College Writing II

College Writing II: Writing and Literary Study

Spring 2006
ENWR 106-29
MR 11:30-12:45; DI 179--sorry, no food or drink allowed in this room
<http://chss.montclair.edu/~nielsenw/cw2.html>
<http://english.montclair.edu/>

Prof. Wendy Nielsen
Office: Dickson Hall 324; Mailbox: Dickson Hall 439
nielsenw@mail.montclair.edu
Office Hours: M 1-2:30; R 10:00-11:30; and by appt.

Texts available at University Bookstore:

Joseph Campbell, The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Bollingen/Princeton UP)
Folk and Fairy Tales, 3rd ed., eds. Martin Hallett and Barbara Karasek (Broadview)
Salmon Rushdie, Haroun and the Sea of Stories (Penguin)
Suzan-Lori Parks, The America Play (Theatre Communications Group)
Recommended: a reference guide for college writing like Hacker

Course description: College Writing II is the second semester of the intensive first-year writing sequence. With ENWR105, this course satisfies the GEN ED 2002 Communication Requirement in Writing/Literature by requiring approximately 6000 words of formal writing, including at least one documented essay. Pursuing these same goals, this course focuses primarily on myths and fairy tales. We will analyze the roots of Western and non-Western narrative in these genres as well as their influence on modern poetry, drama, the novel, and the short story. Studying the ways in which literature is used as a tool for teaching in oral, written, and modern texts is a way to explore the importance of story-telling in shaping human society, psychology, history, and politics.

Requirements: Respect, Integrity, Collegiality, and:

Participation, attendance, and homeworks--15%
Unit I Essay: the Monomyth (1000 words)--10%
Unit II Essay: Fairy Tales (1500 words)--20%
Unit III Essay: Rushdie (documented, 1500 words)--20%
Unit IV Essay: Drama and Other Genres (1000 words)--20%
Portfolio of Revised Essays (Unit I-III; 1000 words)--15%

Grading Rubric: 98-100 A+; 93-97 A; 90-92 A-; 87-89 B+; 83-86 B; 80-82 B-; 77-79 C+; 73-76 C; 70-72 C-; 67-69 D+; 63-66 D; 60-62 D-; 0-59 F

Policies:

Attendance policy: Students must attend a majority of class sessions in order to pass the class; long-term and repeated absences are unacceptable. Your first 3 absences are automatically excused and need no explanation please. Beyond that, you will need a note from your physician or the Dean of Students in order to excuse an absence for medical reasons or family death. Attendance is a part of your Participation Grade, which is also determined by your active and enthusiastic participation in class discussions; original and thought-provoking discussion questions; and informal writing assignments. Please make a friend in class to cover material missed while absent.

Papers should be no longer or shorter than the length assigned and submitted on time. Use twelve-point type, in Times New Roman or CG Times (or 10 pt. in Veranda, etc.). 2 points are deducted from formal writing projects for every class day they are late.
Late homework assignments (discussion questions, all ungraded writing assignments, etc.) cannot be accepted, but you may include these in an optional Participation Portfolio at the end of the semester.
To teach students to avoid plagiarism, lectures will also include instruction in MLA documentation of all work. This course engages in questions of authorship, including web authorship (online link: web.html). Submitting work and words that are not your own will result in failing this course and disciplinary action by the Dean of Students.
Accommodations are always arranged for students with documented disabilities. Please call, email, or see the instructor personally, as well as Services for Students with Disabilities (Linda A. Smith in Morehead Hall 305, X5431).
Turn off cell phones in class please

The following is a tentative schedule subject to change. Please check your Montclair email account and http://chss.montclair.edu/~nielsenw/cw2.html for updates.

Lesson Dates	Class Topics	Readings & assignments due
	Unit I: Approaches to Literature
1. R 1/19	Course + student introduction; Essay I: the Monomyth assigned; Pre-writing 1.1: Why read literature? J. Campbell video	See cell below for Mon.'s h.w.
2. M 1/23	Review of Course Goals; MLA citation method; Web citation; Plagiarism; Discussion: Rites of Initiation; Pre-writing 1.2: Why does JC say why we should read lit. (Practice MLA Citation)?	Revise in-class Writing and post to Blackboard/Discussion; Campbell 1-11, 16, 30, 36-38, 50-54, 69-74, 77-82, 90-95
3. R 1/26	Review; Student Questions; Pre-writing 1.3: Summary of Campbell's monomyth; The Monomyth; Scenes from The Matrix;	Campbell 97-105, 109-111, 118-23, 126-131, 136-143, 172-73, 193, 207, 217-21, 245-51; Bring 3 discussion questions to class
4. M 1/30	Review; Evaluation of Writing; Peer Review: CONTENT; Critique of Campbell's conclusions	Write rough draft for Essay I: the Monomyth and bring 2 hard copies to class and post to Blackboard/Discussion (N.B.: the first draft is a substantial piece of work, representing several hours of writing--perhaps exploring a topic, or working on one approach, abandoning it, and trying another.)
5. R 2/2	Revised essay prompt; Peer Review: STYLE + STRUCTURE; Sentence by sentence analysis; Wikipedia and the world of anonymous information	Mid-process draft for Essay 1: Monomyth due -- bring 2 hard copies to class and post to Blackboard/Discussion
6. M 2/6	TBA	Final draft due for Essay I
	Unit II: Fairy Tales	Unit II readings come from Folk and Fairy Tales
7. R 2/9	Disc. of SW; Def. of Fairy Tale; Little Red Riding Hood; Essay II: Fairy Tales assigned	Read 1-16, 365-91; Bring 3 disc. ques. to class
8. M 2/13	Review; Essay II; Brainstorm: Qualities of Good writing; Modern Revisions: Angela Carter, In the Company of Wolves; In-class Writing 2.1: What do FT teach us?	Read F&FT 280-89, 415-27
9. R 2/16	Cinderella and her Sisters	Read 37-52, 59-70; Revise In-class Writing 2.1 and post to Bb/Disc.
10. M 2/20	Review; Modern Revisions II; Sexton, "Rapunzel;"	F&FT 290-306, 322, 325-28, 330; Bring 3 discussion questions to class
11. R 2/23	Review; Men in FT	147-69
12. M 2/27	Sanitized Disney; Peer Review	Work on Rough Draft: Post to Bb and bring 3 hard copies to class; Read 427-44
13. R 3/2	Peer Review	Mid-process draft due
14. M 3/6	Movie: TBA	Essay II: the Pedagogy of Fairy Tales due
	Unit III: Rushdie
15. R 3/9	Rushdie bio; Essay III: Rushdie and Politics assigned	Rushdie 1-43
16. M 3/20	Library Tutorial: meet in Sprague 110	Rushdie 47-93; Bring 3 discussion questions to class
17. R 3/23	Writing 3.1: Read Haroun through the lens of Campbell and FT	Rushdie 97-156
18. M 3/27	Update of Assignment; Writing 3.2: What the politics of Haroun?	Rushdie 159-211; Bring 3 discussion questions to class
19. R 3/30	Student Presentations;	Prepare your 3-min. presentation on your research; Pre-Writing 3.3: Post summary of your research on Bb/Discussion
20. M 4/3	Peer Review	Rough draft due of Essay III: Rushdie and Politics
21. R 4/6	Peer Review	Mid-process draft due of Essay III
22. M 4/10	TBA	Final draft due of Essay III: Rushdie and Politics
	Unit IV: Drama and other Genres
23. R 4/13	Márquez bio; Magical Realism, Coll. of Disc. Ques., & Group Analysis; Essay IV: Drama and Other Genres assigned	G. G. Márquez, "Old Man with Enormous Wings" (pdf file on Blackboard--bring copy to class; citation info.: Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. "Very Old Man with Enormous Wings: a Tale for Children." Collected Stories. Trans. Gregory Rabassa and J. S. Bernstein. New York: Harper Perennial, 1984. 203-210. ); bring 3 discussion questions to class
24. M 4/17	Elements of Drama; Lincoln at Disney; Interview with Parks; Parks and Drama;	Parks 1-22, 157-73
25. R 4/20	Review; The America Play; African American Lives (PBS)	Parks 174-99; bring 3 discussion questions to class
26. M 4/24	Peer Review	Rough draft due; additional materials may be assigned for reading (check back online)
27. R 4/27	Peer Review	Mid-process draft due
28. M 5/1	Review of Course Goals; Review of Portfolio Assignment	Final draft of Essay IV due; Participation Portfolio (incl. discussion questions and revised in-class writings) due--Optional
Finals Week	Sorry, no office hours during finals week	Portfolios of Revised Essays due Monday May 8 in 324 Dickson between 1:30 and 3 p.m.