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    BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE

    The City University of New York

    Department of English

    ENGLISH 101: COMPOSITION 1/ IN-PERSON/3 Credits/4 Hours

    FALL 2022/BMCC CAMPUS/Monday/Wednesday 9:00 AM – 10:40 AM

    Class Dates: 08/29/2022 – 12/11/2022

    Prof. Anna Copeland Wheatley: awheatley@bmcc.cuny.edu

    Office Hours: Monday, 11 am – 2 pm and by appointment

    Classroom: MU-321

     

     

    Course Description

    English Composition is the standard freshman-writing course. The course introduces students to academic writing. By its conclusion, students will be ready for English 201 and for the writing they will be asked to do in advanced courses across the curriculum. Students completing ENG 101 will have mastered the fundamentals of college-level reading and writing, including developing a thesis-driven response to the writing of others and following the basic conventions of citation and documentation. They will have practiced what Mike Rose calls the “habits of mind” necessary for success in college and in the larger world: summarizing, classifying, comparing, contrasting, and analyzing. Students will be introduced to basic research methods and MLA documentation and complete a research project. Students are required to take a departmental final exam that requires the composition of a 500- word thesis-driven essay in conversation with two texts.

    Course Student Learning Outcomes Measurements of How Learning Outcomes are Assessed
    1. Organize, develop, and revise at least 3 thesis-driven essays that include substantial support and use a variety of rhetorical strategies. 1.  Graded essays, departmental final examination.
    2. Summarize, paraphrase, and quote from readings. 2. Graded essays, out-of-class and in-class writing exercises, departmental final examination.
    3. Critically analyze numerous readings.

     

    		 3. Out-of-class and in-class writing exercises, class discussion of readings, graded essays, departmental final examination.
    4. Demonstrate a command of written American English, using vocabulary and syntax appropriate to college-level work. 4. Graded essays, departmental final examination.

     
    5.  Demonstrate a command of the MLA conventions of citation and documentation. 5.  Out-of-class graded essays.

     

     

     

    General Education Learning Outcomes Measurements of How Learning Outcomes are Assessed
    Communication Skills- Students will be able to write, read, listen and speak critically and effectively. Class discussion of readings, graded essays, departmental final examination.
    Arts & Humanities – Students will be able to develop knowledge and understanding of the arts and literature through critiques of works of art, music, theatre or literature. Class discussion of readings, graded essays, departmental final examination.
    Values – Students will be able to make informed choices based on an understanding of personal values, human diversity, multicultural awareness and social responsibility. Graded essays including personal essay, a forward-looking research essay on the impact of future technologies on society.

     
    Information and Technology Literacy – Students will be able to collect, evaluate, and interpret information and effectively evaluate information technologies. Class discussion of readings, graded essays, departmental final examination.

     

     

    ENG 101 SYLLABUS, FALL 2022

    Instructor: Anna Copeland Wheatley, PhD

    awheatley@bmcc.cuny.edu

    646.541.4470

     

    Course Requirements

    • One first-person Personal Narrative Essay (Essays #1)
    • One Research Essay using at least three appropriate sources (Essay #2)
    • Two original thesis-driven essays (Essays #3 and Final Exam Essay)
    • Short informal writing exercises (summary, response) to accompany reading and viewing assignments
    • Active participation in class discussions
    • Professional, attentive, and courteous behavior in the in person and online classroom

     

    Course Policies

    • All coursework must be submitted on or before the date due via Blackboard.
    • All work must be typed, double-spaced with Ariel or Times New Roman 12 Font. Proofread for grammar and spelling and use MLA citation.
    • All work must be accompanied by a cover page. Include your name, Instructor, Date and the Title of your paper. Late assignments will result in a 10% deduction per day until the assignment is submitted.

     

    Attendance Policy

    This class meets in person on campus. While Blackboard is used to supplement and support the class, it is not a substitute for in-person attendance.

    BMCC’s Policy on Plagiarism and Academic Integrity

    Plagiarism is the presentation of someone else’s ideas, words or artistic, scientific, or technical work as one’s own creation. Using the idea or work of another is permissible only when the original author is identified. Paraphrasing and summarizing, as well as direct quotations, require citations to the original source. Plagiarism may be intentional or unintentional. Lack of dishonest intent does not necessarily absolve a student of responsibility for plagiarism. Students who are unsure how and when to provide documentation are advised to consult with their instructors. The library has guides designed to help students to appropriately identify a cited work. The full policy can be found on BMCC’s Web site, www.bmcc.cuny.edu. For further information on integrity and behavior, please consult the college bulletin (also available online).

    Gender-Inclusivity

    BMCC community members have the right to use and be referred to according to their preferred name, title, and/or personal pronouns. Everyone also has the right to use all spaces according to their self-identification, including restrooms and locker rooms. To learn more about how to change your preferred name and affirm your gender identity at CUNY (including requesting a new ID card and/or email address), go here: https://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/student-affairs/lgbtq/

    Anyone who has experienced harassment related to gender or sexual identification, who needs assistance, or who wishes to file a complaint, can contact the Office of Compliance and Diversity: https://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/about-bmcc/compliance-diversity/.

     

     

    ENG 101 SYLLABUS, FALL 2022

    Instructor: Anna Copeland Wheatley, PhD

    awheatley@bmcc.cuny.edu

    646.541.4470

     

     

    COURSE REQUIREMENTS

    • In Class Attendance Required 35%
    • Essay #1: The Personal Essay 10%
    • Essay #2: The Research Essay 15%
    • Essay #3: Compare & Contrast Essay 10%
    • Essay #4: The Final Essay 30%

     

    MODULE 1: Welcome and orientation (August 29 & 31)

    By the end of this module, you will complete the following

    • Navigate this course and understand how it’s organized
    • Review syllabus

    DISCUSSION TOPC: During the next four weeks, we will be working on the Personal Essay. Our first task is to introduce ourselves. It is always a good idea to have a written form of introducing yourself. For instance, a job or a school application or for scholarship opportunities require written cover letters. I will get the ball rolling here with my own introduction.

    Example: Anna Copeland Wheatley Introduction

    Shortly after beginning my doctoral studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, I made a life-changing discovery. Over the Thanksgiving holidays I read a novel entitled Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance by Richard Powers. It was big and brilliant and literally took my breath away. It also changed my life because I feel deeply in love with science, which led to my becoming an editor for Omni Magazine, which led to moving to New York City, which led to launching my own magazine, AlleyCat News, which covered science, technology, and finance, which led to working as an editor of an independent feature-length film, Illinois, which led to work on a documentary on the history of the Alabama Hospital for the Insane. In addition to teaching, my passions include listening to audiobooks and roaming around my neighborhood in Chelsea in New York City or wandering the back roads of Alabama whenever I go back home.  (Word Count: 159)

    A Note about Word Count: In your college classes, word count is a standard measure that is used to gage the level of detail you need to include in assignments. In general, the more advance the class, the higher the word count. The key term to focus on here is “details.” In writing, details are extremely important because they provide a context or a sort of backstory. The audience needs the information to understand what is happening next!

     

     

     

     

     

    ENG 101: PART ONE: THE PERSONAL ESSAY

     

    MODULE 1: PUBLIC & PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY (SEPTEMBER 05 & 07)

    By the end of this module, you will complete the following:

    • Personal Introductions

    DISCUSSION TOPIC 1:

    During the next four weeks, we will be working on the Personal Essay. Our first task is to introduce ourselves. It is always a good idea to have a written form of introducing yourself. For instance, a job or a school application or for scholarship opportunities require written cover letters. I will get the ball rolling here with my own introduction.

    Example: Anna Copeland Wheatley Introduction

    Shortly after beginning my doctoral studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, I made a life-changing discovery. Over the Thanksgiving holidays I read a novel entitled Three Farmers on Their Way to a Dance by Richard Powers. It was big and brilliant and literally took my breath away. It also changed my life because I feel deeply in love with science, which led to my becoming an editor for Omni Magazine, which led to moving to New York City, which led to launching my own magazine, AlleyCat News, which covered science, technology, and finance, which led to working as an editor of an independent feature-length film, Illinois, which led to work on a documentary on the history of the Alabama Hospital for the Insane. In addition to teaching, my passions include listening to audiobooks and roaming around my neighborhood in Chelsea in New York City or wandering the back roads of Alabama whenever I go back home.  (Word Count: 159)

    A Note about Word Count: In your college classes, word count is a standard measure that is used to gage the level of detail you need to include in assignments. In general, the more advance the class, the higher the word count. The key term to focus on here is “details.” In writing, details are extremely important because they provide a context or a sort of backstory. The audience needs the information to understand what is happening next!

    MODULE 2: PUBLIC & PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY

    By the end of this module, you will complete the following:

    • Watch the opening number from the filmed version of Alexander Hamilton in class
    • Discuss how the musical number “introduces” Hamilton

    DISCUSSION TOPIC: This week, we are working on the Personal Essay by introducing ourselves to each other. The goal is to explore how we present our public and professional identity in writing. For the class discussion this week—and looking ahead to your Personal Essay, we will explore how the opening number of the smash Broadway hit Alexander Hamilton is an excellent model for understanding the balance between our personal and professional personae. This discussion will help us work on how to tell a personal story that is not like talking to a best friend but addressing a public audience. What about your experience is important to share with strangers?

     

     

     

    MODULE 3: MAPPING NEW YORK (SEPTEMBER 12 & 14)

    By the end of this module, you will complete the following:

    DISCUSSION TOPC: In the 92nd Y video, Cooper talks about her own map. She says she doesn’t see space continuously, but space merges and juxtaposes things she loves about the city. Her own map is a mash of Stuyvesant High School right by our own BMCC, the Brooklyn Bridge, a favorite café.  let’s use this discussion to talk about our own New York. Describe a place in the city that you really respond to.

    For instance, I was recently out with a neighbor, and we walked over to Union Square. The park is laid out is with lots of curvy sidewalks around a central hub. Watching the other people on the benches and the foot and bike traffic going by, I was struck that it was a like a train station. It was a temporary place for people to go on their way to someone else. And that got me thinking about our parks in general. Why are they so important aside from the obvious fact that everything else is concrete?

     

    MODULE 4: WALKING NEW YORK ONE BLOCK AT A TIME (SEPTEMBER 19 & 21)

    By the end of this module, you will complete the following:

    • Construct a thesis and rough draft for a personal essay
    • Correctly cite sources in an essay following the basic rules of MLA

    DISCUSSION TOPC: Last week, you watched the interview with Becky Cooper about mapping Manhattan. This week, you are getting up close and personal with Matt Green whose documentary World Before Your Feet tracks Green’s own journey as he attempts to walk every street, park, shore, cemetery and even dead ends in all of New York City. He is man with a quest and one that may never end.  We will use Matt’s experience as a jumping off point to talk about your own experiences in New York City—or another place that you hold dear.

    Personal Essay Due: Monday, September 26 [No In-Person Class]

     

    ENG 101: PART TWO: THE RESEARCH ESSAY

     

    MODULE 5: INTENTIONAL AND UNININTENTIONAL DESIGN (SEPTEMBER 28)

    DISCUSSION TOPC: Ron Finley lives in South Central Los Angles in a neighborhood that has little resources. An entrepreneur, he created urban fashion that he sold to professional athletes before hitting the racks of upscale department stores such as Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. But is real passion has been transforming food desserts in blighted urban neighborhoods into unlikely fruit and vegetable gardens. Dubbing himself and others who have joined the movement “gangsta” gardeners, Finlay has created the very definition intentional innovation.

    The concept is simple: turn abandoned land in urban areas into small patch gardens. In South Central Los Angeles, he has been able to create a movement to recycle urban sidewalk blight into gardens that produce healthy foods and promote an innovation by taking action. Findley’s “gangsta” gardening is part of a growing trend toward hyper local innovation. Rather than build a one-size-fits-all solution for everyone, the local approach takes into account the local resources at hand. In many ways, this is a step back to a pre-industrial age, but with the decidedly modern upside of modern science and technologies.

    For this discussion, consider your own experience in recognizing an obstacle and finding a way to overcome it. For instance, just yesterday the stand on my monitor broke. It was 2 am so I had to make do by propping the monitor up with sofa pillows. This is a silly example, but the issue is, I had to improvise. I had a need and I had to find a way to use that monitor right away to get my work done.

    MODULE 6: INTENTIONAL AND UNININTENTIONAL DESIGN (SEPTEMBER 28)

    • View Sal Khan’s Ted Talk “Let’s teach for mastery—not test scores”

    https://www.ted.com/talks/sal_khan_let_s_teach_for_mastery_not_test_scores?language=en

    • Explore the difference the concept of mastery rather than memorization as the foundation for progressive learning of increasing complex data

     

    DISCUSSION TOPIC 2: Sal Kahn had a simple idea to help his nephews learn math—do it until you land on the correct answer. For a mathematician, this unstructured approach was met with skepticism at best and a bit of horror at worse. “Math is not about guessing,” some would say in alarm. “It is about following precise steps to arrive at the right answer.” Kahn borrow a bit of magic from Steve Jobs and thought differently. Why not let repetition create a map. Repetition is how we learn language, another very complex system if somewhat less precise in what constitute correct or incorrect responses.

    And so was born Kahn Academy, an online learning platform that is based on the concept of mastery. The idea is ancient and simple. Early humans needed to learn how to hunt to survive. The young children learned as part of a hunting pack strategies for trapping a prey and using the right kind of tool or weapon to kill it. Similarly, we all learn how to cook by watching adults when we are young—so that is how you crack an egg! We learn basics but then begin experimenting to learn more. If you lived in a cold climate before refrigeration, you might have discovered that ice helped to preserve food longer or that salt was an even better preservative because your preserved food could move around with you, and you were no longer tethered to water.

    For this discussion, explore how we use comparison as a way make judgements. Note that we are moving away from a world of right or wrong thinking. Comparison—and by extension contrast—is about making informed judgements that require some kind of mastery of the subject at hand. For instance, in the wake of the pandemic, I would argue that online learning is a long-term viable option going forward for English writing classes such as ENG 101 because mastery is best achieved in a virtual environment where students can experiment, make mistakes, and write, write, write all the time. For our nursing students, I would argue the opposite. They need hands on experience with dummies or other people to take temperature, blood pressure, and to lift on and off gurneys, etc.

    MODULE 6: RANDOM ACTS OF DISCOVERY (October 03)

     

    DISCUSSION TOPIC: In this Ted Talk, Johnson explores the science of where ideas come from. They may seem like “eureka” moments, but Johnson argues that they are part of a larger process of innovation rather than discovery. Innovation is the process of taking the abstract and making something that can work in the real world.

    Innovation is the process of creating or making (some)thing that exists in the everyday world as we know it. For instance, around the world in ancient times, many different peoples who had no knowledge of each other figured out ways to fish and hunt by building tools to make the work easier. Our ancient ancestors eventually decided to create shelter beyond convenient caves or tress cover. Fast forward and we created cathedrals and palaces, built ships and cannons, discovered plants that could be used to cure illness. More recently, most of us carry around a hand-sized box that contains a universe of knowledge and applications that seem to dissolve space and time. As Johnson points out in this talk, collaboration rather than isolation is key to innovation.

    For this discussion, think about your own experience with innovation. On the most obvious level for someone who grew up on a typewriter, the computer is an innovation that changed everything. We would not be having class right now if we had not been building on the innovation of machines that could hook into a neural-type network. More recently and less globally, driverless cars are transformative.

     

    MODULE 07: THINKING BIG AND BEYOND

    No In Person Class Wednesday, October 05 & Monday, October 10

    Please note that this class will meet online only in Blackboard. I will set up a Live Class Discussion and we will use the Discussion Board as well.

    Research Essay Due: Monday, October 31

    (Happy Halloween!)

     

     

    THE COMPARISON ESSAY: LISTEN & LEARN

    MODULE 10: THE PERFECT FIT (October 17 & 19)

     

    By the end of this module, you will complete the following:

    • View Ken Robinson’s TED Talk “Do schools kill creativity?

    https://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_do_schools_kill_creativity?language=en

    • Reflect on the relationship between learning as the process of absorbing knowledge and ideas and learning as a reflection of expressing knowledge and ideas

     

    DISCUSSION TOPIC: How we teach and how we learn is a subject that is, at best, a moving target. A recent scholarly article noted: “The academic curriculum is traditionally focused on modeling an “ideal” student as a criterion for selecting and organizing the subject matter. The fact that the starting point of the students, their strengths and weaknesses might be quite different seems not to be a major concern.”

    Ken Robinson’s Ted Talk explores how we all learn differently using a common scale based on visual, audio, and kinesthetic (movement) learning preferences. Obviously, we all learn using combinations of these various strategies. I think best when listen which makes my primary learning style audio. But I could also argue that I am kinesthetic because as a writer I think best when I am typing. In fact, as writers we are all taught and encouraged to revise, revise, revise.

    The larger issue, perhaps, that Robinson brings up is whether how we are taught and how we learn impacts our creativity. Obviously, we need to have rules to communicate effectively. Imagine a world without punctuation. Nightmare! So, then the question is how can we evolve how we communicate professionally in a world where texting is now the norm? Another way of thinking about how and why we need strong communication skills is to recognize that complexity is big and bulky and changing all the time. Language is what we humans use to try and make sense of that complexity—whether we are writing/talking about the how the universe works or considering what kind of smart phone to buy. Thinking critically is just another name for using logic to make an informed decision.

    Reference:
    Carol, C. (2014). Learning styles in Higher Education: A case study in History training. The 6th International Conference Edu World 2014 “Education Facing Contemporary World Issues”, 7th – 9th November 2014.

     

     

    MODULE 12: TRICK OR TREAT: THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN (October 31 & November 02)

    By the end of this module, you will complete the following:

     

     

    DISCUSSION TOPC: There is an old expression that the “only thing that is certain in life are death and taxes.” While the part about paying taxes may be true in the modern era, the only that really is indisputable is that we all die at some point—at least for now. The roots for what we now celebrate as Halloween go back to Celts, groups of people living in parts of Europe during the Bronze and Iron Ages. They had a special day festival called Samhain to celebrate the transition of summer into winter. These are loose categories but think more sunlight and more darkness.

    For our purposes, we are using Halloween to compare-and-contrast spring/summer and fall/winter. Of course, the differences seem obvious to us. We might compare and/or contrast the clothes we wear, the food we eat, our sleep patterns, seasonally related health conditions and other activities. The point here is that we use compare/contrast thinking all the time. But for a formal writing assignment, you need more than just your instinct. You need to employ your research skills and, most important for this class, you must learn how to effectively use direct evidence from the text. This process is exactly what you will be doing in the final exam.

     

     

     

    Compare/Contrast Essay Due: Monday, November 7

     

    THE COMPARE/CONTRAST FINAL ESSAY:

    MODULE 13: (November 14 & 16)

    MODULE 14: (November 21 & 23)

     

    THANKSGIVING BREAK: NOVEMBER 24 – 27 NO CLASS

     

    FINAL ESSAY

    MODULE 15 (November 28 & 30)

    MODULE 17: (December 05 & 07)

    MODULE 18: (December 12 & 14)

    FINAL EXAM: (December 15 – 21)

     

    BMCC Academic Resources

    BMCC Library

    Learning Resource Center: The Learning Resource Center (LRC) offers support services to strengthen academic skills and meet learning needs. The LRC is located in room S-510 and all services are available free of charge to registered BMCC students.

    Online Tutoring: Online tutoring provides students with free, live online tutoring sessions from anywhere they have internet access.

     

    FREE BMCC STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

    BMCC is committed to the health and well‐being of all students. It is common for everyone to seek assistance at some point in their life, and there are free and confidential services on campus that can help.

    Advocacy and Resource Center (ARC) https://www.bmcc.cuny.edu/student-affairs/arc/ room S230, 212‐220‐8195, arc@bmcc.cuny.edu. If you are having problems with food or housing insecurity, finances, health insurance or anything else that might get in the way of your studies at BMCC, contact the Advocacy and Resource Center (formerly Single Stop) for assistance. Please contact us at arc@bmcc.cuny.edu, call 212-220-8195, or come by the office at room S230. You may also contact the Office of Student Affairs, S350, 212‐220‐8130, studentaffairs@bmcc.cuny.edu, for assistance.

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