Hank Smith | Gulf Coast State CollegeLanguage and Literature, Associate Professor of English5230 West U.S. Highway 98Panama City, FL 32401T 850.769.1551 ext. 2873F 850.873.3522hsmith@gulfcoast.edu

Gulf Coast State College Fall 2015Language and Literature Division

Lit 2380: Women in LiteratureQEP Vision Statement

We believe that teaching Critical Academic Literacy (CAL) strategies will improve student learning. Students will construct knowledge as they develop their analysis, synthesis, and evaluation skills. CAL strategies must be taught explicitly through direct classroom instruction and be reinforced through consistent practice.

Course Syllabus

PrerequisiteTo be a member of this class, you must have completed ENC 1102 with a minimum grade of “C.”

Course DescriptionWomen in Literature. 3 Hours, 3 credits. This course meets the Area III Humanities Requirement.

As is stated in the General Catalog, we will explore “[m]ajor themes, works, [and] authors of literature by women. This course is a Gordon Rule Writing course in which students will produce extensive college-level writing and which requires completion with a minimum grade of ‘C.’”

Student Learning Outcomes1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of assigned readings through written essays to objective tests to be graded by the

instructor.2. Students will demonstrate knowledge of assigned readings through written essays to be evaluated according to a rubric

for literary analysis.

Course MaterialsRequired:

Gilbert, Sandra M., and Susan Gubar, eds. The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women. 3rd ed., Vol. 1. New York: Norton, 2007.

Recommended: The Little, Brown Essential Handbook or Prentice Hall Reference Guide to English Grammar and Usage. 6th or

7th ed. A USB or other portable electronic storage device.

Academic Integrity

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Honest participation in academic endeavors fosters an environment in which optimal learning can take place and is consistent with the college's mission. Academic misconduct is destructive to the spirit of an educational environment and will not be tolerated. The following definitions will apply:

a. "Cheating" includes but is not limited to use of any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests or examinations; dependence upon the aid of sources beyond those authorized by the instructor in writing papers, preparing reports, solving problems, or carrying out other assignments; the acquisition without permission of tests or other academic materials belonging to a member of the College's faculty.

b. "Plagiarism" includes, but is not limited to, the use by paraphrase or direct quotation of the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgment. It also includes the unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or agency engaged in the selling of term papers or other academic materials.

c. The term "academic misconduct" includes any or all forms cheating and plagiarism. In addition, academic misconduct may include the following:

Destroying, damaging or stealing another person’s work or work materials including, but not limited to, lab experiments, computer programs/files, term papers, projects or copy of an examination.

Theft, damage or misuse of library resources; removing uncharged material from the library; defacing or damaging library materials; intentionally displacing or hoarding library materials within the library for one’s unauthorized private use or any other abuse of reserved materials.

Theft, damage or misuse of computer resources including, but not limited to, computer accounts codes, passwords or facilities; damaging computer equipment or interfering with the operation of any computer system in the college.

d. Individual instructors or programs may provide students with additional academic integrity policy statements at the start of a semester.

e. Sanctions for incidences of academic misconduct, depending on the severity of the incidence and/or its repetition, may range from receiving an F grade (or zero) for the test, assignment, or activity, to failure of the course, to suspension or dismissal from the program or the college.

Students with DisabilitiesStudents who need academic accommodations because of a disability, who have emergency medical information to share with the instructor, or who need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated are encouraged to contact the instructor privately after class or in his or her office.

To request academic accommodations (for example, a note taker, reader, testing accommodations or accommodations for access to materials), students must also register with the Office of Disability Support Services in room 59 of the Student Union East building. It is the campus office responsible for reviewing documentation provided by students requesting accommodations and coordinating services for students with disabilities.

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Support Services The Writing and Reading Lab, located in RC108/110, proudly serves the needs of Gulf Coast State College students who will benefit from help with components of writing, reading, Spanish, and French. The staff is prepared to assist students who need clarification regarding assignments, suggestions regarding revision and the recognition of patterns of grammatical and mechanical errors, and remediation with specific content area skills including reading comprehension, organization of ideas, transitions from one idea to another, grammar, vocabulary development, basic computer skills, MLA, APA, and Chicago style formatting, etc. In addition, the Writing and Reading Lab tutors are happy to help students set up and navigate their Pearson MyLab account(s). If you would like to visit the Writing & Reading Lab, tutors are available from 7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Monday – Thursday and from 7:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. on Fridays. NEW!! ONLINE TUTORING: Professor Melanie Donnahee is able to aid students with tutoring in English, writing, reading, and French. She is available Sundays from 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., Mondays from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., and Tuesdays from 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. NOTE: All of our tutoring services require active participation. This is NOT a proofreading service.

Tobacco Free/Smoke Free Rules 5.290 (IMM) The use, distribution, or sale of tobacco, including any smoking device, or carrying of any lighted smoking instrument, or electronic smoking-simulated instrument, in GCSC buildings or on GCSC premises is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to all GCSC sidewalks, parking lots, landscaped areas, recreational areas and buildings on any GCSC property and in GCSC owned, rented, or leased vehicles, and at events on GCSC premises. The inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying of any lighted smoking material, including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, or electronic cigarettes is prohibited on college property. The use of other tobacco products, such as smokeless or chewing tobacco, is also prohibited on college property. Smoking materials must be extinguished prior to entering upon any GCSC property without exception. All tobacco products in use must be disposed of appropriately prior to entering upon any GCSC property, which includes exiting a vehicle. Improper disposal includes:

1. Spitting smokeless tobacco product;2. Littering (i.e. discarded cigarette butts, throwing or disposing of cigarette butts out of windows,

leaving spit container);3. Anything that creates a fire hazard.

Printing InformationA new print management system, Pay4Print, is used in all computer labs and in the library. For complete information, please see the Pay4Print page on the college website: http://www.gulfcoast.edu/pay4print/default.htm

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Lit 2380

Class Policy

Attendance:I encourage you to attend all classes. In fact, if your attendance is perfect, I will reward you by adding two points of extra credit to your final grade. If you miss one day, you will still receive one point. Please note that to qualify for this extra credit, you must be physically present in class. In other words, there are no excused absences. Furthermore, if you are obviously ill (sweating with fever, coughing, etc.), I will immediately dismiss you and record an absence for the day. If you are sick, therefore, please do not come to class; stay home and rest.

In addition, I hope you will all encourage each other to attend class. To that end, if a classmate is absent, please feel free to send him/her a message through Angel. Thanks to Angel, you all have the ability to message each other and me. If you are at a loss for words, feel free to make use of the following text: “We missed you in class. I hope you are well. Please let me know if you need any notes; I’ll be happy to share.” Please send me a courtesy copy (“CC”) on all such messages. I will award you a half of a point of extra credit on the final exam for each student messaged. There is no limit on the number of students who may message someone who is absent; however, the message must be sent during the week of the absence to be effective. You will receive extra credit for all such messages through midterm week (the week of 10/11).

Please note: Any student attempting my course for a second (or third) time will not be allowed a fifth absence. This policy is not a punishment. I am simply trying to save students from making a common mistake: duplicating efforts with the expectation of a different result.

Withdrawals:If you wish to withdraw from my course, you must withdraw yourself by the withdrawal deadline. Exceptions to this policy include students who are repeatedly disruptive in class or have documented medical emergencies.

Grading Scale:A=90-100%B=80-89%C=70-79%D=60-69%F=less than 60%Note: I always round up to the nearest whole number.

Assignments: Writing Quizzes=20% Author Presentation=20% Literature Analysis =20% (I will drop the lower of your two literature analysis grades.) Midterm Exam=20% Final Exam=20%

The due date for each assignment is located on the course calendar.

There are a total of 24 writing quizzes. I will grade these quizzes pass/fail: you will receive full credit or no credit. Furthermore, these assignments cannot be made up; however, only 20 of these 24 assignments will

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count. In other words, I will drop up to four quizzes. You will receive extra credit for earned credit in excess of 20.

Most quizzes will be short in-class writings. To receive credit for one of these quizzes, correctly respond to my prompt with no fewer than three complete sentences. Please note that fragments and emoticons do not constitute sentences.

The author presentation is a collaborative assignment: you will be working in pairs. I will circulate a signup sheet later. In addition, the rubric and grading will also be collaborative: the class will be responsible for creating the assignment rubric (in part) and for evaluating the presentations. The rubric average will be the grade for the assignment. Please note, however, that I retain the right to veto if I believe a grade indicates a bias.

Two literature analyses are assigned; I will drop the lower of these two grades. An unsubmitted assignment will automatically be your drop.

I will not accept essays past their due dates; however, I will accept them early. To submit an essay, simply upload it to the appropriate drop box on Angel. Please note that I will treat an unreceived drop box submission as an unsubmitted paper. In other words, it is your responsibility to get your essays to me.

The midterm and final exams will be objective tests (multiple choice and/or true-false), and the final will not be comprehensive.

Pedagogy:My pedagogy (method of teaching) is informed largely by the system known as Writing to Learn. As the name suggests, this pedagogy asserts that learning happens not simply through reading and instruction but through writing as well. A process-based approach, Writing to Learn lends itself well to collaboration and promotes both formal and informal writing assignments.

Email:I respond to student email messages Monday morning through Thursday afternoon (excluding times when school is not in session). If you send me an email within this timeframe, you may expect a timely response—typically, within 24 hours. For an even faster response, please email me during my posted office hours

Cell Phones:Please silence all cell phones prior to class and refrain from texting during class. Use of a cell phone during a test will constitute cheating.

Frequently Asked Questions:Q Is there anything I can do to earn extra credit?A Other than the extra credit opportunities already discussed in this document, no extra credit is available.

While extra credit may be earned, therefore, I will not be handing out extra credit parachutes at the end of the semester.

Q I’m going to pass this class, right?A Obviously, there are no guarantees. If you are concerned about your status in my class, I suggest that we

discuss the matter during my posted office hours. The sooner we have this discussion, the better your chances.

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Q Can I make up the work I missed?A As I stated earlier, most assignments cannot be made up; however, I have built a certain amount of grade

forgiveness into the course. In addition, not all assignments involve what one scholar has dubbed “high stakes.” Please see “Assignments” in this document for more information.

Q Will you proofread my paper?A I will not proofread or otherwise edit your writing assignments. My purpose, as a teacher, is to foster

independence in my students, to promote writing and critical thinking as lifelong habits. That said, I will happily read and discuss your work with you. This discussion may be in person or virtual. For a virtual discussion, please attach your document to an Angel message. To give me adequate time to reply, please send the message at least 24 hours in advance of the essay’s due date.

Q When will my essay be graded?A In most cases, you may expect college-level essays to be graded within two weeks of assignment due

dates.

Course Flexibility:I reserve the right to make changes to the syllabus and the course calendar as I deem necessary.