LIT 201-200 Novel Unit Spring Semester 2008 LIT 201-200 Professor Sarah L. Dye April 21 May 12, 2008
2 NOVEL UNIT LIT 201-200 Sarah L. Dye Weekly Agendas April 14, 2008 Initial group meeting and exchange of schedules, phone numbers, and email addresses. April 21, 2008 DO BEFORE CLASS SPECIAL NOTE: You must have which ever novel you have chosen completely read and be ready to do both individual and group work on the novel project. SPECIAL NOTE: A student who has not completed the reading by the beginning of tonight s class meeting may be dropped from his/her group by vote of that group which would make it impossible for that student to complete this course with a passing grade. Novel small group discussion, preparation, and research begins April 28, 2008 Novel small group discussion, preparation, and research continues May 5, 2008 Presentation of Myla Goldberg s Bee Season notebook to professor by the end of class tonight Presentation Alice Sebold s Lovely Bones notebooks to professor by the end of class tonight May 12, 2008 Final Class Experience Essays due from every student by beginning of class, At 7:00 PM Presentations of novel notebooks by each of the two groups NOTE: You must submit TWO copies of the final draft of this last essay to Professor Dye. They should each be stapled independently of the other and each should contain its own title page. [Failure to submit the essay as directed will mean that you will receive a failing/f grade for LIT 201-200 for Spring 2008.]
3 GROUP ASSIGNMENTS: Goldberg Group: Jared Johnson Colin O Brien Charlie Sokolowski Brenda Solis Melissa Vargas Jacob Zucker Sebold Group: Jennifer Bennett Vanessa Edgerton Amy Estanislao Jessica Kehler Maria Macias Michelle Soldner
4 DIRECTIONS: Your group s task is to create a CASEBOOK for your author and novel. The casebook will be similar to the one by Showalter which we used for the Joyce Carol Oates project we just finished. Each group will have an assigned night to present their casebook and introduce the novel to the other group of students. The blanks provided after each task which follows on the next pages are to be used to write in the name of the group member(s) responsible for completing that task. That way everyone in the group can make sure that all the group members are getting the tasks they volunteered for or were assigned to done in a timely manner. The groups presentations may include the use of video appropriate to the topic, panel discussions of the novel, issues raised in the novel, and/or the author him-/herself. The presentation should be at least 10-15 minutes long and will take place on the final night of class. WHAT IS REQUIRED IN THE CASEBOOKS 1. Table of Contents listing everything included in the group s casebook listed by title and page number. Page numbers can be put in by hand since there will be photocopies and printouts of some sources. _* 2. At least 1-2 pages of BIOGRAPHICAL information about the author written by one or more students in the group. _* * For each task, identify in the blanks which group member(s) is (are) responsible for completing the task.
5 3. At least one excerpt from the novel with a student-written introduction concerning WHY the group chose to include that particular excerpt. The introductory explanation should be at least a typed page in length though it may be longer. Some groups choose multiple short entries because they believe that approach provides the rest of the class with a better introduction to and understanding of the novel. This should be a group decision though the actual task may be done by one or more individual group members. 4. Analysis of the novel using each of the literary elements we have studied in this course, including PLOT, CHARACTERS, POINT OF VIEW, SETTING, STYLE (including symbolism as appropriate), and THEME. The groups must use the graphic organizers and charts handout attached to this direction packet to analyze each of the literary elements. Those forms may have to be adapted format-wise to work with a single novel as many of the forms were designed originally to work with several short stories at a time. 5. Discussion questions that would help readers examine and talk with one another about the novel. There should be between 15 and 25 discussion questions included in this section of the casebook. The group may wish to explore publishers web sites because often the company will have reading group discussion question sets for some of the novels the particular publisher publishes. The group should also create its own discussion questions. The group does not have to provide responses to any of the discussion questions unless they wish to do so as an extra feature of the notebook 6. A minimum of 5 critical articles examining various aspects of the novel. They should be academic criticism and not be fluff articles about the author or film. These might be located in books of criticism, literary journals or other periodicals located through academic databases in the RLRC, not located by using a Yahoo or other non-academic search engine. 7. Additional historical or geographical or some kind of supplementary material/information that would help the reader analyze the novel. Examples of such material would include illustrations or documents that
6 might help the readers understand more about the study of Jewish mysticism for the Goldberg novel or lists of well known sexual predator cases for instance for the Sebold novel. 8. A bibliography of resources about the author, her work, literary criticism, films(s) or videos of her work as well as reviews of the novel and any film versions of the author s work; all of this should include both print sources and electronic sources. The electronic sources should include any web sites dedicated to the author. The group will need to do extensive Internet surfing to find what is available on the author and his work. This bibliography should be formatted in MLA Style of Documentation. HOW SHOULD THE GROUP ACCOMPLISH THESE TASKS? I would advise dividing up the tasks among the members of the group. There is a blank line after each tasks on the previous page so the groups can write in the names of members responsible for each particular task. NOTE: The entire group is responsible for the project and should be familiar with the work each other has done. Creating the bibliography will be the responsibility of all members of the group. Because ours is not a computer classroom, groups will be working in the reference section of the library and/or SRC 380 (if we can get it). All of your group should be spending a large portion of our first night surfing the Internet for information on our respective authors. I ll help you with learning how to use the Internet if you are not familiar with it. I ll guide the groups as much as possible as they undertake their tasks.
7 IMPORTANT ASSESSMENT ASSIGNMENT FOR EVERY STUDENT IN LIT 201 The English Department requires every student in a LIT 201 class to complete the following assignment and submit two copies of the resulting essay. DIRECTIONS for the Final Class Experience Essays: Consider the novel you ve chosen and read this semester. Then in a meaningful and well-developed essay of 500-750 words (2-3 typed or computer-printed and doublespaced pages), discuss the theme of the work. In your response, be sure to discuss how the literary elements of the work support that theme. Include at least one long quote (more than 4 lines) and one short quote (four lines or fewer) in your response, and paraphrase where needed. Be sure your essay is in proper MLA form. This essay does not require any outside research. However, if you do include information from any other sources, be sure to give credit so you don't plagiarize. Even if you do not use any sources other than the work itself, still be sure to attach a Works Cited page in proper MLA format. The elements of literature include the following: o Plot: The actual events of the work. o Diction: The author s word choice. o Imagery: The author s similes and metaphors. o Setting: Where and when the events take place. o Characterization: The key traits exhibited by people in the work. o Dialogue: The words spoken by the work s characters. o Tone: The author's attitude towards the material. Comic? Tragic? Ironic? Romantic? o Point of View: Whose eyes we see the action through. o Structure: The organization of the work. The above list is not meant to be exhaustive. There are certainly other elements of literature, and you can feel free to discuss them if you feel it is appropriate. Finally, please be aware that not all literary works will exhibit all of the listed elements. In discussing the work, focus on the literary elements that are most meaningful as they relate to the theme.
8 FINAL PRESENTATION The casebook should be presented in a three-ring notebook meaning that all pages have to be three-hole punched. There is a three-hole punch in the mail/work room around the corner from our classroom. I ll give each group a new notebook to use for the project. It is a vu-notebook so the group should design a decorative cover page to slip into the plastic front cover. List all the names (first and last) of the group members alphabetically as part of that cover page. The presentation of this notebook is very important and should be undertaken seriously. The next to last night of class, December 3, each group will present its notebook to Sarah Dye. The following week, December 10, each group will give a presentation on their novels and notebooks to the rest of the class and talk about how they accomplished their group work and what the novel they chose meant to them. The FINAL CLASS EXPERIENCE ESSAYS are DUE in duplicate at the beginning of class the last night too. THUS NOTE THE THREE DEADLINES FOR THE NOVEL UNIT: The novel Casebooks DUE May 5, 2008, by the end of class! The oral Presentations on the novel notebooks are DUE May 12, 2008, at the beginning of class! The individually-written Final Class Experience Essays are DUE from every student on May 12, 2008, at the beginning of class! Work well and closely with your group. That approach will ensure you all earn the highest grade possible.