Syllabus

ATLANTA METROPOLITAN COLLEGE

DIVISION OF HUMANITIES AND FINE ARTS

ENGLISH 2112:  WORLD LITERATURE II

 

Course Information:                                                            English 2112 (CRN 21009)

Start date:                                                                                         February 4, 2014

End date:                                                                                           April 30, 2014

Course Meeting Days and Time:                                                    Online

 

Instructor information:

Office: Academic 351 Office contact:                                                                                                                      Email

Office hours: MW 9-9:30, 11:30-2/ TR 12-2

Email address:                                           mkassorla@atlm.edu

 

  1. I.     OVERVIEW (Course Description):  This course will survey important works of world literature from the mid-seventeenth century to the present.   Prerequisites: Exit or exemption from Learning Support English and Reading; English 1101 or permission of the instructor.

 

Credit hours:  3

Prerequisites:  Exit or exemption from Learning Support English and Reading and English 1101.

 

II.  REQUIRED TEXTS AND SUPPLIES:

The Norton Anthology of World Literature (Third Edition) (Vol. Package 2: Vols. D, E, F) by Martin Puchner

You must have a computer, an AMSC e-mail address, and access to Desire2Learn.  We will be using a variety of online course materials. You must be open to new tools and technology!

 

  1. II.   IMPORTANT DATES

 

Midterm:                                                  Week of March 17

Holidays:                                                 10-14 March (Spring Break)

Last Day of Class:                                   April 30

III. AMSC CLOs (Course Learning Outcomes):

Students who succeed in the course will be able to do the following:

  1. Read and analyze selected literary works of many cultures and civilizations
  2. Apply one or more critical theories to widely recognized works of literature in well-developed paragraphs that can lead to longer critical analysis papers
  3. Identify and distinguish among literary elements for analysis and interpretation of literature
  4. Examine and compare global contexts to interpret literature, including, but not limited to, various historical and social factors that contribute to a society’s or individual’s identity and culture
  5. Create an Annotated Bibliography in MLA format after validating and inspecting sources to be used for a paper

 

  1. IV.         ADA STATEMENT  

The Office of Disability Services operates under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) laws in order to assist in leveling the playing field for students who have disabilities with those who do not.  The amended ADA, otherwise known as ADAAA defines “disability” as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities. If you feel that you have a disability or impairment that may limit your academic functioning, please contact Ms. Tammy Young, the Coordinator of Disability Services, at (404) 756-4783.

The Coordinator of Disability Services reviews all accommodation requests. In order to receive accommodations, the student’s illness or disability must be verified in writing by a physician, psychiatrist, or some other health care provider or specialist. Students choosing to access disability support services should contact the Coordinator as soon as possible after acceptance to AMC. Please be aware that late notifications may result in complications for establishing accommodations in a timely fashion.

  1. V.           THE ESSENCE OF THE COURSE AND THE COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

The requirements for the course are developed with the objective and purpose of the course in mind.  Though weighted differently in the final grade, all requirements are equally important and a successful showing in the course cannot be made without consistent work in each requirement.  Students should note that this course is designed to emphasize discussion of literature and that to facilitate discussion they must read the selections from the course texts.  All students can offer experiential, intellectual, and cultural observations that can further and broaden class discussion threads.

  1. 1.     Class Discussion and Participation (10%).  Active discussion is a valued aspect of an academic setting and students are encouraged to participate in all discussion threads online.  I will post questions to students on a variety of issues and concepts.  Your task will be to make a substantive response, usually 4-5 well-constructed sentences, as well as to respond to the post of 2 other classmates.  Please be aware that this grade can be negatively affected by not logging on several times throughout the week to respond in discussion threads.     
  2. 2.    Two Short essays (20%).   These are papers of 2-3 pages, which represent your response to selections from the course texts and from class discussions. There will be two short essays assigned this term. Papers are always due at 11:59 pm on the due date.  Papers will not be accepted late unless there is a significant reason.
  3. 3.    Quizzes (10%)   Quizzes—both announced and unannounced—test critical reading skills and will be given bi-weekly on required reading material.  All quizzes will be predominately objective—true/false, multiple choice—and will contain a small percentage of subjective questions—both essay and short answer responses.  Quizzes may not be made up in the event of a missed time period. Since this is an online course, all quizzes will be timed.
  4. 4.    Annotated Bibliography (10%).  You will provide a ten item annotated bibliography as part of your class project
  5. 5.    Class Project (20%).  This make take the form of a research paper or alternative interactive project.
  6. 6.    Presentation (10%)  Each student will prepare an online presentation to share with your classmates.  The presentation will introduce a major work or author we will be studying in the course and must be narrated.
  7. 7.    Midterm Examination.  (10%). The midterm examination for the course will cover relevant literary selections, literary terminology and general discussions from the first half of the term.  It will be timed and online.
  8. 8.    Final (10%).  The final examination for the course will cover relevant literary selections, literary terminology and general discussions from the second half of the term.  It will be timed and online.

A final note about being successful in this course:

 

This is an online course, so you must do read the course texts to be successful! You must be willing to invest the time it takes to cover the readings.  Yet, there will certain readings that you will have to read more than once in order to understand and analyze.  While I will be just an email away, you must discipline yourself to read, think, and write.  If not, you will not be successful in this course.

VI. EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE (Grading Criteria and Scale)–the final grade is computed with the following percentages.  Students should keep in mind that certain criteria—such as class participation—have no paper or assignment requirements but can be adversely affected by behavioral lapses, e.g. not participating in online discussion or late assignments. 

           

A=  90-100%                                             D= 60-69%

B=  80-89%                                               F= < 59%

C=  70-79%

 

Note that grade averages may be affected by attendance and extra credit points

 

VII. COURSE POLICIES

 

  1. Addendum to Grading Policy

Problems related to the grading policy for this course or other courses management concerns should be first brought to the attention of the professor for the course.  However, a resolution of unsettled problems or concerns may be pursued by following the grievance procedures outlined in the AMSC Student Handbook and the Academic Catalog.

 

  1. Withdrawal Policy

A student who wishes to drop a course after the end of the Schedule Change Period must complete a Course Withdrawal Form. Students withdrawing from courses before mid-term receive a ‘W’ for the course; students withdrawing after mid-term receive a ‘WF’ unless the Vice President for Academic Affairs determines that it is a hardship case, in which case a ‘W’ will be recorded. The possibility that a student may fail the course will not be considered a hardship. After withdrawing from a class, a student loses eligibility for financial aid or veterans’ benefits when eligibility depends upon enrollment in that class.

Abandoning a course—when a student simply stops participating online in class—should be avoided at all costs. Abandoning a course instead of following official drop procedures will result in a grade of ‘F’ at the end of the course. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate and complete the withdrawal process.

 

  1. Incompletes

Grades of ‘I’ are assessed only when students have been making consistent progress towards a satisfactory grade in the course but due to illness or extreme emergency is forced to miss the final key assignment(s) of the course—e.g. the final examination and/or final essay in the course.

Students have one semester to remove a grade of ‘I’.  Grades of ‘I’ will be changed to ‘F’ if the student fails to submit the required assignments by the deadline.   Incompletes are not assessed for students who are failing the course but did not withdraw before the published dates for withdrawal at the midterm.

 

  1. 4.    Attendance Policy – Online course

 

Addendum to Attendance Policy:  Students are ultimately responsible for ensuring that the course(s) in which they enroll are included in the approved degree plan and program map for their program of study.  Students must periodically check their enrollment status in this course during the semester. The student is responsible for determining changes, if any in enrollment status and taking necessary steps (e.g. pursing re-instatement in this course) following those outlined in the AMSC Catalog.

 

  1. 5.    Class Cancellation

In the event of an emergency that forces the college to close for an extended period, students must contact the instructor of this class within 48 hours using the email address that I’ve established and have posted as my primary contact.  I will then give you directions for completing the course and will provide directions for the transmission and submission of course assignments and course assessments; I will also provide due dates for all submissions.

If you cannot reach me within the specified period of time (within 48 hours), the chair of the division responsible for the course can be reached at the email address posted on the college’s website.

  1. 6.    Statement on Academic Dishonesty (including Plagiarism)

Any instances of academic dishonesty are discouraged and will be met with severe penalties.  Such examples of academic dishonesty are improper citing of work; improper paraphrasing; submitting a paper in this class that you or another student has previously submitted in another class; and passing off papers purchased from another source or from the internet as your own.  The exams and assignments for the course are so designed as to discourage cheating and to strengthen your reliance on your own knowledge, creativity and skills.  I cannot emphasize enough the need for all students to trust their own knowledge when taking exams and quizzes and to rely on their own ideas, perceptions and interpretations when writing essays and reactions. Academic dishonesty is not limited to plagiarism or cheating on exams.  Some other examples include:

  • submitting papers in this class written specifically for another class;
  • submitting papers written and graded in previous classes;
  • collaborating with others on assignments/papers that are designed to be done by an individual student;
  • submitting someone else’s work as your own;
  • using source work that has been explicitly forbidden by the instructor;

There are so many resources on the World Wide Web that can be helpful; however, there are several that will be harmful.  It is your job to analyze the text that we read in this course.  Using someone else’s work will cause you to be in jeopardy of plagiarism.

Please note the following penalties that may occur in cases of cheating or plagiarism.  The information is from page 57 of the Atlanta Metropolitan State College Catalog.

“In cases where a student is found guilty of cheating or exhibiting academic misconduct involving an instructor-generated assignment or examination, the instructor may impose the penalty.  The types of penalties may include, but are not limited to, an ‘F’ for the assignment, the instructor’s not accepting the work, the student’s being assigned additional work, or the student’s receiving a grade reduction for the assignment.  The maximum penalty the instructor may impose is a grade of ‘F’ for the course.”

  1. 7.    Statement on Late or Missed Assignments

It is important to submit papers and other assignments by published or announced due dates.  All assignments will note a due date and are always due by 11:00 pm EST.   Late essays—including short essays, bibliographies and the research paper—will be penalized 20 points per day for every day that they’re late.   Be aware that the aforementioned policy includes non-course days and weekends!!!!  Further be aware that papers are considered late if they are not submitted at the posted time or anytime after the fifteen minute grace period.

 

Quizzes must be taken within the time frame listed; the research exam may be made up only at my discretion and only with a legitimate, verifiable excuse.  Students arriving late for the final exam will be allowed to sit for the assignment at my discretion.

 

  1. 8.    Submission of Papers and other Assignments

I will accept papers and assignments only uploaded to the “Dropbox” in D2L, our online classroom.  I will not accept emailed papers. 

 

Assignment Format: All assignments should be completed in Microsoft Word. The document should be saved by your last name and the assignment number.  MLA formatting is required.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONTRACT AND AGREEMENT

ENG 2112—Spring 2013

1)   I understand that I must have passed out of English 1101 or its equivalent with a grade of ‘C’ or better.

2)   I understand that it is my responsibility to purchase the required texts and materials needed for the course and to read the assignments as they are given.

3)   I understand that the course requirements consist of six major components as they are discussed in the syllabus.  Further, I am responsible for fulfilling all of these requirements for successful completion of the course.

4)   I understand that it is my responsibility to make sure that I’ve submitted assignments online on the date and at the time that they are requested and that my work is not officially submitted unless it has been done so according to the syllabus.  I understand also that late papers will be severely penalized and other assignments not accepted at all.  Thus, it is necessary and it is my responsibility to get assignments in on the stated dates.

5)   I agree that an aspect of English 1102 involves online discussion and thus requires that I take part in ALL discussions in World Literature II.

6)  I agree that the other aspect of English 2112 involves discussions and assignments and thus requires that I participate online at least 3 times a week.

7)   I understand that plagiarism is a very serious transgression and violation of academic conduct and will be handled as such.  Any instance of cheating or plagiarism results in a ‘0’ on the particular assignment and an ‘F’ in the course.  I further understand that if I am found guilty of plagiarism or any other form of academic dishonesty that I am subject to additional punishment by Atlanta Metropolitan State College—suspension or expulsion and that these punishments can remain on my transcript as part of a permanent record.

9)   I agree that in an online course there are certain protocols to follow.   Please find below the list that we will adopt as our standards for this course:

Taking an online course and corresponding via the World Wide Web presents communicators with the task of overcoming the lack of non-verbal communication.  When taking a course online, it is important to remember several points of etiquette that will smooth communication between the students and their instructors.

  1. Avoid language that may come across as strong or offensive. Language can be easily misinterpreted in written communication. If a point must be stressed, review the statement to make sure that an outsider reading it would not be offended, then post the statement. Humor and sarcasm may easily be misinterpreted as well, so try to be as matter-of-fact and professional as possible.
  2. Keep writing to a point and stay on topic. Online courses require a lot of reading. When writing, keep sentences poignant and brief so that readers do not get lost in wordy paragraphs and miss the point of the statement. Also, do not introduce new topics; it may just confuse the readers.
  3. Read first, write later. It is important to read all posts or comments of students and instructors within the course discussion before personally commenting to prevent repeating commentary or asking questions that have already been answered.
  4. Review, review, then send. There’s no taking back a comment that has already been sent, so it is important to double-check all writing to make sure that it clearly conveys the exact intended message.
  5. An online classroom is still a classroom. Though the courses may be online, appropriate classroom behavior is still mandatory. Respect for fellow classmates and the instructors is as important as ever.
  6. The language of the Internet. Though still a fairly young type of communication, certain aspects of this form of communication are becoming conventional. For example, do not write using all capital letters, because it will appear as shouting. Also, the use of emoticons can be helpful when used to convey nonverbal feelings (example: 🙂 or 😦 ), but avoid overusing them.
  7. Consider the privacy of others’. Ask permission prior to giving out a classmate’s email address or other information.
  8. If possible, keep attachments small. If it is necessary to send pictures, change the size to an acceptable 100k.
  9. No inappropriate material. Do not forward virus warnings, chain letters, jokes, etc. to classmates or instructors. The sharing of pornographic material is forbidden.¹

10) Finally, I understand that I will only get from this course what I put into it.  And that whether it is merely a “good grade” I am after, fulfillment of a core requirement or expansion of both personal as well as academic growth in understanding a key aspect of human kind and myself, I am the essential factor in a successful experience in this course.

¹Adapted from http://www.kent.edu/dl/Technology/Etiquette.cfm

 

 

 

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