Rhetoric I: The First-Year Experience "The Quest for Knowledge" (ENGL 101F) Fall 2001 David Havird Jackson Hall 311, 869-5085 http://personal.centenary.edu/~dhavird/ dhavird@centenary.edu Office Hours: MW 2-4 and by appointment

Syllabus (19 August 2001)
 

Texts (to be read or viewed in this order)
1.    Plato, Republic.  Tr. Benjamin Jowett.  Dover, 2000.
2.    The Matrix.  Dir. The Wachowski Brothers.  Videocassette.  Warner Brothers, 1999.
3.    Ovid. Metamorphoses 3.  Tr. Samuel Garth et al.  <http://personal.centenary.edu/~dhavird/Book3.html>.
4.    Williams, C. K.  The Bacchae of Euripides: A New Version.  Noonday, 1990.
5.    Sophocles.  Electra.  Tr. George Young.  Dover, 1995.
6.    Shakespeare.  King Henry V.  Cambridge, 1992.
7.    Williams, C. K.  Selected Poems.  Noonday, 1995.
8.    Shelley, Mary.  Frankenstein.  Dover, 1994.
9.    Spiegelman, Art.  Maus: A Survivor's Tale I [My Father Bleeds History] and II [And Here My Troubles Began].  Pantheon, 1986 and 1991.
10.  Douglass, Frederick.  Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.  Dover, 1995.
 

Course Description and Goals
This course will acquaint you with works in a variety of genres from the Classical World, the Renaissance, and the Modern Age.  These works, all of which address the theme of forbidden knowledge, include a philosophical dialogue (Plato's "Allegory of the Cave"), a Hollywood film (The Matrix), verse plays (The Bacchae, Electra, King Henry V), an 18th-century English translation of a Classical epic (Book 3 of Ovid's Metamorphoses), a novel of ideas (Frankenstein), an autobiography (Douglass's Narrative), a memoir-as-comic-book (Maus), and short narrative/reflective poems by a contemporary American poet (C. K. Williams).  The texts for this course will allow us to examine a number of rhetorical devices, including dialogue, allegory, narrative, description, exposition, analysis, argumentation--the list is almost endless.  In-class discussions, interaction on the computer, and a variety of out-of-class events will encourage you to wrestle with challenging ideas.  Those ideas will provide a context for formal writing assignments: a series of reflections on the co-curricular events and four 500-750-word essays.  Some of these assignments may require research and documentation.  Apply yourself conscientiously to the work of the course, and by the end of the semester you should be able to demonstrate in short essays not only a mastery of basic grammar, mechanics, and usage, but also the ability to structure modest arguments.  You can expect to be able to articulate an increasingly sophisticated appreciation of the content of the course in informal computer-mediated exchanges with your classmates, in formal essays, and on a major test.

For other information about the course, review the First-Year Experience brochure and Web site: http://www2.centenary.edu/fye/2001_2002/index.html.
 

Requirements and Grading
A=90-100; B=80-89; C=70-79; D=60-69; F=0-59

• Reflections on ten events (15%).  I am asking you to attend ten FYE events.  These include the eight events described in the FYE brochure: 1) the piano recital by Dr. Mark Zeltser on September 6; 2) the debate between the Apollonians and Dionysians on September 13; 3) the talk by Attaway Fellow Giora Shoham at a date to be announced; 4) a performance of King Henry V by the Shenandoah Shakespeare Express during the week of October 15; 5) the presentation of the Corrington Award to poet C. K. Williams on October 25; 6) a "Frankie" film during Halloween Week; 7) a performance of Electra at Marjorie Lyons Playhouse in November; and 8) the talk by Rose Van Thyn on November 8.  I will be designating and/or approving two additional events.  To fulfill this requirement, you must write (type) a satisfactory 250-word reflection on each of the ten events.  You will receive either an S (for Satisfactory) or a U (for Unsatisfactory).  A satisfactory reflection is first of all one that is on time: it's due within two days of the event (a reflection on a Thursday event is due Monday).  Second, it must explore an idea.  Third, it must be generally free of grammatical errors and misspellings.  There will be no revisions.
• Participation (10%).  Our section meets at a time that discourages active participation in the course: right after lunch, three days a week.  Still, we must all participate constructively, both orally and in writing.  On most Wednesdays we'll be meeting in the Jackson Hall computer lab (JH 305), where a topic for discussion, often relating to that Wednesday's reading assignment, will await you.  We'll be using an interactive software; each of you will let your fingers do the talking.  (For WebBoard go to http://www2.centenary.edu:8080/~English101F01.)  If unannounced reading quizzes prove necessary, your performance on them will affect your "participation" grade.
• Four 500-750-word essays (60%)--due September 7, September 28, October 22, and November 30 on topics to be announced.  Type and double-space these essays.  Submit them unfolded and either loose or stapled in the upper left-hand corner.  Be certain to have written and signed the Honor Code.  Late essays will be penalized by at least a letter grade.  You must submit all four essays in order to pass the course.  These are the features that I will be evaluating:

1. Thesis and introduction: Is the thesis contestable?  Is it substantial enough to merit at least 500 words of development?  Is the thesis, along with the introduction of which it is a part, specific to the essay at hand, or is it merely a generic one that could be pasted onto any other essay on the general subject?
2. Overall structure (macro-organization): Do the paragraphs have topic sentences that relate to the thesis?  Is the arrangement, the order, of the paragraphs sensible and effective?  How well do the paragraphs cohere one with another?  Are there transitions, signposts, that smooth the reader's journey from one topic to another?
3. Micro-organization: Do the individual paragraphs have unity, order, coherence?
4. Content: Is there ample evidence to elucidate or otherwise demonstrate the validity of the topic ideas?  What is the quality of that evidence?  To what degree does it display a depth or an originality of thought on the part of the author, or the thoroughness of his or her research?  Has the author employed appropriate rhetorical modes?
5. Style: Is the expression of the ideas clear?  Does the syntax flow?  Is the tone appropriate to the subject?  Are there errors in grammar, diction or usage, spelling, or mechanics that impede effective communication?  (Especially serious are "sentence level" errors: comma splices, sentence fragments, and fused sentences.)
• Final exam (15%)--8:30-11:30 a.m., Wednesday, December 12.

Summary of Grading

• Reflections on events (15%)
• Participation (10%)
• Essays (60%)
• Final exam (15%)

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