Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Cyber-Assigment: The Known World
Tomorrow in class we will continue discussing The Known World. I hope we have time to write a short three paragraph essay (afternoon class) to post here. For the morning class, this is homework due Thursday morning.
Consider the following:
In The Known World many characters face internal conflict as they try to reconcile what is legal with what is moral, and lose the battle. List the characters here with a synopsis of what their issue is and how they plan to resolve it, if they can resolve it.
Identify any opponents and friends they might have along with what they have to gain if all works out and what they stand to lose if things do not work out.
Identify these conflicts and as you read the novel note the resolution or absence there of for those characters identified here.
Other questions
How is evil justified in The Known World? Is evil ever ethnically justified?
Homework recap
Make sure you respond to one or more students. Homework is to complete the section in SPHE on paraphrases. There will be a short quiz on Wednesday-Thursday on paraphrasing. We will start working on Essay 1 in SPHE (2-31).
Essay 1 Stewart Pidd Hates English
The essay will be due Sept. 13-16. We will write it in class in groups. You will email it to me. We will start with quizzes on pages 14-15 and 29-30.
Consider the following:
In The Known World many characters face internal conflict as they try to reconcile what is legal with what is moral, and lose the battle. List the characters here with a synopsis of what their issue is and how they plan to resolve it, if they can resolve it.
Identify any opponents and friends they might have along with what they have to gain if all works out and what they stand to lose if things do not work out.
Identify these conflicts and as you read the novel note the resolution or absence there of for those characters identified here.
Other questions
How is evil justified in The Known World? Is evil ever ethnically justified?
Homework recap
Make sure you respond to one or more students. Homework is to complete the section in SPHE on paraphrases. There will be a short quiz on Wednesday-Thursday on paraphrasing. We will start working on Essay 1 in SPHE (2-31).
Essay 1 Stewart Pidd Hates English
The essay will be due Sept. 13-16. We will write it in class in groups. You will email it to me. We will start with quizzes on pages 14-15 and 29-30.
Today we spent time in class reviewing the paraphrasing section in SPHE. The section starts on page 339. Keep going until you complete it. We also read the P.S.: interview and cast aloud. If you want a copy of this section of the book, there are copies outside my office: L-235 in a labeled box. There are two handouts. Take one of both.
Homework was to read chapter 1 and complete a reading log which includes the following: vocabulary log (words and definitions); questions, passages that intrigue of delight you; notes...personal discourse with the text, character descriptions and a brief summary of key points and themes.
Do this for each chapter.
As you read, think about a potential essay topic. You will write an essay about a theme from the book.
Homework was to read chapter 1 and complete a reading log which includes the following: vocabulary log (words and definitions); questions, passages that intrigue of delight you; notes...personal discourse with the text, character descriptions and a brief summary of key points and themes.
Do this for each chapter.
As you read, think about a potential essay topic. You will write an essay about a theme from the book.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Homework is to bring in The Known World to the next class meeting. I will give you a reading assignment log this week. Complete the quiz on titles and keep working in SPHE. In the morning class we had a great conversation about Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror (?).
If you brought in a song to share, post your summary here. Please include the thesis or controlling idea the song proves.
If you brought in a song to share, post your summary here. Please include the thesis or controlling idea the song proves.
Article Summaries
From Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Homework
Bring in a published news article to practice paraphrasing and summarizing one or both of these topics for Monday, August 30, 2010. This will be our freewrite. You will also post this assignment.
We will do the same for Sept. 11, 2010.
Today in class, instead of using the article for a freewrite, we went around and students summarized their articles (one of them) aloud. This was met with resistance initially, especially when I stated that those who didn't share would have a zero on the assignment. We then worked on groups or pairs in SPHE--Paraphrasing and Plagiarizing (p. 339 ...). Keep doing the exercises. We will review them on Wednesday for the MW class.
Bring your article to class or email it to yourself for Wednesday-Thursday.
Post your summaries here. Remember, a summary is not your opinion, it is a brief restatement (in your own words) the key ideas of the article. To avoid accidental copying, after you read the article, put it away. Make sure you annotate the key ideas and include the author's name, the name of the publication and the date the article was published in your summary--the first sentence.
Homework
Bring in a published news article to practice paraphrasing and summarizing one or both of these topics for Monday, August 30, 2010. This will be our freewrite. You will also post this assignment.
We will do the same for Sept. 11, 2010.
Today in class, instead of using the article for a freewrite, we went around and students summarized their articles (one of them) aloud. This was met with resistance initially, especially when I stated that those who didn't share would have a zero on the assignment. We then worked on groups or pairs in SPHE--Paraphrasing and Plagiarizing (p. 339 ...). Keep doing the exercises. We will review them on Wednesday for the MW class.
Bring your article to class or email it to yourself for Wednesday-Thursday.
Post your summaries here. Remember, a summary is not your opinion, it is a brief restatement (in your own words) the key ideas of the article. To avoid accidental copying, after you read the article, put it away. Make sure you annotate the key ideas and include the author's name, the name of the publication and the date the article was published in your summary--the first sentence.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Adding the class
Don't forget to keep trying to add the class.
Library Orientations...etc.
Don't forget, the library orientations are Tuesday, Sept. 21, 8-8:50 AM and Wednesday, Sept. 22, 1-2 PM. We will meet at the reference desk. After the orientation the afternoon class will wind up in A-232. I stayed after class from 3-4 on Wednesday. I will have my office hours in A-232 on Wednesdays. One student, who missed Mirrors of Privilege, was able to watch it after class.
I will show it again this Wednesday for anyone who needs to see it. Other students can stick around and work on Pidd or other assignments.
I will show it again this Wednesday for anyone who needs to see it. Other students can stick around and work on Pidd or other assignments.
Cyber-Tutorials
Today we met for the first time in A-232, the classroom with technology. Students in the afternoon class were able to become familiar and more comfortable with blogging. Students shared their summaries and made comments on each other's on the site.
A student said that her freewrite was personal, so I told her to post her freewrite anonymously. Students all have the option of posting freewrites anonymously. You can then email them to me with your name so you can have credit for the post: coasabirenglish201@gmail.com
In the early class, we completed the video and had a short discussion about the terms and some of the concepts discussed in the film. We didn't have another discussion in the afternoon class. We just dived right in.
After about an hour working on the blog, we looked at MLA formatting for essays. Folami volunteered and read the essay aloud. We then reviewed one of the quizzes together. The second quiz was completed in groups.
There was a third quiz, I told students not to complete as we haven't reviewed it in Stewart Pidd Hates English (322-230).
Since only a few students had the textbook(s), I passed out a workbook on paraphrasing and summarizing which we talked about a bit before once again getting into groups and working on the exercises together.
Homework is to work on paraphrasing in SPHE pages 339-380. Students do not have to complete the entire section by Monday, do about half. We'll finish the section next week.
Additional homework is to bring in an article about New Orleans and the Gulf, five years after Katrina. Also bring in a news article about Micheal Jackson. His birthday is Sunday, August 29, as well. He would have been 52. If you like, bring in a Michael Jackson song, we can play it. For extra credit, you can bring in, or email lyrics to a Jackson song. I will print copies for you for the class.
Your presentation will be to summarize the key ideas of the song and identify the thesis and tell us why you like it. It would be great if students also posted their comments. If you want to bring snacks/finger food -- not too messy, for a party, that's fine as well. Send me an email if I need to pick up anything like napkins.
We are going to practice paraphrasing sections of the articles. Bring them to class on Wednesday as well. Students will post the paraphrases on the blog. Students can pull the articles from the newspaper's website.
Bring The Known World to class next week. I'd like to start reading it next week as well.
A student said that her freewrite was personal, so I told her to post her freewrite anonymously. Students all have the option of posting freewrites anonymously. You can then email them to me with your name so you can have credit for the post: coasabirenglish201@gmail.com
In the early class, we completed the video and had a short discussion about the terms and some of the concepts discussed in the film. We didn't have another discussion in the afternoon class. We just dived right in.
After about an hour working on the blog, we looked at MLA formatting for essays. Folami volunteered and read the essay aloud. We then reviewed one of the quizzes together. The second quiz was completed in groups.
There was a third quiz, I told students not to complete as we haven't reviewed it in Stewart Pidd Hates English (322-230).
Since only a few students had the textbook(s), I passed out a workbook on paraphrasing and summarizing which we talked about a bit before once again getting into groups and working on the exercises together.
Homework is to work on paraphrasing in SPHE pages 339-380. Students do not have to complete the entire section by Monday, do about half. We'll finish the section next week.
Additional homework is to bring in an article about New Orleans and the Gulf, five years after Katrina. Also bring in a news article about Micheal Jackson. His birthday is Sunday, August 29, as well. He would have been 52. If you like, bring in a Michael Jackson song, we can play it. For extra credit, you can bring in, or email lyrics to a Jackson song. I will print copies for you for the class.
Your presentation will be to summarize the key ideas of the song and identify the thesis and tell us why you like it. It would be great if students also posted their comments. If you want to bring snacks/finger food -- not too messy, for a party, that's fine as well. Send me an email if I need to pick up anything like napkins.
We are going to practice paraphrasing sections of the articles. Bring them to class on Wednesday as well. Students will post the paraphrases on the blog. Students can pull the articles from the newspaper's website.
Bring The Known World to class next week. I'd like to start reading it next week as well.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Theatre Dates
Let me know if you can attend any of the plays mentioned in the syllabus. I am going to see if I can get money for tickets, so if that is the only reason you can't attend, let me know you are available otherwise. This includes transportation (do you need money for transportation too?)
Cyber-Assignments . . .
Students have not posted their freewrites from Monday, Aug. 23, class. Post your freewrites on "privilege," and your response to the film below at the link. The morning class will do this Wednesday, Aug. 25, after it has seen the rest of the film.
Bring SPHE to class tomorrow, Aug. 25. We will start working in the book. Bring The Known World to class as well.
This weekend is the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and also the one year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death. His 52 birthday would have been Sunday, August 29, the same date as the hurricane.
Homework
Bring in a published news article to practice paraphrasing and summarizing one or both of these topics for Monday, August 30, 2010. This will be our freewrite. You will also post this assignment.
We will do the same for Sept. 11, 2010.
Bring SPHE to class tomorrow, Aug. 25. We will start working in the book. Bring The Known World to class as well.
This weekend is the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and also the one year anniversary of Michael Jackson's death. His 52 birthday would have been Sunday, August 29, the same date as the hurricane.
Homework
Bring in a published news article to practice paraphrasing and summarizing one or both of these topics for Monday, August 30, 2010. This will be our freewrite. You will also post this assignment.
We will do the same for Sept. 11, 2010.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Reflections on privilege
Today in both classes we reflected on the term "privilege:" what the term means and how it is applied in our lives. Are you privileged? How so? What has privilege allowed you to accomplish or the reverse, if one is not privileged?
Post your freewrite here and then respond to a classmate's comments.
In the afternoon class we watched the film: Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible. Visit http://world-trust.org/mirrors-of-privilege-making-whiteness-visible/
"This film features the experiences of white men and women who have worked to gain insight into what it means to challenge notions of racism and white supremacy. Participants talk about their learned and internalized sense of privilege. Their stories reveal what is often required to move through the stages of denial, defensiveness, guilt, fear, and shame into making a solid commitment to ending racial injustice. This film catalyzes powerful dialogue to support the learning, change and healing of all people who want to undo race-based oppression. Featuring: Tim Wise, Joe Fahey, Peggy V. MacIntosh, Marguerite Parks, Gary Howard and many more" (World-Trust).
Post your summaries here as well as your freewrites (ENG 201 1-2:50 PM AUG 23-24). Bring a copy of the summary to class on Wednesday, AUG. 25.
Post your freewrite here and then respond to a classmate's comments.
In the afternoon class we watched the film: Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible. Visit http://world-trust.org/mirrors-of-privilege-making-whiteness-visible/
"This film features the experiences of white men and women who have worked to gain insight into what it means to challenge notions of racism and white supremacy. Participants talk about their learned and internalized sense of privilege. Their stories reveal what is often required to move through the stages of denial, defensiveness, guilt, fear, and shame into making a solid commitment to ending racial injustice. This film catalyzes powerful dialogue to support the learning, change and healing of all people who want to undo race-based oppression. Featuring: Tim Wise, Joe Fahey, Peggy V. MacIntosh, Marguerite Parks, Gary Howard and many more" (World-Trust).
Post your summaries here as well as your freewrites (ENG 201 1-2:50 PM AUG 23-24). Bring a copy of the summary to class on Wednesday, AUG. 25.
Welcome to Fall Semester 2010
Course Syllabus
English 201, Fall 2010 at COA
Professor Wanda Sabir
ENG 201 A
42738 Lec 08:00-08:50 AM MTWTh Sabir C 104
42741 Lec 01:00-02:50 PM MW Sabir A 200
ENG 201 B
42744 Lec 08:00-08:50 AM MTWTh Sabir C 104
42747 Lec 01:00-02:50 PM MW Sabir A 200
Class Meetings: August 23-Dec. 9; No classes: 9/6; 11/11; 11/25-28
Drop dates: Sept. 7 (w/refund), Sept. 24 (w/out a W), Nov. 24 (w/W).
Class blog: http://professorsabirssposse.blogspot.com/
Syllabus for English 201A/B: Preparation for Composition and Reading
The English 201 series (4 units) is a preparatory course designed to emphasize the thinking, reading, organizing and writing skills required for successful execution of college-level papers in all subject areas. This course is designed to for those students requiring minimal preparation for entering English 1A.
Absences must be kept to a minimum. If you miss 6 consecutive hours or 8 cumulative hours you will risk being dropped from the course, doing poorly or both. English 201 consists of weekly essays and daily assignments. This is a portfolio driven class. Keep all of your written work, graded and otherwise to turn in the last day of class. There will be an assessment, a midterm, a research project, and multiple class presentations.
The text/workbook Stewart Pidd Hates English will provide a context for essay writing which will hopefully allow students the opportunity to become conversant about the writing process and use grammar in context, as well as, employ MLA documentation. Keep a reading log for Edward P. Jones’s The Known World noting key ideas, themes, vocabulary, questions and an analysis of primary writing strategies employed: description, process analysis, narration, argument, cause and effect, compare and contrast, definition, problem solving.
Research Project
Your research project will entail finding a person in Northern California who is a social entrepreneur. This research project will be an extension of the themes explored in The Known World and To Kill A Mockingbird (play). The essay will be about 4-5 pages. This will include a works cited page and bibliography. Students will make 5-10 minute presentations of these papers throughout the semester. We’ll discuss this task further later on.
New Heroes
Visit PBS.org “The New Heroes,” to read about social entrepreneurs. There is also a program called Frontline World.
Why socially responsible economics?
Too often people feel helpless or hopeless when there is a lot you can do as an individual as soon as you realize the answer lies inside of you. If possible choose an entrepreneur who lives in Northern California, someone you’d like to interview and perhaps meet. Students can work on the project together, share resources. Each person has to write his or her own paper, but you can make a group presentation if you like.
Course Objectives
English 201 will look primarily at writing which persuades: argumentative writing, as well as expository writing, narrative and descriptive writing. At the end of the course students will have read work of accomplished writers, as well as practiced writing in a variety of styles to suit the writer’s purpose.
Academic Blog
In this course students will submit essays and other written work on-line. The academic blog is an opportunity for students to utilize multiple intelligences as they engage one another in a variety modalities.The blog site: http://professorsabirssposse.blogspot.com/ Make a habit of visiting the site minimally once a day.
Student Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course students will have an altered or heightened awareness of the world around them, especially discourse: speech and text. Students will see that everything is an argument, whether that is a cartoon, advertisement, or lyrics in a song. Students will be able to analyze and critique each incident or contact to evaluate its author’s purpose, audience, and evidence to determine whether or not such goal was met and if appropriate, act accordingly.
This course is intended to be both a group learning experience as well as an individually rewarding one. Mid-semester we will schedule conferences so students can confer with the instructor to evaluate his or her progress in the course. Classroom instruction will consist of lectures, small group work, and students working in pairs. This is an effective way for students to exchange ideas with classmates, compare reactions to readings and practice giving and receiving constructive feedback on class work.
Preparation for class, regular attendance and active participation is imperative for those students who wish to succeed in this course.
It is a student’s responsibility to contact the instructor if he or she plans to miss class. The student is responsible for all materials and information given during the class time, so please get telephone numbers for three (3) classmates in case you are late or absent. You will not be able to make up in-class assignments when you miss class.
Requirements for homework assignments:
No late papers are accepted unless arranged in advance. Any papers below a C grade are an automatic revision or rewrite. Essays range between 2-3 pages, 500-750 words (English 201B students write the longer essays).
Choose topics which give you enough to write about. We will use documentation to substantiate all of our claims. With this in mind, I expect all papers to utilize at least two (2) different outside print sources, in addition to the occasional interview, and broadcast news, that is, radio or television, Internet also.
You will learn to document sources; we will practice citing sources in text, using footnotes and endnotes, and writing bibliographies and notes pages. Remember save all your work! This is a portfolio course.
All essay assignments you receive comments on have to be revised prior to resubmission; included with the revision is a student narrative essay to me regarding your understanding of what needed to be done; a student can prepare this as a part of the Writing Center visit (see below), especially if said student is unclear over what steps to take.
We will write short essays that reflect themes and ideas discussed that week. Stewart Pidd has essay assignments attached to the text. Some of these essays will be written in class. The research essay will be an argument. There will be a midterm and a final essay.
Jot down briefly what your goals are this semester. List them in order of importance.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Library Orientations: TBA
We will meet in the library at the reference desk.
Homework Assignment 1:
E-mail introduction, due Aug. 31-Sept. 2. Send to coasabirenglish201@gmail.com
Please send me an email and introduce yourself to me. Besides the usual: where are you from? What languages do you speak besides English? What child are you in the family? What are your hobbies and why are you taking this class? Make certain you tell me the time and class you are in, such as, ENG 201B, 1-3 PM. (I have four sections.)
Include: your contact information: Name, Address, phone number, best e-mail address, best time to call and answers to the questions below.
What strengths do you bring to the class? What do you hope to obtain from the course – any particular exit skills? What do I need to know about you to help you meet your goals.
Homework Assignment 2:
Written Response to the Syllabus due by Sept. 2
Write a comment on the blog regarding the syllabus: your impressions, whether you think it is reasonable, questions, suggestions. This is our contract, I need to know you read it and understand the agreement. (Comment on the blog where the syllabus is posted.)
Presentation 1: Due Tuesday, Sept. 14
Bring in an object that represents American culture. Be prepared to share. Write a brief profile on the object justifying its inclusion in the archives (100 words or so). You will post the written response on the blog. I’ll take photos.
Grading
Essays: 15 percent (including Stewart Pidd essay assignments)
Cyber-Assignments posted on blog: 15 percent
Midterm: 10 percent
Final: 15 percent
Research Essay/Presentation: 20 percent
Portfolio: 15 percent
Peer Reviews from Lab teachers: 10 percent
Participation: 5 percent
The essays which take their themes from the readings are practice essays, and are about a fourth of your grade, your midterm and final are another fourth and your portfolio is the final fourth. (Save all of your work.) You can average the grades to see how to weigh the various components. Participation is included in the daily exercises and cyber assignments, along with the homework portion of the grade, so if your attendance is exemplary, yet you say nothing the entire 18 weeks, you loose percentage points.
You will also need to plan to spend time weekly in the Writing Lab (L-234-235, (510) 748-2132). It is a great place to get one-on-on assistance on your essays, from brainstorming and planning the essays, to critique in areas like clarity, organization, clearly stated thesis, evidence or support, logical conclusions, and grammatical problems. In the Writing Center there are ancillary materials for student use. These writing programs build strong writing muscles. The Bedford Handbook on-line, Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers on-line, Townsend Press, and other such computer and cyber-based resources are a few of the many databases available. There is also an Open Lab for checking e-mail, a Math Lab. All academic labs are located in the Learning Resource Center (LRC) or library. The Cyber Café is located in the F-bldg.
Students need a student ID to use the labs and to check out books. The IDs are free and you can take the photo in the F-Building, Student Services. Students have to enroll in LRNE 501 (Supervised Tutoring) Class Code: 43990 to use the academic labs and to print essays. It is free and there no penalties. It takes 24-hours to kick in, so register now. Go to www.peralta.edu Click enroll now link. Click activate my account link… and follow the instructions to activate your account and set your password. The steps are too many to type here. If you have questions see Pat Denoncourt, LRC Coordinator, Rm. L-204 or your counselor. The student ID is necessary to use the labs and to check out books. The IDs are free and you can take the photo in the F-Building, Student Services. There is also a Cyber Café in the F-Building on the second floor in the cafeteria area. .
Have a tutor of teacher sign off on your revised essays before you turn them in; if you have a “R,” which means revision necessary for a grade or “NC” which means “no credit,” you have to go to the lab and revise the essay with a tutor or teacher before you return both the graded original and the revision (with signature) to me. Revise does not mean “rewrite,” it means to “see again.”
When getting assistance on an essay, the teacher or tutor is not an editor, so have questions prepared for them to make best use of the 15-20 minute session in the Lab. For more specific assistance, sign up for one-on-one tutoring, another free service. For those of you on other campuses, you can get assistance at the Merritt College’s Writing Center, as well as Laney’s Writing Center.
All essay assignments you receive comments on have to be revised prior to resubmission; included with the revision is a student narrative to me regarding your understanding of what needed to be done; a student can prepare this as a part of the Lab visit, especially if said student is unclear over what steps to take.
Students can also visit me in office hours for assistance; again, prepare your questions in advance to best make use of the time. Do not leave class without understanding the comments on a paper. I don’t mind reading them to you.
English language fluency in writing and reading; a certain comfort and ease with the language; confidence and skillful application of literary skills associated with academic writing. Familiarity if not mastery of the rhetorical styles used in argumentation, exposition and narration will be addressed in this class and is a key student learning outcome (SLO).
We will be evaluating what we know and how we came to know what we know, a field called epistemology or the study of knowledge. Granted, the perspective is western culture which eliminates the values of the majority populations, so-called underdeveloped or undeveloped countries or cultures. Let us not fall into typical superiority traps. Try to maintain a mental elasticity and a willingness to let go of concepts which not only limit your growth as an intelligent being, but put you at a distinct disadvantage as a species.
This is a highly charged and potentially revolutionary process - critical thinking. The process of evaluating all that you swallowed without chewing up to now is possibly even dangerous. This is one of the problems with bigotry; it’s easier to go with tradition than toss it, and create a new, more just, alternative protocol.
More on grades, and portfolio
We will be honest with one another. Grades are not necessarily the best response to work; grades do not take into consideration the effort or time spent, only whether or not students can demonstrate mastery of a skill – in this case: essay writing. Grades are an approximation, arbitrary at best, no matter how many safeguards one tries to put in place to avoid such ambiguity. Suffice it to say, your portfolio will illustrate your competence. It will represent your progress, your success or failure this session in meeting your goal.
In past semesters, students have skipped the portfolio and/or the final. Neither is optional.
Office Hours
I’d like to wish everyone good luck. I am available for consultation on MW 9:30-10:30 AM, and MW 3-4 PM and by appointment on T/Th after 12 noon. My office is located between the academic labs in L-236 (inside L-235). My office number is (510) 748-2131, e-mail coasabirenglish201@gmail.com. Let me know the day before, if possible, when you’d like to meet with me. Ask me for my cell phone number. I do not mind sharing it with you.
I don’t check my e-mail frequently on weekends, so I’d advise you to exchange phone numbers with classmates (2), so if you have a concern, it can be addressed more expediently. Again study groups are recommended, especially for those students finding the readings difficult; don’t forget, you can also discuss the readings as a group in the Lab with a teacher or tutor acting as facilitator. Keep a vocabulary log for the semester and an error chart (taken from comments on essay assignments). List the words you need to look up in the dictionary, also list where you first encountered them: page, book and definition, also use the word in a sentence. You will turn this in with your portfolio.
Students are expected to complete their work on time. If you need more time on an assignment, discuss this with me in advance, to keep full credit. You loose credit each day an assignment is late and certain assignments, such as in-class essays cannot be made up. All assignments prepared outside of class are to be typed, 12-pt. font, double-spaced lines, indentations on paragraphs, 1-inch margins around the written work.
For in class writing use blue or black ink. Assignments completed in class cannot be made up.
Cheating
Plagiarism is ethically abhorrent, and if any student tries to take credit for work authored by another person the result will be a failed grade on the assignment and possibly a failed grade in the course if this is attempted again. This is a graded course. There might be an option to take this course C/NC. See Admission and Records.
Textbooks Recap:
Required
Jones, Edward P. The Known World. New York: Amistad/Harper Collins, 2004.
Pollitt, Gary. Craig Baker. Stewart Pidd Hates English: Grammar, Punctuation, and Writing Exercises. First or Second Edition. California: Attack the Text Publishing, 2008. ISBN: 13: 978-0-9755923-4-2
Start thinking about a book you’d like to read to satisfy the final book requirement.
Students need to choose a book by an author who lives here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Consider a writer whose protagonist is one of those silenced voices or voices absent in the national discourse. Biographies and autobiographies are great. If you want to read a novel, let me see it first. In fact, let me see all books before you start reading them. Students will have a paper and a presentation based on the book. Choose one now and when we finish The Known World you can start reading it. The presentation and paper will be due in December.
Both the subject and the social entrepreneur can be the same person, two different essays though. Again, students can have partners in the presentations for the SE and book report. Students have to write his or her own paper though.
Students also need a dictionary. I recommend: The American Heritage Dictionary. Fourth Edition.
The Prepared Student also needs...
Along with a dictionary, the prepared student needs pens with blue or black ink, along with a pencil for annotating texts, paper, a stapler or paper clips, a jump drive to save work from college computers, a notebook, three hole punch, a folder for work-in-progress, and a divided binder to keep materials together.
Did I mention an open mind (smile).
Also stay abreast of the news. Buy a daily paper. Listen to alternative radio: KPFA 94.1 FM (Hardknock), KQED 88.5, KALW 91.7. Visit news websites: AllAfrica.com, Al Jazeera, CNN.com, AlterNet.org, DemocracyNow.org, FlashPoints.org, CBS 60Minutes.
* The syllabus is a living document, subject to change or alterations as needed to better address the needs of the class. I will of course inform you of any changes if such is necessary.
COA Sabir English Classes Fall 2010
Theatre Field Trips (4)
1. I’d like to take a field trip to see the play: Trouble in Mind By Alice Childress
Directed by Robin Stanton, August 20 – September 26, 2010
Obie award-winning classic Trouble in Mind follows a mixed-race cast attempting to mount a production of a “progressive” new play on Broadway in the 1950s. The play—an anti-lynching drama set in the South—is written by a white man and directed by a white man, and marks the first opportunity for a gifted black actress to play a leading role on Broadway. But what compromises must she make to succeed? More than 40 years after it was written, Trouble in Mind, according to The New York Times, “still has the power to make one feel its anger and humor.” Bay Area favorite Margo Hall will make her Aurora debut with this play. Taken from the website: http://www.auroratheatre.org/
Check your calendars for Tuesday, August 31, 7 PM, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010. Sunday, Sept. 19, 2 PM or 7 PM is also a possibility. Under 30 years old is always half price. I think they also have a student rate. We’d go as a group which is also discounted. The Aurora Theatre is in downtown Berkeley and on the BART route: 2081 Addison Street in Berkeley.
2. Another play I’d like to attend as a class is free: Genny Lim’s 1982 play, Paper Angels in a new multimedia production to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Angel Island, the Ellis Island of the West, Wednesday to Friday: September 15, 16 and 17 at dusk in Portsmouth Square, (the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown, (Grant Street at Clay Street) as a part of the San Francisco Fringe Festival. Visit www.sffringefestival.org and www.directarts.org. I am going Friday, Sept. 17. I have classes the other two nights.
Set in 1915 during the Chinese Exclusion Act, PAPER ANGELS is about an elderly Chinese railroad worker attempting to bring his wife to America after many decades of separation. A seminal play by San Francisco native Genny Lim, the play premiered in 1982 and was subsequently filmed for American Playhouse on PBS starring James Hong and Joan Chen. Dusting off this prescient gem nearly three decades later in the wake of heated debates on America’s immigration policy, Direct Arts’s new multimedia production incorporates projections of archival images, live traditional Chinese music, spoken word and segments of Chinese opera and folkdance.
3. The third play I’d like us to see, maybe three and four, respectively, are: Dan Hoyle’s THE REAL AMERICANS, through November 6, 2010. Developed with and directed by Charlie Varon, the show will play Wednesday through Friday at 8:00 pm and Saturday at 5:00 pm. All shows are on The Marsh MainStage, 1062 Valencia Street in San Francisco. For tickets, the public may call Brown Paper Tickets at 800-838-3006 or visit www.themarsh.org
Hoyle’s THE REAL AMERICANS connects two worlds that usually prefer to stay apart: the liberal, achingly hip, moral-relativism of gentrified city life and the conservative, absolutist, and often hostile populism that Hoyle found overflowing in small-town America. Living out of his van and sleeping in people’s yards and Walmart parking lots, Hoyle shared meals and conversation with cowboys, coal miners, soldiers, farmers, rural drug dealers, itinerant preachers, gun salesmen, closeted gay fundamentalists and creation theory experts. Frequently grateful for their hospitality, often perplexed by their beliefs, he sought to see the world through their eyes and understand their anger. Hoyle won the prestigious 2007 Will Glickman “Best New Play” Award for “Tings Dey Happen,” which enjoyed extended runs at The Marsh and also Off-Broadway, where it was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show. Both “Tings Dey Happen” and THE REAL AMERICANS are directed by Charlie Varon. We can talk about dates in class.
4. Don Reed's EAST 14TH - TRUE TALES OF A RELUCTANT PLAYER has been extended at The Marsh Berkeley through September 12, 2010. The show has now entered its second sold-out year – it started at The Marsh San Francisco in May, 2009! – and its fourteenth extension.
Recently, Reed shared one of the stories from EAST 14TH with Oprah's new television network. Entitled BUTTER, it is already available on her website at http://www.oprah.com/own/innerview.html?page_id=14 and will air beginning 1/1/11.
Reed, who is the comedian/warm-up host for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno during the week, is delighted to be spending his weekends performing on his home turf in the East Bay. When playing on Fridays, the show will start at 9:00 pm, on Saturdays at 8:00 pm and on Sundays at 7:00 pm. All shows take place at The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way in Berkeley. For tickets, the public may call Brown Paper Tickets at 800-838-3006 or visit www.themarsh.org
EAST 14TH chronicles the true tale of a young man raised by his mother and ultra-strict stepfather as a middle class, straight A, God-fearing church boy. The boy, however, wanted to be just like his dear old Dad. Too bad he didn't know dear old Dad was a pimp. Very funny, definitely poignant — a ride down a street you won't soon forget. The San Francisco Chronicle described Reed as an "Irresistible presence," and the East Bay Express declared the show ‘...Nothing short of amazing." The show is a best Bay Area Critics Circle Award Solo Performance nominee.
Friday, August 6; Sunday, August 8
Saturday, August 14; Sunday, August 15
Friday, August 20; Sunday, August 22
Saturday, August 28; Sunday, August 29
Saturday, September 4
Saturday, September 11; Sunday, September 25
Saturday, September 31; Sunday, September 12
English 201, Fall 2010 at COA
Professor Wanda Sabir
ENG 201 A
42738 Lec 08:00-08:50 AM MTWTh Sabir C 104
42741 Lec 01:00-02:50 PM MW Sabir A 200
ENG 201 B
42744 Lec 08:00-08:50 AM MTWTh Sabir C 104
42747 Lec 01:00-02:50 PM MW Sabir A 200
Class Meetings: August 23-Dec. 9; No classes: 9/6; 11/11; 11/25-28
Drop dates: Sept. 7 (w/refund), Sept. 24 (w/out a W), Nov. 24 (w/W).
Class blog: http://professorsabirssposse.blogspot.com/
Syllabus for English 201A/B: Preparation for Composition and Reading
The English 201 series (4 units) is a preparatory course designed to emphasize the thinking, reading, organizing and writing skills required for successful execution of college-level papers in all subject areas. This course is designed to for those students requiring minimal preparation for entering English 1A.
Absences must be kept to a minimum. If you miss 6 consecutive hours or 8 cumulative hours you will risk being dropped from the course, doing poorly or both. English 201 consists of weekly essays and daily assignments. This is a portfolio driven class. Keep all of your written work, graded and otherwise to turn in the last day of class. There will be an assessment, a midterm, a research project, and multiple class presentations.
The text/workbook Stewart Pidd Hates English will provide a context for essay writing which will hopefully allow students the opportunity to become conversant about the writing process and use grammar in context, as well as, employ MLA documentation. Keep a reading log for Edward P. Jones’s The Known World noting key ideas, themes, vocabulary, questions and an analysis of primary writing strategies employed: description, process analysis, narration, argument, cause and effect, compare and contrast, definition, problem solving.
Research Project
Your research project will entail finding a person in Northern California who is a social entrepreneur. This research project will be an extension of the themes explored in The Known World and To Kill A Mockingbird (play). The essay will be about 4-5 pages. This will include a works cited page and bibliography. Students will make 5-10 minute presentations of these papers throughout the semester. We’ll discuss this task further later on.
New Heroes
Visit PBS.org “The New Heroes,” to read about social entrepreneurs. There is also a program called Frontline World.
Why socially responsible economics?
Too often people feel helpless or hopeless when there is a lot you can do as an individual as soon as you realize the answer lies inside of you. If possible choose an entrepreneur who lives in Northern California, someone you’d like to interview and perhaps meet. Students can work on the project together, share resources. Each person has to write his or her own paper, but you can make a group presentation if you like.
Course Objectives
English 201 will look primarily at writing which persuades: argumentative writing, as well as expository writing, narrative and descriptive writing. At the end of the course students will have read work of accomplished writers, as well as practiced writing in a variety of styles to suit the writer’s purpose.
Academic Blog
In this course students will submit essays and other written work on-line. The academic blog is an opportunity for students to utilize multiple intelligences as they engage one another in a variety modalities.The blog site: http://professorsabirssposse.blogspot.com/ Make a habit of visiting the site minimally once a day.
Student Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course students will have an altered or heightened awareness of the world around them, especially discourse: speech and text. Students will see that everything is an argument, whether that is a cartoon, advertisement, or lyrics in a song. Students will be able to analyze and critique each incident or contact to evaluate its author’s purpose, audience, and evidence to determine whether or not such goal was met and if appropriate, act accordingly.
This course is intended to be both a group learning experience as well as an individually rewarding one. Mid-semester we will schedule conferences so students can confer with the instructor to evaluate his or her progress in the course. Classroom instruction will consist of lectures, small group work, and students working in pairs. This is an effective way for students to exchange ideas with classmates, compare reactions to readings and practice giving and receiving constructive feedback on class work.
Preparation for class, regular attendance and active participation is imperative for those students who wish to succeed in this course.
It is a student’s responsibility to contact the instructor if he or she plans to miss class. The student is responsible for all materials and information given during the class time, so please get telephone numbers for three (3) classmates in case you are late or absent. You will not be able to make up in-class assignments when you miss class.
Requirements for homework assignments:
No late papers are accepted unless arranged in advance. Any papers below a C grade are an automatic revision or rewrite. Essays range between 2-3 pages, 500-750 words (English 201B students write the longer essays).
Choose topics which give you enough to write about. We will use documentation to substantiate all of our claims. With this in mind, I expect all papers to utilize at least two (2) different outside print sources, in addition to the occasional interview, and broadcast news, that is, radio or television, Internet also.
You will learn to document sources; we will practice citing sources in text, using footnotes and endnotes, and writing bibliographies and notes pages. Remember save all your work! This is a portfolio course.
All essay assignments you receive comments on have to be revised prior to resubmission; included with the revision is a student narrative essay to me regarding your understanding of what needed to be done; a student can prepare this as a part of the Writing Center visit (see below), especially if said student is unclear over what steps to take.
We will write short essays that reflect themes and ideas discussed that week. Stewart Pidd has essay assignments attached to the text. Some of these essays will be written in class. The research essay will be an argument. There will be a midterm and a final essay.
Jot down briefly what your goals are this semester. List them in order of importance.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Library Orientations: TBA
We will meet in the library at the reference desk.
Homework Assignment 1:
E-mail introduction, due Aug. 31-Sept. 2. Send to coasabirenglish201@gmail.com
Please send me an email and introduce yourself to me. Besides the usual: where are you from? What languages do you speak besides English? What child are you in the family? What are your hobbies and why are you taking this class? Make certain you tell me the time and class you are in, such as, ENG 201B, 1-3 PM. (I have four sections.)
Include: your contact information: Name, Address, phone number, best e-mail address, best time to call and answers to the questions below.
What strengths do you bring to the class? What do you hope to obtain from the course – any particular exit skills? What do I need to know about you to help you meet your goals.
Homework Assignment 2:
Written Response to the Syllabus due by Sept. 2
Write a comment on the blog regarding the syllabus: your impressions, whether you think it is reasonable, questions, suggestions. This is our contract, I need to know you read it and understand the agreement. (Comment on the blog where the syllabus is posted.)
Presentation 1: Due Tuesday, Sept. 14
Bring in an object that represents American culture. Be prepared to share. Write a brief profile on the object justifying its inclusion in the archives (100 words or so). You will post the written response on the blog. I’ll take photos.
Grading
Essays: 15 percent (including Stewart Pidd essay assignments)
Cyber-Assignments posted on blog: 15 percent
Midterm: 10 percent
Final: 15 percent
Research Essay/Presentation: 20 percent
Portfolio: 15 percent
Peer Reviews from Lab teachers: 10 percent
Participation: 5 percent
The essays which take their themes from the readings are practice essays, and are about a fourth of your grade, your midterm and final are another fourth and your portfolio is the final fourth. (Save all of your work.) You can average the grades to see how to weigh the various components. Participation is included in the daily exercises and cyber assignments, along with the homework portion of the grade, so if your attendance is exemplary, yet you say nothing the entire 18 weeks, you loose percentage points.
You will also need to plan to spend time weekly in the Writing Lab (L-234-235, (510) 748-2132). It is a great place to get one-on-on assistance on your essays, from brainstorming and planning the essays, to critique in areas like clarity, organization, clearly stated thesis, evidence or support, logical conclusions, and grammatical problems. In the Writing Center there are ancillary materials for student use. These writing programs build strong writing muscles. The Bedford Handbook on-line, Diana Hacker’s Rules for Writers on-line, Townsend Press, and other such computer and cyber-based resources are a few of the many databases available. There is also an Open Lab for checking e-mail, a Math Lab. All academic labs are located in the Learning Resource Center (LRC) or library. The Cyber Café is located in the F-bldg.
Students need a student ID to use the labs and to check out books. The IDs are free and you can take the photo in the F-Building, Student Services. Students have to enroll in LRNE 501 (Supervised Tutoring) Class Code: 43990 to use the academic labs and to print essays. It is free and there no penalties. It takes 24-hours to kick in, so register now. Go to www.peralta.edu Click enroll now link. Click activate my account link… and follow the instructions to activate your account and set your password. The steps are too many to type here. If you have questions see Pat Denoncourt, LRC Coordinator, Rm. L-204 or your counselor. The student ID is necessary to use the labs and to check out books. The IDs are free and you can take the photo in the F-Building, Student Services. There is also a Cyber Café in the F-Building on the second floor in the cafeteria area. .
Have a tutor of teacher sign off on your revised essays before you turn them in; if you have a “R,” which means revision necessary for a grade or “NC” which means “no credit,” you have to go to the lab and revise the essay with a tutor or teacher before you return both the graded original and the revision (with signature) to me. Revise does not mean “rewrite,” it means to “see again.”
When getting assistance on an essay, the teacher or tutor is not an editor, so have questions prepared for them to make best use of the 15-20 minute session in the Lab. For more specific assistance, sign up for one-on-one tutoring, another free service. For those of you on other campuses, you can get assistance at the Merritt College’s Writing Center, as well as Laney’s Writing Center.
All essay assignments you receive comments on have to be revised prior to resubmission; included with the revision is a student narrative to me regarding your understanding of what needed to be done; a student can prepare this as a part of the Lab visit, especially if said student is unclear over what steps to take.
Students can also visit me in office hours for assistance; again, prepare your questions in advance to best make use of the time. Do not leave class without understanding the comments on a paper. I don’t mind reading them to you.
English language fluency in writing and reading; a certain comfort and ease with the language; confidence and skillful application of literary skills associated with academic writing. Familiarity if not mastery of the rhetorical styles used in argumentation, exposition and narration will be addressed in this class and is a key student learning outcome (SLO).
We will be evaluating what we know and how we came to know what we know, a field called epistemology or the study of knowledge. Granted, the perspective is western culture which eliminates the values of the majority populations, so-called underdeveloped or undeveloped countries or cultures. Let us not fall into typical superiority traps. Try to maintain a mental elasticity and a willingness to let go of concepts which not only limit your growth as an intelligent being, but put you at a distinct disadvantage as a species.
This is a highly charged and potentially revolutionary process - critical thinking. The process of evaluating all that you swallowed without chewing up to now is possibly even dangerous. This is one of the problems with bigotry; it’s easier to go with tradition than toss it, and create a new, more just, alternative protocol.
More on grades, and portfolio
We will be honest with one another. Grades are not necessarily the best response to work; grades do not take into consideration the effort or time spent, only whether or not students can demonstrate mastery of a skill – in this case: essay writing. Grades are an approximation, arbitrary at best, no matter how many safeguards one tries to put in place to avoid such ambiguity. Suffice it to say, your portfolio will illustrate your competence. It will represent your progress, your success or failure this session in meeting your goal.
In past semesters, students have skipped the portfolio and/or the final. Neither is optional.
Office Hours
I’d like to wish everyone good luck. I am available for consultation on MW 9:30-10:30 AM, and MW 3-4 PM and by appointment on T/Th after 12 noon. My office is located between the academic labs in L-236 (inside L-235). My office number is (510) 748-2131, e-mail coasabirenglish201@gmail.com. Let me know the day before, if possible, when you’d like to meet with me. Ask me for my cell phone number. I do not mind sharing it with you.
I don’t check my e-mail frequently on weekends, so I’d advise you to exchange phone numbers with classmates (2), so if you have a concern, it can be addressed more expediently. Again study groups are recommended, especially for those students finding the readings difficult; don’t forget, you can also discuss the readings as a group in the Lab with a teacher or tutor acting as facilitator. Keep a vocabulary log for the semester and an error chart (taken from comments on essay assignments). List the words you need to look up in the dictionary, also list where you first encountered them: page, book and definition, also use the word in a sentence. You will turn this in with your portfolio.
Students are expected to complete their work on time. If you need more time on an assignment, discuss this with me in advance, to keep full credit. You loose credit each day an assignment is late and certain assignments, such as in-class essays cannot be made up. All assignments prepared outside of class are to be typed, 12-pt. font, double-spaced lines, indentations on paragraphs, 1-inch margins around the written work.
For in class writing use blue or black ink. Assignments completed in class cannot be made up.
Cheating
Plagiarism is ethically abhorrent, and if any student tries to take credit for work authored by another person the result will be a failed grade on the assignment and possibly a failed grade in the course if this is attempted again. This is a graded course. There might be an option to take this course C/NC. See Admission and Records.
Textbooks Recap:
Required
Jones, Edward P. The Known World. New York: Amistad/Harper Collins, 2004.
Pollitt, Gary. Craig Baker. Stewart Pidd Hates English: Grammar, Punctuation, and Writing Exercises. First or Second Edition. California: Attack the Text Publishing, 2008. ISBN: 13: 978-0-9755923-4-2
Start thinking about a book you’d like to read to satisfy the final book requirement.
Students need to choose a book by an author who lives here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Consider a writer whose protagonist is one of those silenced voices or voices absent in the national discourse. Biographies and autobiographies are great. If you want to read a novel, let me see it first. In fact, let me see all books before you start reading them. Students will have a paper and a presentation based on the book. Choose one now and when we finish The Known World you can start reading it. The presentation and paper will be due in December.
Both the subject and the social entrepreneur can be the same person, two different essays though. Again, students can have partners in the presentations for the SE and book report. Students have to write his or her own paper though.
Students also need a dictionary. I recommend: The American Heritage Dictionary. Fourth Edition.
The Prepared Student also needs...
Along with a dictionary, the prepared student needs pens with blue or black ink, along with a pencil for annotating texts, paper, a stapler or paper clips, a jump drive to save work from college computers, a notebook, three hole punch, a folder for work-in-progress, and a divided binder to keep materials together.
Did I mention an open mind (smile).
Also stay abreast of the news. Buy a daily paper. Listen to alternative radio: KPFA 94.1 FM (Hardknock), KQED 88.5, KALW 91.7. Visit news websites: AllAfrica.com, Al Jazeera, CNN.com, AlterNet.org, DemocracyNow.org, FlashPoints.org, CBS 60Minutes.
* The syllabus is a living document, subject to change or alterations as needed to better address the needs of the class. I will of course inform you of any changes if such is necessary.
COA Sabir English Classes Fall 2010
Theatre Field Trips (4)
1. I’d like to take a field trip to see the play: Trouble in Mind By Alice Childress
Directed by Robin Stanton, August 20 – September 26, 2010
Obie award-winning classic Trouble in Mind follows a mixed-race cast attempting to mount a production of a “progressive” new play on Broadway in the 1950s. The play—an anti-lynching drama set in the South—is written by a white man and directed by a white man, and marks the first opportunity for a gifted black actress to play a leading role on Broadway. But what compromises must she make to succeed? More than 40 years after it was written, Trouble in Mind, according to The New York Times, “still has the power to make one feel its anger and humor.” Bay Area favorite Margo Hall will make her Aurora debut with this play. Taken from the website: http://www.auroratheatre.org/
Check your calendars for Tuesday, August 31, 7 PM, Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010. Sunday, Sept. 19, 2 PM or 7 PM is also a possibility. Under 30 years old is always half price. I think they also have a student rate. We’d go as a group which is also discounted. The Aurora Theatre is in downtown Berkeley and on the BART route: 2081 Addison Street in Berkeley.
2. Another play I’d like to attend as a class is free: Genny Lim’s 1982 play, Paper Angels in a new multimedia production to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Angel Island, the Ellis Island of the West, Wednesday to Friday: September 15, 16 and 17 at dusk in Portsmouth Square, (the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown, (Grant Street at Clay Street) as a part of the San Francisco Fringe Festival. Visit www.sffringefestival.org and www.directarts.org. I am going Friday, Sept. 17. I have classes the other two nights.
Set in 1915 during the Chinese Exclusion Act, PAPER ANGELS is about an elderly Chinese railroad worker attempting to bring his wife to America after many decades of separation. A seminal play by San Francisco native Genny Lim, the play premiered in 1982 and was subsequently filmed for American Playhouse on PBS starring James Hong and Joan Chen. Dusting off this prescient gem nearly three decades later in the wake of heated debates on America’s immigration policy, Direct Arts’s new multimedia production incorporates projections of archival images, live traditional Chinese music, spoken word and segments of Chinese opera and folkdance.
3. The third play I’d like us to see, maybe three and four, respectively, are: Dan Hoyle’s THE REAL AMERICANS, through November 6, 2010. Developed with and directed by Charlie Varon, the show will play Wednesday through Friday at 8:00 pm and Saturday at 5:00 pm. All shows are on The Marsh MainStage, 1062 Valencia Street in San Francisco. For tickets, the public may call Brown Paper Tickets at 800-838-3006 or visit www.themarsh.org
Hoyle’s THE REAL AMERICANS connects two worlds that usually prefer to stay apart: the liberal, achingly hip, moral-relativism of gentrified city life and the conservative, absolutist, and often hostile populism that Hoyle found overflowing in small-town America. Living out of his van and sleeping in people’s yards and Walmart parking lots, Hoyle shared meals and conversation with cowboys, coal miners, soldiers, farmers, rural drug dealers, itinerant preachers, gun salesmen, closeted gay fundamentalists and creation theory experts. Frequently grateful for their hospitality, often perplexed by their beliefs, he sought to see the world through their eyes and understand their anger. Hoyle won the prestigious 2007 Will Glickman “Best New Play” Award for “Tings Dey Happen,” which enjoyed extended runs at The Marsh and also Off-Broadway, where it was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Solo Show. Both “Tings Dey Happen” and THE REAL AMERICANS are directed by Charlie Varon. We can talk about dates in class.
4. Don Reed's EAST 14TH - TRUE TALES OF A RELUCTANT PLAYER has been extended at The Marsh Berkeley through September 12, 2010. The show has now entered its second sold-out year – it started at The Marsh San Francisco in May, 2009! – and its fourteenth extension.
Recently, Reed shared one of the stories from EAST 14TH with Oprah's new television network. Entitled BUTTER, it is already available on her website at http://www.oprah.com/own/innerview.html?page_id=14
Reed, who is the comedian/warm-up host for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno during the week, is delighted to be spending his weekends performing on his home turf in the East Bay. When playing on Fridays, the show will start at 9:00 pm, on Saturdays at 8:00 pm and on Sundays at 7:00 pm. All shows take place at The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way in Berkeley. For tickets, the public may call Brown Paper Tickets at 800-838-3006 or visit www.themarsh.org
EAST 14TH chronicles the true tale of a young man raised by his mother and ultra-strict stepfather as a middle class, straight A, God-fearing church boy. The boy, however, wanted to be just like his dear old Dad. Too bad he didn't know dear old Dad was a pimp. Very funny, definitely poignant — a ride down a street you won't soon forget. The San Francisco Chronicle described Reed as an "Irresistible presence," and the East Bay Express declared the show ‘...Nothing short of amazing." The show is a best Bay Area Critics Circle Award Solo Performance nominee.
Friday, August 6; Sunday, August 8
Saturday, August 14; Sunday, August 15
Friday, August 20; Sunday, August 22
Saturday, August 28; Sunday, August 29
Saturday, September 4
Saturday, September 11; Sunday, September 25
Saturday, September 31; Sunday, September 12
