Syllabus

FYW EDU 01

Democracy and Public Education: Confronting the Text, Confronting the World (Fall 2008)

Instructor: Dr. P. L. Thomas
Phone: 294-3386 (office); 590-5458 (cell)
Class time: M, W, F 9:30-10:20
Room: HH
Office hours: by appointment, 101F Hipp Hall
Email: paul.thomas@furman.edu
Course Blog: http://democracyandeducation.blogspot.com/
Academic Integrity: http://www.furman.edu/integrity/InformationforStudents.htm


"The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates

REQUIRED TEXTS

Students must select one each of the following:

[ ] One major scholarly work on education. (See “Virtual Bookshelf: Scholarly Considerations” on course blog.)

[ ] One novel with education as central element. (See “Virtual Bookshelf: Education in Fiction” on course blog.)

And read as assigned:

[ ] All supplemental texts distributed in class or through course blog.

Students will need a reference source for writing assignments. You will be provided an electronic version of the following text:

Thomas, P. L. (unpublished). Conventional language: Academic and scholarly writing.

As referenced in the text above, students will find the online writing lab at Purdue University very helpful as a resource—The OWL at Purdue:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

COURSE DESCRIPTION

From the letters and public writings of Thomas Jefferson to the debates among Governors, Presidents, and Superintendents of Education, public discourse in the United Stated never strays too far from, “Why universal public education in a democracy?” This course will explore the history and arguments about universal public education in the U.S. We will read and debate major works directly addressing education along with novels that dramatize the complexity of being a teacher. Some of the leading thinkers about education to be read include Thomas Jefferson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, John Dewey, Paulo Freire, bell hooks, and Maxine Greene.

FYW GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

• Enthusiasm for learning and reflection.

Students will read, write, discuss, reflect during class and throughout the semester—both as a fulfillment of the course requirements and by choice outside of class. The semester will be an opportunity to explore the nature of democracy and education along with how the two have and do interact in the U. S. and internationally.

• Critical consideration of established knowledge.

Student will read and research key schools of thought about education; further, they will focus on major works about education in order to share these important areas of the field of education with the class.

• Critical evaluation of preconceptions and assumptions.

Students will identify their own preconceptions about education and democracy. They will also begin to outline the assumptions that drive ideological tensions about education and democracy within the historical and contemporary debates about education.

• Understanding available and emerging sources of information and appreciating the importance of independent work and appropriate citation.

• Appreciation of the research process and of the creative expansion of information and understanding.

Students will draft and complete original essays and a final autobiographical collage. This original writing will reflect the students’ scholarship, including their skills at selecting and interpreting sources along with their ability to craft original written scholarship that conforms to the conventions of the genre (including appropriate documentation).

• Proficiency in expository and argumentative writing.

Students will draft original academic and scholarly compositions within a workshop format that requires multiple drafts and conferencing with peers and the professor.

ASSIGNMENTS

[ ] Students are expected t0 attend all class sessions, read all assigned texts, participate fully in class discussions, and contribute during writing workshop activities.

[ ] Students should begin and maintain a journal throughout the course. The writing journal can be either a hard-copy journal (purchased or created) or an electronic journal maintained on a computer. Entries should include dates. Students should establish and consider throughout the course their writing process and research process as part of the journal.

[ ] Students will complete a number of writing exercises throughout the course; they may be completed directly in the writing journal or added to the journal when submitted at the end of the course.

[ ] Students will compose and submit four original essays throughout the course (see Course Schedule); then, students will craft an autobiographical collage from those essays to submit as a culminating assignment (minimum 20 pages). Guidelines for essays/collage:

• Topics and genres are the choice of the writer, but students are expected to remain within the parameters of academic and scholarly writing and to consider questions, ideas, and topics related to the relationship between public education and democracy.

• Essays/collage must be drafted during workshop sessions, including sharing drafts with peers and the professor. All drafts must be collected and maintained throughout course to be submitted with all writing evidence at the end of the course.

• A minimum of two of the four essays (and the collage) must include primary and secondary sources referenced fully and appropriately in the original text. Students must comply with the requirements of MLA documentation.

[ ] Students submit all work in a final portfolio, including all work throughout the course.

Academic Integrity

• Academic integrity at Furman is governed by the university's academic integrity policy (121.5). Students have the ultimate responsibility for understanding and adhering to university policy. They should therefore familiarize themselves thoroughly with the information on this web site, as well as with other university materials on this topic.
• Understanding what constitutes academic misconduct is essential for avoiding it. This is especially true of plagiarism. Check out the definitions of academic misconduct and tips for avoiding plagiarism on this web site. Ask for clarification from your instructor(s) if necessary. Do not automatically assume that what applies in one course applies in another. (Of course, some behaviors are always wrong, such as plagiarizing an assignment, fabricating data, or cheating on a test or quiz.)
• Furman students are not required to report suspected violations of academic integrity, but they are encouraged and empowered to do so by the policy.
• Disputed allegations of academic integrity are adjudicated by the Academic Discipline Committee (see 190.6). This committee consists of five faculty members and two students.
• The professor has the authority to determine the grade penalty for violations of academic integrity. The Academic Discipline Committee (ADC) has the authority to impose penalties for violations beyond the grade in the course, such as revocation of pass-fail status, suspension, and/or expulsion from the university. In addition, students can appeal a grade penalty to the ADC, which may choose to recommend a different penalty to the professor. The course instructor retains authority over the grade, however.

In short, Furman students should:

• Inform themselves about Furman policy and expectations through this web site and other available means;
• Abide by the university's academic integrity policies and encourage others to do the same;
• Ask for clarification from professors if necessary;
• Learn how to cite sources appropriately;
• Report suspected violations of the policy.