TECHNICAL, PROFESSIONAL, AND SCIENCE WRITING
ENG 347 (Summer 2009): e-learning
[This course is similar to the former STS 325. English 347 is open to all students.]
Doris Zames Fleischer, Ph.D.
E-mail address: sirod1@optonline.net or doris.fleischer@njit.edu
Office telephone: 973-596-5607
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The purpose of this course is to acquaint students with samples of significant
technical, professional and science writing, sharpen skills in identifying the theses
and the major supporting elements in these works, while making judgments on their
contributions. In addition, students will be required to demonstrate their ability to
do the necessary research to integrate related sources other than the assigned texts.
When students make a judgment, they must provide specific reasons why the
author's arguments are (or are not) convincing. Furthermore, students will be
expected to demonstrate their capacity to write more than summaries, but rather
distillations of assigned readings and other sources, which they relate to one
another, as well as to the assigned topics.
PREREQUISITES:
HUM 101 and two from among HUM 102, HUM 211, HUM 212, and HIST 213, or
their equivalents.
ASSIGNED TEXTS:
Gardner, Martin, ed. Great Essays in Science. Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1994. (G)
[ISBN: 0-87975-853-8]
Fleischer, Doris Zames and Frieda Zames. The Disability Rights Movement: From
Charity to Confrontation. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001. (DRM)
[ISBN: 1-56639-812-6]
Teich, Albert H., ed. Technology and the Future (11h ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth,
2009. (T) [ISBN: 0-495-57052-4]
GENERAL STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
1. ALL STUDENTS MUST HAVE AN ACCOUNT FOR BOTH WEBCT AND
HIGHLANDER PIPELINE IN ORDER TO BE PROPERLY REGISTERED
FOR THIS COURSE. STUDENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL
MESSAGES AND DOCUMENTS SENT THROUGH WEBCT EMAIL,
BULLETIN BOARD, AND ASSIGNMENT TOOL, AS WELL AS
PIPELINE. PLEASE CHECK THEM REGULARLY.
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2. STUDENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING THAT FROM THE
START OF THE SEMESTER I HAVE THEIR CORRECT EMAIL
ADDRESSES, TELEPHONE NUMBERS, AND MAILING ADDRESSES ,
AND ALL OTHER RELEVANT PERSONAL INFORMATION. PLEASE
INFORM ME OF ANY CHANGES. THIS IS ESSENTIAL.
3. PLEASE SECURE ALL OF THE REQUIRED TEXTS BEFORE THE
START OF THE FIRST SUMMER SEMESTER. THE BOOKSTORE
WILL NOT HAVE THEM AVAILABLE AFTER THE BEGINNING OF
THE SEMESTER.
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STUDENTS MUST RETURN THE COMPLETED COURSE
AGREEMENT FORM PRIOR TO THE BEGINNING OF THE SUMMER
2009 SEMESTER.
5. IF STUDENTS HAVE QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS, THEY SHOULD
NOT HESITATE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH ME BY WEBCT EMAIL
OR TELEPHONE (973-596-5607). I WILL FORWARD MY HOME
TELEPHONE NUMBER VIA PIPELINE.
FINAL GRADES will be based on the following formula:
Essays: 50 points (Five essays worth ten points each)
Bulletin Board Postings: 35 points
Final requirement: 15 points (See final page of syllabus)
Grades of rewritten essays (optional) will be reconsidered. All of the above must be
submitted in order for students to receive a passing grade for the course.
WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS:
Students will be provided with study questions to stimulate their thinking for
Bulletin Board Postings and Essays.
1) BULLETIN BOARD POSTINGS (35 points):
Students are required to post on the WebCt Bulletin Board substantive comments
about each week’s readings and research. Also, each week students are required to
respond to at least one other student comment.
2) ESSAYS (50 points)
On the indicated dates, students will submit an essay of approximately 750-1,000
words, fully documented according to Modern Language Association [MLA]
parenthetical style. A Works Cited list, following MLA style, must also be included.
Students are required to submit essays through the WebCt Assignment Tool.
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Your essay should analyze each reading and relate it to the topic (the title above the
group of essays assigned for the week), as well as to the other readings for that
assignment, including an integrated outside source(s). The topics are purposely
broad and open to individual interpretation.
Each essay must have the student’s name, topic, number of the essay (#1, #2, etc.),
and date of submission clearly indicated. If students use ideas or words drawn from
a source, that source must be cited. Do not write separate summaries of each
reading; rather, write one coherent essay discussing all of the readings assigned, as
well as briefly integrating at least one additional related and reliable outside source.
The title above the assigned readings for the week should be the title (and the topic)
of your own essay analyzing these readings. For example, the title of your first essay
should be “Perspectives on the Planet and the Universe.” Students are mainly to
paraphrase. Direct quotations should be brief and will not be considered part of the
word count.
It is the student's task to show that he or she has carefully read all of the assigned
readings and succinctly expressed the essence of all of the works. By having these
“conversations" with the authors, each student is expected to reveal his or her
ability to comprehend, connect, and assess, while expressing his or her own unique
voice. In each essay, students must briefly integrate at least one additional related
and reliable outside source. To illustrate, with regard to the first assignment
(“Perspectives on the Planet and the Universe”), a student might discuss—in
connection with the required readings—the question of whether or not “intelligent
design” should be taught as an alternative to evolution. Use peer-reviewed sources
and other reliable sources such as the New York Times, Google Scholar, National
Science Foundation (nsf.gov.) Do not use Wikipedia or encyclopedias. Be careful of
online sources. Choose only web sites that are retrievable and include authors’
names.
A peer-reviewed source has been subject to a “blind” review by other experts in the
field to determine if the manuscript is worthy of publication. Since the material is
anonymously reviewed prior to acceptance for publication, peerreviewed publications are believed to be the most
reliable sources of information. Examples of scholarly, peerreviewed reliable sources of information journals include Bulletin of Science,
Technology and Society; Technology and Culture; Technology in Society; Scientific
American; Futurist; Information, Communication & Society;
The New England Journal of Medicine; and Technology Review: MIT’s Magazine of
Innovation.
Some examples of NJIT Library Data Bases are the following:
Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, Omni file, Lexis-Nexis, and
Medline.
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For help with research, contact the NJIT Librarian: davida.scharf@njit.edu
PLEASE NOTE THAT ESSAYS ARE DUE BY 11:50PM ON THE DATES LISTED BELOW.
ALTHOUGH LATE ESSAYS MAY BE ACCEPTED IF THE EXPLANATION FOR THE LATENESS
WARRANTS SPECIAL CONSIDERATION, I CANNOT GUARANTEE PROMPT RETURN OF SUCH
LATE ESSAYS WITH MY COMMENTS AND CORRECTIONS.
3) FINAL REQUIREMENT (15 POINTS)
SEE DESCRIPTION ON FINAL PAGE OF SYLLABUS
STUDENTS MUST SUBMIT ALL REQUIREMENTS (1, 2, AND 3) TO RECEIVE
A PASSING GRADE IN THIS COURSE
SCHEDULE OF ASSIGNMENTS AND DUE DATES FOR BULLETIN BOARD
POSTINGS AND ESSAYS
May 30 (Saturday): Bulletin Board postings due
June 1 (Monday): Essay #1 due
Topic: Perspectives on the Planet and the Universe
. Charles Darwin, "Recapitulation and Conclusion," 5G
. Stephen Jay Gould, "Nonmoral Nature," 32G.
. Lewis Thomas, “Seven Wonders,” 421G
. Carl Sagan, "Can We Know the Universe? Reflections on a Grain of Salt," 102G
. Jonathan N. Leonard," Other-Worldly Life," 181G
June 6 (Saturday): Bulletin Board postings due
June 8 (Monday): Essay #2 due
Topic: Potential and Peril in the Evolution of Technology
. Jose Ortega Y Gasset, "The Barbarism of 'Specialization'," 121G
. Ernest Nagel, "Automation," 173G.
. Samuel Goudsmit, “The Gestapo in Science,” 349G
. Laura Fermi, "Success,” 336G
. Albert Einstein, "E=mc2," 413G
June 13 (Saturday): Bulletin Board postings due
June 15 (Monday): Essay #3 due
Topic: Technology/ Society and the Law
. “Personal Notes” and “Preface,” xiii-xvii DRM
. Chapter 4—DRM
. Chapter 5—DRM
. Chapter 6---DRM
June 20 (Saturday): Bulletin Board postings due
June 22 (Monday): Essay #4 due
Topic: Technology/Expansion of Rights and Inclusion
. Chapter 9---DRM
. Chapter 10--DRM.
. Chapter 11—DRM
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June 27 (Saturday): Bulletin Board postings due
June 29 (Monday): Essay #5 due
Topic: Cultural Dimensions of Technology
. Leo Marx, "Does Improved Technology Mean Progress?," 3T
. Robert Pool, “How Society Shapes Technology,” 13T
. Alvin M. Weinberg, "Can Technology Replace Social Engineering?" 28T
. Samuel C. Florman, “Technology and the Tragic View,” 36T
. Langdon Winner, “Do Artifacts Have Politics?” 45T
July 6 (Monday): Final Requirement due
Final Requirement (15 points)—2 student essays on assigned topics based on additional
readings in Teich, as well as brief integration of related and reliable additional outside
sources. Details to follow.
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