MANOR COLLEGE

700 FOX CHASE ROAD

JENKINTOWN, PA 19046

 

EN101OL:  Fundamentals of English Composition On-line                        03 Credits

Dr. Madeline Seltzer and Professor Michael Landis

 

E-MAIL ADDRESSES:                                            TELEPHONE CONTACT

mseltzer@manor.edu                                                    215-885-2360, EXT. 250

mlandis@manor.edu                                                     215-885-2360, EXT. 267

 

 

PREREQUISITES:   Students must either pass or place out of EN075 Reading Strategies, and EN085 Writing Strategies.

 

COURSE PHILOSOPHY:

 

The philosophy of Fundamentals of Composition I (EN101) begins with Socrates’ admonition that “The unexamined life is not worth living…”  Examining our lives means questioning the basic assumptions and values of our culture and society as well as those of our selves.  The basis of critical thinking, “examining our lives,” requires us to view the world from multiple vantage points, voluntarily giving up the familiar, safe cultural perspectives developed throughout our experience (the “tyranny of custom” in the words of philosopher Bertrand Russell). 

            Writing about place is one of the most effective ways that we can experience the empowering capacity of the writing process as a vehicle for developing a heightened sensitivity to issues concerning our relationship to the multiple, “concentric” environments that we inhabit.  This course moves from our appreciation of a significant place in ours pasts to an expanded consciousness of the transpersonal “commons” that we all inhabit—our ecological contexts.

            We begin with what is most familiar and what most easily engages us—a detailed deep description of a significant place in our pasts.  In the details that emerge from this writing process, we re-experience the emotions that are inextricably bound to the details that we uncover in our memories.  In this way, the physical details of place become very evocative; we begin to see the power and relevance of the physical details of our places.  In short, we develop an intense capacity for observing and valuing the larger landscapes in which we participate.  In composing place—deep place writing—we develop a more robust sense of self as well as of the “other,” thus expanding our focus from the familiar, rather limited field to the larger, more comprehensive landscape—which becomes the focus of the course—the ecological issues that confront us today.

            As part of the curriculum of a Catholic college committed to education in values, this course is designed to heighten our empathy, tolerance, and awareness of our responsibilities in society. 

 

 

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION: INSTRUCTION AND PRACTICE IN COLLEGE                          

                                                WRITING

This course introduces students to various types of writing that are necessary for college work, such as summaries, essays, and research papers.  Students will write, critique, and revise each other’s papers in a workshop atmosphere, creating several drafts for each assignment, which will be read by the instructors.  Students will develop their grammar and sentence skills, paragraph construction, essay organization, and research skills.   Students will also read, summarize, and analyze a body of literature thematically focused on examining the self in the contexts of community and the environment.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

1.  Students will learn the following skills and writing strategies:

a.      description and narrative

b.     the use of examples to support a thesis

c.      cause/effect analysis

d.     synthesis

e.      summary and analysis of college level readings

f.       basic research form and technique: information literacy

g.      application of hermeneutic keys for various media

 

2.     Students will develop an awareness of the impact of place on their beings and lives

3.     Students will develop the ability to scrutinize critically their beliefs and convictions 

      about ecological issues.

4.     Students will develop a robust awareness and understanding of what historically they have considered “other.”

5.     Students will develop empathic skills.

 

 

STUDENT OUTCOMES:

1.     Students will demonstrate proficiency in negotiating the various constructive elements of the written medium—i.e. brainstorming and implementing patterns of organization, grammar and mechanics, and proofreading/editing strategies—as a vehicle for facilitating critical thinking.

 

a.      Measure:  Students will exhibit proficiency in negotiating language as a tool of critical thinking in essays and reaction papers.

 

 

2.     Students will demonstrate effective reading and critical thinking skills.

a.      Measure:  Students will critically analyze assigned texts in answering study

questions and in writing journal entries and essays.

      .

 

3.     Students will become familiarized with literature as a tool for examining self and others, philosophically, psychologically, and anthropologically/sociologically, with the ultimate aim of understanding self and others through continually shifting perspectives.

a.       Measure:  Students will develop the capacity to implement significant tools for examination of self and others through critical reading and critical

writing.

 

 

4.  Students will demonstrate the ability to understand the ethical issues explored through texts dealing with the theme of landscape, place, and ecology

a.      Measure:  Students will explore the theme of place, in journal entries and essays.

 

 

5.     Students will demonstrate the ability to identify and retrieve information from a variety of primary and secondary electronic and traditional sources.

a.      Measure:  Students will identify and retrieve information for one essay

                  assignment.

 

 

 

6.  Students will demonstrate the ability to evaluate information according to acceptable    criteria.

a.      Measure:  Students will evaluate information retrieved electronically and

      traditionally for one essay assignment.

 

7.  Students will demonstrate the ability to utilize the research by integrating and organizing the information in essays.

a.      Measure:  Students will utilize research in one essay.

 

 

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

In order to pass the course, the student must fulfill the following requirements:

1.     Completion of all writing and reading assignments on time.  Late papers will not be accepted unless arrangements have been made with and ratified by the instructors prior to the due dates of the papers.

2.     Average passing grade for the 6000 words of graded compositions.

3.     Plagiarism is a serious offense with serious consequences from failing the

      essay to failing the course, to being expelled from the college (see the

      plagiarism policy in the student handbook).  Students are responsible for

      making sure that they do not plagiarize.

 

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Anderson, Chris and Lex Runciman.  A Forest of Voices: Conversations in Ecology 2nd

            ed.  Mayfield Publishing Company, 1995.

 

Hult, Christine A. and Thomas N. Huckin.  The New Century Pocket Guide for Writers. 

            Pearson Education, Inc., 2004.

 

Each student should purchase a standard three-ring-binder notebook and filler

            paper as a medium for maintaining a repository for handouts and notes, a space

            to sustain an ongoing journal, and a portfolio for the various drafts of

            compositions completed throughout the course.

 

 

APPROACHES TO TEACHING:

  • Internet lectures on basic concepts
  • Hands-on writing projects
  • Feedback on submitted writing

 

 

 

GRADING:

100%-90%                              A

89-80                                                                             B

79-70                                                                             C

69-60                                                                             D

59 or lower                              F

 

 

 

TOTAL POINTS FOR COURSE:                   1000

 

            JOURNAL ENTRIES:             100

 

            ROUGH DRAFTS:                              100

 

            ESSAY#1:                                           200

            ESSAY#2:                                           100

 

            ESSAY#3:                                           200

 

            ANNOTATED

            BIBLIOGRAPHY:                               100

 

            RESEARCH PAPER:                          200

 

 

ATTENDANCE:

This is an online course.  Attendance means that students will use the resources available on the course website, and maintain weekly contact with the instructors.  All work must be submitted on time and communication with the instructors must be timely.

 

REQUIRED COMPUTER ACCESS

·        Students must have access to a PC that is connected to the internet

·        Students must have an e-mail account

·        Students must have a Microsoft Word 2000 (or a later edition) loaded on their computer

 

 

WEBSITES:

Tech Support: helpdesk@manor.edu

 

 

 

 

 

 

OUTLINE OF COURSE CONTENT:         (For specific week-by-week instructions, click the links below for each week)

 

UNIT ONE:  DEEP PLACE:  PERSONAL LANDSCAPES

 

Week I:           Introduction to the Course

                       

                        Reading Assignments:

 

·        “Part I” in A Forest of Voices (3-36)

·        Rabkin, Sarah. “Coming Round the Bend” (43-47).

·        Dillard, Annie. “The Silent Neighborhood” (48-52).

·        Hall, Donald. “The One Thousand Seasons” (110-113).

·        Norris, Kathleen. “The Beautiful Places” (114-121).

·        Blew, Mary. “The Sow in the River” (122-127).

·        Momaday, N. Scott.  “Sacred and Ancestral Ground” (128-133).

·        Didion, Joan. “On Going Home” (134-138).

·        Moore, Kathleen. “Winter Creek” (144-147).

·        Eisley, Loren. “The Bird in the Machine” (179-186).

 

 

Writing Assignments:

·        Journal Entry #1: do “Rethinking and Rewriting” exercise #1 (46-47).

 

Week 2:

                       

                        Reading Assignments:

·        The New Century Pocket Guide for Writers (1-10).

 

 

Writing Assignments:

·        Journal Entry #2:           Present Place Description

·        Journal Entry #3:           Past Place Description

·        Journal Entry #4:           The Emotional Dimensions of Place

Descriptions

 

 

Week 3:

                        Writing Assignments:

·        Rough draft of Essay #1

 

 

 

Week 4:

                       

                        Writing Assignments:

·        Final Draft of Essay #1

·        Journal Entry #5:  Do “Reading and Responding” #2 (120).

·        Journal Entry #6:  Do “Rethinking and Rewriting” #3 (127).

·        Journal Entry #7:  Do “Rethinking and Rewriting #1 (147).

 

 

 

 

 

UNIT TWO:    COMMUNAL PLACE:  LANDSCAPES OF THE COMMONS

 

 

 

 

 

Week 5:

 

                        Reading Assignments:

·        Saenz, Benjamin. “Exile: El Paso, Texas” (72-80).

·        Warren, Karen.  “November Sojourn” (172-178).

·        Abbey, Edward. “The Great American Desert” (204-212).

·        Walker, Alice. “Am I Blue” (242-246).

·        Kumin, Maxine. “Sleeping With Animals” (253-254).

 

Writing Assignments:    

·        Journal Entry #8:  Do “Reading and Responding “ #2  (79).

·        Journal Entry #9:  Do “Working Together” # 1 (245).

·        Journal Entry #10:  Do “Reading and Responding” #1 (254).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 6:          

 

                        Writing Assignments:

·        Rough Draft for Essay #2 due

 

 

 

 

Week 7:

                       

                        Reading Assignments:

·        Oldenberg, Ray. “The Problem of Place in America” (94-109).

·        Thoreau, Henry David. “Walking” (140-143).

·        Zepeda, Ofelia.  “Where Wilderness Begins” (150-155).

·        Lopez, Barry.  “Gone Back Into the Earth” (187-194).

·        Thomas, Lewis. “Tucson Zoo” (239-241).

·        Oliver, Mary.  “Five A.M. in the Pinewoods” (288-290).

·        Muir, John. “Hetch Hetchy Valley” (296-302).

·        Stegner, Wallace.  “Wilderness Letter” (532-540).

 

 

Writing Assignments:

·        Final Draft of Essay #2 due

·        Journal Entry #11:  Do “Reading and Responding” #2 (154).

·        Journal Entry #12:  “Human Interaction In Community” assignment [“Tucson Zoo” is Madeline  Zohoar]

·        Journal Entry #13:  “Working Together” #3 (289).

 

 

Week 8:          

                       

                        Writing Assignments:

·        Rough Draft for Essay #3

 

 

Week 9:

 

UNIT THREE: GLOBAL PLACE:       ECOLOGICAL LANDSCAPES

 

                        Reading Assignments:

·        The New Century Pocket Guide for Writers (11-66)

·        A Forest of Voices (17-33)

 

 

                       

Writing Assignments:

·        Final Draft for Essay #3

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 10:

 

                        Reading Assignments:

·        Chadwick, Douglas. “Helping A Great Bear Hang On” (282-287).

·        Dillon, John. “Fading Colors:  Are We Losing the Sugar Maple to Acid Rain” (292-295).

·        Manson, Marsden. “A Statement of San Francisco’s Side” (303-310).

·        Matthews, Samuel. “Under the Sun” (311-325)

·        Weston, Anthony.  “Is it too Late” (354-372).

·        Seideman, David. “Out of the Woods” (373-381).

·        Reisner, Marc. “Coming Undammed” (382-389).

·        Anderson, Chris. “Forest of Voices” (403-418).

·        LaDuke, Winona.  “Voices from White Earth” (435-439).

·        Leopold, Aldo. “The Land Ethic” (450-464).

·        Hamilton, Cynthia. “Women, Home, and Community:  The Struggle in an Urban Environment” (542-549).

·        Gibbs, Lois Marie. “Learning from Love Canal:  A Twentieth Anniversary Retrospective” (550-555).

·        Berry, Wendell.  “Out of Your Car.  Off Your Horse” (556-561)

·        Williams, Terry Tempest.  “The Clan of One-Breasted Women” (569-576).

·        Stap, Don.  “Returning the Native” (579-589).

·        Duckworth, Caroline. “Pieces of Paper Protecting the Land” (590-595).

·        Pollan, Michael.  “The Idea of a Garden” (596-615).

 

Week 11:

 

                        Writing Assignments:

·        Final Research Paper Topic due

Week 12:

 

                        Writing Assignments:

·        Annotated Bibliography due

 

 

Week 13:

                       

                        Writing Assignments:

·        Rough draft of Final Research Paper due

 

 

Week 14:

                       

                        Writing Assignments:

·        Final Research Paper due

 

 

 

Week 15:

 

·        Final Response and Evaluation