English 1102: Cosmologies and Cultural Production

Alighieri, Dante. The Divine Comedy. Trans. John Ciardi. New York: New American Library, 2003.

Hawking, Stephen, and Leonard Mlodinow. A Briefer History of Time. New York: Bantam, 2005.

Hetherington, Norriss S., ed.  Cosmology: Historical, Literary, Philosophical, Religious, and Scientific Perspectives.  New York & London: Garland, 1993. Available at Engineer's Bookstore.

Lundsford, Andrea A.  The St. Martin's Handbook.  Sixth edition.  New York: Bedford/St Martin's, 2008.

Milton, John. Paradise Lost. Ed. David Scott Kastan. Indianapolis: Hackett, 2005.

Cosmology is the study of the nature and development of the universe as a whole. Cosmological theories can be found in the most ancient texts, and the debate about the extent, origin, and fate of the cosmos continues today.  In this course, we will focus on how classical, medieval, renaissance, and modern cosmologies have shaped and been shaped by Western culture and literature, but we will also touch on Eastern influences and parallels.  We will illuminate our inquiries with cosmographies--graphical and textual mappings of the Earth and the universe.

• Analyze a text according to audience and purpose.
• 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.

• Essays (60%)

1. Annotated Bibliography (15%)
2.  Literary Analysis (25%)
3.  Science Fiction Analysis (20%)   

• Quizzes (15%)

There will be 15 pop-quizzes given on the assigned readings during the course of the semester.

• Participation (25%)

  This category includes all in-class work other than presentations and quizzes and all homework other than Final Drafts.  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 course in 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.

Timely and consistent attendance is mandatory for a productive class experience. Tardies count as half of an absence, but it is your responsibility to ensure that I mark you as tardy rather than absent. Students with six 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. If you inform me of an absence in advance and/or provide documentation explaining your absence, your absence will only count as half an absence. 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

Decorum means appropriate behavior and conduct in the classroom. If you disrupt class, you will be considered tardy (since being late is also a breech of decorum). If you are so disruptive that you are asked to leave, you will be considered absent.

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 T-Square: https://t-square.gatech.edu/portal.  Final Drafts will be submitted to Turnitin: http://www.turnitin.com.  I will explain 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.  Here are some general requirements:

1. All essays must be double-spaced.
2. Margins should not exceed 1.25 inches.
3. Number all pages in the upper-right-hand corner.
4. Use a 12 point standard font (such as Times).
5. Include a works cited page or bibliography (numbered but not included inpageor word count requirement)
6. Provide the following information in the upper-left-hand corner of the first page of the essay:

Your Full Name
Instructor:  Olin Bjork
English 1101, and section#
Assignment Name
Due Date for the assignment

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 Office of Student Integrity: http://www.deanofstudents.gatech.edu/integrity/

You should be familiar with the process for academic misconduct: http://www.deanofstudents.gatech.edu/integrity/academic_misconduct.php