Course Syllabus/First Day Handout

English 1012: Folklore
Instructor: Michael Roesch
Important Suggestion: Print this syllabus and keep it handy!

Office Hours:   You can send me e-mail: folklorecourse@sbcglobal.net; I tend to check my e-mail each day, so you should have a fairly quick reply to any question you might have.

The Course: The class is three units and can be applied to the AA, CSU, and UC. The Internet course was designed for students who, for whatever reason, cannot attend the COS campus on a regular basis. The course is an examination of folk wisdom, art and artifacts traditionally handed on by word of mouth or by custom and practice. In addition to reading about superstitions, proverbs, tall tales, and urban legends, students will have ample opportunity to explore their own family folklore and a few of the many local legends, i.e., Bigfoot and the Lemurians on Mt. Shasta. Students will also explore Native American myths, cowboy lore, fairy tales, jokes, folk songs, and folk games.  

Where: The class will be held via the Internet. 

Course advisory and ways to succeed: While there are no prerequisites, it is recommended that the student be eligible for English 1A. Students must have Internet access and be able to send and receive e-mail. Read the course "FAQs" section and Other Resources section, and look over my comments about surviving on-line education as soon as possible. Also, if you have a disability that might get in the way of your academic goals, please visit the The Disabled Student Services Office (DSS) web site--they are dedicated to meeting the needs of students with permanent or temporary disabilities. The DSP&S office provides such services as  learning disability assessment, tutoring, note taking, readers & transcribers, testing accommodations, and enlargement of educational materials. If you anticipate the need for reasonable accomodations to meet the requirements of this course, you must register with Disabled Student Services. If you qualify for services through DSS, email the official notification of your accommodation needs to me as soon as possible. DSS is located in Eddy Hall or by calling Donna Farris or Linda Rogers at 938-5297. Lastly, read about the COS Library's services for distance students.  Then follow the directions to request a library card so that you can access the library's online databases, which includes periodicals, newspapers, electronic books and reference sources. Remember, you can always contact a reference librarian by e-mail or phone for assistance in using the databases or help with research assignments.

Text and/or material needed: J.H.Brunvand's The Study of American Folklore (fourth edition ISBN 0-393-97223-2). The text is required reading, and it can be purchased from the COS Bookstore--either at the Yreka (530 842-1245) or WeedCampus (530 938-5236). Please call the appropriate bookstore to check on hours and that the text is in stock before visiting. The text is published by WW Norton and Company, and the fourth edition can likely be ordered from Amazon.com , Barnes and Noble or other bookstore on or off the Internet.

Also, the Etudes courseware program used for all COS online courses requires a fairly new Internet browser, and you might need to change your browser cache settings. If you have a problem viewing pages, using the discussion board or using the chat feature, please check that your computer is set up according to the guidelines listed on the opening page of the Etudes portal:  https://myetudes.org/portal

Grades: You will be able to access your current grades/scores online. Grades will be determined by your scores on the following work:

"Homefun" sheets: The primary purpose of the weekly homefun sheet is to aid you in learning the specific folklore material that I believe is most relevant or necessary (they are also great study guides for the quizzes and final exam). A good student example of the "Legends" Homefun is on-line. You will only be required to complete and submit for grading  two  weekly homefun assignments. You must do the homefun on Proverbs, but you will have a choice between doing your second graded homefun sheet on  Fairy tales or Humor.  Two 50  point sheets = 100 points.

Collection sheets:  The collection sheets offer you an opportunity to collect, record, analyze, and share folklore. You are required to complete two 50-point sheets= 100 points (a good student example can be viewed on-line). 

Discussion Board: The "Discussion and Private Messages" area  allows the instructor to create forum topics (Weekly Topic Question, Student Profile, Student Lounge, etc.) where students can post their responses and view the responses from other students. The Discussion board allows us to exchange ideas, images, files, share folklore, and create a stronger sense of belonging to a specific college class. Subsequently, you will be required to join me in posting opinions, creations, and questions. You will be required to respond to my weekly topic question by each Friday evening, read the weekly responses of other students, and respond to at least one other student comment by Sunday evening (Students making a comprehensive reply--showing insight and without writing errors-- to my weekly question and the comment of at least one other student, can earn up to 5 points each week. Failing to completely answer the weekly topic question or posting a reply with errors in wording, spelling or terminology will result in less points).  I expect all students to visit the Folklore Discussion Board at least 3 times during the week, not just the night before discussion work is due, and they should take the time to make thoughtful responses to any question posed to them. Further, as the semester progresses you will be required to post a copy of some of your work to the appropriate areas of the discussion board so that other students can view and comment on your work. For example, you will post a copy of each of your collection sheets and a copy of two of your creative works (either a tall tale you wrote, a cowboy poem you have composed, or an etiological narrative you have written). Each of these assignments will be covered later, and there will be an example of each type of assignment as well.

Course Research Project: =  100 points. The Course Research Project assignment allows the student to do an in-depth written exploration of some aspect of folklore. Student Course Projects are expected to take a position, show critical thinking, and be well organized. You will be required to give reasons for your position, offer evidence in support of  your position, and acknowledge or refute opposing positions.  The specific topic must be pre-approved by the instructor. Please read the guidelines very carefully.

Quizzes:  Short (about 10-12 question) online quizzes will be given every week or so. The true or false, as well as multiple choice questions, will be based on the weekly reading assignment. There will also be a 30 question quiz about mid-term and a 50 question quiz at the end of the course. Thus, during the semester you will have aproximately 15 quizzes totaling about 200 questions and equaling about 100 points. As the quizzes are offered on-line, you are on the "honor system." Students are expected to take each quiz unaided (though you may refer to your text), and anyone discovered cheating will receive an "F" for the quiz in question. After all students have taken a quiz,  usually the day after quiz is due, you will be able to view your quiz results via the "Gradebook" link.


Final exam: = 50 points  (Although the final will be a "take-home," the essay questions will be designed to measure your knowledge of folklore. Students that keep up with the reading assignments in the Brunvand text, spend time visiting the linked folklore sites, and utilize the "Homefun" sheets as a study aid should do quite well on the final exam).


Extra Credit: While there is no general extra credit option, students failing to complete or wishing to replace a low score on one of the Homefun or Collection sheet assignments can  do the optional Communty Service Learning Project instead. This option can only be used once during the semester, takes a bit of planning, and must follow the optional Community Service Learning Project guidelines.



(Minor changes and additions to the above assignments may have to be made during the semester. Final grades will be based on the following formula: 90% or better = A; 80% = B; 70% = C; 60% = D; 50% = F).

• First Homefun Sheet on Proverbs submitted in "Tasks, Tests and Survey" area by end of week 3
• First Collection Sheet submitted in "Tasks, Tests and Survey" area and a copy posted to Collection Sheet forum in Discussion area by end of week 5
• First Creative Work (cowboy/cowgirl poem or creation story) submitted in "Tasks, Tests and Survey" area and a copy posted to the Creative Work forum by end of week 6
• Second Collection Sheet submitted in "Tasks, Tests and Survey" area and a copy posted to the appropriate forum by end of week 9.
  
• Second Homefun Sheet on either Fairy Tales or Humor submitted in "Tasks, Tests and Survey" area by end of week 11
• Second Creative work (either cowboy/cowgirl poem, creation story or tall tall) submitted in "Tasks, Tests and Survey" area and a copy posted to Creative Work forum by end of week 12
• Optional Community Service Learning Project due at end of Week 14
  
• Submit Course Project by end of week 16
  
• Final Exam submitted to the "Tasks, Tests and Survey" area by 12/14
  

• Cheating or plagiarizing will result in grade of "F" for work in question. I often submit major writing assignments to a global search engine or Turnitin.com in order to ensure that all sources used are credited. If you have any questions about plagiarism and how to avoid it, visit the COS Writing Lab links on plagiarism. 
• No late work will be accepted. If you do have an emergency, contact me before the assignment is due to discuss your options. I have found that most students can avoid deadline problems by clearly writing down due dates in a course calendar, establishing regularly scheduled hours each week to complete course tasks, and by visiting the folklore site often during the week.
• No early work will be accepted. Collection Sheets, Quizzes, as well as all other work, must be turned in or posted during the week they are due. This policy will help all of us to "be on the same page," and it will make the course grading manageable for the instructor.
• Student are expected to visit all sites linked from the weekly pages, explore each site, and consider how the site topic relates to folklore. Be aware that not all sites are equal in value, and some sites linked to might be down. If you can't access a site after 24 hours, please e-mail me about the problem and I will look into it.
• Students must be willing to spend the necessary time needed to succeed in this course. The lengthy readings, announcements, numerous links, and many writing assignments will demand that the average student spend about 9 hours each week on the course. If you have any concerns or problems, do not hesitate to contact me. 
  
• All student writing is expected to be at the college level. You must do a spell check and ensure that all of your course writing is relatively free of gross grammar and punctuation problems. 
• The course content might be offensive to some people. During the semester you may well be asked to collect, read, and critically analyze material that some people may consider offensive. Although most material is quite harmless, crude jokes, sexually explicit creation stories, and sexist/racist language are quite likely to be encountered in a folklore course. If you are unable to handle such material, you should seriously consider taking a different course.