Required Texts and Materials
The College Writer by Vandermey (2nd Edition)
MAUS I by Art Spiegelman
How German Is It? by Walter Abish
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
An e-mail account

High-speed Internet Access (preferrable)
A college-level dictionary
A folder for the submission of your work
An 80-page spiral-bound notebook

Course Goals 
The goals of English 1B are as follows: a) to guide you in writing effectively with a variety of distinct purposes and to different audiences, b) to give you knowledge of and practice with research techniques and managing sources, c) to teach you to use the principles and methods that will enable you to enter courses in many fields with confidence, d) to provide you with the tools to analyze and synthesize the discourses you find there, and, e) on the basis of this work, to begin participating effectively in these other discourses, whether written, oral, or multimedia.  More generally, you will learn how to think, write, and read critically at a college level, to participate as an active contributor to the academic conversation.

Course Overview
About history, George Orwell warned, "Those who control the past control the future. Those who control the present control the past."  We must take him seriously.

This is a history course, but it won’t merely provide you with an historical perspective and factual data to absorb for later regurgitation on a final exam.  Instead, you will explore the notion of “history” itself, what it is, how it represents things, how it should be read, why we must stay engaged with it, and how understanding it is, as Orwell suggests, as much about the present and the future as it is about the past. 

In this class, you can become a more ethical, self-confident, and self-aware “maker of history.”  By learning how to read historical discourse more critically, you’ll develop your ability to make the right choices, as a citizen in a democracy and as a human being.  And, by learning how to write (or make) a history (which you will do in an in-depth research project), you will begin to shape the on-going, always changing, and terribly important conversation about what matters in the human story and why. 

We will explore diverse representations—photographs, essays, a film, a graphic novel, a memoir, and a novel--of the Holocaust, this icon of inhumanity, in order to understand the problems and possibilities of remembering the past and the issues involved in doing so.  Our discussions will also extend to other atrocities, including the genocide in Rwanda, the rape of Nanking, slavery, the dropping of the Atomic bomb, Darfur, and others as we consider questions of historical guilt and responsibility, sort out fact, opinion, and fiction, learn about primary and secondary sources, and explore what evils we humans are capable of and also what we are capable of preventing.  Most importantly, through an exploratation of your own historical legacy, you will gain a better sense of yourself in the context of history.

Writing Assignments
Each major take-home writing assignment requires a peer workshop and your reflection on your writing process.  The descriptions of the following writing assignments will be expanded on individual assignment sheets.

Take-home assignments:

A.  ESSAY 1: Textual Analysis (750 words, 75 points)

B.  ESSAY 2: Oral History Assignment (Interview)
C.  ESSAY 3: Synthesis (750-1000) words, 100 points)
D.  Annotated Bibliography

E.  Blog (80 points)
E.   Research Project:  (2-3000 words, 140 points)
(All of these assignments must be completed)

In-class writing:

A. A midterm: An Analytic Essay (80 points)
B. A final: A synthesis of your own writing, the content of the course, and your conclusions about writing history. (100 points)

Peer Critiques
You will give respectful critiques of your classmates' work, making sure to give constructive commentary. Give the feedback you would like to receive from others. I will give credit to thorough, constructive critiques. Your hard work will also count toward your final grade. Also, you can learn much from helping others to improve. I will provide detailed guidelines for you to follow as you critique.

Reflective Writing
Upon your completion of each essay, you will have the opportunity to reflect on your process, writing an essay that holds a mirror up to your efforts -- both successful and unsuccessful -- in the making of a particular piece of writing. I will provide you with prompts for these.

Submission Guidelines
You will submit your work in a standard manila folder that has been marked clearly with your name and the class you are enrolled in.  The folder will contain, in the order in which the work was completed, all the steps toward the completion of the assignment, including prewriting, outlines, drafts, peer reviews written for you, final draft, and reflective writing.  Missing portions will result in a lowering of your grade.

All essays must be typed in 12-point standard font (I suggest Times New Roman, Palatino or New Century Schoolbook), be double-spaced, have paragraphs indented, and have 1-inch margins. (Nothing else is acceptable.) Write your name, the class, the date, and the essay number (e.g. 2.1) in the top left-hand corner of the first page. Center the title below the heading. Use MLA style for documentation.

For each typed essay, you will write at least two (2) versions, one for peer workshop and one that is revised for final submission. You will be given guidelines for a self-evaluation or reflection before the final version is due.

Late papers will be penalized, unless previous arrangements have been made and approved. (Not being in class does not excuse you from doing the work due to be turned in that day.) 

LATE PAPER CERTIFICATES:  You will be granted a single free extension on ONE assignment during the term.  When and if you choose to exercise this privilege you will fill out the Late Paper Certificate, noting the date by which you intend to submit the work.

Rewritten second versions are possible only if the requirements above are met. Include the rewritten essay along with originals and a NEW one-page reflection in your folder.

BLOG
Our use of the BLOG will be to enhance our experience in the brick and mortar classroom.  It will be a venue for free-form discussion of issues, specific assignments, and ideas.  Think of it as an on-line, interactive journal, a requirement that is also an opportunity.  Everyone is required to post in some substantial way every week.  Your responses will be assessed qualitatively and quantitatively.


The Wirebound Notebook
Bring it with you to class everyday. This will be a place where you will be able to take notes develop your own ideas, record and respond to the ideas of others in the class, and practice your writing. Here you will perform all in-class writing activities. I will check it two times, once at mid-term and once at the end. USE IT TO RECORD NOT ONLY WHAT I SAY BUT ALSO WHAT YOUR PEERS SAY. Use it also as a reading journal, to record your thoughts as you read.
 
Course Policies
Attendance
Because this course makes use of writing activities, in-class workshops, and small-group discussion, your consistent attendance is crucial to your success. If you must miss a class for religious holidays, medical reasons, or other valid reason, you must let me know as far in advance as possible of the absence and obtain information about the work you must do to keep up in class. If you miss a class for any other reason (sudden illness, family emergency, etc.), you should get in touch with me as soon as possible and arrange to make up the work missed. If you do not take responsibility for communicating with me about absences, I will contact you by phone or email and issue a warning about your standing in the course. Should you miss a second unexcused class, your work in the class will be seriously compromised, and a continued pattern of absences may jeopardize your enrollment in the class.

Three tardies will be equivalent to one absence.

Be in class, on time, every day!

Conferences
You will attend at least one conference with me during the course of the term. It will be scheduled during the week identified in the syllabus. You may choose to consult with me as often as you like during my office hours. Not showing up for a scheduled conference counts as an absence from class.

Grade Disputes
 If you have a complaint about this course or wish to question a grade on an assignment, please write me a memo explaining the problems you are having with the course or my evaluation of your work. If you are not satisfied by my response or if you would like to discuss the matter further with me, we may meet. You may ask me to read an assignment again, reconsidering your work in light of points you have made about it. Many misunderstandings or problems can be worked out in such a meeting.

Incompletes
I will give a student an Incomplete in this course ONLY in this very special case: when the student has completed all of or the vast majority of the work in the class but, for some valid reason, cannot complete the course.

Revising
I stand by the principle that "writing is rewriting." You may revise as much as you want, up to the due date for the assignment. Your work will, as part of the process, be reviewed by your peers and/or by me. The revision of "final drafts" is possible if ALL previous steps in the writing process have been completed, including proper formatting. Revisions will be due no later than one week from the return of the paper.  Grades on revisions can either improve or not. A weak revision can actually lower your grade. More careful proofreading does not constitute a revision.

Evaluation Criteria
A    Excellent. Paper fully grasps the intent of the assignment. Asserts a complex thesis and fully develops it with grace and clarity. Is highly engaging to read. Is written in a voice and a style that are exceptionally suited for subject, audience, and purpose. Uses sound paragraphing. Employs a structure that is both logical and fitting for the assignment. Is virtually free of grammatical errors and misspellings. When applicable, uses appropriate documentation style with accuracy and consistency.

B    Good. Paper fulfills the basic expectations of the assignment. Asserts and develops a strong thesis. Is written with a voice and style appropriate for subject, audience, and purpose. Has clear prose, though it may be somewhat inconsistent or have some problems such as inflated diction, cliché, overuse of passive voice, or repetitiveness. Has logical structure, though, like the "five-paragraph essay" often is, it may be too rigid and without nuance or have overly mechanical transitions. May need some editing of occasional grammatical errors, such as comma splice, verb agreement, or pronoun reference. May require some further proofreading.

C    Fair. Paper may demonstrate a vague or only general understanding of the assignment. May either state a strong thesis idea, which it fails to develop fully, or state a weak or self-evident thesis with adequate development. May have style and voice that are fairly clear but that may be inappropriate for subject, audience, and/or purpose. May suffer from fairly weak prose, particularly with pervasive grammatical problems. May employ an ill-conceived or poorly executed structure that makes the logic of the paper hard to follow. May have had few substantive revisions made to it between drafts.

D    Poor. Paper may demonstrate that the writer has misread the assignment. Neither states nor implies a clear and consistent controlling idea. May show little development of ideas. May suffer from pervasive paragraphing and/or editing problems that make for difficult reading. May have had few or no substantive revisions made to it between drafts.

F    Failing. Come to see me if you get this grade or if you think you might.


Grading
Assignments in this class will be given the approximation of point values listed below:
   
Essay 1                    75 pts
Interview                 100

Essay 3                    100

Research:
   Proposal                 20
   Thesis                     20
   Annotated bib.       50
   Oral Argument      90

   Blog                      80
   Paper                    140
                                 400

Midterm                   80
Final                         100

Quizzes                     50
Participation             80
                                1000    

Extra credit              up to 80 
Your final grade will be determined using the following scale:
   
900-1000 pts             A
801-899                     B
701-800                     C
601-700                     D
600 and under           No Pass

Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Plagiarism
 Students are responsible for maintaining honesty in scholarship. Work submitted for a course must be the student's own (or a group's work, if students have collaborated on an assignment). The use of someone else's words or ideas without acknowledgment and/or as your own will earn you an “F” for the assignment and may, depending on the judgment of myself and the college result in your being dropped from the course.  Remember, if I suspect plagiarism, I have the means of discovering your sources.  I end up doing this far too often.  Don't commit this mistake.  It's not worth it.  For a thorough examination of plagiarism and why you should not do it, click here.