ENH295 Syllabus

Instructor Information


Contact Information


Course Materials

Required:


Course Description
History, motivations, and effects of censorship in a democratic society. Censorship and book banning as a method of silencing diverse voices. Critical analysis of banned or challenged literature for children and adults. Prerequisites: None.

Course Competencies
1. Explain the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as it relates to literature and other printed materials. (I)
2. Identify and explain factors that motivate people and organizations to challenge and/or ban books. (I)
3. Identify and describe the effects of censorship on readers, writers, publishers, educators, and librarians. (I)
4. Explain and exemplify uses of censorship by a dominant culture to suppress minority voices. (II)
5. Read and analyze examples of banned or challenged literature dealing with issues of gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, religion, and political perspective. (II, III)
6. Analyze and present results of independent reading of a text chosen from the American Library Association's list of Most Challenged Books, 1990-2000. (II, III)
7. Work as part of a team to compose arguments for and against banning or challenging a selected text with a controversial history. (IV)
8. Articulate a personal position on the issue of censorship of printed materials, and identify national organizations that promote or oppose censorship. (IV)

Grading Policies

Grades for completed written work are given in percentages:

90-100 = A, 80-89 = B, 70-79 = C, 60-69 = D

Below 60 is a failing grade on an individual assignment; however, a score of below 60 does reflect credit for the work done and certainly is more valuable than a zero (0), which is a score when no work is turned in.


Grades:

A = 1000-895 pts

B = 894-795 pts

C = 794-695 pts

D = 694-595 pts

F = 594-0 pts


Final Note: 60% of your grade in this class is dependent on your writing skills. That's over half of your grade. You are guaranteed to not do well if you do not complete your blog posts and discussion forum posts. To give you a fair opportunity to do well in ENH295, please complete ALL posts.


Attendance Policies

You are expected to attend all class sessions. Sessions in an online class include any schedule chats or IM. Attendance is also measured by your activity in the class. You should plan to participate at least 3 days a week. Should you miss more than that you may be withdrawn from ENH295 due to excessive absences. You may also lose class participation/attendance points for excessive absences.


You are expected to participate cooperatively, constructively, and to the best of your ability in all class and online activities. These activities may include class or small group discussion and online discussion forums and blog posts. In order to participate, you must be prepared--complete all class readings before coming to class. If you come to class unprepared, you may be counted absent, and you will lose class participation points.


Late Work

You must submit all blog posts and discussion journals complete and on time. Complete means everything specified in the guidelines. Incomplete work will not be graded. On time means by midnight on the date the assignment is due. The grade for any late blog post or discussion post will be reduced 10% each day it is late. Late posts will be accepted up to one week following the due date. Posts over a week late will not be accepted.


Plagiarism

It is important that you become familiar with the plagiarism policy of the English Division. Credit must be given where it is due. Creators of ideas deserve to be recognized for them. If you present material without acknowledging an outside source, readers will assume that you are its author. When writers deliberately present another author's work as their own, they are guilty of plagiarism. When you write for others to read, as in an essay, you are bound by certain rules of fair play. Specifically, unless you quote directly, you must completely restate material borrowed from your sources using your own words and your own style. Failure to do so is called plagiarism, an act of dishonesty. If you plagiarize in any assignment in this course, you will receive zero (0) points for the plagiarized assignment, and possibly a failing grade for the class.


Post Format

All blog posts and discussion forum posts should:

  1. be typed and posted in the course network
  2. use grammatically correct English (No texting language)
  3. be written in complete sentences

Assignments that do not follow these format guidelines will be penalized no less than 5% and no more than 50% of the grade.


Tutoring

The Learning Assistance Center provides help with study skills, writing, basic computer skills and content areas. Tutorial software, websites, study guides, videos and tutors are available in many subject area. A computer lab, study rooms and make-up testing are also available. Online tutorials and resources can be found at My Course Help. This service is FREE to students.


Contact the Learning Assistance Center, located in room SS-100.



Disability Services

If any of you has a disability, including a learning disability, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss any potential accommodation needs.


The DRS office is here to assist you in:


The DRS office is presently located in the Student Enrollment Services Building, Rm. 130. Fall & Spring office hours are: 10:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursdays, and Fridays 10 - 4. Appointments available by calling 602-243-8027. Otherwise, please visit the Advisement desk to make an appointment.


Final Statements