English L111: Living Literature / Documenting Reality

ENG L111
TR 9:30-10:45
BH 235

Tarez Samra Graban
Ballantine Hall 474
855-4888
Office: M 12-2, R 11-12
and by appt.
tgraban@indiana.edu

 

 

Image Credits
1.
2. "Lochaber No More," painting by John Watson Nicol (1883)
3. "Women's Peace Parade in New York City on August 29, The Emblem of Peace," NY Public Library Digital Gallery
4. "Children Playing at Hull-House" (1895 unknown photographer), Jane Addams Memorial Collection, The University of Illinois at Chicago
5. "Migrants Arriving in Sydney" (1966 David Moore), Contemporary Australian Photographs Collection, National Library of Australia (http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an14066835-10)




Last Updated: 9/10/09

Policies

Attendance
Because classes like this are most successful when we build intellectual community, you must attend every class to fully contribute and take what you need from it. You are permitted three absences for illnesses, emergencies, and family or university business. Each additional absence will lower your overall course grade by one-third of a letter grade and may cause you to miss out on a quiz, discussion, or valuable preparation for the papers or final exam. If you miss class, it is ultimately your responsibility to find out what you missed. If extended hospitalization or military duty will call you away for a much longer period of time, you may be advised to drop the course. In the event of an H1N1 outbreak on campus, this policy may be revised to allow for retroactive submission of work.

Late Work
Unless otherwise specified, all assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date listed. Please plan ahead so that you can get them done on time. If you have a university-excused absence or severe illness and cannot attend class when something is due, it is your responsibility to inform me in advance to make arrangements for turning in your work. I reserve the right to penalize late work.

Participation & Class Conduct
All assigned readings (including electronic readings) must be brought to class in some form. While you are in class, I hold you to professional forms of conduct, including arriving on time, staying engaged, being empathetic to one another, and contributing to conversation. While I want you to feel comfortable to initiate and facilitate great discussions in our classroom and on our blog, please remember that they are both performance spaces where we need to be committed to some good practices. At no time should you feel like you’re being evaluated on whether you take a position to the right or left of any issue. You are being evaluated on how clearly and thoughtfully you can communicate your ideas about complex points conveyed in the literature we read. Cell phones must be turned completely off while class is in session.

Evaluation
Each assignment has specific evaluation criteria that we will discuss in class, with the exception of quizzes and in-class work, which I will grade on the “plus” system. If this work shows considerable thought and exploration of the topic, is focused, and of high quality, I assign it a (plus). If it demonstrates some thought and exploration of the topic but lacks in development, I assign it a (check). If it is on topic but lacks in exploration, development, focus, and/or clarity, I assign it a (minus). Near the end of the semester, I will convert those scores to points. The final grade distribution is as follows:

Critical Analyses (3)	250 points
Blog Posts (40)	200 points
Concept Presentation and Workshop	200 points
Final Exam	200 points
Participation, Quizzes, In-class Work	150 points
	1000 points

You should always feel free to meet with me if an assignment is unclear, if you get stuck, or if my graded response on an assignment is unhelpful. You should also feel free to meet with me at any time if you are unsure of where you stand in the course.

Academic Integrity
I expect you to maintain academic integrity at all times. Violations of academic integrity can result in automatic failure of the course and will require notification with the Office of Student Ethics (see the Code of Student Conduct for more information:). Such violations occur when you do the following:

• plagiarize by copying and pasting sources, or deliberately using sources (print, digital, or Web) without integration or attribution;
• misrepresent someone else’s work as your own by purchasing it, handing in someone else’s work, or having someone do your work for you;
• cheat on quizzes, exams, or other in-class evaluative tasks;
• submit work for this class that you have already handed in or had evaluated for another class.

As you do more advanced writing, it becomes important that you read, take notes on, and incorporate sources productively and fairly. We will spend some class time discussing ways to avoid plagiarism through the responsible use of sources, but please don’t hesitate to ask me if you are uncertain about using a source well.

Writing Tutorial Services
This is not a writing-intensive class, although we will be utilizing writing as a kind of knowledge construction and writing three short papers that are expected to conform to certain academic conventions. If you decide that you would like more sustained help with or feedback on your writing at any point in the semester, you should seek me out in conference or office hours. But I also highly recommend that you visit WTS (located in BH 206) for feedback on your writing at any stage.

Support Services
Disability Services and the Adaptive Technologies offices of the Division of Student Affairs can arrange for assistance, auxiliary aids, or related services if you think a temporary or permanent disability might prevent you from being a full participant in the class. Contact them by website or phone at 855-7578 with any individual concerns. Students with special needs must be registered with Disability Services before classroom accommodations can be provided.

Contacting Me
E-mail and office phone are the best ways to contact me outside of class or office hours, but e-mail queries should be limited to questions that can be given fairly brief (and prompt) responses. If your query is longer than that, or if you would like me to respond to a draft of an assignment, you should feel free to schedule an office conference. I am always happy to see you.