English 112
Composition and Literature: Remix as Critique
Instructor: Dustin Edwards
Section: CA
Day/Time: MWF 9:05-9:55 am
Location: 254 Bachelor Hall
Office: 272 Bachelor Hall
Office Hours: Monday 10-11 am, Tuesday 11 am-noon, and by appointment
Email: [email protected]
General Description
English 112, Composition and Literature, is a writing course focused on writing critically and analytically about texts — “texts” broadly defined as including literary, disciplinary, public, and popular texts (both print and digital). Through four overlapping units, called “inquiries,” ENG 112 teaches you various tools for textual analysis and “critical reading” with the aim of producing a new text — your own critical response to what you have read.
ENG 112 will help expand your understanding of what constitutes a text; will teach you techniques for responding to, interpreting, critiquing, and evaluating texts; and will help you write research-based arguments about texts for academic, disciplinary audiences.
Theme Description
What is (a) remix? In this English 112 course, we will think critically about remix by both surveying and composing a wide range of texts. We will question historical, social, and cultural assumptions of remix, asking how—and if—remix differs from writing, how remix functions as a rhetorical strategy, and how remix allows for unique creative critique. For inquiry one, we will begin by closely examining examples of remixed texts found in online spaces. We will think about how and why remixes work. To do this, we will develop a vocabulary and methodology as a class. For inquiry two, we will think of remix as a pre-Internet phenomenon. Exploring public speeches before 1980, we will closely examine intertextual features of public addresses. Integral to this inquiry, we will think of remix as a rhetorical strategy by analyzing how cultures, values, and perhaps even languages are (re)mixed into one seamless speech. For inquiry three, by using some of the strategies we have explored throughout the semester, you will create your own remixed text. This text should attempt to offer a focused and critical critique on a contemporary issue of your choice. Inquiry four asks you to compose and compile a reflective portfolio.
Miami Plan and Outcomes
As a Miami Plan Foundation course, ENG 112 meets the broad goals of a liberal education: to nurture your intellectual capabilities to think critically, to understand diverse contexts, to engage with other learners, and to apply knowledge and skills learned through effective reflection and action.
By the end of ENG 112, you should be able to:
Policies
Access / Accommodations
I am committed to maximizing your learning potential and making this course as accessible as possible. If there is any way that I can adapt this course to better meet your unique needs as a learner, please let me know! If you have a documented disability, I am especially interested in providing any accommodations that have been best determined by you and the Office of Disability Resources (http://www.units.muohio.edu/oeeo/odr/; 513-529-2541) in advance.
Attendance
It is Miami University policy that every student is expected to attend every class meeting. Attendance is of utmost importance to the success of this class and to your development as a writer. Much of the learning in English 111 happens via in-class inquiry activities, in-class writing assignments, class discussion, and group interaction that cannot be easily made up or replicated outside of class. Class time will be highly interactive — requiring frequent participation, discussion, team work, in-class writing, and responding to writing. For this reason, attendance at all class sessions is expected. You are allowed a maximum of 3 unexcused absences in this course. Having more than 3 unexcused absences will result in a lowering of your final grade for the course (by one tier, for example from B to B-).
Tardiness
Two late arrivals equals an absence.
Late Work
All assignments must be turned in on time. To be allowed an extension, with a grade penalty, you must contact me before the regularly scheduled due date. In most circumstances, final grades on papers will be downgraded one whole grade for each day late (for example A to B).
Revision
If you are not satisfied with your grade on a major inquiry assignment, you may opt to revise the assignment for a new grade. The stipulations for revised work are as follows:
Academic Integrity / Plagiarism
The assumption in English 112 is that the writing you submit is your own original writing — that is, produced originally for this class. To copy someone else's writing without acknowledging that use is an act of academic as well as professional dishonesty, whether you borrow an entire report or a single sentence. The most serious forms of academic dishonesty are to "buy" an entire paper; or to have someone else write an assignment for you; or to turn in someone else's entire paper (or significant portions of an existing piece of writing) and call it your own. These forms of dishonesty constitute serious breaches of academic integrity. If you have doubts about whether or not you are using your own or others' writing ethically, ask the instructor. For further details about Academic Integrity at Miami University — including a detailed list of examples of academic dishonesty and procedures and penalties for dealing with instances of academic dishonesty — see http://www.muohio.edu/integrity/undergrads.cfm.
Distractions
Please silence your cell phone and refrain from texting. While we will regularly use laptops for in-class writing, research, and collaboration, please refrain from using your laptop for non-class activities.
Backing up Work
Please make sure to have a plan for backing up all of your digital work in multiple places in case of computer failure. Please also make sure to save all of the writing you complete for class.
Respect / Community
While we will often engage in vigorous and lively debate in this class, personal insults or attacks on an individual person’s race, class, gender, sexuality, or disability will not be tolerated.
Niihka / Daily Schedule
The daily course schedule and more detailed assignment prompts will be available on the course website (available through niihka). The course schedule is subject to change based on the needs and interests of the class. You are responsible for regularly checking niihka for updates.
Grading Scale
A 100-90%
B 89-80%
C 79-70%
D 69-60%
F 59% and below
Section: CA
Day/Time: MWF 9:05-9:55 am
Location: 254 Bachelor Hall
Office: 272 Bachelor Hall
Office Hours: Monday 10-11 am, Tuesday 11 am-noon, and by appointment
Email: [email protected]
General Description
English 112, Composition and Literature, is a writing course focused on writing critically and analytically about texts — “texts” broadly defined as including literary, disciplinary, public, and popular texts (both print and digital). Through four overlapping units, called “inquiries,” ENG 112 teaches you various tools for textual analysis and “critical reading” with the aim of producing a new text — your own critical response to what you have read.
ENG 112 will help expand your understanding of what constitutes a text; will teach you techniques for responding to, interpreting, critiquing, and evaluating texts; and will help you write research-based arguments about texts for academic, disciplinary audiences.
Theme Description
What is (a) remix? In this English 112 course, we will think critically about remix by both surveying and composing a wide range of texts. We will question historical, social, and cultural assumptions of remix, asking how—and if—remix differs from writing, how remix functions as a rhetorical strategy, and how remix allows for unique creative critique. For inquiry one, we will begin by closely examining examples of remixed texts found in online spaces. We will think about how and why remixes work. To do this, we will develop a vocabulary and methodology as a class. For inquiry two, we will think of remix as a pre-Internet phenomenon. Exploring public speeches before 1980, we will closely examine intertextual features of public addresses. Integral to this inquiry, we will think of remix as a rhetorical strategy by analyzing how cultures, values, and perhaps even languages are (re)mixed into one seamless speech. For inquiry three, by using some of the strategies we have explored throughout the semester, you will create your own remixed text. This text should attempt to offer a focused and critical critique on a contemporary issue of your choice. Inquiry four asks you to compose and compile a reflective portfolio.
Miami Plan and Outcomes
As a Miami Plan Foundation course, ENG 112 meets the broad goals of a liberal education: to nurture your intellectual capabilities to think critically, to understand diverse contexts, to engage with other learners, and to apply knowledge and skills learned through effective reflection and action.
By the end of ENG 112, you should be able to:
- Write with a sophisticated understanding of how texts work — how texts hold multiple meanings and have multiple effects depending on audience, context, and methodological perspective.
- Engage in critical, close reading, making arguments using textual citation as evidence.
- Understand the complexity of texts — how texts hold multiple meanings and produce multiple effects depending on audience, context, and methodological approach or perspective.
- Conduct research-based inquiries into the rhetorical, literary, historical, and/or cultural contexts of a particular text or group of texts, employing various literary and rhetorical methods for invention, analysis, and argument.
- Write effectively for specific audiences, purposes, and contexts, especially for academic contexts and disciplinary audiences.
- Locate, evaluate, integrate, and cite sources effectively and ethically.
- Practice close, critical editing of your writing according to audience, purpose, and context.
- Articulate and reflect critically on your own reading and composing practices, including your rhetorical decisions about the production and delivery of writing.
- A laptop computer with wireless access — bring to class, fully charged every class period
- College Composition at Miami
- Access to online readings (available via course website)
- An active Twitter account (you can use your personal account or create one specifically for this class, but it’s important that your account not be private as we will be retweeting and @mentioning one another in class)
Policies
Access / Accommodations
I am committed to maximizing your learning potential and making this course as accessible as possible. If there is any way that I can adapt this course to better meet your unique needs as a learner, please let me know! If you have a documented disability, I am especially interested in providing any accommodations that have been best determined by you and the Office of Disability Resources (http://www.units.muohio.edu/oeeo/odr/; 513-529-2541) in advance.
Attendance
It is Miami University policy that every student is expected to attend every class meeting. Attendance is of utmost importance to the success of this class and to your development as a writer. Much of the learning in English 111 happens via in-class inquiry activities, in-class writing assignments, class discussion, and group interaction that cannot be easily made up or replicated outside of class. Class time will be highly interactive — requiring frequent participation, discussion, team work, in-class writing, and responding to writing. For this reason, attendance at all class sessions is expected. You are allowed a maximum of 3 unexcused absences in this course. Having more than 3 unexcused absences will result in a lowering of your final grade for the course (by one tier, for example from B to B-).
Tardiness
Two late arrivals equals an absence.
Late Work
All assignments must be turned in on time. To be allowed an extension, with a grade penalty, you must contact me before the regularly scheduled due date. In most circumstances, final grades on papers will be downgraded one whole grade for each day late (for example A to B).
Revision
If you are not satisfied with your grade on a major inquiry assignment, you may opt to revise the assignment for a new grade. The stipulations for revised work are as follows:
- You must either email me or meet with me to discuss the assignment and revised due date prior to submitting your revised work
- You may revise only once per inquiry
- Your final inquiry grade will reflect the higher of the two grades
- You may only revise the first three major inquiry assignments
Academic Integrity / Plagiarism
The assumption in English 112 is that the writing you submit is your own original writing — that is, produced originally for this class. To copy someone else's writing without acknowledging that use is an act of academic as well as professional dishonesty, whether you borrow an entire report or a single sentence. The most serious forms of academic dishonesty are to "buy" an entire paper; or to have someone else write an assignment for you; or to turn in someone else's entire paper (or significant portions of an existing piece of writing) and call it your own. These forms of dishonesty constitute serious breaches of academic integrity. If you have doubts about whether or not you are using your own or others' writing ethically, ask the instructor. For further details about Academic Integrity at Miami University — including a detailed list of examples of academic dishonesty and procedures and penalties for dealing with instances of academic dishonesty — see http://www.muohio.edu/integrity/undergrads.cfm.
Distractions
Please silence your cell phone and refrain from texting. While we will regularly use laptops for in-class writing, research, and collaboration, please refrain from using your laptop for non-class activities.
Backing up Work
Please make sure to have a plan for backing up all of your digital work in multiple places in case of computer failure. Please also make sure to save all of the writing you complete for class.
Respect / Community
While we will often engage in vigorous and lively debate in this class, personal insults or attacks on an individual person’s race, class, gender, sexuality, or disability will not be tolerated.
Niihka / Daily Schedule
The daily course schedule and more detailed assignment prompts will be available on the course website (available through niihka). The course schedule is subject to change based on the needs and interests of the class. You are responsible for regularly checking niihka for updates.
Grading Scale
A 100-90%
B 89-80%
C 79-70%
D 69-60%
F 59% and below