EWRT 1C class 1 spring 2016

1. Week 1 Class 1

2. Agenda
The Course Description
and Details
• What is a Hybrid Class?
• Adding the Class
• Syllabus
• Green Sheet
• Website
• Kaizena
• QHQ
The Lecture
• What is Literature and
Composition?
• What is literature?
• What is Literary Theory?
• What is New Criticism?

3. What is a Hybrid Class?
• A hybrid class meets both in the
classroom and electronically. For this
course, it means that we will meet
twice a week for 1 hour and 50
minutes and that you will complete the
remaining hour of this five unit course
on your own, via a presentation on the
website. This work must be completed
and posted before class on Monday.
We will not meet together; rather, you
will simply go to the online
presentation and work through it on
your own. I will answer questions by
email.

4. Adding the Class
• If you are on the waiting list, you can stay. I will
hand out add codes as seats become available.
• As we go over the syllabus, consider whether
you will stay in the class. If you want out, please
let me know, so I can offer your seat to another
student.

5. The Green Sheet
• What you will find here
– Course Requirements
• Assignments and values
• Participation
– Required Materials
– Class Policies
• Plagiarism
• Conduct and Courtesy
– The Class Website
• How to sign up for an
account
• How to post your
homework.
– How to use Kaizena to
submit your Paper

6. Texts and Required Materials
Available at the De Anza
Bookstore
 Room by Emma Donoghue
 Night by Elie Wiesel
Available online and from
local booksellers
Night by Elie Wiesel
A Novel to be Determined
Critical Theory Today by Lois
Tyson
A Gmail account
that you will be
willing to share via
Wordpress, Kaizena,
and Google Drive
Large Bluebooks for
exams

7. Requirements:
• Active participation in class discussions and
regular attendance. You will earn real points for
your participation in activities.
• Keeping up-to-date on the assignments and
reading.
• Formal writing: Three essays
• Two exams: midterm and a comprehensive final
• A series of posts to the class website
• Reading quizzes, writing workshops, and in-
class assignments.

8. Grading

9. Class Policies

10. Writing Submissions
• Essay Submission:
• All out of class essays are to be submitted to me
electronically before the class period in which they are
due.
1. Before you submit your essay, please save your file as your
last name and the assignment: Smith 1.
2. Submit your essay through Kaizena at
https://kaizena.com/palmoreessaysubmissiongmail. Or
simply use the link on our class website home page.
3. Sign in to your Google Account and allow Kaizena access
to your Google Drive. You may want a dedicated Gmail
account for this class.
4. You can follow the directions from this point to join a
group or submit your essay. If you have trouble, please see
the appropriate presentation on our website under “Create
Accounts.”
All out of class essays are to be submitted to me electronically
before the due date.

11. Attendance:
Success in this course depends on regular attendance
and active participation. Participation points will be
part of our daily activities. If you are not in class, you
cannot earn these points. You should save absences
for emergencies, work conflicts, weddings, jury duty,
or any other issues that might arise in your life.
It is your responsibility to talk to me your absences or
other conflicts. Work done in class cannot be made
up. Also, please arrive on time, as you will not be able
to make up work completed before you arrive,
including quizzes.

12. Exams:
We will have two exams during the quarter.
They will likely be terms, identification, short
answer, and an essay question.
Late Work
I do not accept late work. I do, however, extend
an opportunity to revise either essay #1 or #2 for
a better grade.

13. Conduct, Courtesy, and Electronic Devices:
 In this class, we will regularly engage in the discussion of topics that
may stir passionate debates. Please speak freely and candidly;
however, while your thoughts and ideas are important to me and to
the dynamics of the class, you must also respect others and their
opinions. Courtesy will allow each person to have the opportunity to
express his or her ideas in a comfortable environment.
 Courtesy includes but is not limited to politely listening to others
when they contribute to class discussions or while they give
presentations, not slamming the classroom door or walking in front
of classmates giving presentations if you do arrive late, and
maintaining a positive learning environment for your fellow
classmates. To help maintain a positive learning environment, please
focus on the work assigned. We will discuss appropriate use of
computers and tablets. Do not text-message in class; if you have an
emergency communication, please step outside. If your behavior
becomes disruptive to the learning environment of the class, you
may be asked to leave and/or be marked absent.

14. • Academic Dishonesty:
Plagiarism includes quoting or
paraphrasing material without
documentation and copying from
other students or professionals.
Intentional plagiarism is a grave
offense; the resulting response will
be distasteful. Depending upon
the severity, instances of
plagiarism may result in a failing
grade for the paper or the course
and possible administrative action.
All assignments will be scanned
and scrutinized for academic
dishonesty. Please refer to your
handbook for more information
regarding plagiarism.

15. The
Syllabus

16. Syllabus
• The syllabus is a tentative schedule.
• It may be revised during the quarter.
• Use it to determine how to prepare for class.Week,
Dates, and
Class
What we
will do in
class 
Homework due
before the next
class  

17. Website:
• Our class website is http:/palmoreewrt1c.wordpress.com. In
order to do the homework, you must establish an account.
To make your own FREE Word Press account, go to
wordpress.com. The system will walk you through the steps
to signup for a username or to set up your own user-friendly
Word Press blog. Alternatively, you can sign into our website
through Facebook. There are also detailed directions
available on the website under “Create Account.”
• If you prefer not to use your own name, you may use a
pseudonym. Please email me your username if it is
significantly different from your real name.
• If you cannot establish your website and username, please
come to my office hours as soon as possible, and I will help
you with the process. Much of our work will take place
online, so establishing this connection is mandatory.

18. Writing Assignments
Reading Assignments
The Green Sheet
The Syllabus (The Daily Plan)
Writing Tips
Helpful Links
Your Daily Homework Assignment (which is
where you post your homework.)

19. Posting Homework
• On the front page of the website, you will find the
homework post after each class.
• Below that post on the right, are the words “Leave a
comment.”
• Copy and paste your homework into the box.
• Click there and a comment box will open. Post your
homework in the comment box and click “Post
Comment.”

20. Homework
There is writing homework almost
everyday in this class. This is both
to help you think about your
reading and to help you produce
ideas for your essays.
In order to earn an A on your
homework, you must do the
following:
• Complete at least 90% of the posts.
• Post them on time.
• Be thoughtful in your responses.
It will be quite helpful to keep your
homework in a single document.

21. THE QHQ
Thinking about writing

22. How do I know what I think until I see what I say?
--E.M. Forster
Each text we study will provide material for response writing called a
QHQ (Question-Hypothesis-Question). The QHQ requires students to
have second thoughts, that is, to think again about questions that
arise during their reading and to write about questions that are
meaningful to them.
Begin your QHQ by formulating some question you have about some
aspect of the reading. The first question in the QHQ may be one
sentence or longer, but its function is to frame your QHQ writing. A
student might start with a question like, “Why is the house in this
story haunted? Or, “Why do I suspect the murdered child has come
back to life?” A student might even write, “Why am I having so much
trouble understanding this story?”

23. After you pose your initial question, focus on a close reading of the
text in search of a hypothesis. This hypothesis section comprises the
body of your text. The student who asked about the haunted house
might refer to multiple passages about haunting in the text,
comparing and contrasting them to other instances of haunting with
which he or she is familiar. The student who asked about the dead
child might connect passages associated with the death to sections
about a new child who abruptly appears in the text. The student who
struggled to understand the text might explore those passages whose
meanings were obscure or difficult to understand, connecting them
to other novels and/or cultural texts.
After carefully exploring your initial question (200-300 words), put
forward another question, one that has sprung from your hypothesis.
This will be the final sentence of your QHQ and will provide a base
for further reflection into the text.

24. The QHQ is designed to help you formulate your response to the texts
we study into clearly defined questions and hypotheses that can be
used as a basis for both class discussion and longer papers. The QHQ
can be relatively informal but should demonstrate a thoughtful
approach to the material. While the papers need to be organized and
coherent, because you will sharing them in class, the ideas they
present may be preliminary and exploratory.
Remember, a QHQ is not a summary or a report—it is an original,
thoughtful response to what you have read. All QHQs should be
posted on the website the evening before the class for which they are
due. This will give both me and other students time to ponder your
ideas and think about appropriate responses. Moreover, this sharing
of material should provide plenty of fodder for essays. Even though
you have posted your QHQ, you should bring a copy of it to class in
order to share your thoughts and insights and to stimulate class
discussion.

25. Is this
class too
hard?
Is this class
History 10?
Will I be the
teacher’s favorite?

26. What is Literature
and Composition?
This class applies the analytical, critical, and synthesis skills
developed in English Writing 1A and 1B to the ways meaning can
be made in diverse cultural, social, and historical contexts in
prose, poetry, and drama by reading and analyzing texts and
critical interpretations and by composing critical responses,
analyses, and arguments. That is, this course will help you learn
to think, read, and write about literature, and by extension, the
world.

27. What is
literature?
According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word
“Literature has three definitions:
1. Written works, especially those considered of
superior or lasting artistic merit: a great work
of literature.
Many scholars consider this novel a
modern classic in US literatures.
2. Books and writings published on a particular
subject: the literature on environmental
epidemiology
It is certainly true that the published
literature on the subject is well surveyed.
3. Leaflets and other printed matter used to
advertise products or give advice.
They will be visiting problem areas to hand
out literature and advice to people on how
best to secure their vehicles, and offering
support to victims.

28. One Guide to Literary Terms defines it
this way:
• Literature: writings in which expression and form,
in connection with ideas and concerns of universal
and apparently permanent interest, are essential
features. While applied to any kind of printed
material, such as circulars, leaflets, and handbills,
there are some who feel it is more correctly
reserved for prose and verse of acknowledged
excellence, such as George Eliot’s works. The term
connotes superior qualities.

29. What is
Literary
Theory?
Literary theory is a tool box of
strategies to help us read,
interpret, and understand the
many facets of a literary work. The
ideas used in theory act as
different lenses we can use to
view and talk about art, literature,
and even culture. These diverse
lenses give us new ways to
consider works of art based on
certain hypotheses and
conventions within that school of
theory. They also allow us to focus
on particular aspects of a work we
consider important.

30. Some Theoretical Approaches
• Formalism and New Criticism
• Marxism and Critical Theory
• Structuralism and Poststructuralism
(Deconstruction)
• New Historicism and Cultural Materialism
• Ethnic Studies and Postcolonial Criticism
• Gender Studies and Queer Theory
• Cultural Studies
• Psychoanalytical Criticism
– Trauma Theory
• Feminist Criticism

31. What is New
Criticism?
New Criticism occupies an unusual position
in the field of literary studies today. On the
one hand, it is no longer practiced by literary
critics, so it can’t really be called a
contemporary theory. On the other hand,
New Criticism, which dominated literary
studies from the 1940s through the 1960s,
has left a lasting imprint on the way we read
and write about literature

32. New Criticism
Some of New Criticism’s most important concepts
concerning the nature and importance of textual
evidence—the use of concrete, specific examples from the
text itself to validate our interpretations—have been
incorporated into the way most literary critics today,
regardless of their theoretical persuasion, support their
readings of literature. In fact, if you’re an English major,
you probably take for granted the need for thorough textual
support for your literary interpretations because this
practice, which the New Critics introduced to America and
called “close reading,” has been a standard method of high
school and college instruction in literary studies for the
past several decades. So in this sense, New Criticism is
still a real presence among us and probably will remain so
for some time to come (Tyson 135).

33. Typical Questions by New Critics
1. How does the work use imagery to develop its own symbols? (i.e.
making a certain road stand for death by constant association)
2. What is the quality of the work's organic unity "...the working
together of all the parts to make an inseparable whole..." (Tyson
121)? In other words, does how the work is put together reflect
what it is?
3. How are the various parts of the work interconnected?
4. How do paradox, irony, ambiguity, and tension work in the text?
5. How do these parts and their collective whole contribute to or not
contribute to the aesthetic quality of the work?
6. How does the author resolve apparent contradictions within the
work?
7. What does the form of the work say about its content?
8. Is there a central or focal passage that can be said to sum up the
entirety of the work?
9. How do the rhythms and/or rhyme schemes of a poem contribute
to the meaning or effect of the piece?

34. Homework
• Establish your username and explore
the class webpage
• Buy your books
• Read: Critical Theory Today: Chapter 1
Introduction 1-10
• Read: Critical Theory Today: Chapter 5
New Criticism 135-164
• Post #1: QHQ: New Criticism