ENGL C102: Critical Thinking Through Literature

Introduction 

Welcome to the liquid syllabus of English C102! Consider this page an early jumpstart to your semester, providing you an opportunity to preview the class and to dive into a few first assignments if you so choose. Reading through this page is your first bold step on the road to developing strong academic critical thinking and writing skills. 

My name is Gary Enns, and I am your instructor and coach. If you need anything or have any questions, large or small, don't hesitate to reach out! I am here to help you succeed. You will find my college contact information through the Cerro Coso directory.

Here is a little about myself: I am a creative writer and an avid reader, local stage actor, traveler, backpacker, and tennis player, among many other things. I received a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from California State University, Fresno. Some of my stories and poems have appeared in journals such as Granta, Crazyhorse, The Missouri Review, Southern Humanities Review, The Wayfarer, and others. For more on my travels and writing, visit GaryEnns.com, and  feel free to follow my public-facing Instagram, @Gary.S.Enns.

To learn more about this course, scroll down. For a quick start into the first weeks' assignments and some great literature from the semester, visit Getting Started and Literary Works. For the course's academic honesty policy, including AI usage, see Academic Honesty.

About the Course

In this composition course for transfer to four-year institutions, students develop composition, analytical, and critical reasoning skills through study of literary works (fiction, poetry, and drama). The course emphasizes critical analysis, principles of logic, use of research, and presentation of carefully-reasoned written arguments while developing students' close reading skills and promoting an appreciation for the aesthetic qualities of literature. Students write several expository essays demonstrating sophisticated application of critical thinking skills to literature (total: 8,000 words). 

Great Authors, Great Works

Our overarching theme for the semester is critical reading of literature in four main modes: fiction, poetry, drama, and creative nonfiction. We will read a variety of works from well-known authors such as 

• Raymond Carver

• Flannery O'Connor

• Sandra Cisneros

• James Baldwin

• William Blake

• D.H. Lawrence

• Countee Cullen

• Louise Erdrich

• Henrik Ibsen

Concentrating on these four main genres of literature will familiarize you with creative modes used by literary artists through the ages and provides an excellent field of study for developing critical thinking skills.  See the Getting Started page to jump into the first week's assignments. 

How This Course Works

Major Units

In brief, here are the major units of the class:

1. Week 1: MLA formatting

2. Week 2-4: Integrating sources; plot summary versus interpretive writing; the rhetoric of argumentation

3. Weeks 5-6: Making arguments about stories

4. Weeks 7-9: Inferences, facts, judgements; making arguments about poems

5. Weeks 10-12: Premises and conclusions; analysis; making arguments about plays

6. Week 13-15: Logical fallacies, literary research paper

Working Through Material

All that you need for any given week is provided in the weekly Canvas module. Simply move through the items in the module, study, and complete them in order. 

For the purpose of this course, weekly modules run from Tuesday to Monday, allowing you the weekend plus a day to complete the work of the module. 

Average Week Described

A typical week will consist of written (and often video-accompanied) lessons, a quiz or two (or three), a journal entry focused on the lessons of the week, and a discussion with peers and professor. 

Plan ahead for the following due date pattern:

• Wednesdays: Most journal entries or quizzes due

• Thursdays: First discussion posts due

• Sundays: Discussion responses to peers and professor due