Email: jmcmahon@elcamino.edu
Office: H121P; extension 5673
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday: 2:30-3:45
Tuesday and Thursday: 12:30-1 and 3:30-4:15
Materials You Need for This Class:
One. Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Two. Rules for Writers, Eighth edition, edited by Diana Hacker
Three. Flat, Pocketed Folder for Your Homework Portfolio
Work You Must Do in This Class
One. You will write 5 typed, 1,000-word essays in MLA format. The fifth essay, your capstone essay, will need 2 to 3 sources for your Works Cited. These essays will be uploaded on turnitin. Late essays are accepted for a week after deadline and are marked down a full grade.
Two. Instead of getting quizzed on the readings, you will write 3-paragraph reading-response essays to the readings. Each mini essay should have at least 3 signal phrases citing the text of the assigned reading. You will not be uploading these essays on turnitin.com. Instead, you will bring a typed hard copy to class and discussing it with your team of 3 or 4 students. Classes will typically start with a 20-minute discussion about the reading response while I mark them with a teacher’s stamp. The mini essay will be stamped with either an excellent top-grade mark or a middling mediocre mark. An unacceptable essay won’t be marked. You will keep these essays in a flat, pocketed folder, which I will grade at the end of the semester. You cannot make-up missing mini essays. You should be motivated to show up to every class. You should be motivated to show up to every class. Your portfolio is worth 150 points, 15% of your total grade.
Grading Based on 1,000 Points
One. First four 1,000-word essays are 150 points each (600 subtotal).
Two. Final Capstone Essay, also 1,000 words, with 3 sources is 250 points.
Three. Homework Portfolio includes all your mini essays and peer edit drafts (kept in flat pocketed folders) 75 points for parts 1 and 2 for 150 total.
Grading Point Scheme
Total Points: 1,000 (A is 900-100; B is 800-899; C is 700-799; D is 600 to 699)
Essay Assignments
Essay #1
You need minimum 2 sources for your MLA Works Cited page.
Choice A
Develop an argumentative thesis about Yuval Noah Harari's explanation of the Cognitive Revolution.
Choice B
Support, refute, or complicate Harari’s assertion that the “agricultural revolution was the greatest crime against humanity.”
You need minimum 2 sources for your MLA Works Cited page.
Essay #2
Minimum of 2 sources for your MLA Works Cited page.
Choice A
Watch Netflix documentary Ronnie Coleman: The King. Considered to be the greatest bodybuilder of all time, Coleman is now on crutches, faces a lifetime of excruciating pain, must take opioid pain medication, may have to be consigned to a wheelchair, and by most accounts the abuse he took to become a champion bodybuilder is the reason for his condition. The film celebrates Coleman’s life principle to persist in doing what he loves, but doing what he loves comes with a price: excruciating, life-altering injuries. Is doing what we love worth it? In this context, develop an argumentative thesis that addresses the notion that in order to achieve exceptional success, we are justified to make sacrifices of our body, minds, and souls. Is Coleman’s current condition justified by his success and his heroic drive to do what he loves? Answer this question and be sure to have a counterargument section.
Choice B
Read LA Times editorial “Why not let homeless college students park in campus lots?” and develop and argumentative thesis that addresses the claim that community colleges are acting in students’ best interests by providing sleeping spaces in the parking lots.
Choice C
Read Elizabeth Kolbert’s “Why Facts Don’t Change Minds” and “What’s New About Conspiracy Theories?” and develop an argumentative thesis that addresses the connection between irrational belief and the failure to change people’s minds.
Choice D
Read Jason Brennan’s “Can epistocracy, or knowledge-based voting, fix democracy?” and explain why Brennan believes we need an epistocracy.
Choice E
Read Ibram Kendi’s “White Terrorists Give Political Cover to Other American Prejudices” and develop a thesis that addresses how persuasive Kendi is in making his case that white terrorism is rooted in mainstream racism.
Essay 3
Minimum of 2 sources for your MLA Works Cited page.
Choice A
Read Atossa Araxia Abrahamian’s “Money for Nothing” and develop an argumentative thesis that addresses the author’s skepticism toward Universal Basic Income.
Choice B
Read Ibram Kendi’s “What the Believers Are Denying” and agree or disagree with his contention that racism and global warming denial are rooted in the same psychologically flawed thinking.
Choice C
Read "It's Time to Confront the Threat of Right-Wing Terrorism" by John Cassidy in The New Yorker and "Does the banning of Alex Jones signal a new era of big tech responsibility?" by Julia Carrie Wong and Olivia Solon in The Guardian and agree or disagree with the claim that big tech companies are morally obliged to censor right-wing white nationalist trolls such as Alex Jones. For another source, you can also use “Free Speech Scholars to Alex Jones: You’re Not Protected” by Alan Feuer.
Choice D
Read Conor Friedersdorf’s “An Internet for Kids” and argue for or against kid and adult internet segregation.
Essay 4
Minimum of 2 sources for your MLA Works Cited page.
Choice A
Read Alexandra Sifferlin's "The Weight Loss Trap" and Harriet Brown's "The Weight of the Evidence" and develop an argumentative thesis that addresses their claim that losing weight is a nearly futile quest.
Choice B
Read “The Threat of Tribalism” by Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld and agree or disagree with the authors’ contention that tribalism and partisan politics are tearing United States democracy apart and turning the country into a dystopia.
Choice C
Read Barbara Ehrenreich’s “Why I’m Giving Up on Preventative Care” and agree or disagree with her position to quit preventative maintenance.
Choice D
Read Caitlin Flanagan’s “The Art of a Monster” and Jack Hamilton’s “There’s No Severing Michael Jackson’s Art from His Obsession with Children” and argue for or against Flanagan's contention that we can enjoy Michael Jackson’s music without being morally compromised.
Choice E
Read Ibram Kendi’s “What’s the Difference Between a Frat and a Gang?” and agree or disagree with the author’s contention that there is a double standard for exacting the law against these groups.
Choice F
Read “What Women Know About the Internet” by Emily Chang and agree or disagree with the author’s contention that regulations are more important than free speech for protecting women.
Essay 5
You need a minimum of 3 sources for your Works Cited page.
Choice A
Read the following: “Speaking Ill of Hugh Hefner,” “Why Hugh Hefner’s Haters Won’t Let Him Rest in Peace,” “Negative Obituaries Prove Hugh Hefner Was Right,” and 10-minute video Maher vs. Douthat. Then develop an argumentative thesis that addresses this question: Was Hefner a warrior for equal rights, free speech, and higher culture, or was he a selfish, concupsicent Peter Pan who denigrated women? Or a bit of both?
Choice B
Read Anne Helen Petersen’s “How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation,” Erin Griffith’s “Why Are Young People Pretending to Love Work?”, Derek Thompson’s “Workism Is Making Americans Miserable,” and Daniel Engber’s “Why Are Millennials So Obsessed with How Much They Work?” and agree or disagree with Engber that the other authors mentioned are not persuasive in their claim that Millennials are burdened with exceptional “workism” burnout.
Choice C
Read Conor Friedersdorf’s “In Defense of Harvey Weinstein’s Harvard Lawyer” and agree or disagree with the contention that representing someone as monstrous and diabolical as Harvey Weinstein performs a civic good. Also consult David French's "Harvard Launches an Attack on the Culture of Liberty." Also see NYT editorial "Harvard Betrays a Law Professor--and Itself."
Choice D
Read Jelani Cobb’s “Black Like Her” and "I Refuse to Rubberneck Rachel Dolezal’s Train Wreck" by Kitanya Harrison and write an argumentative thesis that address the contention that it is morally objectionable for white woman Rachel Dolezal to fabricate an identity to pass as being black for several reasons, not the least of which she is appropriating blackness in the manner of a “culture vulture.” How do you address the counterargument that she is simply choosing her racial identity the way one has the right to choose one’s sexual identity? Is the comparison fair? Explain. You can also consult the parody of Rachel Dolezal in the Donald Glover’s Atlanta episode “B.A.N.” in which Paper Boi discusses “trans-racial” issues with Montague. You can also consult Netflix documentary The Rachel Divide.
Reading Writing Schedule for English 1C Fall 2019 Syllabus
August 27 Introduction; Homework #1 for next class: Read Sapiens up to page 60 and write a 3-paragraph essay that explains how “limited liability companies” and “imagined realities” are part of the Cognitive Revolution.
August 29 Sapiens Homework #2 for next class: Read Sapiens, up to page 132 and write a 3-paragraph essay that explains Harari makes the claim that the Agricultural Revolution is history’s “biggest fraud.”
September 3 Homework #3 for next class: Read Sapiens to page 159 and write a 3-paragraph essay that explains how “imagined orders and hierarchies” resulted in “unfair discrimination.”
September 5 Logical Fallacies and Signal Phrase review; Go over Sapiens to page 159. Homework #4 for next class: Turn in typed introduction, thesis and Works Cited with minimum two sources.
September 10 Turn in typed introduction, thesis and Works Cited with minimum two sources.
September 12 Essay 1 Due on turnitin; Ronnie Coleman; debate on providing sleepover parking lots: Read LA Times editorial “Why not let homeless college students park in campus lots?” and develop and argumentative thesis about the pros and cons of providing sleeping spaces for college students. Homework #5 for next class is to read Elizabeth Kolbert’s “Why Facts Don’t Change Minds” and “What’s New About Conspiracy Theories?” and in 3 paragraphs explain the connection between irrational belief and the failure to change people’s minds.
September 17 Homework #6 for next class is to read Jason Brennan’s “Can epistocracy, or knowledge-based voting, fix democracy?” and explain why Brennan believes we need an epistocracy.
September 19 Homework #7 for next class is to read Ibram Kendi’s “White Terrorists Give Political Cover to Other American Prejudices” and in 3 paragraphs explain how persuasive Kendi is in making his case that white terrorism is rooted in mainstream racism.
September 24 Homework #8 for next class is to turn in a thesis, introduction, and Works Cited with minimum of 2 sources.
September 26 Turn in a thesis, introduction, and Works Cited with minimum of 2 sources.
October 1 Essay 2 due on turnitin. We will read Vox essay “The case for and against universal basic income in the United States.” We will watch a YouTube video that explains UBI. We will also watch Homework #9 for next class: Read Atossa Araxia Abrahamian’s “Money for Nothing” and in 3 paragraphs explain the author’s skepticism toward Universal Basic Income.
October 3 Homework #10 for next class. Read Ibram Kendi’s “What the Believers Are Denying” and in 3 paragraphs agree or disagree with his contention that racism and global warming denial are rooted in the same psychologically flawed thinking.
October 8 Homework #11 for next class: Read "It's Time to Confront the Threat of Right-Wing Terrorism" by John Cassidy in The New Yorker and "Does the banning of Alex Jones signal a new era of big tech responsibility?" by Julia Carrie Wong and Olivia Solon in The Guardian and agree or disagree with the claim that big tech companies are morally obliged to censor right-wing white nationalist trolls such as Alex Jones. We will also read “Free Speech Scholars to Alex Jones: You’re Not Protected” by Alan Feuer.
October 10 Homework #12 for next class: Read Conor Friedersdorf’s “An Internet for Kids” and argue for or against kid and adult internet segregation.
October 15 Homework #13 for next class: Write an introduction, thesis, and Works Cited page with minimum 2 sources.
October 17 Turn in introduction, thesis, and Works Cited page with minimum 2 sources. Turn in Portfolio 1.
October 22 Essay 3 is due on turnitin. We will read Alexandra Sifferlin's "The Weight Loss Trap" and explain why it is so difficult to lose weight and keep it off. We will also read Harriet Brown's "The Weight of the Evidence." We will see Netflix Explained on this subject of weight loss. Homework #14 for next class. Read “The Threat of Tribalism” by Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld and agree or disagree with the authors’ contention that tribalism and partisan politics are tearing United States democracy apart and turning the country into a dystopia.
October 24 Homework #15: Read Barbara Ehrenreich’s “Why I’m Giving Up on Preventative Care” and agree or disagree with her position to quit preventative maintenance.
October 29 Homework #16 for next class: Read Caitlin Flanagan’s “The Art of a Monster” and Jack Hamilton’s “There’s No Severing Michael Jackson’s Art from His Obsession with Children” and in 3 paragraphs argue for or against Flanagan's contention that we can enjoy Michael Jackson’s music without being morally compromised.
October 31 Homework #17 for next class: Read Ibram Kendi’s “What’s the Difference Between a Frat and a Gang?” and agree or disagree with the author’s contention that there is a double standard for exacting the law against these groups.
November 5: Homework #18 for next class. Read “What Women Know About the Internet” by Emily Chang and agree or disagree with the author’s contention that regulations are more important than free speech for protecting women.
November 7: Homework #19 for next class. Write an introduction, thesis, and Works Cited page for Essay 4.
November 12 Turn in introduction, thesis, and Works Cited page for Essay 4.
November 14: Essay 4 due on turnitin. We will examine the Hugh Hefner debate: Was Hefner a warrior for equal rights, free speech, and culture, or was he a selfish, concupsicent Peter Pan who denigrated women? Or a bit of both? We will study the following: “Speaking Ill of Hugh Hefner,” “Why Hugh Hefner’s Haters Won’t Let Him Rest in Peace,” “Negative Obituaries Prove Hugh Hefner Was Right,” and 10-minute video Maher vs. Douthat. Your homework #20 for next class: Read Anne Helen Petersen’s “How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation,” Erin Griffith’s “Why Are Young People Pretending to Love Work?”, Derek Thompson’s “Workism Is Making Americans Miserable,” and Daniel Engber’s “Why Are Millennials So Obsessed with How Much They Work?” and agree or disagree with Engber that the other authors mentioned are not persuasive in their claim that Millennials are burdened with exceptional “workism” burnout.
November 19 Homework #21 for next class: Read Conor Friedersdorf’s “In Defense of Harvey Weinstein’s Harvard Lawyer” and agree or disagree with the contention that representing someone as monstrous and diabolical as Harvey Weinstein performs a civic good. Also consult David French's "Harvard Launches an Attack on the Culture of Liberty."
November 21 Homework #22 for next class: Read Jelani Cobb’s “Black Like Her” and "I Refuse to Rubberneck Rachel Dolezal’s Train Wreck" by Kitanya Harrison and write 3 paragraphs that address the contention that it is morally objectionable for white woman Rachel Dolezal to fabricate an identity to pass as being black for several reasons, not the least of which she is appropriating blackness in the manner of a “culture vulture.” How do you address the counterargument that she is simply choosing her racial identity the way one has the right to choose one’s sexual identity? Is the comparison fair? Explain. You can also consult the parody of Rachel Dolezal in the Atlanta episode “B.A.N.” in which Paper Boi discusses “trans-racial” issues with Montague. You can also consult Netflix documentary The Rachel Divide.
November 26 Homework #23: Write an introduction, thesis, and Works Cited for Essay 5.
November 28 Holiday
December 3 Homework #24: Write a counterargument and rebuttal section for your fifth essay. Turn in introduction, thesis, and Works Cited.
December 5 Turn in counterargument and rebuttal section.
December 12 Essay 5 due on turnitin. We will grade Portfolio 2.
Students with Disabilities:
If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible.
Course Catalog Description:
This course focuses on the development of critical thinking skills. Students will apply these skills to the analysis of written arguments in various forms and genres, both classic and contemporary, and to the writing of effective persuasive essays. Students will learn to evaluate and interpret data, to recognize assumptions, to distinguish facts from opinions, to identify and avoid logical fallacies, to employ deductive and inductive reasoning, and to effectively assert and support argumentative claims.
Course Objectives:
One. Evaluate arguments in terms of bias, credibility, and relevance.
Two. Assess an argument's claims by examining assumptions, by differentiating between facts and inferences, by recognizing errors in logic, by analyzing support, and by identifying both explicit and implied conclusions.
Three. Recognize and assess argumentative claims embedded in literary works, advertisements, political tracts, and presentations in other media.
Four. Express critical viewpoints and develop original arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory.
Five. Demonstrate the ability to evaluate electronic sources and databases, to incorporate research from online and print media, and to compose unified, coherent, fully supported argumentative essays that advance their claims by integrating primary and secondary sources, and by employing the tools of critical interpretation, evaluation, and analysis.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this course, students will:
One. Compose an argumentative essay that shows an ability to support a claim using analysis, elements of argumentation, and integration of primary and secondary sources.
Two. Identify and assess bias, credibility, and relevance in their own arguments and in the arguments of others, including primary and secondary outside sources.
Three. Write an essay that is correct in MLA format, paragraph composition, sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and usage.
Essay Requirements (based on 6,000 words):
English 1C SLO-aligned Assignment (Updated for Fall 2016)
The assignment designed using these criteria will be used to assess the course SLOs and should be assigned as a later (or last) essay.
Students will write a 4-5 page essay, not including Works Cited page, which is also required (but does not count towards length requirement. In the essay, the students will do the following:
One. Express critical viewpoints and develop original thesis-driven arguments in response to social, political, and philosophical issues and/or to works of literature and literary theory. This argumentative essay will be well organized, demonstrate an ability to support a claim using analysis and elements of argumentation, and integrate primary and secondary sources.
Two. Use at least three sources and not over-rely on one secondary source for most of the information. The students should use multiple sources and synthesize the information found in them.
Three. Address issues of bias, credibility, and relevance in primary and secondary sources.
Four. Demonstrate understanding of analytical methods and structural concepts such as inductive and deductive reasoning, cause and effect, logos, ethos, and pathos, and the recognition of formal and informal fallacies in language and thought.
Five. Use MLA format for the document, in-text citations, and Works Cited page.
Six. Integrate quotations and paraphrases using signal phrases and analysis or commentary.
Seven. Sustain the argument, use transitions effectively, and use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
Course Catalog Description:
This course focuses on the development of critical thinking skills. Students will apply these skills to the analysis of written arguments in various forms and genres, both classic and contemporary, and to the writing of effective persuasive essays. Students will learn to evaluate and interpret data, to recognize assumptions, to distinguish facts from opinions, to identify and avoid logical fallacies, to employ deductive and inductive reasoning, and to effectively assert and support argumentative claims.
English 1C Grammar Policy and Grading
Students in English 1C are expected to write clear, college-level essays with logical paragraph composition and sentence structure as well as correct grammar, spelling, word usage, and punctuation. If you feel you cannot be successful in this class due to struggles with grammar or other elements of essay composition, please see the instructor as early as possible to discuss resources and strategies for your improvement.
Policy on Plagiarism
Any attempt to commit fraud, misrepresenting someone else’s writing as your own, including turning in essays from previous semesters, will result in an automatic F grade, zero points, which mathematically, will disqualify you from earning a grade higher than a C for the semester. You will not be allowed to rewrite for a higher grade and because of the breach of trust it will be preferred that you drop the class. I will use turnitin to investigate plagiarism.
Each essay must be submitted to www.turnitin.com where it will be checked for illegal copying/plagiarism.
I cannot give credit for an essay that is not submitted to this site by the deadline.
The process is very simple; if you need help, detailed instructions are available at http://turnitin.com/en_us/training/student-training/student-quickstart-guide
You will need two pieces of information to use the site:
Class ID and Enrollment Password, which I’ll give you first week of class.
Late Essays Are Deducted a Full Letter Grade
You cannot turn in a late paper more than a week after the due date.
You Cannot “Ride” the Class: You cannot miss over 10 percent of the classes while not keeping up with the assignments because you are not fulfilling the Student Learning Outcomes. Therefore, you will have to be dropped if you are “riding” the class.
Classroom Decorum: No smart phones can be used in class. If you’re on your smartphone and I see you, you get a warning the first time. Second time, you must leave the class and take an absence
Tardies: Two tardies equals one absence.
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