Technology, Culture, and the Internet
English 249S-01: Advanced Expository Writing
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Because this is a complex course, made up of many elements, including humans, machines, and interactions between the two, this course description is undoubtedly longer than you're used to. You are nevertheless responsible for knowing and understanding everything on this page. Please e-mail me with questions before the end of the add/drop period. After that, I will work under the assumption that you have read, understand, and agree to these policies and regulations.
I would also like to acknowledge my debt in the creation of this website/course to Kathrine Aydelott, who has been generous with her coding and class design/descriptions for this incarnation of 249S. Thank you!
English 249S is both a
writing course and a computer programming course. As this is an advanced writing
course, you will work to improve your writing by drafting and producing four
short (2-page) formal response papers on a variety of related topics and a final
critical research essay. And because it is also a web design course, you will
learn the computer programming language HTML and will design your own web site.
In order to take English
249S, you must have completed English 105 and 109 (or their equivalents). Prior
knowledge of the Internet and its workings, while helpful, is not required.
Nor do you need to have prior experience with HTML; in fact, the less experience
you have the more you will get out of class. In other words, this course originates
in the English department, not in the Computer Science department. Those of
you with extensive HTML experience might not be as challenged by the programming
assignments as you would like. Our topics for discussion
and writing will be contemporary issues of technology, including the social
and cultural impact of the technology in general and the Internet in particular,
and how these issues collide with and affect our writing. Discussions will take
up a great deal of class time. For a good part of the semester, we will also
spend one day a week on web-page development. Although I, as your instructor,
am in charge of the classroom, the class itself is structured as a seminar.
This implies a lot of give-and-take between us. You will very likely have more
experience in some areas than I do, and I will have more experience than you
in others. We should consider this a good thing. We will learn together; I will
not feed you information that you will then regurgitate for tests. There will
be no quizzes in this class, and there is no final exam. This further means that
we must all be adequately prepared for each class session.
This is not a lecture course; it is a discussion course and a workshop course.
The class depends on your participation and preparation as much as it does mine.
Class will suffer if either you or I fail in this regard. In such an atmosphere,
you will be treated as adults. If you need to go to the bathroom, you are free
to do so (but please don't be overly disruptive). You do not need to raise your
hand to speak, but please be careful not to interrupt others. If your neighbor
needs help, please help him. Recognize there may well be people of extremely
different backgrounds and experiences in our class, and please be respectful.
General Description
If you are not here, you can't participate. As this is a seminar and not a correspondence course, your presence identifies you as taking the class. I do realize, however, that sometimes you can't be here. Those who must miss class for extracurricular obligations scheduled in advance (such as atheletic meets or religious holidays) should contact me beforehand. I will expect athletes and those absent for an extended period of time to provide proper documentation for their absences; those attending funerals or who have family emergencies should get documentation for the Department of Student Affairs.
If you do have a legitimate reason to miss class, I will excuse you, and the absence will not count against you so long as you responsibly make up the work. Note that scheduling conflicts, travel plans, and sleeping through alarms are not legitimate reasons for missing class.
Whether you have a legitimate reason or not for missing class, you are responsible for whatever we covered during that session and for being prepared for the next one.
I will start class at 11:00 a.m. The beginning of class is my chance to greet you, to take attendance, to make announcements, and to change assignments and due dates if necessary. You may feel that sneaking in a few minutes late won't hurt, but in those few minutes I could have cancelled, changed, or rearranged a week's worth of work (not to mention that I will mark you absent). On a social level, tardiness is unprofessional and rude; on a practical level it is distracting to the class and detrimental to the tardy person who has missed information. Please be respectful and arrive on time. Generally, I count two or three long tardies (10+ minutes) as an absence.
I will treat you with respect and courtesy, and I expect you will do the same to me and to your classmates. Furthermore, I expect your full attention and cooperation when we are working with the computers. Together we might make other rules which will foster a more pleasant and professional working environment. Feel free to e-mail me with ideas.
Late work ruins your schedule and mine. If you are having trouble meeting a deadline, please contact me beforehand. I'm not out to get you, and we can usually work something out. Work will not be accepted after the due date unless arrangements are made at least one day before an assignment is due.
Academic Dishonesty is on the rise, mostly because of the ease of working with and the wide availability of digital files. You might imagine that this is something I know something about. Following standard UConn policy, I will fail intentionally plagiarized work and I will be report the academic dishonesty to the university. Note that I insist you turn in an digital file of your work in addition to the printed copy. This is so that if I suspect plagiarism of written work, I can immediately and easily check your work on the Internet.
Web assignments using HTML must be hand-coded. Assignments written with composing programs such as Microsoft Word, Netscape Composer, and PrintShop's web utility, will receive a failing grade. [See Required Materials]
One important clarification: collaboration is not plagiarism. A person who plagiarizes presents work he has not done as his own; people who collaborate on a project present the work they have done together as their own and generally all take credit. Collaboration is encouraged in this course.
As this is a computer
course as well as a writing course, you will need to have access to a computer,
on which all of your writing and coding must be done. If you have your own,
great; if you don't, you need to determine what computer you'll be using before
the end of add/drop period. Many of the dorms have their own computer labs,
but be warned, they may not be well-maintained, they may be running old(er)
programs, and their virus protection may not be updated regularly. There are
also a number of public labs on campus. You are responsible for locating a
computer.
Working in a computer-assisted
classroom can, at times, prove frustrating for all of us. A room full of 20
students and 20+ machines can feel like a room full of 40+ people. I can only
help one person at a time. Feel free to help your neighbors if you know what
you're doing. If you don't, please be patient. Humming quietly to yourself
may (or may not) entertain both you and your neighbors. No drumming, though. And just so you know,
I am a native Macintosh user since 1987. Although I have used the Windows
OS when I must (like now), they are not as second-nature to me as they probably
are to you. I may call on your assistance at times. Please help willingly
and cheerfully. It will make all of our lives run more smoothly. Thank you.
But please remember
that these computers are not yours. They are used by at least three classes
each semester. The control panels and other settings have been arranged to
facilitate the greatest efficiency, safety, and ease of use for all involved.
You are hereby commanded NOT to adjust the settings for
your own personal convenience. If something is particularly bothersome
to you, you can switch seats, or you can talk to me about it after class.
Changing settings can induce software conflicts, encourage virus infection,
and can lead to loss of work. Students caught changing settings risk expulsion
from the lab and failure of the course. I'm serious. And don't call me Shirley.
We have 75 minutes per
class to cover a lot of material each day. Class time is for class work, and
not for checking e-mail, or for surfing the web for extracurricular reasons.
Non-academic and unprofessional Internet use are also causes for expulsion
and failure. On a related note, please turn off cell phones and all other
electronic devices during class. If your phone rings, you should dash out
of the classroom before I can yell at you. For most of the semester,
Thursdays will be dedicated to learning how to hand-code HTML and building
your web site(s). I will discuss in class the reasons why it is important
to learn how to hand-code as opposed to learning to design web pages exclusively
from an HTML-editor. All you really need to know here is that you are required
to hand-code for this class. The use of editors is considered cheating. Don't
do it.
Computers
Grades will be calculated
on the following criteria:
Note: there
is no final exam in this class. I grade papers primarily
on two sets of criteria. First and foremost, I consider the thoughtfulness and
sophistication of ideas (regardless of whether I agree with them). The second
criterion is the quality of your writing, which really goes hand in hand with
the first. I cannot give you credit for your ideas unless you express them clearly
and in an organized manner, unless your paper focuses on your ideas and discusses
them coherently, and unless you use proper spelling, grammar, syntax, and citation
conventions. More often than not, a poor grade reflects not a failure of ideas
but poor writing quality. Don't despair. Writing well takes practice--years
of practice. See my Grading Criteria for more information. Participation takes into
account the number of times a student is actively
(not just physically)
present in class: whether by commenting, adding to the discussion, or asking
a pertinent question; or in other ways moves to improve her standing in class,
whether by visiting me in office hours, visiting the Writing Center, helping
others in class, or adding pertinent links to the Links
page, etc. It also includes your weekly HTML assignments. Your participation
grade is therefore based primarily on your attendance (and performance) in class. A typical participation
grade breaks down this way: Base grades are exactly
that: participation grades go up OR DOWN with participation as outlined above. Notice,
this 20% grade is based on standard attendance policies. If you miss more than
two weeks of class during the semester (or more then four class meetings), your
grade will start to suffer. If you miss significantly more, you will
risk failure of the class. In other words, if I don't see you for several weeks
at a time, you risk failing class because you aren't taking class; you aren't
participating.
Grading
2-4 absences = 75 base grade (C)
4-6 absences = 65 base grade (D)
I will be available in CLAS 201, or in my office, CLAS 236, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. I will be happy to make an appointment with anyone who is not available during this time (especially right after class--just catch me before I leave). Small details and quick questions can be addressed to me either before or after class, or via e-mail.
Office hours begin February 4. If I have to change my office hours, I will send a class e-mail announcement.