English 103 Syllabus

Course Syllabus & Schedule

CLASS EXPECTATIONS AND NORMS

Meet Your Instructor: 

I'm Vanessa Strodel Call, and I'll be your professor for the rest of the semester! I have taught for the last two and a half years! I love English and received my MA from CSULB. A fun fact is I am a licensed funeral director and thought that was what I wanted to do with my life until I realized I loved teaching so much more! Some key things to know about me are I love animals (I have four cats and a crazy Labrador), I love reading and show binging, and I love getting outside to hike! I cannot wait to get to know all of you, and I'm looking forward to a great semester!

:

Course Description:  

This course focuses on developing critical thinking, reading, and writing skills by studying established argumentative methods and models and applying them to contemporary issues. Emphasis will be on logical reasoning and analytical and argumentative skills necessary for critical writing.

Textbook Information:

Barnet, Sylvan, and Hugo Bedau. Current Issues and Enduring Questions, 11 ed. Bedford/St Martin's, 2017, ISBN: 9781319035471

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Penguin Books, 1994, ISBN: 978-0385474542

Additional Course Information:  

You'll also need access to a computer, writing utensils, a folder/binder of some sort, access to a printer for PDFs that are posted on Canvas for homework reading. 
Course Learning Objectives: 

1. Critically read, analyze, compare, and evaluate complex texts
2. Demonstrate understanding of formal and informal fallacies in language and thought
3. Identify a text's premises and assumptions in various social, historical, cultural, psychological, or aesthetic contexts
4. Analyze and employ logical and structural methods such as inductive and deductive reasoning, cause and effect, and logos, ethos, and pathos.
5. Compose thesis-driven arguments to suit a variety of rhetorical situations, including interpretation, evaluation, and analysis, and support them with a variety of appropriate textual evidence and examples
6. Find, analyze, interpret, and evaluate primary and secondary sources, incorporating them into written essays using appropriate documentation format without plagiarism
7. Use style, diction, and tone appropriate to the academic community and the purpose of the specific writing task; proofread and edit essays for presentation so they exhibit no disruptive errors in English grammar, usage, or punctuation

Course Content:  

I.  Reading Arguments and Arguing Issues (16 hours)
The student will define terms; identify premises, syllogisms, deduction, and induction; evaluate evidence, examples, and arguments for soundness; assess authoritative testimony; draw inferences from statistics; and recognize rhetorical devices, such as sarcasm, irony, and satire.

II.  Writing Arguments and an Analysis of an Argument (16 hours)
The student will develop a thesis; construct sound arguments; avoid fallacies; supply sufficient support for claims; write argumentative and persuasive essays on critical positions and problems; and write an analysis and summary.

III.  Using Sources and Research Writing (8 hours)
The student will choose an argumentative topic, research and synthesize material, avoid plagiarism, and document sources.

IV.  Applying Current Issues (12 hours)
The student will identify and explore contemporary issues such as women’s rights, gun control, English as the official language, etc.; evaluate and share opposing viewpoints; and identify and assess logical fallacies and rhetorical strategies in media.

V.  Exploring Enduring Questions (12 hours)
The student will analyze timeless and universal questions such as inalienable rights, social order, free speech, etc.; consider various cross-cultural and historical perspectives of enduring questions with emphasis on cultural diversity; and develop an understanding for and a sensitivity toward different cultural and philosophical viewpoints.