English 3102 Syllabus

UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO RIO PIEDRAS CAMPUS

COLLEGE OF GENERAL STUDIES

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

Dr. Cynthia S. Pittmann

SPRING 2017

Contact:                       College of General Studies, English Department,                                         P.O Box 23323, San Juan, PR 00931

                                      (787) 764-0000 X88800 X88803

                                      cynthia.pittmann@upr.edu

Office Hours:               Monday 7- 8:30 a.m., 11:30 -1 p.m., 2:30 - 4 p.m.

Note: by appointment (other times are available)

Course Title:                Basic English II

Course Number: 
    English 3102

Credit/hours:                3 credits per semester/ 3 class hours

Pre-requisites:              English 3101

Course Description:

A. Course

This is an interdisciplinary course that fulfills the English requirements for the general education component of the bachelor’s degree. It is a course of English for academic purpose. This course covers the study of fictional reading with emphasis on the study of short stories. Supplementary readings may include short novels. The course emphasizes an integrated literature approach focused on the study of inter and multidisciplinary content. It continues to develop students’ thinking competencies from literal to analytical and aims to help students become active readers and strong writers as they become aware of the intimate relationship among thinking, reading, writing, and information literacy competencies. In addition, the course offers the progressive development of the competencies needed to effectively use linguistic and research tools and resources such as dictionaries, computer programs, and tutors.

General Course Objectives

Consistent with the end of their first year of college English, the students will demonstrate, through a variety of forms of evaluation and on the basis of the standards for the different levels established by the English Department that they are making progress in their ability to:

1. Communicate orally and intelligibly in a variety of academic situations.


2. Apply comprehension competencies in reading of fictional and non-fictional selections.


3. Apply interpretative-analytical competencies in reading of fictional and non-fictional selections.

4. Evaluate the relevance and validity of information in fictional and non-fictional selections.

5. Critically examine aesthetic, ethical, humanistic, and cultural values in representative literary works.

6. Express ideas in written form with clarity, precision, coherence, unity, and logic.

7. Demonstrate the ability to use the library and computer technology for preliminary research.


8. Demonstrate ability to efficiently search for information and effectively and ethically use and manage information.


9. Collaborate in the inclusion of students with disabilities into all class activities.

Course Outline and Time Distribution

I. Introduction

A. Identification of students that are participants of the Vocational Rehabilitation Program to plan for Reasonable accommodation

B. Presentation and discussion of the course outline


C. Review the missions of the College of General Studies and the English Department and registration for online class.

D. Skills to be developed throughout the semester:                        (3 hours)

Reading comprehension strategies: underlining, annotating, outlining, summarizing;
short story analysis tool: elements of fiction;
writing strategies: summaries, reaction paragraphs, essays; writing process: pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, publishing; information literacy skills: quoting, paraphrasing, referencing, and citing; critical thinking skills: analysis, synthesis, and application;
grammar skills: selected grammar concepts and structures;
listening and speaking skills: class discussions and oral presentations vocabulary development: unit content, adjectives, adverbs, and modifiers of character.

II. Unit on Relationships (Self and Other)                                   (12 hours)

A. Interdisciplinary approaches: Communication, Sociology and Psychology (overview)


B. Communication theory area: locus of control, self-focus vs. other focus

C. Sociological research on courage, compassion, connection and guide questions related to trauma, shame and perfectionism (Brene Brown, Ph.D) as related to character motivation (Elements of Fiction)

D. Psychological types (C.J. Jung) and application to literature

III. Unit on culture as it relates to social change and injustice (12 hours)

A. Language as prestige, power and persuasion (connections from life, short story and other forms of literature (extension from Basic English 3101)

B. Culture/communication/gender and literary analysis: diction, dialogue, and point of view (narrative/story and autobiography)

IV. Current social issue focusing on “engaged” writing (short stories and writing to effect change). 
                                                             (9 hours)

A. Topic focus 1: Minimalism

B. Topic focus 2: Lifestyle and Choices

V. Integrative Sessions
                                                    (9 hours)

A. Oral presentations integrating readings and class discussions


B. Other activities such as panel discussion focusing on semester issues (Annual Literary Contest and Student Research and Writing Conference)


C. Exit level assessment or evaluation strategies using the current Level Rubrics                                                                                     

Total: 45 hours

Instructional Strategies

The professor may use guide questions, group work, oral presentations, providing exercises for practice on the elements of the essay, outlining, summarizing, visiting the library, movies, audio-recordings, conferences and guest speakers. Essays, articles, biographies, newspaper articles, teacher-prepared materials, audio and audio-visual materials, films, documentaries, websites, dictionaries, grammar texts, ESL software, selected readings, songs, photographs, and art are used. Students are encouraged to seek tutoring at the Center for Linguistic Competencies. Assessment activities and strategies are also used to evaluate student’s learning.

Required Learning Resources

Marcus, Sybil and Daniel Berman. A World of Fiction 1. Pearson. 2014. ISBN-13: 978-0133046168.

Purchase information: Norberto Gonzalez Bookstore, 1012 Ponce de Leon Avenue, (787) 281-7166

Gaines, Earnest. Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. Random House, 1971. ISBN: 0-553-26357-9

Supplementary Readings:

Posted on Internet Classroom

Evaluation Strategies

A. Exams: essay, oral presentations                          20%

B. Quizzes, homework, blog                                      20%

C. Classroom participation and group project         20%

D. Written work and research                                    20%

E. Final project and (department exam)                   20%

Total: 100%  

Students’ Rights with Disabilities

The University of Puerto Rico, complies with all state and federal laws and regulations related to discrimination including “The American Disabilities Act” (ADA) and Law # 51 from the Puerto Rico Commonwealth (Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico). Every student has the right to request and receive reasonable accommodation and Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS). Those students with special needs that require some type of particular assistance or accommodation shall explicitly communicate it directly to the professor. Students who are receiving VRS services shall communicate it to the professor at the beginning of the semester so that appropriate planning and the necessary equipment according to the Disabilities Persons Affairs Office (Oficina de Asuntos para las Personas con Impedimentos (OAPI) from the Student’s Deanship office. Any other student requiring assistance or special accommodation shall also communicate directly with the professor. Reasonable accommodations requests or services DO NOT exempt the student from complying and fulfilling academic and course related requirements and responsibilities.

Academic Integrity

The University of Puerto Rico promotes the highest standards of academic and scientific integrity. Article 6.2 of the UPR Students General Bylaws (Board of Trustees Certification 13, 2009-1010) states that academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to: fraudulent actions; obtaining grades or academic degrees by false or fraudulent simulations; copying the whole or part of the academic work of another person; plagiarizing totally or partially the work of another person; copying all or part of another person’s answers to the questions of an oral or written exam by taking or getting someone else to take the exam on his/her behalf; as well an enabling and facilitating another person to perform the aforementioned behavior. Any of these behaviors will be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with the disciplinary procedure laid down in the UPR Students General Bylaws.

Grading System

          A 90-100

          B 80-89

          C 70-79

          D 60-69

          F 0-59

English Department Attendance Policy

Six contact hours of absences may lower average one whole letter grade. Five late arrivals are equivalent to one absence.

Bibliography

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 5th ed.

Houghton Mifflin, 2011.

Bloom, Lynn. The Essay Connection. 10th ed. Boston: Cengage

Dollahite, Nancy and Julie Haun. Sourcework: Academic Writing from Sources. 2nd ed. Boston: Heinle and Heinle, 2011.

Fitzpatrick, Mary. Engaging Writing 2: Essential Skills for Academic Writing. 2nd ed. Pearson, 2011.

Flachmann, Kim. Mosaics Reading and Writing Essays. 6th ed. Pearson, 2014.

Goldberg, Natalie. Writing Down the Bones. Shambhala, 2016.

Halliday, M.A.K. Halliday’s Introduction to Functional Grammar. 4th ed. Routledge, 2014.

Herman, David, Manfred Jahn, and Marie-Laure Ryan, eds. Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory. Routledge, 2008.

Lattuca, Lisa R. Creating Interdisciplinarity: Interdisciplinary Research and Teaching among College and University Faculty. Vanderbilt, 2001.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 11th ed. Mass: Merriam-Webster, 2004.

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 8th ed. Modern Language Association, 2016.  

Online Resources:

Research

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/

https://www.library.cornell.edu/research/citation/mla/

https//www.bowdoin.edu/writing-guides/

http://www.library.cornell.edu/research/

http://www.gutenberg.org/

http://www.jstor.org/

http://www.mla.org/bibliography/

http://oasiswritinglink.blogspot.com/

http://nicenet.org/

Dictionary

http://www.merriam-webster.com

Journals

http://www.redbonepress.com/

http://www.blackbird.vcu.edu/

http://www.nereview.com/

The Internet Detective – a free online tutorial designed to help develop the competencies and critical thinking required for Internet research.

http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/detective

Searching the World Wide Web

http://owl.english.purdue.udu/owl/resource/558/01

Searching and evaluating what you find in the Web

http://www.wellesley.edu/Library/Research/citation.html

Avoiding Plagiarism

http://www.writing.nwu.edu

A comment on university students and establishing a learning goal:

Successful university students decide to assume responsibility for their own learning. After establishing a specific learning goal, they develop a workable study plan to follow throughout the course of each semester. Most students should expect to spend two hours of outside time in study for each hour of class. In a three-credit class, this would mean 6 hours of study and 3 hours of class each week (9 hours total). In second language classes daily contact is especially important for developing mastery. Consequently, this course is designed to provide activities that will reinforce your daily study period and overall English learning goals.

Quotation by Marianne Williamson (slightly modified) from A Return to Love, Harper Collins, 1992, pp. 190-191.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous.” Actually, who are you not to be. Your  playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. And we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Welcome to class!