SEX
AND SYNTAX
A
Learning Community Experience
Instructor: Randy
Jedele Class: English
118
Office: Building
#2 – 5W Section: X-20146
Phone: 964 -
6417 Time: 9:40—11:05
E-mail: rejedele@dmacc.edu Room: 2-14
Office Hours:
______________________
(Additional times are also
available and encouraged by appointment.)
________________________________________________________________________
Instructor: Julie
Simanski Class: Sociology
103
Office: Building
#2 – 5Y Section: C-22753
Phone: O: 964 - 6526 H: 965-1870 (Emergencies only!) Time:
11:15—12:40
E-mail: jasimanski@dmacc.edu Room: 2-14
Office Hours:
______________________
(Additional times are also
available and encouraged by appointment.)
Textbooks
Required:
Benokraitis, Nijole V. Marriages and Families: Changes, Choices, and Constraints. 4th ed.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002.
Forman Dew, Robb. The Family Heart: A Memoir of When Our Son Came Out. Reading,
Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley, 1994.
Lundsford, Andrea A. The
Everyday Writer. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001.
Quindlin, Anna. Black and Blue. New York: Delta, 1998.
Stanford, Judith A., ed. Connections: Reading and Writing in Cultural Contexts. 3rd ed.
Mountain View, California:
Mayfield Publishing Company, 2001.
LEARNING COMMUNITY POLICIES
This is not a
correspondence course! Each student is permitted ____ absences from class. Absence ___ is an automatic F in
the course—no questions asked, no exceptions allowed. We will not qualify absences; in other words, there are no excused
or unexcused absences—attending a funeral or keeping a doctor's appointment is
no more of an excuse for missing class than sleeping late or sitting in
Building #5 with friends.
Experience has proven that students who do not attend class are not successful. Although attendance is not mandatory, it is expected. Please note that 20% of each student's final composition grade is based on grades achieved on in-class assignments and writings. Obviously, if a student is not present during a class period, it is impossible to participate in discussions and in-class writing activities. In addition, since the course is designed to be a community, your absence will take away from the collaborative learning experience. Also, no late work is accepted and the word "make-up" does not exist in your instructors’ vocabularies. All assigned Reading Responses are due the day the selection is discussed in class. The bottom line? If you want the points and expect to be successful, be in class.
In-Class
Writings
Several class meetings will have an in-class writing.
Usually, these will be reactions to the reading assignments or responses that
require students to make connections with the cultural issues discussed in the
Benokraitis text. None of these assignments can be made up at a later date. It
is also important that students be punctual because if there is an in-class
writing exercise, it will be at the beginning of the class. Thirty to forty
minutes will be allotted to complete these responses. It is important that you
read the assignments. There is not time to read the assignment and respond in
class.
As has already been stated, these assignments, as well as
any other in-class written activities, will constitute 20% of the final
composition grade.
Due Dates
All Reading and
Critical Responses are due at the beginning of the class when they are
assigned.
The four major essays are also due on the dates they are assigned. Any
major essay that is not submitted on the date assigned will lose 5 points for
each day that it is late. In other words, if an essay is due on a Tuesday and
it is not submitted until Wednesday, it will lose 5 points. If it’s handed in
on Thursday of the same week, it will lose 10 points.
Although all essays can be revised for a higher grade, the points lost
because an essay was originally submitted late cannot magically be earned in
the revision process. For example, if an essay is submitted late one day and
receives a C (78) for a grade, the actual grade recorded will be 73 (D+). If
the student decides to revise and receives an A- (92) on the revision, the
grade recorded will be 87 (B).
Cell Phones
Cell phones are unacceptable. Turn them off before class
begins. It is rude to answer a cell phone in such public places as classrooms,
restaurants, or movies. If you are anticipating an important call because of a
family emergency, stay at home and wait for the call or wait for the call in
the hall.
Reading
Responses from Connections
During the semester, you will submit six Reading
Responses, which will be generated from assigned selections in Connections.
These responses are due at the beginning of the class when the selection is
being discussed. In other words, they are designed for you to read your
assignment and think about the selection before we discuss the material in
class. These responses are to be typed. You are to respond to the following five
questions:
1. What did you bring to the
reading? What memories from your life experiences
made you think about yourself and what the author is conveying
in the
selection? (This response is not a summary, nor am I asking you to agree or
disagree with the writer.)
2. What one quotation had the
greatest impact on you? Do not just write the
quotation; please explain how it has had an impact on you.
3. What question(s) do you have
for the author? What don’t you understand about
the selection?
4. Using your Beokraitis text, make direct connections between her information
and the essay in your Connections text. I am expecting direct quotations with
page numbers to be used.
5. If you were to lead an in-class discussion on the selection, how would you
begin this discussion? What question(s) would you ask your classmates in order
to stimulate discussion?
Each student will
receive a collection of articles (12-15) that are related to the cultural
issues discussed in class. There will be six required Critical Responses submitted
by the end of the term. Each due date is listed on the “Tentative Assignment
Schedule.”
A Critical
Response has two components. The first is a paragraph summary of the article.
The second part of the assignment is your response to the issues discussed in
the article. These assignments are single-spaced documents and have a one-page
limit.
Some class
activities will be completed in teams. How each team accomplishes its tasks
will be up to the team. However, every team member receives the same grade.
Students will have the opportunity to evaluate their team members at the
completion of each team project. A portion of each student’s final grade in
both classes will be determined from the team projects.
Term Team Sheets
Each week your learning group will be assigned a list of terms from the
sociology text. It will be the
responsibility of each group member to teach the definition and an example of
your share of the terms to the rest of your learning group.
A weekly R.A.T. (Readiness Assessment Test) will be administered.
Students will be tested over the material they were to have read. These are
short, application-oriented tests. Students will receive an individual and team
grade on these tests.
Major
Composition Assignments
Each student will produce four major essays during the course of the semester. (The grades from these essays comprise 30% of the final composition grade.)
Two of the essays will be researched arguments; they have
a minimum requirement of five sources. Both essays will be based on cultural
issues discussed in the sociology portion of the class. The other two essays
will focus on discussing a social issue that is presented in a work of fiction.
All four essays must be submitted to
pass the composition course.
The first three
essays can be revised for higher grades. If time permits, the fourth may have
the same option. It is important to understand that revision does not
automatically ensure a higher grade. If the instructor’s comments are not
appropriately examined and acknowledged, it is possible to receive a lower
grade.
Service Learning
Twenty percent of each student’s composition grade will be
based on the service-learning component of this class. The service-learning
assignment will be a team assignment. However, each student will produce a
portfolio of writing samples as an individual project. All parts of the project
will be discussed in class. Parts of the portfolio will be submitted early in
the semester, which means they can be revised for a better grade when they are
submitted in the final portfolio. The following components will be included in
the writing portfolio:
1. Letter of Introduction
2. Progress Report (in memo format)
3. Researched
Profile or Argumentative Essay
4.
Reflective Essay (One copy for Randy and one copy for
Julie. This essay must include references and actual citations from
Benokraitis.)
5.
Letter of Transmittal
Some type of signed documentation—formal letter, memo, or
simply a signature and justification of hours—must be included in the portfolio.
This documentation will include the name and signature of a certified
representative from the organization, as well as phone number, so that the
individual can be contacted to verify the project.
Each team will be expected to volunteer a minimum of 5 hours of service.
Each student will select a topic he/she would like to research and investigate further from one of the Benokraitis text chapters. The student will find five outside articles about the topic and construct a two-page “newsletter” that synthesizes the research and information into “articles.” The articles must be your own writing. Students are encouraged to use graphics, headlines, cartoons, charts, bullet points, expert interviews, quotations, and any other relevant material to help make the information interesting. The newsletter should be a balance of written articles and attractive layout around a specific concept. Students will copy and distribute the newsletter to classmates and give a brief oral presentation that highlights the various aspects of the newsletter.
During the first or second week of the course, you will select a class date on which you will be the discussion leader. Being the discussion leader has four responsibilities:
1. You will prepare a typed, detailed outline of the chapter that will be copied and distributed to the class. You must use proper outlining structure.
2. You will bring a current periodical article of a topic in your reading and be prepared to share the example with the class. You will provide a complete introduction and explanation of your example and relate it to the specific concept(s) in your reading. You will hand in a copy of the article including a written summary.
3. As part of your summary, you will prepare a minimum of two discussion/thought questions based on your readings or your media example that will be posed to the class for discussion. These questions should try to tie back to the Beokraitis book.
Paper Format for
Composition
All professional documents and academic papers, except those produced in class, must be keyboarded. All assignments should have reasonable side margins. Your academic essays are the only papers that are required to be double-spaced in format. Your short assignments and professional documents should be single-spaced. The particular format for each assignment will be determined by the style sheet that is selected or by the type of document that is being produced. All of these formats will be discussed in class; they are also illustrated in all major handbooks.
Every academic document—professional documents have different identifying information—submitted should have the following identifying information in the upper left-hand corner:
Student Name
Instructor Name
Type of Assignment
Date of Submission
All major essays will be submitted in ˝” three-ring
binders. Students will keep writing logs for major assignments. The writing
logs, all drafts, and all outside sources must be submitted with the final
draft of the paper. Whenever an outside source is used, a Work(s) Cited page
must accompany the essay. An essay will not be graded if any part is missing.
Writing
Workshops for Composition
Peer editing and receiving critical responses from readers
are important steps in the writing process. Twenty points are automatically
deducted for any paper that is not workshopped.
Because it is often difficult to read handwriting, all
workshop papers must be typed. Partial papers are inexcusable.
Spelling
Misspelled words are inexcusable and unacceptable. Learn
to use your computer's spellchecker. Any paper that has a misspelled word in it
will not be graded. When the instructor encounters a misspelled word, the word
is highlighted in yellow and the paper is returned to the author to be
corrected. Once the paper is corrected, it is to be resubmitted for grading. For your academic papers, do not print a
new copy of the essay. Correct the spelling with ink. Don’t just correct the
word and resubmit the paper. Make sure no other words are misspelled in the
document. However, never make ink
corrections in your professional documents. Although homonyms are not
misspelled words, they are signs of poor editing and/or proofreading.
Plagiarism
According to Writing
from A to Z, plagiarism is defined as “[using] someone else’s exact words
without quotation marks and appropriate credit or [using] someone else’s ideas
without acknowledgment. In publishing, plagiarism is illegal; in other
circumstances it is, at least, unethical” (308).
Plagiarism is a serious academic offense and will not be
tolerated in this class. Because students are often unaware that they have,
indeed, plagiarized, the first offense will result in an automatic zero, which
can be removed by resubmitting the essay with the appropriate corrections. In
the event that a student is found guilty a second time, the penalty will be an
F in the course.
Outside sources are required for the first two essays. You
must use a minimum of five outside sources. Students are encouraged to incorporate
the reading assignments into their essays. (It is only fair to indicate that
minimum means average, which means that any paper that uses only five
sources is average work. And papers that fail to use at least five sources
usually receive less than average grades.) Previous students have proven that
the best- written essays are those that have been thoroughly researched.
Although students are encouraged to use the Internet as a
valuable research resource, at least three of the five sources must come from
the textbook, a chapter from a library book, a researched newspaper article,
one of the critical response sheets, or an article from a library journal or
magazine (not a computer-printed article). In other words, I want to encourage
library research as well as computer references.
Copies of the
articles, chapters, or pamphlets must be submitted with the paper. The sections
of the source that are being used in the paper either for a direct quote or a
paraphrase are to be highlighted. No essay will be graded without these
copies. (Note: if Connections or
class handouts are used as a source, no copies need to be accompany the essay.
There will be four
exams. These will be objective tests
covering the text, lectures, and classroom discussions. Each exam will be worth 125 points—100
points for the objective portion, which will be taken as a team, and 25 points
from a written component that each student will write individually. The 100
points are part of your sociology grade and the 25 points are a part of your
composition grade. These exams are
designed to test application and analysis skills, not memorization.
If you cannot be
here on the day of a test because of extenuating circumstances, you must
contact us prior to class or leave a message regarding your absence. In most cases, you will be able to make up
the test either prior to or after class the following class period. Tests must be made up within a week.
1—Minor assignments and quizzes are usually worth 10-25
points.
2—Although major assignment receive a letter grade, these
letter grades and final grades
are converted
according to the following scale:
A 98 C 78
A-
92 C- 74
B+
91 D+ 73
B
88 D 69
B-
83 D- 65
C+ 82 F 60
3—Final grades for Composition are determined in the
following manner:
20% Daily work, which includes in-class writings or homework
assignments to be completed before
class. Another possible daily grade is an annotation grade. To earn these
points, students should bring to class their Connections text or
handouts when they will be discussed. Your text should demonstrate that you
have, indeed, read and annotated the text. (Your six Reading Responses are not
a part of this daily work category.)
20% Reading
and Critical Responses
30% Average of Major Essays
20% Service Learning
10% Team Assignments
4—Final grades for Sociology 103 are totaled and
determined by
percentages
in the following manner:
400 points Four unit examinations
50 points Service-learning
reflective essay
100 points Discussion leader—25 points for the outline, 25 points for
article summary and questions, and 50 points for being the
chapter expert and discussion leader
150 points Newsletter
150 points Team term sheets
150 points R.A.T.
Grading for
Composition
I think it is only fair that I explain some of my grading
policies. I will be the first to admit that I am slow grader. I am not a
holistic grader. In other words, I do not simply read your documents and slap a
grade on them. I take the time to comment on where you’re making mistakes and I
make suggestions on how you can make improvements. I will grade your Reading
and Critical Responses as quickly as possible, so that you don’t continue to
make the same mistakes. However, it usually takes me two weeks to grade a major
set of essays.
You will have no doubt when you receive your papers that I
have spent time with them. I also must admit that there have been times when I
have simply written the word “stop” in the margin to signal that I have stopped
reading/grading. I usually only do this on extremely poorly written papers. I
will not devote my time to grading documents that students haven’t devoted
their time for researching, thinking, and writing. Because writing is a
process, you cannot produce good work at the last minute.
· January 13 - Beginning of Spring Term
· January 18 - Last Day to Add Regular Term Classes
· January 20 - Holiday, College Closed
· March 7 - All Offices Closed (Staff Development)
· March 10 - Midterm
· March 17-21 - Spring Break
· March 26 - Last Day to Drop Regular Term Classes
· May 8 - End of Semester
· Accommodations:
“It is the policy of DMACC to
accommodate students with
disabilities. Any student with a documented disability who
requires reasonable accommodation
should contact the
special needs coordinator at 515-964-6850 voice or
515-964-6810 TTY.”
· Services for students with
disabilities:
www.dmacc.edu/student_services/disabilities.htm
Contact the special needs coordinator at 515-964-6850V,
515-964-6809 TTY or the counseling & advising office on any campus
for an Application for Accommodation.
· Academic Advising:
www.dmacc.org/student_services/academic_advising.htm
· Career counseling
http://www.dmacc.org/student_services/career_resource.htm
· Library http://www.library.dmacc.cc.ia.us/
Building 6, room 3
Monday – Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Friday – 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Saturday – 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
· Computer labs
http://www.dmacc.edu/helpdesk/HD_student.htm
Building 6
Monday – Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Friday – 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Saturday – 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Work Cited
Reagan, Sally Barr, et al. Writing from A to Z: The Easy-to-Use Reference Handbook.
Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1994.
Date Assignment
1/14 Course
Introduction
Syllabus
Discussion
Team Building
1/16 Chapter 1—“The Changing Family”
Coontz—“The
Way We Wish We Were” (handout)
Introduction
to Formal Letter Writing (Bring your handbook to class.)
Team
Term Sheet #1
R.A.T.
#1
1/21 Dear Randy Letter Due
Introduction to
Argumentation and Essay #1 (family issues)
Discussion of
Service-Learning Portfolio
Chapter
3—“The Family in Historical Perspective”
Tan—“Two
Kinds” (124-133)
Green—“Orbiting
the Son” (169-171)
Reading
Response #1 Due
1/23 Documentation (Bring your
handbook to class)
“Tomorrow’s
Child” (Newsweek 11/02/98—Make a copy from the
original
source or print from the library’s EBSCOhost data base.)
1/28 Library Research
Chapter
2—“Studying Marriage and the Family”
Chapters
1-4 The Family Heart
Writing Essays about Fiction
and Family
1/30 Introduction to Newsletters
Lewin—“Marriage
Ed” (436-440)
Reading
Response #2 Due
Team
Term Sheet #3
R.A.T.
#3
2/4 Chapter 4—“Gender Roles and
Socialization”
Blum—“The
Gender Blur” (338-345)
Filene—“Between
a Rock and a Soft Place: A Century of American
Manhood” (303-319)
“Boy in Blue Tutu” (handout)
Team Term Sheet #4
R.A.T.
#4
2/6 Field
Trip
2/11 Test
#1
Chapter 5—“Love and Loving
Relationships”
Chapters
5-6 The Family Heart
Service-Learning Letter Due
2/13 Workshop
Essay #1
Mall
Report Due
Team
Term Sheet #5
R.A.T.
#5
2/18 Essay
#1 Due
Chapter 6—“Sexuality and
Sexual Expression throughout Life”
Panel
Presentation #1
2/20 Sullivan—“What
Are Homosexuals For?” (handout)
Brawer—“A
Place at the Table” (handout)
Reading
Response #4 Due
The Family Heart Discussion
“Let’s
Talk about Sex: Let the Debate Begin”
Team
Term Sheet #6
R.A.T.
#6
2/25 Chapter
7—“Choosing Others: Dating and Mate Selection”
Personal
Ads
Family
Heart Essay Due
2/27 Introduction
to Essay #2 (gender issues)
Paglia—“The
Date-Rape Debate” (handout)
Turkle—“Who
Am We?” (handout)
Reading
Response #5 Due
Service-Learning Progress
Report Due (memo
format)
Team
Term Sheet #7
R.A.T. #7
3/4 Chapter
8—“Singlehood, Cohabitation, and Other Nonmarital Living
Arrangements”
Wetherell—“The Bass, the
River, and Sheila Mant” (346-351)
McCormick—“Out of the Closet
and into Your Living Room”
(475-479)
Team Term Sheet #8
R.A.T.
#8
3/6 Chapters
1-8 Newsletters Due
Test
#2
3/11 Chapter
9—“Marriage and Communication in Intimate Relationships”
Ingall—“Alternative
Bride” (334-337)
Critical
Response #1 Due
Team
Term Sheet #9
R.A.T.
#9
3/13 Black
and Blue 1-101
In
the Gloaming
3/17—3/21 Spring Break—No Classes
Date Assignments
3/25 Chapter
10—“To Be or Not to Be a Parent: More Choices, More
Constraints”
Gibson—“Adoption Battles for
Gay Prospective Parents” (159-168)
3/27 Cloud—“Tracking
Down Mom” (181-183)
4/1 Service-Learning
Completed
Chapter
11—“Raising Children: Prospects and Pitfalls”
Black
and Blue 101-207
Workshop
Essay #2
4/3 No
Class
4/8 Didion—“On
Going Home” (handout)
Ferguson—“Inside
the Culture of Kids’ Sports” (172-180)
Panel
Presentation #2
Essay #2 Due
Team
Term Sheet #11
R.A.T.
#11
4/10 Chapter
14—“Family Violence and Other Crises-Related Issues”
The
Economist—“Why Willy Loman Lives” (259-262)
Adler—“Stars,
Stripes—and Stress” (277-281)
Service-Learning
Portfolio Due
Critical
Response #3 Due
4/15 Review
Team
Term Sheet #12
R.A.T.
#12