English 120:
College Composition & Reading: “Morality, Madness & the Media”
Catalog Description
Elements and principles of composition. Practice in writing expository and argumentative themes. Research paper. Reading to stimulate logical thinking and effective writing.
Fall 2010 Required Texts
- Cooper, Lydia R.“‘He’s a psychopathic killer, but so what?’: Folklore and Morality in Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men” Papers on Language and Literature. Southern Illinois University. 2009. (handout)
- Ellen, Barbara. “Actresses Should Stand Up Against Violence in Films.” The Observer. 6 June 2010. (handout)
- Le Guinn, Ursula. “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” The Wind’s Twelve Corners: Short Stories. New York: Harper Perennial, 2004. (handout)
- McCarthy, Cormac. No Country for Old Men. New York: Random, 2005.
- Moseley, Daniel. “The Joker’s Comedy of Existence.” Supervillians and Philosophy. Ed. Ben Dyer. Chicago: Open Court. (handout)
- Pinker, Steven. “The Moral Instinct.” New York Times. 13 January 2008. Online. (handout)
- Raimes, Ann. Keys for Writers. 5th ed. New York: Houghton, Mifflin Co., 2008.
- The Dark Knight. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Perf. Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, and Aaron Eckhart. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2008. (viewed in class)
- Yeats, William Butler. “Sailing to Byzantium.” The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc., 1956. (handout)
Syllabus & Calendar
Current Blog & Essay Assignments
- Essay 1: Moral Dilemma & “Omelas” (MW)
- Essay 1: Moral Dilemma and “Omelas” (Tuesday class)
- Respond to question on class blog by Wednesday, 9/1.
Handouts & Helpful Links
- Universal Moral Code
- The Power of the Verb in Argument
- College Student Intellectual Development
- MLA Made Easy (thanks to Tim Pagaard)
- Critical Thinking: Study Guides and Strategies
- Critical Reading
- OWL: The Purdue Online Writing Lab
Research
- Grossmont College Databases
- WWW Virtual Library (international affairs resources)
- John Templeton Foundation: Does moral action depend on reasoning?
- Media Matters
- IMDB (Internet Movie Database)
- Rotten Tomatoes (film reviews)
Cool Links
- The Moral Politics Quiz
- The Onion
- Morality Play (an interactive quiz)
- Robin Hood Morality Quiz
- YourMorals.org

