Miami-Dade College
Honors English Composition 1
ENC 1101H
Course Objectives and Policies and Procedures
Prof. R.M. Stambaugh
Office: 3604-28
Telephone: 305.237.3709
E-Mail: rstambau@mdc.edu
Department Website: http://www.mdc.edu/wolfson/departments/english/
Course Description
This course is designed both to refine the writing skills of honors-level students
and to sharpen and broaden their critical thinking and analytical faculties through a study
of selected works of short fiction. In a very real way this is both an introduction to
literature and an English composition course whose objective is to prepare students for
the rigors of a college and university liberal arts curriculum. As such, we will be
examining more than just the works and their authors, but also the social, ethical,
spiritual, political, and philosophical bases upon which the literature was built.
Course Objectives
Reading is a very important component of this course. The student is expected to
complete all reading assignments as indicated on the syllabus. Also, each student will be
encouraged to research additional material to accompany the readings, lectures and
discussions that will take place on a daily basis. The internet and the companion Web Site
for the textbook are excellent places to visit so you can enhance your overall
understanding and appreciation of the literature. In addition, the student will write
several multiple-page essays in a specific format that will analyze selected literature as
well as offer original critical perspectives. Finally, the student will produce a term project
that will be a detailed, critical analysis of any work of his own choosing. It will be typed,
6-7 pages in length, and will utilize an academic format that will include several outside
sources to help reinforce its thesis. As part of the research component, students are
expected to use the MLA (Modern Language Association) format that is outlined in the B
Handbook.
Policies and Procedures
Your attending this class implies full understanding and constitutes full acceptance of the
terms of this contract regarding its policies and procedures. Should you need further
clarification, please see me personally.
1. ATTENDANCE: The student is expected to attend class meetings because
consistent classroom participation is essential for student success. Legitimate
absences for personal illness or emergencies are, of course, recognized.
Nonetheless, the student is responsible for all work assigned and all deadlines.
Any student who misses three or more class meetings will be considered in
violation of the College attendance policy and may be dropped from the
2.
3.
4.
5.
class-roll at the discretion of the instructor. The instructor may also ask for
documentation when consecutive absences occur.
EXAMS: The class essays serve as examinations. The final essay serves as the
final examination and the student must pass the final essay/exam to advance to the
next level.
LATENESS: The student must report to class on time. Excessive tardiness will
be penalized.
WRITING MAKEUPS: If the student is absent for an assignment or passes an
assignment due date, the student must inform the professor prior to the due
date that the paper will be late and he will have until the next class meeting
to complete the missing assignment. None will be accepted after that point
and the grade for the missed work will be recorded as 0. Please note that this
option is only for extenuating circumstances. It is not an automatic extension for
all papers. Any misuse of this policy will be considered a breach of the
agreement.
CODE OF HONESTY: The student is bound by Miami Dade College’s academic
honesty code. As such, the student is expected to conduct his academic affairs in a
forthright and honest manner. In the event that students are suspected of
classroom cheating, plagiarism or otherwise misrepresenting their work, he will
be subject to procedural due process. Academic dishonesty includes but is not
limited to the following:
 cheating on an examination;
 receiving help from others in work to be submitted, if contrary to the stated
rules of the course;
 plagiarizing, that is the taking and claiming as one’s own the ideas, writings,
or work of another, without citing the sources;
 submitting work from another course unless permitted by the instructor;
 stealing examinations or course materials;
 falsifying records;
 assisting anyone to do any of the above
A detailed discussion of the above may be found in the Students’ Rights and
Responsibilities Handbook or at http://www.mdc.edu/pdf/procedures/4074.pdf.
Grading
Essays, 70%
Critical Paper, 30%
Office Hours
The Instructor will be available during regularly scheduled office hours during the
week. Printed times will be provided at a later date.
Miami Dade College
Course Syllabus for ENC 1101H
Honors English Composition 1
Professor R.M. Stambaugh
Office: 3604-28
Telephone: 305.237.3709
E-Mail: rstambau@mdc.eduA
Department Website: http://www.mdc.edu/wolfson/departments/english/
Required Textbook: The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction, 7th
Edition, Ann Charters, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003; The New McGraw-Hill Handbook,
McGraw-Hill, 2007.
Week 1
Aug. 21
Course Introduction and the Diagnostic Essay
Week 2
Aug. 28
Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour,” 250
Related Commentary
Writing 1
Week 3
Sept. 4
William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” 391
Related Commentary
Writing 2
Week 4
Sept. 11
Willa Cather’s “Paul’s Case,” 197
Related Commentary
Writing 3
Week 5
Sept. 18
Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
And “Good Country People,” 1030/1016
Related Commentary
Week 6
Sept. 25
O’Connor, continued
Writing 4
Week 7
Oct. 4
John Steinbeck’s “The Chrysanthemums” and
D.H. Lawrence’s “Odour of Chrysanthemums,”
1203/748
Related Commentary
Week 8
Oct. 9
Steinbeck and Lawrence, continued
Writing 5
Week 9
Oct. 16
Susan Sontag’s “The Way We Live Now” and Shirley
Jackson’s “The Lottery,” 1183/587
Related Commentary
Week 10
Oct. 23
Sontag and Jackson, continued
Writing 6
Week 11
Oct. 30
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” 526
Related Commentary
Week 12
Nov. 6
Hawthorne, continued
Writing 7
Week 13
`
Nov. 13
Edith Wharton’s “Roman Fever” and
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow
Wallpaper,” 1334/468
Related Commentary
Week 14
Nov. 20
Wharton and Perkins, continued
Writing 8
Week 15
Nov. 27
James Joyce’s “The Dead,” 650
Related Commentary
Week 16
Dec. 4
Writing 9
Week 17
Dec. 11
Final Assessments