Instructor: Paul Schacht | Office: Welles 219B | Phone: 245-5141 | Email: schacht@geneseo.edu | Fall 2005 Office Hours: M 11:30-12:15; W, F 1:30-2:15
Students who have completed Intd 105 will be able to:
Nissenbaum, S., The Battle for Christmas (Vintage)
Dickens, C., The Annotated Christmas Carol (Norton)
Hackett, D., A Pocket Style Manual (St. Martin's)
The assigned texts represent the largest portion of the required reading for this course. However, I will also assign reserve reading and, as appropriate, reading from relevant websites. To read assignments from the New York Times, you must set up a free Times account.
Six papers, approximately 750 words apiece, and six paper drafts.
Paper 1: 5%
Paper 2: 5%
Paper 3: 10%
Paper 4: 15%
Paper 5: 20%
Paper 6: 25%
Drafts: 5%
There are no exams in this class.
Every student must maintain a weblog. The purpose of your blog will be to record thoughts and experiences related to the material of the course. Your blog is an important part of this course - not just for you, but for all of us. To write well you must write often; to learn from your classmates you must know their minds; to blog is to share your mind through frequent writing.
For this course, please do not use a blog that you already maintain; instead, start a new one devoted exclusively to this class. You may keep your blog on your own website or use a free service such as Blogspot. I will post your blog address on our course website so that others may visit it. (See "Our Blogs" in the navigation menu at right.) Your blog is worth 15% of your final grade. You must post to your blog at least three times each week.
Bear in mind that although your blog will probably have a very small audience, it will be visible to anyone in the world with internet access; it should not be used to record opinions or revelations of a private or confidential nature.
When blogging, you needn't adhere to the standards of formal, Standard English. Blogging should be fun and relatively free-form. Although IM jargon (lol, etc.) and emoticons don't belong in the essays you'll turn in for this class, you shouldn't hesitate to use them (in moderation) on your blog.
In addition to posting at least three times a week to your own blog, consider posting an occasional comment to a classmate's blog.
From time to time, I may require you to post to the writing forums of The Guide. You may post even when not assigned to do so and are, in fact, encouraged to post frequently.
From time to time, I may require you to post to the course-related forums at the Virtual Coffeehouse. Here, too, you may post even when not assigned to do so and are encouraged to post frequently.
You can add up to 10 points to your grade on Paper 4 by engaging in collaborative writing at the Collaborative Writing Project, SUNY Geneseo's wiki (what's this?). (Papers are graded on a 100-point scale.) In place of Paper 3, you may co-author a research article or essay at the CWP. To be considered a co-author, you must contribute significantly to the factual content or thought of the article or essay. Your grade on co-authored work will reflect both the quality of your individual contribution and the logic, coherence, and polish of the article or essay.
You must complete all assignments to receive a passing grade in this course.
SUNY Geneseo will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented physical, emotional or learning disabilities. Contact Tabitha Buggie-Hunt, Director of Disability Services to discuss needed accommodations as early as possible in the semester.
Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 12:30 p.m. - 1:20 p.m., Milne 105.
Aug. 29 - Introductions
Aug. 31 - Language and Change: Blogs and Wikis
Sept. 2 - Language and Holidays: Culture, Convention, Myth
Sept. 5 - Labor Day - No Classes
Sept. 7 - Discuss: Nissenbaum, Chapter 1 ("New England's War on Christmas")
Sept. 9 - Edit: First Paper Draft Due
Sept. 12 - Write
Sept. 14 - Discuss: Horace, Satire 2.1
Sept. 16 - Edit: First Paper Due
Sept. 19 - Library Tour
Sept. 21 - Discuss: Livingston or Moore, A Visit from St. Nicholas; Kennedy, "The Man Who Hitched the Reindeer to the Sleigh" (ERes); Nissenbaum, Chapter 2 ("Revisiting 'A Visit from St. Nicholas'")
Sept. 23 - Edit: Second Paper Draft Due
Sept. 26 - Write
Sept. 28 - Discuss: Foster, "Yes, Virginia, There Was a Santa Claus" (ERes); Nickell, "The Case of the Christmas Poem" (ERes); Moore (?), Old Santeclaus
Sept. 30 - Edit: Second Paper Due
Oct. 3 - Write
Oct. 5 - Discuss: Nissenbaum, Chapter 3 ("The Parlor and the Street")
Oct. 7 - Edit: Third Paper Draft Due
Oct. 10 - Fall Break
Oct. 12 - Write
Oct. 14 - Edit: Third Paper Due
Oct. 17 - Write
Oct. 19 - Discuss: Nissenbaum, Chapter 4 ("Affection's Gift")
Oct. 21 - Edit: Fourth Paper Draft Due
Oct. 24 - Write
Oct. 26 - Discuss: Nissenbaum, Chapter 5 ("Under the Christmas Tree")
Oct. 28 - Edit: Fourth Paper Due
Oct. 31 - Write
Nov. 2 - Discuss: Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Nov. 4 - Edit: Fifth Paper Draft Due
Nov. 7 - Write
Nov. 9 - Discuss: Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Nov. 11 - Edit: Fifth Paper Due
Nov. 14 - Write
Nov. 16 - Discuss: Nissenbaum, Chapter 6 ("Tiny Tim and other Charity Cases")
Nov. 18 - Edit: Sixth Paper Draft Due
Nov. 21 - Write
Nov. 23 - Thanksgiving Vacation
Nov. 25 - Thanksgiving Vacation
Nov. 28 - Write
Nov. 30 - Discuss: Nissenbaum Chapter 7 ("Wassailing Across the Color Line")
Dec. 2 - Edit: Sixth Paper Due
Dec. 5 - Write
Dec. 7 - Discuss: Nissenbaum, Epilogue
Dec. 9 - Conclusions
Dec. 12 - Mandatory Information Literacy Assessment
For general policies on papers and exams, see The Fine Print.
There are no exams in this class.
You will submit six completed papers and six paper drafts for this course. Paper topics will appear on the website as they become available.
The Online Writing Guide offers help on a wide range of essay-writing matters, including proper conventions for citation. Follow MLA format for citations.
All papers and drafts for this class must be submitted electronically by 8:00 a.m. of the due date. Late papers lose one-half grade per day. Late drafts receive no credit.
During the first week of class, I will email you instructions for submitting your papers and drafts. Be sure to save these instructions and to follow them carefully each time you submit work.
If you need help with the electronic submission procedure, contact the CIT HelpDesk. If they can't assist you, contact me.
I will return your electronically submitted work by email.
Draft due September 9. Paper due September 16.
Draft due September 23. Paper due September 30.
Draft due October 7. Paper due October 14.
Draft due October 21. Paper due October 28.
Draft due November 4. Paper due November 11.
Draft due November 18. Paper due December 2. Do not submit a draft of the entire essay. Your draft should consist of your first paragraph, a list of the works that you have consulted or plan to consult, and a list of paragraph topics.
I encourage you to use the internet resources below, as well as other sites on the web, to learn more about the topics covered in this class.
However, please keep in mind a few general principles about the use of internet resources for this or any other college course:
If you come across any interesting sites not listed here, please let me know about them!
During scheduled office hours I am available without appointment to talk with you about anything related to this class or to your studies at Geneseo. I encourage you to stop in. I get to know you; you learn more from me. If you are not free during any of the scheduled office hours, contact me in person or by email for an appointment.
From time to time I will need to communicate with the class as a whole or with you individually by means of email. When communicating with the class as a whole, I will use the class listserv address. Since emails sent to this address will come to students' Geneseo email accounts, it is absolutely imperative that you either regularly check your Geneseo email or have it automatically forwarded to the account you prefer to use. To set up automatic forwarding, go to http://webmail.geneseo.edu from any internet-connected computer, on campus or off. Log in with your Geneseo username and email password. In the left-navigation bar, click "forward account" and carefully follow instructions.
All members of the class are welcome to use the listserv address to communicate with the class as a whole on any matter related to the class. (Do not use the listserv to advertise parties, cars for sale, etc.)
Please feel free to email me at schacht@geneseo.edu on any matter related to the class or to academics generally. I will reply to whatever email address you send from; if the email comes back to me as undeliverable, I will reply to your Geneseo address.
Attendance is your responsibility. Please do not phone or email just to explain why you weren't in or won't be in class on a particular day. On the other hand, if sickness or genuine crisis keeps you from the classroom for any length of time, of course I want to know. Conflicts with other classes or your personal life (weddings, friends who've just broken up with boyfriends/girlfrieds, etc.) must be resolved by you. I regret that I cannot make special arrangements to accommodate them.
Be sure to proofread your paper closely for faulty grammar or usage, spelling errors, and typos; you are being graded partly on your ability to produce presentable work, an ability that matters both in the classroom and in the world beyond it.
All papers and drafts for this class must be submitted electronically by 8:00 a.m. of the due date. Late papers lose one-half grade per day. Late drafts receive no credit.
During the first week of class, I will email you instructions for submitting your papers and drafts. Be sure to save these instructions and to follow them carefully each time you submit work.
If you need help with the electronic submission procedure, contact the CIT HelpDesk. If they can't assist you, contact me.
I will return your electronically submitted work by email.
Though committed with alarming frequency and dispiriting casualness by people in high places, plagiarism is still a serious academic offense. You are committing plagiarism any time you
If it is discovered that you have plagiarized on an assignment for this class, you will certainly fail the assignment and probably fail the class. In addition, the Dean of the College will be notified that you have committed an act of academic dishonesty, and you may face disciplinary measures from the administration. No excuses. No second chances. Not even for graduating seniors.
Examples of plagiarism:
Since other students' papers and Cliff's or Sparks Notes are not appropriate sources for a college essay, you should avoid them altogether.
There is no such thing as accidental plagiarism. If you are unsure of the proper conventions for documentation, see me and I will tell you how to find the information you need. Better yet, consult the reference librarian at Milne.
If you think for yourself and use sources properly, you will not run into trouble. But remember, in questionable cases you are unlikely to receive the benefit of the doubt. If you err, be sure it is on the side of caution.
There are no exams in this class.
Your grade reflects my honest and considered evaluation of your work. You have the right to question it. I have the right to stick by it, and that is what I invariably do (with certain obvious exceptions, such as miscalculation of an exam score). Total objectivity is no more possible in grading writing than in making any other judgment of value, but I do my best to maintain consistency and adhere to clearly defined standards. I base my grade on my opinion of your work, not on my opinion of you. If you have a question about your grade on an assignment, I encourage you to see me during office hours or schedule an appointment. I welcome the opportunity to explain to you why you got what you did.
In grading papers and exams, my reference point is the "B."