Emerson, Syllabus, ENG 105.17 (Fall 2015)
1
ENGLISH 105.17 – FRESHMAN ENGLISH II (76758)
“SIGN, SIGN, EVERYWHERE A SIGN”
Cal Poly Pomona – Fall 2015
D. Berton Emerson, PhD
Email: dbemerson@cpp.edu
Phone: 909.869.3807
Office: 24-241
Office Hours: Mon–4:30-5:30; Fri–9:15-11:00
CLASS MEETINGS
MWF: 8:00am – 9:05am
Room: 1-303
Websites: dbemerson.com & Blackboard
COURSE DESCRIPTION & OBJECTIVES
This course helps you improve your critical thinking and writing abilities for college and beyond,
enabling you to use writing effectively as a way of thinking, as a means of communicating your
ideas to others, and as a habit that helps shape your social and ethical lives. We do so through the
study of two related discourses: the workings of semiotics and the dynamics of performative
rhetoric. With semiotics, we strive to develop effective strategies for critically reading and
understanding the complex signs and sign-systems that circulate in all facets of contemporary
culture. Understanding the elements of performative rhetoric enables us to more effectively
demonstrate our comprehension of these signs and to craft coherent and persuasive intellectual
responses to their promptings. Ultimately, this course should make you a savvier reader of the
world around you and a more enabled participant in the conversations that structure our worlds.
This course fulfills GE Sub-area C3.
REQUIRED TEXTS
Holcomb, Chris and M. Jimmie Killingsworth. Performing Prose: The Study and Practice of
Style in Composition. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 2010. Print.
Maasik, Sonia and Jack Solomon, Eds. Signs of Life in the USA: Readings on Popular Culture
for Writers, Eighth Edition. New York: Bedford, 2012. Print.
Emerson, Syllabus, ENG 105.17 (Fall 2015)
2
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completion of the course, students should be able to do the following:
• Write, read, and think analytically.
• Analyze texts from a rhetorical perspective. Use that analysis to inform one’s own writing,
producing rigorous, clear, and logically cohesive writing.
• Demonstrate skills in organizing, handling evidence, and revising to produce logically and
stylistically compelling analyses and arguments.
• Demonstrate skill in elementary inductive and deductive processes, as they are manifest in
particular instances of symbolic action (e.g., particular instances of giving examples, making
comparisons, defining, classifying, accounting for cause(s) and effect(s)).
• Identify and revise some common fallacies of language and thought and also, but more
critically, test the degree of reasonableness of such fallacies in specific rhetorical situations.
• Distinguish premised from unpremised assertions, informed from uninformed beliefs, and
well-informed, well-premised stances from ill-informed, poorly premised stances in one’s
own writing and in others’ writing.
• Delineate and consider in the readings and in one’s own writing the effects of the actions
being recommended and the stylistic choices being made—and by such consideration revise
more thoughtfully, not only for felicity and efficiency but also for increased responsiveness
to the various contexts and communities within which we live.
ATTENDANCE
Students are expected to attend all class sessions throughout the
term. Some circumstances might cause absences; however,
students are responsible for all assignments that are due and
material covered in any missed classes. If a student misses a
class, check the website and ask a classmate for details. And if a
student misses a class, the professor would appreciate an email
as expediently as possible, preferably before class.
CELL PHONES, TABLETS, & LAPTOPS
Students should refrain from using cell phones in class. There will be times for tablets and/or
laptops, but they should be put away upon instruction for the following reasons (1) studies show
that multitasking (e.g. participating in discussion and glancing at social media updates) hinders
the type of cognitive work asked of students; (2) the attraction to these devices draws powerfully
on emotions in ways that the intellect struggles to overcome (i.e. the elephant/rider theory); and
(3) devices are unfairly distracting to nearby peers (i.e. akin to second-hand smoke). For some
background on these studies, see: https://medium.com/@cshirky/why-i-just-asked-my-studentsto-put-their-laptops-away-7f5f7c50f368.
BEHAVIOR
As we will be discussing potentially controversial topics, it is important that everyone remain
respectful and considerate of the opinions of others. Additionally, I believe learning often takes
place in a trial-and-error. Accordingly, you should act civilly and constructively in all phases of
this class—both in person and online. If there is a problem of disrespect in the classroom or
online, actions will be taken.
Emerson, Syllabus, ENG 105.17 (Fall 2015)
3
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is the act of presenting as your own work another individual’s ideas, words, data, or
research material. All ideas and quotations that you borrow from any source must be
appropriately cited. Penalties for plagiarism are severe, and you are responsible for reading and
understanding the University policy on cheating and plagiarism. (See
http://www.cpp.edu/~judicialaffairs/academic-integrity-resources/academic-integrity.shtml)
If you have questions or concerns about this policy, ask.
STUDENT ACCESS
“Cal Poly Pomona, as a learning-centered university, is committed to student success. Students
with disabilities are encouraged to contact me privately or the Disability Resource Center (909869-3333; building 9, room 103) to coordinate course accommodations.” The following website
lists places to assist all students in the classroom: https://www.cpp.edu/~drc/.
POLICIES ABOUT PAPERS
Understand first and foremost that this is not a course with a checklist of assignments; instead,
you should think of this course as an ongoing conversation that begins on day one and runs to the
end of the semester. I will initiate the conversation with class instruction, readings, and written
assignments. When you submit a written assignment, your peers and I will provide feedback that
should be considered and incorporated into the next written assignment. If you waver off course,
do not think that you can submit a stack of assignments at one time. It is in this process, I believe,
that one best learns the nuances of critical thinking and academic writing.
Each student should write papers with the awareness that
any paper written during our class may be read by
classmates. For instance, you might read a classmate’s
paper and suggest ways to improve that paper while
another reads yours. This is called a “peer review”
process.
Writing assignments known as “Observations” are typically submitted in hard copy at the
beginning of the class on the due date, with exceptions announced online and/or in class.
(Students will know in advance appropriate submission protocol). Essay drafts will also be
shared in multiple hard copies in class. All final essays should be submitted through Blackboard
prior to the class time on the date due.
Late papers will be accepted only if communication happens more than 24 hours prior to the due
date. At my discretion, a penalty of one-letter grade per day late will likely be imposed.
GRADING
Per new policy from the Chancellors Office of CSU, Cal Poly Pomona requires that students
achieve a grade of C or better to satisfy the GE requirements in written communication. We will
use the grade breakdown listed here:
A
AB+
93-100
90-92
87-89
B
BC+
83-86
80-82
77-79
C
CD+
73-76
70-72
67-69
D
DF
63-66
60-62
59 & below
Emerson, Syllabus, ENG 105.17 (Fall 2015)
4
ASSESSMENT
Students will be expected to demonstrate their grasp of learning outcomes in three primary areas:
• Developing deeper understandings of the formal workings of texts and signs
• Developing deeper understandings of effective performative rhetoric
• Developing deeper understandings of our own means of production and media of exchange.
Students will be assessed in the following ways:
1. PARTICIPATION (10%)
This class is a learning community, and the
quality of each class will in large part depend on
your investment in it, as well as your preparation
for it. I will provide some lecture in this course,
but I will expect you, individually and as a class,
to take responsibility in large part for classroom
dynamics and discussion. The class is large, but
that does not mean we cannot have a dynamic
learning environment. I expect you to treat one
another's ideas with seriousness and respect. Your
participation in class discussions and, more
importantly, constructive peer review is essential
for cultivating an ideal learning community
focused on writing skills development.
2. OBSERVATIONS (30%)
With the belief that sound academic writing is cultivated by interactive reading of high quality
published material, these writing pieces serve as three opportunities for development of writing
fundamentals. Students will select readings from Signs of Life and produce a two-paragraph
observation. The first paragraph will offer a thorough yet concise synopsis of the article,
highlighting its central focus as well as its most salient points. The second paragraph will
propose an objective critique, which can take on a variety of forms. Ideally, the critique serves
as a response that pushes the conversation forward, raising new but relevant points while
offering rational and informed opinion.
3. DISCUSSION BOARD POSTINGS (20%)
While the formal Observations and Essays are the primary performance pieces of the course, we
will be writing shorter discussion board pieces that share our discoveries from various readings.
Consistent, thoughtful participation in these single-paragraph summaries and responses extends
our classroom experience.
4. ESSAYS (40%)
The essays will serve as the central performance pieces of the course. These extended pieces of
writing must demonstrate learning of substantive and formal content of the course. Each essay
will have a respective assignment sheet sharing more details.
Essay 1: A Review of Something
Essay 2: Research Paper on American Identity and Citizenship
Emerson, Syllabus, ENG 105.17 (Fall 2015)
5
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Week 0
9/25 – Introduction, Syllabi, and Course Concerns
Week 1
9/28 – Signs of Life, Introduction: Popular Signs – 1-22
9/30 – Discussion on paragraphs on contemporary signs
10/2 – Signs of Life, Introduction: Writing about Popular Culture – 23-36
Week 2
10/5 – Signs of Life, Ch 1 – Consumerism, Part I
10/7 – Signs of Life, Ch 1 – Consumerism, Part II
10/9 – Performing Prose, “Introduction” 1-16
Week 3
10/12 – Signs of Life, Ch 2 – Advertising; Observation #1 due
10/14 – Performing Prose, “Motives of Style,” 17-37
10/16 – Signs of Life, Ch 3 – Television
Week 4
10/19 – Signs of Life, Ch 4 – Hollywood
10/21 – Performing Prose, “Convention and Deviation” 38-55
10/23 – Signs of Life, Ch 4 – Hollywood
Week 5
10/26 – Signs of Life, Ch 5 – New Media; Observation #2 due
10/28 – Performing Prose, “Appendix on Grammar,” 173-185
10/30 – Performing Prose, “Distinction: From Voice to Footing,” 56-70
Week 6
11/2 – Peer Review Session
11/4 – Signs of Life, Ch 6 – American Paradox; ESSAY #1 Due
11/6 – Performing Prose, “The Rhetorical Tradition,” 71-83
Week 7
11/9 – Signs of Life, Ch 6 – American Paradox
11/11 – NO CLASS – VETERANS DAY
11/13 – Performing Prose, “Tropes,” 84-105
Week 8
11/16 – Performing Prose, “Schemes,” 106-128
11/18 – Signs of Life, Ch 7 – Identity Politics
11/20 – Performing Prose, “Images,” 129-144; Observation #3 due
Emerson, Syllabus, ENG 105.17 (Fall 2015)
6
Week 9
11/23 – Performing Prose, “Rituals of Language” 145-162
11/25 – Performing Prose, “Style and Culture,” 163-170
11/27 – NO CLASS – THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
Week 10
11/30 – RESEARCH PAPER WORKSHOP
12/2 – Research Paper Presentations; ESSAY #2 Due
12/4 – Research Paper Presentations
FINAL REFLECTIONS – FRIDAY, 11 DECEMBER – 9:10-11:10am