English 321: Advanced Composition: Sections EIB, EIC, and MIA
Ferris State University
Fall 2006
Instructor: Hugh Culik

Catalog Description:

ENGL 321 Advanced Composition
Credit Hours: 3
Pre-requisites: ENGL 250 or ENGL 211

Builds on rhetorical and stylistic skills/techniques; prepares for successful writing experiences in the professional world and helps develop the thinking and organizing skills needed for effective written expression.

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Welcome to the online version of English 321 for sections EIB, MIA, and EIC. If you haven't taken an online course before, you'll find that learning online is a straightforward process. At first, it seems different from regular classes simply because we're likely to never meet. That's a loss, but we do communicate through a list serve . . . and by telephone. I give my home phone, and students are free to give me a call if they need a bit of extra help.

More important than the telephone and our class's web site, is that you have online access to the FLITE Library. This access gives us a beautifully organized set of resources that both help us complete assignments and make us comfortable with the electronic routes to information that dominate our culture.

Yours truly,
      Hugh Culik

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A Case Study of Scientific Fraud

Our course is going to do a detailed case study of a recent, bizarre incident : the fraudulent work of a stem cell scientist that was published in one of the most respected scientific journals in the world. The journal uses a process called "peer review" that is designed not only to prevent fraud, but to ensure that scholarship and research are connected to existing knowledge.

The case raises lots of questions about how knowledge is created, validated, and accepted by communities of experts. On the surface, peer review may seem like an objective process, but this case may help us see how all knowledge reflects the expectations of the "discourse community" within which it sits and also the larger social context of economics and politics. This focus will serve your needs by strengthening both your critical thinking and the writing skills you use to express your insights. In this course, critical thinking will include:

• Accurately reading and understanding the claims of a document.
• Describing how it make its case.
• Recognizing the alternative solutions and explanations that are ignored, avoided, or excluded.
• Recognizing that knowledge arises from the practices of what we'll be calling a "discourse community."
• Recognizing that both the power and the limitation of knowledge lies in the complexity of the way knowledge emerges.

For a much more detailed sense of what I mean by the term, "critical thinking," visit Teaching Philosophy.

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General Requirements
The organization of online classes tends to be heavily structured, and it's important that you set aside some time to go through this web site in detail.

All the assignments are here, and all make use of the magnificent FLITE Library. All of your "texts" will be online articles, web pages, databases, etc. This makes it crucial for you to immediately sign up for access. Here's how to do it:

• FLITE sign up
  1. Have your student ID card with numerals above barcode on back. If you do not have an ID card, call me, and I can provide that information.
  2. go to https://wwws.ferris.edu/flite/databaseaccess.html and sign up immediately. [note: do not include the letter at the beginning and end of the barcode.]
  3. Required Exercise: explore the FLITE library by going through the following tutorials:
     1. General Tutorials
     2. Database Tutorials: [see links under library’s “Tools for Everyone”]
     
     

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NOTE: the UCEL office is working hard to make sure that each of you has an ID card. You must cooperate with UCEL and respond to their requests and directions. If you do not have an ID card, you can use the following generic login to FLITE until September 10:

Patron Name: Database Access
Barcode (total 14 digits): 22937000829025
Pin (4 digits): 0806

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• Submitting Papers: papers should be submitted as follows; no exceptions.
  • Send papers to hugh@culik.com as attachments.
    1. File name should be formatted as follows: "lastname-firstname-assgt#-321-section"; for example, Nora Smith's third paper for English 321eia would be       smith-nora-assgt3-321eia
       
    2. Subject line should be formatted as follows: "lastname-firstname-assgt#-321eia"; for example,
       Nora Smith's third paper for English 321eia would be       smith-nora-assgt3-321eia
  
  
• Online courtesy: your papers can require careful discussion of complex issues. Rudeness, attempts to silence others, and denigrating language not only damage the class and other students, but also they undercut the ethical and intellectual basis of genuine education. Lively disagreement, difficult differences, and philosophical disagreement are enriching experiences if we listen attentively to others.
  
  
• Portfolio: you must keep copies of any work submitted to me or to other students.
  
  
• Plagiarism: plagiarism is relatively easy to detect, and it can end your school career. Don’t do it. For a clear definition of plagiarism, see PLAGIARISM for a thorough explanation of the routes – innocent and not-so-innocent – that can lead to failure and even to expulsion.
  
  
• Late papers: the structure of this course makes any late paper unacceptable. If a catastrophe befalls you or your family, let me know so that we can solve the deadline problem. Without notification, I can only assume you've chosen to skip the assignment.
  
  
• Completing all assignments: you must complete all assignments in order to pass the class.
  
  
• My home phone is 517.333.7177. When you need help, please please please please call. I talk to many students during the term, and it’s always easier to steer a paper back on track early in the process rather than when it’s nearly complete. If you call, and I say, “hey, I need you to call me back later,” it means “hey, I need you to call me back later.” It does not mean, “Oh, you vile, evil, presumptuous creature; how dare you phone me.”
  
  BUT I don't return calls because it becomes a pointless game of phone tag with 75 students. If there's no answer, you'll have to call back. AND please, no calls after 9:00 p.m.
  
  
• Note that this is a tentative syllabus that may be changed. Students must regularly check the site for updates. Remember to refresh the browser every time so that you view the most recent changes to the information posted.
  
  
• Please review
  SYLLABUS ATTACHMENT
  COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
  FERRIS STATE UNIVERSITY
  
  for institutional information regarding services, schedules, etc.

1. Peer Review: an overview
   
   
2. Science: an example of the peer review process
   
   
3. The Content and Internal Context of a Scientific Claim
   
   
4. Social Contexts for a Scientific Claim
   
   
5. Subverting the Processes of Peer Review
   
   
6. The Power and Limitation of Peer Review
   

1. FLITE Databases
   
   
2. Google.com
   
   
3. Dogpile.com
   
   
4. scholar.google.com
   
   
5. Required Readings and Valuable Resources
   

1. Tools, links, etc.

1. Grading Criteria

1. Instructor Email hugh@culik.com
   
   
2. Peer Assistance [list serve]