ENGLISH COMPOSITION I / AMERICAN HISTORY I
HONORS
Dr. Robert M. Ruff Nancy Blomgren
Professor of History and Associate Professor of English
Political Science
Office: N-109 Office: A-210
Phone: 230.3236 Phone: 230.3208
Email: bob.ruff@volstate.edu Email: nancy.blomgren@volstate.edu
Home Phone: 824-9748 Home Phone: 860-7813
Home Address:
222 Waterview Drive
Hendersonville, TN 37075
We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can only fly embracing each other.
-- Leo Buscaglia
Textbooks
Founding Brothers, Ellis
The Godless Constitution, Kramnick and Moore
A People's History of the United States, Zinn
Lies My Teacher Told Me, Loewen
Bedford Handbook
For students to:
• Learn to think critically by reading critically and analyzing through oral and written discussion ideas• Acquire skills for writing documented papers.
• Demonstrate that writing skills learned in English class can transfer to other classes.
• Demonstrate that interrelating English and History classes enhances learning and writing skills.
There is no such thing as neutral education. Education is either for domestication or for freedom. --João Coutinho
History is CRITICAL THINKING ABOUT THE PAST
If I don't know I don't know
I think I know.
If I don't know I know
I think I don't know.
--R.D. Laing
Statements on the Objectives of English
Truth or illusion, baby, which is it? --Edward Albee
Basic premises of the composition part of this course:
• Writing is the only way to closely examine and develop critical thinking.
• All a piece of writing needs to do is to communicate an idea to a reader in the most effective way possible.
• The best way to learn how to write is to write, the best way to learn how to think is to think.
• If you know what you want to say but can't say it, you don't know what you want to say; it's not a "writing problem," but a need to think through ideas more completely.
• Grammar/punctuation are a problem only if they get in the way of meaning.
People, you must remember, are awfully complex creatures, and you may be in for some surprises if you divide the cast into heroes and villains. --Robert Penn Warren
Understanding, not certainty, is the aim of history. --John Lukacs
History is like looking in the mirror. If we are honest we may see ourselves as others see us.
--William Appleman Williams
One main drive of education is the search for TRUTH. History forms one avenue in this quest. A primary objective of this course is to develop the ability to analyze and evaluate events, ideas, trends and personalities. For this reason, emphasis will be placed on critical thinking about interpretations.
IMPORTANT: Because truth changes, history changes. Or, to put it another way, each generation sees the past from a different perspective. It is this changing face of the past that makes history exciting.
Course Requirements:
History/English:
Daily reading and group/class discussions
Three critical comparative reviews
Book review
Argumentative research paper
History:
Two essay exams
Individual critical thinking journal
English: One piece of writing each week -- from a single paragraph to drafts of longer works.
CYA Announcement: Since this is an experimental course, we may change some of the requirements as we go along. We invite suggestions.
He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone. John 8:7
Absence Policy:
Attendance is expected. Any time you are absent, you are expected to read the syllabus, check the assignment with the instructors or another student and come to the next class fully prepared.
Grades:
English:
During the semester, you will receive feedback about your essays from instructors and students. At the end of the semester, you will choose your best work to be included in a portfolio, which will be given to two readers on the faculty who will grade the portfolio independently. This will benefit you in several ways: 1) the readers won't see your mistakes, but will evaluate only on your best work, 2) the readers won't be influenced by personal factors, but only by your writing, 3) you will be allowed to revise as often as you feel necessary to get the grade you wish, 4) your instructor is in this with you: if bad papers are sent to the readers, that will reflect on all of us.
Your grades for English and History are independent of each other.
Once there was a flock of geese. They were kept in a wire cage by a farmer. One day, one of the geese looked up and saw that there was no top to the cage. Excitedly, he told the other geese, "Look, look: there is no top. We may leave here. We may become free." Few listened, and none would turn his head to the sky. So one day, he simply spread his wings and flew away -- alone. --Soren Kierkegaard
I tore myself away from the safe comfort of certainties through my love for truth; and truth rewarded me. --Simone de Beauvoir
MORE INFORMATION THAT MIGHT BE USEFUL
General Education Goals
The purpose of this course is to enhance the effective use of the English language essential to students’ success in school and in the world by way of learning to read and listen critically and to write and speak thoughtfully, clearly, coherently, and persuasively.
Other Goals
Four other goals in this course include providing experiences which acclimate students with the arts and their cultural environment; ensuring that students develop effective oral communication skills; encouraging the development of problem-solving skills; and enhancing student growth and personal assessment.
TBR/VSCC Course Outcome Statements
Upon successfully completing ENGL 1010, students should be able to write a logically built, well-focused essay which has cohesive body paragraphs developed with relevant detail and a minimum of usage errors. Thus, students will demonstrate the ability to...
1. analyze and evaluate written expression by reading critically for elements that reflect an awareness of situation, audience, purpose, and point of view;
2. condense a primary purpose into a single, compelling thesis statement and develop major points;
3. sevelop appropriate rhetorical patterns (i.e. narration, example, process, comparison/ contrast, classification, cause/effect, definition, argumentation) and other special functions (i.e. analysis or research), while demonstrating writing skills from process to product;
4. understand that the writing process includes procedures such as planning, organizing, composing, revising, and editing;
5. employ correct diction, syntax, usage, grammar, and mechanics;
6. manage and coordinate basic information gathered from multiple sources, including print, media, electronic databases, and other electronic sources, for the purposes of problem solving and decision making;
7. recognize the use of evidence, analysis, and persuasive strategies, including basic distinctions among opinions, facts, and inferences.
Specific Mechanical Skills
Additionally, students who successfully complete ENGL 1020 should...
1. understand the uses of quotes, paraphrases and summaries, be able to integrate them effectively into their own writing and document them correctly according to MLA style,
2. be aware of other style guides and their use,
3. create effective openings and conclusions,
4. make effective transitions between paragraphs and ideas,
5. discuss writing in the common language of writing instruction (e.g topics, thesis, organization, development, style, grammar, unity, coherence, cohesiveness, mechanics, writing process and so on),
6. be able to vary sentence structure from simple to complex to suit context and writing situation,
7. write prose in which grammar, spelling and punctuation do not impede the reader’s comprehension,
8. develop library skills, including use of on-line sources.
In compliance with the American Disabilities Act, it is the student’s responsibility to self identify with the Office of Disability Services in order to receive accommodation. Only those students with appropriate documentation will receive services. Disability Services is located in the basement of the Wood Campus Center, Room 122.
Equal Opportunity Statement
Volunteer State Community College, a Tennessee Board of Regents institution, is an equal opportunity institution and ensures equal opportunity for all persons without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, age, sexual orientation or status as a qualified veteran with a disability or veteran of the Vietnam era (97.32.7 Revised January 2003).
Plagiarism Statement
According to the Volunteer State Community College Student Handbook, “Plagiarism is using other people’s ideas as your own work, copying all or parts of someone else’s work, having another person write the assignment, getting too much assistance in writing, or failing to document accurately the use of source material” (14). Plagiarism is punishable by possible failure in the course, to be judged by the teacher, and a definite zero on the project. Students are responsible for seeking help if they are unsure about how or when to cite sources; ignorance of the rules is not a justification for plagiarism.
Financial Aid Statement
Students who are receiving Title IV financial assistance (Pell Grant, Student Loan or SEOG Grant) must regularly attend class or be subject to repay PART or ALL of the Federal Financial Aid received for the semester.