Course Packet
SMHB = The New St. Martin's Handbook

JUNE:

[24] Class introduction; review of syllabus; first-day essay
[26] UNIT I: American Cultural Narratives
CON—read introduction; 224 – 228.
Individual introductions; computer lab playtime; Essay One prompt assigned .

JULY:

[1] CON—485, 141-143, 109 – 123, 434 – 440
Class Listserv launch!
[3]CON—216 – 219
Essay One draft due (w/ copies)
[8] Reader Response Day (Bring SMHB)
[10] CON—229 – 237
[15] CON—165-167, 367-376, 295 - 308
CowTown MOO introduction
[17] UNIT II: The Pop Culture Machine
TV: "Simpsons"; "Springer"
Essay One Final due.
Essay Two prompt assigned
[22] MOO chat on TV viewing
[24] CON—441-454
[29] CON—377-382, 455-469
Essay Two draft due (w/copies)
MS Chat introduction
[31] Reader Response Day (Bring SMHB)

AUGUST:

[5] CON—424 – 433
catch-up on any unfinished biz.
[7] UNIT III: Memory, Memorials, & Memoirs
Film: Memento
Essay Two Final due.
Final Prompt assigned
[12] CP—Kingston, hooks
heavy.com ’s Faketown introduction
[14] CP—Smith
Final Essay due (w/copies)
[19] CP—Garland-Thompson
CON—312-334
[21] Reader Response Day (bring SMHB)
[26] CP—Jeffreys, McDowell
2nd half: reader response on web projects (Bring SMHB)
[28] Wrap-up discussion, class evaluations, individual conferences on web projects.

FINAL PROJECTS DUE AUGUST 30, NO LATER THAN 3 PM