Note: For in-person orientation (optional), meet me the first Wednesday of the course in the Cypress Learning Lab, from noon until 1 p.m. See the schedule for details. PREREQUISITESEnrollment in any literature course requires credit for both ENGL 1301 and ENGL 1302 or their equivalents. The grade in ENGL 1302 must be at least "C." Instructor will verify. Please send me a photocopy of an official transcript showing that you have successfully completed English 1301 and 1302 (or any other college-level literature course). If you've received both credits through ACC, there is no need to send proof. You may send the transcript via email, fax, intercampus mail, or snail mail (Becky Villarreal, Cypress Creek Campus, 1555 Cypress Creek Road, Cedar Park, Texas, 78613). If you do not send your proof by the end of the first week of class, I will ask that you withdraw from this course. Course Objectives
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Scholastic DishonestyActs prohibited by the College for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing outside work. Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their thought, research, or self-expression. Academic work is defined as, but not limited to, tests and quizzes, whether taken electronically or on paper; projects, either individual or group; classroom presentations; and homework. Students With DisabilitiesEach ACC campus offers support services for students with documented physical or psychological disabilities. Students with disabilities must request reasonable accommodations through the Office for Students with Disabilities on the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes. Students are encouraged to do this three weeks before the start of the semester. Student Freedom of ExpressionEach student is strongly encouraged to participate in class. In any classroom situation that includes discussion and critical thinking, there are bound to be many differing viewpoints. These differences enhance the learning experience and create an atmosphere where students and instructors alike will be encouraged to think and learn. On sensitive and volatile topics, students may sometimes disagree not only with each other but also with the instructor. It is expected that faculty and students will respect the views of others when expressed in classroom discussions. Withdrawal PolicyThe Texas State Legislature passed a bill stating that students who first enroll in public colleges and universities beginning in fall 2007 and thereafter may not withdraw from more than six classes during their undergraduate college career. See ACC Student Handbook for further information. The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Editor Paul Lauter, Volume 2, 5th edition, ISBN: 0618588949; OR Volumes C, D, and E, 5th edition (2005), ISBN: 061854240X; OR 4th edition (2002), ISBN: 061810920X (pictured above, if you can find it) Personal computer and 28.8 + modem Word processing program like Microsoft Word 3.5 computer floppy disks, C-D roms, or flashdrives (for back-up) (you can pick up your texts at Cypress or have them sent to a nearby ACC campus) DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSEEnglish 2328, American Literature: Civil War to the Present, is a survey of American literature from the Civil War period to the present. After reading this syllabus, you need to enroll into Blackboard (you will not be officially enrolled in this class until you are enrolled in Blackboard, which will not be available until 2-3 days before the class begins). Although we are utilizing the Blackboard system, please bookmark my ACC site http://www2.austincc.edu/bvillarr/ in the event that Blackboard experiences technical difficulties. During this course, you will complete online activities and quizzes, participate in bulletin board discussions and peer editing, write two major papers, take a mid-term exam, and read lectures, short stories, novels, drama, and poetry from required texts and online. The Course Website IndexI. American Literature II Schedule The schedule, linked above, provides access to reading materials and assignments. The course is divided into several learning units: A. Grammar, Punctuation, and MLA Review II. American Literature II Paper Guidelines Paper assignments and guidelines can be accessed from this link. III. American Literature II Daily Assignments and Group Work Guidelines for quizzes, discussion, peer editing or peer evaluation, and other activities are provided in the link above. IV. American Literature II Reading List This link lists all the required textbook and online readings in the course. Before beginning the course, you will need to activate your ACCeID. For instructions, go to: http://www.austincc.edu/acceid/step1.htm If you have any problems, you can call the Help Desk at: 223-help. Next, you will need to set up your ACC gmail (MANDATORY). With ACC email, there will be no way for us to communicate. First, go to online services: After you log in with your ACCeid, click ACC email. This is your new email address. Write it down somewhere. Next, go to this link: http://partnerpage.google.com/g.austincc.edu Then, click Sign In. Where it says username, you need to type in the new email address that you wrote down earlier, minus the @g.austincc.edu. From there, you should be able to set up your ACC email and to forward it to an email address that you use on a regular basis (if you wish). To access Blackboard using your ACCeid, go to: You can access this course by clicking the course title located in the My Courses module. Optionally, you may also access your courses by clicking the "Courses" tab along the top navigation bar. Once inside the course, the Course Syllabus and Schedule can be found by clicking the Course Information button. All quizzes can be found by clicking Assignments. In Tools, students can check grades and create their homepages. If you have problems with Blackboard, ACCeid, or ACC gmail, call the Help Desk at: 223-help.
Office HoursI have developed a creative approach to office hours for my online students. Although everyone is expected to meet with the instructor once during the semester, some of the activities below involve extra credit. Please see the extra credit lecture in Blackboard for more details. Office Hours: Please see Staff Information in Blackboard for detailed office hours. Currently, I am working in the Learning Lab at the Cypress campus in room 2108. Please check my office hours to note my availability, and then email me with three prospective meeting times. Grading System
450-500
PTS 400-449
PTS. 350-399
PTS. 300-349
PTS. 299 OR
LESS Course Requirements and PoliciesOn Wednesdays of each week, students will be required to complete all readings and lectures. By Thursday, all online activities, paper outlines, peer editing, discussion board activities, and quizzes (that are due that week) must be finished. By Sunday evenings, students need to reply to at least two of the bulletin board posts that were submitted earlier in the week. On the Thursday before a paper is due, students must submit the rough drafts to their group discussion board for peer review. The two papers, homepage, and midterm are generally due on Sundays; the exact dates will be noted on the schedule. Each of the daily assignments and the midterm will only be available two weeks after the due date (with the exception of Quiz 4 which will be available until the last day of class). If a daily assignment is 1-2 weeks late, a student may only receive half the number of points for that assignment. After two weeks, you may receive a ZERO. If the midterm is not completed within two weeks of the due date, the students will only be able to earn 50 points maximum on the exam (only Part I will be available after then). All assignments must be completed by the dates noted in the schedule before attempting the midterm (which will be taken online via Blackboard). For Paper 1, the outline is worth 5 points and the peer editing is worth 5 points. For Paper 2, the outline is worth 10 points and the peer editing is worth 10 points. Do not submit the final version to me until your outline has been approved, at least two other students have critiqued your paper (and vice versa), and you have made modifications. If you encounter difficulty getting your team members to peer edit your paper, you may submit it to the Student Lounge and appeal for assistance. If Paper 1 is more than one week late, the student may lose 20 pts. If Paper 1 is not completed before the final "drop" date, the student may lose 40 pts. and may be asked to withdraw from the course. There is NO one week grace period for the final exam (paper 2). Please note the due date for the final exam in the schedule--it is approximately one week before the last day of the course. If the final exam is more than 2 days late, you may lose 80 pts.; if the final exam is more than 3 days late, you may receive an F in the course. You must complete all assignments (papers, quizzes, and bulletin boards) to my satisfaction and earn at least 120 points on the final exam (paper 2) to pass this course. If a student has more than two late assignments, he or she may not earn an A in the course. You cannot pass this course without completing all three major assignments (the two papers and the midterm). No work will be accepted after the last day of class. Except in very rare situations, I do not give incompletes. You must be currently passing the class at the time of your request. I will review each case to determine whether I feel an incomplete is warranted or not. In general, however, barring extraordinary circumstances, and unless you have completed 75% of the coursework on time, I will not grant you an incomplete. If you choose to work ahead (before the class officially begins), feel free to read all the text and online lectures. You can also plan your papers before the course begins. However, you will not be able to submit any work until Blackboard becomes available (about two days before the class starts). After that time, you can access Blackboard where you will be able to complete your homepage, participate in discussion board questions and quizzes, and eventually submit papers. If you are failing the course or if you are asked to "drop," withdrawing is your responsibility. You can withdraw in the Admissions Office or online. The final withdrawal date is clearly listed in the course schedule. Before you make the decision to withdraw from any course, please consult with your counselor, financial aid office, and instructor. GROUP WORKEveryone in this class will be assigned to a learning group or team with the primary purpose of peer editing papers 1 and 2. Students can form and name their own learning teams or groups if they do so by the second week of class. There must be at least five people per team. Once your group has been named and established, please send me an email with the names of your team members. At the end of the second week of class, I will set up the groups in Blackboard. Go to Communication and click the Group Page button to access your team folder. See Paper Guidelines for information about completing Paper 2 as a group project (optional). FEEDBACK AND COMMUNICATIONInstead of inundating your instructor with 500+ emails a day, post your GENERAL questions to the Student Lounge in Blackboard (click the Communications button to access). You can still send email when you have questions that require personal attention. Please proofread all papers, emails, discussion posts, etc. for spelling, punctuation, and grammar prior to submission. In addition, I expect everyone to communicate with dignity and respect in the classroom and online. Cyber abuse will not be tolerated. If you harass me or other students, you will be asked to withdraw from my course. Email is one of my favorite forms of communication. However, please do not send jokes, religious anecdotes, virus scares, political propaganda, solicitation, etc. to me or other class members, and I will try to do the same. In the discussion boards, chat rooms, and classroom, the objective is to be collaborative, not combative. Remember, even an innocent remark can be misconstrued.
Students must always write name, course title, section number, and phone number at the top or bottom of every email correspondence. When sending papers through email, type the paper number (for example, paper 1) in the subject heading of the message. Never send a Microsoft Word attachment unless it is saved as an RTF file (rich text format). I generally grade papers and assignments within two days of receipt. Bulletin board assignments take longer because I do not grade them until about a week after the due date. If you have questions regarding assignments, you are free to email me anytime, and I should respond within 48 hours. If I do not respond promptly, please email me again. Orientation QuizImportant: To get the 10 pts. for orientation (online or in person), you must read through the course syllabi, review the schedule, and then complete the orientation quiz located in the Assignments folder in Blackboard. The meeting requirement (for 5 pts.) is a separate matter entirely. Please check my Office Hours to see when I am available.
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