English 105: The Literary Imagination: an Introduction to Literature, Fall 2012

Transcription

1 English 105: The Literary Imagination: an Introduction to Literature, Fall 2012 Lecturer: Robert Schnelle Office hours in LL 417: M-Th 11:00-12:00 or by appointment. Literature is news that stays news. Ezra Pound A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. Franz Kafka If art does not enlarge men s sympathies, it does nothing. George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree. George Orwell (Eric Blair) Required course texts: Achebe, Chinua (1958). Things Fall Apart. Chekhov, Anton. (1880s-90s). The Essential Tales (selections reproduced in coursepack) Cather, Willa (1918). My Antonia. Joyce, James (1916). Dubliners. Wilde, Oscar (1899). The Importance of Being Earnest. Coursepack of poems, stories, and class notes: available only at the Wildcat Shop. Using a dictionary and a thesaurus as well as a writing reference such as The Harbrace Handbook is essential to your success in this class. Course description: This general education breadth class concerns human experience as imagined, interpreted, and made significant in the poetry, fiction, and drama of major writers of the world. Course outcomes: 1. Students will read and respond to literary works from a variety of cultures and from a range of historical periods. 2. Students will read and respond to literary works of poetry, fiction, and drama. 3. Students will demonstrate an understanding of how literary elements such as character development, setting, and figurative language relate to literary meaning. 4. In accordance with the General Education writing requirement, students will submit at least seven pages of writing that is assessed for content, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics. Evaluated assignments: 1. Eight online quizzes on assigned readings: 100 points 2. Class preparation, participation, & ungraded homework assignments: 100 points 3. Two interpretive papers (850-1,000 words each): 400 points 4. Midterm exam: 150 points 1

2 5. Final exam (essay, identification, and short answer): 250 points ***** All quizzes are available on Blackboard for 48 hours only. If you forget to take them, you have lost your chance. Late papers lose five points per day. Ungraded homework assignments are accepted only on the day they are due: please do not hand me late ones. Extra-credit work is not offered in place of other assignments. Worth memorizing: How much time should you set aside for English homework every night? According to the CWU catalogue, "one credit represents a total time commitment of three hours each week of the quarter." Since English 105 is a five-credit course, you should plan to spend fifteen total hours per week on this class alone about two hours of homework for each class day. This is the basic formula for success in all courses. Paper grades: If you want to do well, revise your papers before submitting them to me. (Writing that is meant to be read by careful readers always requires meaningful revision.) Take a draft of each to the University Writing Center, where a tutor will help you decide what needs work and how to go about it. Each session lasts between 15 and 50 minutes. Always bring your assignment sheet and related materials: Student expectations: You can expect me to be prepared for class and to start and conclude meetings punctually. I will use class time to discuss relevant subjects only. I ll acknowledge and respect viewpoints you express, but I will also question you in order to help you clarify or develop your reasoning. Regarding grades, you can expect fairness and confidentiality. Feel free to ask about my grading criteria. I realize that your grade is important to you. Papers and exams will be returned not later than one week after you ve turned them in. You can expect me to keep office hours and to be otherwise professional, approachable, and humane. Diversity: Human differences are a fact of life, so it only makes sense to count them among our strengths. Everyone should feel welcome in this class; but if you don t, please let me know right away. The Americans with Disabilities Act: If you live with a physical challenge, a mental illness, or a learning-style difference, please register with the Center for Disability Services (Bouillon 205: ). Only then can I accommodate individual testing needs and address other matters related your success. Anything I ve missed? My Expectations: Be prepared always annotate your pages when reading. (I ll explain). Come to class with questions and texts prepared for discussion. You ll receive participation points for nightly assignments, but only if you complete them faithfully and submit them on the day they are due. 2

3 Arrive on time; don t leave early; please don't sleep during class or eat anything bigger than your hand, louder than dragonfly wings, or more fragrant than raw turnips. Personal texting distracts others and makes you appear frivolous, but you should feel free to use an electronic dictionary, especially if English is not your first language. (The difference is often visible to others.) Participate thoughtfully in large and small-group conversations. Avoid private conversations, especially off-topic chitchat during committee meetings. Take responsibility for your learning. Do both graded and ungraded assignments conscientiously. Realize that absence does not excuse ignorance of class content. (When absent, read your syllabus and check Blackboard. If necessary, find out what you missed by consulting a trustworthy classmate. The telephone # or of is as follows:.) Finally, let me know when my speech or written directions aren t making sense to you. Behave respectfully toward your peers and professor: it is a privilege to attend a public university, and everyone involved should uphold the dignity of this enterprise. Attendance policy: I do expect you to be present for every class, but I ll add 10 points to your final total for 100% attendance. I ll subtract 10 points from your participation grade for each absence beyond the fourth. Also, two significantly tardy arrivals = one absence; being unprepared for class = one absence. Plagiarized papers will receive no credit. I will check suspicious-sounding passages (or entire papers) with Turn-it-in.com, and I will report violations of academic honesty to the Student Affairs office. Course Calendar Date Class topic Assignment due for the following class W Sept 19 Introductions; syllabus Buy texts & coursepack; read Keeping a Reading Journal (in coursepack). Th Sept 20 Annotating; committee work; James Joyce F Sept 21 Reading day See above. Read Joyce, The Boarding House in Dubliners: use coursepack glossary for help with obscure phrases (p ); prepare to report on your annotating. M Sept 24 T Sept 25 Common literary elements & terms Discussion: Eveline ; Lecture: the Victorian Period Read/annotate Eveline ; analyze one of today s elements/terms in the story. Take Quiz # 1 on Blackboard. Read/annotate Two Gallants : analyze the story by focusing on another literary term introduced in class. W Sept 26 Committee work Read/annotate Araby. Th Sept 27 Indexing a literary text Read, annotate, and index The 3

4 Sisters. Read/study the following entries from Coming to Terms (coursepack, p ): characterization, concrete language, connotation, denotation, dramatic irony, figurative language, imagery, metaphor, plot, point of view, setting, situational irony, tone, verbal irony. F Sept 28 Reading day See above. M Oct 1 T Oct 2 Writing exercise: A Painful Case My Antonia Results of writing exercise Read & annotate My Antonia, introduction and Book 1 through Chapter VI: What character types, imagery, or plot details seem familiar to you? Where have you seen them before? Read/annotate/index Antonia, through Chapter XIV. W Oct 3 My Antonia Complete Book 1, Antonia; photocopy and hand in a page of your annotations. Th Oct 4 Lecture: Archetypal Criticism Read, etc. Antonia through Book 2, Chapter IX. Take Quiz # 3. F Oct 5 Reading day See above. M Oct 8 Writing exercise Read, etc. through the end of Book 2. T Oct 9 Antonia & the season of Read. etc. Antonia, Books 3 & 4. Romance W Oct 10 Antonia Read, etc. Antonia, Book 5; photocopy and submit your index of My Antonia. Th Oct 11 Closing discussion: My Antonia; Midterm prep Prepare for midterm by doing focused free writes and (optionally) talking over your ideas at the Writing Center. Bring a bluebook and (optionally) one 3.5 x 5-inch note card to exam. F Oct 12 Reading day See above. M Oct 22 Midterm Exam Read/annotate/index Things Fall Apart, chapters 1-3. T Oct 23 Introduction: Things Fall Apart; lecture/discussion: The Ibo culture of West Africa Read, etc. TFA chapters 4-7. W Oct 24 Discussion: TFA; Directives for interpretive paper #1 Read, etc., TFA through chapter 11: What is the effect of your own ethnocentrism (look it up!) on the way you react to some 4

5 aspect of Igbo life? How might an Igbo of Okonkwo s time react to some aspect of American life... today? Is either reaction justifiable? Is ethnocentrism ever justifiable? Th Oct 25 Historical criticism Read, etc. TFA through chapter 17; consider one of the questions of historical criticism with reference to TFA. Take Quiz # 4. F Oct 26 Reading day See above. M Oct 29 The season of Tragedy in TFA Finish TFA; photocopy and submit a page of your annotations. T Oct 30 TFA; Metacommentary Interpretive paper #1 due next class W Oct 31 Introducing the stories of Anton Read, etc. Chekhov, Th Nov 1 Chekhov A Blunder & Hush Lecture/discussion: the season of Satire irony & emptiness Champagne. Read, etc. Chekhov, Enemies. take Quiz # 5. F Nov 2 Reading day See above. M Nov 5 Discussion Read, etc. Chekhov, The Kiss. Identify both an irony and an ambiguity (look it up) in the story. T Nov 6 Discussion Read, etc. Chekhov s The Lady with the Dog. W Nov 7 Practice with passage analysis TBA and metacommentary Th Nov 8 Ethical criticism Read Chekhov s Gooseberries. Submit index on Chekhov stories. Take Quiz # 6. F Nov 9 Reading day. See above. M Nov 12 Veterans Day T Nov 13 No class Discussion Read and annotate poems assigned in class. W Nov 14 Poetry Read & annotate poems Twice Shy and Fern Hill. Th Nov 15 Poetry Read & annotate poems by Wordsworth and Blake F Nov 16 Reading day See above. M Nov 19 Poetry: esthetics & ethics Read, etc. poems by Robert Frost T Nov 20 Poetry: Shakespeare s sonnets Read, etc. assigned poems: imagine you re the speaker of one of these poems: Who are you? What is your situation? Take Quiz # 7. 5

6 W-F Nov M Nov 26 Thanksgiving Break Poetry: Shakespeare s sonnets Make Writing Center appointments now ( ) for help with your final paper. Work on the paper. T Nov 27 Poetry: the sonnet game Read/annotate/index Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, Act 1. W Nov 28 Drama: The Importance of Being Earnest Ernest vs. earnest Read, etc. Earnest, Acts 2 & 3. Take Quiz # 8. Th Nov 29 Earnest: committees; the season of Comedy Interpretive Paper #2 due next class. F Nov 30 Final exam prep Read James Joyce s The Dead (in Dubliners). Prepare for the exam. W Dec 5, 12:00-2:00 pm Final exam 6