Welcome to English 12, Section 23 (Spring 1997)



By the way, if you want to talk to Zippy (above), check out this site.

Before getting started, if you want some information on the UNC Department of English or on the ostensible philosophy of English 12 in general then follow these links.

But now, let's get started on the specifics...

Choose where you want to go from the links below or simply scroll up and down to let the full effect of the page wash over you...


Derek Maus
dmaus@email.unc.edu

English 12, Section 23
MWF 11:00-11:50 a.m.
Bingham 317
Office: 405 Greenlaw
Office Hours: 12:00-1:00 p.m M
11:00-12:00 T, Th

Also, I will usually be available in the Greenlaw Computer Lab (2nd floor) on Wednesdays 9-10 a.m. and 1-5 p.m. as well as Fridays from 12-5 p.m., although these times may be hectic as my responsibilities to my computer lab job will have to take precedcence. In other words, this is probably not the best time for a real deep consultation, but is perfectly all right for little questions (as is e-mail contact!)

Required Materials

The Interdisciplinary Reader
The Student Guide to Freshman Composition
The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Composition by Hairston and Ruskiewicz
A hardbound colegiate-level dictionary (e.g. Webster's, Oxford, Random House)
One 3.5" High-Density Floppy Disk (IBM or MAC, whatever you prefer...)

(Strongly) Suggested Additional Reading

AIDS and its Metaphors by Susan Sontag
The Art of AIDS by Rob Baker
Both of these works are on reserve in the Undergraduate Library and there additional copies on the shelves in both UL and Davis. As a last resort, I have a copy in my office which you may borrow.

"Why am I here and what are we doing?"

Good question, Billy/Sally...let me answer you as best I can in less than 350 words.

In teaching this section of English 12 this Spring I will structure the entire course with an overarching theme which looks at how different academic and professional disciplines approach the AIDS epidemic. The three units of the course will deal specifically with discourse within Sociology, Biology and Art History. In utilizing some of the new and growing technologies that are available now (such as HTML and Web-page design, e-mail, listservs, CD-ROM databases and more), we will endeavor to familiarize ourselves as a group with a fourth form of discourse, namely information technology.

In doing the research and production of the unit projects for the first two assignments, you will be required to consult a number of different sources within the specific fields which we are studying. For example, as you do your research in Sociology, you will be expected (and required) not only to use print references, but to consult professional sociology databases, newsgroups, mailing lists, etc. in gathering your data. Part of the final papers which you produce will examine they ways in which the data is presented in these different formats, with an implicit examination of the relative usefulness of such information to both a lay as well as a professional understanding of the subject.

Then, for the final unit, I will substitute the group production of a web page for the written paper (we will have gradually familiarized ourselves with HTML via ATN seminars and in-class work over the course of the semester). The reasons for this are threefold:

  1. The Art History discipline is inherently one involving multimedia (you must have some sensory contact with the art being discussed in order to analyze it fully and visual contact is the most common of these) and the Web is not only an excellent resource for images and articles relating to art, but an perfect place to exhibit the findings which you have made (thereby making a practical contribution to the field which you are studying as you learn more about it).
  2. Knowledge of HTML will prove useful to us all in becoming more computer-literate. The exponentially-growing number of web pages being put onto the Internet every day demands that the informed user know how these pages are created and maintained. HTML's relative ease and the large number of software assistance programs available to help in page creation will make it accessible to us all by semester's end.
  3. The assembly of a variety of materials into the medium of a Web page provides another creative outlet for you to express your ideas, one which will be applicable beyond the English 12 classroom. The production of a multimedia project (like a web page) and the cooperative work and trust you will develop with your fellow students in doing this assignment will benefit you well down the road.

Unit-by-unit...

Unit 1: The Sociology of AIDS

(Image taken from the Loel Poor Photo Exhibit on The Body page)

Unit 2: The Biology of AIDS

Unit 3: AIDS and the art world

The Sociology of AIDS

As we begin our discussion of AIDS, we must begin by looking at what we, as a group, know about the disease. In examining this, sociology provides us with some of the most relevant answers, since it focuses on larger communities rather than individuals in doing its research. Mr. Richard Wright, a respected rehabilitation counselor from Graham, NC, will come speak to the class about topics related to this issue so that we can get a first-hand look at how someone working in this specific field deals with the AIDS epidemic. The assignments for this unit will include gathering and formulating sociological data into standard formats for the discourse community (such as creating, performing and interpreting a survey that leads to valid sociological conclusions).

Class DateClass DayToday's activitiesAssignments due
Jan. 8Wed.Introduction. "Hi there, my name is ________!" Class introduction. Organize class into discussion groups for semester and exchange vital statistics.None.
Jan. 10Fri.Introduction to Unit One. Overview of sociological discourse methods.None.
Jan. 13Mon.Class discussion of sociological surveys using outside models.None.
Jan. 15Wed."What makes an effective questionnaire?": Discuss demographics, statistical validity, etc.None.
Jan. 17Fri.Group work in class.1st Feeder Due
Jan. 20Mon.Dr. Martin Luther King's Birthday. No class today!None.
Jan. 22Wed.Discuss data collection techniques. None.
Jan. 24Fri.Group work examining hard returns of student surveys.2nd Feeder Due
Jan. 27Mon.Discuss interpretation of data.
Click Here for Final Assignment
None.
Jan. 29Wed.Discuss sociological writing methods for reports.None.
Jan. 31Fri.Group work using student drafts Draft of Final Paper Due in class!
Feb. 3Mon.Guest speaker--Mr. Richard Wright--Q & A, DiscussionNone.
Feb. 5Wed.Review. Troubleshooting. Revision techniques.None.
Feb. 7Fri.Wrap up Unit 1. Introduce concepts for Unit 2.Unit 1 Final Paper Due

Results of Unit One Effectiveness Survey
Students were polled on how effective they thought various parts of the class were at improving their writing, based on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being "not very useful" to 5 being "very useful")
Group WorkFeeder AssignmentsOffice Hours and ConferencesLectures Free WritingsGuest Speaker
Arithmetic Mean Response 3.943.863.773.443.05 2.94
# of "5" Responses74 4231
# of "4" Responses710 3953
# of "3" Responses34 5348
# of "2" Responses11 1444
# of "1" Responses10 0031
# of Non-Responses00 6002

The Biology of AIDS

In order to understand the AIDS epidemic more fully, it is necessary to understand how it works, both in an attempt to treat the disease once it appears and to prevent its transmission in the first place. In this unit we will look at the biology of the HIV virus, in order to create a model which can be accessible to our non-professional understanding. To do so, we must familiarize ourselves with at least the basic terminology and techniques of the biological discourse community. We may have a guest speaker for this unit that but that is still uncertain.

Class DateClass DayToday's activitiesAssignments due
Feb. 10Mon.Library tour. Data gathering in scientific discourse.None.
Feb. 12Wed.Background lecture. Research methods.None.
Feb. 14Fri.Valentine's Day. Did you know that St. Valentine was beheaded? Group work in class.1st Feeder Due
Feb. 17Mon.Scientific method as rhetoric.None.
Feb. 19Wed.Differences/Similarities in Biology writing compared to Sociology.None.
Feb. 21Fri.Group work.2nd Feeder Due
Feb. 24Mon.Discuss scientific professional writing methods.
Click Here for Final Assignment
None.
Feb. 26Wed.Possible speaker. If not, class discussion on research/data collecting.None.
Feb. 28Fri.Group work discussion of drafts in class..Draft of Final Paper Due in class!
Mar. 3Mon.Proper documentation/format for scientific discourse.None.
Mar. 5Wed.Review. Troubleshooting. Revision.None.
Mar. 7Fri.Turn in papers, then catch your flights to Colorado, Florida, Bahamas, Fuquay-Varina, etc.
DO NOT LEAVE TOWN WITHOUT GIVING ME YOUR PAPER! I WILL GRADE ANY PAPERS RECEIVED AFTER SPRING BREAK TWO LETTER GRADES LOWER AUTOMATICALLY!
Unit 2 Final Paper Due

AIDS and the art community

The art community has been one of the hardest hit by AIDS, with such notable and controversial figures as Keith Haring, John Bernd and Robert Mapplethorpe (among many others) having already been lost due to the disease. As we proceed in this unit, we wil not only look at the way AIDS is treated by various artists in a number of media, but also examine the way that the art history academic community has dealt with this situation. Reading Susan Sontag's book and Rob Baker's book (at least the relevant sections) would be an excellent introduction to the general issues of the discussion. The first week of the unit will be spent familiarizing ourselves with the basic format of HTML and with HTML editors with the goal of creating a web page at the end of the unit as a part of a discussion group. Co-operation and attendance will be of the utmost importance in this unit because of the group nature of the work. Attendance will count as a significant part of the grade for this project.
Class DateClass DayToday's activitiesAssignments due
NOTE: Schedule changes in red letters.
Mar. 17Mon.You're baa-ack...Begin Unit 3 with comprehensive introduction to HTML and the World-Wide Web (hopefully with a guest lecture by someone from ATN, probably in the Greenlaw computer lab...)Bring floppy disks.
Mar. 19Wed.Q & A about HTML and some basic guidelines for working in groups (in Bingham 318).None.
Mar. 21Fri.Background lecture and class discussion of unit goals/requirements/expectiations.None.
Mar. 24Mon.HTML in-class primer. Learn how to use Hypertext Mark-up Language (the format in which we will be producing our web pages). ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL CLASS!None.
Mar. 26Wed.Group work on 1st feeder.1st Feeder Due.
Mar. 28Fri.Good Friday. No classes! Isn't any Friday without classes a good one though? None.
Mar. 31Mon.Class discussion on art history research techniques.
Click Here for Final Assignment
None.
Apr. 1Tue. Meet in Greenlaw Hall computer lab (rm. 221) at 5 p.m. for hands-on HTML and web design session. Come either tonight or Thursday the 3rd (or both). One class attendance is mandatory.BRING FLOPPY DISKS
Apr. 2Wed.Tour of the Ackland Art Museum. Meet in the lobby of the Ackland (just behind First Union on Columbia--if you need directions, please ask). Very important to be punctual today!Bring pencils, not pens, and paper for note-taking.
Apr. 3Thurs.Meet in Greenlaw Hall computer lab (rm. 221) at 7 p.m. for hands-on HTML and web design session. Come either tonight or Tuesday the 1st (or both). One class attendance is mandatory.BRING FLOPPY DISKS
Apr. 4Fri.No class (see Tues., April 1st or Thurs., Apr. 3rd)None.
Apr. 7Mon.Discussion of multimedia presentation/How to present non-verbal information effectively.2nd feeder due in class
Apr. 9Wed.Balancing aesthetics and rhetoric in artistic criticism.None.
Apr. 11Fri.Programming troubleshooting session.None.
Apr. 14Mon.Group evaluation of Web page "drafts". Meet in Greenlaw computer lab.Bring disk(s) with page "drafts".
Apr. 16Wed.Web page composition Q & A.None.
Apr. 18Fri.How to streamline HTML presentations. Combining effective rhetoric with good visual presentation.None.
Apr. 21Mon.Troubleshooting. Revision. Review.None.
Apr. 23Wed.Class evaluations and general celebratory hysteria.Turn in disk(s) with group page and then sing Alice Cooper's "School's Out" (skipping the verse about "school's been blown to pieces...") for the remainder of the month.


Some useful initial research and reference links...

AIDS-related terms glossary (from Charlotte's Web)
North Carolina HIV/AIDS statistics (from Charlotte's Web)
Sample Sociological Survey from the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies
XI International Conference on AIDS Home Page
National Conference on Women and HIV, 1997
Art Archive
Art and Understanding Magazine
AIDS-Inspired Art at UNC Libraries
The Alliance for Artists with AIDS
UNC HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials
UNC-CH ATN "Web Design Basics" Page
Yahoo! Search Engine AIDS/HIV results
AIDS Resources List
ART HISTORY RESOURCES Page
Department of Fine Arts, Okanagan University College
MedWeb at Emory University.

Class Policies

Grading

  • Unit One Final Paper: 25%
  • Unit Two Final Paper: 25%
  • Unit Three Final Project: 25%
  • Each of the Feeder Assignments: 3% (x 6=18%)
  • Class Participation: 7%
  • TOTAL: 100%
I use the A-F scale that you will find in the Student Guide to Freshman Composition as a guideline for evaluating your work in this class, but the comments of your classmates in group work will probably be the best guideline you have for whether or not you are doing effective work. learn to believe in them and yourself early. These grades are ones you earn, not ones I give!

Attendance and Participation

Coming to class is extremely important, both to you as well as to myself and the rest of your classmates. The assignments and projects in this class are heavily geared towards group work and group analysis, so they are most effective if everyone actively participates. For this reason, I do take attendance and it does count as a part of your grade. However, merely coming to class to be a warm body in a cold chair does not constitute participation, so I base your class participation grade not only on whether you have been in the classroom but if you brought your mind and mouth with you. Everyone's opinion is equally valid in this class (and equally open to discussion and criticism--mine included!) so I encourage you to be a part of this class in more than just the seating chart. If you must be absent, please try to get word to me that day. I understand that people get sick, but bad hair days and hangovers are not good reasons to miss a class, and not having an assignment ready to turn in is an even worse reason. I will not kill you if you come to class without an assignment. I might consider it, though, if you don't come to class to avoid being seen the day an assignment is due. All you do to yourself in that situation is fall further behind and put yourself in double jeopardy. There is a correlation between performance and attendance and it is not because of the points you lose on your participation grade.

Plagiarism

There are two kinds, neither has a place in the classroom. Accidental plagiarism is a topic we will address early in the semester in order to prevent it before it happens. Basically, this occurs when a lack of proper documentation or attribution makes something that someone else has written seem like your own work. There are several pages in the back of the Guide that cover this topic. Read them, for your sake and mine. The second kind of plagiarism is the one that none of us wants to deal with, namely intentional misrepresentation of someone else's work as your own. Let me simply state now that it is not difficult to spot this kind of plagiarism, whether in the form of papers downloaded from the Internet, or "borrowed" from an organization's files. Thus, please, do not give in to the temptation to pass these papers off as your own. It is, simply put, not worth the risk, as this kind of cheating is a violation of the Honor Code that will result in an F for the course and probable suspension from the University. The work assigned in class is not given to you as an irritating hurdle to jump on the way to a degree. It is designed to help you in all your writing, now and down the line, and not doing the work will honestly haunt you later even if it doesn't hurt you now. To make a long story short, DON'T DO IT!

Where to go for Additional Help

If you find that you are still having problems that can't be resolved in class or in consultation with your workshop groups, my office hours are solely intended for your benefit. Stop by during the ones I have posted or make an appointment with me and we can talk about whatever it is that concerns you, whether or not it is a specific assignment. I don't mind just chatting, but do ask that you defer to others who have specific writing concerns. I am always happy to talk to students during this time, or even if I have some spare minutes if you run into me on campus or in the halls.

Furthermore, if you are having trouble with a particular assignment, or just feel like you need some one-on-one advising, the Writing Center, located in Phillips Annex, offers assistance with writing (by appointment) to the entire University. I strongly encourage you to use this resource if you feel like you want or need more feedback on your writing. Don't be bashful. It isn't a failure or admission of inferiority to ask for more help with your writing, only stubbornness. The Writing Center's hours are M-Th 9 a.m.-8 p.m. and Fridays 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Call 962-7710 to set up an appointment. Be sure to take a copy of the assignment on which you are working as well as what you have written while working on that assignment.



Class roster

NamePhone #E-mail address
Charleigh Barr
914-7276cbarr1@email.unc.edu
Home Page
Kevin Bauguess914-2231kbaugues@email.unc.edu
Home Page
Danny Bridgman914-1091bridge@email.unc.edu
Home Page
Greg Culbertson914-0504gculbert@email.unc.edu
Home Page
Shaun Bowes918-3890dbowes@email.unc.edu
Home Page
Danny Gardner914-2236gardner5@email.unc.edu
Home Page
Erin Gilbert967-9439ergilber@email.unc.edu
Home Page
Courtney Keane914-5596ckeane@email.unc.edu
Home Page
Andreas Koniotis914-5344cykoniot@email.unc.edu
Home Page
Tremayne Manson914-6416tmanson@email.unc.edu
Home Page
Mike McGahey914-1327mmcgahey@email.unc.edu
Home Page
Arden McLaughlin914-2162mclaugh2@email.unc.edu
Home Page
Michelle McLean914-2950michelle@unc.edu
Home Page
Tolulope Osinowo914-4443tosinowo@email.unc.edu
Home Page
Sophia Papadeas914-4655spapadea@email.unc.edu
Home Page
Danielle Rhodes914-5037danielle@email.unc.edu
Home Page
Shon Smith914-2963catgirl@email.unc.edu
Kate Smithson914-6533katesmit@email.unc.edu
Allyson Thore914-4551athore@email.unc.edu
Home Page
Ashley Webb929-9804ashwebb@email.unc.edu
Home Page

A few words to live (through ENGL 12) by...

"The mystery of esthetic like that of material creation is accomplished. The artist, like the God of the creation, remains within or behind or beyond or above his handiwork, invisible, refined out of existence, indifferent, paring his fingernails."
--James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man


A man said to the universe:
"Sir, I exist!"
"However," replied the Universe,
"The fact has not created in me a sense of obligation.
--Stephen Crane


"A mania for self-justification is common to both those whose consciences are uneasy and to those who seek a philosophic rationale for their actions; but in either case it leads to strange forms of thinking."
--Lawrence Durrell, Justine


"There is a school of immature writers who think juxtaposing words and phrases like agitporop, demimonde, deus ex machina or roman a clef next to names like Dos Passos, Steinbeck, Flaubert, Camus, Sartre, Proust, Spike Lee, Bergman, Kurosawa or Madonna constitutes an acceptable form of writing. It certainly does not.
--Ralph Wiley, What Black People Should Do Now




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