Norm Gayford, Professor of English, Genesee Community College

 

 


  

 

Message to SPRING 2008 Students

 

Hello.  My name is Norm Gayford.  I’m a Professor of English here at Genesee Community College, and I want to welcome you, early, to the class or classes that you’ll be taking with me in Spring 2008.  Right off the bat, I want you to know that these are reading-intensive and writing-intensive courses.  You will be doing the same kinds and level of writing in my classes that you would be doing in any demanding college or university. 

 

Below you will find the booklists for my Spring 2008 classes.  You will find lists for ENG101.49, ENG102.49, ENG105.49, ENG105.66, ENG106.66, and SPE108.49. Our college bookstore has these books now, but if you want to get started reading ahead of time, or if you want to support independent booksellers in your community, consider doing business with our terrific local independent bookstores too. In Batavia, you will find Present Tense Books.  In Perry, you will find Burlingham Books on Main Street.   In Geneseo, you will find Sundance Books on Main Street.  I buy books from each of these stores; they are very responsive to students; they are cool people.  As well, you can consider buying used copies of the books from online booksellers such as Amazon.com or BN.com. 

 

By New  Year’s Eve, I will have the class syllabi prepared, and I would be happy to send you a copy via e-mail if you write to ask for it.  Again, that would help you get started with your reading ahead of time.

                             

The classroom space we use online is BlackBoard in MyCourses through GENESIS.  It is imperative that you check your system to make certain that it is compatible with WebCT/MyCourses.  You can do so by doing a browser check.  I will require each student in my classes to do this browser check before the semester begins, in order to take the class.  The sooner you do it, the faster you’ll discover whether or not your home computer system works with BlackBoard.  If it does not, the check—and the computer services technicians—will give you advice about how to drop your firewalls, download or change your software and so on.  You should also consult the checklist for login problems if you have any login difficulties a week before classes begin.  If the browser check reveals problems that you (a) cannot surmount, or (b) choose not to surmount, and if you are a distance learning student, I strongly recommend that you register for a live section of the class because I do not want you to miss deadlines, miss assignments, and plunge into great frustration.  To accomplish my online classes well, you will need to be very interactive and online frequently.  We will have some CHAT space meetings.  You need to be able to use a Word Processor.  You need to be able to save and send files in MS-Word format even if you use a different processor.  You need to be able to upload and download attachments. 

 

Peace to you!

 

 

 

N. Gayford’s ENG101.49  Spring 2008 Booklist

 

AUTHOR

TITLE

PUBLISHER

EDITION

ISBN

Kohn, Alfie

What Does It Mean To Be Well Educated?

 

Beacon Press

2004

0807032670

Harris, Sam

 

Letter to a Christian Nation

Knopf

2006

0307265773

hooks, bell, and Amalia Mesa-Bains

 

Homegrown: Engaged Cultural Criticism

South End

2006

089608759X

Vonnegut, Kurt

 

A Man Without a Country

Random House

Rpt. Ed. 2007

081297736X

Zinn, Howard, and Donald Macedo

 

Howard Zinn on Democratic Education

Paradigm

2004

1594510555

 

 

 

N. Gayford’s ENG102.49  Spring 2008 Booklist

 

AUTHOR

TITLE

PUBLISHER

EDITION

ISBN

Ackerman, Diane

An Alchemy of Mind:  The Marvel and Mystery of the Brain

 

Scribner

2004

0743246721

 

Dennett, Daniel

Breaking the Spell:  Religion as a Natural Phenomenon

 

Viking

2006

067003472X

Collins, Francis.

The Language of God:  A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief

 

Free Press

2006

0743286391

Dawkins, Richard

 

The God Delusion

Houghton Mifflin

2006

0618680004

 

 

N. Gayford’s ENG105.49 AND ENG105.66 Spring 2008 Booklist

 

ENG105.66 Spring 2008 Syllabus in MS-Word Format

 

AUTHOR

TITLE

PUBLISHER

EDITION

ISBN

May, Rollo

The Courage to Create

W.W. Norton

1994 rpt. Ed.

 

0393311066

McKenzie, Nancy

 

Queen of Camelot

Del Rey

2002

0345445872

 

Springer, Nancy

 

I Am Mordred:  A Tale of Camelot

Puffin

2002

0698118413

Steinbeck, John

The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights

Farrar, Straus, and Girroux

 

1993 ed.

0374523789

 

 

 

N. Gayford’s ENG106.01 Spring 2008 Booklist

 

AUTHOR

TITLE

PUBLISHER

EDITION

ISBN

Lannon, John

Technical Communication Ala Carte Package

Pearson/Longman

2006

9780321457332

 

 

 

N. Gayford’s SPE108.49 Booklist

 

AUTHOR

TITLE

PUBLISHER

EDITION

ISBN

Detz, Joan

How to Write and Give a Speech

 

St. Martin’s Press

2002

9780312302733

Torricelli, Robert, ed.

In Our Own Words:  Extraordinary Speeches of the American Century

Kodansha

1999

9781568362915

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Page Updated 7 January 2008