The Mission of New Mexico State University at Alamogordo
is to provide quality learning opportunities for individuals in the diverse communities we serve.

Prerequisites
Students must have credit for ENGL 111G, Rhetoric & Composition, in order to enroll in this course.

NMSU-A English Department Goal
The goal of the English Department of New Mexico State University at Alamogordo is to provide a curriculum of comprehensive, post-secondary education in English in a local environment to meet the diverse and lifelong needs of those students who
a) need developmental instruction in English,
b) intend to transfer to other institutions of higher learning,
c) enroll in technical, vocational, certificate, or associate degree programs, or
d) seek personal enrichment through the formal study of the English language and its literature.

Course Objectives
The course description in the NMSU catalog says, "Theory and practice in interpreting texts from various disciplines in the humanities and social sciences.  Strategies for researching, evaluating, constructing, and writing researched arguments.  Course subtitled in the Schedule of Classes."

The subtitle I am using is "Hot Topics in the Environment."  One of the "hottest" topics right these days has to do with fire policy in national forests, and along the "wildland-urban interface."  But readings and discussions in this course will lead through the philosophical bases for some environmental arguments; the aesthetic valuation of nature; the economic valuation of nature; the political uses of natural history studies; the uses of tragedy; social psychology and organizational theory in crisis situations;  and finally to wildland fire policies.  So you see, many of the disciplines grouped into the humanities and the social sciences will be addressed.  The course aims to improve the knowledge base of a concerned citizenry, as well as to give students the skills needed to communicate well in upper division courses in the humanities and in the social sciences.  Most specifically, students will

• develop the ability to interpret and respond to humanities and social science texts
• critique arguments offered in the readings to determine underlying values and methodologies
• clearly structure and adequately defend their own arguments orally and in writing
• develop skills in summarizing, synthesizing, and integrating information
• critically analyze the course materials through essay exams
• develop strategies for conducting research

• close readings of the texts listed
• close readings of outside articles
• close analysis of films
• lectures
• discussions
• Socratic questioning
• quizzes
• peer critiques
• researched and non-researched essays, processed through brainstorming, drafting, revising, and editing stages
• short essay exams
• oral presentations of student research
• academic journal keeping
• instructor-student conferences
• guest lectures

Attendance Policy

25 bonus points are possible for attendance.  However, since bonus points are possible for attendance, there are NO EXCUSED ABSENCES, except for authorized University functions, as provided for in the Student Handbook. Also, absences and tardies may eventually cost you points, and therefore lower your semester grade, thus:
 
 

Grading
 
 

Semester Grade:  500-450 points = A; 449-400 = B; 399-350 = C; 349-300 = D; Below 300 = F.
 

Instructor Contact Information Mr. Ron McNeel  Professor of English  Office #115, Faculty Office Building  Office Hours, Spring 2007 Mon.& Wed.: 6:30-7:30 p.m. Tue. & Thu. 2:30-3:30 & 5:30-6:30 p.m. Online Sunday night 9-11. Phone and voice mail: 505.439.3742  email: mcneel@nmsua.nmsu.edu website: http://alamo.nmsu.edu/~rmcneel

Required Texts and Materials Walden, by Henry David Thoreau Desert Solitaire, by Edward Abbey A River Runs through It, by Norman Maclean High Tide in Tucson, by Barbara Kingsolver King Lear, by William Shakespeare Young Men and Fire, by Norman Maclean A Pocket Style Manual A good dictionary An NMSU-A computer account Access to reliable word-processing equipment A spiral notebook with pockets for journal-keeping 2-3 letter-sized manila folders A medium three-ring notebook with loose-leaf filler paper and dividers

Reserve Readings & Resources for Research Purposes

Buckley, John.  Hotshot:  A Veteran's Personal Look at the Forest Service's Elite Team of Firefighters.  Boulder:  Pruett,     1990.
Herndl, Carl G., and Stuart C. Brown, eds..  Green Culture:  Environmental Rhetoric in Contemporary America.  Madison:  U of Wisconsin P, 1996.
Levy, Walter, and Christopher Hallowell.  Green Perspectives:  Thinking and Writing about Nature and the Environment.  New York:  HarperCollins, 1994.
Maclean, John N.  Fire on the Mountain:  The True Story of the South Canyon Fire.  New York:  Morrow, 1999.
McNeel, Ron.  "The Fires of Dissent:  Yellowstone up in Smoke." The Rio Grande Sierran.  November/December 1988: 10-11.
---"Tools for Living (In a Burning House):  The Intersection of Writing Program Administration and Organizational Theory."  English Graduate Colloquium.  New Mexico State University, 27 Nov. 2001.
O'Gara, Geoffrey.  "Beyond the Burn." Sierra Jan./Feb. 1989:  40-51.
Pyne, Stephen.  Fire in America:  A Cultural History of Wildland and Rural Fire.  Princeton:  Princeton UP, 1982.
---.  Fire on the Rim:  A Firefighter's Season at the Grand Canyon.  New York:  Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1989.
---. "The Summer We Let Wild Fire Loose".  Natural History.  August 1989:  45-49.
--- World Fire:  The Culture of Fire on Earth.  New York:  Henry Holt, 1995.
---Year of the Fires:  The Story of the Great Fires of 1910.  New York: Viking, 2001.
Steen, Harold K., ed.  The Origins of the National Forests.  Durham, N.C.:  Forest History Society, 1992.
Williams, Ted.  "Incineration of Yellowstone."  Audubon. Jan. 1989: 40-85.
Wuerthner, George.  Yellowstone and the Fires of Change.  Salt Lake City:  Haggis House, 1988.

Readings need to be completed before the days they will be discussed.  We will be reading approximately 125 pages per week for class.  This doesn't include other reading you will need to do for research.
 

Week 1+

Deadline for Registration & Course Addition: Jan. 30

Weeks 2 & 3

Weeks 3, 4, & 5

Weeks 6 & 7

Spring Break: March 19-25

Weeks 8, 9, 10

Weeks 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
 

1. The University administration insists that you do not smoke, eat, or drink in the classrooms--especially computer  laboratories.

2. I insist that you attend class: excessive absences will adversely affect your final semester grade, as explained in attendance and grading policies above.

3. Chronic tardiness will also affect your final grade. If you do come in late, just take a seat quietly in the desks nearest the door. These seats are to be set aside for this purpose. Please don't walk in front of me.

4. If you have a serious and legitimate reason for missing class, I will discuss the possibility of your making up your work, provided that you see me as soon as you return.

5. No matter the reason or excuse, all late papers will lose 10% of the possible points for the assignment. No assignments will be accepted after Thursday, April 26.  Please consider emailing assignments as attachments to get them in on time.

6. Work that is missed and not made up, or make-up work that I will not accept, will receive a grade of zero.

7. Be sure to keep all pre-final draft materials:  notes, photocopied articles, electronic articles, drafts.  I reserve the right to review these materials before grading your work if I have a question on the work's authenticity.  If you plagiarize a paper or cheat on a test, you will be urged to drop the course. Also, you will receive a zero grade on the falsified assignment.  See the Student Handbook for University procedures and penalties regarding plagiarism cases.
 

In Case of Emergency

If someone in your family needs to contact you in an emergency, use the following telephone numbers:
            DAYTIME:  439-3720
            EVENING:  439-3751 or 439-3761

To make it easier to find you, the person calling should know the class (i.e. English 211G), the instructor, and the section that you are attending.
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