Spring 2011

ENG 102-22: Mulder, Scully, and You

Instructor: Cynthia Bateman

Contact Information:
Office: PH 2225
Email: cbatema@siue.edu Phone: (618) 650-3971
Office Hours: T 1:30 – 3:30 and by appointment

Required Text:
• Lunsford, Andrea A., John J. Ruszkiewicz, and Keith Walters. Everything's an Argument
with Readings, 4th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006. (EV)
• Readings on Blackboard (BB)

Course Description: This course will serve to further develop basic writing and analytical skills
developed in English 101. In addition, using the 1990’s cult phenomenon, The X-Files, this course will
foster key critical inquiry skills necessary for evaluating information and assessing situated
knowledges. Following Fox Mulder and Dana Scully in their pursuit of the “truth,” this section of
English 102 will examine the nature of concepts such as truths, beliefs, and facts looking specifically at
their origins of construction. This course will culminate in the completion of an analytical analysis
project consisting of original student research.

Class Policies:
• Attendance and Tardiness: You are allowed to miss four class periods. If you miss
more than four class periods, that is, upon your fifth absence, you will be dropped from
this course. This class begins at 11:00. I will be on time, and I expect you to be on time.
Three episodes of tardiness will count as one absence. Also, failure to attend scheduled
conferences will count as one absence. Assignments are due at the beginning of class.
Late work will not be accepted!
• Participation: Participation in class discussions, group work, and conference
appointments is required.
• Electronics Policy: The use of cell phones, ipods, ipads, laptop computers, etc... is
prohibited in class.
• Plagiarism: Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. If you use someone else’s
words or thoughts without crediting them, you are guilty of plagiarism. Evidence of
plagiarism will result in a failing grade for this course and a report filed with the Provost.
Please visit the following site for a thorough explanation of SIUE’s policy regarding
plagiarism: http://www.siue.edu/lovejoylibrary/services/instruction/plagiarism.shtml.

Course Work*:
• Reading Responses
• Episode Analyses
• Quizzes
• Blogging
• Class Presentation
• Analytical Analysis Package- includes the following deliverables: Areas of Inquiry
submission, thesis statements x2, annotated bibliography, status updates x3, peer
evaluation, and final analysis document.
*detailed information on all deliverables will be presented separately at appropriate times

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ENG 102-22: Mulder, Scully, and You

Blog: The web address of our class blog is http://truthininquiry.wordpress.com/ (See blog
handout)

Grading: There are 2000 points available during the course of the semester. These will be distributed
as follows:
• Reading Responses (RR) (8 x 30 points each) 240
• Episode Analyses (EA) (7 x 30 points each) 210
• Quizzes (Q) (10 x 25 points each) 250
• Blog participation 100
• Class Presentation 100
• Class Participation 150
• Analytical Analysis Package:
o Areas of Inquiry submission (AI) 25
o Thesis #1 (T1) 30
o Thesis Response (TR) 30
o Thesis #2 (T2) 50
o Annotated Bibliography (AB) 200
o Status Updates (SU) (3 x 30 points each) 90
o Response to Status Update #2 (SUR) 25
o Final Document
500

Daily Schedule: ***I reserve the right to alter this schedule throughout the semester. Changes to the
daily schedule will be announced in class only.***
• Week One
o Monday 1/10- Hello, world!
o Wednesday 1/12- “On Truth and Lies” (BB)
o Friday 1/14- Episode backgrounds, RR due, quiz
• Week Two
o Monday 1/17- no class
o Wednesday 1/19- “The Fixation of Belief” (BB), RR due, quiz
o Friday 1/21- Episode: “The Erlenmeyer Flask”
• Week Three
o Monday 1/24- “The Truth is Out There” (BB), RR due, EA due (on “The
Erlenmeyer Flask”), quiz
o Wednesday 1/26- Episode: “Little Green Men”
o Friday 1/28- EA due
• Week Four
o Monday 1/31- “Civil Disobedience” (handout), RR due, quiz
o Wednesday 2/2- Episode: “The Post-Modern Prometheus”
o Friday 2/4- Episode: “Eve,” EA due (on “The Post-Modern Prometheus”)
• Week Five
o Monday 2/7- “Postdemocratic Society and the Truth Out There” (BB), RR due, quiz
o Wednesday 2/9- Episode: “The Pine Bluff Variant”
o Friday 2/11- EA due
• Week Six

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ENG 102-22: Mulder, Scully, and You

o Monday 2/14- “ ‘I Want to Believe:’ William James and The X-Files” (BB), RR
due, quiz
o Wednesday 2/16- Episode: “X-Cops”
o Friday 2/18-

• Week Seven
o Monday 2/21- EV Ch 5, “The Allegory of the Cave” (handout), quiz, RR due, EA
due
o Wednesday 2/23- Episode: “Paper Hearts”
o Friday 2/25- exercise #1 on page 135 of EV due (hard copy, do not email)
• Week Eight
o Monday 2/28- EV Ch 6, quiz, complete exercise #5 on page 173 of EV due (hard
copy, do not email)
o Wednesday 3/2- Episode: “Field Trip,” AI due
o Friday 3/4- EA due
• Week Nine
o Monday 3/7- Friday 3/11 Spring Break- T1 posted to blog by 11:59pm on Friday
3/11
• Week Ten
o Monday 3/14- Library Visit: Online Catalogue
o Wednesday 3/16- EV Ch 12, TR posted to blog by 11:59pm
o Friday 3/18- work on thesis statements in class, T2 due, posted to blog by 11:59pm
• Week Eleven
o Monday 3/21- Library Visit: Evaluating Sources
o Wednesday 3/23- EV Ch 18
o Friday 3/25- Library research day
• Week Twelve
o Monday 3/28- EV Ch 19, exercise #1 on page 547 of EV due (hard copy, do not
email)
o Wednesday 3/30- EV 589-590
o Friday 4/1-
• Week Thirteen
o Monday 4/4- EV Ch 17, exercise #1 on page 512 of EV (we will do this in class)
o Wednesday 4/6- EV pp 792-798
o Friday 4/8- annotated bib due (hard copy, do not email), SU due- posted to blog
by 11:59pm
• Week Fourteen
o Monday 4/11- class presentations
o Wednesday 4/13- class presentations
o Friday 4/15- class presentations, SU with excerpt due- posted to blog by 11:59pm
• Week Fifteen
o Monday 4/18- conferences
o Wednesday 4/20- Episode “Post-Modern Prometheus” SUR posted to blog by 11:59
pm
o Friday 4/22- no class, instructor at PCA/ACA conference
• Week Sixteen

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ENG 102-22: Mulder, Scully, and You

o Monday 4/25- peer reviews, SU due

o Wednesday 4/27- peer reviews
o Friday 4/29- peer reviews, course evaluations

• Week Seventeen- Finals Week!

o Final document due Thursday, May 5th by 12:00pm (noon). This means emailed to
me with time stamped no later than 12:00pm (noon). Also, post to blog by this same
time!

Additional Resources:
• Disability Support Services- If you need special assistance in this class due to a physical or
learning disability, please contact Disability Support Services at (618) 650-3782, Rendlemen
Hall Rm 1218.
• SIUE Writing Center- The Writing Center offers help in developing, organizing,
proofreading, and clarifying your papers. Their services are free to university students so take
advantage of them! The Writing Center is located in Rm 1254 of the Student Success Center.
Please call (618) 650-2045 to make an appointment.
• OWL- The Purdue Online Writing Lab (or OWL) is a great resource for a variety of writing
issues such as MLA and APA format and guides to avoiding plagiarism. Please visit OWL at
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

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