SUNY Fredonia
Division of Arts and Humanities
ENGL 400: Senior Seminar
Spring 2002
Section 1: Thompson E-316 (usually)/Fenton 2162 (occasionally), TTh 12:30-1:50
Office: Fenton 240; TTh 3:30-4:30, WF 2-4:30, and by appointment; 673-3859
E-mail: bruce.simon@fredonia.edu
Web Page: www.fredonia.edu/department/english/simon/
About the Course Web Site
This web site is designed to help you get as much out of this course as possible--you can use it to find out how you will be graded, what reading and writing assignments are due and when, how to subscribe to the course listserv for your section, what books are on reserve for your use in Reed Library, and how to use the world-wide web for research. Please take the time during the second week of classes to read this page carefully and to familiarize yourself with the other pages for this course. Please get in the habit of checking back to this web site to keep track of changes to the tentative schedule listed in your syllabus and to find advice on papers, as well as to surf the ever-expanding list of links to interesting web pages related to the course. And please contact me anytime (see above for my coordinates) if you have ideas about how to improve these pages or the course as a whole. I hope you enjoy taking this course as much as I enjoy teaching it!
Course Description
As the capstone course for English majors, senior seminar is intended to provide an integrative and transitional learning experience. That is, the course asks students to synthesize the literary knowledge and critical skills they have garnered as English majors and to reflect on the relationship of that experience to their future lives and career goals. In this section, then, we will be looking back, looking ahead, and looking out--back at how the various pieces of the major fit together for each of you, ahead to the potential uses of the skills and knowledge developed in the major, and out at the world today. Taking as our theme "Literature in a Global Context," we will emphasize the use of writing not only for analysis or expression but also for reflection, invention, and projection. This course satisfies both the final requirement of the major and the writing-intensive requirement for the GCP (Part Ib).
Textbooks
Evaluation, Grade Assignment, and Course Policies
Methods. Your grade will be based on your performance on the following assignments:
Preparation/Participation (15%). Regular attendance and thoughtful participation are crucial to your enjoyment of and success in this course. You are expected to come to class on time and prepared to contribute to discussions, as well as to participate on the course listserv beyond the required assignments described below. As there are no tests in this course, think of my evaluation of your preparation/participation as a different but equally important method of assessing your overall performance in the course. Please be sure to familiarize yourself with the course policies relating to this portion of your final grade.
Teaching Presentation (15%). You may choose one of the following three options for the 15-20-minute teaching presentation. (1)"Looking Back": you must choose a literary or other work to be the subject of a demonstration of the ways in which that work "brings together" your experience of and learning in the major. I have chosen Stephenson's science fiction novel Snow Crash as our text for the "Looking Back" segment of the course, for reasons I will explain during my own teaching presentation. (2) "Looking Ahead": you must present your research for the application project verbally in an explanation of the rhetorical strategies you plan to take in your application for the job or graduate program. (3) "Looking Out": you must choose a literary or other work to be the subject of a demonstration of the ways in which that work has changed your sense of the world today and your relation to it, or has caused you to gain a new perspective on a recent event or social/political/ethical issue. I have chosen Devi's short story collection Imaginary Maps as our text for this segment of the course, for reasons I will explain during my own teaching presentation. Further information and advice on the teaching presentation can be found by clicking here.
Research-based Revision (20%). You must choose a paper from your portfolio, use Lentricchia and McLaughlin's Critical Terms for Literary Study and the on-line MLA Bibliography to help you decide what research you want to pursue in developing your paper, do that research and bring a first revision of the paper to an in-class peer review session, and turn in your final revision of the paper along with its earlier incarnations (original paper, first revision, reviewer's comments/suggestions) and a reflection on your revision choices. See the Schedule of Assignments for the timing of this project. Click here for further information and advice on this project.
Application Project (20%). You must choose a job or graduate program for which to put together application materials (cover letter and resume for job; cover letter, resume, and personal statement for graduate program), map out an application strategy and get feedback on it in a peer review session, and turn in your application materials along with an explanation of your rhetorical strategies in them. See the Schedule of Assignments for the timing of this project. Click here for further information and advice on this project.
Audience/Genre Revision (20%). You must choose a different paper from your portfolio than for the research-based revision, choose a different audience/genre than the original paper (e.g., a print or electronic magazine or journal), map out a strategy for revision and get feedback on your first revision in a peer review session, and turn in your final revision of the paper along with its earlier incarnations (original paper, first revision, reviewer's comments/suggestions) and an explanation/justification of your revision choices. See the Schedule of Assignments for the timing of this project. Click here for further information and advice on this project.
Portfolio Exit Paper (10%). The portfolio exit paper (minimum 2 pages) is a concise self-reflective exploration of your development as an English major. Look back over the entry paper, portfolio submissions, and writing in this course and consider the following questions: have you met your goals as an English major? have these goals changed over time? how do the other papers in the portfolio and projects in this course help you contemplate your goals as a student? how do your overall learning and experiences in the major help you contemplate your current goals as a graduate-to-be? Click here for further information and advice on this project.
B. Grading. I will grade student work during the semester on a letter basis (A=outstanding, B=good, C=average, D=bad, E=yeesh) and convert letter grades into numbers when calculating final grades. I use the following conversion system (the number in parentheses is the "typical" or "normal" conversion, but any number in the range may be assigned to a given letter grade):
A+=97-100 (98); A=93-96.99 (95); A-=90-92.99 (91); B+=87-89.99 (88); B=83-86.99 (85); B-=80-82.99 (81); C+=77-79.99 (78); C=73-76.99 (75); C-=70-72.99 (71); D+=67-69.99 (68); D=63-66.99 (65); D-=60-62.99 (61); E=0-59.99 (55).
I determine your final grade by converting the weighted numerical average of the above assignments into a letter grade, according to the above scale.
Policies. Please be aware of the following course requirements and policies.
Portfolio. Except for the exit paper, your portfolio must be complete by the second day of class in order for you to be able to remain in senior seminar.
Attendance. If there is absolutely no way for you to avoid missing a class, you must contact me ahead of time (or as soon as possible after your absence, if this proves impossible), preferably by email. Due to the importance of class participation, barring emergencies more than two unexcused absences will hurt your preparation/participation grade and each absence after the third will lower your final course grade by one-third of a grade (e.g., with four absences a B+ will become a B; with six, it will become a C+). Absences due to emergencies are the only ones that will not be counted toward your total for the semester. Emergencies include but are not limited to death in the family, hospitalization or major illness, and natural disasters; scheduled and unavoidable school-sponsored events (games, meets, performances, etc.) are also counted as emergencies for the purpose of this attendance policy.
Pre-Writing/Peer Review. At various times this semester, you will be required to submit certain pre-writing materials to the course listserv and to provide a first draft of several assignments for analysis and evaluation in peer review sessions. If you fail to submit a required listserv contribution or a rough draft for an assignment, its final grade will automatically be lowered one full grade (e.g., from an A to a B). If you fail to offer substantive comments, questions, and suggestions during a peer review, it will hurt your preparation/participation grade.
Late Assignments. Late work will be penalized by 1/3 of a grade per day late. Barring emergencies, only students who ask for an extension at least two days before the due date of any assignment will be granted one, and then only for good reason.
Course Listserv. You are required to subscribe to your section's listserv before the end of the second week of classes. What you do with the listserv after subscribing, however, is up to you--it is simply there as another avenue for participation. For instance, if you tend to be quiet in class, the listserv is an excellent way to chime in on a discussion or steer it in a different direction or reflect on it and pose topics for the next discussion. To subscribe to your section's listserv, compose an email message to listserv@listserv.fredonia.edu, leave the subject line blank, and write "subscribe engl40001 Your Name" in the body of message. Very soon after sending this message, you should receive an email from the machine that handles listserv subscriptions asking you to confirm your subscription; please follow the instructions in this email carefully, as you are not subscribed to the listserv until you have done so. Soon after doing this, you should receive another email message from the machine that handles listserv subscriptions informing you that you are now indeed subscribed to your section's listserv and laying out basic information about the listserv. Save this message--it's very useful. Once you get this message, you will begin receiving messages from others who are subscribed to the listserv; you also will be authorized to send messages to them by composing a message to the machine that distributes messages to those who are subscribed to the listserv. To do so, simply send an email message to engl40001@listserv.fredonia.edu. It is highly recommended that you either save a copy of every message you send to the course listserv (many email programs automatically save all messages sent in a "sent mail" folder) or "cc:" yourself whenever you send a message to the listserv, as your listserv participation will be graded both quantitatively and qualitatively and it is possible that technical or human error could result in your messages being lost in transit, accidentally deleted, misfiled, or miscounted. Please familiarize yourself with the college's "Computer and Network Usage Policy" (College Catalog 2001-2003, pp. 227-229), and keep this simple rule of thumb in mind: check with me first before posting something to your section's listserv that is not directly related to the course.
Make-up Work/Extra Credit. There will be some opportunities for extra credit; however, this is a privilege, not a right, and can only be undertaken after consultation with me.
Plagiarism and Academic Honesty. To plagiarize is "to steal and pass off as one's own the ideas or words of another" (Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary). SUNY Fredonia strongly condemns plagiarism and takes severe action against those who plagiarize. Disciplinary action may extend to suspension from privileges or expulsion from college. See pages 216 and 226 of the College Catalog 2001-2003 for further information, and see me if you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism.
Course Schedule
The following course schedule is subject to revision and supersedes the print version of this syllabus you received on the first day of classes (as you can see, it's a major revision, so I recommend you print off this page!); updates to this schedule will be announced in class and summarized on the news page.
Th 1/24/02 welcome, intros, set-up
Looking Back
T 1/29 review of portfolio materials; discussion of major
W 1/30 EMAIL to course listserv of your personal bibliography (organized by categories of your choosing with explanation of choice of categories) due by 5 pm
Th 1/31 discussion of major and patterns in portfolios and personal bibliographies
T 2/5 Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash 1-54 (Ch. 1-6) [meet in Fenton 2162]; choose a paper for the Research-based Revision project and use Critical Terms for Literary Study over the weekend to help you decide on a research direction for the project--we'll devote some class time to using on-line research tools for this project
Th 2/7 Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash 54-102 (Ch. 7-12); Guest Speaker: Judy Elwinger, Director, Career Development, on the job search process for English majors
F 2/8 EMAIL to course listserv on plans for Research-based Revision due by 7 pm
M 2/11 EMAIL to course listserv on plans for Audience/Genre Revision due by 7 pm
T 2/12 Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash 102-149 (Ch. 13-18); Guest Speaker: Nelson Graff, English Department, on revising for publication: bring paper to be revised and example of the kind of genre/publication you want to revise your paper into/for (either academic journal if paper is for Research-based Revision or other model/publication if paper is for Audience/Genre Revision) to be analyzed
Th 2/14 Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash 149-198 (Ch. 19-25); teaching presentations by Erin Carpenter (LO) and Chris Cartwright (LO)
T 2/19 Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash 198-279 (Ch. 26-36); teaching presentation by Nic Roselli (LB)
Th 2/21 Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash 279-341 (Ch. 37-46); teaching presentation by Mary Freay (LB/LA); Guest Speaker: Christina Jarvis, English Department, on the graduate application process
M 2/25 EMAIL to course listserv on plans for Application Project due by 5 pm
T 2/26 Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash 341-408 (Ch. 47-57); teaching presentations by Mandie Griffin (LB) and Cory Harper (LB)
Th 2/28 Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash 409-445 (Ch. 58-65); teaching presentations by Chrissy Tresler (LB) and Kara Soos on Rushdie's Midnight's Children (LO)
T 3/5 Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash 445-468 (Ch. 66-71)
Th 3/7 Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash (all); professor's presentation
Looking Ahead
T 3/12 teaching presentations by Becky O'Keefe (LO) and Maria Palmeri (LA); discussion of skills/knowledge from English major and how to convey their value outside the academy
Th 3/14 FIRST DRAFT of Research-based Revision due in class for PEER REVIEW
T 3/19 teaching presentation by Andrea Colao (LO); discussion of skills/knowledge from English major and how to convey their value to a variety of audiences
Th 3/21 research on jobs/grad programs; rhetorical analyses of audience expectations for specific jobs/fields [meet in Fenton 2162]; RESEARCH-BASED REVISION due by 5 pm
F 3/22-M 4/1 Spring Break: No Classes
T 4/2 discussion of job opportunities/graduate programs; Guest Speaker: Bob Marzec, English Department, on graduate programs
Th 4/4 discussion of job opportunities/graduate programs; teaching presentation by Ryan Camping (LA)
T 4/9 Guest Speakers: Judy Elwinger and Bobby Simpson, Career Development [meet in 217 Gregory Hall]
Th 4/11 discussion of job opportunities/graduate programs; teaching presentations by Nate Clark (LO) and Chris Piotrowksi (LA)
Looking Out
T 4/16 FIRST DRAFT of Application Project due in class for PEER REVIEW
Th 4/18 Gayatri Spivak, "The Author in Conversation" and Translator's Preface, Imaginary Maps ix-xxii, xxiii-xxix; Mahasweta Devi, "The Hunt," Imaginary Maps 1-17; teaching presentations by Niki LaMonte (LA) and Andy White (LO)
T 4/23 Mahasweta Devi, "Douloti the Bountiful," Imaginary Maps 19-93; teaching presentation by Andrew Simmons (LO) and Selena Vaughn (LA)
Th 4/25 Mahasweta Devi, "Douloti the Bountiful," Imaginary Maps 19-93, cont.; teaching presentations by Ben Canniff (LB/LA/LO) and Krista DeJoseph (LO)
F 4/26 APPLICATION PROJECT due by 5 pm
T 4/30 Mahasweta Devi, "Pterodactyl, Puran Sahay, and Pirtha," Imaginary Maps 95-196; teaching presentation by Jessica Monk (LO)
Th 5/2 Mahasweta Devi, "Pterodactyl, Puran Sahay, and Pirtha," Imaginary Maps 95-196, cont.; Gayatri Spivak, Afterword, Imaginary Maps 197-205; professor's presentation; Viewing: Mahasweta Devi: Witness, Advocate, Writer (Shashwari Talukdar, 2001, 27 mins.)
T 5/7 FIRST DRAFT of Audience/Genre Revision due in class for PEER REVIEW
Th 5/9 wrapping up; course evaluations; FIRST DRAFT of Exit Paper due in class for PEER REVIEW
M 5/13 AUDIENCE/GENRE REVISION due no later than 5 pm
W 5/15 EXIT PAPERS due no later than 5 pm
ENGL 400: Senior Seminar, Spring 2002
Created: 1/29/02 11:02 pm
Last modified: 5/7/02 5:34 pm