| Course Objective |
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| Course Description |
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| Course Schedule |
Course Schedule
Week
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Date
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Topic
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Assigned Texts
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1
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Feb 21
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Introduction
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2
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28
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National Holiday
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No class
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3
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March 7
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The English Language and National Identity
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- David Crystal, English as a Global Language
- Richard Rodriguez, Hunger of Memory
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4
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14
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Loss, Memory, and Remembrance
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- Kitty Drake, “The disappearance of department stores”
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5
|
21
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The Perils and Promises of High Technology
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- Chris Miller, Chip War
- Nicholas Carr, The Shallows
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6
|
28
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Self-worth, Life, and Professional Career
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- David Graeber, Bullshit Jobs
- Ram Madhvani, Neerja (2016)
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7
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April 4
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National Holiday
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No class
|
8
|
11
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Studying Week
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No class
|
9
|
18
|
Midterm Exam
In-class writing
|
|
10
|
25
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Parent-Child Relationship, Parenting Style, and Family Value
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- 龍應台〈目送〉、〈一九六四〉
- Amy Tan, “Mother Tongue”
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11
|
May 2
|
Individual Ambition versus Collective Value
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- 廖玉蕙〈繁華散盡〉
- Michael J. Sandel, The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good?
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12
|
9
|
Celebrity Culture, Mental Health, and the Media
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Britney Spears, The Woman in Me
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13
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16
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Self-Help, Well-Being, and Personal Growth
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Michelle Obama, The Light We Carry
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14
|
23
|
Guest Talk
N.B. Details will be announced in class
|
|
15
|
30
|
National Holiday
|
No Class
|
16
|
June 6
|
Individual Supervision with the Instructor
|
|
17
|
13
|
Final Presentation
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|
18
|
20
|
End of semester
|
No class
|
|
| Teaching Methods |
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| Teaching Assistant |
N/A
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| Requirement/Grading |
Course Requirements
- Attendance and Punctuality. Please come to class on time. Being late twice equals to one absence. Each unjustifiable absence will reduce 10 points from your final grade.
- One Oral Presentation. A leading team of two or three members should choose a topic from the syllabus to make a PowerPoint presentation and provide the audience with food for thought. Its counterpart—the discussion group—, on the other hand, shall prepare one or two questions based on the leading team’s topic. In your PowerPoint presentation, please summarize the assigned article, read us a couple of thought-provoking sentences, discuss the article’s socio-historical background, talk about the author, and share your thoughts with the class.
- Weekly Reading Assignments. Weekly reading assignments are compulsory, so please finish reading the assigned articles before coming to the class. The instructor will ask the class questions based on the articles that you have read.
- Course Packet. There will be a course packet covering all the reading materials for this course. Please get it from the NCCU photocopying center on B1樂活館.
N.B. To facilitate your learning and allow me to observe your reading progress, it is essential that you secure a copy of the course packet.
- Midterm in-class Writing. The instructor will choose a current topic or a topic related to the readings as the midterm in-class writing. Please read the assigned materials from week three to week six carefully and elaborate your own thoughts in an organized manner.
- Final Presentation. A group of two or three members should choose a current topic and deliver a 20-minute PowerPoint presentation. Presentations should include an introduction to the author, one or two quotes from the article, reasons of your chosen quote(s), an analysis of the article/speech, and any additional insights or fun facts. The goal is to encourage students to become more informed, empathetic individuals who can navigate the complexities of today’s world.
Grading Policy
- Attendance 10%
- Course packet’s notes, comments, marginalia, etc 20%
- Midterm in-class writing 20%
- Group presentation 20 %
- Final presentation 30%
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| Textbook & Reference |
References
- Crystal, David. English as a Global Language. Cambridge UP, 2003.
- Carr, Nicholas. The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brain. W. W. Norton, 2011.
- Drake, Kitty. “The disappearance of department stores will rob us a certain kind of magic” The Guardian, 29 Mar. 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/29/john-lewis-stores-disappearance-internet-shopping.
- Graeber, David. Bullshit Jobs: A Theory. Simon and Schuster, 2019.
- Neerja. Directed by Ram Madhvani, Bling Unplugged / Fox Star Studio, 2016.
- Miller, Chris. Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology. Scribner, 2022.
- Obama, Michelle. The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times. Crown, 2022.
- Rodriguez, Richard. Hunger of Memories: The Education of Richard Rodriguez. Bantam, 1983.
- Sandel, Michael J. The Tyranny of Merit: Can We Find the Common Good? Picador Paper, 2021.
- Spears, Britney. The Woman in Me. Gallery Books, 2023.
- Tan, Amy. “Mother Tongue.” Dreams and Inward Journeys: A Rhetoric and Reader for Writers, edited by Marjorie Ford and Jon Ford, 7th ed., Pearson, 2010, pp. 34–44.
- 琦君。琦君散文選中英對照。台北市：九歌，民96年。
- 廖玉蕙。繁華散盡：廖玉蕙散文中英對照。台北：九歌，民100年。
- 龍應台。目送。台北市：印刻，民104年。
Useful websites
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| Urls about Course |
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| Attachment |
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