English 10600: Composing through Popular Culture

Introductory Composition Spring 2013 CRN 41909: 11:30-12:20pm

Monday Conferences (41922) HEAV 225 Tuesday Computer Lab BRNG B274 Wednesday Class HEAV 107 Thursday Conferences (41921) HEAV 223 Friday Class HEAV 107

Instructor: Lisa A. Curtin Office: HEAV 209 Office Hours: 12:30-1:30 Thursday & by appointment Email: lcurtin@purdue.edu Course Website: https://blackboard.purdue.edu

Course Description
In this course you will be improving your writing skills by engaging critically with popular culture texts. By using the medium of popular culture to form the basis of class readings and research, you will all be able to write about topics that you know and understand well. You will be writing reviews, essays, memoirs, etc.; performing different kinds of research; and learning to read and use visual rhetoric. Popular culture in the context of this course encompasses a wide range of texts, including movies, TV shows, books, music, blogs, magazines, news, commercials, posters, advertising, YouTube videos, etc.

Course Goals
Through this course, you will be better prepared for the writing that will be expected of you in your coursework across the university as well as the writing you will have to do in your personal and professional life. You will improve your abilities to write in multiple contexts and mediums and to communicate your ideas clearly. While the composition projects you complete in this course may not exactly mirror the work you will be required to do throughout the rest of your college career and beyond, the skills you acquire through completing these projects are highly relevant to all fields of study. For official English 106 course goals see: http://www.digitalparlor.org/icap/gmo.

Required Texts, etc.

-Everythings An Argument, 5th Edition by Lunsford & Ruskiewicz, Bedford/St. Martins -Composing Yourself: A Student Guide to Introductory Composition at Purdue -Notebook (basicallyhave a pen and paper available in class) -Microsoft Word (Available on Purdue computers or for purchase as part of the Microsoft Office suite through IT@P http://www.itap.purdue.edu/shopping/software.cfm) -We will have additional readings that will be available to you in .pdf form on our Blackboard Learn course site.

Course Policies
Student Conduct You are college students and more importantly adults, and you will be expected to show respect for one another and to me. In this class we will discuss our own experiences and

 share our opinions, and I would like everyone to feel safe to express him or herself. Purdue University has adopted a Code of Conduct that will be upheld in this course. For the full code, please refer to http://www.purdue.edu/odos/osrr/studentconductcode.php Additionally, respect entails pretty obvious things like not sleeping in class, showing up to class on time, staying off of Facebook/unrelated non-course sites, etc. Course Points The projects and other activities in the class will be worth a total of 1000 points. The points will be broken down as follows: Major Projects (3): 600 points Minor Projects/In-Class Writing: 250 points Participation: 150 points
(Including in-class group activities, in-class discussions, preparedness for class & conferences, attendance, engaged behavior, etc.)
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Course Grading Scale A 900 -1000 points B 800-899 points C 700-799 points D 600-699 points F 599 points and below Communication & Participation In this course we will be using multiple means of communication including in-class writing, Blackboard, email, and classroom discussion. Blackboard: We will use Blackboard Learn as a means of exchanging information with one anothervia written posts and the sharing of files. Email: I will communicate with you via email with class-related information (including emergencies), so please check your email daily. Feel free to email me with any questions. Composition Projects You will complete multiple projects in this course across a variety of mediums (primarily written work). The writing projects will vary in their scope and difficulty and consequently will be worth different amounts of points. The purpose of these projects is to improve your writing skill overallbecause this course is required of all Purdue University students, it is impossible for us to address every possible writing situation that every student in this class will encounter. This course will focus on improving the organization and clarity of your writing amongst other qualities, and these are things that can be applied to and are necessary to writing in any field Attendance/Participation I dont believe in a strict attendance policy, partly because Im too lazy to keep strict attendance, but I will be keeping loose track of you and your presence in my class. For many of you this will be the only writing class you take at a university level and the skills well be working on improving are important to your success at Purdue and beyond; thus, its to your benefit to be in class. If you consistently miss class, I will notice, and you will take a hit on your participation points, and the severity of that point loss is at my discretion. As a rough guideline I would suggest that you try not to miss the course more than four times (equal to one weeks worth of classes). NOTE: CONFERENCES COUNT AS A CLASS. Lateness or failure to engage in classroom work/discussion will also cost you participation points, so show up, be interested and excited, and most importantly, speak up! I dont want to lecture

 you and you probably dont want to be lectured by me, so do your best to contribute to the classroom, and we can avoid that situation. (Addendum: There are legitimate reasons for missing a significant number of classes (severe illness, death in the family, etc.) and in these situations you need to go to the Office of the Dean of Students to get verification for your absences, after which we can meet/email to discuss your options as far as attendance and coursework.) Missed or Late Work, File Formats, Blackboard Posts For full credit, you must turn your completed projects in at the beginning of class (or at whatever point in class I choose to collect them) on the days that they are due in the correct format, stapled (if more than one page). Late projects will be accepted, but will lose 5 points per each class day late. I will also be collecting drafts of some of your projects via email and/or Blackboard, and they must be turned in in the specified file format. Any assignments due on Blackboard must be uploaded to Blackboard before class begins, or you will not receive credit. This includes any journal posts that I ask you to complete. If I ask you to work on a Blackboard journal in class, you must post it by the end of class unless otherwise specified. Accommodations If you are eligible for academic accommodations because you have a documented disability that will impact your work in this class, please schedule an appointment with me as soon as possible to discuss your needs. If you are unsure, please review the information offered by Adaptive Programs in the Office of the Dean of Students: http://www.purdue.edu/ODOS/adpro/Welcome.html Emergencies In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines, and grading percentages are subject to change based on a revised semester calendar or other circumstances beyond my control. I will post changes to the course on Blackboard as soon as I become aware of them and will email you in the event of a change to our class schedule. If you have questions, you may contact me via email. You will be expected to read your @purdue.edu email daily. Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this class, nor in any other class you take at Purdue. Plagiarism is the use of anothers writing, work, or ideas without proper citation, as well as claiming anothers work as your own. Students who intentionally plagiarize will be reported to the Dean of Students, and you may fail this course. Plagiarized work will receive a grade of zero and will not be eligible for revision. Please view the following site for Purdues university policies on plagiarism: http://www.purdue.edu/ODOS/osrr/intergrity.htm Project Drafts I will be collecting digital drafts of your written projects to give you comments. I will collect these drafts through Blackboard or email (I will specify), and return them to you via email. Drafts of any written project MUST BE in .doc or .docx format. If you dont want to buy MS Office, use a Purdue computer. The process of drafting and revision is a key part of composition, so you must demonstrate a use of my comments (as well as comments from peer reviews and in-class revision processes) in your final drafts. Conferences
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 Depending on the type of work we are doing, I will employ alternate conference schedules (individual, partners, small groups, etc.). I will remind you of the schedule for the current week in class and/or via email, but please be aware that your conferences may be at slightly different times within the 1:30-2:20 hour from week to week, so try to avoid scheduling anything else during that time.
ENGL106 SYLLABUS REVISED 1.3.13 BY LAC 4