SYLLABUS FOR ENGLISH INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE SPRING 2011 TUESDAY-THURSDAY 11:00-12:15 (F379)

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1 House 1 Instructor: Ms. Dianne House Office Hours: M Hours by appointment only Office: LA241 T 3:15-4:30 Phone: W 2:30-4:00 dhouse@sfasu.edu TR 3:15-4:30 Main English Office: LA203 F Hours by appointment only SYLLABUS FOR ENGLISH INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE SPRING 2011 TUESDAY-THURSDAY 11:00-12:15 (F379) REQUIRED TEXTS: th LWP--Literature and the Writing Process. 9 ed. McMahan, Day, Funk, and Coleman. Longman. th PHRG--Prentice Hall Reference Guide. 7 ed. Harris. Pearson/Prentice Hall. The Awakening. Kate Chopin. OPTIONAL BOOKS: To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee th MLA Handbook. (Modern Language Association). 7 ed. Webster s Collegiate Dictionary (pocket edition). COURSE DESCRIPTION: INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE: Readings in literary genres, such as poetry, drama, short story, and novel. Prerequisite: six semester hours of freshman English. OBJECTIVES OF COURSE: 1. To teach the students to read closely and to analyze, synthesize, criticize, and evaluate critically by being active readers and critical writers. 2. To encourage students to read, to reread, to identify main points, and to annotate key passages. To encourage more active reading and critical thinking by guiding students to read and to write critically and to respond to the readings to prove a thesis by using evidence to support their assertions. All out-of-class essays MUST BE TYPED (12 pt. only) and double spaced, using MLA format only.

2 House 2 Thursday, Jan. 20: Introduction to course. Purchase required texts ASAP, black ballpoint pens, a spiral notebook (PERFORATED PAGES ONLY), and any color letter-size folder with pockets (8 ½ X 11"). ALWAYS bring LWP and PHRG to class. *Read and review frequently in LWP: Composing: An Overview (all five chapters) and in PHRG: Chs. 2, 3, 5, 9, 10, and 12 (Sections 61 and 63--Research and MLA). Discussion of Policy and Plagiarism statements. Tuesday, Jan. 25: Read all of Part II in LWP. Writing About Short Fiction : Chs. 6, 7, and 8. *Begin reading The Awakening by Kate Chopin (available at Kampus Books, Jack Backers, and Varsity Bookstore). Complete this novella by Tuesday, Feb. 6. Thursday, Jan. 27: READING AND WRITING ABOUT SHORT FICTION Read Chs. 9, 10, and 11 in LWP. * Do a close reading of Flannery O Connor s short stories Good Country People (189), A Good Man Is Hard to Find (331), and also read O Connor s Revelation (online).. Tuesday, Feb. 1: Read all of the CASEBOOK on Joyce Carol Oates s short story Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? ( ). This section includes the story s origins (219) and four critical interpretations ( ). *QUIZ TODAY (RESPONSES AND SHORT ANSWER) Thursday, Feb. 3: KATE CHOPIN: AN IN-DEPTH STUDY Read Professor Elizabeth McMahan s published article Nature s Decoy: Kate Chopin s Presentation of Women and Marriage in Her Short Fiction (93-97). *Use this critical article to help you correctly introduce and document direct quotations from a primary source (Chopin s story Désirée s Baby ) and from secondary sources, following MLA format and including a Works Cited page.

3 House 3 *ASSIGNMENT OF ESSAY #1: CHARACTER ANALYSIS Also read these Chopin short stories: Désirée s Baby (241), The Story of an Hour (246), The Storm (online), and At the Cadian Ball (online). *Discussion. Tuesday, Feb. 8: Complete Chopin s novella The Awakening by today. Continue discussion of Chopin s work. *Discussion and written responses. Thursday, Feb. 10: SHORT FICTION: Read Hills Like White Elephants (294) and The Chrysanthemums (298). *Brief evaluations: Which story did you like best? Give a few reasons for your choice. Turn in your evaluation with your essay Tuesday in class. Tuesday, Feb. 15: ESSAY #1 DUE TODAY. (Put your paper in your folder. Include a rough draft and a revised draft also.) THEME: REBELLION AND CONFORMITY DRAMA: Read Ch. 16: How Do I Read a Play? and the introduction to Ch. 18 in LWP. What is the difference between a Modern Hero and a Classical Hero? Read Act 1 of Fences ( ). Thursday, Feb. 17: Continue discussion of Fences. Read Act 2 of Fences ( ). Discussion. CHARACTER ANALYSIS CASEBOOK: Interpreting Troy Maxson Read the six brief critical interpretations of Fences ( ).

4 House 4 Tuesday, Feb. 22: *ASSIGNMENT OF ESSAY #2: THEMATIC ANALYSIS Meet in the first floor Viewing Room in Steen Library-left hall. See the film East of Eden (John Steinbeck), starring James Dean. Thursday, Feb. 24: Complete film. Discussion. *Write a brief analysis ( words) of Troy Maxson s character. Use the questions on p. 826 (under Responding to the Critics ) to help you interpret Troy s character. Type and turn in. Tuesday, March. 1: Thursday, March 3: Discussion of film, plot, acting, and time period (about 1917, World War I). THEME: LOVE AND HATE SHORT FICTION: Read What We Talk About When We Talk About Love (348). Tuesday, March 8: POETRY: CASEBOOK: The Poetry and Prose of Langston Hughes Mother to Son (528), The Weary Blues (528), Saturday Night (529), Trumpet Player (530), Harlem ( A Dream Deferred ) (531), and Theme for English B (532). Wednesday March 9: Thursday, March 10 MID-SEMESTER MID-TERM *Take-home quiz. Answer (in complete sentences) two questions from at least four poems by Hughes and one question from each of the eight poems in The Art of Poetry ( ). Type your answers, using a correct heading and MLA format, and paper-clip or staple your answers together. *Turn in your responses Thursday, March 10, in class. *Discussion Read the CRITICAL COMMENTARIES ON LANGSTON HUGHES ( ). Discussion and Responses.

5 House 5 Tuesday, March 15: Thursday, March 17: SPRING BREAK SPRING BREAK Tuesday, March 22: DRAMA: Read Othello ( ). FILM: See Othello. *Meet in Steen Library (Viewing Room #1 left hall, first floor) Thursday, March 24: Viewing Room-Steen Library. Complete Othello. Discussion. Write responses to the following questions to turn in during class on Tuesday, Nov Why is Othello considered a tragic hero? 2. What causes his downfall? 3. Who is the protagonist? Othello or Iago? Why? Support your answers with evidence. Tuesday, March 29: Thursday, March 31: SHORT FICTION: Read: A Jury of Her Peers (252), The Love of My Life (381), and Geraldo No Last Name (392). FICTION: Read The Red Convertible (394), Why I Live at the P.O. (431), and A & P (440). Which three stories did you enjoy the most? Why? Write a brief evaluation to turn in (one page). Tuesday, April 5: POETRY: EMILY DICKINSON IN-DEPTH: Faith Is a Fine Invention (583); I m Nobody! Who Are You? (583); He Put The Belt Around My Life (584); Much Madness Is Divinest Sense ( ); Because I Could Not Stop for Death (585); Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church (585); and Wild Nights Wild Nights (586). Discussion and response: Which poem is your favorite? Your reasons? Brief in-class evaluation. Thursday, April 7: POETRY: ROBERT FROST CASEBOOK: MendingWall (593),

6 Out -Out (596), Fire and Ice (597), Design (598), and Birches (595). *Discussion. House 6 *Write a brief essay (one or two pages only) on question 4 after Frost s poem Mending Wall (595): Do good fences make good neighbors, or do fences create mistrust between neighbors? *Turn in your essay in class. Tuesday, April 12: Thursday, April 14: Discussion of the novel To Kill A Mockingbird. *Read some on-line reviews and criticisms of Harper Lee s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Print several critical articles from the SFA databases, such as EXPANDED ACADEMIC ASAP, Google Scholar, and MLA. *Discussion of research. *Save these articles to use on your Final Exam essay. Tuesday, April 19: Thursday, April 21: *See film for Final Exam: To Kill a Mockingbird, based on the novel by Harper Lee and starring Gregory Peck. Library Viewing Room #1. EASTER HOLIDAY Tuesday, April 26: Library Viewing Room #1. Complete film for final exam: To Kill a Mockingbird. Thursday, April 28: Discussion of film and novel. DEAD WEEK Tuesday, May 3: Thursday, May 5: Work on draft in class for ESSAY #3 (FINAL EXAM): A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD OR A THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF CHOPIN S NOVELLA THE AWAKENING in class. Complete draft for Essay #3. PEER REVIEWING.

7 House 7 Tuesday, May 10: FINAL EXAM FOR ENGLISH (10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in F379). GOOD LUCK ON FINALS! HAVE A SENSATIONAL SUMMER! ACCEPTABLE STUDENT BEHAVIOR Classroom behavior should not interfere with the instructor s ability to conduct the class or the ability of other students to learn from the instructional program (see the Student Conduct Code, policy D-34.1). Unacceptable or disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. Students who disrupt the learning environment may be asked to leave class and may be subject to judicial, academic or other penalties. This prohibition applies to all instructional forums, including electronic, classroom, labs, discussion groups, field trips, etc. The instructor shall have full discretion over what behavior is appropriate/inappropriate in the classroom. Students who do not attend class regularly or who perform poorly on class projects/exams may be referred to the Early Alert Program. This program provides students with recommendations for resources or other assistance that is available to help SFA students succeed.