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ENGL 1012: English Composition II: Expository Writing: Student Version: Schecter, Erica Spring 2020

Student Version of ENG 1012

Course Overview, Objectives

Course Overview

 

This is a composition course that is designed to build on the skills that you cultivated in 1010. Through engagement with literature, scholarly essays, and expository prose, you will hone your critical thinking, writing and reading skills with the goal of producing a research paper with an original thesis by the end of the course. Class time will be spent discussing readings, discussing strategies for writing, and providing thoughtful feedback to your classmates. Our course will emphasize the phases of writing from the conception of an idea through the process of drafting and revision. 

This course’s theme is “The Mirror”. Throughout the semester, we will consider how science fiction authors use their genre to hold a mirror up to issues facing contemporary society. Your research paper will make an argument that engages with this theme. In order to build your argument you will be asked to develop a thesis, support your thesis through close reading one of our primary texts, and back up this close reading through integration of secondary sources.

 

Course Objectives

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

  • Read and think critically
  • Understand how language operates
  • Express ideas–both orally and in writing–correctly, cogently, persuasively, and in conformity with the conventions of the discipline
  • Compose a formal academic essay that supports an original and debatable thesis that is supported by relevant evidence 
  • Understand and carry out the research process, which includes: finding, citing, annotating, and integrating sources into a paper 

Course Information

Brooklyn College

The City University of New York

Professor Schecter

English 1010  Fall 2019

3 hours and conference; 3 credits                   

ejschecter@gmail.com

T/Th 2:15p.m. - 3:30p.m. Boylan 4137

Office Hours: Th 3:30p.m. to 4:40p.m.  2311 Boylan / 951-5195

Course Schedule

***NOTE: Reading are due on the day they appear on the syllabus.

Unit One: Dystopia (Weeks 1-5)

  • Tues Feb 2 (ZOOM):
  • Introduction to the course.
  • Freedom, Democracy, Equality
  • Thurs Feb 4 (ZOOM):
  • Reading Due: “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut
  • In class: “Harrison Bergeron 2016” by P.L. Thomas
  • Tues Feb 9 (ZOOM): 
  • Reading Due: “The Ones Who Walked Away from Omelas” by Ursela K Leguin
  • In Class: “The Child in The Basement” by David Brooks
  • Thurs Feb 11 (BLACKBOARD):     
  • Reading Due: “The Ones Who Stay and Fight” by N.K. Jemisin
  • Reading Due: “A True Utopia: Interview With N.K. Jemisin”
  • Tues Feb 16 (ZOOM):
  • Reading Due: “Bloodchild” by Octavia Butler
  • In Class: Bloodchild Afterword” by Octavia Butler
  • Thurs Feb 18 (BLACKBOARD):
  • Reading Due: “Why Men Get Pregnant” by Nisi Shawl
  • Reading Due: “Bloodchild: A Close Reading” (student essay, Anonymous)
  • Tues Feb 23 (ZOOM):
  • Reading Due: “Zero in Babel” by E. Lily Yu
  • Reading Due: “The Future Will Grind On” by Diana M. Bowman
  • In Class: First Response Paper Assigned
  • Thurs Feb 25 (BLACKBOARD):
  • Assignment Due: Tentative thesis and readings for response paper due
  • No reading due
  • In Class: Workshop tentative thesis and brainstorm arguments
  • Tues Mar 2 (ZOOM):
  • Reading Due: “The Arisen” by Louisa Hall
  • In Class: Feedback on sample thesis and arguments
  • Thurs Mar 4 (BLACKBOARD):
  • Assignment Due: First Response Paper Due
  • Reading Due: “What Are Facts Without Fiction?” by Jim O’Donnell

 

Unit 2: Climate Change (Weeks 6-8)

  • Tues Mar 9 (ZOOM):
  • Reading Due: “Amaryllis” by Carrie Vaughn
  • In Class: Finding an original thesis
  • Thurs Mar 11 (BLACKBOARD):     
  • Reading Due: “Author Spotlight – Carrie Vaughn” by Christie Yant
  • Reading Due: “Half-Eaten Cities” by Vajra Chandrasekera
  • Reading Due: “Time Capsule Found on Dead Planet” by Margaret Atwood
  • In Class: Finding an original thesis
  • Tues Mar 16 (ZOOM):
  • Reading Due: “What The Dead Man Said” by Chinelo Onwualu
  • Reading Due: “The Scars of Being Uprooted” by Valeria Hernandez
  • In Class: Second Response Paper Assigned
  • Thurs Mar 18 (BLACKBOARD):
  • Assignment Due: Thesis and two arguments due
  • No reading due
  • Tues Mar 23 (ZOOM):
  • Reading Due: “Big Rural” by Cat Rambo
  • Reading Due: "Light and Shadows on the Edge of Nowhere," by Wesley Herch from The Weight of Light p 121-126
  • Reading Due: Designing Socially Relevant Solar Photovoltaic Systems, by Dwarak Ravikumar from The Weight of Light p 127-132
  • Reading Due: Building Tierra del Rey: Design Features of Centralized Solar in a Rural Community, by Samantha Janko from The Weight of Light p 133-139
  • Thurs Mar 25 (BLACKBOARD):
  • Assignment Due: Second Response Paper Due
  • Reading Due: “Under the Grid, by Andrew Dana Hudson from The Weight of Light p 73-90
  • Reading Due: "All Politics is Glocal," by Lauren Withycombe Keeler from The Weight of Light p 90-96
  • Reading Due: Behind the Grid: Science, Technology, and the Creation of PhoTown, by Darshan M.A. Karwat from The Weight of Light p 97-105
  • Tues Mar 30 (SPRING BREAK)
  • Thurs Apr 1 (SPRING BREAK)

 

Unit 3: Who Is Human? (Weeks 9-16)

  • Tues Apr 6 (ZOOM):
  • Reading Due: “Mpendulo: The Answer” by Noshipo Dumisa
  • Reading Due: “Why Are We So Afraid” by Sarah Elizabeth Richards
  • Reading Due: “The Craft of Research by Booth, Colomb, and Wiliams: Prologues, Part One (Ch 1&2) p 1-27
  • Thurs Apr 8 (BLACKBOARD):
  • Reading Due: “The Craft of Research by Booth, Colomb, and Wiliams: Part Two (Ch 3&4) p 31-67
  • In Class: Topic Proposals Assigned
  • Tues Apr 13 (ZOOM):
  • Assignment Due: Topic Proposals Due
  • Reading Due: “A Priest, A Rabbi, and A Robot Walk into A Bar” by Andrew Dana Hudson
  • Reading Due: “A.I. Could Bring a Sea Change” by Ruth Graham
  • In Class: Annotated Bibliographies Assigned
  • Thurs Apr 15 (ZOOM)
  • Reading Due: The Craft of Research by Booth, Colomb, and Wiliams: Part Three (Ch 5-6) p 68-101
  • In Class: Library Research Orientation
  • In Class: Topic Proposals Returned and Discussed
  • Tuesday Apr 20 (ZOOM)
  • Assignment Due: Annotated Bibliographies Due
  • Reading Due: The Craft of Research by Booth, Colomb, and Wiliams: Chapter 7: Making Good Arguments: An Overview p 108-119 (in class: Claims, Reasons & Evidence)
  • In Class: Thesis and Arguments Assigned
  • Thurs Apr 22 (BLACKBOARD)
  • No Reading Due
  • In Class: Research Project Check-in
  • In Class: Annotated Bibliographies returned and discussed
  • Tues Apr 27 (ZOOM)
  • Assignment Due: Thesis Statements and Arguments Due
  • Reading Due: "Thoughts and Prayers" by Ken Liu
  • Reading Due: "What's in It for The Trolls?" by Adrienne Massanari
  • In Class: Outline Assigned
  • Thurs Apr 29 (BLACKBOARD)
  • No Reading Due
  • In Class: Thesis Statement and arguments returned and discussed
  • In Class: Research Project Check-in
  • Tues May 4 (ZOOM)
  • Reading Due: “Actually Naneen” by Malka Older
  • Reading Due: “What Role Should Technology Play?” by Ed Finn
  • In Class: Presentation Assigned
  • Thurs May 6 (BLACKBOARD)
  • Assignment Due: Outline Due
  • No Reading Due
  • In-Class Workshop
  • In Class: Final Papers Assigned
  • Tues May 11 (BLACKBOARD)
  • Student Presentations
  • No Reading Due
  • In Class: First Drafts returned
  • Thurs May 13 (BLACKBOARD)
  • Student Presentations
  • No Reading Due
  • Thurs May 20
  • Final Papers due at midnight

Assignments