ENGL 105: The Moral of the Story

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Class Program
English
Distribution
Humanities Lecture
Credits 5 Lecture Hours 55
This course examines different ways that we can find meaning and value in the stories that surround us. We will use our own values and experiences, as well as other perspectives, to gain a better understanding of cultural artifacts such as movies, written texts, songs, comics/graphic novels, and even physical objects, such as cars or clothing. This class has no prerequisite and focuses more on ideas than writing skills. This course is not a replacement or prerequisite for required English composition courses. It is recommended for students who are exploring degree options or considering a career related to the liberal arts.
Quarters Offered
Fall,
Winter,
Spring
Course Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to demonstrate the following knowledge or skills:

  1. Articulate a set of personal values which will be used as a guide to finding meaning.
  2. Define ways in which things which we encounter in our lives can be interpreted as “texts.”
  3. Explain a basic surface-level reading of both simple and complex texts.
  4. Describe and argue for a particular reading of a text that focuses on its meaning or moral in a broader context.
  5. Compose both informal and formal written responses to texts which acknowledge multiple possible readings or morals.
  6. Participate in verbal discussions which emphasize close reading and interpretation.
  7. Identify choices made by creators, designers, filmmakers and authors, and explain their effect on interpretation.
  8. Use evidence from texts to support both informal and formal arguments about overall meaning.
  9. Discuss the cultural, social, political or historical relevance of creative texts.
  10. Demonstrate proficiency in informal descriptions of literary/ media/cultural interpretation.
Institutional Outcomes
IO1 Communication: Students will be able to communicate clearly and effectively.
Course Content Outline
  1. The course will use fiction, creative nonfiction, film, and other media as source material for short analytical analyses. Students must encounter at least three separate genres of text. Genres include, but are not limited to:
    1. Creative Fiction
    2. Creative Nonfiction
    3. Film and television
    4. Advertisement
    5. Lyric-based music
    6. Graphic/narrative hybrid texts such as graphic novels or narrative-based role-playing games
    7. Physical objects with rich interpretable content, such as consumer products, packaging, and signs
    8. Oral storytelling
  2. The course will supplement students’ subjective interpretation with basic instruction in at least three formal styles of analysis or criticism. This may include, but is not limited to:
    1. Semiotic analysis (studying objects as “signs”)
    2. Political analysis (feminism, Marxism, historicism, etc.)
    3. Study of rhetorical modes (stylistic analysis)
    4. Study of persuasive modes (pathos/ethos/logos)
    5. Using an established critical text as a “lens” (for example, using a text like Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”)
    6. Literary analysis (observing formal aspects of written communication)
    7. Cultural analysis (identifying and contrasting cultural values in texts)
    8. Argumentative analysis (using formal critical thinking skills and logical fallacies)
  3. Assigned writing and tests will focus on the following specific skills:
    1. Identifying and describing features of the text
    2. Using text features to support conclusions about meaning
    3. Identifying and describing personal schema and experiences, and how they contribute to any conclusions that are drawn
    4. Contrasting multiple potential interpretations of a given text
    5. Crafting simple, but well-reasoned arguments about textual interpretation
    6. Advocating for a particular reading using evidence
    7. Explaining connections between multiple texts
  4. Written assessments may address these skills individually, or in a combined fashion, but all of the skills must be addressed by the end of the term.
  5. The course must use a combination of various types of creative texts.
  6. The course must provide instruction in analytical thinking, as well as responding to creative texts
  7. In-class writing and reading/viewing may be used, but with the understanding that class meetings are primarily intended for open discussion of the creative texts
  8. Course may have a “theme” which unites the various texts under a common concept. This is not a requirement.
Department Guidelines
  1. Course should include at least one formal essay
  2. Short, informal responses should also be assigned, and instructors should provide feedback on the ideas presented by students.
  3. Because this class has no prerequisite, as much emphasis as possible should be placed on evaluating ideas rather than correctness of written expression.
  4. All possible effort should be made to encourage all students to participate in discussions. Techniques like small group work, verbal presentations and group projects are strongly encouraged.
  5. As the primary goal of the course is focused on student interaction, group discussion and the introduction to foundational departmental concepts, this class should not be taught fully online.

PO4 should be assessed: Students will be able to recognize or articulate personal/interpersonal aspects of, or connections between, diverse cultural, social, or political contexts.

PO5 should be assessed: Students will be able to solve problems by gathering, interpreting, combining and/or applying information from multiple sources.