Course Syllabus
English 0802: Analytical Reading and Writing
Section 709, CRN 18217
Fall 2025
A downloadable copy of this Syllabus: English 802 Syllabus
Course Communication: mustafa.paghdiwala@temple.edu. Email is the best way to reach me. I will aim to respond within 48 hours of your email Monday through Friday. If you write over the weekend, I will get back to you on Monday.
The course syllabus will provide you with the course schedule, course objectives, explanations of assignments and assessments, grading policies, and instructor contact information. Please read it carefully. You should have a deep familiarity with the schedule and process of the course.
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Basic Course Information
General Education
This course fulfills the Analytical Reading & Writing (GW) requirement for GenEd.
Welcome Message
Welcome to English 802! This course will introduce you to the challenges and pleasures of college-level reading and writing. Once you have completed English 802 with a C- or better, you will have completed one of the required foundational courses in the General Education program.
Meeting Time and Location
Wednesdays, 9:00 am - 10:40 am, Ritter Hall 00107.
Instructor Information
My Name:
Mustafa Paghdiwala
Please refer to me as Mustafa. My pronouns are he/him.
My Contact Information
Email: mustafa.paghdiwala@temple.edu; Email is the best way to reach me. I will aim to respond within 48 hours of your email Monday through Friday. If you write over the weekend, I will get back to you on Monday.
My Office
Mazur 934 (enter through the door that says HB 931 to find me).
Student Drop-In Hours
Seeking out individual assistance from the instructor is a normal part of the learning process. I will set aside three hours for you to come to my office with no appointment necessary. If you'd like to meet by Zoom instead, email me to let me know. We can discuss the course content, your progress on the assessments, or anything else you need to talk about. If my regular Drop-In Hours don’t fit your schedule, please email me to make an appointment. I want to help you succeed!
Purpose of the Course
Overall Purpose
Welcome to English 802! This course will introduce you to the challenges and pleasures of college-level reading and writing. Once you have completed English 802 with a C- or better, you will have completed one of the required foundational courses in the General Education program.
Official course description from the 2024-2025 Course Bulletin:
English 0802 takes a broader perspective than 0701 (formerly 0040), requiring students to explore a single theme from the point of multiple disciplines. Early in the semester, English 0802 students work on research and the evaluation of sources, moving through a sequence of papers that develop argumentation and the synthesis of materials. Library research is required, and sessions with librarians are part of the course. Individual and small group conferences will be held during the semester. Evaluation is predicated on a passing final portfolio of at least four assignments that are developed through multiple revisions. NOTE: English 0802 is a prerequisite for IH 0851/0852 (formerly Intellectual Heritage 1196 and 1297), any writing intensive courses, and any course in the College of Liberal Arts numbered 2000-4999.
For more information, visit: Undergraduate bulletin
Overview of the Course
Our course theme is literacy in the age of AI and conspiracy theories. In Unit One, we will read about the concept of literacy, and you will write a rhetorical analysis of a course text. In Unit Two, we will explore literacy and generative AI (artificial intelligence). You will write a paper that synthesizes multiple texts and responds to ideas from this unit. In Unit Three, we will explore literacy and conspiracy theories (and other related topics, such as misinformation, disinformation, hoaxes, and “fake news”). You will write a well-researched persuasive argument on a topic related to the unit theme. In Unit Four, we will reflect on what we have learned this semester, and you will revise your papers into a Final Portfolio to demonstrate that you have achieved our course goals.
I do not presume that you are experts on these topics, and I chose them because they are somewhat familiar and yet they are also academically complex. They are interdisciplinary topics, too, and students from all majors should be able to find ways to connect our course topics to their own interests. In fact, I strongly encourage you to use your interests, majors, and personal experiences to develop your papers and engage in class activities.
There are no right or wrong answers or opinions about our course topics. As we will discuss, academic discourse involves weighing evidence and presenting strong, well-argued positions. When you complete this course, you will have stronger critical thinking, reading and writing skills, and you will have established good practices and habits that will be useful throughout your college career and beyond.
4 Credit Hours
Prerequisites/Corequisites
There are no explicit prerequisites for this course. However, you should check the results of your First Year Writing placement results/recommendations to find out if you should register for this class this semester. If you are recommended to take English 0701, you should drop English 0802 and find an open section for that course. It is in your best interest to find the course that is most appropriate for your level of preparation.
Learning Goals
Upon successful completion of this General Education course, you will be able to…
- Identify and analyze arguments in published texts and writing by your peers.
- Create and defend arguments of your own through effective rhetorical strategies and synthesis of others’ ideas.
- Understand when and how to employ the conventions of academic discourse, including
- coherent and logical organization,
- standard English grammar and syntax,
- and correct citation and evaluation of research sources.
- Revise your writing through multiple drafts and reflect on the writing process.
General Education Competencies and Area Learning Goals
This course fulfills the Analytical Reading & Writing (GW) requirement for GenEd.
GenEd Program Competencies
As part of the General Education program at Temple University, this course is committed to working towards GenEd program goals. As such, it is designed to foster the following skills:
- Critical Thinking
- Contextualized Learning
- Interdisciplinary Thinking
- Communication Skills
- Information Literacy
- Civic Engagement
- Lifelong Learning
For more information: Undergraduate Bulletin's section on GenEd courses
The Class Environment:
Requirements and Resources
How Class Will Be Conducted
This course is a “hybrid” course, which means that it meets once a week in person for in-class activities, discussions, and to review and plan your writing of our major assignments. We will also have several Canvas assignments due each week in addition to the work we do in class. This is a four-credit course, which means that you should spend a minimum of 8-10 hours a week on this course including class time.
Required Course Materials and Technology Specifications
You will not need to purchase books for this course, and there are no fees or other expenses. All readings will be posted on Canvas through the Charles Library course reserves.
Using Canvas and your Temple email are required for this course. Please familiarize yourself with our Canvas course site so that you understand where and when readings are posted. Please check the technology specifications for using Canvas for off-campus computers and networks. You will submit work online through Canvas for this course, and you must have regular access to Microsoft Word, which you can download for free through TU Portal (Microsoft Office 365). You can also use Word in any Temple computer lab. If you are in the habit of using Google Docs, you will need to learn how to convert your document into Word to submit your papers (it’s easy!). Feel free to consult Temple’s Information Technology Services for support. Limited resources may be available for students who do not have the technology they need for class. Check the Dean of Students Support and Resources webpage for details.
Course Requirements
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Attend every class meeting.
Being present and engaged in this course is vital to your development as a college-level writer and thinker. To allow for illness or other emergencies, you may miss one or two classes without penalty, but I recommend that you save these absences for as long as possible because you cannot predict when and how often you might become ill as the semester goes on. In fact, I would strongly prefer that you not use any absences at all, as our class is intended to function as a cohesive writing community. But I do not want you to come to class if you are unable to participate and/or potentially infectious with COVID, the flu, or other transmissible illnesses.
Also, if you miss class, you might miss an important discussion or activity that counts toward your final grade, and these cannot be replaced. You may ask me what we did on a day when you are absent, but I cannot re-teach a missed class, and I will not accept any assignments done in class that you missed. There will be no Zoom option if you’re absent because watching class on Zoom is not the same as participating in class. If you miss more than 4 class meetings, you will have missed too much of the semester and will be given an automatic F for the course.
There are two weeks of the semester when I canceled class for one-on-one conferences, and your attendance at conference is required. If you miss your conference, I will offer you a chance to make it up at my convenience, and if you cannot attend the rescheduled conference, you will be marked as absent for that week. In other words, a missed conference will count as a full class absence unless you make it up at my convenience.
Arriving to class late or leaving class early will be counted as a half-absence, and two of these will equal one full absence. Also, if you are not prepared for class or not paying attention and it is distracting or detrimental to our community, I may ask you to leave and take an absence. This is especially true on peer review days where you must have a completed draft to participate.
I do not distinguish between “excused” or “unexcused” absences, and I do not wish to see doctor’s notes or other documentation of your illness. Why you miss class is your business, and I don’t need to know about it. If you have a DRS accommodation that allows extra absences, I will be happy to provide this accommodation, and I will suggest that you be given one extra absence (bringing you to a maximum of three absences, not two). I will reach out to your DRS counselor to explain this policy, as it is consistent in most First Year Writing classes, if needed.
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Read and annotate our assigned readings before class.
Every paper you write in this class derives from our assigned readings and the discussions we have about them. When you read, take notes in the margins and/or keep a list on paper or in Word of thoughts and questions to bring up in class. Sometimes, you may need to read a paragraph or a section more than once before it makes sense, and this is completely normal when reading dense academic articles and books. I recommend that you talk to friends and family about our readings, too. Talking about our course topics is a great way to prepare for class and get ideas or work through issues for your papers. I dislike reading quizzes, but I will give them if too many of us are reading quickly or aren’t thinking carefully about the readings before coming to class. As noted above, if you come to class unprepared, I may ask you to leave and take an absence, particularly if your inability to participate in class activities is disruptive to our activities. Also, interacting with others respectfully is important, and a full policy on how to interact in class and on Canvas is included below.
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Complete all weekly coursework as announced in class or assigned on Canvas.
Weekly coursework consists of all the small assignments and activities you do on Canvas or in class meetings. These may include in-class writing, small group work, Canvas discussion posts, worksheets, or Perusall annotations. Weekly coursework is essential for learning, especially in a hybrid class like ours, and these items will be graded as Complete (full credit) or Incomplete (no credit). Together, these activities will be worth 20% of your final grade. In general, I will give you a grade of Complete if you’ve met the basic requirements of the assignment at a satisfactory level. If you do not follow directions, if it is unsatisfactory, or if you submit it late, you will get a grade of Incomplete. A full policy about late weekly coursework is included below.
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Write and revise four substantial papers through multiple drafts.
You will write four papers and submit the first three for feedback and guidance. Then, you will revise these drafts into final versions due in a final portfolio at the end of the semester. You will not receive a binding grade on drafts because I want you to revise them as many times as possible before the final portfolio, but I will give you a sense of where your grade might stand if you submitted a draft as is in the final portfolio. It is normal to receive feedback that a draft is not yet passing in its current condition, and I do not want you to be discouraged by this. It simply means you have work to do, and because draft grades are not binding, there is no penalty for having a draft that is not yet passing. If you ever feel discouraged about your progress in this course, talk to me, and I can help you plan for revision and feel hopeful about making improvement in your writing.
I will give feedback on each draft once if it is submitted on time. But if you want me to look at parts of your revised versions or if you need to talk through your plans for revising, I am happy to do so. Bring revisions to me during conferences and office hours. Keep in mind that you may also bring your papers to the Writing Center at any stage in the writing process, and I encourage everyone to visit the Writing Center on a regular basis for this and other classes. More information about this is included below.
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Participate in peer review workshops.
Peer review workshops allow you to read each other’s papers and practice giving suggestions for improvement that may result in deeper insights into your own writing process. We will do at least three peer review workshops (for Papers 1, 2, and 3), and these are clearly marked in the course schedule. 10% of your final grade reflects whether you participated in these workshops, and peer review is assessed with either a Complete or Incomplete as follows.
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- If you meet all deadlines and expectations for peer review, you will get a grade of Complete.
- If you miss a deadline in the workshop process or if you do not complete the required steps in giving feedback to your peers, you will get a grade of Incomplete.
- For the 10% that represents peer review in the final grade, three Completes will be an A, two Completes will be a B, and one Complete will be a C. Three Incompletes will be an F (or 0 credit) for the 10% that represents peer review in the final grade.
If we do additional peer review workshops, they will be included in weekly coursework and not in the peer review portion of the final grade.
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Meet with me twice for individual conferences outside of class.
We will meet for one-on-one conferences in my office or on Zoom to discuss your progress, and I will offer you an optional conference at the end of the semester in case you need it. Dates, times, and locations for our conferences will be mutually arranged. I will let you know in class what you need to prepare for each conference, and if you arrive unprepared, I reserve the right to cancel our conference and give you an absence. If you fail to show up at a scheduled conference and cannot attend a rescheduled conference at my convenience, you will be counted for an absence, as described above.
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Reflect on your writing process and your progress towards our course goals.
There are decades of evidence showing that being reflective about your own progress enhances learning and improves outcomes. I will assign many opportunities for you to reflect in this course, and Paper #4 is a reflective assessment of your own work in the final portfolio.
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Submit a well-revised final portfolio at the end of the semester.
Your final portfolio will consist of four revised papers. The grade on your final portfolio (60%) and the grade on the quality of your revisions (10%) make up most of your final grade in the course. A rubric for final portfolios is included below, as is a detailed explanation of my grading process.
When you revise, you should do so as thoroughly as possible, which means addressing the issues noted in my feedback on your drafts and going above and beyond to address all the ideas and suggestions that we discuss throughout the semester. For instance, our class readings serve as models of good writing to emulate and use as inspiration. Your weekly coursework, our in-class activities and my mini-lectures and explanations will give you ideas and plenty of practice for successful college writing. Individual conferences and peer review workshops will allow you to reflect on your progress and grow as a reader, writer and thinker. Final portfolios in which revisions only “fix” simple errors or address only things mentioned in my feedback are unlikely to result in grades of A or B for revision in your final grade, and a lack of serious revision will prevent final portfolio grades from being in the A range altogether.
Additional Attendance considerations
School-Life Conflict
Many unpredictable things can happen over the course of a semester. If you find yourself struggling to balance your education and your other commitments, please reach out to me immediately so that we can work together to build a plan for your success. Some of the resources in the next section may also be of use to you.
Attendance and Your Health
To achieve course learning goals, students must attend and participate in classes, according to the course requirements. However, if you have tested positive for or are experiencing symptoms of a contagious illness, you should not come to campus or attend in-person classes or activities. It is your responsibility to contact me to create a plan for participation and engagement in the course as soon as you can, and to make a plan to complete all assignments in a timely fashion.
Religious Holidays
It is your right to observe religious holidays without impacting your opportunity to learn and succeed in this course. Please reach out to me at the start of the semester so that deadlines can be reviewed in advance of your religious observations. You will still be held responsible for course content and any assignments, but you will not lose points for attendance and participation on days important to your faith.
Caregiver Responsibilities
I have great respect for students who are pursuing their education while responsible for the care of children or other family members. Please contact me if you encounter challenges that require you to miss a class session or if your caregiving responsibilities are interfering with your success in the course. Together, we may be able to find some flexibility to support your learning.
How To Succeed in This Course
Be respectful when interacting with others in class and on Canvas.
College is meant to build your critical thinking skills in a variety of contexts, and I want you to feel appropriately challenged and inspired by our course materials. Use our classroom and Canvas site as a space to collaborate with each other for mutual learning. We all have a responsibility to try to make others feel comfortable learning, participating, and asking questions. Here are some ground rules for respectful interaction:
- Everyone may have an opinion, and opinions are not facts.
- Everyone may write or say something that “comes out wrong.” If you realize you have done so, simply admit that what you said or wrote wasn’t quite what you meant and try again.
- Everyone may change their mind (including me!).
- Everyone has the responsibility to challenge others or disagree in a respectful, polite way:
- “I respectfully disagree....”
- “I hear you, but you might not have considered that….”
- “In my experience, that hasn’t been true because….”
- “Can you share evidence to support your point?”
- Everyone must accept that their opinion may be challenged without getting defensive or upset (this can be hard!). When someone challenges your opinion, take a deep breath and consider what the other person is saying carefully before you respond.
Our differences, some of which are outlined in the University’s nondiscrimination statement, will add richness to this learning experience. We are all here to learn and work with others, and anything that runs contrary to the spirit of learning and collaboration is unacceptable. Also, explicitly hostile or hateful language, discrimination, or abuse will not be tolerated. I am here to help foster a respectful and accountable space.
Whenever we are engaged in online work through Canvas, we must be as appropriate and collaborative as we are in person. My expectations for online work are adapted from these core rules:
- Remember the Human: When you aren’t face-to-face it can be easy to forget that you are communicating with a person who has feelings and emotions just like anyone else. Please show respect by being courteous in all written communication. Avoid sarcasm, which can be difficult to interpret in cyberspace.
- NO YELLING, PLEASE: Using all capital letters can be interpreted as yelling, and it’s rude.
- Read First, then Submit: Make sure you take time to carefully read instructions before beginning an assignment. Similarly, please read what you typed before submitting an assignment to check for grammar, typos, and other errors. Reading aloud before submitting is highly recommended.
- Find Answers: Before asking me a question, read the syllabus, check Canvas, and conduct an Internet search to see if the answer is easy to find. If these searches do not provide you with an answer, me. Be professional in email correspondence.
We will sometimes use devices (phones, laptops) in class, and I expect you to use devices respectfully, which means staying on task and avoiding disruption to your classmates.
Consult with me during office hours and practice good time management.
Office hours are times when professors are generally free to meet with their students. I welcome you to visit me during office hours as listed on the first page of the syllabus. You can come see me for many reasons, such as saying hello, talking about one or more of your papers, and discussing readings or ideas that have come up in class. Or, if you are struggling in the course and need help setting voluntary deadlines or figuring out how to approach an assignment, talk to me and see if I can help. If you are unavailable during my office hours, email me and we’ll try to find another time.
Time management is essential for success in college. I strongly recommend using a non-Canvas calendar, whether paper or digital, to keep track of due dates and course requirements. The calendar built into Canvas may seem helpful at first, but do not rely on it. Many students have made the error of assuming that the Canvas calendar is comprehensive only to find that they’ve missed an assignment or fallen behind in a course. Don’t make this mistake—trust me and use a secondary calendar in our course and your other courses.
Take advantage of campus resources:
Accessibility
Any student who has a need for accommodations based on the impact of a documented disability or medical condition should contact Disability Resources and Services (DRS) located in the Howard Gittis Student Center South, 4th Floor at drs@temple.edu or 215-204-1280 to request accommodations and learn more about the resources available to you. If you have a DRS accommodation letter to share with me, or you would like to discuss your accommodations, please contact me as soon as practical. I will work with you and with DRS to coordinate reasonable accommodations for all students with documented disabilities. All discussions related to your accommodations will be confidential. Students can learn more about the accommodation process and pre-register on the DRS website. Students may register at any time during the semester, but accommodations are not active until you register, so I recommend doing so as early in the semester as possible. If you submit a DRS accommodations letter for this course, please contact me to discuss it and so I can be sure I am meeting your needs.
Information regarding accessibility for additional technologies is provided below:
Resources and Support
Sometimes the biggest factors impacting student success are things happening beyond the scope of the individual classroom. Temple provides a wide array of resources both to help you overcome academic challenges and those not directly related to the educational challenges of the course. Please reach out to me if you need help deciding which resources might be right for you.
Undergraduate Research Support
Disability Resources and Services
If you are experiencing food insecurity or financial struggles, Temple provides resources and support. Notably, the Temple University Cherry Pantry is in operation, as well as a variety of resources from the Division of Student Affairs.
Library Resources
Temple University Libraries provide resources to assist Temple students with their class projects and research needs. Visit the Libraries’ website to find millions of articles, books, video, and other resources, both in print and online.
This library guide developed for our course will be used for the following assignments: Analytical Reading and Writing Research Guide
The site also provides tutorials to help you start your research, as well as subject and course research guides to help you identify resources that may be particularly useful for this class.
Contact the library at any stage of the research process. You can chat with a librarian 24/7 or make an appointment with your subject librarian, who can help you explore a topic, craft a research question, and identify and cite sources.
Course Schedule
This schedule is subject to minor changes; all changes will be announced on Canvas. Assigned readings can be found in Canvas in a separate course called “Fall 2025: Charles Reserve Readings for English 802 (Literacy).”
Unit One: Understanding Literacy
In Unit 1, we will read, discuss, and write about what literacy means to us and how literacy may be declining or changing due to technology and other cultural phenomena. In this unit, we will also begin practicing rhetorical analysis, which is a way of understanding texts by analyzing credibility, purpose, audience, genre, and context. These analytical tools will be useful in all our course activities and assignments.
Week 1 (August 25-31)
Before class:
- Check out our Canvas site and read our course syllabus
In class:
- Introductions and Ice Breakers
- Review course syllabus and discuss our goals and objectives
- Review the assignment for Paper #1
After class:
- On Canvas, write about your experiences as a reader and writer (due by Sunday 8/31 at midnight)
Week 2 (September 1-7)
Before class:
- Read Guess, “A Crisis of Literacy or a Systemic Issue in Society?”
- Read Parker, “We’ve Forgotten What College Is For: It’s For Probing the Human Condition, Not Lining Up a Good Internship”
- Read Waldman, “What Are We Protecting Children From By Banning Books?”
In class:
- Discuss Guess and Parker
- Re-review the assignment for Paper #1 and practice rhetorical analysis
After class:
- On Canvas, write your reflections on Waldman and come up with a thesis for rhetorical analysis (due September 9).
- Choosing either Guess or Parker, come up with a thesis statement to say whether or not the author is effectively making their argument (due September 9).
- Start working on Paper #1. Your first draft will be due at the end of next week (September 14)!
Week 3 (September 8-14)
In class:
- Go over the templates from They Say, I Say
- Discuss your progress on Paper #1 in small groups
- Review the process for our upcoming Peer Review workshop
After class:
- Finish writing your draft of Paper #1
- On Canvas, submit your draft of Paper #1 for Peer Review. Remember that everyone’s first draft will be rough. The point of Peer Review is to share ideas and encourage each other’s progress. Even if you are not happy with your first draft of Paper #1, submit it and trust the process. (due by Sunday 9/14 at midnight)
Week 4 (September 15-21)
Before class:
- On Canvas, complete your assigned Peer Reviews (due by Tuesday 9/16 at midnight)
In class:
- Wrap-up They Say, I Say with readings and discussion
- Discuss your experience of Peer Review and talk about revision strategies
- Discuss our topic for Unit Two (generative AI)
- Review the assignment for Paper #2
After class:
- Revise Paper #1 for Instructor Feedback
- On Canvas, submit your revised Paper #1 for Instructor Feedback on Canvas (due by Sunday 9/21 at midnight)
- On Canvas, sign up for an Individual Conference
- Read Jones, “Does Using ChatGPT Change Your Brain Activity?”
- Read Hofmann, et al., “AI Generates Covertly Racist Decisions About People Based on Their Dialect”
Unit Two: Generative AI and Literacy
In Unit Two, we will read, discuss, and write about generative AI. We will explore questions such as, if generative AI can “read” and “write” for us, should we continue developing these skills or leave them to the machines? Literacy rates are decreasing in the US and around the world; should we care? Is there any area of human life we think should be off-limits to AI? Are reading and writing activities that are unique to humans?
Week 5 (September 22-28)
Before class:
- Read Jones, “Does Using ChatGPT Change Your Brain Activity?”
- Read Hofmann, et al., “AI Generates Covertly Racist Decisions About People Based on Their Dialect”
In class:
- Review the assignment for Paper #2
- Discuss Jones and Hofmann
- Watch and discuss Skyers, “In the Age of AI Art, What Can Originality Look Like?” (Ted Talk)
After class:
- On Canvas, submit a reflection about Paper #1 before coming to your Individual Conference (due Sunday 9/28 at midnight)
Week 6 (September 29-October 5)
Before class:
- Read Sternberg, “Do Not Worry that Generative AI May Compromise Human Creativity or Intelligence in the Future: It Already Has”
- Read Walter, “The Emerging ‘AI Artists’: Breaking the Metacrisis and the Fear of Losing Human Creativity”
No class meeting:
- Class is canceled this week to allow time for conferences
- In lieu of class, you will participate in one or more Canvas activities about Sternberg and Walter (due by Wednesday 10/1 at midnight)
After class:
- On Canvas, complete the first library module (due by Sunday 10/5 at midnight)
- Find your third article for Paper #2 and share the citation and a one or two sentence summary of it on Canvas (due Sunday 10/5 at midnight)
Week 7 (October 6-12)
Before class:
- For class this week, bring your three articles for Paper #2 (printed or on a laptop). You will need them for an in-class synthesis mapping exercise.
- Work on Paper #2. Your first draft for Peer Review will be due on Sunday!
In class:
- Briefly discuss the readings from last week (Sternberg and Walter)
- Create a synthesis map of your three readings.
- Discuss your synthesis maps and your progress on Paper #2: What is going well so far? Where are you feeling stuck or confused? Have you figured out what your response will be?
After class:
- On Canvas, submit your first draft of Paper #2 for Peer Review. Remember, the point of Peer Review is to share ideas and encourage each other’s progress. Even if you are not happy with your first draft of Paper #2, submit it and trust the process. (due Sunday 10/12 at midnight)
Week 8 (October 13-19)
Before class:
- Complete your assigned peer reviews (due Tuesday 10/14 at midnight)
In class:
- Complete the second library module (together, in class)
- Review the assignment for Paper #3
- Watch and discuss “Birds Aren’t Real? How a Conspiracy Takes Flight” and begin discussing conspiracy theories (what are they, where can we find examples of them, and how widespread or important are they)
After class:
- On Canvas, free-write about the prompts for Paper #3 (due Sunday 10/19 at midnight)
- On Canvas, submit a revised Paper #2 for Instructor Feedback (due Sunday 10/19 at midnight)
Unit Three
In Unit Three, we will explore misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories, all of which require strong literacy skills to understand, engage, and combat. Through our course readings, we will discuss questions such as, are these phenomena pervasive and how much should we be concerned about them? When it is right to challenge people in authority or power, and how can we tell when a potentially legitimate challenge to authority or power has morphed into conspiratorial thinking or is saturated with misinformation and disinformation? What literacy tools work best to combat bad information and conspiracy theories? What is the role of experts, expertise, librarians, and library research in confronting misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories?
Week 9 (October 20-26)
Before class:
- Read Irene Rubin, “Recognizing Exaggerations, Distortions, and Lies” and “Conspiracy Theories”
- Read Van Der Linden, “Why People Believe in Conspiracy Theories”
- Read Jolley & Douglas, “Conspiracy Theories Fuel Prejudice Towards Minority Groups”
- Sign up for an Individual Conference
In class:
- Discuss Rubin, Van Der Linden, and Jolley & Douglas
After class:
- On Canvas, participate in an activity related to Paper #3 and/or the readings (due Sunday 10/26 at midnight)
- On Canvas, submit a reflection about Paper #2 (due Sunday 10/26 at midnight)
Week 10 (October 27-November 2)
Before class:
- Read Mack, “How a Son Spent a Year Trying to Save His Father From Conspiracy Theories”
- Read Allen, “How Social Media Rewards Misinformation”
- Read Uscinski & Enders, “Don’t Blame Social Media…”
No class meeting:
- Class is canceled to allow time for conferences
- In lieu of class, you will participate in a Canvas activity about this week’s readings (due Wednesday, 10/29 at midnight)
After class:
- Work on Paper #3 and assemble a list of your possible sources (at least five sources, not including course texts).
- On Canvas, submit your list of sources, and write a few sentences about each one (what it’s about, why it might be useful for Paper #3) (due Sunday 11/2 at midnight)
Week 11 (November 3-9)
Before class:
- Work on Paper #3
In class:
- As a class and in small groups, compare your sources and discuss your progress with Paper #3
After class:
- Keep working on Paper #3. Your first draft for peer review will be due on Tuesday of next week!
Week 12 (November 10-16)
Before class:
- On Canvas, submit your draft of Paper #3 for Peer Review AND submit it for my feedback (two separate submissions on Canvas). As always, remember that the point of Peer Review is to share ideas and be encouraging of each other. Even if you are not happy with your first draft of Paper #3, submit it and trust the process. (due on Tuesday 11/11 at midnight)
In class:
- Review the assignment for Paper #4
- Discuss the Final Portfolio and the course grading policy
- Work on completing your assigned Peer Reviews, if time allows
After class:
- On Canvas, complete your assigned Peer Reviews on Canvas on Thursday (11/13) at midnight
Unit 4
In the final unit of this course, you will focus on revising your papers into the final portfolio. This is a highly reflective time of the semester, and as you revise, pay attention to what is going well, what you find yourself struggling with, and where you feel your reading, writing, and thinking skills have improved.
Week 13 (November 17-23)
Before class:
- Work on revising Papers #1 and #2
- If you want an optional conference during the last week of classes, you must arrange it with me before the start of Fall Break (11/24). Remember, I will not read your revised papers via email. I will only look at revisions if you come to office hours or an optional conference. In either case, you must come prepared to show me certain parts of your revisions or have questions for me to answer, as I may not have time to read all papers at once. Also, don’t forget that we have a wonderful Writing Center!
In class:
- Do a reflective activity related to Paper #4
- Work on Paper #4 in class
After class:
- Revise, revise, revise!
Week 14: Fall Break (November 24-30): Enjoy your break, but don’t forget to budget time to work on revising Papers #1, #2, and #3. Once we return from break, the end of the semester comes fast.
Week 15 (December 1-7)
Before class:
- Continue revising and preparing your papers for the Final Portfolio
In class:
- Do a Peer Review session for a paper of your choice (bring a printed version of your paper; this peer review will not be done on Canvas)
- Complete other final reflective activities
After class:
- Revise, revise, revise!
After Wednesday, December 10 at midnight, it is too late to submit your final portfolio, and you will receive an F for the course.
There is no final exam for this course. Once you submit the final portfolio, you have completed your work for English 0802. I will grade your final portfolio and calculate your final grade, and then I will enter final grades on Banner before the end of the grading period.
Please note that I do not upload comments on final portfolios because you’ll have already gotten plenty of feedback from me throughout the semester. But if you want some brief feedback on your final portfolio or if you have any questions about your final grade, you may contact me via email. I will do my best to respond to you in a timely manner.
Grading & Assessment Guidelines
| Most of your final grade is determined by your final portfolio, worth 60%. The quality of your revisions and participation in peer review are each worth 10%, and weekly coursework is worth 20%. | |
Your final portfolio will include fully revised versions of each paper along with one or more of your previous drafts to show your progress and document how you got from the first to the final draft. What I expect to see in your final portfolio is that your writing has improved over time and that you have met our course goals and objectives. To complete this course and get ARW credit in GenEd, you must receive a final grade of C- or above; a grade of D+ or below will require you to repeat the course.
Final portfolios are graded by me and a committee of faculty from First Year Writing (called Teaching Circles or Portfolio Review Committees). We use this system to ensure that portfolios are read by more than one person and that grades across multiple sections are fair and consistent. A C in one section of English 802 will be equivalent to a C in another section of English 802, and all students can be assured that their work has been reviewed fairly and free from intentional bias. All faculty in First Year Writing participate in this grading process, even if their syllabus or course theme is different from ours. This system of grading has been used successfully for decades in our program, and it is used by many other writing programs around the world.
You may occasionally feel frustrated with our grading system because unlike other courses where you can check Canvas and receive an immediate projected final grade, you will not be able to do that in English 802. Canvas may even show that your grade is an A when in fact, the grade it shows is based only on weekly coursework and other small elements of your final grade. Do not rely on the grade you see on Canvas to know much about your final grade in this course. Please understand that our grading system works to your advantage. You have a lot of control over the small elements of the final grade because you decide if you are completing (or not completing) weekly coursework and participating (or not participating) in peer review. You also have a lot of control over your final portfolio grade because you can put a lot of effort and time (or a little) when revising your papers. Also, the final portfolio grade is assessed on the cumulative result of your work since the first day of class. If you think about it, giving early binding grades would be unfair in a course designed to see progress over time. There is some other good news, too: you may encounter a similar style of grading later in your coursework, such as in advanced major-specific Writing Intensive courses or senior capstone courses, and if so, we hope you’ll think back to all you learned in English 802.
As I hope you see by this point in the syllabus, if you ever feel unsure of what I think of your progress in this course or if you need encouragement, talk to me about it at conferences, at office hours or by appointment.
Course grading scale:
|
A 93-100% A- 90-92% B+ 87-89% B 83-86% B- 80-82% C+ 77-79% |
C 73-76% C- 70-72% D+ 67-69% D 63-66% D- 60-62% F 0-59% |
Course Minimum Grade
A grade of “C-” or better is required in all GenEd courses for you to satisfy a General Education requirement.
Assessment Summary
The assessments in this course have been created for two reasons: (1) For you to demonstrate your progress towards the learning goals for the course and receive useful feedback. (2) For you to practice skills and develop ways of thinking that will be of use to you in the future. Our major assessments are designed around 4 required essays and the Final Portfolio. Here are the detailed explanations of our essay assignments:
Paper #1: Rhetorical Analysis
Write a rhetorical analysis of an article from Unit One. The purpose of a rhetorical analysis is to assess a text’s persuasiveness and effectiveness. These questions should guide your analysis:
- The rhetorical situation:
- Where was this text published, and who is the audience for that site or publication venue?
- When was it published, and was it responding to a specific incident or cultural experience?
- Who is the author, and have they written or studied about their topic before? What can you find out about them through a simple internet search?
- Ethos, which is a term for appeals to ethics, credibility, qualifications, or character:
- Does the author establish themselves as experts in the text (through education, experience, research…)?
- If the author cites examples or research, do they seem reliable, and can you trust where they come from? Or is the author asking us to trust them based on their character or personal experience alone?
- What might be the author’s agenda? Think about their main point, or argument, and consider if their motivation is to spread awareness, persuade you to do something specific/concrete, or if they are asking questions or speaking up to power. These are all legitimate agendas, and it’s fine for authors to have an agenda (aka a purpose), but in a rhetorical analysis, we want to understand what agenda(s) underlie the text.
- Does the author build credibility through their argument by being reasonable, thoughtful, careful about jumping to conclusions, and avoiding wild or reckless assertions?
- Logos, which is a term for appeals to logic and reason:
- How clear and coherent is the author’s argument? Is their purpose for writing the article clear, and do they fulfill their purpose?
- Has the author situated their argument within an ongoing conversation about the topic? Do they refer to other experts to demonstrate that conversation?
- Is the author relying on any logical fallacies?
- If the author is attributing their concerns to an institution or person, is their attribution of blame or concern fair and reasonable?
- Does the author explain key terms and ideas well enough for a non-expert to understand?
- Pathos, which is a term for appeals to emotions, values, and beliefs:
- How well does the author connect with their audience?
- Are the author’s descriptions, stories, or examples vivid and effective? Do they use language that helps readers fully understand what they mean?
- Does the author invoke any values or beliefs that they assume their audience will agree with? Is the author redefining any existing values or beliefs in new ways?
- Is the author trying to make the audience feel a certain way (anxious, concern, fear, panic, envy, curiosity, excitement, anger…). If so, does the emotion seem appropriate or useful in achieving their purpose? Are there multiple or contradictory emotions, and if so, do they make sense for the topic and argument?
Once you have considered these questions, you should arrive at an argument of your own about the article’s effectiveness and persuasiveness. This is a useful guide to writing a thesis statement for your argument. As you will see, it is common to say that an article is mostly or somewhat effective and persuasive for XYZ reasons. Or, it could be fine to say that an article is effective but not as persuasive as it could be because XYZ reasons.
Your paper should start with an introduction in which you state the article’s author and title, give a description of what the article is about and what you know about the author (briefly—not everything you know, but whatever seems relevant), and provide an explanation of where the article was published and who is in the intended audience. Then, you end the introduction with your thesis statement. It can also be smart to include an opening anecdote to grab your reader’s attention and connect YOU with your audience, and if so, it should fit in your introduction or near the beginning of your paper.
The body of your paper should develop your argument by discussing your rhetorical analysis. Support your ideas with as many examples from the article as possible because you must persuade your reader, and too few or poorly chosen examples will make you less credible and your purpose unfulfilled. Examples may be any of the following: quotes from the article (only a few—too many quotes undermine your own voice), ideas from the article restated in your own words, and real-life examples from your own experience or your imagination.
Research is not required for this paper other than a basic internet search to learn more about the author and publication venue. Also, you may not use AI to write this paper. If you are in the habit of using a program enhanced by AI, such as Grammarly, you should disable it for this paper. The only use of AI that is acceptable is the Editor function in Word, and even with Editor, I recommend you ignore suggestions when they are invasive or change too many of your words or ideas. As we will discuss throughout the semester, AI suggestions make writing sound generic and robotic. I want to get to know your own, real, voice, even if there are minor grammatical errors and other flaws. You will find that most of your professors at Temple also want you to sound like a person, not a robot. If I discover that you have used any form of AI for this paper other than Word’s Editor function, you will need to rewrite the paper using a different article.
Your paper should be at least 5 pages long, not including the Works Cited page.
Paper #2: Write an Academic Response Paper
Write a paper in which you synthesize and respond to three articles on a topic related to our themes in Unit Two. Two articles will be from our course readings, and you will find the third (a peer-reviewed journal article of your choice on the same topic) in our library databases Think of this paper as a conversation you create in which you identify similarities and differences among three authors in the first half of the paper. In the second half of the paper, you join the conversation by stating an idea, question, or concern of your own that relates to what the authors have said. This paper teaches you how to synthesize complex arguments and ideas at the college level, and it introduces you to a common college assignment, the academic response paper.
Your introduction should describe the topic of your three articles (not just “AI,” but describe what specifically is being discussed about AI in your texts). Then, in the next several paragraphs, you should fairly and accurately describe the conversation among the three articles, describing the similarities and differences in their positions, their evidence, and their intended audiences or purposes. Use quotes and examples throughout this section of your paper to give a full picture of what they say and how they relate to one another. Use your skills from Paper #1 (rhetorical analysis) to make sense of where and why these articles connect and diverge.
For your response, think about where you agree or disagree with the authors. What questions from the articles strike you as most or least valuable? What concerns do you think are most vital that comes out of this conversation? If this were a verbal conversation, what would you say when it was your turn? Possible responses include, but are not limited to: agreeing or disagreeing with a point that is shared in all three articles; agreeing with one of the authors but not the other two (or two but not one); finding a middle ground among all three authors; posing a new question that results from the conversation; and offering an example that complicates or challenges something the authors have said.
Additional research beyond finding one peer-reviewed journal article is unnecessary for this paper. You should use the templates from They Say, I Say when needed, and you must include a Works Cited page listing your three articles. Your audience is me, your classmates, and the faculty of the First Year Writing Program. Do not assume that we have read any of your articles. You may assume that we have a layperson’s understanding of AI.
You may not use generative AI to write your paper; the policy for using AI for writing is the same for this paper as for Paper #1 (i.e., no to Grammarly, no to direct use of AI such as Chat GPT, yes to Word’s Editor, if used in a limited way). However, for this paper you may experiment with AI if you wish to test out any ideas raised by the course readings. In some cases, you may be able to use what you learn from experimentation in your response. That said, I support you NOT using AI to explore these issues or concerns, and you can likely find enough examples for your response from our class discussions and other activities. If I find that you used AI to write your paper in violation of the policy stated above, you will need to rewrite this paper using three different articles.
Your paper should be written in the first person (using “I” when referring to your own response), and it must be at least five (5) pages long, not including the Works Cited page.
Paper #3: Write a Persuasive and Well-Researched Argument
Write a paper with a persuasive and well-researched argument. Choose one of the following topics:
A. Research and analyze a recent conspiracy theory: Choose a conspiracy theory that has been actively debated within the last two or three years (2022-present), and write a persuasive paper about why this conspiracy theory exists, what cultural values or discourses underlie this conspiracy theory, why people believe it, and what experts have said about it (or about theories like it). Your goal is not to prove the theory to be true or false. Instead, your goal is to show what this theory can tell us about our culture, our values, and the role of literacy in the public sphere. In your conclusion, you should discuss what we should do or think because of your analysis. Do you think that if people had better literacy skills, this theory would still exist? Do you think this theory is harmless fun, or is it potentially dangerous?
Choosing a theory might be difficult, but there are plenty of conspiracy theories out there that are both entertaining and viable for this project. I do not recommend choosing a theory you believe, as it makes it difficult to maintain critical, academic distance for analysis. I also recommend that you talk to me about your choice of conspiracy theory unless you choose something we have talked about in class that I already said might be good for this assignment. I don’t want you to get too far into your research and analysis, only to find that there is a potential problem with your choice.
B. Write about education and media literacy: Is education an effective way to counteract conspiracy theories, misinformation, and disinformation, and if so, what kind of education? To get into this topic, research existing educational solutions and choose one that you think has potential, especially if our society were to invest money and time to help it be successful. You may define “education” however you wish, including traditional forms of education (such as K-12 and/or college), or community-based education, such as social media companies’ initiatives to fact-check or add community notes.
Support your argument with at least one central example of a recent (2022-present) conspiracy theory or piece of misinformation/disinformation that your solution might effectively address. Your conclusion should describe what actions readers should take or what additional research they should do if they are persuaded by your argument.
C. Write about the pervasive lack of trust in experts and expertise in contemporary culture: We are living in a time when some people are suspicious of experts and expertise. This is not necessarily new for Americans, as American culture has long been obsessed with conspiratorial thinking. Suspicion of experts and expertise is not always wrong, either. It can be good to be skeptical of dominant narratives and to ask questions of powerful people and institutions. But because of social media and modern technology, mistrust in experts and expertise is easy to twist into support for conspiracy theories, misinformation, and disinformation. Write a persuasive argument about this complicated phenomenon: what are the benefits of being skeptical and where does skepticism cross a line to become conspiratorial thinking and turn into a rejection of expert knowledge, facts, and reality? How can we restore confidence in experts and expertise while preserving the ability to ask legitimate and important questions of powerful people and institutions?
Support your argument using at least one central example of a recent (2022-present) conspiracy theory or piece of misinformation or disinformation. Make sure you discuss how much the lack of trust in experts has to do with the decline in literacy. Your conclusion should leave readers thinking about why this topic is important and what they should do or research if they are persuaded by your argument.
Research requirements for Paper #3: You must refer to at least one of our course texts in your paper. You must also find and include five or more sources from the library databases. At least two of your sources must be peer-reviewed journal articles. Sources will be used to enhance your descriptions of important context, explain your ideas, provide examples, and suggest alternative viewpoints (also known as counterarguments).
Your goal is to be persuasive, and your audience is me, your classmates, and the faculty of the First Year Writing Program. Please note that this is not a “research paper” in which you demonstrate how much you know about your topic. You are also not trying to “win” a debate. Academic arguments focus on persuading readers that an argument is valid and worthy of consideration. Always remember that academic writing is about being part of an ongoing conversation. In this paper, you are adding to the conversation, not ending it. Your paper should be written in the first person (using “I”) because this is your argument. It is not necessary to write in a generic third person voice, though some academic papers are written that way, and it is always good to ask your professor which they prefer.
Also, you may not use AI to write this paper. Like the policy for Papers #1 and #2, you should disable Grammarly or other AI-powered writing tools, if you use them regularly, and you may use Word’s Editor function in a limited and thoughtful way. I will allow you to use AI to brainstorm, organize your thoughts, and identify counter-arguments if you disclose such use in your reflection for Paper #3 and talk about it in Paper #4. I also support you not using AI, and use of AI is not required for this assignment. Remember that there is a difference between using AI to assist your thinking and using it to replace your own, genuine, human writing process. If I discover that you have AI other than Word’s Editor function to write this paper, you will need to rewrite the paper using a different topic. As the end of the semester is approaching, it will potentially mean you will need to withdraw from the course if you are required to rewrite the paper in full because we are almost out of time.
Paper #4: The Reflective Letter for the Final Portfolio
In our final unit, you will work on revising your papers for the Final Portfolio, and you will write a Reflective Letter about what you have learned in English 802. Your audience for this letter is me and the portfolio review committee, which consists of other instructors in the First Year Writing Program. Your Reflective Letter serves as an introduction to your Final Portfolio.
Some of the questions you should answer in your reflective letter are: How did your writing process evolve over time? Which papers or assignments did you find most or least interesting or complicated, and why? What do you hope we focus on when we read your Final Portfolio? What are some good examples from your Final Portfolio that demonstrate you achieved our course goals, as described in the course syllabus? What have you learned about yourself as a critical thinker, reader, and writer because of our class meetings, course readings, and assignments? What changes in your habits or reading and writing were most surprising or helpful? What aspects of reading and writing do you plan to improve in your next few years at Temple University?
Final Portfolio
You will submit a Final Portfolio at the end of the semester that includes:
- Paper #4 (Reflective Letter)
- A revised and improved version of Paper #1
- A revised and improved version of Paper #2
- A revised and improved version of Paper #3
In the First Year Writing Program, Final Portfolios are graded holistically, which means that we are not averaging your papers to come up with a grade. Instead, we consider how well your Reflective Letter makes a case for your overall work, and we read your papers to assess how well you understood and practiced the writing process and achieved the course goals.
Please remember that Papers #1, #2, and #3 must be of passing quality for your portfolio to receive a passing grade. A portfolio where one of those papers is a D or F will result in a failing portfolio grade, even if the other two papers are at C- or above. Also, please remember that a final portfolio containing a paper I have not seen before in draft form during the semester will result in an F for the final portfolio and the course, even if your other work has been Complete and/or satisfactory.
Late Policies
Weekly Coursework and Peer Review Workshops
Weekly coursework deadlines are firm and cannot be extended. We use these activities as a basis for in-class discussions, and if I started extending deadlines, we would quickly fall off-track. Also, weekly coursework is intended to build skills and habits over time. I will do my best to make deadlines clear on Canvas and to post announcements and other reminders on a regular basis. But ultimately, you are responsible for checking Canvas often and keeping track of weekly coursework. Similarly, I cannot extend deadlines for individual students during peer review.
Drafts Submitted During the Semester for My Feedback
Drafts of your papers must be submitted on time, and all papers in your final portfolio must be seen in draft form in a timely manner during the semester. If you have an extreme situation or crisis that prevents you from submitting a draft on time, you may ask for a one-week extension and I will say yes, no questions asked. However, I will not accept a paper that is submitted later than one week after the initial date that it was due. If you ask for a one-week extension and do not submit a draft, you should withdraw from the course because you will be getting an F on the final portfolio, and thus, an F for the course, even if your other work was of passing quality or was marked complete.
I know this sounds harsh, but the reason for this strict policy is that I need to see your papers evolve over time. The purpose of this course is not to produce “perfect” final papers but to show your work. The only exception to this late policy for drafts would be if you have a situation so significant that the Dean of Students or the CARE Team have reached out to me to ask for extra time or if you have already alerted me to a DRS accommodation that requires me to give you longer than one week extension; in these cases, we will work out arrangements and you will still be subject to the above policy using the newly agreed-upon revised due dates.
Also, if you decide to substantially rewrite a paper after I have given you feedback, you may do so, but you must submit a new first draft before it we reach the last day of class. I will not necessarily give you written feedback on your new version, nor will we need to meet or talk about it unless I see a problem with what you’ve done. But this is an important policy. I cannot evaluate a final portfolio with a paper I never saw during the semester because you scrapped your original draft and revised it so much that it is a brand-new paper. If your final portfolio contains one or more papers that I have never seen in draft form, you will receive an F on the final portfolio and an F for the course. If you are ever uncertain about whether your revisions would constitute an entirely new draft, check with me or send it to me, just to be safe. I am always willing to answer questions about these policies because the stakes are so high. And it really is fine to scrap a draft of a paper that isn’t working and start fresh but keep me in the loop.
The purpose of these policies is to prevent plagiarism and to ensure, as stated above, that I can see your progress over time.
The Final Portfolio
The final portfolio due date is listed on the schedule, and I have already incorporated an automatic, no questions asked, extension. But I cannot accept final portfolios after the extension due date, and if you do not submit a portfolio by then, you will be given an F for the course. I need time to read final portfolios, to discuss final portfolios with other faculty in First Year Writing, and to calculate and enter final grades in TU Portal.
Occasionally, a student who had been making good progress has a true medical emergency in the last weeks of the semester, and because our final portfolio comes at the end, such an emergency would make it impossible to complete a final portfolio on time. In cases like these, contact me to discuss an Incomplete, which is an arrangement that requires formal documentation of the emergency and approval of the Dean and other university officials. To qualify for an Incomplete, you must be in good standing in the course and have submitted drafts of Papers 1, 2, and 3 (that is, you must have completed the equivalent of more than 50% of the coursework and must be able to complete the remaining revisions on your own without guidance). If you believe you qualify, you must speak to me about it before the last day of classes so that I can start the process of getting formal approval. Again, an Incomplete is not a casual arrangement, and it does not apply in situations that are not true emergencies. It is also not possible to arrange an Incomplete after the semester is over. For more information, see the full policy in the Undergraduate Bulletin.
Withdrawal
If you are considering withdrawing from the course after the add/drop date, please don’t make that decision alone! Withdrawing from the course without talking to me first eliminates the possibility of finding a path to success for you. Furthermore, it is extremely important that you consult your academic advisor before withdrawing. They will be able to walk you through how the withdrawal would impact your progress towards your degree and your graduation date.
Please check the academic calendar for the last day to withdraw from a course.
Incomplete
A student will be eligible for a grade of “Incomplete” only if the student: 1) has completed at least 51% of the work at a passing level, 2) is unable to complete the work for a serious reason beyond their control, and 3) files a signed agreement with the instructor outlining the work to be completed and the time frame in which that work will be completed. The student is responsible for initiating this process, and all incomplete forms must be sent to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs prior to the start of study days in that semester.
Please refer to the following for further details: Temple University’s Incomplete Policy. (Policy #02.10.13).
Technology Guidelines
Technology Requirements
To participate in this course, you will need the equipment, software, and internet access necessary to reliably use Zoom and Canvas, as well as “productivity tools” like word processors and slide show creators.
Limited resources are available for students who do not have the technology they need for class. Students with educational technology needs, including no computer or camera or insufficient Wifi access, should submit a Student Technology Assistance Application located in TUPortal and linked from the Dean of Students Support and Resources. The University will endeavor to meet needs, such as with a long-term loan of a laptop or Mifi device, a refurbished computer, or subsidized internet access.
Note that there are technology resources available for students, including on-campus computers available for student use, the Tech Center computer labs and free laptop and battery borrowing at Charles Library, software that is available for free download and other specialty software that may be available for remote access through ITS.
Technical Support
For a listing of technical support services available to Temple University students, see the Tech Support page.
Live Chat or Request Help: help.temple.edu
Phone: 215-204-8000
Email: help@temple.edu
Website: its.temple.edu
Location: The TECH Center, Room 106
Technology Usage
Class Recording
Policy on Recording Class Meetings or Conferences
This course will not meet on Zoom unless mandated by the university, which is highly unlikely. But we may meet on Zoom for conferences, and this is the official policy from the university that is applicable to conferences: “recordings of class meetings [and office hours or conferences] will be allowed at [faculty] discretion [and particularly if a student in the class has an accommodation requiring such recordings]. Any recordings permitted in this class can only be used for the student’s personal educational use. Students are not permitted to copy, publish, or redistribute audio or video recordings of any portion of the class session to individuals who are not students in the course or academic program without the express permission of the faculty member and of any students who are recorded. Distribution without permission may be a violation of educational privacy law, known as FERPA as well as certain copyright laws. Any recordings made by the instructor or university of this course are the property of Temple University.”
Attending Zoom meetings using an AI proxy is not allowed.
Privacy and Data Protection
Please see the links below to become familiar with the privacy policies for each of the following:
Academic Guidelines
Policy on Recording Class Meetings or Conferences
This course will not meet on Zoom unless mandated by the university, which is highly unlikely. But we may meet on Zoom for conferences, and this is the official policy from the university that is applicable to conferences: “recordings of class meetings [and office hours or conferences] will be allowed at [faculty] discretion [and particularly if a student in the class has an accommodation requiring such recordings]. Any recordings permitted in this class can only be used for the student’s personal educational use. Students are not permitted to copy, publish, or redistribute audio or video recordings of any portion of the class session to individuals who are not students in the course or academic program without the express permission of the faculty member and of any students who are recorded. Distribution without permission may be a violation of educational privacy law, known as FERPA as well as certain copyright laws. Any recordings made by the instructor or university of this course are the property of Temple University.”
Academic Freedom
Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom. I have the freedom and responsibility to design and facilitate our learning environment to best achieve the promise of the course as outlined in its official description. You have the responsibility to engage with the course in good faith and freedom from mistreatment when your opinion differs from mine. Note that it is not an abuse of this freedom for me to require that you support relevant opinions with clear argumentation and solid evidence. For more on academic freedom, consult the official Temple policy on the matter.
Academic Integrity
Temple University believes strongly in academic honesty and integrity. Plagiarism and academic cheating are, therefore, prohibited. All work you submit for assessment should be your own efforts. For more on this topic, consult the relevant portions of Temple Bulletin and the Student Conduct Code.
Policy on Academic Honesty
To protect yourself from engaging in academic misconduct, please read Temple University Statement on Academic Honesty for Students in Undergraduate Courses, from which this policy is adapted.
In general, all sources of information that you use in your papers must be identified as clearly, accurately, and thoroughly as possible. Plagiarism occurs when sources are used but not acknowledged and when ideas, information, or opinions appear to be presented as though they are your own. I do not want to discourage you from using other people’s ideas or information. My aim is exactly the opposite because academic writing is a form of conversation with other writers and researchers. But you must always make clear your sources and you must always be sure that the work you submit is your own.
Academic cheating is the breaking of the general rules of academic work and/or the specific rules of individual courses. It includes falsifying data or sources; submitting work in one course that was done for another course without the instructor's approval; having someone else complete your papers or any of your course work for you; or doing another person’s work.
If you plagiarize or cheat on a draft of a paper submitted before the final portfolio, I will give you one very serious warning and you will have a chance to revise or rewrite the paper in a short period of time. But if you plagiarize or cheat again or if plagiarism or cheating is found in your final portfolio, you will fail the course and will be reported to the University for academic misconduct. This policy is not negotiable. If you are uncertain about what constitutes plagiarism, ask BEFORE you hand in the work. It will be too late afterwards.
Acceptable and Unacceptable Use of Generative AI Tools in This Course
Generative AI such as ChatGPT are exciting new tools. But AI cannot replace real human thinking and writing, and you should never use AI generated writing in place of your own work on any of the assignments in this course. Even in its most updated forms, AI has been known to reproduce biases, generate fake research sources, provide ideas within incorrect contexts, and spread disinformation and other harmful ideas. Human writing is the purpose of English 802, and we expect you to produce your own genuine, human writing throughout the semester and in your final portfolios.
We may experiment with generative AI in class, and I may offer you suggestions for using it on a very limited basis for brainstorming or refining your ideas, coming up with prompts for library research, or suggesting counter-arguments. But otherwise, you should not use AI in this course, including the use of integrated tools such as Grammarly. The only AI-powered integrated tool I will allow for writing purposes is Microsoft Word’s Editor, and we will discuss how to ignore its suggestions when they are overly invasive or change the meaning of what you wrote.
Do not ever put someone else’s writing into Chat GPT or other AI generator because it can be a violation of intellectual property or copyright laws. This means that you generally should not put any of our course readings into AI on your own. Some of our course readings may be accompanied by AI summaries or chatbots through the library databases, and those will be allowed because I cannot prevent you from seeing them, but remember that they are only helpful in a limited fashion. I cannot overstate that you must never put a classmate’s writing into an AI generator. It is highly unethical to do so, and it is also likely a violation of FERPA.
If I discover that you have used AI when you were expressly told not to in a course assignment, the penalty will range from receiving an Incomplete on the assignment to an F for the course depending on the severity of the situation. If you are found to have used AI to write a draft submitted for peer review or for my feedback, you will have one week to revise and resubmit an entirely new paper or you will receive an F for the course. If you are found to have used AI in violation of course policy in your final portfolio, the penalty will be an F for the course and a referral to the university office for academic misconduct.