ENGL 126: The Shaping of Meaning in LanguageRadical Educators/Radical Educations

Instructor: Anne Kingsley, akingsley@dvc.edu, FO 126, Office Hours Weds. 4-6 PM

DVC Course Description: This course will focus on the development of logical reasoning, analysis of primarily expository and persuasive texts, and analytical and argumentative writing skills. It is designed to develop critical thinking, reading, and writing skills beyond the level expected in ENGL-122. This course will concentrate on how expository texts make their arguments

as demonstrated through higher levels of critical thinking such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation. CSU, UC.

Juan Gris, The Open Book, 1925

Course Theme:

In order to give shape to this semester long endeavor, we will be exploring the theme of Radical Educators/Radical Educations.

Radical (Oxford English Dictionary), adj.

a. going to the root or origin; touching upon or affecting what is essential and fundamental; thorough, far-reaching.

b. characterized by independence of or departure from what is usual or traditional; progressive, unorthodox, or innovative in outlook, conception, design, etc.

c. slang. challenging; extreme; (more generally) excellent, fantastic; =

We all share the fact that we are here at DVC participating in this classroom and in the process of learning. What this classroom looks like and what kinds of learning take place here is bound up in questions about institutional structures; economic, social, and cultural forces; and developing technologies. Throughout the course, we will develop our critical thinking and writing skills by examining what it means to “change” foundations and principles of learning. We will start by evaluating important educational critics who work to disrupt or interrogate pedagogical—i.e. teaching and learning—practices. You will learn how to work with theoretical texts in order to develop your analysis, response, and critique. In the second unit, we will be selecting research topics on new technologies in your field of education. You will be assessing these technologies, their impact, and their viability. This paper will have several components that will allow you to develop strong research skills and will also ask you to consider what it means to write to your field or profession. Last, the final unit will be a group project where small teams of 2-3 people will design, propose, and pitch an educational program or technology implementation for DVC. In this unit, you will work on what it means to write formal proposals as well as how to translate those proposals into effective presentations for particular audiences (i.e. a group of DVC faculty). As students and consumers of education, you will be asked to reflect on, develop, and engage your own experiences in the classroom.

Grade Breakdown:

Unit 1 Defining Radical Pedagogies 30%

Unit 2 Radical Technologies 30%

Unit 3 New Education Project Proposals at DVC 30%

Attendance/Participation

10%

Unit Portfolios:

Units will be turned in as portfolios. You will need to keep all your work (notes, course notes, class writing, responses, outlines, peer reviews, etc.) organized for each unit, so don’t throw anything away. I will give you a list of materials needed for each portfolio before you turn it in. You will receive a

portfolio grade and a grade for the final essay/project. These grades will be averaged for your unit grade.

Student Learning Outcomes (DVC):

Demonstrate clear and critical thought.

Read and critically evaluate college-level material from a variety of sources.

Write essays that effectively employ such writing strategies as summary, analysis, and synthesis, and that emphasize such writing tasks as causal analysis, advocacy of ideas, persuasion, evaluation, refutation, interpretation, and definition (6,000-8,000 words).

Identify and analyze the structure of arguments underlying the texts read.

Evaluate the validity and soundness of arguments.

Identify common formal and informal fallacies of language and thought.

Distinguish and use both deductive and inductive reasoning.

Distinguish factual statements from judgmental statements and fact from opinion.

Draw sound inferences from data given in a variety of forms.

Distinguish and use effectively both the denotative and connotative aspects of language.

Discover, evaluate, and use outside sources in the development of writing.

Apply some of the classical divisions of rhetorical appeal.

Identify some of the deliberate abuses and manipulations of rhetoric and be able to identify them in general occurrence and avoid them in writing.

Analyze critical thinking in arts and sciences.

Appraise the development of meaning through symbols and symbol systems.

DVC Course Content:

Examine logical fallacies, advertising and propaganda, rhetorical devices, devices that distort or conceal meaning, media influences.

Analyze metaphor, semantics, alternative logic systems, ethnic bias, structure, creative thinking, and problem solving.

Study principles of critical analysis, including argument.

Identify disciplines devoted to critical thinking and analysis: literary criticism, logic, philosophy, general semantics.

Write essays demonstrating critical thinking in increasingly complex ways by:

o Constructing sound arguments

o Avoiding fallacies

o Using outside sources for support including first- and second-hand research techniques

o Refuting arguments in opposition to thesis

o Writing assignments might include:

causal analysis

advocating ideas

persuasion

evaluation

Develop critical reading strategies including:

o reading for the argument

o identifying premises and conclusions

o identifying unstated premises

o Identifying inductive and deductive arguments

o Evaluating arguments for validity and soundness

o Evaluating claims

o Evaluating authority

o Drawing inferences from available data

o Recognizing denotative and connotative language

o Evaluating diction

o Exploring such rhetorical devices as:

Satire

Irony

overstatement, understatement and paradox

o Identifying logical and rhetorical fallacies in written and verbal texts

o Analyzing complex primarily expository texts for how they develop ideas and arguments.

o Analyzing and understanding "literary" features of expository texts,

such as the use of metaphor, image, symbol,

Course Policies:

Attendance, Participation, and Late Work

▪ Regular attendance, active participation in class discussion, and completion of assigned work on the date that it is due are necessary to pass the course.  After two absences, your final grade will be compromised: you will lose a letter grade (for the overall course grade) for every absence after the second.  At five absences, you will receive a failing grade.  Attendance will be taken at the start of every class.  If you arrive late to or miss a class, it is your responsibility to obtain the information you missed.  Three late arrivals will also equal an absence. If you are more than 30 minutes late, consider it an absence.

▪ And yes, you did miss something if you were absent.  Emails stating “Did I miss anything?” will not be answered. Instead, you can write to your fellow classmates or email me regarding the work missed in class that day. For example, a well-written email might look something like this: “Sorry for my absence today. I hope you received my work that I emailed to you prior to class. In addition, I wanted to write and make sure I was up to date on what is due and the material covered. The calendar says that we have an outline due on Wednesday. Are there any other assignments given in class that I might have missed? Thank you, etc.”

▪ Work is considered late when it is not prepared at the moment of collection or is completed during class time.  If you do not attend class on the day of a deadline, you must submit your assignment via email prior to the class meeting time or it will be considered late and will impact your unit grade (as well as affect your participation grade).

▪ Participating in class discussion includes arriving to class prepared and on time, taking part in active class discussions, asking questions, and contributing your knowledge and insight to the classroom.  Participation can also include extending conversations about course topics outside the classroom via email, office appointment, or online discussions.  Participation is determined by contribution to class discussions and small groups. Preparation is crucial. Without having completed the required reading and writing for class, you will be

unable to contribute positively and constructively to classroom discussion.

Email:

▪ Emails containing documents and important information will be disseminated frequently.  Please check your DVC email regularly and check for documents.

Plagiarism & Academic Integrity:

▪ Diablo Valley College is committed to creating an environment where student achievement is championed and celebrated. Because the college values academic integrity as an essential component of academic excellence, students are expected to be truthful and ethical in their academic work. Commitment to academic integrity is the responsibility of every student and faculty member at Diablo Valley College.

▪ Academic dishonesty is defined as: an act of deception in which a student claims credit for the work or effort of another person or uses unauthorized materials or fabricated information in any academic work. Academic dishonesty is a violation of the DVC ‘Student Code of Conduct’ and will not be tolerated. Academic dishonesty diminishes the quality of scholarship at Diablo Valley College and hurts the majority of students who conduct themselves honestly.

▪ In the writing classroom, plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarism isrepresenting someone else’s words, ideas, artistry, or data as one’s own, including copying another person ’s work (including published and unpublished material, and material from the Internet) without appropriate referencing, presenting someone’s else’s opinions and theories as one ’s own, or working jointly on a project, then submitting it as one’s own.  Papers submitted for other courses are not “original” writing and, therefore, will be considered plagiarism.  If you have borrowed, quoted, or utilized ideas from another source, you must cite and acknowledge that source.  If you plagiarize, you will be asked to rewrite the assignment, and you will lose a full grade on the unit. If you plagiarize a second time, you will receive an “F” on the paper. Any further infractions will be reported to Academic Administration for disciplinary action, and you will receive an “F” in the course.

Courtesy and Electronic Devices: 

▪ You’ll find different instructors have different policies about the presence of laptops and smart phones in class. In this class, smart

phones must be kept off and silenced.  However, many of us will be using tablets and laptops for our reading and note-taking devices.  These devices are purposeful and effective if used to diligently focus on the task at hand in the classroom; however, if they are used to “multi-task” i.e. check facebook or update Twitter or answer an email or complete another assignment while taking notes for our class, I will ask you to put the device away.  If you know it is too tempting to resist these other channels while in class, just leave the laptop or tablet in your bag until you really need it.  Ultimately, it’s a matter of common courtesy as well as academic focus.

Office Hours and Assistance:

▪ During the semester, we will have assigned conference times where I will meet with you individually both about the paper at hand as well as your overall sense of the course.  In addition to these mandatory meetings, you should also feel free (and I encourage you!) to come by my office hours to answer any questions you may have; clarify assignments; help you brainstorm ideas; comment on readings; or workshop reading skills and strategies. In addition, you have other resources at DVC to help you through this course including peer tutoring through the English Lab.  You can drop by my office during scheduled hours, and I will also be available by appointment.  Don’t hesitate to come to my office.  I love discussing reading and writing at all stages of the process.

Assistance:

▪ Disability Support Services is a program that is designed to ensure that students with disabilities have equal access to all of the educational offerings at Diablo Valley College. They facilitate equal opportunity through the provision of appropriate support services, curriculum, instruction and adaptive technology. They can be reached at 925-685-1230 ext. 2546

The English Lab

All students currently registered in credit courses are eligible for two hours of tutoring per week. English tutors help students develop, clarify, and organizer their ideas, as well as learn to find and correct errors. English tutors can also help students develop effective reading and writing strategies and good study skills. The English program also offers computer-assisted learning in grammar, reading comprehension, writing, vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation.

 

The English Lab, Room LC205.

Mondays through Thursdays, 8:39 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.

Fridays, 8:30 A.M. to 3:30 P.M.

Saturdays, 11:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.