MS. DIANA DI RICO (dirico.diana@bcchsnyc.net )
MR. DOUG KEYZER (keyzer.doug@bcchsnyc.net )
GLOBAL LITERATURE II
BARUCH COLLEGE CAMPUS HIGH SCHOOL
55 EAST 25TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10010
PHONE: 212.683.7440/ FAX: 212.683.7338
Dear Baruchian Sophomores,
Welcome to Global Literature, part 2! We are excited to read, write, talk, listen, and learn with you. The essential
questions for this course are:
Who am I? Who are you?
How do people become who/what they are?
What is the relationship between the individual and society?
What is my role and responsibility as global citizen?
What rights and freedoms do all individuals deserve?
What makes society function fairly and beneficially?
How can we think more critically?
How does literature allows us to see the world in new ways?
How can we be the change we wish to see in the world?
Course Goals:
Read to discover. Write to think. Investigate literature.
Visualize. Recall. Connect. Question. Infer. Analyze. Self-monitor.
Tell us what you think. Be honest. Listen to the voices around you. Don’t be afraid to have your mind changed.
Ask questions. Ask lots of questions. When you think you’ve delved deep enough, ask once more: why?
Challenge each other. Push yourselves to think.
Discover new corners of your mind as we travel the world on paper.
This year, we will routinely explore the relationship between the individual and society. What shapes an individual? Is it
age, race, religion, sex, gender, orientation, class, culture, values and/or ability? Or is it something more undefined, like
the psyche or the soul? We will examine ourselves and others, real and fictional. And what happens when individuals
come together? Ideally when individuals unite, harmony follows; but all too often we know conflict results. So what
unites and what divides people? We will learn about unfortunate injustices too common in our world, and, at the end of
the year, each of you will work to fight an injustice.
Our Beliefs on Learning:
“Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often
helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul…” Joyce Carol Oates
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Stories help us to understand ourselves, each other, and peoples far and away, in time, space, and heart.
We work to create a learning environment that is engaging, authentic, and student-centered.
We must work together to create meaningful, eye-opening experiences. We may be “the teachers,” but on a good day,
we learn as much from you as you from me.
We think success is a result of passion plus effort. Both are necessary for results.
We strive to communicate clearly and kindly. Please do the same. Communication is key.
We are not just teachers, and you are not just students. Bring your true self, your passions and interests, into the
classroom.
Year at a Glance
Unit 1:
What is a society? (Golding’s Lord of the Flies)
Unit 1 ½:
A Social Contract, A Social Construct (short works and social contract theory)
Unit 2:
Kick a Dope Verse, and the Pick, Pick, Pick a Dope Verse (Poetry Collection)
Unit 3:
Go to Hell! A Heavenly Exploration of Morality and Justice (Dante’s Inferno)
Unit 4:
We are the Stories We Tell (Nawal el Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero and literary criticism)
Unit 5:
Kafka’s Metamorphosis and Multi-Media Mashup (inspired by Teachers’ College)
Unit 6:
Service Learning: Literature as Inspiration for Social Justice (Global Lit Circles)
Required Materials:
In order to be prepared each day, you must have all of these items (except your binder) with you at the start of class.
1. 2” Binder (to be kept at home)
2. Composition notebook
3. Folder with two pockets and three prongs for all notes, handouts, tests, packets, etc.
4. Looseleaf
5. Text (whatever reading material we are using must be brought each and every day to class)
6. Blue or Black Pens
7. BCCHS Planner
Class Policies
You are responsible for your success in this course. You must actively participate and listen. You must be prepared, take
careful and detailed notes, read carefully and thoroughly, and complete nightly homework assignments as well as larger
unit assessments.
The policies of Global Literature 2 directly reflect those policies of BCCHS [refer to the Chancellor’s Regulations (i.e.,
“the blue book”), and your academic planner with questions].
 No cell phones. We should not see them or hear them, ever! Your cell phone should be powered OFF at all times.
It will be taken away if it is seen or heard. No iPods or other music players are permitted unless we give you
explicit permission.
 No eating, drinking or gum-chewing.
 You must be dressed appropriately at all times.
 Most important rule we insist be followed: no offensive language and/or insensitive treatment of others. It is
imperative that you respect one another. Agree to disagree. Acknowledge that each of you is different as people,
as thinkers. Be kind to each other, more than anything.
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A NOTE ON COMMUNICATING WITH TEACHERS
Although homework and other assignments will be posted on the class blog, should you have any questions about
homework and other assignments, please seek answers from your classmates before you contact us. Although we will do
our best to respond to you promptly, you are not guaranteed an e-mail response back from us the night before a homework
or other assignment is due. Your peers are your best, most immediate resources: use them!
Additionally, do not negatively take advantage of having two teachers. E-mails must be sent to both of us. Whether in
class or via e-mail, do not attempt to elicit different responses from your teachers. Be respectful; accept what the first
teacher says. Your teachers regularly communicate and will know if you have violated this rule.
Extra help will be offered once/week, and the day will soon be announced. Any and all are welcome to attend to do
homework, read aloud, edit writing, review vocabulary, et. al. Extra credit is offered to students for attending after school
for a one-on-one writing conference.
Grading Policy
Participation and Class Work: 25% of final grade
Participation every day is expected, in whole class and small group discussions. Positive participation looks like this:
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Come on time and be prepared with all materials
Listen actively to the speaker, making eye contact
Take notes
Stay on task and avoid distractions
Maintain an organized binder and folder, with
evidence of daily participation
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Share in discussions and small groups; Build on
others’ ideas
Use evidence from readings and class notes when
explaining your ideas
Ask “good” questions often
Remain respectful and valuing differences
Cooperate and display a positive, open-minded
attitude
Homework/ Reading Notes: 25% of your grade
You will have homework nearly every night, and often your reading assignment is your HW. All homework must
be done thoroughly, neatly (blue or black ink only), and on time (on your desk at the start of class, without the teacher
asking). On occasions, your hw assignment will be to post on a class blog or other online site. The expectation is that you
post to the blog on time, and that you engage in the discussion in an academic and meaningful way. You are expected to
write grammatically sound and well-structured sentences. Just because we are online does not mean we will write in IM or
text-speak.
Some days we will collect the assignment, and other days your homework will be spot-checked in class. If you are
absent, you must show us or turn in any assignments you missed on the day of your return. Find out the HW when you are
absent from a responsible classmate, or check the class blog at www.bcchs10globallit.wordpress.com . You will not be
held accountable for any homework based on materials handed out in class the day of your absence. However, you are
responsible for collecting the handout on the day of your return, whether you have English that day or not.
MANDATORY HW HEADING
FIRST AND LAST NAME
SUBJECT
DATE
CLASS SECTION
ASSIGNMENT TOPIC OR TITLE
HOMEWORK GRADING S CALE
10(+) Excellent quality. It is a thoughtful and well- organized piece that includes evidence and originality. There is a
minimum of spelling and grammatical errors. Basically, you’ve gone above and beyond!
9
Very good homework. Time and effort are apparent. Evidence is included. Thinking is apparent.
8 ()
Well-done. Assignment meets the basic requirement and shows satisfactory thought and effort.
7
Assignment fails to meet basic requirements and may be missing a component. Assignment seems hastily or
carelessly completed. Heading incomplete.
6 (-) Assignment is not well done or thoroughly completed; it lacks evidence of thought or effort. Little concern for
grammar and mechanics is demonstrated. Incomplete heading.
5 (I)
Incomplete – work is not done completed and therefore cannot receive a passing grade.
0
HW assignments that are missing, plagiarized or turned in late receive a zero.
IMPORTANT: All HW must be done in pen with a complete heading, stapled & ready at the start of class to be on time.
Essays, Projects and Tests or Quizzes: 50% of final grade
Each unit will require you to complete at least one larger assignment in the form of an essay or project. Come to after
school if you have any questions or want extra help in preparing for these assignments. Use the rubrics to help you
understand the expectations. These assignments are long-term, and therefore you have the opportunity to ensure that the
final product is complete and of high-quality. All essays and projects must be handed in ON TIME. Late work loses 10
points for each day it is late. Absences do not excuse late projects or essays. There are very few occasions in which late
projects/essays will be accepted late without penalty. If you are absent on the day of a test, you must take it upon return or
schedule a retake within a week. If you miss a test due to an excused lateness, then you will lose 10 points.
You will be quizzed occasionally on vocabulary, literary terms and/or the reading. Quiz or test corrections are sometimes
a possibility; discuss it with us if your grade is below an 80. In addition, there may be pop quizzes on just the reading
from time to time (corrections aren’t available for pop quizzes). You will also have unit tests that assess your critical
thinking and understanding of major concepts.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Your ideas are the best ideas, and the only ones we want to hear from your mouth and in your writing. There is a zero
tolerance policy for cheating, plagiarism and any/all forms of academic dishonesty. Any student who is found to be
cheating, copying, stealing, and/or presenting someone else’s ideas as his/her own without giving proper citation/credit
will receive a zero on the assignment. If you use words or ideas of any person other than yourself, you must always cite
the source. Parents/guardians will be contacted regarding all incidents of academic dishonesty. If one student copies the
work of another student with his/her consent, both are responsible and will be held accountable.
We promise to work very hard to make this year fun and beneficial, but we need your help; please commit to being a
diligent traveler on this literary journey. Let us know if you have questions. We hope you are as happy as we are to
embark on part two of this journey.
We’re one, big, happy, deep-digging, question-asking, note-taking, literature–reading family. Join us.
Sincerely,
Ms. Di Rico and Mr. Keyzer
Diana Di Rico and Doug Keyzer
10th grade, Global Literature II
Baruch College Campus High School
55 East 25th Street, New York, NY 10010
P: 212.683.7440/ F: 212.683.7338
E: dirico.diana@bcchsnyc.net & keyzer.doug@bcchsnyc.net
Dear Students and Guardians:
Thank you for taking the time to read and discuss the course expectations. It is our hope that over the course of
the year, each sophomore will become a stronger reader and writer who appreciates literature from various societies and
seeks to be an active and civic-minded individual member of this world. In Global literature, many controversial topics
will be read, seen and discussed in class throughout the year. Students’ participation in this multi-ethnic, culturally diverse
curriculum is meant to encourage critical thinking and anti-biased thinking. The ability to think critically is among the
most important life skills. Our discussion of controversial issues ideally helps students to become active, informed citizens
with interest in social/political processes, public policy, and democratic values. Within the walls of our classroom, the
student community can safely contemplate ideas, question their thinking, and agree to disagree.
Because of the mature nature of topics and texts, we ask for your permission below. Works such as Dante’s
Inferno or el Saadawi’s Woman at Point Zero are often challenged or banned because of their controversial subject matter,
including violence, immorality and sex. Students will face these topics head on in order to understand the importance and
seriousness of what is presented – and what often bombards them in their daily lives through advertisements, movies,
television, or music. At different points throughout the year, students will be viewing films that bring these literary works
to life, or video clips that are thematically relevant. Director Sean Meredith’s animated and comedic 2007 film version of
the Inferno, for example, while unrated, contains graphic language and explicit imagery. Signing the lines below means
that you and your parents/guardians understand class expectations and policies. Your parents/guardians also understand
the use of controversial texts/films and permit you to study them.
Sincerely,
Ms. Di Rico and Mr. Keyzer
Thank you for your cooperation. Please reach out if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. This page must be
turned in to Ms. Di Rico and counts as your first HW assignment.
Student Name
Student Signature
Parent/Guardian Name
Parent/Guardian Signature
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