Course Description
Our class will take as a point of departure Ruth Wilson Gilmore’s articulation, “the homely premise that freedom is a place.” In this course we will be dig into the boundaries between reading, writing, and placemaking. We will explore how language constructs and undoes our various and wide-ranging understandings of place (as home, city, nation, boundary, body, etc.). The page too, is a space: throughout the course we will be engaging in practices of reading and writing in order to investigate what language does and what language doesn’t do in regards to space. How can words on the page or coming out of our mouths contest space? How is language and space wrapped up in the creation of race, gender, difference, and power? Who gets to say who belongs where? How can language be used to transform and/or preserve space? Language, writing, and reading are all interconnected social experiences. Recognizing this, our classroom will be one that will be heavily discussion and activity-based. We will spend chunky amounts of classtime in small groups, asking one another questions, sharing our writing and opinions, and getting to know one another. Paired with our group discussions will be plenty of opportunities for low-stakes writing: free writing, peer-reviews, revisions, summaries, etc. These in-class writing exercises will help us build from and for our discussions and prepare us for our larger assignments by practicing the necessary skills in a loose, open format. In reading, writing, and discussing how language is wrapped up in the creation and contestation of space, we will build habits of openness and inquiry, thereby creating a classroom environment of critical generosity.
Course Objectives
• Read and think critically to be prepared to succeed in a variety of
college-level assignments.
• Express ideas–both orally and in writing–correctly, cogently,
persuasively, with an understanding of the conventions of the
discipline.
• Situate these conventions in larger systems of language and power.
• Understand the practice of writing as a process of inquiry and
revision.
Logistics & Policies : : :
1. Freshman Common Reading: Michelle Obama, Becoming (required)
2. Course Packet (required): Online
Classroom Climate : : : As a university student, the free exchange of ideas should be
expected. I believed that the open exchange of ideas is necessary for learning. You may
find that some of the class readings and discussions challenge your views and theoretical
frameworks. I expect openness to difference and a willingness to interpret issues from
frameworks that may not be all that comfortable for you.
I have opinions, and will express those. You are free to express either agreement or
disagreement without fear of consequences. This does no mean of course, that I may not
challenge your views or disagree with them. But it does mean that you will experience no
consequences fo disagreeing with me. If you feel that I am violating this commitment,
please arrange an appointment to discuss the issue.
Class discussions can easily be environments that are unfair to some students. We
should all be sensitive that we are not unfairly dominating by talking too much or
talking too loudly or conversely putting the burden for discussion entirely on our
classmates by coming to class unprepared. The goal is to create a classroom climate in
which everyone feels that they can participate in the discussion. This does not mean
people cannot disagree. What it does mean is that we all need to be sensitive,
appreciative, and respectful, no matter how strongly we might disagree. Condescension
or demeaning comments about individuals or groups of people will not be tolerated. If
derogatory or hateful comments about any group or individual are expressed in class, I
will ask the student to leave the class, and meet with me privately before returning for a
future class period.
Attendance & Punctuality : : : The official Brooklyn College policy on attendance is
as follows, “First-year students absent from a course for a number of times equivalent to
two full weeks of class meetings may be denied credit for the course.”
Accordingly, you have 3 “free” absences in this course without penalty to you
participation grade. I encourage you to use these absences carefully—save them for
illness, religious holidays, etc. Assume you will get sick at least once during the
semester. After those free absences, you will receive a 2% decrease to your participation
grade per absence. If a significant unforeseen difficulty occurs (physical or
mental health problems, loved one in crisis, care obligations, unexpected financial
hardship, etc.), I am willing to make exceptions to this policy. Please email me
to discuss alternatives.
If you are going to be late to class due to an unexpected public transit delay (or missing
your bus or train), please contact me or a classmate to let us know. However, if this
becomes a recurring problem, it is your responsibility to plan better.
Participation : : : Participation includes completing and commenting on the assigned
reading, contributing to class discussion through listening and responding to classmates
or the instructor, bringing required materials to class, and engaging in peer review and
group activities. In this class, attendance is part of your participation grade. You must be
present in order to participate with your classmates and with the course material, and
for your classmates to participate with you/for you to contribute to the course material.
Everyone has a unique perspective and set of experiences that brings value to the
classroom.
Participation is a vital ingredient to our class, and I understand there are many forms it
can take. I encourage everyone to voice their observations, thoughts, and questions
during our conversations! Simultaneously, silence and listening is an equally important
part of a conversation as speaking one’s thoughts. It’s up to all of us to make our
classroom a space that is open and curious, a joyful laboratory where we are all
constantly learning from each other.
Reading : : : Class discussion is a critical element of this course, and participation is
essential. Students are expected to have closely read and be ready to discuss all readings
on the day they are assigned. There may be unannounced reading quizzes. Bring the
assigned reading to every class.
Grading : : : The grades for this course are: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, NC or F.
Note that the minimum passing grade is C-.Students who have completed all the course
work but are not yet writing at the college level will receive a grade of NC; students who
have not completed the course work will receive a grade of F. A more detailed grading
rubric will be discussed prior to the first assignment.
Assignments : : :
Essays & Other Writing: Students will write the following: a personal narrative
(750-1000 words), one summary (250-500 words each), one analytical essay
(1000-1250 words each), and one compare and contrast essays (1000-1250 words)
Students will have the opportunity to revise each of these essays. These essays must be
typed, double-spaced, in 12-point font, and formatted with one-inch margins. More
detailed assignment sheets and rubrics will be provided for these assignments as they
come up. In addition, students will have an in-class essay exam. Students will be asked
to complete other assignments, such as journal entries, in-class writing, and reading
responses.
NOTE: Essays are due at the beginning of class. Essays should be emailed to the
professor.
Final Exam: English 1010 students must take a final exam. The exam is based on
responses to two pieces of writing: one 5-7 page essay, distributed one week before the
end of the term, and a second 1-2 page piece, distributed along with the question on the
day of the exam. The exam will count for 20% of the final grade for the class.
We will discuss the test format further in class.
LOOP workshop: This is an extra-credit opportunity that will introduce you to the
services and resources of the library, including access to and ethical use of its print and
electronic resources.
Grading Breakdown: Essays: 60%
1 Personal Narrative: 10 %
1 Summary: 10%
1 Compare and Contrast Essay: 20%
1 Analytic Essay: 20%
Final Exam: 20%
Other Assignments: 10%
This includes take-home assignments, in-class writing, and quizzes.
Attendance & Participation: 10%
This includes attendance, promptness, brining the assigned reading to class,
participation in class discussions, and group work, etc.
ENGL 1010 in the General Education Curriculum : : :
Students who do not pass English 1010 must repeat it the following semester. The
course may not be taken more than three times; students who receive three grades of F,
NC and/or WU may be dismissed from the college.
English 1010 is an Academic Foundations course. Students are not permitted at any
time to delete, drop, or withdraw from an assigned Academic Foundations course
without obtaining permission of the academic department involved and consulting the
Center for Academic Advisement and Student Success.
Plagiarism : : :
The faculty and administration of Brooklyn College support an environment free from
cheating and plagiarism. Each student is responsible for being aware of what constitutes
cheating and plagiarism and for avoiding both. The complete text of the CUNY
Academic Integrity Policy and the Brooklyn College procedure for implementing that
policy can be found at this site: http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies.
Non-attendance Because of Religious Beliefs : : :
Brooklyn College’s statement on non-attendance because of religious belief is located on
page 66 of the Brooklyn College Undergraduate Bulletin: http://
www .brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/off_registrar/2017-2018_Undergraduate_Bulletin.pdf
Student Bereavement Policy:
Brooklyn College’s statement on non-attendance because of bereavement is located
here:
http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/web/about/initiatives/policies/bereavement.php
Disability Accommodation : : :
Brooklyn College provides following statement in reference to the Center for Student
Disability Services: In order to receive disability-related academic accommodations
students must first be registered with the Center for Student Disability Services.
Students who have a documented disability or suspect they may have a disability are
invited to set up an appointment with the Director of the Center for Student Disability
Services, Ms. Valerie Stewart-Lovell at (718) 951-5538. If you have already registered
with the Center for Student Disability Services, please provide me with the course
accommodation form and discuss your specific accommodation with me.
Phones, Laptops, and Tablets : : :
You may use your laptop, tablet, or smartphone (ringtones/sounds/vibration turned off)
during our class for class related activities. Please keep your volume off during class. If
you choose to bring a laptop or other technology, be aware that they may be used in
class only to take notes or access electronic documents pertaining to our class, or to
conduct Internet searches pertaining to our current class activities. This will be done via
the honor system unless you are doing something disruptive to the rest of the class (e.g
watching a movie without headphones).
Also, there will be no texting during class. If you have a situation such as a family
emergency wherein you need to be accessible via your phone, please arrive to class a few
minutes early and explain the situation to me. In these instances only, you may have
your phone on vibrate. However, you may not answer the phone in class. Please excuse
yourself from the classroom to take the emergency call. Please keep the following in
mind:
• If you know you’re prone to getting distracted on digital devices, you may want to
keep it put away during class.
• If you are using your device for something unrelated to class, please be mindful of
how you may be distracting others from their own learning.
Important Dates : : :
Tuesday, August 27 First day of Fall 2019 classes
Monday, September 2 Last day to add a course
Thursday, September 5 Conversion Day – Classes follow a Monday Schedule
Wednesday, October 16 Conversion Day – Classes follow a Monday Schedule
Tuesday, November 5 Last day to withdraw from a Fall course with a “W” grade
Friday, December 13 Reading Day
Saturday, December 14 Final Examinations Begin
Friday, December 20 Final Examinations End / End of Fall Semester
The full academic calendar, including many other important dates, and the
undergraduate final exam “grid” are available on the Office of the Registrar’s website.
Brooklyn College
Eng 1010: English Composition
Place is the Space: Language, Power, and Place
Fall 2019
Instructor: Jeff Voss
Class time and place: Mondays and Wednesdays, 8:00AM-9:15AM, Boylan 3109
Email: jvoss@gradcenter.cuny.edu (fastest way to get in touch)
Office Hours: Monday, 10AM-11:30AM (or by appointment)
Week 1 Intro
28 August
a) Introduction to our class. b) Reflections
on writing: process, argument, rhetorical
modes and strategies
Week 2
Common Reading: Michelle Obama,
Becoming
2 September College closed, no class.
4 September Reading: Becoming, "Becoming Me"
5 September
Monday schedule: we have class. Reading:
Paule Marshall, "From the Poets in the
Kitchen"
Week 3
Focus on close reading, annotation,
personal narrative
9 September Reading: Becoming, "Becoming Us"
11 September
Reading: Hurston, Zora Neale, “How it
Feels to Be Colored Me”
*Personal Narrative Due*
Week 4 Personal Narratives continued
16 September
Reading: Becoming, "Becoming More"
and "Epilogue"
18 September
Reading: Mona El-Ghobashy, “Quandaries
of Representation”
Week 5
Compare and Contrast: Focus on
argument, evidence, structure
23 September
Reading: Ocean Vuong, "A Letter to My
Mother That She will Never Read"
25 September Reading: Amy Tan, "Mother Tongue"
*Summary Due*
Week 6 Compare & Constrast continued
30 September
Reading: James Baldwin, "Stranger in the
Village" and Teju Cole, "Black Bodies:
Rereading James Baldwin's Stranger in the
Village"
2 October
Reading: James Baldwin, "Stranger in the
Village" and Teju Cole, "Black Bodies:
Rereading James Baldwin's Stranger in the
Village"
Week 7 Compare & Constrast continued
7 October
Reading: Jamaica Kincaid, "The Ugly
Tourist" and Edwige Danticat, "Another
Country"
9 October No classes scheduled.
Week 8 Compare & Constrast continued
14 October No classes scheduled.
16 October
Reading: Jamaica Kincaid, "The Ugly
Tourist" and Edwige Danticat, "Another
Country"
*Compare and Contrast Essay Due*
Week 9
Argument and Analysis: Focus on
argument, thesis statements, evidence,
structure
21 October
Reading: Brent Staples, "Just Walk on By:
Black Men and Public Space"
23 October
Reading: Lars Eighner, "On Dumpster
Diving"
Week 10 Argument and Analysis continued
28 October
Reading: George Saunders, "The
Braindead Megaphone"
30 October
Akiba Solomon, "Thugs, Students, Rioters,
Fans: Media's Subtle Racism in Unrest
Coverage"
Week 11 Argument & Analysis continued
4 November
Reading: Richard Rodriguez, "The
Achievement of Desire"
6 November
*Analytic Essay first draft due* -
bring a hard copy for in-class Peer
Review
Week 12 Argument & Analysis continued
11 November
Reading: Rebecca Solnit, "Men Explain
Things to Me"
13 November
Reading: Lakshmi Chaudhry, "Mirror,
Mirror, on the Web"
Week 13 Research & Catch-Up
18 November
Reading: David Foster Wallace, "Consider
the Lobster"
20 November
Reading: David Foster Wallace, "Consider
the Lobster"
*Analytic Essay final draft due*
Week 14
Exam Prep: Strategies to prepare for exam
& for student discussion of exam text
25 November Reading: TBD
27 November Reading: TBD
Week 15
Exam Prep: Strategies to prepare for exam
& for student discussion of exam text
2 December Reading: TBD
4 December Reading: TBD
Week 16 Exam Prep
9 December In-class practice exam
11 December Final questions about course and exam
