Spring 2010 Syllabus

ENGLISH 1B: GENDER IN AMERICA
San José State University
Spring 2010

Section and Course Number: 67 / 29296
Time and Place: MW 7:30-8:45 AM in SH 413
&
Section and Course Number: 69 / 29298
Time and Place: MW 9:00-10:15 AM in SH 413

Instructor: Daniel Hendel De La O
Office Hours: MW 10:30-11:30 AM in FO 111
Phone: 408.924.5019
Email: dhdelao@gmail.com
Twitter: twitter.com/profdlo
Blog: threepointeau.blogspot.com

What a strange thing man is; and what a stranger thing woman.
—Lord Byron

COURSE THEME
This semester’s course will focus gender. Specifically, we will examine the political landscape of gender in America at the beginning of the 21st century. We will examine our evolving understanding of what it means to be a man or a woman (or maybe even some combination of both), as well tackle some of the most pressing gender issues of our society. We will do this through reading from and writing about a variety of texts on gender issues.

REQUIRED MATERIALS

• Course Reader (Available the first week in February from Maple Press: 481 East San Carlos Street; Open M-F 8:30 AM-5 PM; Phone 408.297.1000)
• Pink Think: Becoming a Woman in Many Uneasy Lessons by Lynn Peril (ISBN: 0393323544)
• Guyland: The Perilous World Where Boys Become Men by Michael Kimmel (ISBN: 0060831359
• The Norton Field Guide to Writing by Richard Bullock (ISBN: 0393977765)
• Two large yellow books

COURSE GUIDELINES
English 1B is the second course in SJSU’s two-semester lower-division composition sequence. Beyond providing repeated practice in planning and executing essays, and broadening and deepening students’ understanding of the genres, audiences, and purposes of college writing, English 1B differs from English 1A in its emphasis on persuasive and critical writing, its requirement for fewer but longer essays, and its introduction to writing informed by research. Students will develop sophistication in writing analytical, argumentative, and critical essays; a mature writing style appropriate to university discourse; reading abilities that will provide an adequate foundation for upper-division work; proficiency in basic library research skills and in writing papers informed by research; and mastery of the mechanics of writing.

Prerequisites: Passage of Written Communication 1A or approved equivalent course and passage of the English Proficiency Test (EPT), unless exempt.

Objectives: Building on the college-level proficiencies required in English 1A, students shall achieve the ability to write complete essays that demonstrate advanced proficiency in all of the following:

• Clear and effective communication of meaning § An identifiable focus (argumentative essays will state their thesis clearly and will show an awareness, implied or stated, of some opposing point of view)
  
• An appropriate voice that demonstrates an awareness of audience and purpose
  
• Careful attention to review and revision
  
• Effective and correct use of supporting materials, including independent research (e.g. quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing, and citing sources)
  
• Effective analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and synthesis of ideas encountered in multiple readings
  
• Effective organization and development of ideas at paragraph and essay levels
  
• Appropriate and effective sentence structure and diction
  
• Command of conventional mechanics (e.g. punctuation, spelling, reference, agreement)
  

COURSE CONTENT
Writing: Assignments shall emphasize those skills and activities in writing and thinking that produce 1) the persuasive argument, and 2) the critical essay, each of which demands analysis, interpretation, and evaluation. Writing assignments shall give students repeated practice in prewriting, organizing, writing, revising, and editing. Six to eight essays, appropriately sequenced throughout the semester and totaling a minimum of 8000 words, are required; at least one of these essays shall be informed by research. This minimum requirement excludes the final examination, journal writing, quizzes, and any brief or informal assignments. However, it can include the diagnostic essay and assignments that require major revisions to a previously graded or reviewed draft. A major revision is defined as a rethinking or reworking of an assignment and not a simple “correcting” of mechanical errors noted on the original. At least three (but no more than four) essays shall be written in class.

Students shall receive frequent evaluations of their writing from the instructor. In evaluating student writing, instructors shall comment on specific features of individual papers. Comments shall encourage and acknowledge student success as well as note errors and suggest ways to correct them.

Reading: Reading shall include useful models of writing for academic, general, and specific audiences; readings shall be used consistently with the course goal of enhancing ability in written communication and reading. The majority of the reading shall be devoted to analytical, critical, and argumentative essays. Other types of texts, including poetry, drama, and fiction may also be assigned. Instructors shall help students develop and refine strategies for reading challenging, college-level material.

Research: English 1B shall include an introduction to the library and to basic research strategies, including locating materials, using them effectively (e.g. quoting, paraphrasing, summarizing), and citing them properly. A traditional research paper or a series of short essays in which library research informs the student’s position or thesis is required.

Diversity: Assignments (both reading and writing) shall address issues of race, class, and gender when appropriate, and the perspectives of women and diverse cultural groups shall be incorporated into course instruction and materials in an inclusive and comprehensive manner whenever possible.

The University Essay Final Exam: A common essay final, graded holistically, shall count 20% toward the course grade. A single university-wide final will be developed around two college-level reading passages each semester by the English Department Composition Committee. All faculty members teaching individual sections will grade the examination holistically under controlled conditions. Students must take the final exam in order to pass the course.

PARTICIPATION
As there is a participation component to you grade, active involvement in class is very important. Additionally, you are responsible for all materials assigned, presented, and discussed in class. You are expected to study the material beforehand and come prepared to discuss the readings in class. The use of laptops during class is restricted to note taking only. If you come to class after the first 20 minutes, please wait for an appropriate moment to enter so as not to disturb the class.

THREEPOINTEAU
I have created this class blog as a centralized place for assignments, reminders, documents, important dates, links, and general class information. It also contains an easy-to-reference archive of the course work. In addition, this website will be the location of the course’s e-Reader (eR). These Web articles will be required to complete some assignments. On the homepage, click on “San Jose State University: English 1B” to be routed to our page. Feel free to use the “Comments” function in each posting; it is often a helpful way to communicate with classmates. Gmail users also have the option of subscribing to the blog to keep up to date on all posts.

TWITTER
Twitter is a useful social networking tool that allows me to communicate with you instantaneously. I may use it if class has to be canceled unexpectedly, or if there is an important change to our agenda. If you already have a Twitter account, search for “ProfDLo” under “Find People.” If not, go to Twitter to register for free. Twitter membership is not required for this course, but it is recommended.

CLASS POLICIES

• All writing assignments are due on the dates indicated on ThreePointEau, which contains the most up-to-date schedule and information.
  
• A missed writing assignment can be turned in no later than the following class meeting after the due date; however, it will be lowered one letter grade. Writing assignments will not be accepted beyond the following class meeting after the initial due date.
  
• Without prior notification, missed in-class essays and presentations cannot be made up; if you must miss your presentation date, make prior arrangements with a classmate to switch days.
  
• No late research papers will be accepted.
  

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
Presenting the ideas or writings of another as one’s own is plagiarism. Any act of plagiarism will result in automatic failure on the assignment and possible failure in the course and/or dismissal from the university. For this and every other course at SJSU, be familiar with the Policy on Academic Integrity in the SJSU Catalog.

DISABILITY SERVICES
If you require course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours. Students with disabilities that require special accommodations should register with the SJSU Disability Resource Center to receive additional resources.

OUTSIDE TUTORING
You are always welcome to see me during office hours; however, if additional help is required, I strongly suggest utilizing SJSU’s excellent Writing Center (Clark Hall, Suite 126; 408.924.2308). Appointments are required, so plan accordingly.

STANDARDS FOR PRESENTATION OF WORK
All typed work must be in MLA format. Look for online samples of presentation standards early in the semester. Unstapled work will NOT be accepted.

Please follow this heading for all typed work:

Name

ENG 1B, Sec. #

Assignment

Date

ENGLISH 1B LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Learning Objective 1: Students shall write complete essays that demonstrate the ability to refine the competencies established in Written Communication 1A (as summarized below). 1A Student Learning:

• Students should be able to perform effectively the essential steps in the writing process (prewriting, organizing, composing, revising, and editing).
  
• Students should be able to express (explain, analyze, develop, and criticize) ideas effectively.
  
• Students should be able to use correct grammar (syntax, mechanics, and citation of sources) at a college level of sophistication.
  
• Students should be able to write for different audiences (both specialized and general). §
  

Learning Objective 2: Students shall write complete essays that demonstrate the ability to use (locate, analyze, and evaluate) supporting materials, including independent library research, and identify key concepts and terms that describe the information needed.

Learning Objective 3: Students shall write complete essays that demonstrate the ability to synthesize ideas encountered in multiple readings.

GRADING
The Department of English reaffirms its commitment to the differential grading scale as defined in the official SJSU Catalog ("The Grading System"). Grades issued must represent a full range of student performance: A = excellent; B = above average; C = average; D = below average; F = failure. A passing grade in this course signifies that the student has developed those writing, reading, and research abilities necessary for upper-division work. In English Department courses, instructors comment on and grade the quality of student writing, as well as the quality of the ideas being conveyed. All student writing will be distinguished by correct grammar and punctuation, appropriate diction and syntax, and well-organized paragraphs.

COURSE WORK
Class sessions will employ a combination of lectures, group discussions, presentations, and writing workshops that will cover a range of activities, including analyzing, interpreting, outlining, revising, and editing. Again, all submitted work must be in MLA format.

Your assigned writing coursework will total at least 8,000 words; it includes:

• Diagnostic Essay: This essay will be my first opportunity to evaluate your writing.
  
• Autobiographical Essay: You will write a personal essay based upon how you define your own gender.
  
• Persuasive Essay: You will write a persuasive essay based upon our readings about the current same-sex marriage debate.
  
• Literary Analysis/Short Answer Responses: You will write short answer responses to a story about the ways in which men and women communicate.
  
• Process Essay: This essay will require you to participate in an activity traditionally associated with the opposite sex and then write about that experience.
  
• Editorial Essay: In this in-class editorial essay, you will share your perspective female representation in the media.
  
• Expository Essay: You will write an expository essay based upon Lynn Peril’s Pink Think and Michael Kimmel’s Guyland.
  
• Final Exam: As noted above, your final will be a common, department-wide written exam. It will take place on Saturday, May 15th. No make-ups or early exams will be allowed; you must take the exam in order to pass this class.
  
• Research Paper: Your 10-page research paper will examine one aspect of gender politics. I will provide a list of topics for you to choose from early in the semester.
  
• PowerPoint Presentation: You will create a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation and class hand-out based upon some aspect related to our readings (e.g. women in the military) or another gender-related subject of your choice (e.g. the history of contraception). Please note you will be responsible for providing your own laptop.
  
• Reflective Journals: You will write six 2-page responses to an assigned gender-themed topic. Look for journal topics to be posted on ThreePointEau.

GRADING BREAK-DOWN
Item/Point Value/Word Count/Learning Objectives:
Diagnostic Essay*/10/700/1
Autobiographical Essay*/20/1000/1-3
Persuasive Essay/20/1000/1-3
Lit Analysis/Short Answer Responses*/20/1000/1-3
Expository Essay*/20/1000/1-3
Process Essay/20/700/1-3
Editorial Essay/20/700/1-3
Research Paper/80/3500/1-3
Final Exam/60/ N/A
PowerPoint Presentation/10/ N/A
Reflective Journals (Six)/ 60 / N/A
Participation/10/ N/A
Totals: 350/10300

*In-class essays

COURSE SCHEDULE
Note that this schedule is subject to change. Consider this hard copy out-of-date; consult ThreePointEau for the most up-to-date information and schedule.

Key: CR (Course Reader); PT (Pink Think); GL (Guyland); eR (eReader)*

*Look for eR URLs in ThreePointEau

Week 1

W 1.27
IN-CLASS: Syllabus review; Class discussion—“What Does Gender Mean in the 21st Century?”

Week 2

M 2.1
READ: PT, p. 3-42
IN-CLASS: Introductions

W 2.3
READ: PT, 43-76
IN-CLASS: Diagnostic essay

Week 3

M 2.8
READ: CR—“Talk in the Intimate Relationship: His and Hers” by Deborah Tannen, “Libation as Liberation?” by Barbara Ehrenreich, “Red Sex, Blue Sex” by Margaret Talbot; PT, p. 77-102
IN-CLASS: Essay discussion; Lecture—“Steps of the Writing Process, Pt. I”; Preview—Research Paper

W 2.10
READ: CR—“War Stories” by Tobias Wolff, “The Backlash Against Circumcision” by Jeninne Lee-St. John, “The Men We Carry in Our Minds” by Scott Russell Sanders; PT, p. 103-132
IN-CLASS: Reading discussion; Sample PowerPoint presentation; Presentation sign-ups; Lecture—“Steps of the Writing Process, Pt. II”
DUE: Journal 1

Week 4

M 2.15
NO CLASS—Furlough Day (University-wide)

W 2.17
READ: CR—“Being a Man” by Paul Theroux, “Taking Off the Gender Straightjacket” by William S. Pollack, “The Myth About Boys” by David Von Drehle, “Three Fathers” by Kevin Sweeney, “The Problem with Boys” by Tom Chiarella, “The Amazing Tale of the High School Quarterback Turned Lesbian Filmmaker” by Rick Moody; PT, p. 133-192
IN-CLASS: Reading discussion; Lecture—“Steps of the Writing Process, Pt. III”

Week 5

M 2.22
READ: CR—“Boys Get Cool Stuff, Girls Get Pink Stuff” by Kate Harding, “What Girls Want” by Caitlin Flanagan, “Auditorium” by Caroline Kettlewell, “Tight Jeans and Chania Chorris” by Sonia Shah, “I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady, “Pushing Away the Plate” by Min Jin Lee; PT, p. 193-213; eR—“Testosterone” from This American Life
IN-CLASS: Reading discussion; Presentations; Preview—Autobiographical essay
NOTE: Men only should attend this session.

W 2.24
READ: CR—“Boys Get Cool Stuff, Girls Get Pink Stuff” by Kate Harding, “What Girls Want” by Caitlin Flanagan, “Auditorium” by Caroline Kettlewell, “Tight Jeans and Chania Chorris” by Sonia Shah, “I Want a Wife” by Judy Brady, “Pushing Away the Plate” by Min Jin Lee; PT, p. 193-213; eR—“Testosterone” from This American Life
IN-CLASS: Reading discussion; Presentations; Preview—Autobiographical essay
NOTE: Women only should attend this session.

Week 6

M 3.1
READ: CR—“The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage” by Theodore B. Olson, “Same-Sex Marriage: ‘A Basic Civil Right’”
IN-CLASS: Autobiographical essay

W 3.3
READ: CR—“Same-Sex Marriage: Losing a Battle, Winning the War” by Andrew Cohen, “Stupidity, Gay Marriage, and the Evolution of Religion” by Dan Agin, “Why I Fought for the Right to Say ‘I Do’” by Greta Christina; GL, p. 1-43
IN-CLASS: Lecture—“Gender Politics on Film”
DUE: Journal 2

Week 7

M 3.8
READ: CR—“Why One Queer Person Is Not Celebrating California's Historic Gay Marriage Decision” by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, “Preserve Traditional Marriage for Benefit of Future Generations” by Roger Crouse; GL, p. 44-94
IN-CLASS: Reading discussion; Presentations; Preview—Persuasive essay

W 3.10
READ: CR—“The Worst Thing About Gay Marriage” by Sam Shulman, “We Don't Need Gay Marriage” by Mark Vernon, “Sex and Consequences” by Peter Wood; GL, p. 95-143; eR—“The Sanctity of Marriage” from This American Life
IN-CLASS: Reading discussion; Presentations
DUE: Journal 3

Week 8

M 3.15
READ: CR—“A Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell, “The Way Up to Heaven” by Roald Dahl; GL, p. 144-189
IN-CLASS: Writers workshop
DUE: Persuasive essay (Draft 1, Bring three copies)

W 3.17
READ: CR—“This Blessed House” by Jhumpa Lahiri, “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway; GL, p. 190-216
IN-CLASS: Reading discussion; Watch—“The Woman with Two Breasts” from Coupling (2000)

Week 9

M 3.22
READ: CR—“What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” by Raymond Carver, “Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx; GL, p. 217-264
IN-CLASS: Preview—Expository Essay
Due: Persuasive essay (Final draft with first draft attached)

W 3.24
READ: GL, p. 265-290
IN-CLASS: Literature Analysis/Short Answer Responses
DUE: Journal 4

Week 10

M 3.29
NO CLASS: Spring Break

W 3.31
NO CLASS: Spring Break

Week 11

M 4.5
READ: CR—“Women at Arms: Living and Fighting Alongside Men, and Fitting In” by Steven Lee Meyers, “Testimony of a True Female Sports Fan” by Emily Diekelmann; eR—“A Feminist Love For Football” from Weekend Edition Sunday
IN-CLASS: Expository essay

W 4.7 READ: CR—“The Girly Girls” by Jessi Miley-Dyer, “MMA Is No Breakthrough for Women” by David Whitley, “More Men Take Traditionally Female Jobs” by Lenny Bourin and Bill Blakemore, “Johnny Weir is a Real Man” by Jim Caple, “Meet America's First Legal Male Prostitute” by Ian Daly, “Parents Dialing 'Manny 911' for Help” by Mike Adamick
IN-CLASS: Reading discussion; Presentations; Preview—Process essay

Week 12

M 4.12
NO CLASS—Furlough Day (This class only)

W 4.14
IN-CLASS: Library Session (Meet in a TBD location in the MLK library)
DUE: Journal 5

Week 13

M 4.19
READ: CR—“Hooked” by Clea Simon, “The Incredible Shrinking Model” by Emily Nussbaum, “In Defense of the Skinny Girl” by Mihal Freinquel; eR—“Should Fashion Reflect Fantasy or Reality?” from Talk of the Nation
IN-CLASS: Watch—Killing Us Softly 3 (1999)
DUE: Process essay

W 4.21
READ: CR—“Girls Gone Bad” by Kathleen Deveny and Raina Kelley, “How Internet Porn is Changing Teen Sex” by Eric Spitznagel, “Porn: Enjoy It, or Don't...” by Sonia Vasile, “The Porn Myth” by Naomi Wolf
IN-CLASS: Reading discussion; Presentations

Week 14

M 4.26 READ: CL—“Sexy Rap Videos Suspected to be Damaging to Young Girls” from Reuters, “What Hip-Hop Has Done to Black Women” by Johnnetta B. Cole, “Hip-hop's Socially Conscious Side” by Jeff Chang and Dave Zirin; eR—“Sexism, Hip- Hop and Misogyny” from Talk of the Nation
IN-CLASS: Reading discussion; Presentations; Preview—Editorial Essay
DUE: Expository essay

W 4.28
IN-CLASS: Writers workshop, Presentations
DUE: Bring in four copies of the first five pages of your research paper

Week 15

M 5.3
IN-CLASS: Watch—When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
DUE: Editorial essay

W 5.5
NO CLASS—Furlough Day (This class only)

Week 16

M 5.10
IN-CLASS: Final Exam Prep; Writers workshop
DUE: Bring in three copies of the first eight pages of your research paper

W 5.12
IN-CLASS: Guest speaker TBA

S 5.15 FINAL EXAM: Time and location TBA (Bring a yellow book)

Week 17

M 5.17
IN-CLASS: Course review, Research paper presentations
DUE: Research Paper