Counter Culture NYC: ENG 2150 (LC)
Baruch College
Spring 2015
Professor: Daniel Hengel
Office: A cubical in the labyrinthine depths of the English department; see 7-290R
Office hours: T 5-6 & F 2:30-3:30
Mailbox: On the wall, English department, seventh floor
E-mail: DanielHengel@Baruch.cuny.edu
Class: ENG2150
Code:
Section: KTRC
Hours: T/TH 2:55 – 4:35
Room:
Course Description
We live in New York City. We live and breathe it. Walk it and ride it. It surrounds us. It
is the most dynamic place on the planet. Millions of people slammed into a small space.
We walk and there are hundreds of thousands of people riding cars below us, working
above us, walking beside us; a 360 degree sphere of humanity. Just living in it feels like
an accomplishment. What did you do this year: “I lived in NYC.” It may be the greatest
city on Earth. It is the world’s city. It is the most diverse brew of socioeconomic and
cultural demographics out there. We are the denizens of a desired space. Counter-culture,
gentrification, immigration, globalization, post-colonial, the 1 percent and everybody
else, tunes, trash, cinema and stories, it sometimes feels that these genre bending buzz
words were born here, for us, by us, the people of NYC. This city has produced an
incredible wealth of literature. We are going to read a bit of it. Then we are going write
about it. We are going to read a novel or two, a few stories, pieces of memoirs and the
New York Times. We are going to watch a few movies, hold class discussions digging
into art and photography, listen to tunes and read lyrics; we may even read a handful of
poems—don’t worry they’ll be short. And we are going to write, a lot. There will be three
big papers and a bunch of small bits of writing to help get us to the big ones. We are
looking at 25-30 pages of finished material, so be ready. I’m looking forward to a great
semester.
Syllabus may be subject to change
THE READING
Required texts (editions to be determined)
1. Little, Brown Handbook
2. The Imaginative Argument. Cioffi, Frank
3. On The Road
Where to buy the books: Dealoz.com, half.com, amazon.com, alibris.com, abebooks.com,
ebay.com
The following texts will be placed on blackboard:
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“A Brief History of the Harlem Renaissance” (Norton)
“Realism, Naturalism, Modernism 1940-1960” (Norton)
“Sonny’s Blues” (Baldwin)
“Everybody’s Protest Novel” (Baldwin)
The Autobiography of Malcolm X (Malcolm X)
Invisible Man (Ellison)
“America,” “The Lynching,” “If We Must Die” (McKay)
“A Brief Beat History, Variations on a Generation” (Charters)
“The Best Minds of a Generation” (Charters)
Junky (Burroughs)
“Howl” (Ginsberg)
“New York Scenes” (Kerouac)
Stonewall Inn articles (The New York Times)
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POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Learning Goals for 2100 and 2150
There are learning goals. Baruch sets the goals. The goals make sense. We will work
toward these goals. I did not write these goals. But I am in agreement with the following
goals. These are the goals:
After completing ENG 2100 and 2150, students should be able to. . .
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Read a variety of articles, essays, and literary works, identify their key ideas and
techniques, and subject these works to logical analysis;
Practice writing as a process requiring the outlining of ideas, multiple drafting,
and revision of complete essays;
Create an original and cogent thesis and develop an imaginative argument in
unified and coherent paragraphs;
Observe sentence boundaries, punctuate correctly, vary sentence structures, and
employ the conventions of standard English grammar and usage;
Engage with different genres of writing, including the short story, the novel, the
essay, poetry, and drama, and comprehend and use appropriate vocabulary in
interpreting the material by paying close attention to language and style;
Identify, analyze, and synthesize multiple sources as support for written
arguments;
Gauge the value of different strategies for argumentation, including the use of
counter-arguments;
Produce researched essays that incorporate sources and that effectively evaluate
multiple (and even conflicting) points of view;
Avoid plagiarism and understand why it is unacceptable in the research process;
Imagine the needs of one’s reader when writing in different rhetorical modes and
social contexts and take audience and occasion into account when writing.
Course Requirements
--Three papers, of varying lengths. Total amount required will be somewhere around 20
pages (not including drafts). Worth 80% of your grade.
The Weights:
Paper 1: 15%
Paper 2: 25%
Paper 3: 40%
--Pre-draft assignments—there will be five of these. Required and graded: check, checkminus, check plus, working toward your participation grade (see below). Write them;
they will make the long work a whole lot easier.
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--Quizzes on the reading. 6.5% of your grade. (Simple, if you’ve read the material,
seriously).
--Class participation, which will account for 13.5% of your grade. This portion will
involve my assessment of your preparedness and responsiveness in class, your
attendance/participation in student led discussions, your presentation and “conceptual
workshops,” and your other writing such as the pre-writing assignments and the critiques
of others’ work (for draft workshops). This class is going to be fun. We are going to talk,
a lot. I do not intend to lecture you too often.
Grading
Transparency is important.
I use a thousand-point scale, which allows for clear computation of your final grade. The
weightings of your work, works like this:
Paper 1: 150 points
Paper 2: 250 points
Paper 3: 400 points
Participation (and other writing): 135 points
Quizzes: 65 points
Ranges for letter grades:
970-1000—A+
930-969—A
900-929—A870-899—B+
830-869—B
800-829—B770-799—C+
730-769—C
700-729—C600-699—D
<600—F
Note:
All papers have word counts. Word counts are not suggestions. They are requirements. If
the word count is not met; then, severe penalties will be rendered. I am not a monster.
There is some give. Penalties begin at the 120 word short mark. That’s about a third of a
page. The Penalty: one point from your total essay grade will be deducted for each
percentage point your incompleteness represents relative to the required word count. An
example: If the required word count is 1850 words and you write 1650; then, 11 points
will be deducted from your essay after I have calculated your grade based on the essay’s
merit. 1650 is 89% of 1850 (1650/1850)—100%-89%=11pts. Word counts must be
listed at your essay’s end.
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Attendance
Come to class. Here’s why.
Because writing instruction proceeds by sequential writing activities, your consistent
attendance is essential. If you are absent without excuse more than four times, you
are going to be dropped from the course and/or given a failing grade. Grounds for
excused absence are documented cases of illness or family emergency, observance of
religious holidays, and attendance at scheduled college sports competitions. The sports
exception applies only to matches and games; practice and preparation are not covered.
I’m going to need some sort of proof. On the occasion of your third unexcused absence,
you will receive a warning letter.
Tardiness
Come to class on time. Here’s why.
Everybody else is on time. Being late is disrespectful. It disrupts my class. I do not like it.
Do not be late. These are the consequences. Three late-shows equals an absence. By
late I mean excessively late—ten minutes is my typical cut-off. I understand, things
happen. The elevators break down (especially in the 23rd street building), the trains are
fickle monsters of the underworld, and old people walk slowly up the stairs. That’s why
you get two free passes. But here’s the rub. We take a lot of quizzes in this class. If you
are late and you miss the quiz you get a zero, there are no exceptions. But there is a
window. Quizzes are distributed at the beginning of class—to the minute—they last for
five minutes. So if you get to class four minutes late you have one minute to finish the
quiz. There are no time extensions.
Once your total absences (excused + unexcused) exceed 4, you will be asked to
withdraw.
Late Paper Policy
Don’t be late. It’s not going to work out well.
All deadlines in this learning community are firm. Except in the case of medical/family
emergency, or religious observance, I give no individual extensions. In part, this is
because you need to understand the importance of deadlines. College is an excellent
bubble but in the real world you need to be on time. But just as importantly, the policy
also respects the need for parity: all students should have the same amount of time to
work on a paper. NO margin notes or response essays will be drafted for late papers.
If an emergency occurs and you cannot meet a due date, please contact me, before the
due date. The day of is cool the day after is not. Again, I’m going to need some sort of
proof. When there are no extenuating circumstances, the following policies will apply:
Late papers
1st time: loss of one-third of a grade (i.e., from A to an A- or A- to B+ or B to B-) per 24
hours (or portion thereof) late.
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2 time: loss of two-thirds of a grade per 24 hours (or portion thereof) late.
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3rd time: loss of one grade per 24 hours (or portion thereof) late.
4th time: loss of two grades per 24 hours (or portion thereof) late.
5th time: zero.
Late pre-draft assignments, critiques of student writing: These will not be counted,
graded, or commented on.
These policies have two concrete benefits for everyone in the class:
1. They should spur you to promptness, because a lack thereof will result in
severe consequences—hence you will be less likely to fall behind in your
work;
2. You can be counted on being treated the same as your classmates. No one will
receive preferential treatment, or be given extra time to work on a piece of
writing.
Late Draft Workshop assignments: These will not be read by the class or commented on.
Our time is important; indeed, it is our only truly nonrenewable resource, we will not
waste it; therefore, if you cannot get your work done on time I do not see a reason why
the rest of the class should allocate their energy to your waste. If you manage to get the
paper to me before your scheduled Draft Workshop date half points will be rewarded for
your effort, despite its tardiness.
Completion of Work
Do the work. You pay to be here. Do not burn dollars. But if you need more, here’s why,
again.
Because writing classes at Baruch are organized as a planned sequence of writing, you
must write all of the assigned essays to pass the course, and you must write them within
the schedule of the course—not in the last few days of the semester once you have fallen
behind. That would defeat the purpose. You will receive a letter reminding you of these
requirements if you fail to submit at least a substantial draft of an essay by the final due
date in that essay unit. The letter will also specify the new date by which you must submit
the late work. If you fail to submit at least a substantial draft of the essay by this new
date, and you have not documented a medical problem or family emergency, you
are eligible to be officially dropped from the course and given a failing grade.
Cheating and Plagiarism
Do not do it. You will fail. Here are some definitions of cheating and plagiarism so that
we may avoid any sort of confusion.
The following definitions are based on the Baruch’s Academic Honesty website:
Cheating: is the attempted or unauthorized use of materials, information, notes, study
aids, devices, or communication during an academic exercise. Examples
include but are not limited to:
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Copying from another student during an examination or allowing another
to copy your work
Unauthorized collaborating on a take home assignment or examination
Using unauthorized notes during a closed book examination
Using unauthorized electronic devices during an examination
Taking an examination for another student
Asking or allowing another student to take an examination for you
Changing a corrected exam and returning it for more credit
Submitting substantial portions of the same paper to two classes without
consulting the second instructor
Preparing answers or writing notes in a blue book (exam booklet) before
an examination
Allowing others to research and write assigned papers (including the use
of commercial term paper services)
Plagiarism: is the act of presenting another person's ideas, research or writing as your
own:
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Copying another person's actual words without the use of quotation marks
and footnotes (a functional limit is four or more words taken from the
work of another)
Presenting another person's ideas or theories in your own words without
acknowledging them
Using information that is not considered common knowledge without
acknowledging the source
Failure to acknowledge collaborators on homework or laboratory
assignments
My policy is to give a failing grade to any assignment that has been plagiarized or an
assignment on which you have cheated. On your second offense, you will fail the course.
I mean it. In addition, I am required by College policy to submit a report of suspected
academic dishonesty to the Office of the Dean of Students. This report becomes part of
your permanent file. This will keep you from getting jobs. What company wants to hire
an employee already proven to be dishonest? (That was a rhetorical question.)
Here’s how I’m going to know that you lifted someone else’s work: Safe
Assign—it’s on my Blackboard.
It is free for Profs. This is the age of information people. Whatever you can find, I
can find; please don’t waste my time.
More paper stuff
Electronic submission of final versions of papers is not permitted, unless I give you
permission ahead of time. Why not? Because you want to have control over the final
version of the paper that I receive, and often, in the course of electronic transmission,
something goes awry, and I get a paper that’s weirdly formatted or in a word processing
program that my computer can’t accommodate. Also, I don’t want to spend a lot of time
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at the printer; reading on the computer drives me nuts. I can barely get through the NY
Times. Note, I require hard copies of the five pre-draft assignments as well.
Draft Workshops
Instructions for draft workshops: for the students who are going to have their essays
work-shopped—send a copy to each of your classmates, giving them enough time to read
it before the class. For each essay you receive from your classmates, I would like you to
prepare a brief written critique—you will give this to the author and give a copy to me!
You need not write a critique of your own paper. Make as many points as you feel would
be helpful, but keep in mind:
1. You may present only ONE or TWO points to the class for each category
(good, bad, steps for remediation);
2. You should not repeat what has been said. You should not repeat what has
been said;
3. You should avoid editing issues;
4. Spend 45 seconds to one minute to present your idea (I’ll time you, if needs
be);
5. I will summarize at the end, emphasizing important points made.
The Logical Fallacy
A logical fallacy is an argument built upon a faulty premise. Ergo conclusions based
upon this sort of reasoning are inaccurate. We are going to explore some of the more
common logical fallacies. This will help us identify them in the writing of others—
making us better literary detectives—more importantly it will aid in the prevention of
their appearance in our own writing—making us better advocates. We are going to figure
all this out not through the constant droning of my voice but through student
presentations.
The presentation:
 I will model the first one.
 They are four minutes long—ish.
 You are going to be paired up.
 Research and define the fallacy of the day.
 Try to find examples of the fallacy in the texts we are
reading.
 Talk about the examples provided in TIA.
 Try to think of other examples of your fallacy.
 Be creative.
 You are free to use your own presentation technique—
posters, handouts, the sound of your voice, whatever—
BUT skip the Power Point, we don’t have the time.
Student Led Discussions
See handout.
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Rewrites
If you are not satisfied with your grade on a paper, I strongly urge you to consider
rewriting it. Your rewrite will be due one week from the time that the paper was returned
to you, and the re-write grade will count as 50% of the grade for that paper (50% being
the first version’s weighting). Furthermore, the original copy of your paper—the copy I
commented on—must be handed in with your rewrite.
What you need to do when you are in my class
This should be pretty straightforward.
Bring the text under discussion to every class. Make sure that you have read the material
assigned and have done the writing required for a given day. If you don’t volunteer, I’m
going to end up calling on you, so be prepared and have something to say. Talking is
fun, much less boring than listening. But please be aware that I am not trying to
embarrass you or put you on the spot; rather, I am trying to involve you in the
conversation, get some of your ideas out in the open, and explore the subject matter. A
significant part of your grade will be based on class participation, on how well you
present yourself orally in class discussions and workshops.
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IN CLASS BEHAVIOR
It is in all caps because this one is especially important to me. It is at the end because I
want it to be the last bit of policy talk you read. It even gets its own page. You will
remember this. It probably deserves some sort of star. Maybe a hash tag, I don’t know
I’ve never used Twitter.
Here it is:
My class is a good class. It is a safe class. It is going to be a fun
class. Only respectful behavior will be tolerated. Period. You are
all adults. You pay to be here. Act like it. I expect nothing less than
absolute respect for ourselves and others. Everyone should feel
free to speak without fear of being slighted by a fellow student. I
will never do this. You will never do this.
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ASSIGNMENT SEQUENCE
Note 1: You will be asked to write three papers in this course. Each of these papers will
require multiple steps to complete. Make sure that you take seriously all phases of the
writing assignment, trying to do as good a job as possible on the pre-writing work. The
more carefully and completely you think through and complete each aspect of prewriting, the more likely you are to have a good paper.
Note 2: You are going to have some serious latitude when picking a paper topic. Choose
wisely. Oh, topics have to be run by me. I’ll give the go.
Weeks 1-5: Harlem Renaissance
Paper 1: Comparison/contrast (4 pages; approximately 1200 words). Choosing two texts
that we have read thus far in the course (preferably in this unit), compare and
contrast them with respect to some key element in both: theme, literary style,
exploration/representation of the immigrant experience, pessimism/optimism,
picture of the protagonist’s future or something of your own choosing. You
might compare or contrast two major characters or focus on a series of ancillary
characters. You might look at an important social or political issue. Or you
might show how the immigrants of today rework or support archetypes of the
past. Try to focus on something that both interests you and seems to you
dissonant or inherently perplexing. Something you can talk about. You are
going to be interpreting and explaining the works, developing an argumentative
thesis about some point of comparison or contrast, some region of tension
between them.
What to do in a comparison/contrast. . .
Usually this kind of paper relies heavily on “close reading,” such as what you did in the
first paper. In addition, though, you need to look at two works and in some ways set side
by side two close readings. Typically, in comparison/contrast studies, you will want to
argue that there is a striking similarity between two texts that seem on the surface very
different; or you want to show some startling contrast or difference between two texts
that seem, on the surface, very similar. A third strategy would be to look at one work
through the lens of the other. In this situation you will really focus on an analysis of one
text but will use terms, ideas, structures, and the like from a second text as a “lens” to
look, in a new way, at the first text.
In all cases you are looking at some kind of cognitive dissonance—inconsistency in
thought, action or attitude—that the two texts, set side-by-side, seem to generate. Your
paper should attempt to resolve this dissonance. The goal of this kind of paper is not only
a greater understanding of the two texts (though this is indeed one goal), but also a
greater understanding of the conceptual framework through which we understand the
texts themselves. For example, comparing works by fiction writers with works by
journalists might reveal that there is not such a gulf of separation between the two
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categories, or between the ways that the two pieces of fiction come to terms with human
desires, needs, or propensities. Or comparing a contemporary piece with an older one
might suggest that there are many things that still have not been answered—certain issues
speak across the ages; an old text/new text dichotomy is not necessarily absolute.
Pre-draft assignment 1.1: Using your own words, describe what makes for a good thesis
statement. A thesis is a statement or theory posed by an author
that will be proved and maintained throughout the course of a
work, usually appearing within the first paragraph in the essay
form.
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Weeks 6-10:
Paper 2: Close Reading (4 pages; approximately 1200 words). This paper will focus on
a single text. I would like you to look at one of the works we have read or
watched and argue for some explanation of this work: what is it saying? What is
the work implying or suggesting? What is this work about? How does its
archetype function? You should strive to make an argument about some
irresolvable issue, some point of dissonance that is central to the power of the
text. You should also look for one or more serious counterarguments and
address them as best you can.
What is a “close reading”?
This kind of assignment, so often used in college courses, involves looking at just a
single text in isolation from contextual sources such as biography, sociology, or history.
In a close reading, you should seek out patterns within the work itself, and suggest why
those patterns are significant. In addition, you might show how these patterns are
sometimes violated or varied. A close reading searches for some meaning behind the
words themselves, some meaning that is perhaps not on the surface of the text itself but is
implied, hinted at, or perhaps even inadvertently conveyed by the work. Your job is to
show how your interpretation, your explanation of the work’s meaning, can be supported
by details of the text itself.
Don't arrive at a meaning that everyone will see immediately, but a meaning or an
interpretation that you—having taken great care analyzing the work—have arrived at and
need to convince your readers of.
NOTE:
You must quote directly from the primary text. Do not use secondary source material
without prior professorial approval. I want to read your ideas.
Pre-draft assignment 2.1: Do two (3-4 point) bullet outlines, one focusing on a particular
theme you recognize in the text; the other, proceeding
chronologically through the text highlighting the work’s
important moments. Decide which you like best, hand them
both in, briefly arguing why you prefer one over the other.
Remember page numbers are key.
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Weeks 11-16: Counter-Culture in NYC
Paper 3: Research Paper Analysis (7 pages; approximately 2100 words). Many of the
texts we have read discuss some aspect of NYC culture that is apart from the
mainstream socioeconomic-culture dynamic. Choose a topic that you can get
into, then head to the library or go online and do some research. See what other
writers are saying about this same issue. Then, in your paper, examine and
critique several (2-3) related texts in the course, and evaluate/discuss their
representation of some aspect of a NYC counter cultural movement.
Writing research. . .
How do the texts (fiction and nonfiction) in the class raise still relevant questions? Are
they dealing with “representative” cases, or are the situations too idiosyncratic to be
applicable to most people? Are there larger issues that our texts have overlooked or not
given appropriate weight? Have they focused on the right aspects of the issues? Have
they examined aspects of the issue that recent discourses have overlooked? As you
examine the course texts, make sure that you show how they help inform and complicate
the cultural movement you have chosen and that you can discuss your own
understanding of the period.
This is a “research paper” in which you are using some of the course’s texts—along with
others that you have found—to argue for a new position, interpretation, explanation, or
idea with respect to a previously discussed cultural movement.
Note:
There is a six source minimum, three of which must be academic journal articles (print).
The remaining three sources can be whatever you deem fit for citation—newspaper or
magazine articles, accredited blog posts, the Huffington Post, court transcripts, police
reports, documentaries, etc.
You may use online sources, but I want at least one half of all cited texts to be print
material.
Pre-draft assignment 3.1: Propose what you would like to write about, choosing a theme
that you have found in several pieces and explaining why you
think it might be useful to explore further. What is special about
it? What are some especially interesting features of it? What are
some points of inquiry that you might make?
Pre-draft assignment 3.2: Provide an annotated bibliography of approximately 8-10
sources that might be useful for your paper. Try to find some
range of "opinions" represented in your sources, and make sure
that at least half are "hard copy" rather than website sources. 3
or 4 sentences for each source will do.
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Note 2: This assignment is going to be pretty intense. There will be an additional
handout.
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Spring 2015 Academic Calendar (as of January 2014)
January 27 Tuesday
Last day for 100% tuition refund
28 Wednesday Classes Begin
February 3
Tuesday
Last day for 75% tuition refund
Last day of late registration; Add/Drop
Late registration ends.
10 Tuesday
Last day for 50% tuition refund
12 Thursday
Lincoln's Birthday - College is closed
16 Monday
Presidents' Day - College is closed
17 Tuesday
Last day for 25% tuition refund
Last day to file Pass/Fail (WSAS-Undergrad)
Last day to file P/NC (Graduate)
17 Tuesday
Last day to drop without the grade of 'W'
18 Wednesday Course Withdrawal period begins (A grade of 'W' is
assigned to students who officially drop a class)
18 Wednesday Classes follow Monday schedule
March
2
Monday
Last day to register for Undergraduate Internship and
Independent study courses. (Excluding COM
5010/5011)
30 Monday
Last day to register for Graduate Internship and
Independent study courses.
April
3-11 FridaySpring Recess
Saturday
16 Thursday
Last day to drop with the grade of 'W'
May
17 Sunday
Reading Day
18- MondayFinal Examinations
24 Sunday
24 Sunday
End of Spring Term
25 Monday
Memorial Day - College is closed
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