ENGLISH 201: Advanced Composition

Instructor: / Laura Nathan
Office: / 305 Clemens Hall
E-Mail: /
Office Hours: / To be announced
Mailbox: / Located outside the English Graduate Office, Clemens 302 (by the stairwell
COURSE DESCRIPTION

In English 101, you acquired some of the skills that are necessary to write and think of the university level. The design of English 201 reinforces this skill set. In the final stage of the course, you will produce a research paper on a complex topic that utilizes multiple secondary sources. As such, our course will have two primary and interrelated goals. First, you will seek to engage and interpret a series of literary and scholarly texts, which will form a framework for your own writing. The writing you do should be understood as a way of actively participating in the academic conversation(s) at hand. Secondly, all of your careful reading and writing should prepare you to design and develop your 8-10-page research paper.

STRANGERS AND GHOSTS AT HOME

Every moment of every day, we are questioning, defining, and discovering who we are as individuals, as Americans and/or as “Westerners,” as “foreigners,” as insiders, as outsiders, as racial and/or ethnic minorities. In this course, using essays and Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel The Namesake, we will attempt to understand the relevance of the image of the melting pot to contemporary American society. We will also test the waters of resettlement in Toronto with David Bezmozgis’ “Tapka,” “Roman Berman, Massage Therapist,” and “Natasha,” with an eye toward why people migrate to the United States and Canada and what they go through to get here. In our attempt to understand the nature of diversity in North America, we will consider questions such as: How does language affect our sense of identity? How do we define home? How does American identity and belonging differ among generations? What concessions do young people often make to “fit in,” and how does this affect their cultural identity and relationships with older generations? How do those of us whose families have been in the United States for a century or more experience American identity and multiculturalism vs. how do newcomers experience these things? What similarities can we find in our differences? What differences can we find in our likenesses? How do we discover, incorporate, question, and embrace those traits that make us unique, as well as those that enable us to “fit in?”

This broad topic will direct our discussions and much of our work, but our primary focus will be your own research and writing. The broad range of materials and flexible paper assignments will, I hope, provide you with ample space to pursue your own research interests in the final assignment. Please keep this final research paper in mind from the beginning of the course so that you can start to develop your interests early on and continuously refine your topic.

Texts: Available in the University Bookstore

Bezmozgis, David. Natasha and Other Stories. New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 2004. (selections)

Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake. New York: Houghton-Mifflin/Mariner, 2003. (selections)

Lunsford, Andrea A. The Everyday Writer, 3rd ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005. Your writer’s handbook from Writing 101 will suffice, but you must have a handbook.

All other readings for this course will be available on this course’s UBLearns site under “Assignments” in a folder entitled “Readings.”

Supplies:

Any good dictionary. If you do not currently own one, this is a good time to invest in one. There are many available in the bookstore. (I recommend Webster’s or American Heritage.)

A full-sized notebook for writing assignments in class. OR, a 3 ring binder with looseleaf paper.

A sturdy folder in which you keep all your work for the class

A jump drive (USB/Memory stick) on which you save all your writing (including multiple drafts) and which you bring to each class session. You are expected to bring this to class EVERY DAY.

You are also expected to bring the required reading(s) and/or homework to class EACH DAY. This means you will need to PRINT OUT copies of the readings I have posted on UBLearns under “Assignments.”

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Attendance

As a community of writers and thinkers, regular attendance is crucial. According to University policy, you are allowed two (2) absences without penalty. Three (3) or more missed classes will affect your grade and six (4) absences can result in a failing grade for the course.

As always, promptness is important. Late arrivals interrupt both your success as a student in the class and disrupts everyone else, so please respect your peers and instructor. Arrival in class more than 10 minutes after it begins will be considered an absence. Although the advice “better late than never” should be heeded, lateness should not be a recurring trend.

You are responsible for contacting me by e-mail if you miss a class, and you are expected to be fully prepared for the next class session. I know that sickness, accidents, bad weather, computer problems, oversleeping, personal crises happen ... that’s what the two absences are for. Save them for these kinds of emergencies.

Participation

Participation is dependent on thorough preparation. Preparation requires thoughtfully reading the texts, writing down key points and/or questions, and being willing to share your thoughts and reactions during class discussion. Discussions become difficult and quite boring when all members of the class have not read the assigned texts. Respect yourself as a necessary member of this community, as well as your fellow classmates, by being prepared every day. Please note that many inclass writing exercises assume (and depend upon) your having read the assigned material. Review your syllabus frequently, and plan your workload accordingly.

Blogs

As part of this computer-mediated ENG 201 class, each of you will set up and update a blog each week in class. You are also encouraged to personalize and update your blog outside of class, though you are not required to do so. Please be aware that while I will not read your blogs for content, I will regularly peruse them to make sure you have been updating them regularly.

Homework, peer critiques, minor essays (1-page homework essays), and PowerPoint presentations

Homework, peer critiques, 1-page homework essays (also called “minor essays”), a 3-5-minute PowerPoint presentation on your research topic, and coming to class with the requisite materials (including three drafts of your essays) are NOT optional. Failure to come to class prepared will prevent you from participating and will hurt the entire class. If you come to class without your required materials, particularly the THREE drafts of your essays for peer critiques, you will receive an absence for that day. Do not test me on this. We will all have a much easier and more enjoyable time this semester if we can respect each other as responsible adults and members of this community.

Formal Writing and Cover Letters

All formalessays (including cover letters, when required) are due in my UBLearns digital dropbox at11:59pm on the date due. Late essays will lose 1/3 of a letter grade for each day they are late. (One day late, you start off with an A-, two days late, you start off with a B+, and so forth.) As you can see from the syllabus, you are also required to submit your rough drafts of each assignment to me on the same day you bring your drafts to class to be workshopped. You will submit your rough drafts the same way you submit your final drafts—through the UBLearns digital dropbox.

ALL formal essays and homework assignments must be computer-generated and saved as separate documents in order to best facilitate revision. Use a reasonable font and point size (12 pt. Times New Roman is standard). ALL documents should be doublespaced with one-inch margins. Be sure to proofread every paper you turn in. Some formal writing assignments will be accompanied by a cover letter (minimum one page — we will discuss cover letters further in class). Papers that are handwritten or lack a cover letter will not be graded.

NOTE:Save ALL the writing you do during the semester. You can clear your files in May. Until then, you never know what may prove useful during a revision. Periodically print out (in addition to saving electronically) versions of your draft so that you have a record of its process. Keep paper copies for yourself of all major assignments handed in to me and save everything you do for this class on a jump drive/USB drive/memory stick. It is your responsibility to bring your jump drive to class EVERY DAY! You may also find it beneficial to e-mail copies of your work to an Internet-based e-mail account (i.e.—Yahoo!, UB Webmail, Gmail, Hotmail) in case your computer crashes or you lose your jump drive. In addition, it is your responsibility to keep all drafts that I have commented on, as well as all peer critiques, for the Final Portfolio.

Assignments which are more than one week late will receive an F. Nonetheless, you must complete ALL four major writing assignments and submit a complete final portfolio in order to earn a passing grade for the course.

Major assignments will be graded using the A F scale. You always have the right to revise your assignment for a higher grade, and you may revise it as many times as you like, but I strongly encourage you to meet with me to discuss the nature of the revisions you will make. All revisions of essays for a higher grade (accompanied by the original graded essay) are due to me no later than Tuesday, April 18.

Final Portfolio

The endofsemester portfolio consists of writing revised especially for the portfolio review and a writer’s statement. We will discuss portfolio requirements and revision during the latter half of the semester.

Grading Policy

Attendance and Active Participation10%

Cover Letters, Peer Critiques, Homework, PowerPoint10%

Formal Writing Assignments70%

Final Portfolio10%

According to the University at Buffalo’s Composition Program policy,an incomplete grade may only be given to students who have (1) fulfilled the attendance requirement for the course and (2) completed all but one of the written assignments.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is using another person’s words and ideas as though they were your own. It is easy to avoid plagiarism: simply put the material you have taken from someone else’s writing in quotation marks and cite the person’s name and publication in your paper. Even if you are paraphrasing another person’s ideas or text, you must acknowledge this source. Plagiarism is a serious offense which can result in expulsion from the University. It is also very, very sad. It breaks my heart. A paper which contains any plagiarized material at all will receive an F; two such plagiarized papers will result in the student receiving an F for the course. NOTE: plagiarism is not restricted to the use of published work; the passing of another student’s work or texts from the Internet as your own is also a case of plagiarism. If you are in doubt as to whether you should cite external sources, remember that it is always better to over-cite than to find yourself potentially guilty of plagiarism. Any attempt to commit this violation of academic integrity will be taken very seriously.

Class Schedule
  • All assignments and due dates are subject to change.
  • Unless The Namesake or Natasha and Other Stories is listed next to a reading assignment, all readings are available on UBLearns under “Assignments.”
  • We will meet in Clemens 128 on Thursdays and our regular classroom on Tuesdays, unless otherwise stated in class, via e-mail, or on UBLearns.

DATE / IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES / HOMEWORK
TJan 16 / Introductions
Course requirements
Complete personal information sheet and first day letters / Read: “My Two Lives” by Jhumpa Lahiri (on UBLearns under “Assignments”)
Assignment: Purchase your books at the University Bookstore
RJan 18 / Set up blogs and post first entry in which you reflect on a time you felt torn between two worlds or cultures. Pay particular attention to WHY you felt torn.
Discuss Lahiri
Small groups: Analyze quotations from Lahiri
Primer on how to upload documents to UBLearns / Read:Chapter 1 of The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Assignment:Using Lahiri’s “My Two Lives” and the symbols in Chapter 1 of The Namesake as examples, compose a thoughtful 2-3-page essay for assignment #1 explaining how you define your heritage and how your definition differs and/or resembles the way your parents and grandparents define theirs. Pay particular attention to WHY you define your heritage differently or the same as your ancestors. Like Lahiri does in “My Two Lives,” you may also want to consider how your heritage
finds its way into your written and/or spoken language. Submit assignment #1 to Laura’s UBLearns digital dropbox by 11:59pm on SUNDAY, January 21 and bring THREE COPIES of your assignment #1 to class on Tuesday.
F Jan 19 / Last day to withdraw from class without financial penalty
TJan 23 / Journal entry: What does the set of essays you read in your peer critique group say about diversity in America?
Small groups: Review each others’ assignment #1 essays
Discussion: How does Ashima define home? How is this similar to and different from your definition of home? Discuss symbols of home in The Namesake and how Lahiri’s heritage and identity find their way into her writing.
Small groups: Close reading of quotations for chapter 1 of The Namesake and “My Two Lives” / Read: chapter 2 of The Namesake
Assignment: Ask your parents about the origin of your name. Why did they select that particular name?
R Jan 25 / Blog entry: What is your relationship to your name? Do you go by a middle name or a nickname? Do you like or dislike the name your parents gave you? Why or why not?
Blogging Q & A
Discuss blog entries and how the task of naming Gogol complicates Ashima and Ashoke’s ties to their “two lives”
Do-it-yourself Internet research exercise: Visit at least two reliable web sites to research the role of Ellis Island in American history. Post these links to the discussion board by the end of class. / Read: “More Than Just a Shrine” by Mary Gordon
Assignments:
1. Talk to your parents and find out when and WHY, specifically, you and/or your ancestors migrated to the United States. Find out where they entered the country and why. Take notes. You’ll want this not just for this class but you may want to share this with the younger generations of your family someday.
2. Visit the Discussion Board for this class and select at least two web sites (yours or someone else’s) about the role of Ellis Island in American history. Type a one-page (double-spaced) report of your findings. Be sure to cite your sources. Upload your report to my UBLearns digital dropbox by 11:59pm on Sunday, January 28.
F Jan 26 / Last day to withdraw from class without having to take a grade of an “R”
TJan 30 / Journal entry: Reflect on the term Americaand what it makes you think of. Pay particular attention to why it elicits these thoughts or visions.
Small groups: Read and discuss “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus (see handout): Is the United States fulfilling the promise inscribed on the Statue of Liberty in 2006?
Discuss Gordon and Ellis Island. / Read: “Roman Berman, Massage Therapist” by David Bezmozgis (in Natasha and Other Stories)
RFeb 1 / Blog entry: Which character in “Roman Berman, Massage Therapist” did you relate to most, and WHY?
Discuss the difference between immigration and asylum and how the Bermans’ status as political refugees affects their relationships with the story’s other characters
Lexis-Nexis research primer: Research United States immigration policy and/or trends in 2006 and find an article that is of interest to you.
Small groups: Exchange and discuss immigration articles. Discuss what, in your opinion, these articles suggest about the state of diversity in America. / Read:
1. “Home is Where You Are Happy” by Henry Grunwald
2. “Tapka” by David Bezmozgis (in Natasha and Other Stories)
TFeb 6 / Journal entry: Think of a time when you were unable to effectively communicate with someone — a friend, teacher, parent, or stranger. Why were you unable to convey what you were trying to say to that person? How did you cope with this problem?
Discuss the relevance of Grunwald’s argument that the immigrant is always a “student struggling” with the American-English language to “Tapka”
Hand out assignment #2 / Assignment: Compose your first draft of assignment #2 (See handout). Upload a copy of your draft to my UBLearns digital dropbox NO LATER THAN 11:59pm on WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7. Make sure you also save a copy on your jump drive.
RFeb 8 / Hand out peer critiquing/workshopping rubric
Workshop: Analysis within body paragraphs