English 1A
Reading and Composition
Fall 2009
Special Theme: AIDS, Africa, and “Us” (the U.S.)
Dr. Nika Hogan
Email: mihogan@pasadena.edu
Office: C156-D
Office Phone: (626) 585-3243
Office Hours: MW 10:30-12, TTh 11:30-12, and F 8-9 and 10:30-11
It has been a quarter century since the first cases of AIDS were recognized in a Los Angeles hospital.
Unfortunately, in the year 2005, more new HIV infections and deaths from AIDS occurred worldwide than ever
before. Nearly 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, and in a recent New York Times article, Dr. Peter
Piot of UNAIDS stated: “I think we will see a further globalization of the epidemic spreading to every single
corner of the planet.” Why is it, though, that in the midst of these and many more horrifying statistics,
including the number of children orphaned by AIDS in Southern Africa, the rate of new infections in Asia and
India, and the lack of preventative measures against mother-child transmission of the virus, that for many of us
in the U.S. the AIDS pandemic seems like “old news,” or some faraway, foreign problem unlikely to impact our
lifestyles?
This purpose of this class is not to incite horror, guilt, or despair, none of which are useful tools for analysis or
action. Instead, we will analyze the role that language plays in creating, maintaining, and possibly intervening
in this global humanitarian crisis. AIDS is not only a pandemic, it is also a lightening rod of meanings and
interpretations that heavily influences the way we think of “ourselves” in the U.S. and our attitudes towards the
rest of the world. The real topic of this class is epistemology, or the way that knowledge is produced. In other
words, how and why do we know what we know? How do attitudes about race, sexuality, nationality, and
religion actually impact the “real world,” including the understanding of a disease, the progress of an epidemic,
the response of other global citizens?
English 1A Student Learning Outcomes
After successful completion of this course at Pasadena City College, you will be able to:
 Write cogent, well-developed arguments that clearly articulate a thesis supported by textual evidence.
 Read critically by summarizing, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating college level texts.
 Select, evaluate, interpret and synthesize sources in the service of an argument.
 Document sources (print, electronic and other) in MLA style.
 Use effective strategies for pre-writing, composing, and revising of essays.
After successful completion of this particular section of 1A with me as an instructor, you will be able to:
 Analyze texts and your own writing rhetorically, seeking to understand and articulate not only content
but also the way that language is used in certain ways for specific effects.
 Demonstrate thoughtful critical engagement with the multiple perspectives on the global AIDS
pandemic.
 Varies: each student will compose a Personal Student Learning Outcome (PSLO)
Required Materials:
 A large binder or folder in which to keep all of the writing you will do this term, a notebook to serve as
a journal, and an e-mail account
 Diana Hacker, A Writer’s Reference: Custom Edition for Pasadena City College
 Susan Sontag, Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors
 Stephanie Nolan, 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa
 Shereen Usdin, The No-Nonsense Guide to HIV/AIDS (out of print; I will sell photocopies in class or
you can still get copies on Amazon.com)
Requirements:
1. Four Writing Projects (125 points) and an Annotated Bibliography (15 points). Each writing project
will integrate research and will involve analysis, but exact length and format will vary based on the
assignment and on each student’s goals. Two of the essays will be timed, in class writings. For all
essays you will write multiple drafts, and you will give and receive feedback to/ from your peers. You
must complete all required drafts and parts of the writing processes we engage in as a class in
order to receive full credit for these essays. I will not give you any credit at all if you turn in
only your final draft.
2. Individual Conferences with me. At two points in the semester, every student will schedule a ten
minute conference with me to discuss their Personal Student Learning Outcomes (PSLOs), their
progress in the course, current reading and writing projects, and plans for future writing.
3. Group Project Presentation (10 points). Working with a small group of your peers, you will plan and
execute a presentation to “teach” one chapter of The No-Nonsense Guide to HIV/ AIDS to the rest if
the class.
4. Readings will be assigned from the course texts. If an essay is mentioned in the syllabus, it is assigned
for and should be read in preparation for that class period.
5. Quizzes (10 points) will be given on the readings on a regular basis.
6. Weekly visits to the Writing Center (10 points). In order to pass this class, you must be concurrently
enrolled in English 900, Writing Center Lab, which requires you to spend one hour each week in the
English Department’s Writing Center (located in C341 and 345). The lab is designed to both
supplement and complement the work we are doing in the course. Faculty and peer tutors will offer
one-on-one and group teaching activities, and the lab also offers computer-assisted tutorial software
that will address grammar, mechanics, and general reading and writing skills. You are only allowed
two absences from the Writing Center during the course of the term. Note: You must bring your
Lancer card, registration slip, and 900 Assignment sheet every time you attend the lab.The
English Division policy states that any student who is not already enrolled in one section of English
900, The Writing Center, by Monday of the fourth week of the semester, will be dropped from English
1A. There will be no exceptions. This means you might need to enroll in a section of the Writing
Center that is not convenient for your schedule. At some point you may be able to switch sections.
7. A Journal (10 points). By the end of the semester, your journal should total 30 [regular sized
notebook] pages. I will assign various “exploratory writings” relevant to our coursework throughout
the semester, so bring your journal to class every day. You should also feel free to write in it on your
own about anything you want—if an entry is too personal for me to read, you can just fold the page
down or write “PRIVATE” at the top. Overall, you are responsible for writing 2-3 pages a week.
8. Workshops. Every person will have the opportunity to have one of their essays read and discussed by
the whole class. Though this may sound stressful, it is usually a positive, even ego-boosting
experience and a great chance to find out how readers (other than me) react to your writing.
9. Participation (10 points). Participation includes: reading and fully digesting any reading assignment
BEFORE the class day for which it is assigned; active effort to join in the discussions and workshops
(at least one comment per class); good faith effort in peer response and other group work. Note:
“Negative” participation, such as sleeping or disrupting other people’s work in class, will have a
correspondingly negative impact on your participation grade.
10. Individual presentation on one of the stories from 28 (10 points). With this assignment, I am going to
ask each of you to take responsibility for reading and representing to the class the story of somebody
living with AIDS in Africa.
Class Policies
Requirements: Please note that you must complete all of the requirements in order to pass the course!
For example, if you never turn in Essay 1 but have straight A’s on everything else, you still cannot receive a
passing final grade until you finish Essay 1. This is what we mean when we call them “requirements.”  You
also must show mastery of the Student Learning Outcomes on the first page of this syllabus in order to receive a
passing grade.
Attendance: This is a small, workshop based course which requires full participation from all members; as
such, attendance is mandatory! I realize that life is unpredictable, and so everybody is allowed two “free”
absences, no questions asked. Save these for the sicknesses, traffic issues, or personal emergencies that tend to
come up over the course of a semester. For every absence after 2, however, your grade will be docked by
10 points.**Note: If you miss eight hours of class, or four classes, you can be dropped from the course.
Keep in mind, though, if you decide to stop attending class, it is your responsibility to officially drop in
order to avoid an “F” on your transcript. This semester, the last day to drop a course with a “W” is Friday,
November 13.
What constitutes an absence?
a. Missing class.
b. Not having a draft on the day that it is due.
c. Being more than 50 minutes late or leaving more than 50 minutes early.
Lateness:
Everybody is late sometimes, which should not constitute a problem unless you are chronically or
extremely late. I will dock you 1 point for every five minutes that you come in late (or leave early). So,
if you are fifteen minutes late, you will lose 3 points. On the bright side, if I am ever late, I will award
everybody who is present points using the same scale.
Late paper policy: Essays must be submitted at the beginning of the class period on which they are due.
If you turn your paper in to me up to one day late (on the class day following the due date), I will accept it but
will dock the grade ten percent. After this “grace period,” I WILL NOT accept late papers! Please plan
ahead—if you fear you will not manage to make a deadline please discuss your options with me at least 48
hours BEFORE the paper is due.
Plagiarism: You are probably already aware of Pasadena City College’s rules for academic honesty. You
might not be aware of another pressing issue regarding plagiarism: it really depresses me! When one of my
students presents me with another writer’s work, that person is in effect telling me that he or she does not feel
his or her own ideas are worthwhile. To me this is so sad that it makes me want to cry, scream, eat
compulsively, change careers. YOUR ideas and contributions are ALWAYS preferable to “recycling”
somebody else’s, no matter how unpolished they seem or how unsure you feel. So if you have questions about
citations, please ask. And if you are considering cutting and pasting a really awesome sentence/ passage/ essay
from the internet, please think of me and spare me the agony of knowing yet another bright person who does not
feel empowered to speak his own mind, to articulate her own connections, to advance his own argument, to take
the intellectual risks and to do the intellectual work that we are here to do.
Tolerance: In a class like ours, where each person is asked to constantly share their writing and their ideas, it
is essential that we all maintain an atmosphere of tolerance and respect. Everybody should feel able to speak
and everybody should be willing to listen. In this classroom, I will not tolerate hateful or malicious
commentary.
ADA Information: If you are in need of accommodations due to a documented disability, please let me know.
Also, please contact Disabled Student Programs and Services located in D209 (626-585-7127).
Stay in Touch with me. I will happily work with you if you are struggling in any way, but I do need you to tell
me what is going on.