EN 102-001/003 Taking Down Crimson Corp with Discourse

MWF
Section 001: 8:00AM-8:50AM
Section 003: 9:00AM-9:50AM
Instructor: Daniel G. Heslep

Office Hours: Monday’s 10:00AM—12:00pm or by appointment

Office Location: Ferguson starbucks

Contact information: dgheslep@crimson.ua.edu

Library Instructor: TBD

COURSE DESCRIPTION
In this section of EN 102, you will be cast in the role of an underpaid employee, a cog in the machine of
the media conglomerate, Crimson Corp. In practicing your critical reading and thinking skills, your
composition strategies, and flexible research strategies, you’ll work to take down Crimson Corp from the
inside.

In this course, students will learn how to perform discourse analysis by investigating the claims and
values of different discourse communities. Through the practice of careful discourse analysis, you’ll learn
not only about your chosen topic of research, but strategies for parsing competing information in what
is widely considered a post-truth world.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

 Develop your research and critical thinking skills.
 Practice drafting, revision, and the necessary steps of the composition process.
 Fail productively: experimentation and failure is a valuable skill, and is encouraged.
 Familiarize yourself with the ins-and-outs of academic research, and the tools available
to you as a student.
 Reflect, in writing, on your own development as a writer.

PREREQUISITES
 Score of 3 on either AP English Exam (allows students to get placement credit for 101
and move directly into 102); OR,
 Successful completion of 101 with a grade of C- or higher

OTHER REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS

  Laptop for use in class (you can check out laptops from Gorgas library
https://www.lib.ua.edu/using-the-library/equipment/)
 A Weebly account and website (free; instructions will be provided in class)
 Access to a printer
 Pen or pencil
 Notebook with paper
 Folder or binder to store class notes, process writing, etc.

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT
One of the University of Alabama’s greatest strengths is our diverse student body. Together we
represent regional, international, racial, gender, physical, cognitive, socio-economic, cultural, and
religious diversity; bringing these diverse perspectives together in the classroom is a valuable
resource and opportunity for us to understand and learn from our campus community. To ensure
that all perspectives/identities/worldviews are respected and valued in class, please note the
following:

 Treat others the way you want to be treated. Recognize and value the diverse experiences,
abilities, and knowledge each person brings to class.
 Help me foster a class environment where everyone feels empowered to learn.
 If something in this class makes you uncomfortable, please let me know. I will do my
best to remedy the situation.

ATTENDANCE POLICY
Regular attendance in your writing class is vital to your growth as a writer. Regular attendance equals
success. You should, therefore, strive to attend every class meeting. It is in class, after all, that you will
learn the habits of good writers, as you will have ample opportunities for conversation, collaboration,
questioning, revising, writing, etc.

Occasionally, however, you may have to miss class. The First-year Writing Program Attendance Policy
makes reasonable allowances for such absences. Please review the following information carefully:

• You should not miss more than six class meetings for classes meeting three times a
week, or four class meetings for classes meeting twice a week. You are considered
absent any time you are not in class—no matter what the reason. The First-Year Writing
Program does not distinguish between excused and unexcused absences.
• If you miss more classes, you will receive a course grade of NC (“No Credit”) for
excessive absences. Your instructor is required to assign this grade, except in rare cases
warranting a policy waiver. However, you may appeal an attendance-related NC grade
to the Director of First-year Writing after grades have been submitted.

What You Can Make Up

• Making up missed work does not erase absences. Again, you should strive to attend
every class meeting.
 • You may make up major-grade work (such as papers or tests) if class was missed due to
legitimate circumstances beyond your control (i.e., documented illness or medical
emergency; a family funeral; activities at which you officially represent the University of
Alabama). If such circumstances should arise, please promptly communicate them to
and document them for your instructor.
• You may make up major-grade work missed due to absences for other reasons only with
the consent of your instructor.
• You may arrange to turn in major-grade work in advance or online only if allowed by our
instructor.

What You Can’t Make Up

• Class discussions, group work, in-class writing, or other daily class work in a writing class
cannot be reconstructed. Therefore, daily work missed due to absence or tardiness
cannot be made up. Missed daily class work will have a negative impact on your grade!

POLICY ON MISSED EXAMS AND COURSEWORK

Please see attendance policy. Late essays are not accepted.Talk to me before the due date if you have
extenuating circumstances and need to request a possible extension. The final ePortfolio cannot be
accepted late. Daily work cannot be accepted late.

GRADING POLICY AND POINT SYSTEM

Grades in this class are determined on a system of points. Instead of me determining individual grades
based on percentage, you will earn a certain number of points for each assignment completed.
Assignments—outside of your required “Daily Grind”—are self-directed and student chosen. Full
completion of your “Daily Grind” will earn you a B, 1,000 points. Completing ONLY the “Quarterly
Reports” of the daily grind will earn you a C. You will receive opportunities to earn more points by
completing “Commissions”: secondary assignments that aid you in your research, or encourage
experimentation in different genres and mediums. Full listing of course commissions and your, “daily
grind”, are available on the course website. While “commissions” are optional, you are required to
complete all the “Quarterly Reports” of your daily grind to pass. Failure to do so will result in an NC.

Grading Scale---

1. Lucrative Book Deal, A+: 1,600+ Points

2. Recognized Activist, A: 1400-1600 Points
3. Key witness, A-: 1,200- 1400 Points
4. Whistleblower, B+: 1000—1,200Points
5. Newsmaker, B : 900-1000 Points
6. Ambitious upstart, B- : 700-900 Points
7. Newsie, C+ : 500-700 Points
8. Mailroom, C: 400-500
9. Intern: NC
YOU’RE GRADING ON…. POINTS?
Yes, and I think more instructors should! By using a point-based system, I can grade your work
qualitatively. What does that mean? It means that in addition to the parameters of the assignment, I
only ask two questions when I grade: 1. Did you complete the task? 2. Did you put a good faith effort
into your task? If the answer is yes to both questions, I give you full marks. That being said, I will always
offer feedback when needed, and if there is something I think could use revising I will give you detailed
reasons why. But I will never engage in punitive assessment, or grade based on the perceived quality of
your work. The structure of this course is meant to give you room to work hard and take risks, not to
phone it in. And my expectations are the same, if not higher, than if I were grading based on standard
percentages.

USE OF LAPTOPS & OTHER TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

We’ll make frequent use of technology in this class, but please stay focused on class work and don’t
have material on your screen that could distract you or your classmates. There will also be times that I
may ask the class to put away laptops/tablets and work on paper. If you have a specific need to use
technology more regularly, please speak to me outside of class.

In general, I’ll announce in class when it is appropriate to use laptops or tablets. Phones should stay put
away during classtime.

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS POLICY

If I have to cancel class for any reason, please check your UA email or look on our Blackboard Learn page
for instructions. You may need to submit work or complete tasks to keep us on track for the semester.

WRITING CENTER
The Writing Center, located in 322 Lloyd Hall, is a wonderful resource for students. They do not
proofread papers or write papers for you, but they can help with overall structure, organization,
development, and mechanics. Take a copy of the writing assignment sheet and any work you’ve
completed toward the assignment if you go. Go to http://writingcenter.ua.edu/ for more information or
to set up an appointment.

INTEREST IN ENGLISH MAJOR OR MINOR

The English Department offers a major and four minors (English; Creative Writing; Linguistics;
Comparative and World Literature).
If you are interested in becoming an  English major or minor, feel free to ask me for more information or
drop by the Undergraduate Studies Office in Morgan 103.  You can also check out our
website: www.english.ua.edu.

If you’re already a major or a minor, you can join EMMA, the English Majors & Minors Association. For
more information, send an email to ua.emmassociation@gmail.com or connect through
Facebook:  www.facebook.com/groups/EMMAssociation/

BASIC NEEDS STATEMENT

Any student who has difficulty affording groceries or accessing sufficient food to eat every day, or who
lacks a safe and stable place to live, and believes this may affect their performance in the course, is
u+rged to contact the Dean of Students for support. Furthermore, please notify me if you are
comfortable in doing so. This will enable me to provide any additional accommodations that may be
needed.

DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS
 My course is intended to be inclusive. If you have any kind of disability, whether apparent or
non-apparent, learning, emotional, physical, or cognitive, please contact me to discuss
reasonable accommodations for your access needs.
 If, at any point in the term, you find yourself not able to fully access the space, content, and
experience of this course, you are welcome to contact me by email, phone, or during office
hours to discuss your specific needs.
 I also encourage you to contact the Office of Disability Services (Office of Disability Services,
1000 Houser Hall; 205-348-4285; ods@ua.edu). If you have a diagnosis, ODS can help you
document your needs and create an accommodation plan. By making a plan through ODS you
can ensure appropriate accommodations without disclosing your condition or diagnosis to
course instructors.

PLEASE SEE THE OFFICIAL CLASS SYLLABUS LINK PROVIDED ON BBL FOR THE
FOLLOWING POLICIES :
 Late Instructor
 Statement On Disability Accommodations
 Statement on Academic Misconduct
 Turnitin
 Severe Weather Protocol
 Pregnant Student Accommodations
 Religious Observances
 UAct Statement
ONE FINAL THING
If you have a question or concern, chances are another student in the class is having a similar
experience.  By speaking up (either in class, privately via email or office hours, or anonymously)
you are potentially helping your classmates. If you do not feel comfortable discussing the issue
with me, please notify your advisor, a trusted faculty member, or a peer.

Week Date In-class HW Due

The First Quarter: Welcome, New Hires!

Monday (No Class)

Wednesday 8/18 Introduction to course,

grading structures,
course ebook, and
‘commissions’
Week 1
Friday 8/20 Finish creating Norton ebook Ch. 2
website, go over Reading in academic
strategies for reading contexts
in academic contexts,
explore useful sources Remember, look for a
commission that
interests you!

Week 1 of the daily

grind due Sunday!

Monday Quarter 1 Open for Norton ebook Ch. 3

8/23 Commissions! “Summarizing and
Week 2 Responding”
 Wednesday 8/25 Class on Academic
reading strategies

Friday 8/27 Week 2 of the daily Remember to

grind, investigate the
“Commissions”
“Micromanagement” Available to you!

due Sunday
Week Date In-class HW Due
Monday 8/30 Class on Visual ____
Rhetoric: Analysis of
sources already
gathered: intro to
graphic design path

Wednesday 9/1 Peer review Come ready for peer

Review
Week 3

Friday 9/3 Week three of the Remember to sign up

Daily grind due for conferences!
Sunday

Monday 9/6 Labor day, No Have peer-Reviewed

conference or class draft ready!

Wednesday 9/8 Conference Have Peer-reviewed

Week 4 draft ready

Friday 9/10 FIRST QUARTER

REPORT DUE THIS
Commissions 2 Open SUNDAY 9/14

Second Quarter: Assembly

Week Date In-class HW Due

Monday 9/13 Introduce ---
bibliography: “Second
Week 5 Quarter Report.”

What is discourse
 analysis? Group
exploration of online
communities
Wednesday 9/15 What is discourse Explore the Reddit
analysis? Group communities
discussion of online discussed in class,
communities one group member
should create a reddit
account
Friday 9/17 Week 5 of the Daily
Grind due Sunday

Monday 9/20 Group Discussion of Come to class with the

Discourses main “discourses” of
your topic identified,
be prepared to
discuss

Wednesday 9/22 Library Instruction: none

class lesson on
database usage and
Week 6
searching

Friday 9/24 Second Job of the If you’re interested in

Daily Grind due this job, check out the
Sunday “Interactivity” and
“Political”
commissions!

Monday 9/27 Discuss “We become Keep Working on

what we behold”. How research and
do we determine annotations!
“truth” in a post-truth
world? How does
research fit?
Wednesday 9/29 In class annotation Bring two sample
workshop annotations to class
Week 7

Friday 10/1 Third Job of the Daily Remember to sign up

Grind Due Sunday for conferences!
(Annotation Review)
 Monday 10/4 Conference Remember to have
your annotated
bibliography ready

Wednesday 10/6 Conference Remember to have

your annotated
bibliography ready
Week 8

Friday 10/8 SECOND QUARTER

REPORT DUE
SUNDAY

Commissions 3 Open

Third Quarter: Digging Deeper

Week Date In-class HW Due

Monday 10/11 Introduce Discourse Ch. 12 “Reporting
Analysis Essay: “Third Information”
Quarter Report” Ch. 13 “Arguing a
Position”

Wednesday 10/13 In class thesis ---

workshop: creating,
and eliminating,
Week 9
sample theses.

Friday 10/15 Week 9 of the daily

grind due Sunday

Monday 10/18

Week 10
Wednesday 10/20 Essay Feedback Norton Ch. 50
Sessions “synthesizing ideas”
Norton Ch. 51
“Quoting,
 paraphrasing,
summarizing.
Submit selected
paragraphs from your
research essay for
feedback sessions:
Friday 10/22 Week 10 of the daily
grind due

Monday 10/25 In Class Paper swap! Have a completed

draft for your peer
review

Wednesday 10/27 Mid Semester Break,

no class

Week 11

Friday 10/29 Mid semester break, Week 11 of the Daily

no class Grind due Sunday
10/31

Be sure to have your

complete draft ready,
with peer review!
Monday 11/1 Conference

Wednesday 11/3 Conference

Week 12

Friday 11/5 Third Quarter Report

Due Sunday

All Commissions
Open
 Fourth Quarter: Blowing the Whistle

Monday 11/8 Lesson on Digital

Design

Wednesday 11/10 Lesson on Digital

Design and public
presentation
Week 13

Friday 11/12 Week 13 of the Daily Get those

Grind due presentations in order!
Be sure to practice
your “showing off”
before hand

Monday Student
11/15 Presentations! What
have you worked
studied, created, and
learned

Wednesday 11/17 Student

Presentations!
Week 14

Friday 11/19 Week 14 of the daily

grind due

Monday 11/22

Week 15
 Wednesday 11/24 Thanksgiving Break,
keep working on
Portfolios!

Friday 11/26 Thanksgiving Break,

keep working on
portfolios!

11/29

12/1

Week 16

12/3 Final Class

Fourth Quarter Report: The Dossier

001 Final Portfolio due December 6th 10:00AM
003 Final Portfolio due December 10th 10:00AM