“Prizes, Ten Best Lists and Cultural Value"
English 101 Composition I (10458)
Autumn 2009
California University of Pennsylvania
3 credits
TTh 2.00-3.15 PM
Keystone 400A
M. G. Aune
Office Hours TTH 7.00-8.00, W 2.00 – 6.00
724.938.4341
223 Azorsky Hall
aune(at)calu.edu
Description
Though their meaning may seem straightforward, prizes
and rankings, especially for those given for cultural work, are very complex
mechanisms for generating meaning.
For example, we often identify ourselves and
others based on awards we have won or for which we have been nominated.
We assume that someone who has won an award is
qualitatively different from someone who has not.
Awards can bring abstract and concrete
remuneration, from the prestige of being a winner to the benefit of a cash
award.
Rankings or top ten lists, such as the one hundred movies you should see
before you die (http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/100-movies-to-see-before-you-die.html
), have similar functions but tend to be less formal and more
idiosyncratic than institutional prizes, such as the Nobel, the Pulitzer, or
the Academy awards.
In this class, we will investigate and think about how
these awards and rankings function and why they are important.
We will read, watch, and research texts and
people that have won awards.
We will examine rankings and generate lists of
our own.
We will pursue the questions this intellectual work
will raise, including:
What do these prizes mean?
How are they awarded?
Why do some people reject prizes?
What is the relationship between the giver of
the prize and the recipient?
And all of these questions might be seen as
informing one, over-arching question: how do we as a culture assign,
exchange, and accumulate value?
Goals and Methods
By the end of this course, we should have a better
idea of how culture, and academic culture in particular, understands value.
We will pursue our investigation though
argumentative papers, classroom discussion, group projects, and occasional
quizzes.
Texts
(These are available at the campus bookshop and via
most on-line booksellers.
Be aware, the bookshop generally return their
books by the middle of the term, so be sure to buy them as soon as you are
able.)
Orhan Pamuk,
Snow
J. M. Coetzee,
Life and Times
of Michael K.
Harold Pinter.
Betrayal
Diana Hacker,
A Pocket Style
Manual
Additional readings are available on the Blackboard site and are listed on
the calendar.
A dictionary, bring to every class
A flash drive dedicated to schoolwork
Grading
| Paper 1 | 100 points |
| Paper 2 | 100 points |
| Paper 3 | 150 points |
| Group Portfolio | 150 points |
| Editing Journal | 90 points |
| Personal Portfolio | 50 points |
| Total | 640 |
| 100-94% | A | Superior Achievement |
| 90-93% | A- | |
| 87-89 | B+ | |
| 84-86% | B | Above Average |
| 80-83% | B- | |
| 77-79% | C+ | |
| 74-76% | C | Average |
| 70-73% | C- | |
| 60-69% | D | Below Average |
| Below 60 | F | Failure |
Grade
Guidelines
These descriptions apply to the final grade in the class and the score on
particular assignments.
B work is more than satisfactory.
It shows understanding of the given task and an
understanding of the rules for writing as set out in the syllabus.
Thinking is clear, though not necessarily
highly critical or highly original.
Ideas are supported and explained, although not
always clearly or consistently.
Policies
In the class I will strive to observe the university’s
core values of integrity, civility, and responsibility.
I have written the policies below with the
belief that a mutual understanding and engagement with these core values
will make this class more rewarding for all of us.
By accepting this syllabus and attending this
class, I expect that you have also agreed to abide by these policies.
Accommodations for Students with
Disabilities
Students with disabilities reserve the right to self-identify; must register
with the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) to receive services;
will provide the appropriate notice from OSD for accommodations, which
specifically involve faculty.
Requests for approval for reasonable
accommodations should be directed to OSD.
Approved accommodations will be recorded on the
ODS Accommodation Approval notice and provided to the student.
Students are expected to adhere to the ODS
procedures for self-identifying, providing documentation and requesting
accommodations in a timely manner.
The OSD is located in Azorsky 105 and the
telephone number is 724.938.5781.
Academic Honesty
According to the University Bulletin, “[t]ruth and
honesty are necessary prerequisites for all education, and students who
attempt to improve their grades or class standing through any form of
academic dishonesty may be penalized by disciplinary action ranging from a
verbal reprimand to a failing grade in the course or dismissal from the
University. If the situation appears to merit a severe penalty, the
professor will refer the matter to the appropriate dean or to the Provost.
The student may appeal the penalty as outlined above with the Academic
Integrity Committee hearing appeals above the level of Dean.”
I assume that all work you turn in for this course is
yours, and any material that you have acquired from an outside source is
documented properly.
Failure to do so is considered plagiarism and,
per University policy, may result in failure of the course or dismissal from
the University.
See
PSM
107-110 for more details.
Late Papers
Late papers will lose ten points per day until they
are turned in.
You are responsible for turning in all work
assigned in this class.
Any assignment not turned in will receive a
score of zero.
Failure to turn in more than two assignments
will result in failing this class.
Attendance and Participation
According to the University Catalogue, “[r]egular
class attendance is a prerequisite to successful class performance.”
Important parts of the work for this course
will be done in small and large groups.
This means that your consistent presence is
important to the success of the class as a whole.
If you are unable to attend class, you must
contact me via phone or email within twenty-four hours.
You are still responsible for any work done or
due in class that day.
Similarly, you are responsible for contacting
your group members if you miss a class.
If you are more than fifteen minutes late to a
class meeting or if you leave early, you will be considered absent.
Participation includes contributing to class
discussion, prompt attendance, listening and responding constructively to
your classmates, being prepared to discuss the readings, and bringing your
books and writing material to every class meeting.
If you attend class but are unprepared to
discuss the homework, or do not have your books or writing material, you
will be considered absent.
If you accumulate more than three absences, you
may lose one letter grade from your final grade.
If you miss four or more classes, you will not
pass the class.
Missing a scheduled conference is equivalent to
missing two class meetings.
This syllabus makes no distinctions between excused
and unexcused absences.
If you add this class late, for whatever
reason, you will still be considered absent for the days you missed and
responsible for the material covered on those days.
If you are a member of a sports team or other
university organization and must miss a course because of that commitment,
you must have your coach or advisor contact me in writing (not via phone or
email) at least two weeks before the absence.
Cell Phones
Please turn off cell phones before class begins.
If you are expecting a very important phone
call, turn your phone to silent mode.
If you use your phone during class, you will be
asked to leave and marked absent for that day.
Paper Format
Unless otherwise noted, all assignments are to be
type-written, double-spaced, with one-inch margins, in twelve-point Times
font.
Your name, the date, the class, my name and the
assignment are to be at the top of the first page.
Do not forget to title your work.
Any papers longer than one page must have page
numbers and be stapled.
Editing Journal
This is to be kept in a blue book. After you receive a
paper back, make an entry for that paper in the blue book. The entry should
describe any mechanical, format, or usage errors and their corrections.
(I will note these errors with a check mark in
the margin next to the line where the error occurs.
You will have to identify the error yourself.
It may be spelling, punctuation, etc.
If you cannot locate the error, see me.)
Second, it should note any content-based
comments. Third, it should contain any problems with MLA citations or the
bibliography page.
Fourth, you should write three to five
sentences about the writing strategies that you found to be successful for
this paper and those that you will repeat for the next paper, and any new
strategies that will help you to improve your writing for your next paper.
The goal of the editing journal is to create a
critical record of your own writing so that you can better address your
strengths and weaknesses.
You will have an entry for each of the first
three papers this term.
Your score will be determined by the
comprehensiveness and organization of your journal. I will collect and check
the journals periodically so be sure to bring it to class every day.
Paper 1 Compare/Contrast
This paper will be a conventional literary
analysis, designed to practice and refine your ability to conduct a close
reading of a literary text.
In a three to four page paper, you will compare
and/or contrast stories by Le Clézio
and Lessing.
You will examine at least two stories, each by
a different author and using the rhetorical strategy of comparison and/or
contrast, establish and support a thesis that tells your reader something
new about the stories.
The paper should engage with the literary
elements we have been discussing, such as theme, symbolism, metaphor, style
or imagery.
The thesis must be clear and strongly supported
using quotations from the stories.
A certain amount of summary will be necessary
to support your thesis, but the summary should be kept to a minimum.
This paper will be evaluated based on the
clarity of the thesis, the organization of support for the thesis,
familiarity with the stories, use of literary elements, and conformity to
paper format rules.
This course regards writing as a process.
The process of this paper will include an
outline, a side shadow, and a peer review.
Failure to complete one of these elements will
result in the loss of ten points from your final score, up to a total of
thirty.
On the day the final version of this paper is due, you will turn in the
outline, the peer review sheet, the side-shadowed version, and the final
version.
Paper 2
Reception Project
This paper will be a three to four page analysis of
the reception of
Snow.
The goal is to locate,
read, and analyze a group of reviews of
Snow
in order to determine what the reviewers seem to feel is important and not
important.
You are to use at least ten on-line, customer
reviews from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
Read the reviews and determine what criteria
are being used.
Does the reader compare/contrast the book?
Does the reader invoke his/her own experience?
Once you have determined the criteria the
reviewers have used, determine what value the reviewers are assigning the
book.
What do they seem to feel is important in a novel?
Does the author’s identity as a Nobel laureate
come into play?
The paper must end with a
one hundred word review and rating of
Snow
that you would contribute to the website you examined.
You do not have to post the review if you do
not want to, however.
Your examination of the on-line reviews will be
primary research.
As such, you will need to document this work.
In your text, you will have to quote,
paraphrase, and/or summarize reviews and identify their sources.
You will need to provide a works cited page in
MLA format listing each of the reviews you are citing.
The format rules for this
can be found in
PSM 127-54.
The paper will be evaluated on the knowledge of
the text, the clarity of the conclusion, the use of
quotations/paraphrases/summaries, and attention to format and usage rules.
As with Paper 1, this paper should follow all
the usual rules of format.
The process of this paper will include an
outline, a side shadow, and a peer review.
Failure to complete one of these elements will
result in the loss of ten points from your final score, up to a total of
thirty.
On the day the final version of this paper is due, you
will turn in the outline, peer review sheet, side-shadowed version, and
final version.
Paper 3
Harold Pinter, Elfredie Jellinek, J. M. Coetzee, and
other Nobel laureates have been criticized as undeserving of a Nobel because
of their past and present behavior or having won it out of some sense of
favoritism.
Some have speculated that other writers, such
as Milan Kundera, have been denied the Nobel because of their past. What is
the relationship between a writer, his or her work, and the Nobel Prize?
If the Swedish Academy gives a prize to a
writer, does it imply that the writer’s political and social beliefs are
validated or supported or encouraged?
Is a writer absolutely separate from his or her
work or are they one in the same?
Is it possible for a person with repellant
political or social views to write a work deserving of a prize?
In a six to eight page essay, take up one of the
questions above or pose your own about the relationship between a writer,
his/her work, and a prestigious prize such as the Nobel.
The paper should be argumentative in form,
establishing a thesis, supporting it with evidence, acknowledging
counter-arguments and concluding.
You are welcome to use outside sources, such as
Hitchens’ article on Pinter, but you must cite the knowledge you acquired
from the outside source and include a complete works cited page.
As with Paper 1, this paper should follow all
the usual rules of format.
The process of this paper will include an
outline, a side shadow, and a peer review.
Failure to complete one of these elements will
result in the loss of ten points from your final score, up to a total of
thirty.
On the day the final version of this paper is due, you
will turn in the first version (Paper 1), the outline, the peer review
sheet, the side-shadowed version, and the final version.
Portfolio
This is due on the last day of
class.
It should contain each of the three papers that you
wrote, with my comments on them and the rubrics.
It should also contain your completed editing
journal, and all of the quizzes.
Most importantly, it should have a one to two
page personal statement, following the format rules, in which you describe
how your writing has progressed from the first paper to the last.
You must cite specific examples of improvement
or lack of improvement from your papers.
Your editing journal will be helpful in
composing this.
Please assemble this in a paper folder, do not
use three ring binders.
Except for quizzes, points will be deducted for
any missing items.
Group Project
At the beginning of the semester, you will be randomly
organized into five groups.
Throughout the semester, you will work in these
groups from time to time on informal and formal projects.
1.) Lead a Discussion (100 points).
Your group will be responsible for leading a
forty-five minute class discussion of the text assigned on the day of your
discussion (see calendar).
You may conduct the discussion in the way you
see fit. In addition to the forty-five minute discussion, your group will
make a ten to fifteen minute presentation on a particular cultural prize.
The presentation must consist of a profile of
the prize including its history, past winners, criteria for winning,
controversies, method of selecting a winner, frequency and amount of the
award.
Your group must inform me of which prize you have
chosen: the Academy Awards, the Booker Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the Golden
Raspberry Award, the Praemium Imperiale, or the Polar Prize.
At the end of your presentation as a group you
must give me: a outline of your discussion and a written version of the
prize you have chosen to profile (2-4 pages, following the rules for written
work.)
You will be graded on equal participation of group
members, preparation, clarity and organization, and class engagement.
Each group must meet at least twice outside of class for the project.
Time will also be provided in class for group
work.
On the day of the discussion, each group member
must turn in a Group Member Evaluation Form
for each member.
Each member must also fill out and turn in a
Peer Rating of Group Members.
If these forms are not turned in on time, ten
points will be deducted from the final score.
These forms are available for download from the
Blackboard site.
2.) A prediction for the Nobel Prize in Literature for
2009 (40 points).
This must be a list of the ten most likely
candidates.
As part of this prediction, you will be
collaborating with the other groups and the other sections of this class to
create a display case in the Library devoted to the Nobel Prize in
Literature and this year’s award. The list is due on 24 September.
Each group must also bring a written list of
ideas for how to create a display in the library informing the campus
community about the prize.
3.) Top Ten List (10 points).
As a group you will generate a list of what you
feel are the ten best children’s books.
You will have to generate a mutually acceptable
list of criteria, explain the criteria, and demonstrate how the books on the
list fulfill that criteria.
This is due on 24 November.
This site was created for the use of students enrolled at California University of Pennsylvania by M.G. Aune. Last updated: 7 September 2009.