English 1, Composition
FALL 2009 Tuesday/Friday 9:30-10:45 AM.
2150 Boylan
Normandy Sherwood, Instructor
Office: 2311, Boylan Adjuncts’ Office.
Office Hours: Tuesday, 11:00 AM -12:00 pm.
email: normandyraven@gmail.com
Syllabus
Required texts/materials:
Course Packet. This is available at Far Better Copy, located at the corner of Hillel Place and
Campus Drive. It will cost about $30 and will include most of the readings we will use for this
class.
Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference. This is available at the Brooklyn College Bookstore.
Obama, Barack Dreams from My Father. This should have been distributed at orientation.
A dedicated journal for in class writing assignments.
Course objective:
This course will serve as an introduction to composition at the college level. During this course
we are going to practice and perfect strategies for writing expository essays and for engaging
with different kinds of texts. We will read essays, memoirs, fiction and even some fairy tales. By
the end of this course we will have have written plenty and we will all have figured out some
things we can do with the texts we read. We will also have studied some shortcuts to making
sense out of texts when we feel lost and some ways to support our arguments about what we
think is going on in a text. Our time in class will be split between writing, discussion of the
readings and our own writing, and work in groups.
Are you interested in passing this class? It is within your power. There are three
requirements:
Showing up to class.
Attendance: It is very important that you attend class. You will fail this class if you are absent
more than 3 times without a valid excuse. If you must miss class for any reason, please let me
know ahead of time. Being on time for class is equally important, if you are late three times I
will count that as an absence. Also: a pattern of lateness will affect your grade negatively.
Being mentally present in class.
In-Class Participation: Participation counts for 20% of your grade. This includes: following and
participating in discussions, volunteering to read aloud, group work, completing in class writing
and journal assignment and bringing your course packets to class every time we meet. This also
includes: treating your instructor and classmates with respect. SPECIAL NOTE: Do not text in
class. Texting is the opposite of participation in class and if I notice you doing it I will count you
absent for the day.
Completing the work assigned
Assignments: Here is a description of the kind of assignments you will be responsible for:
Reading:
You must do the reading assigned for each class before the class. Readings are listed below on
roughly the date that they are due. Readings will be mostly be found in the course packet that is
available at Far Better Copy. Occasionally I will give you a handout in class that will be due the
next course meeting. SPECIAL NOTE: It may happen that we will stray from the plan outlined
below, especially if an interesting new problem presents itself or we need to sped a little more
time on a given exercise. When this happens I will send you an updated syllabus.
Writing:
Essays: You will write seven 2-4 page essays in this class. These essays will draw from
the assigned reading and will receive letter grades. Essays must be typewritten using a 12
point font and double-spaced. You may not email papers unless there is a very special
circumstance and you have my express permission.
I encourage you to revise your work-- revisions of papers will be accepted up to a week
after they are returned to you.
Written Assignments: You will also be required to complete in class writing assignments
and short take-home prompts. These assignments will generally be about a page in length
and will not be graded, but their completion will count towards your final grade.
Journal:
I will ask you to keep a journal of our in-class assignments.
Late work:
Essays turned in late without a valid excuse will be penalized half a letter grade for each class
meeting they are late. Late work (Essays and Assignments) will not be accepted after four classes
have passed from the original due date. What is a valid excuse? A family emergency, a severe
illness, or an extension you have negotiated with me before the paper is due. If you don’t show
up for class on the day an essay is due, the essay will be counted as late.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is not tolerated at Brooklyn College and especially will not be tolerated
in this class. The point of this class is to help you to hone a skill that you will need to be
successful in college. I am interested in your development as a writer, and your ability to analyze
texts and express original thought. Much like texting during class discussions, plagiarism is
destructive to your learning experience, the learning experience of your peers, and my learning
experience as your instructor. Also, please know that I WILL KNOW if you plagiarize, and it
will be very EMBARRASSING for you. Don't do it.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: I will be using email to communicate with you a lot. I will use email to
send out prompts and assignments to you via email. You are welcome to email me with
questions or concerns (or come to my office hours…), but in general you cannot email papers to
me. You must give me a hard copy. This is to your advantage because having a hard copy
actually helps me get them back to you faster.
AND FINALLY: Let me know if you are having any trouble at all, if you are confused about
anything, if you are overwhelmed, if you are struggling with your writing. I am available during
my office hour on Tuesdays (11:00 AM-12:00PM), by email (I check email constantly), and after
most classes. Please know that I am here because want to help you to become great writers.
Course Plan
August 28-- Course Introduction. General questions answered. In class free writing. In class
handout: Anna Akhmatova, "three things he loved..."
September 1-- Reading Due: Barack Obama Dreams from My Father. In class diagnostic
essay.
September 4-- Reading Due: George Saunders, "Thank You, Esther Forbes." James Thurber
"The Secret Life of James Thurber."
September 8— Assignment Due: Thurber/Saunders. Reading Due: Sei Shonagon, "Hateful
Things" and others. Natalia Ginzburg, "He and I"
September 11 -- Assignment Due: Lists. Reading Due: Reading Due: Robert Benchley, "My
Face." M.F.K Fisher, "Once a tramp always..." "Ideas" from Writing Analytically.
September 15-- Assignment Due: Draft of first essay. Reading Due: Wole Soyinka "Why I
Fast" and Franz Kafka, "A Hunger Artist."
September 18-- NO CLASS
September 22 --Assignment Due: "Under Duress..." Reading Due: James Baldwin, "Notes of a
Native Son"
September 25-- Assignment Due: First Essay, final Draft. Reading Due: Benjamin Demott, "Put
on a Happy Face"
September 29-- NO CLASS (CONVERSION DAY)
October 2-- Assignment due: "Baldwin/Demott" Reading Due: David Wojnarowicz "Living
Close to the Knives."
October 6-- Reading Due: Lillian Hellman, "Julia."
October 9— Reading Due: Joseph Mitchell, "Mazie”, "Hit on the Head with a Cow." Grace
Paley, “ Goodbye and Good Luck.” In class: "Girl" by Jamaica Kinkade
October 13-- Second Essay Due. Reading Due. Jane Bowles "Everything Is Nice." Grace Paley,
“The Pale Pink Roast.”
October 16-- Assignment due: Character sketch. Reading Due. Alfred Kazin "Walker in the
City." Handout.
October 20-- Reading Due: Joan Didion, "Goodbye to all that." Ishmael Reed, "In the
Kitchen." Handout.
October 23-- Reading Due: Maria Tatar "Rewritten By Adults: The Inscription of Children's
Literature." Hans Christian Andersen, "The Girl Who Trod on A Loaf"; "The Little Match
Seller." In class writing.
October 27-- Third Essay Due. Assignment Due: Type up in class exercise. Reading Due:
Maria Tatar, "Pedagogy of Fear in Fairy Tales." Charles Perrault, “Little red Riding Hood”
Brothers Grimm, “Little Red Cap.” Hans Christian Andersen, "Auntie Toothache."
October 30– Assignment Due: Folktales/Auntie Toothache. Reading Due: Angela Carter, "The
Werewolf" and "The Company of Wolves." Franz Kafka, "The Cares of A Family Man."
November 3 –Assignment Due: 20 lines a day for five days. Reading Due: Walter Benjamin,
"The Storyteller."
November 6 -- Fourth Essay Due. Reading due: George Saunders, "The Braindead
Megaphone." Practice Exit Exam.
November 10--Reading Due: Anton Chekhov, "Gooseberries." Discuss exit exams.
November 13-- Assignment Due: Three thesis statements on "Gooseberries." Discuss Exit
Exams. Reading Due: David Foster Wallace, "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again" ;
Wallace's commencement address to Kenyon College class of 2005
November 17-- Fifth essay due. Reading Due: Jonathan Swift, "A Modest Proposal."
November 20-- Reading Due: George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language."
November 24--
December 1— Reading Due: Edward Hoagland, "The Courage of Turtles."
December 4. Sixth Essay Due. Reading Due: Malcolm Gladwell, "Listening to Khakis."
December 8-- Practice Exit Exam.
December 11--Seventh Essay Due. wrap up, last class
December 15?-- Exit Exam
Appendix
How your grade for the class is determined:
Essays: 60% of your grade. Each essay is worth 10%. If you turn
all of the essays in on time, I will not count the paper with the
lowest grade.
In Class Participation: 20% of your grade. This includes attendance,
promptness, talking in class, etc.
Assignments: 20% of your grade. These are not graded with letter
grades, you will receive credit for turning them in on time.
Reading list (genre/author/title/where you can find it):
Poem: Anna Akhmatova, "three things he loved..." (Handout)
Book: Barack Obama, Dreams From My Father
Essay: George Saunders, "Thank You, Esther Forbes." (Course Packet)
Essay: James Thurber "The Secret Life of James Thurber." (CP)
Essay: Sei Shonagon, "Hateful Things." (CP)
Essay: Natalia Ginzburg, "He and I." (CP)
Essay: Robert Benchley, "My Face." (CP)
Essay: M.F.K Fisher, "Once a tramp always..." (CP)
Essay: Wole Soyinka, "Why I Fast." (CP)
Story: Franz Kafka, "A Hunger Artist"(http://records.viu.ca/~Johnstoi/kafka/hungerartist.htm)
(CP)
Essay: James Baldwin, "Notes of a Native Son." (CP)
Essay: Benjamin Demott, "Put on a Happy Face." (CP)
Essay: David Wojnarowicz, "Living Close to the Knives." (CP)
Story: Jane Bowles, "Everything Is Nice" (Handout)
Essay: Richard Rodriguez, "Late Victorians." (CP)
Story:Joseph Mitchell, "Mazie" (Handout)
Essay: Adam Gopnik, "Times Regained." (CP)
Book: Alfred Kazin, A Walker in the City
Book excerpt: Maria Tatar, Off With Their Heads, "Rewritten By Adults: The Inscription of
Children's Literature" (CP)
Maria Tatar, "Pedagogy of Fear in Fairy Tales"
Charles Perrault, "Little Red Riding-hood" (http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Little_Red_RidingHood) (online)
Brothers Grimm, "Little Red Cap" (http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Little_Red-cap (online)
Stories: Hans Christian Andersen "The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf" and "The Little Match Girl"
(http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/TheLittleMatchGirl_e.html and
http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/TheGirlWhoTrodOnTheLoaf_e.html) (CP)
Stories: Angela Carter, "The Werewolf" and "The Company of Wolves" (CP)
Story: Hans Christian Andersen, "Auntie Toothache"
(http://www.andersen.sdu.dk/vaerk/hersholt/AuntyToothache_e.html) (CP)
Story: Franz Kafka, "The Cares of a Family Man" (CP)
Essay: George Saunders, "The Braindead Megaphone." (CP)
Essay: David Foster Wallace, "A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again." (CP)
Speech: David Foster Wallace, "Address to Kenyon College, class of 2005." (CP)
Story: Anton Chekhov, "Gooseberries." (CP)
Satire: Jonathan Swift, "A Modest Proposal" (CP)
Essay: George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language" (CP)
Satire: S.J. Perelman, selections. (Handout)
Essay: Malcolm Gladwell, "Listening to Khakis; What America's Most Popular
Pants Tell Us About the Way Guys Think." (CP)
Essay: Walter Benjamin, "The Storyteller." (CP)
Essay: Joan Didion, "Goodbye to all that." (CP)
Story: Lillian Hellman, "Julia" (CP)
Story: Jamaica Kinkade, "Girl" (Handout)
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