Syllabus


ENG 101.2691[1]
M: 9.15-11.30    C-722
TH: 9.15-11.30 C-724

Justin Rogers-Cooper, Ph.D
jrogers@lagcc.cuny.edu
Office: M-120E
Office Hours: M, W 4.35-5.35pm, or by appointment

Course Description
English 101 is a required writing course at LaGuardia Community College. LaGuardia’s English Department requires students to write 600-word, thesis-driven essays. These essays will prepare students to be successful in future college courses. Students will have opportunities to write papers in stages – they will take a few weeks to write two or three versions of a draft before turning it in. They will also have opportunities to write under time constraints, such as the diagnostic and midterm essays.

Section Description
This class will focus on “The Ethics of Food.” Perhaps surprisingly, there are many political and ethical issues surrounding the need to feed seven billion human bodies. Recent revolutions in the Middle East are in part attributable to the high cost of food; meat consumption is the leading cause of global climate change; and many hundreds of millions around the world do not get enough to eat. Meanwhile, citizens of the US lead the world in food-related illness, and most Americans die because of what they eat. This class will focus on issues such as food safety, factory farms (CAFOs), the industrial food system, immigration and labor, torture and sadism, democratic government, corporate power, and the neurology of food dependency.
Course Goals
This course will instruct students in the key modes of academic writing and professional communication: summary, comparison and contrast, analysis, close-reading, unified paragraphs, resource citation, introductions, conclusions, bibliographies, arguments, supporting claims, key words and concepts, audience awareness, and research techniques.

This course will also instruct students to accomplish short writing assignments by approaching writing as a process. This process includes annotated reading, note-taking, drafting, revision, and peer review.

This course will instruct students to master or become fluent in academic writing and writing as a process through various digital communication tools: blogs, Twitter, and Ning.

This course will allow students to become fluent thinkers about the ethics of food.

Required Texts
Texts are available at the LaGuardia bookstore. It is extremely important that you purchase these texts and bring it to every class session for which they are assigned. 

Eisnitz, Gail A. Slaughterhouse. Prometheus Books.
Imhoff, Daniel. The CAFO Reader. Watershed Media.
            Graff, Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say, I Say. Second Edition. WW Norton.

For students on financial aid vouchers are available in the bursar’s office.
The bookstore is located in the basement of the M building.

Course Requirements

Students will three short essays that respond to various course assignments, texts, and discussions.  Students will complete the readings and participate in class discussions and workshops
Students will post new blogs every other week. Students will post comments to fellow students’ blogs every other week.
Students will write for in-class assignments. 
Students will save their work on a USB drive/stick for any work they do in computer labs.

Class Rules
Students must respect each other and the professor at all times.
Students must avoid distracting behavior such as lateness, sleeping, whispering, crumpling papers, etc. 
Students must silence all electronic devices and keep them out of sight during class.

 

Attendance

Students that miss more than four hours of class may fail the class.  Students that miss more than four hours of class must confer with the professor.
If you are late twice it will count as one absence.  If you do miss class, it is your responsibility to keep up with our work. Email another student and not the professor to find out what was missed.

Grades (ENG 101)
Essays (30%)
Students will write three essays that demonstrate various skills in thesis-driven argumentation.  These essays will be typed, double-spaced, and written in a 12-point font.  The essays will be five pages.

Blogs (20%)
Each week students will write a blog based on the readings and class discussion.

Twitter (10%)
Students will tweet 140-character discussions on the reading no less than twice a week. Students should put a page number down, and tweet something from the reading they’d like to discuss and why (connection, importance, moving, confusing, etc).

Participation (10%)
You are expected to attend every session, arrive on time, and participate fully in the class.  Participation means doing the readings on time, bringing the assigned text/readings to class, answering questions when called on, volunteering to answer questions or reading aloud from the text, and engaging fully in workshops with fellow students. 

Presemtations: 10%
Every week at least once student will present a summary and insights into reading (five minutes).

Midterm (10%)
The midterm exam will be a 600 word essay. Students will choose to answer one of three questions with an argument that they support.

Final Writing (10%)
Students will produce a final project in collaboration with the requirements of the cluster.

Late Work
All students can receive a three-day extension on one essay during the semester.

Revision Policy
You must revise any essay that receives an F. 
You may revise any essay if you are unhappy with the grade.

Academic Integrity
All work you submit must be your own.  You may not copy or paraphrase someone else’s words or ideas without properly citing the source. All instances of plagiarism or academic dishonesty will result in an “F” and possible action by the college.

Students with Disabilities
Students with disabilities must register with the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) to receive accommodations. Please let me know if you need accommodations for this class.


Reading Assignments

We will discuss each reading on the day it appears on the syllabus. 


TENTATIVE SCHEDULE 

M – 3/5           Course Introduction
TH – 3/8          Diagnostic
                        Essay One Assignment
                        Setting up blogs and Twitte  r
“Introduction,” The CAFO Reader
M – 3/12          Food, INC
Part One, The CAFO Reader (3-14)
Preface, They Say I Say
TH – 3/15        Myths of the CAFO (63-71)
                        They Say, I Say (1-10; suggested 10-15)
                        Blog One Due By 11 pm
M – 3/19          from Myths of the CAFO (72-86)
                        They Say, I Say (19-29)
TH – 3/22        Slaughterhouse (13-25)
                        They Say, I Say (30-40)
                        Essay One Peer Review: THREE COPIES
M – 3/26          Slaughterhouse (27-47)
                        They Say, I Say (42-51)
                        Last day to drop courses
TH – 3/29        Slaughterhouse (47-58)
                        They Say, I Say (55-67)
                        Blog Two Due By 11 pm
M – 4/2                       Slaughterhouse (61-77)
                        They Say, I Say (68-77)
TH – 4/5          Slaughterhouse (77-95)
                        Essay Assignment Two
                        Essay One Due In Class
                        Spring Break April 6-15
M – 4/16          Slaughterhouse (97-105)
                        They Say, I Say (78-90)
TH – 4/19        from The End of Overeating
                        Blog Three Due by 11 pm: This blog is a response to another students’ blog.
M – 4/23          from The CAFO Reader (89-91, 109-124)
                        They Say, I Say (92-101)
TH – 4/26        from The CAFO Reader (125-130, 131-138)
                        They Say, I Say (105-112)
                        MIDTERM EXAM
                        Blog Four Due by 11 pm
M – 4/30          from The CAFO Reader  (161-163, 176-181, 182-189, 190-195)
                        They Say, I Say (112-118)
TH – 5/3          Slaughterhouse (109-134)
                        Peer Review Essay Two: THREE COPIES
M – 5/7                       Slaughterhouse (135-177)
TH – 5/10        Slaughterhouse (179-201)
                        Essay Two Due
                        Essay Assignment Three
M – 5/14          Slaughterhouse (203-230)
                        They Say, I Say (121-128)
TH – 5/17        Slaughterhouse (233-250)
Blog Five Due by 11 pm: This blog is a response to the blog of a student from another class.
M – 5/21          Slaughterhouse (251-282)
                        They Say, I Say (129-137)
TH – 5/24        Slaughterhouse  (283-312)
                        Peer Review Essay Three: THREE COPIES
TH – 5/31        The CAFO Reader (199-201, 221-231)
                        They Say, I Say (141-151)
                        Final Blog Due by 11 pm.
M – 6/4                       The CAFO Reader (240-247, 262-272)
                        They Say, I Say (151-155)
                        Essay Three Due



[1] This syllabus is subject to change at any time. Any alterations are at the complete discretion of the professor.