Composition & Literature
ENGL 1102, Section 15, CRN 22868
Fall, 2007 TH 2:30-3:45
Dr. Remler
Office: Gamble 202B
Phone: 920-6555 (if no answer leave voice mail message)
E-mail: Nancy.Remler@armstrong.edu*
Web: http://www.llp.armstrong.edu/remler/index.htm

*I receive an abundance of SPAM every day. To clean up my inbox and to avoid catching nasty viruses, I delete any messages from senders I do not recognize. Therefore, when you send me a message, please indicate in your subject heading who you are so that I will read and respond to your message.

Office Hours: MW 1:00-1:30, 2:45-3:15
TH 1:30-2:45
Or by appointment

Course Description: The AASU catalog describes Composition and Literature as "a composition course that develops writing skills beyond the levels of proficiency required by ENGL 1101, that emphasizes interpretation and evaluation, and that incorporates a variety of more advanced research methods." Therefore, in addition to enhancing your writing and research skills, you will exercise your abilities to read literature critically and share your conclusions about literature with others. You'll learn to write a literary analysis, and you will discuss literature and share your writing knowledge with the rest of the class. You will also use computer technologies as a communications, writing and research tool.

Dr. Remler's Instructional Note: I believe students learn best in an active learning environment. Students learn to write by writing; they learn to read and interpret literature by reading and interpreting literature. I will conduct few lectures in class. Instead, you will do much group work, individual writing, and collaborating during research and literary discussions.

Texts and Materials: You will need the following texts for this course:
-Blair Handbook by Toby Fulwiler and Alan Hayakawa
-Making Literature Matter, edited by John Schilb and John Clifford
All of the above texts are available in the campus bookstore, but I don't care where you get them. You can order them from online suppliers if you'd like, but you must have your required texts when you need them. You will have access to other texts in the form of photocopies from me or via the reserve desk at the university library.

You will also need ready access to online technologies. Such technologies are available to you at no charge in university computer labs. I will communicate with you regularly by e-mail using your student e-mail address .

Course Policies

Attendance
Because of the workshop model in this class, your attendance will affect your performance and your learning. Therefore, attendance in class is connected to your grade on the following scale:
" Students absent 1-4 times during the semester will receive no automatic grade penalty.
" Students absent 5-6 times will be penalized a letter grade from their course grade.
" Students absent 7 times will be penalized two letter grades from the course grade.
" Students absent more than seven times will earn the grade of F.
In this class there's no such thing as an excused or unexcused absence. If you're not here, you're not here, no matter the reason. Therefore, if you are absent, I expect you to contact me or another student, or you should consult the course website, to find out how you should be prepared for the following class. You should also remember the following student responsibilities in this class:
" Students absent on days that we do in-class assignments cannot make up that work.
" Students are responsible for being prepared for class each day. Absence from class is no excuse for being unprepared upon return.
" Students are responsible for having assignments ready by the deadline. Absence from class is no excuse for missing deadlines.
" Students are responsible for communicating to me any emergency circumstances that pose problems for attendance or assignments.
" Students are responsible for coming to class on time each day. I reserve the right to address persistent tardiness on an individual basis as I see fit.
" I reserve the right to dismiss any student who is obviously unprepared (no books, no homework, etc.) or who is obviously not participating in class (asleep, doing algebra, checking cell phone messages, etc.). Students who are dismissed from class are not allowed to make up in-class assignments that they miss.
" Students' part-time or full-time jobs do not constitute reasons for neglecting academic responsibilities. Employment is an important responsibility. A college education is also. If you are working and going to college simultaneously, you have made two important commitments in your life, and it is your responsibility to make sure you can fulfill each of those commitments.
Assignments
All assignments should be composed as specified in written and online assignment descriptions. All reference to primary and secondary sources should be documented appropriately in MLA documentation style as outlined in the Blair Handbook. Failure to document sources will be considered plagiarism, a violation of AASU's honor code. Because all students and faculty are required to be familiar with and abide by the honor code and code of conduct, I will address cases of plagiarism according to the code as outlined in the university catalog on page 345-356 and on the university web site at www.sa.armstrong.edu/Activities/hccoc.htm.
I do not accept late assignments. I establish deadlines at the beginning of the semester to give you enough time to complete your work. If I change a deadline, I will do so in writing with sufficient advanced notice for you to adjust your plans.

In-class assignments cannot be made up.

Technical difficulties are not a valid reason for missing deadlines. Hard drives crash, printers run out of ink and computer labs get crowded. Therefore, it's imperative that you save multiple copies of your work and do so often. If you choose to do your work at the last minute, that's your business, but you should deal with Murphy's Law on your own.

However, should you suffer an unavoidable emergency that prevents you from completing an assignment on time, you may consult me in my office to request an extension. I will address those requests on an individual basis as I see fit. I do not promise to grant the extension, but I will consider your request carefully. I have never granted more than one extension per student.

You have several kinds of assignments to conduct this semester. Those assignments are categorized below with the percentage of the course grade each category comprises. I will give you more specific guidelines for each assignment as the appropriate time comes this semester:
" Collage and Accompanying Paper: This assignment has two components: a collage, which you will construct as a visual representation of someone or something you know; and a paper accompanying the collage, which explains how the collage visually represents your topic. This assignment will constitute 20% of your course grade.
" Literary Analysis Papers: These two essays will pose a claim about works of literature and support that claim with evidence from the literary work. These essays will be written out of class, although we will discuss aspects of writing these essays in class. We will also conduct peer reviews of rough drafts in class. These essays will comprise 40% of your course grade.
" Research Paper: This paper will also be a literary analysis. Therefore, like the literary analysis papers, it will pose a claim about a work or works of literature and support the claim with evidence from the literary work. Additionally, it will support the main idea with evidence from print and online secondary sources. This paper will also be written out of class, although we will discuss aspects of writing this essay, as well as aspects of conducting research, in class. We will conduct peer reviews of rough drafts in class. This essay will comprise 20% of your course grade.
" In-Class Assignments: These assignments, conducted in class, will evaluate your understanding of writing, research and analytical concepts. At least one of these assignments will be an in-class essay to prepare for the Regents' Exam. Some of these assignments will be completed in groups. Dr. Remler will notify you of some in-class assignments (such as the practice regents' essay). Other in-class assignments will be unannounced. These assignments cannot be made up. They constitute 20% of your course grade.

Grades
I do not grade on a percentage scale. Instead, I grade of a scale of 1-4 the same way the registrar's office calculates your grade point average. Therefore, an A is a 4, a B is a 3, and so on. Our grading scale is posted on the course website. If you have any questions about your grade or about the grading scale, I encourage you to consult me during office hours.

Important Information for Students

Students with Disabilities: According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, students with disabilities may request accommodations for those disabilities (including extended time on tests or in-class writing assignments) by contacting Amelia Castilian in Student Affairs at 927-5271. Ms. Castilian can assist you with obtaining an advocacy letter, which permits you to receive accommodations for those disabilities. If you have any questions about such accommodations, you may consult me.

Writing Center: The writing center, located in Gamble 109, is available to provide constructive feedback and writing assistance on written assignments for any class. All good writers seek out constructive feedback on their work. For that reason I encourage you to consult the writing center on a regular basis. Writing center services are free, and they are available by appointment. The center's hours of operation are posted on the Writing Center door.

Technology Services: Student technology services is available to assist you with computer applications. The help desk is located in the Academic Computing Center. The local phone number is 927-5321.

Regents' Testing: All students within the University System of Georgia must satisfy their regents' testing requirement by the time they reach their 45th credit hour . Our practice regents' essays should adequately prepare you for the regents' exam; however, if you'd like more practice opportunities, practice essay topics are available in the Writing Center. For more detailed questions about regents' essay requirements, consult Greg Anderson in the Academic Advisement Center in 212 Solms Hall or at 921-5465.

Course Schedule:
Because of the active learning nature of the class, this schedule is subject to change. Should I change any essay deadlines, I will give you plenty of advanced notice in writing so that you can make adjustments to your plans. For a day to day outline of what we will do in class, please consult the "Homework and Announcements" page of our course website, found at www.llp.armstrong.edu/remler/index.htm.

Unit 1 (January 10-17)
In this unit, we will learn about Writing and evaluating the practice regents' essay: We will discuss how to conduct timed writing as well as what the evaluators expect. We will write the practice regents' essay Thursday, January 17th.

Unit 2 (January 22-31)
The Collage: In this unit, we'll have a discussion of what collage is, and we'll examine sample collages to determine how visual images can represent ideas figuratively. We'll learn what language to use in writing about a collage. The collage assignment is due January 31st.

Unit 3 (February 5-28)
Stereotypes and Discrimination: In this unit we'll read the following poems: "So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans" p. 137, "Pigeons" p. 1029, "In Response to Executive Order 9066" p. 1028, "Incident," p. 1373, "Let America be America Again," p. 1095 and "Open Letter to the South" p. 1098. We'll discuss how to write an argument about literature and how to develop that argument with specific quotations from the literature. We'll learn how to quote poetry in writing, and we'll learn to document sources in MLA style. There's much to cover for this unit, so it will take a bit longer than the others. The stereotypes and discrimination paper is due February 28th.

Unit 4 (March 4-27)
Dramatic Monologue: In Unit 3 we discuss various poems that share in the same theme. However, in this unit we'll examine several works of literature that share the same form: dramatic monologue. We'll learn what dramatic monologue is and we'll examine some examples of dramatic monologue, some musical, some poetic. Some of the works of literature will come in the form of handouts from Dr. Remler, but you can expect to study the following: "Only the Good Die Young" by Billy Joel (handout), "I'll Work for your Love" by Bruce Springsteen (handout), "To His Coy Mistress" p. 658, "To His Importunate Mistress," p. 660, "My Last Duchess" p. 1177, "Porphyria's Lover," by Robert Browning (handout) and "I Stand Here Ironing" p. 340. In addition to reading and discussing the literature, we'll discuss how to quote details from fiction to use as supporting evidence in your argument. We'll also discuss how to document sources. For the paper assignment, you'll be required to analyze some of the works we've discussed in class, but you'll also have to analyze some literature on your own (Dr. Remler will let you know which works in the assignment guidelines). The dramatic monologue paper is due March 27th.

Unit 5 (April 1-30)
The Research Paper: In this unit, you'll read the following plays: "Trifles" by Susan Glaspell ( p. 995), "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry (p. 485) and "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen (p. 943). In addition to reading these works of literature, you will conduct some research on the above mentioned playwrights and their works. During this unit we will discuss how to evaluate sources as reliable, and we will discuss how to incorporate information from secondary sources into the research paper. We'll also discuss how to document those sources accurately using MLA style. The research paper is due April 30th, which is a Wednesday. We don't meet that day, but you can turn in your paper that day. It's also officially the last day of classes.