College of Alameda College Hour Salon

Public Forum Tenative Date
On Wednesday, May 10, 12-1 p.m., the class will host a public conversation or Forum on Incarcerated Women and the Letters Project at the College of Alameda.  We will invite the college community along with affected populations, families, law enforcement, advocates, survice providers, scholars.

We will need two moderators.

Students will need to brainstorm on who they would like to invite.

Discussion will include sharing excerpts from the letters written by the women and letters written by the high school students.

Students will also discussion their research on youth incarcerated as adults in California specifically girls who are now adults serving life without the possibility of parole.

To prepare, we will have as a guest presenter, May 1, a former woman prisoner who are speak about incarceration and its affects on the woman prisoner and her family.

Recomended Films:

They Call Us Monsters (2016) dir. Ben Lear

From Juvies "Duc's Child Abuse"
Juvies Trailer

Juvies (2004) dir. Leslie NealeTwelve juveniles, who have been tried as adults, were picked at random for a video workshop at Eastlake Juvenile Hall, Los Angeles. Their stories are inter-cut with commentary from academics, neurologists, a former district attorney of Los Angeles County, and others who discuss the trend in recent years across the United States to try juveniles as adults - more than 200,000 each year. The film argues that this public policy is misguided, unfair, expensive, and counterproductive. One of the youth ends an autobiographical poem, "Do you think he'll go mad?"

Prime Time Juvenile Offenders (2005)
"In the hour-long investigative documentary, PrimeTime Co-Anchor Chris Cuomo goes inside Arizona's facilities and meets an extraordinary group of boys and girls at a critical turning point - they have one last chance to either change their ways or face the prospect of doing time in an adult prison. How did they end up here? How can they be helped? [The directorial team] felt juvenile corrections was a topic that deserved an in-depth examination and [it] worked very hard to gain access to the safe schools in our program in order to deliver this fascinating and important report. PrimeTime was granted unprecedented access to Arizona's system for juvenile corrections and spent nearly six months following the teens and their families as they wound their way in and out of the system. Along the way, the locked up youth share their shame, their secrets and their dreams. They show their pride and promise. And in the end, they reveal that behind the tough talk and bravado, they are still just kids" (IMBD Synopsis).

Women in Prison: Maximum Security
This prison, Valley State is now a men's prison. The women were either moved to the other prison, CCWF also in Chowchilla or sent to county facilities or perhaps further south.

Partner Organization: California Coalition for Women Prisoners
The Fire Inside is a newsletteer published by and for incarcerated women. It is one of many programs supported by one of the "Letters Project," California Coalition for Women Prisoners: womenprisoners.org

Background on Central California Women's Facility (CCWF). This is the prison the women participants are incarcerated in:

http://www.juvies.net/videoclips.php

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpqNVDWc9W8

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_California_Women's_Facility

http://wandasabir.blogspot.com/search?q=CCWP

Readings:Building Trust Cuts Violence. Cash Also Helps - NYTimes.com

This article from the New York Times features a program in Richmond, CA. Does anyone know about this program or have contacts? Also, wpould be interested in your feedback after reading the article.

Building a Prison to School Pipeline -- New Yorker
Formerly incarcerated undergrads started a group on campus to offer mentoring, support, and advocacy to other onetime inmates.

Readings –
Local projects which use theatre and art for ritual and healing are Ayodele Nzinga’s Lower Bottom Playaz, Recovery Theatre in San Francisco

A County Called Prison: Mass Incarceration and the Making of a New Nation by Mary D. Looman and John D. Carl

All Alone in the World: Children of the Incarcerated by Nell Bernstein

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman

Soledad Brother: the Prison Letters of George Jackson

Black Voices from Prison by Etheridge Knight (all Knight)

The New Jim Crow by Michele Alexander

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

America is the Prison: Art and Politics in Prison in the 1970s by Lee Berstein

Soldier of Truth: The Trials of Rev. Edward Pinkney with Philip A Bassett

Unlocking Minds in Lockup: Prison Education Opens Doors by Jan Walker

Prison Life in Popular Culture: From the Big House to Orange is the New Black by Dawn K. Cecil

Performing New Lives: Prison Theatre by Jonathan Shailor

Research is Ceremony: Indigenous Research Methods by Shawn Wilson
The Wounded Researcher: Research with Soul in Mind by Robert D. Ramanyshyn

The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Dubois

The Known World by Edward P. Jones

Black Rage by William Grier and Price M. Cobbs

The Coldest Winter Ever by Sista Souljah

A World Apart: Women, Prison, and Life Behind Bars by Cristina Rathbon

Interrupted Life: Experiences of Incarcerated Women in the United States by Rickie Solinger, Martha L. Raimon, Tina Reynolds, Ruby Tapia

Straight Outta East Oakland 2: Trapped on the Track by Harry Louis Williams II (this is a sequel, local writer who has done work in stopping sexual trafficking of children).

Letters to an Incarcerated Brother: Encouragement, Hope, and Healing for Inmates and Their Loved Ones by Hill Harper 

Theatre:

The Box is a play by Sarah Shourd

Film Recap: (All the directors live in the SF Bay Area)

Crime after Crime, dir. Yoav Potash

Juvies, dir. Leslie Neale, 66 min

"Better This World" directors, Kelly Duane de La Vega and Katie Galloway

"COINTELPRO 101" (56 min 2010), dir. Claude Marks
In an Ideal World (2016) by Noel Schwerin

April Readings and Assignments

Reading Assignment 1 (4/10-12): Read CQ Researcher Article on "Women in Prison." Annotate it. In class we will practice writing summaries and paraphrases. We will also review MLA documentation for articles, how and when to cite, and how to use direct quotes and paraphrases in text.

Listen to Nell Berstein talking about her book Burning down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison (2014).

Watch: Bernstein on Girls in Prison

Watch if you have time: Longer Bernstein segment on Juveniles in Prison

Read and Annotate Report:  (4/19-5/1) No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration, by the Annie E. Casey Foundation

Read and Annotate Excerpt: (4/19-5/1) Burning down the House by Nell Berstein

Reading Assignment 2 (4/17-19): We will read five chapters from Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson. I also suggest student watch this TED Talk: Bryan Stevenson: We Need to Talk About Injustice and watch this short clip from the Newshour's "Brief but Spectacular History" featuring Bryan Stevenson.

These four (4) chapters include the Introduction, Chapter 5: Of the Coming of John; Chapter 6: Surely Doomed; Chapter 7: Justice Denied; Chapter 8: All God's Children.

Please read these chapters this coming week and think about the characters discussed in each chapter. We call main characters, protagonists. Protagonists are normally the good guys and gals. The antagonists are the bad guys and gals.  List the important characters; include distinguishing characteristics.

Some of the antagonists wear legal hats, that is, they are elected officials who are supposed to work to keep society free from those who mean others harm.

Why are these characters in prison? What bars their release? What is their attorney Bryan Stevenson's strategy. Are there any victories? If so, what are these victories?

Here are links to study guides for the book Just Mercy: 
1. Study Guide from Random House (publisher)

2. Study Guide from UM-Go Big Read 

Guide to Annotating Readings from Purdue OWL:
In the first study guide link, you can skip to the chapters you will be reading for questions to guide your reading and a helpful summary. Please annotate the readings.

Writing Assignments:We have completed Prompts 1 and 2 April 10

Please respond to prompts 3 and 4 by Wednesday, April 19. We will send the letters off this week. The women wrote their first letters in February. We have not responded.

1. I Am From – Poem • Purpose – What I hope to do with my life… 
2. Why I’m here? (school / prison) 
3. What’s gone wrong in my life? (struggles, hardships, secrets, harm, crime,…) 
4. I take responsibility for… 

April 24-26
5. I need help with… 
6. Advice I want to give to parents… 

May 1-3
7. What is love? 
8. Who loves you and has your back? 

May 8-10
9. Who did you leave behind? Who’s missing you? (women) 
10.Who do you need to leave behind/that’s holding you back? (students) 

May 15
11. What do you need to find your best possible self?

As the letters from the women come in, we will assign letters to students penpals. 

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue (https://owl.english.purdue.edu/). When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice at bottom.

Contributors:Purdue OWL Staff.
Summary:

This handout covers major topics relating to writing about fiction. This covers prewriting, close reading, thesis development, drafting, and common pitfalls to avoid.

Close Reading a Text and Avoiding Pitfalls

Also see the OWL handout on Writing about Literature and the OWL handout on Literary Terms.

Writing about a story or novel can be difficult because fiction is generally very complex and usually includes several points or themes. To discover these interwoven meanings, you must read the work closely. Below are three techniques for reading fiction actively and critically. Close reading takes more time than quick, superficial reading, but doing a close reading will save you from a lot of frustration and anxiety when you begin to develop your thesis.

Close Reading a Text

Use these "tracking" methods to yield a richer understanding of the text and lay a solid ground work for your thesis.

1. Use a highlighter, but only after you've read for comprehension. The point of highlighting at this stage is to note key passages, phrases, turning points in the story.

   Pitfalls:
   Highlighting too much
   Highlighting without notes in the margins

2. Write marginal notes in the text.

   These should be questions, comments, dialogue with the text itself.

   A paragraph from Doris Lessing's short story "A Woman on a Roof" serves as an example:

   The second paragraph could have a note from the reader like this:

   Marginal Notes	Text
   Why is the man annoyed by the sunbather? Is Lessing commenting on sexist attitudes?	Then they saw her, between chimneys, about fifty yards away. She lay face down on a brown blanket. They could see the top part of her: black hair, aflushed solid back, arms spread out. "She's stark naked," said Stanley, sounding annoyed.

3. Keep a notebook for freewrite summaries and response entries.

   Write quickly after your reading: ask questions, attempt answers and make comments about whatever catches your attention. A good question to begin with when writing response entries is "What point does the author seem to be making?"

4. Step back.

   After close reading and annotating, can you now make a statement about the story's meaning? Is the author commenting on a certain type of person or situation? What is that comment?

Avoiding Pitfalls

These four common assumptions about writing about fiction interfere with rather than help the writer. Learn to avoid them.

1. Plot Summary Syndrome

   Assumes that the main task is simply recalling what happened in detail. Plot summary is just one of the requirements of writing about fiction, not the intended goal.

2. Right Answer Roulette

   Assumes that writing about fiction is a "no win" game in which the student writer is forced to try to guess the RIGHT ANSWER that only the professor knows.

3. The "Everything is Subjective" Shuffle

   Assumes that ANY interpretation of any literary piece is purely whimsy or personal taste. It ignores the necessity of testing each part of an interpretation against the whole text, as well as the need to validate each idea by reference to specifics from the text or quotations and discussion from the text.

4. The "How Can You Write 500 Words About One Short Story?" Blues

   Assumes that writing the paper is only a way of stating the answer rather than an opportunity to explore an idea or explain what your own ideas are and why you have them. This sometimes leads to "padding," repeating the same idea in different words or worse, indiscriminate "expert" quoting: using too many quotes or quotes that are too long with little or no discussion.

Contributors:Purdue OWL Staff.
Summary:

This handout covers major topics relating to writing about fiction. This covers prewriting, close reading, thesis development, drafting, and common pitfalls to avoid.

Developing a Thesis

1. Once you've read the story or novel closely, look back over your notes for patterns of questions or ideas that interest you. Have most of your questions been about the characters, how they develop or change?

   For example:
   If you are reading Conrad's The Secret Agent, do you seem to be most interested in what the author has to say about society? Choose a pattern of ideas and express it in the form of a question and an answer such as the following:

   Question: What does Conrad seem to be suggesting about early twentieth-century London society in his novel The Secret Agent?
   Answer: Conrad suggests that all classes of society are corrupt.

   Pitfalls:
   Choosing too many ideas.
   Choosing an idea without any support.

2. Once you have some general points to focus on, write your possible ideas and answer the questions that they suggest.

   For example:
   Question: How does Conrad develop the idea that all classes of society are corrupt?
   Answer: He uses images of beasts and cannibalism whether he's describing socialites, policemen or secret agents.

3. To write your thesis statement, all you have to do is turn the question and answer around. You've already given the answer, now just put it in a sentence (or a couple of sentences) so that the thesis of your paper is clear.

   For example:
   In his novel, The Secret Agent, Conrad uses beast and cannibal imagery to describe the characters and their relationships to each other. This pattern of images suggests that Conrad saw corruption in every level of early twentieth-century London society.

4. Now that you're familiar with the story or novel and have developed a thesis statement, you're ready to choose the evidence you'll use to support your thesis. There are a lot of good ways to do this, but all of them depend on a strong thesis for their direction.

   For example:
   Here's a student's thesis about Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent.

   In his novel, The Secret Agent, Conrad uses beast and cannibal imagery to describe the characters and their relationships to each other. This pattern of images suggests that Conrad saw corruption in every level of early twentieth-century London society.

   This thesis focuses on the idea of social corruption and the device of imagery. To support this thesis, you would need to find images of beasts and cannibalism within the text.

Contributors:Purdue OWL Staff.
Summary:

This handout covers major topics relating to writing about fiction. This covers prewriting, close reading, thesis development, drafting, and common pitfalls to avoid.

Pre-writing Activities and Drafting Your Essay

Pre-writing Activities

1. Freewrite

Without referring to the text or your notes, write for five to ten minutes on all the images (or the device you have chosen to examine) you can recall. This will provide an initial list which will make up your body of evidence.

2. Review

Look back through the text and your notes to further identify evidence, keeping focused on the particular device you want to discuss.

3. Research

Optional: Ask your instructor about outside sources before you use them.

Once you've identified enough textual evidence to support your thesis, you may want to see what other writers have had to say about your topic. This kind of appeal to other authorities helps you back up and interpret your reading of the work.

4. Evaluate

You will probably generate more evidence than you can use. One way to decide which evidence to take and which to leave is to limit your choices to the best, most illustrative examples you can find. Focus on how the devices are used to develop major characters, major scenes, and major turning points in the work.

Drafting your essay

You've read and annotated the work, developed a thesis, and identified your evidence. Now you're ready to work your evidence into your draft. Here are some effective techniques.

1. Quoting

What is a quote?

Quoting involves taking a word, phrase, or passage directly from the story, novel, or critical essay and working it grammatically into your discussion. Here's an example:

In his novel, The Secret Agent, Conrad describes Verloc as "undemonstrative and burly in a fat-pig style.... " (69). The pig image suggests that Verloc is not a lean, zealous anarchist, but is actually a corrupt, complacent middle class man who is interested in preserving his comfortable status.

Notice three things about the example above:

• The passage from the novel is enclosed in quotes and the page number is indicated in parentheses. For more help see our handouts on MLA and APA.
• The passage is introduced in a coherent grammatical style; it reads like a complete, correct sentence. For more help, see our handout on using quotation marks.
• The quote is interpreted, not patched on and left for the reader to figure out what it means.

When should I quote?

• To make a particularly important point
• When a passage or point is particularly well written
• To include a particularly authoritative source

How should I quote?

• All quotes must be introduced, discussed, and woven into the text. As you revise, make sure you don't have two quotes end-to-end.
• A good rule of thumb: Don't let your quotes exceed 25% of your text.

2. Paraphrasing

What is paraphrasing?

• This is using your own words to say what the author said. To paraphrase the quote used above, you might say something like:

Conrad describes Verloc as a big man who isn't very expressive and who looks like a pig.

When should I paraphrase?

• Paraphrasing is useful in general discussion (introduction or conclusion) or when the author's original style is hard to understand.
• Again, you would need to interpret the paraphrase just as you would a quote.
• For more help, see the OWL handout on paraphrasing.

3. Summarizing

What is summarizing?

• This is taking larger passages from the original work and summing them up in a sentence or two. To use the example above:

Conrad uses pig imagery to describe Verloc's character.

When should I summarize?

• Like paraphrasing, summary is useful in general discussion which leads up to a specific point and when you want to introduce the work and present the thesis.
• For more help, see the OWL handout on Summarizing.

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A Country Called Prison: Intergenerational Letter Writing

Syllabus Proposal for dual enrollment class at Skyline High School, the College of Alameda, Central California Women’s Facility and California Coalition for Women Prisoners.

Teachers: Ms. Awele Makeba (Skyline), Professor Wanda Sabir (COA & CCWP), Ms. Natalie Demola (CCWF)

Start date: January 2017-June 2017

Critical Thinking, English 5/211, 3 semester units, about 6000 written words, develops the ability to analyze, critique, and advocate ideas. Critical thinking looks at the relationship between language and logic, introduces rhetoric or persuasive writing and tools students can use to evaluate information based on facts, perceptions, assumptions, evidence, reasons, inferences, judgments, induction, deduction and conclusions. Vocabulary is introduced so that students have the proper tools to discuss faulty thinking or flaws in the reasoning process and name the more common fallacies.

This level composition assumes competency in prose writing and reading ability so that more attention can be devoted to ideas rather than to grammar and mechanics. Students who will most likely succeed in this course passed English 1A with a “B” or better.

English 211 does not have the English 1A prerequisite which is why we will use it to run the Independent Study Course: “A Country Called Prison: An Intergenerational Critical Response.” Each one (1) unit will require three (3) hours of work, which includes instruction and homework. 3 units is 9 semester hours study per week of coursework.

This course examines the role of language and semantics in critical thinking, social communications and propaganda. Students will also look at the fundamentals of problem solving, including considering and evaluating alternative solutions and perspectives. The course which will use letters from women prisoners and students as the basis for analysis, along with critical readings on the topic will culminate in a critical documented research essay (6-10 pages) discussing the project, pedagogic process, as well as a performative element where students will write scenes and skits for public performance.

In this course we will use the epistle form to explore, write and analyze: Definition, Aristotelian, Rogerian, and Toulmin models of argument. We will cover deductive and inductive reasoning along with logical fallacies. Given our topic: Women Convicted as Children, now serving Life without the Possibility of Parole (LWOP), students will be encouraged to investigate and debunk prevailing misconceptions surrounding imprisonment, especially imprisonment of girls (children), children serving life without the possibility of parole, rehabilitation, slavery, crime reduction and safe communities and interrogate the widespread acceptance of this propaganda.

Discussion and written topics will come from the student/prisoner correspondence, three texts, films, current event topics, fieldtrips, and historical issues with current relevance. Some of the work will be assigned as homework given the short meeting time in class (30-45 minutes per week).

What is unique about the project is that all the women were convicted as teens and are now serving Life without the Possibility of Parole (LWOP). The new legislation is helping some of the women get another mandatory parole hearing; however, not all women qualify. Natalie Demola, the teacher at CCWF, is one such woman.

The final essay will include minimally 2-3 scholarly articles on the topic and a works cited and bibliography page(s) which is not counted as part of the 6-10 pages. Assignments are typed (when possible). When the assignment is not typed, please write double spaced or every other line and number pages. The typed essays use academic headings and a header (top left side of page).  See Purdue OWL: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/13/

Student Name
Professor Sabir
Independent Study Course: Critical Correspondence
Day Month Year
Assignment

The header (top left side of page) is the student’s last name and the page number. It is created through the MS Word Insert taskbar.

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Apply tools of understand inferences to community, workplace and family situations.

Evaluate materials/data in terms of accuracy as well as relevance to home and workplace situations.

Identify logical fallacies in communication.

Conduct research identifying relevant and accurate materials from a variety of sources, including databases, professional publications, and other applicable materials.

Identify personal bias and other filters in order to evaluate community, family and professional materials objectively. 

Texts:
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
Burning down the House: The End of Juvenile Prison by Nell Bernstein
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander
All Alone in the World: Children of the Incarcerated by Nell Bernstein (optional)

Suggested Prompts for Letter Writing (8 weeks):[1]

• I Am From – Poem • Purpose – What I hope to do with my life…
• Why I’m here? (school / prison)
• What’s gone wrong in my life? (struggles, hardships, secrets, harm, crime,…)
• I take responsibility for…
• I need help with…
• Advice I want to give to parents…
• What is love?
• Who loves you and has your back?
• Who did you leave behind? Who’s missing you? (women)
• Who do you need to leave behind/that’s holding you back? (students)
• What do you need to find your best possible self?

Goal: College Credit: 3 Units Independent Study
A passing grade would be based on, Students/Participants:

1. Correspondence eight (8) letters minimally.

2. Develop or write one (1) scene or monologue, collaborate with another student(s) on another scene or monologue as tech or performer, participate in the production as an actor.

3. Participate in performances (3): College of Alameda, community venue (TBA), prison*

4. Final: Reflective research essay (6-10 pages) on the project. Due after the first performance, before the last performance and/or visit to Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF).

5. Read 1 book: The New Jim Crow; Burning down the House; All Alone in the World; Just Mercy; watch 1 film, Read three (3) articles; Annotate one article (4+ pages) on the topic (incarcerated girls; life imprisonment for youth; rehabilitation).

For the Adults in Prison the requirements are similar. For college credit we need a sponsor to pay for unit credit and for books.  We have sent a set of the books to CCWF for the women to share, but more copies are needed (at least 5-6 copies of the four titles.) We also sent copies of the articles to the women to share. 

*The performance is based on institutional requirements. Ms. Natalie DeMola is the liaison between COA, Skyline and the prison officials.

---

[1] We would like letters going out weekly. It can take up to two weeks for the letters from outside to get into the prison. 

English 5 Fall Semester 2015 at the College of Alameda

Fall 2015 Syllabus

Critical thinking @ the College of Alameda with Professor Wanda Sabir

ENG 5 Course codes: 40894, Tuesday/Thursday 08:30AM to 09:45 AM

Class Meetings: Aug. 25-Dec. 10
Location: Room C-208

Holidays: 9/7, 11/11, 11/26-29. I am absent: 10/12-10/14; 11/09-10; 12/14-16.

Final Exam Week: Dec. 13-18 (Portfolios due in Moodle by Dec. 18).
Drop dates: Sept. 6 (w/refund. Note: Short-term classes have different rules);
Drop by Nov. 14 (w/W).

Though the streets, they pursue
old shadows
photos of the dead
stammering voices
until someone tells them
that the shadows
the steps the voices
are a trick of the unconscious
Then they hesitate
look about uncertainty
and suddenly
they set out running
after a face
that reminds them of some other old friend.
The origin of ghosts
is no different (Rossi & Buck 41).

We speak language that are not ours
we walk around without passports
or identity papers
we write hopeless letters
that we don’t send
we are numerous forlorn intruders
survivors
super-survivors
and at times that
makes us feel guilty (Rossi & Buck 43).  

Syllabus for English 5: Critical Thinking in Reading and Writing

English 5, 3 semester units, about 6000 written words, develops the ability to analyze, critique, and advocate ideas. Critical thinking looks at the relationship between language and logic, introduces rhetoric or persuasive writing and tools students can use to evaluate information based on facts, perceptions, assumptions, evidence, reasons, inferences, judgments, induction, deduction and conclusions. Vocabulary is introduced so that students have the proper tools to discuss faulty thinking or flaws in the reasoning process and name the more common fallacies.

This level composition assumes competency in prose writing and reading ability so that more attention can be devoted to ideas rather than to grammar and mechanics. Students who will most likely succeed in this course passed English 1A with a “B” or better.

We will look at the role of language and semantics in critical thinking, social communications and propaganda. Students will also look at the fundamentals of problem solving, including considering and evaluating alternative solutions and perspectives. We will write a series of four (4) – 2-4 page essays which are 1. Analytical, 2. Argumentative and 3. Comparative evaluative essays on pertinent topics around the themes explored in the texts. Each of the four essays will use the Classical or Aristotelian, the Rogerian and/or the Toulmin model of argument.

Topics will come from our texts, films, and discussions, current event topics, or historical issues with current relevance. Three essays will utilize one of the text books: James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time (1991); Tim Wise's Between Barack and a Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama (2009), and a book of your choice with a topic of current relevancy.

Required in these essays will be inclusion of at least 2-3 scholarly articles on the topic and a works cited/bibliography page(s) which is not counted as part of the 2-4 pages. The final will be an argument taken or developed from your book’s thesis. The argument style is up to the writer: Toulmin, Aristotelean, Rogerian. All arguments will be presented orally in small groups and in written form.

Essays
We will start many essays in class and have peer reviews; however, I expect the first draft to receive a passing grade. If this is not the case, I suggest said student enlist the support and assistance of a competent tutor.

If any paper does not receive a passing grade, said student will have to write an essay wherein he or she discusses in third person how the writer can correct the errors, and revise or rewrite the essay. These essays are due the following day or following class meeting.

Readings
We will read a text every 3-4 weeks, beginning with Tim Wise, then Baldwin, ending with Shakespeare. Students will select a topic and book of their own they would like to cull an argument from.

I like to use films as teaching aides, but given the tight schedule, we will probably only see clips of a few pertinent films. The film assignments will be cyber-assignments started in class. Cyber-assignments are turned in Moodle and are about a 250 word fast draft. Each student needs to respond on-line to two other posts. Be respectful in your comments. Even though we are only meeting two hours and a half, students will have three hours of homework weekly, maybe more if one is a slow reader. We will try not to deviate from the schedule, as we have three books plus a textbook to get through, so don’t get behind (smile).

We will probably not complete any in-class essays, as there just isn’t enough time. Most essays will be submitted in Moodle Assignments and Forums. Make sure you include the assignment and your name in the subject line. There will be one group project and presentation on logical fallacies (both inductive and deductive reasoning – one each) inspired by the texts or taken from the field of commercial art or politics. We will do this in class. Buy the books and start reading.

Embedded Librarian Pilot

We are participating in a pilot project where students will have access to a librarian to help with research on a problem in their community or lives they would like to actively investigate and solve or begin to resolve. We will spend time in groups brainstorming ideas to see if there is a way to create research teams per issue.

We will meet with the librarian and/or he will come to the class to show students how to be more efficient in their research. Good research strategies will save budding scholars much valuable time. Our first meeting with Professor Steve Gerstle is Thursday morning.

Start observing your neighborhood, workplace, home and list either mentally or on paper, areas in need of improvement. Write a field note: include location, parties involved, where you are when you are observing, state the problem.

Students will identify the issue and develop a proposal. See How to Develop Primary Research: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/559/1/

Since there is a group project and presentation at the end of the semester, re: problem to solve, if there are problems in the group, let me know early, so we can resolve it.

At the end of the semester, we will have a poster presentation for the College Community. Perhaps we can display the posters in the Library and have the poster exhibit in L-227 early December. If you have made poster presentations before, please let me know.

The Plan
We will use the textbook: Writing Logically Thinking Critically, Sixth-Seventh Editions, by Sheila Cooper and Rosemary Patton (8th edition). It will give students theoretical basis to talk about the argument process. The book has exercises which we will complete in and outside of class meetings. Students are encouraged to develop study groups.

We will run the book chronologically:
Week 1-2: A Quick Guide to Integrating Research into Your Own Writing 203-209.
Week 1-3: Chapters 1-2
Week 3-5: Chapters 2-3
Week 4-5: Chapters 3-4
Week 5-6: Chapters 4-5-6
Week 6: Chapter 6-7
Week 6-7: Chapter 7-8
Week 8/9: Review
Week 9/10: Review
(This is ambitious.)

Grading
The essays based on readings are a fourth of your grade, the daily essays and/or homework are another fourth, your midterm and final are another fourth and your portfolio is the final fourth. (Save all of your work.) The midterm will probably be a draft of your research essay with literature review (min. 3 sources). You can average the grades to see how to weigh the various components. Participation is included in the daily exercises and homework portion of the grade, so if your attendance is exemplary, yet you say nothing, you lose percentage points.

I suggest students spend time weekly in the Writing Lab open M-F, 9-5 (L-234). You can do your homework here and get help as needed. For extra credit, have a tutor give you a receipt for your attendance. If you are having trouble with grammar, then work on that. If your trouble is the essay writing process itself, work on that.

If you have a “R,” which means revision necessary for a grade or “NC-” which means “no credit,” you have to go to the lab and revise the essay with a tutor or teacher before you return both the graded original and the revision (with signature) to me. Also due with your revision is an essay about the essay which identifies the errors and how to correct them. Use a grammar/style book such as Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers 7th (see Revision Goals 45). Revise does not mean “rewrite,” it means to “see again.”

This course with limited class time should offer an invigorating discourse or dialogue for those students who love a challenge and approach the writing task eager, prepared and ready for what the course requires: English language fluency in writing and reading; a certain comfort and ease with the language; confidence and skillful application of literary skills associated with academic writing, plus familiarity, if not mastery, of the rhetorical styles used in argumentation, exposition and narration.

We will be evaluating what we know and how we came to know what we know, a field called epistemology or the study of knowledge. Granted, the perspective is western culture which eliminates the values of the majority populations, so-called underdeveloped or undeveloped countries or cultures. Let us not fall into typical superiority traps. Try to maintain a mental elasticity and a willingness to let go of concepts which not only limit your growth as an intelligent being, but put you at a distinct disadvantage as a species.

This is a highly charged and potentially revolutionary process - critical thinking. The process of evaluating all that you swallowed without chewing up to now is possibly even dangerous. This is one of the problems with bigotry; it is easier to go with tradition than toss it, and create a new, more just, alternative protocol.

Audience
This is not the class for the student who is not comfortable with writing essays, whose handle on grammar is shaky or loose, and/or whose reading skills – interpretation, critical analysis, comprehension and vocabulary, are limited. Obviously one cannot become an expert on anything meeting just twice a week for a little over two hours; however, the hope is that when you leave the course, you will be a stronger writer than when you arrived, have a better grasp of what is meant by rhetoric or the art of persuasion.

We will be honest with one another. Grades are not necessarily a complete assessment of one’s work; grades do not take into consideration the effort or time spent, only whether or not students can demonstrate mastery of a skill – in this case: essay writing. Grades are an approximation, arbitrary at best, no matter how many safeguards one tries to put in place to avoid such ambiguity. Suffice it to say, your portfolio will illustrate your competence. It will represent your progress, your success or failure this semester in meeting your goal.

Office Hours

My office is D-219, located in a suite of offices numbered from D-216. My office phone number is: 510-748-2286.  My online office hours can be set up by appointment T/Th. I will be on campus on Tuesdays/Thursdays from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. and I am available from 3-6 p.m. by appointment, in person and on the phone (except the dates noted: 10/12-10/14; 11/09-10; 12/14-16).

Let me know the day before, if possible, when you’d like to meet with me. I am more of a phone person. Texts are fine. If none of these times work, email me and we can set something up. I am on the island.

I’d like to wish everyone much success.

I’d advise students to exchange phone numbers with classmates (3), so if you have a concern, it can be addressed more expediently. Again study groups are recommended, especially for those students finding the readings difficult; don’t forget, you can also discuss the readings as a group in the Lab with a teacher or tutor acting as facilitator. The library has study rooms your can reserve or use.

Keep a vocabulary log for the semester and an error chart (taken from comments on essay assignments). List the words you need to look up in the dictionary, also list where you first encountered them: page, book and definition, also use the word in a sentence. You will turn this in with your portfolio.

Students are expected to complete their work on time. If you need more time on an assignment, discuss this with me in advance, if possible, to keep full credit. You lose credit each day an assignment is late and certain assignments, such as in-class essays cannot be made up. All assignments prepared outside of class are to be typed, 12-pt. font, double-spaced lines, indentations on paragraphs, 1-inch margins around the written work (see Hacker: The Writing Process; Document Design.)

Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs)

Apply tools of understand inferences to community, workplace and family situations.

Evaluate materials/data in terms of accuracy as well as relevance to home and workplace situations.

Identify logical fallacies in communication.

Conduct research identifying relevant and accurate materials from a variety of sources, including databases, professional publications, and other applicable materials.

Identify personal bias and other filters in order to evaluate community, family and professional materials objectively. 


Cheating

Plagiarism is ethically abhorrent, and if any student tries to take credit for work authored by another person the result will be a failed grade on the assignment and possibly a failed grade in the course if this is attempted again. This is a graded course.

Homework

If you do not identify the assignment, I cannot grade it. If you do not return the original assignment you revised, with an analysis essay, I cannot compare what changed. If you accidentally toss out or lose the original assignment, you get a zero on the assignment to be revised. I will not look at revisions without the original attached.

We will have a library orientation: date and time TBA.

Jot down briefly what your goals are this semester. List them in order of importance.
1.



2.



3.



4.



5.


First Assignment: Write a letter of introduction to me due by Thursday, August 27. Tell me something about yourself: anything you'd like to share. It stays with me: where you were born, who you are responsible for (smile), what languages you speak/write, your strengths, what you bring to the class, what you'd like to leave with and what if anything I need to know to facilitate your success.

Email your letter to me professorwandasposse@gmail.com. Don't forget to note the assignment and the course: Student Introduction: English 5, Fall 2015, in the subject line.

Before completing the assignment read this article on email etiquette: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/636/1/ (Also look at the PowerPoint on email etiquette for students: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/694/1/ )

Second Assignments:

Write a 250 word (1 page) response to the syllabus in the Moodle Forum. Be specific in your response. It is due by Sept. 1.

Something about me

I don't hold hands. No time for it. I don't pressure people or threaten. If this is the kind of motivation you need, I am not the one. I expect everyone to be an adult, to exercise time management skills and to pace him or herself so that deadlines are met. Plan so there is room for emergencies; leave nothing to last minute rush in as much as this is possible.

I am a published professional writer—journalism, poetry, essays, creative nonfiction, so I expect a high level of composition competency. I can help those who are willing and committed to strengthening those areas they might be weak: MLA, transitions and use of texts for coherence, essay structure, paragraph and sentence structure, grammar, logic.

That said, submit your most polished and best writing. Do not submit drafts to me. Students only get to revise work that receives a failing grade and then this is only 1-2 times (depending on my mood—smile). There are only 4 major essays, if you fail more than one (1) you will probably not pass the class unless the other three essays receive As or As and Bs (smile).

None of the material is a fast read—skimming might be possible, but this class will not be a cake walk, so plan for it—leave time in your schedule for the work. A lot of assignments, especially reading and foundation exercises will be completed outside class. Students will be bringing work to class to share after reading, after writing, so for the class to move, to jump, to have energy, students need to stay on top of the work—all of it. (Much of the Writing Logically assignments can be written in the textbook.)—we will see each other in class just 150 minutes a week over 18 weeks. Let's commit to making it fruitful.

Student Code of Conduct

Students are responsible for complying with all college regulations and for maintaining appropriate course requirements as established by instructors.

Disciplinary action may be imposed on a student for violation of college rules and regulations, the California Education Code, California Penal Code, and the California Administrative Code.
Student misconduct may result in disciplinary action by the college and prosecution by civil authorities. Misconduct that may result in disciplinary action includes, but is not limited to, the following violations:

2.  Willful misconduct which results in injury or death of any person on college-owned or controlled property, or college-sponsored or supervised functions; or causing, attempting to cause, or threatening to cause physical injury to another person.

7. Dishonesty such as cheating, plagiarism (including plagiarism in a student publication), forgery, alteration of misuse of college documents, records, or identification documents, or furnishing false information to the college.

8. The use, sale, or possession on campus of, or presence on campus under the influence of, any controlled substance, or any poison classified as such by Schedule D in Section 4160 of the Business and Professions Code or any controlled substance listed in California Health and Safety Code 11053 et seq.,an alcoholic beverage, or an intoxicant of any kind; or unlawful possession of, or offering, arranging or negotiating the sale of any drug paraphernalia, as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 11014.5

9. Possession, sale or otherwise furnishing any firearm, knife, explosive or other dangerous object, including but not limited to any facsimile firearm, knife or explosive, unless in the case of possession of any object of this type, the student has obtained written permission to possess the item from an authorized college employee.

10. Willful or persistent smoking in any area where smoking has been prohibited by law of by regulation of the governing board.

11. Lewd, indecent, or obscene conduct or expression on college-owned or controlled property, or at college sponsored or supervised functions; or engaging in libelous or slanderous expression; or expression or conduct which so incites students as to create a clear and present danger of the commission of unlawful acts on college premises, or substantial disruption of the orderly operation of the college.

12. Disruptive or insulting behavior, willful disobedience, habitual profanity or vulgarity; or the open and persistent defiance of the authority of, refusal to comply with directions of, or persistent abuse of, college employees in the performance of their duty on or near the school premises or public sidewalks adjacent to school premises.

13. Obstruction or disruption of teaching, research, administrative procedures or other college activities.

14. Committing sexual harassment as defined by law or by college policies and procedures; or engaging in harassing or discriminatory behavior based on race, sex, religion, age, national origin, disability, or any other status protected by law.

15. Persistent, serious misconduct where other means of correction have failed to bring about proper conduct.

 
Note:  I left out codes related to theft and aggressive acts against other persons, students or staff, such as assault or robbery or extortion or vandalism. I also did not include codes related to parking violations, unauthorized entry or use of college facilities.  I include codes students might not be aware of. All of the codes are in the College of Alameda Catalogue, 2009-2011, pages 212-213).

Class disruption (even on-line) or other violations can result in a two day or more suspension, failure or expulsion from the class or the college. Depending on the violation, a student can also be arrested and jailed.

Just think of it this way: behave in a way that does not detract from another student’s positive learning experience. When in doubt, take the matter to the professor; do not get into an altercation with a classmate. If something inappropriate happens in class –on-line or in person, let me know. We are to maintain a professional relationship with each other. This is not the place to proposition or engage a classmate in conversation not connected to the course materials. Any attempt to do so is inappropriate and grounds for suspension and/or failure in the course. 

Students and staff have rights. In some of my classes in the past, I have noticed that some students are not familiar with the student code of conduct. I thought I’d share this with you so you would know what the codes are before you break them (smile). Most of it is common sense.

For the complete list as well as what laws protect students and the college, see the College of Alameda Catalogue.

Textbooks

We will travel through our four textbooks in the order mentioned earlier. All the books are fast reads, so do not get behind and decide soon what book you'd like to read for your final argument.
I have to approve it in advance.

Baldwin, James. The Fire Next Time. New York: Vintage International, 1993. Print.

Cooper, Sheila and Rosemary Patton. Writing Logically, Thinking Critically. Seventh. New York: Longman, 2010; 2012. Print.

Wise, Tim. Between Barack and A Hard Place: Racism and White Denial in the Age of Obama. San Francisco: City Lights Books/Open Media Series, 2009. Print.

Online Textbooks and Excerpts:

Crowther, John, ed. “No Fear Macbeth.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web. 25 Aug. 2015. https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=no+fear+shakespeare+macbeth

Rankine, Claudia. Citizen: An American Lyric. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2014. Print.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poem/247344#about

Thinking about (smile)

Coates, Ta-Hanesi. The Beautiful Struggle: A Memoir. 2009.

Coates, Ta-Hanesi. Between the World and Me. 2015

Watch Coates:

http://www.democracynow.org/2015/7/22/between_the_world_and_me_ta

Coates & Baldwin compared:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/07/james-baldwin-tanehisi-coates/399413/

zaji. When We Were One: The Story of an Ancient Race. Pacono: 2015. Print

Listen to zaji: http://tobtr.com/s/7826873  (she is towards the end of the show)

Recommended

Hacker, Diana and Nancy Sommers. Rules for Writers. Seventh Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. Print. [1]

Students also need a dictionary. I recommend: The American Heritage Dictionary. Fourth Edition.

Along with a dictionary, the prepared student needs pens with blue or black ink, along with a pencil for annotating texts, paper, a stapler or paper clips, a travel drive to save writing, a notebook, three hole punch, a folder for work-in-progress, and a divided binder to keep materials together.

The assignments with dates will follow tomorrow. Check class Moodle site for the most up to date syllabus and course schedule.

This syllabus is subject to change based on instructor assessment of class progress.

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[1] Fifth and Sixth Editions are okay. Make sure the MLA is updated.