Instructors: Allie Wollner, Amanda Berger, Erica Backus
Patten University at San Quentin
English 99B: Pre-College Writing (Section 1)
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6:00-8:20 pm
Spring 2013 Syllabus
Welcome to English 99B! In this course you will deepen your reading, writing, thinking,
college-readiness, and “root human” skills. We’re excited to know you and create a
learning community together.
Expectations for This Class
• Come ready to learn.
• Complete all readings and assignments.
• Conduct yourself in accordance with classroom norms at all times.
• Arrive on time for every class, and stay for the entire session. This requires a
commitment on your part. You have elected to become part of a learning
community, and attendance is required because it benefits you and your fellow
students. If you have trouble attending class for any reason, it is your
responsibility to communicate this to your teachers. No more than five classes
may be missed without written explanation.
Goals for This Class
Throughout the semester, students will learn to:
• Strategically read for meaning, perform original analysis of the texts, and
evaluate the merits of multiple textual arguments
• Organize class materials and use time effectively to complete assignments and
progress through the course
• Recognize that literature does not occur as isolated literary events, but as
complex dialogue within cultural and historical contexts
Course Theme: Masculinities
This course will explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to be man? To help
answer this question, we will examine the following concerns:
1) How do we (individually and as a group) define masculinity?
2) Is there a prevailing myth of masculinity? If so, what is it?
3) How do notions of femininity inform our notions of masculinity?
4) How do race, class, sexuality, and popular culture influence notions of
masculinity?
In order to answer these questions, we’ll analyze masculinity as it is presented in poetry,
fiction, personal essay, journalism (print and film), and cultural commentary.
The issues covered in this class are living issues, ones that involve us on a daily basis.
Images of manhood, their do’s and don’ts, are constantly before us. They inform the
lives of every man and woman. We encourage you to consider how these notions of
gender have shaped your ideas about yourself and others.
Feedback and Completion
Students will be given many opportunities to submit their writing for assessment and to
receive both written and oral feedback from their peers and instructors.
Recommendations for enrollment in English 101 will be determined according to: 1) a
average score of 4 on all assigned essays 2) completion of all assigned coursework, save
in the case of extenuating circumstances.
Methods of Instruction and Learning Atmosphere
The course will consist of regular, in-depth class discussion on the assigned readings as
well as lectures and small group work on grammar and composition. In preparation for
each essay, we will designate a few class sessions as writing labs, in which instructors
will give individualized guidance to each student as he develops his thesis, creates his
outline, and begins writing the rough draft of his essay.
Our class is a collaborative learning community where we all teach and learn from each
other. Every time you make a comment or ask a question, you teach something to the
rest of us. We challenge you to abandon the traditional passive student role and to step
up to learn by teaching.
Requirements
Essays:
1) Literary Analysis I – 2 to 4 pgs
2) Literary Analysis II – 4 to 6 pgs
3) Compare/Contrast Essay I – 4 to 6 pgs
4) Timed Compare Contrast II – 2 to 4 pgs
(You will complete this essay in class.)
Presentation:
1) Formal Debate –topic TBA, team participation and presentation required
Informal Writing: Throughout the semester, we will assign in-class and homework
writing assignments related to our readings and discussions.
Vocabulary Practice: Choose five words from each new text that you don’t recognize or
fully understand. Write down the definition found in your dictionary, along with an
original sentence using the word in a way that demonstrates an understanding of the
definition. Turn in your Vocabulary Practice on the day each reading is due.
Grammar Exercises: Throughout the semester, we will assign grammar exercises for
extra practice on tricky concepts such as comma usage, run-on sentences, sentence
fragments, possessive vs. plural s, vague pronoun reference, colon and semi-colon
usage, non-parallel construction, and subject-verb agreement.
Participation: Students should come to class prepared to discuss assigned texts
(meaning you’ve read them AND brought them with you) and be engaged in class
activities.
Attendance
Attendance at all class meetings is required. Attendance includes arriving on time and
staying to the end of the class. Students who are Close B are excused at 7:45pm; for all
others, class ends at 8:20pm.
Absences due to the following circumstances will be excused if the student submits
written documentation.
- Institutional lockdowns
- Medical lay-ins or hospitalizations
- Court dates
- Administrative segregation
- Religious holidays
Unexcused absences will be marked and taken into consideration when instructors
make final decisions about which students will pass the course.
Students are individually responsible for catching up on material covered during classes
they’ve missed, and for completing all assignments.
COURSE SCHEDULE
*Read each text by the date listed*
CLASS #
READING
DUE
UNIT 1
1
N/A
2
“Men” by Maya Angelou
3
“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
4
Interview with Junot Diaz
“The Cheater’s Guide to Love” by Junot
Diaz; first essay assigned
5
“Mayala: One Day in El Paso” by
Dagoberto Gelb
Assign Lit Analysis 1
6
“If Men Could Menstruate” by Gloria
Steinem
Time Management--how to work on your
essays
Outline Lit Analysis I
due
7
Selected poems
Rough draft due
8
“On Prison Reform” by Spoon Jackson
UNIT 2
9
“About Men” by Gretel Ehlrich
Final draft due
10
Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx
11
In class writing workshop
12
“The Women Gather” by Nikki Giovanni
13
“Lies on the Big Yard” by John Hart
Outline for Lit
Analysis II due
Rough draft due
“The Men We Carry In Our Minds” by
Scott Russell Sanders
14
“Bullfighting” by Roddy Doyle
UNIT 3
15
“I Blow Dry My Son’s Hair”
by Todd Mauldin
Final draft due
“A Letter to a Friend” by
Jada Pinkett Smith
16
“Confessions of a Recovering Misogynist”
by Kevin Powell
17
“The Starbucks Intervention”
by Greg Bortnichak
18
In class: Watch Beyond Beats and Rhymes
19
Guest Lecturer Prep Reading I- TBA
20
Guest Lecturer Prep Reading II- TBA
In class: Guest lecturer Joe Loya
21
Reading TBA
22
Reading TBA
Outline for
Compare/Contrast
Essay I due
Rough draft due
23
In class: Debate I
24
In class: Debate II
25
In class: Compare/Contrast Essay II
26
Final draft due