English 1101: Technologies of Reading, Writing, and Argument
Fall 2007
|
Policy Statement |
Instructor |
Name: Olin Bjork
Office: 323 Skiles
Telephone: 404.894.8482
E-mail: olin.bjork@lcc.gatech.edu; email encouraged
Office hours: Tuesday and Thursday 10:00–11:30 / other times by appointment
|
Class Meeting |
Time: Tuesday and Thursday 8:05-9:25, Section K; 12:05-1:25, Section N1; 1:35-2:55, Section D2.
Location: Skiles 371
|
Required Textbooks |
- Barnet, Sylvan and Hugo Bedau. From Critical Thinking to Argument: A Portable Guide. Second edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008.
- Lundsford, Andrea A. The St. Martin's Handbook. Sixth edition. New York: Bedford/St Martin's, 2008. Bundled with Comment.
- Tribble, Evelyn B., and Anne Trubek. Writing Material: Readings from Plato to the Digital Age. Longman Publishers, 2003.
|
Photocopying |
Handouts for presentations, hardcopies of online readings |
Software |
MSWord, PowerPoint, Dreamweaver or other html editor |
Course Description |
This course examines the ways in which writing and reading technologies both influence and reflect historical developments in culture, argumentation, and thought. We will place particular emphasis on new forms of communication that have emerged in the transition from analog to digital media. Discussion topics will also include issues of intellectual property and collaborative authorship related to such new media phenomena as Wikipedia, YouTube, and open-source projects. Students will compose and/or study written, oral, visual, electronic, and non-verbal arguments and genres. |
Learning Outcomes |
- Analyze a text according to audience and purpose.
- Respond logically, rather than react emotionally, to arguments
- Find a topic appropriate to the audience, purpose, and length of an essay.
- Formulate a clear and concise thesis statement or claim.
- Develop, evaluate, and use evidence to support a claim.
- Write clear, correct, and appropriate sentences and paragraphs.
- Incorporate appropriate material from verbal, visual, and aural sources.
- Avoid plagiarism when incorporating quotations, paraphrases, and ideas.
- Follow standard guidelines in documenting resources.
|
Assignment
Values |
- Essays (60%)
- Rhetorical Analysis (15%)
- Proposal(15%)
- Evaluation (15%)
- Collaborative (15%)
- Quizzes (10%)
There will be ten pop-quizzes given on the assigned readings during the course of the semester.
- Presentations (10%)
You will take part in a group presentation based on essay four. You will also lead discussion on one or more specific readings.
- Participation (20%)
This category includes all in-class work other than presentations and quizzes and all homework other than essays. Although attendance is not a formal part of the participation grade, you have to be here to participate.
For the most part, however, participation means being actively involved with the class—not just physically present. We will be reading quite a bit this term. In order for this class to be fun and energetic, you will have to come prepared to discuss the
reading. You will have to raise your hand. You will have to make comments, ask questions, and be a part of the discussion. You will have to remain awake. Furthermore, when we do peer-evaluations and other exercises, you will have to be there to help and learn from your classmates.
This is a class about communication, so your participation is essential. Share relevant ideas and observations. Refer to relevant articles, books, and Web sites. Offer your own experiences. Make connections between what we're discussing in this class and what you hear elsewhere.
|
Evaluation |
| Letter grade |
Numeric equivalent in this class |
GA Tech 4-point equivalent |
| A+ |
98-100 |
4.00 |
| A |
94-97 |
| A- |
90-93 |
| B+ |
88-89 |
3.00 |
| B |
84-87 |
| B- |
80-83 |
| C+ |
78-79 |
2.00 |
| C |
74-77 |
| C- |
70-73 |
| D+ |
68-69 |
1.00 |
| D |
64-67 |
| D- |
60-63 |
| F |
0-59 |
0.00 |
|
Attendance |
Timely and consistent attendance is mandatory for a productive class experience. I will consider any student absent that fails to get to class by the time I take roll. Students with three unexcused absences will lose 5 points from their final grade, with no exceptions. Students will lose five points from their final grade for every absence afterwards. Students must inform the instructor at least two days in advance of any expected absence for it to be excused, and excused absences will be kept to a minimum.
Regardless of the reason for your absence, you are responsible for information presented in classes you miss. Please check GA Tech's position about class attendance: http://www.catalog.gatech.edu/rules/4b.php
|
Essay Protocol |
This will be an electronic, paperless process. After an essay is assigned, you have one week to email me a topic proposal, which is a one-paragraph summary of your argument. Rough Drafts will be submitted for peer review at Comment: http://comment.bedfordstmartins.com. Final Drafts will be submitted to Turnitin: http://www.turnitin.com and to T-Square: https://t-square.gatech.edu/portal. I will be explaining how to use these resources during the first five weeks of the class.
Essays should follow MLA format (see the St. Martin's Handbook p. 300-347 for details). If you wish to use a different format, please consult with me first.
|
Late Assignments |
In-class assignments cannot be made up. With the exception of essays, homework assignments also will not be accepted late. Rough drafts and final drafts of essays should be completed by the beginning of the class on the days they are due. Any draft turned in afterwards will be considered at least one class late. The penalty for late drafts is 10 percentage points per class it is late. A draft due Tuesday, for example, will lose ten points if turned in by Thursday and 20 points if turned in by the following Tuesday. |
Academic Misconduct |
One serious kind of academic misconduct is plagiarism, which occurs when a writer, speaker, or designer deliberately uses someone else's language, ideas, images, or other original material or code without fully acknowledging its source by quotation marks as appropriate, in footnotes or endnotes, in works cited, and in other ways as appropriate(modified from WPA Statement on "Defining and Avoiding Plagiarism"). If you engage in plagiarism or any other form of academic misconduct, you will fail the assignment in which you have engaged in academic misconduct and be referred to the Office of Student Integrity, as required by Georgia Tech policy. I strongly urge you to be familiar with Georgia Tech's Honor Challenge http://www.honor.gatech.edu/ as well as the process for academic misconduct http://www.deanofstudents.gatech.edu/integrity/academic_misconduct.php |
Students with Disabilities |
Students who feel that they may need accommodations for any sort of disability, please make an appointment to see the instructor during office hours. Within the first two weeks of the semester, students with disabilities should also contact Access Disabled Assistance Program for Tech Students (ADAPTS) to discuss reasonable accommodations. For an appointment with a counselor call (404) 894-2563 (voice) / (404) 894-1664 (voice/TDD) or visit Suite 210 in the Smithgall Student Services Building. For more information visit the following Web site: http://www.adapts.gatech.edu/. |
Schedule |
|
Reading and writing/presentation assignments are listed on the date due.
| Week/Class |
Date |
Class |
Due |
| 1–1 |
Tuesday
August 21 |
Syllabus overview |
|
| 1–2 |
Thursday
August 23 |
|
From Critical Thinking to Argument: Chapter One
Writing Material: Plato, "Phaedrus" 360-64. |
| 2–3 |
Tuesday
August 28 |
Writing Diagnostic 1 |
From Critical Thinking to Argument: Chapter Two and Three |
| 2–4 |
Thursday
August 30 |
|
Writing Material: Baron, "From Pencils to Pixels"
35-53. |
| 3–5 |
Tuesday
September 4 |
Essay One Assigned
New York Times |
From Critical Thinking to Argument: Chapter Five |
| 3–6 |
Thursday
September 6 |
|
Writing Material: Ong, "Writing is a Technology that Restructures Thought" 315-37. |
| 4–7 |
Tuesday
September 11 |
|
Essay One Topic Proposal
From Critical Thinking to Argument: Chapter Four |
| 4–8 |
Thursday
September 13 |
Intro to Comment |
Writing Material: Stephens, "Complex Seeing: A New Form" 418-42. |
| 5–9 |
Tuesday
September 18 |
Peer Review Instructions |
Essay One Rough Draft |
| 5–10 |
Thursday
September 20 |
Intro to Turnitin.com
Intro to T-Square |
Essay One Peer Review |
| 6–11 |
Tuesday
September 25 |
Essay Two assigned |
Essay One Final Draft
From Critical Thinking to Argument: Chapter Six |
| 6–12 |
Thursday
September 27 |
|
Writing Material: Rheingold, "Look Who's Talking" 379-388. |
| 7–13 |
Tuesday
October 2 |
|
Essay Two Topic Proposal
From Critical Thinking to Argument: Chapter Nine |
| 7–14 |
Thursday
October 4 |
|
Writing Material: Melville, "Bartleby the Scrivener" 263-289. |
| 8–15 |
Tuesday
October 9 |
STUDENT RECESS |
| 8–16 |
Thursday
October 11 |
Essay 2 Peer Review |
Essay Two Rough Draft |
| 9 |
Tuesday
October 16 |
Intro to Web design |
St. Martin's Handbook 447-482 |
| 9–17 |
Thursday
October 18 |
Essay Three assigned |
Essay Two Final Draft
Writing Material: Millar, "Filling the Void: Building the Hypermacho Man" 290-307. |
| 10–18 |
Tuesday
October 23 |
|
Online: Preface to the Second Edition; Chapter 10 from Lessig, Code 2.0 |
| 10–19 |
Thursday
October 25 |
Intro to Iron |
Essay Three Topic Proposal
Online: Excerpt from Keen, The Cult of the Amateur
Download WinSCP 4.0.4 or Fugu 1.2 from OITS software
|
| 11–20 |
Tuesday
October 30 |
Website Specs |
Online: Lethem, "Ecstasy of Influence" |
| 11–21 |
Thursday
November 1 |
Essay 3 Peer Review |
Essay Three Rough Draft |
| 12–22 |
Tuesday
November 6 |
|
Online: Bolter & Grusin,"Remediation" |
| 12–23 |
Thursday
November 8 |
Essay Four Assigned |
St. Martin's Handbook 483-501 |
| 13–24 |
Tuesday
November 13 |
Intro to Powerpoint
Tutorial
|
Essay Three Final Draft
Online: Tufte, "PowerPoint is Evil"
Communication Partners, "The Great Man has spoken, now what do I do?"
|
| 13–25 |
Thursday
November 15 |
|
Essay Four Topic Proposal
Online: Raymond, "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" |
| 14–26 |
Tuesday
November 20 |
Presentations |
|
| 14 |
Thursday
November 22 |
THANKSGIVING BREAK |
| 15–27 |
Tuesday
November 27 |
Writing Diagnostic II |
|
| 15–28 |
Thursday
November 29 |
Essay 4 Peer Review |
Essay Four Rough Draft |
| 16–29 |
Tuesday
December 4 |
Group presentations |
|
| 16–30 |
Thursday
December 6 |
Group presentations |
Essay Four Final Draft |
|