ENG BC3179x REQUIREMENTS
Fall 2009

REACTION PAPERS:

You will write six two-page reaction papers during the course of the semester. Reaction papers are due at 11:00 am on the day for which the material about which you're writing is assigned. They should discuss your reaction to a particular aspect of the assigned reading. You may choose to do a close reading of a particular passage, to explore a theme or issue in the text, or to connect the assigned text with other texts you’ve studied, either within or outside of the course. While each paper need not be a fully-developed essay with a fully explicated thesis, it should be an essay rather than a stream-of-consciousness document. Its prose should be paragraphed, polished, and free of errors. Moreover, each essay should reveal that you've put some serious thought into the assigned reading, and should show close work with the language of the text.

During the semester, you must write six such essays. Essays are due on the day that we're discussing the material about which you're writing. You may not submit more than one essay in a week without requesting special permission to do so. You must hand in your first reaction paper no later than October 12. Aside from these constraints, you may choose when to write your essays.

Reaction papers will be graded on a check, check-plus, check-minus basis. You must post two of your reaction papers to the wiki during the semester. When you have written six reaction papers (and by December 14) you will resubmit the full set of six reaction papers in a portfolio. Your portfolio must include the original papers with my comments on them. You may also include revised versions of some or all papers, but revision of reaction papers is entirely optional. The full portfolio will be assigned a letter grade.

In addition, you will write one five-to-six-page paper on a topic of your choosing, which may develop out of your reaction papers. I will hand out suggested paper topics at several points during the term, and you may also develop your own topic in consultation with me. I strongly encourage you to consult with me as you write your essays. I'm happy to speak to you about ideas, about tentative outlines, and about rough drafts. This paper may be submitted at any point before December 7. However, if you submit your paper by November 6, you will have the opportunity to submit a revised version of the paper two weeks after it is returned to you.
 

ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION:

You are expected to attend class regularly and to participate in discussion. To facilitate that discussion, you are expected to have completed all reading by the date for which it is assigned. Note that some of the assignments are long, and plan ahead. Please bring assigned readings to class each day. If you read on reserve, please bring your reading notes.

This course also has a web site from which you can access the schedule of readings and other course materials. Its URL is http://www.columbia.edu/~lmg21/bc3179/3179home.html.

WIKI ASSIGNMENT:

In order to enhance our discussion, and to facilitate interactions between our weekly meetings, I’ve also set up a wiki  for this course.

To join the wiki, go to https://www1.columbia.edu/sec-cgi-bin/ccnmtl/projects/wikispaces-admin/selfjoin_course.php and log in using your uni. You'll be given a drop-down box with a list of course wikis, from which you should select englx3179-001-2009-3. Then click join. Once you've done this, you can access the wiki directly by going to https://englx3179-001-2009-3.wikispaces.columbia.edu/.

Some of you may not have worked with wikis before. A wiki is a website that allows users to create and edit pages. We'll use the wiki both for discussion outside of class and for formal assignments. Each author will have a page in the wiki. You should feel free to post questions about reading assignments before or after class, and you should also feel free to reply to your classmates' questions.

The following four wiki assignments are required:

1. By September 14, go to the Course participants page and follow the instructions at the top of the page to add yourself to the alphabetical list of participants. Then, follow the instructions to create your page in the wiki. Go to that page, and write a few sentences introducing yourself to the class. Tell us your name, what you like to be called, where you're from, what you're studying, and anything else you think we should know about you.
2. By October 12, post one of your reaction papers to the wiki. Go to the appropriate author page and add your name and paper title (e.g. Lisa Gordis, "Anne Bradstreet's Metaphors") to the list of posted papers. Then create a link to make a new page for your paper, and copy and paste from your word processor onto that page. Finally, go to your wiki page and create a link to your paper.
3. By November 2, use the wiki's comments feature to post a one-paragraph response to a classmate’s posted reaction paper.
4. By November 13, post a second reaction paper to the wiki.

Once you’ve made these four postings, you may post again or not as you wish. You should, however, check the wiki periodically to see what your classmates have been writing and to see if there are any course-related announcements.

FINAL EXAMINATION:

There will be a comprehensive, closed-book final examination during the exam period.

GENERAL GUIDELINES:

If you find yourself unable to complete an assignment by the due date, you must speak to me at in advance. Work that is late without an extension will be penalized.

All essays (including reaction papers) must be typed, double-spaced, on white paper in standard fonts. Please don't use very small or very large fonts to squeeze or stretch out your essay. The page guidelines apply to standard 12-point fonts. Papers should follow the new MLA guidelines for essays; see the English department guide to the preparation of papers, Rules for Writers, or The MLA Handbook for details.

The Barnard English department, like Barnard College as a whole, values intellectual integrity very highly. Plagiarism (using the words or ideas of others without appropriate attribution) is a serious violation, and I report all cases of plagiarism to the Dean of Studies without exception. If you are at all confused about appropriate acknowledgment of sources, please see me for clarification.

I will calculate your grade based on the following formula:

syllabus in pdf format

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