English 101: Composition and Reading

Section 2163 

1984: Orwellian Dystopia 


"In our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics.' All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia." --George Orwell

My cat Dusty and I welcome you to English 101! In this class we will be studying George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984. We will be discussing the novel and how relevant it is to life today. The themes of the novel will provide us with the basis for the essays you will write. You will also be doing a variety of activities for the class including making a movie poster for 1984, making a newspaper, a wanted poster for the protagonist, and many different kinds of graphic organizers to help you to analyze the novel. It will all come together to help you to be better critical readers, writers and thinkers.

My job is to help you to succeed!

Monday-Friday, I will do my best to return your emails within 24-36 hours. On the weekends, it may take a little longer. If I don't respond within the time frames I've set above, please kindly let me know with a second email.  

Canvas Inbox or email*

The Canvas Inbox

 is a messaging feature right within Canvas. I've set it up so that when you message me here, it goes straight to my MJC email address. 

You can also email me directly at benton@mjc.edu

*The best way to contact me for immediate questions is through the Canvas inbox or email. 

In Person Office Hours

Founders Hall 260K 


Online Office Hours

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81178664900


Phone

209-548-5797 

About This Course

Critical reading, writing, information competency, and thinking: students will critically read and write primarily expository and argumentative texts that respond to a variety of rhetorical situations and contexts and incorporate college-level research. A minimum of 5,000 words of thesis-driven essay writing is required, 2,000 words of which must be research-based writing. 

Course Goals

Upon satisfactory completion of this course, you should be prepared to:


The novel "1984" by George Orwell contains themes and content that may be distressing for some individuals. The book explores dystopian concepts, authoritarianism, surveillance, psychological manipulation, and themes of oppression. It includes depictions of violence, psychological torture, and the infringement of personal freedoms. Additionally, the narrative delves into topics related to censorship, propaganda, and the erosion of individual autonomy.


Materials Required

Assignments and Grading

In this class, the grades are weighted by category. You will be doing a variety of activities, discussions, quizzes, and essays. The essays amount to the biggest portion of your course grade--80%.

Due Dates, Late Work, and Attendance

Use the Canvas calendar and To Do list to keep track of upcoming assignments in all of your courses.

If you have circumstances that keep you from submitting an assignment, it's best to begin by sending me an email and letting me know. We can work together to help figure something out for you.

Overall, it's important to submit work on time. You'll want to be on the same page as your peers during group work and discussions.

All students enrolled at Modesto Junior College are expected to be punctual and attend classes regularly. When an instructor determines that a student's absences are excessive, the instructor may drop the student from the class. 

It is the student's responsibility to discuss anticipated and/or extensive absences with the instructor. No absence relieves the student of the responsibility of completing all work assigned. 

Any student who fails to attend class regularly may be dropped; however, it is the responsibility of the student to complete the course or to officially withdraw from a class. Tardiness may be treated as an absence. 

Note: Attendance for online students means participation in class. Online students are required by federal and state regulations to participate regularly. Logging in by itself is not sufficient. If you miss three consecutive assignments, you may be dropped. Participation is for the benefit of you and your classmates. Participation includes:

Academic Honesty, Plagiarism, and AI

According to the Student Code of Conduct:

The grading of a student's work rests on the fundamental idea that an instructor is evaluating a student's own work, so cheating or plagiarism demonstrates a failure to complete this most basic requirement of any course. Thus, a faculty member may administer academic consequences for violating the Academic Integrity Policy ranging from partial credit to an 'F' on the assignment or exam.

The instructor may also consider that a student's violation of academic integrity should be a consideration for disciplinary measures. Disciplinary action including your removal, suspension, or expulsion for violating academic integrity is administered by the Student Discipline Officer under Board Policy & Procedure 5500 Standards of Student Conduct.

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism includes copying writing or even ideas from the published or unpublished work of another person without full, clear acknowledgment of the source. If you paraphrase or summarize what someone else has said, you must acknowledge that source even when you put those ideas into your own words. You are plagiarizing if you cut and paste bits and pieces of writing from the internet or any other source and make it appear as if you wrote those words (i.e. if you don't use quotation marks and cite the source). Plagiarism also includes copying from yourself--that is, turning in material that you wrote for another class.

Check out the MJC Library's "Avoiding Plagiarism" page for more information.

The unauthorized use of artificial intelligence (AI) is considered a form of plagiarism. This means that AI-assisted work is not allowed in this course.

In this course, plagiarism detection software such as Turnitin may be used on assignments you submit.

If an assignment is plagiarized or AI-generated, the assignment will receive zero points.

AI includes programs like ChatGpt, Google Bard, and Microsoft Copilot. Some students use these programs to write assignments for them. When students use AI, it shows as AI-generated writing on my AI detector. AI also includes paraphrasers like Quillbot and Grammarly Go. When students use these paraphrasers, it also shows as AI-generated writing on my AI detector.

Basically, if a computer is writing or rewriting your assignment for you, it is AI-generated or assisted.

Revision Policy

You can revise Essay One and Essay Two. 

You may resubmit Essay One and Essay Two after grading for regrading (once for each). 

See Important Dates for the deadline for all revisions.

Our Pact

As your instructor, I will :

As a student, you will:

My Teaching Philosophy

My goal is to create a learning community in which our class shares ideas and learns together. In the classes I teach we value diversity because it makes all of us better, stronger, and more successful. Learning is the primary goal in education, and my job is to foster this growth process. As a learning community, we need to work together, helping one another. We need to be open-minded, and sympathetic to the ideas of others. 

Advice for Success


Support For You

Important Dates


I reserve the right to change the syllabus and/or schedule at any time.  If any changes are made, they will be announced on Canvas.