Composition 1a 1: Crime and Criminality
Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 10:00-10:50. Office: Rabb 140
Room:
Instructor: Professor Rourke
Office Hours: Monday 10:00-11:00; Wednesday 10:00-11:00, and by appointment
Email:
My office (Rabb 140) and mailbox are behind the English Office (Rabb 144)
Introduction:
Whether writing is an activity that you enjoy or one that you avoid whenever possible, it is part of your future.
· Short term: You will spend a significant percentage of your time here sitting in front of a computer and composing essays, essay exam answers, reviews, reports, case studies, or response papers, and job cover letters, just to name a few.
· The immediate future: Next semester, you will take the challenging and rigorous University Writing Seminar (UWS).
· Long term: Later in life, you will be required to write reports, articles, memos, proposals or evaluations.
With its focus on argument, analysis, and revision, Brandeis University’s Composition course prepares students for the writing they will perform during their college years and afterwards. Because it will familiarize you with crucial skills and vocabulary terms, it will give you an edge in the UWS and your other courses. Succeeding here means creating clear, persuasive essays that conform to American academic expectations. You have already started to learn how; Composition will take you the next steps. This course will hone your writing skills through the lens of criminality by analyzing short stories, a television episode, and contemporary criminal cases. Specifically, we will ask, “What is a criminal,” and “What makes a criminal?”
Course objectives
To teach you critical writing and analytic skills that will prepare you for the UWS and other college writing.
Required Course Texts
Writing in Response by Matthew Parfitt
Write Now! (A collection of essays written in last year’s UWS classes)
Both Writing in Response and Write Now are available in the Brandeis bookstore.
Course pack (C) I will hand these out in class. Please bring to class either $10.00 in cash or a check made out to “Brandeis University” for $10.00 to cover the cost of the course pack. In addition, all articles are posted on Latte.
** Bring your course pack to every Class!
Course Requirements
Essay 1: The close reading essay. In this assignment, you will formulate an argument about criminals from one of the Sherlock Holmes stories that we discuss in class.
Essay 2: The lens essay. In this assignment, you will analyze an episode from the television series House through the lens of John Stuart Mill’s essay “Utilitarianism” and make a claim about how concepts from “Utilitarianism” help to shape your understanding of the episode.
Essay 3: The research essay. For this assignment you will research a criminal case and make an argument, through the lenses of biological and sociological theories of criminal behavior, about how different media outlets portray the criminal.
Portfolio: At the end of class you will consolidate all of your work (including pre-draft assignments, rough drafts, final drafts, and peer review sheets) and put it together in a word document—this is your portfolio. You will email it to me, together with a letter describing how your understanding of yourself as a writer has changed over the course of the semester. This means that you need to save on your computer all your writing from the semester.
Drafting:
Four steps lead up to the final draft of each essay:
· Pre-draft assignments. Each essay will be preceded by two or three pre-draft assignments—short pieces of writing designed to help you develop ideas—and you will submit some of these on latte and others in hard copy. These assignments will receive either a check or a check minus and will count as part of your overall grade. You can re-submit any work that receives a check minus up until the end of the unit to which the pre-draft belongs.
· First drafts. You are required to turn in a first draft of each paper. These drafts are important opportunities for you to receive feedback from me and your classmates in peer review. I do not expect these drafts to be polished, but I do expect them to be complete—otherwise we cannot give you useful advice.
· Peer Review. After the first draft of each paper is due, you will form a group with two of your classmates and read each other’s drafts. In class you will give your partners feedback. I will collect your peer review letters and they will count as part of your grade. These activities increase your sense of audience awareness and give you an opportunity to reflect on the concepts we have discussed in class.
· Conferences. Each student will have three twenty-minute conferences with me over the course of the semester, one to discuss each first draft. Attendance is required; missing a conference is the equivalent of missing a class. Sign-up sheets will be distributed in class.
Class participation: Your consistent participation in class sessions constitutes a significant portion of your grade and is the most critical component of a successful course. Class participation includes:
· Your prompt, prepared, alert, consistent attendance
· The completion of reading assignments by the dates listed in the syllabus
· Your thoughtful contributions to class discussions
Writing Center
The University Writing Center, located on the first floor of Goldfarb Library just around the corner from the computer clusters, provides free one-on-one help with your essays. You are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this service. Writing Center tutors are well trained and will work with you in 45 minute sessions that you can schedule online: (http://www.brandeis.edu/programs/writing/writingcenter/index.html). Students who take advantage of this service will receive a form during their tutorial that will entitle them to a 24-hour extension on the final draft of their essay. Essays will be due electronically by 5:00 PM of the following day. Only one extension is allowed per essay.
Grades
Close reading essay: 20%
Lens essay: 25%
Researched argument: 35%
Class participation (includes research presentations): 10%
Portfolio (includes Latte posts, pre-drafts, and peer reviews): 10%
Formatting
All essays will be submitted to me and your peers electronically. Essays must use 1-inch margins and 12 point Times New Roman font. Do not enlarge your punctuation—I can tell. Essays must have a title, be double-spaced and have page numbers. Pre-drafts that are submitted in hard copy in class must be typed and stapled.
Late Work, Extensions and Minimum Page Requirements
I am usually willing to offer extensions, given legitimate reasons. If a catastrophe happens and you are afraid your work will not be completed in time, contact me more than 24 hours before the due date and arrange for an extension. Otherwise, late work, including first drafts, will be penalized by a third of a grade per day (B+àBàB- and so on) on the final paper. If a paper is due electronically at 5:00 PM and you submit it at 5:01 PM, it is late. In addition, final papers that do not meet minimum page requirements will be penalized by a third of a grade for each page that the paper falls short.
Attendance
Missing Classes is strongly discouraged. You are allowed four absences. For each additional absence your final grade will be penalized by a third of a grade. More than 6 absences will result in a failing grade. Please contact me in the event of an emergency.
Laptops
Laptops are not allowed in this class unless you need special accommodations.
Academic Honesty
You are expected to be honest in all of your academic work. The University policy on academic honesty is distributed annually in section 5 of the Rights and Responsibilities handbook. Instances of alleged dishonesty will be forwarded to the Office of Campus Life for possible referral to the Student Judicial System. Potential sanctions include failure in the course and suspension from the University. If you have any questions about my expectations, please ask.
Accommodations
If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in class, please see me right away.
Composition Outcomes
Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing
· Use writing and discussion to work through and interpret complex ideas from readings and other texts (e.g., visual, musical, verbal)
· Critically analyze your own and others' choices regarding language and form (e.g., in student texts or formally published texts)
· Engage in multiple modes of inquiry using text (e.g., field research, library-based inquiry, web searching)
· Incorporate significant research (as above) into writing that engages a question and/or topic and uses it as a central theme for a substantive, research-based essay
· Use writing to support interpretations of text, and understand that there are multiple interpretations of text
· Consider and express the relationship of your own ideas to the ideas of others
Processes
· Use written, visual, and/or experience-based texts as tools to develop ideas for writing
· Understand that writing takes place through recurring processes of invention, revision, and editing
· Develop successful, flexible strategies for your own writing through the processes of invention, revision, and editing
· Experience and understand the collaborative and social aspects of writing processes
· Learn to critique your own and others' work
· Be reflective about your writing processes
Knowledge of Conventions
· Understand the conventions of particular genres of writing
· Use conventions associated with a range of dialects, particularly standardized written English (but not necessarily limited to it)
· Recognize and address patterns in your writing that unintentionally diverge from patterns expected by their audience/s
· Practice using academic citational systems (MLA) for documenting work
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
Unit 1: Close Reading
Week 1
Thur. Aug. 28 In-Class: Introductions, syllabus
Wed. Sept. 3 Read: “The Case of Identity,” (Doyle) (C)
Write: None
In-Class: assignment sequence, Doyle, close reading techniques, class policies
Thurs. Sep. 4 Read: “The Speckled Band” (Doyle) (C), “London”.
Write: None
In-Class: Close reading, thesis
Week 2:
Mon. Sep. 8 Read: “Murders in the Rue Morgue” (Poe) (C)
Write: None
In-Class: Thesis, evidence, analysis
Wed. Sep. 10 Read: Gordon Harvey’s motive (H), Motivating Moves
Write: Post pre-draft 1.1 to latte no later than 9:00 PM on Tues., Sep. 9.
In-Class: Rue Morgue, motive workshop
Thurs. Sep. 11 Read: None
Write: Bring in a news article to class with a clear motive
In-Class: Structure, motive articles
Week 3:
Mon. Sep. 15 Read: Grading rubric, workshop pre-drafts
Write: Post pre-draft 1.2 to latte no later than 5:00 PM on Sun. Sep. 14. Respond to your peers no later than midnight on Sun. Sep. 14.
In-Class: Grading rubric, workshop pre-drafts
Wed. Sep. 17 Read: None
Write: None
In-Class: Titles, introductions (bring your laptops to class)
Thurs. Sep. 18 Read: None
Write: Draft of Essay #1 with cover letter due electronically by 5:00 PM to me and your peers.
In-Class: Introductions: bring your introductory paragraphs to class, writing a job cover letter
Week 4:
Mon. Sep. 22 Read: Your peers’ essays and offer margin comments
Write: Peer cover letters—bring these to class and email the marked up copies of your peers’ essays by midnight on Sun., Sept. 21.
In-Class: Peer review, passive voice
Tues. Sep. 23 Read: Lens assignment sequence
Write: None
In-Class: What is a lens
Unit 2: How to Work with a Text as a Lens
Wed. Sep. 24 Read: None
Write: None
In-Class: “House” episode
Fri. Sep. 26 Revision of Essay #1 plus cover letter due electronically by 5:00 PM to me.
**CONFERENCE 1 THIS WEEK**
Week 5:
Mon. Sep. 29 Read: Mill’s “Utilitarianism” (C)
Write: Pre-draft 2.1 due in class
In-Class: Workshop reverse outlines
Wed. Oct. 1 Read: None
Write: Analyze a scene from House that seems to use Mill’s notion of maximizing happiness/welfare. Cite one piece of evidence (dialogue) and bring a hard copy of your paragraph to class.
In-Class: Matching House and Mill
Thurs. Oct. 2 Read: None
Write: Write one paragraph that does a close reading of the opening scene in House where Dibala and his body guard are driving to see Dibala’s son. Cite one piece of evidence. Print out your paragraph and bring it to class (I will collect these).
In-Class: House introductory scene analysis
Week 6:
Mon. Oct. 6 Read: None
Write: Pre-draft 2.2 due in class
In-Class: Debate
Wed. Oct. 8 Read: “Overcoming Melancholia in Franny and Zooey” in Write Now (pp. 20-24.
Write: Write a paragraph about how the author uses the Freud’s lens in Franny and Zooey. Cite one piece of evidence and bring a hard copy of your paragraph to class.
In-Class: Write Now
Week 7:
Mon. Oct. 13 Read: None
Write: Your thesis and motive: Post your thesis and motive to latte no later than 5:00 PM on Sunday Oct. 12. Respond to your peers no later than midnight on Sunday, Oct. 12.
In-Class: Conclusions, counter-arguments, workshop thesis and motive
Wed. Oct. 15 Read: None
Write: None
In-Class: Integrating quotations, modeling a lens essay
Week 8:
Mon. Oct. 20 Read: None
Write: Pre-draft 2.3 due in class
In-Class: Transitions
Wed. Oct. 22 Read: Biological Theories of Crime (C)
Write: Draft Essay 2 with cover letter due electronically by 5:00 PM to me and your peers.
In-Class: Biological theories of crime, Job cover letters
Thurs. Oct. 23 Read: Sociological Theories of Crime (C)
Write: None
In-Class: Sociological Theories of Crime
Week 9:
Mon. Oct. 27 Read: Your peers’ papers
Write: Letters to your peers: bring your letter to class and email your letters and marked up essays to your peers no later than midnight on Sunday, October 26.
In-Class: Peer review, research assignment sequence
Unit 3: Research Essay
Wed. Oct. 29 Read: Psychological Theories of Crime (C)
Write: None
In-Class: Sociological Theories of Crime
Thurs. Oct. 30 Read: None
Write: In-Class: None
In-Class: Scholarly sources, primary and secondary sources, plagiarism
**CONFERENCE 2 THIS WEEK**
Week 10:
Mon. Nov. 3 Read: None
Write: Final Essay 2 with cover letter due electronically by 5:00 PM