English
Comp II
Can you read challenging texts carefully and with full understanding? Do you think critically about what you've read? This course will help you improve such skills. You will also learn how to:
- summarize, analyze, and evaluate what you've read
- incorporate quotes and paraphrase into your papers
- search for reliable information and ideas
- write effective college papers
- write an academic research paper
The class topic is Obedience to Authority. Do we obey authority too readily? Do we often submit unconsciously to people we are familiar with and systems that are already in place? When does conformity become more of a problem than disobedience? We will read, discuss & write about such questions as well as about "groupthink" and the fiascos it can cause, media influence on our thinking, propaganda and the limits of the so-called "free" press, and how all of these can distort the truth and lead us to betray our own human conscience.
Texts
There are no required print textbooks for this class. All the readings are available online via the links on the Syllabus & the Shared Files on Campus Cruiser. I will provide print copies for those of you who find it difficult to get readings online. Links in the assignments refer you to help with all matters covered in a typical college composition handbook. Some of these come from the MCC Library's online pages, while most are free Internet resources from, for example, Purdue's On-Line Writing Lab, Wisconsin's Writing Center, & Diana Hacker's Research & Documentation Online website. Links to these and other sites are also provided in the Internet Resources page.
In this class we will occasionally use Campus Cruiser for sharing files and emergency communication. At times I may provide sample papers, reminders, etc. on Cruiser. If you have forgotten or never received your Cruiser Log-in & Password, go to the Registrar's office with your MCC Student ID & complete the paperwork for a new password. Also, you can have your Cruiser email forwarded to an email address you already check regularly. Just log in to your Cruiser account, click Email, then Filters and then Forwarding Filter. Type in the email address.