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Literature
100: Fiction ~ Poetry ~ Drama Fall 2008 Dr. Abby Coykendall acoykenda at emich.edu Office Phone: 487-0147 Office Location: Pray-Harrold Hall 603G Hours: Mon. 7:40-8:40 PM; Thurs. 2:00-3:30 PM ~ email for appointments ~
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Course Description
LITR 100 is a class in which you will explore a wide variety
of literature—novels, short stories, poetry, and drama—spanning the Renaissance
period to the present and encompassing authors from around the world. The main goal is to provide a general
introduction to literature that will inspire you to appreciate and cultivate
the literary arts through further writing, reading, or coursework on your
own. By the end of the semester, you
will have surveyed an array of representative works written in English, honed
your artistic sensibility and analytical skills, and familiarized yourself with
the conventions of literature enough to think carefully and creatively about
them. Whether discussing poetry or world
events, we will expand rather than confine our engagement with the literature,
ultimately coming to understand how the literary imagination offers a way to
(re)envision and potentially (re)create the everyday world in which we live.
Course Objectives:
By the end of the semester, you
will be better able to
1) Interpret literature from a wide variety of
historical and cultural contexts, including mass media and popular culture;
4) Deepen appreciation of the humanities by
examining the artistic techniques and thematic concerns of major literary
works;
2) Broaden life experience through engagement
with the diverse traditions and perspectives found in imaginative literature;
3) Understand the vital ways in which literature
influences culture and culture influences literature in turn;
5) Practice critical thinking skills (e.g.
self-reflexivity, close reading, textual analysis) while investigating and
debating the communal meaning of texts;
6) Become familiar with
the main concepts and concerns of literary criticism, especially those which
are useful for lifelong learning within or outside the classroom;
7) Effectively communicate this newly acquired
knowledge about literature verbally and in writing.
Literature
captures the hopes, politics, emotions and ideals not just of individuals but
of generations. Reading literature
provides a window into cultures past. It
also reveals how creative expressions can shape individual and community
understandings of the world in which we live. Literature 100 is designed to
cultivate students’ appreciation of literary texts by providing a context to
learn about the formal and historical features of different kinds of poems,
plays, and works of fiction. As a Humanities
course in the Knowledge of the Disciplines, this class introduces terms
important for the critical understanding of poetry, drama, and fiction as
imaginative literary forms. It also
helps students analyze poems, plays, and stories as products of the cultures
that produced them and as texts that have impacted and influenced
societies. Because the course focuses on
different types of literature in historical contexts, students will gain a
nuanced understanding of the cultural meaning of poetry, drama, and fiction and
learn to interpret literary texts as complex social practices that are also
meaningful as human art.
Course Books and Materials:
The following books are available at the EMU
Bookstore in the
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Literature: A Portable Anthology, edited by Janet E. Gardner
(Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003; ISBN #0312412797)
Alice Walker, The
Color Purple (Harvest Books, 2003; ISBN # 0156028352)
The remaining texts can be found online and then
printed for free in the campus computer labs.
See the Electronic Reserves (ER): http://reserves.emich.edu/eres/coursepass.aspx?cid=1051, password 100.
*** Make sure
to bring a copy of each text that we cover in class, whether found in the ER or
in an actual book. You will need
everything on hand for groupwork and class discussion.
Coursework and Assessment:
Nothing is more vital for success in this course than keeping up with
the reading due each class period. Being prepared to discuss
the reading in class, if only in small groups, is mandatory. If an emergency keeps you from doing the homework, it is
better not to come to class at all since you will get little from the lecture
and discussion and interfere with the learning of other students.
A brief, straight-forward quiz may be given at the beginning
of the period to encourage you to come on time and come prepared. These quizzes, however inconvenient, will
ultimately enhance your grade, for the more consistently you come prepared, the
more you will enjoy and understand the readings, contribute to the class
discussion, and approach the literature in a way that reflects your unique
interests and learning style. A student
who does the reading consistently can usually get a superlative grade of “A”
rather easily, whereas a student doing very little reading (or doing the
reading belatedly) will have difficulty simply passing the course and may even
risk having to take it again.
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25% |
Participation: Homework, quizzes,
groupwork, & poetry presentation |
due dates: |
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30% |
Exam #1: Short fiction & the
novel |
XXX |
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20% |
Comparison-Contrast Essay: Poem from
presentation plus a self-selected song or poem of choice |
XXX |
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30% |
Exam #2: Poetry and drama |
December 12 (1:30-3:00) |
Each of the exams will have two sections: 1) true-false and
multiple-choice questions on the main concepts that we cover in class and 2) an
essay question provided to you in advance.
Make sure to take notes during class so that your first section goes
smoothly and you have plenty of inspiration for the second. You will be able refer to an essay outline
during the exams, but not to your notes or the texts themselves.
The Coursework and Extra Credit handout (/assign.htm) describes the various assignments due
during the term, as well as the extra-credit opportunities available to
supplement your learning. (Extra credit
is an ideal way to get your grade
back on track if you ever fall behind.)
The Guidelines handout, posted towards the middle of the term, will give
in-depth information about the presentation and essay (/guide.htm).
Instructor
Availability:
I will be delighted to discuss any
course-related questions, interests, or concerns in person or by phone during
my office hours, as well as through email.
Email is the most reliable way to reach me outside of the office since
the messaging system for my phone is dysfunctional at best. Emails with straight-forward questions
usually receive a reply within a few hours to a day; those with more
complicated questions usually receive a reply before the next class
period. Please
limit your email inquiries to questions which I alone can answer so that I can
give more pressing inquiries the attention which they deserve. For example, if you are unsure about a due date,
consult the syllabus, the handouts, or the peers in your group (/groups.htm), and then consult me only if that
confusion persists.
The first time that you visit my office hours in
person with a course-related inquiry (e.g. to get help with the homework, to
discuss the reading that we have lately covered, or to brainstorm essay ideas),
I will give you extra credit for the visit.
Attendance:
Because this class primarily consists of reading
and discussion—rather than facts, figures, or memorization—regular attendance
is crucial. You never need to explain your absences, as I always assume that you
have an excellent reason to miss class; however, if you have more than 8
absences, you will no longer be able to pass the class, and if
you have more than 5 absences, your final grade will
start being reduced by a third. That is,
the 6th absence turns a final grade of A into an A-, the 7th
turns it into a B+, the 8th turns it into a B, and finally the 9th
turns it into an E.
Reserve
the allowable absences for illnesses, car accidents, or other
emergencies that prevent you from coming to school and make sure not to exhaust
them too early in the term. When you are absent, contact the students in
your group (/groups.htm) to share notes or determine what you
missed. Do
not contact me to get your absence excused. All absences up to the sixth are automatically
excused, and the missed homework is simply due on your return. If there are any changes to the schedule, I
will contact the entire class by email.
Lateness:
The most essential information—due dates,
attendance, instructions, clarifications of
outstanding issues—is given at the beginning of class, so it is important to
come on time. Try to arrive early just
in case you encounter any problems along the way (traffic jams, late busses, no
parking). When you are late, make sure
to mark yourself present on the attendance sheet. Arriving halfway into the period or leaving
halfway through one each count as half an absence. Extreme or habitual lateness can result in
absences as well.
Classroom Etiquette:
It is important to be mindful of your peers in
class, listening to them with the same respect and attention that you hope to
receive yourself. Once class begins, do not distract your peers by text
messaging, playing computer games, or packing up books before the period is
finished. Instead of disturbing nearby
students with half-whispered inquires, raise your hand and bring them to the
attention of class, especially since many students will have the same questions
anyway.
Most importantly, do not
walk in or out of the room unless there is a genuine emergency.
If you have a medical condition requiring you to exit from time to time,
bring a formal doctor’s note affirming as such; otherwise, stay in the room for
the duration of the period and reserve personal business for the break midway
through. If you do leave prematurely, do
not interrupt class yet again by coming back.
These disruptive exits can be both mental and physical; for example,
students discovered using laptops for purposes unrelated to the course will be
asked to leave and marked absent.
Academic Integrity:
Plagiarism,
put simply, is taking either the ideas or the words of another person and reusing them as if they are your
own. It does not matter whether you are
drawing on Wikipedia for mundane information or channeling the most holy of holy
books for heavenly inspiration, you must acknowledge when
you make use of the concepts or expressions of other people under any
circumstances. When
describing the ideas of someone else in your own words, make sure to state as
such (So and so says X ... ); most
importantly, when inserting the words of someone else into your writing, make
sure to credit that person for the passage and place quotation marks on either
side (So and so says, “X”). Writing that lacks such acknowledgements will
pass as your own by default, and writing that thus seems to be your own,
without actually being your own, will be plagiarizing the original source.
Any
cheating, plagiarism, or other academic dishonesty will result in an automatic
0% grade for the assignment; any second instance will result in an outright
failure of the course. There is no
excuse for academic dishonesty, nor any exceptions to this policy.
Schedule:
Wednesday, September 3: Overview of Course; Student Introductions;
Conjectural Response/HOMEWORK: 1] Get Books; 2] Review
the syllabus carefully and jot down any questions that you have; 3] Begin
“Introduction to Fiction” (pg. 7-20) in the Electronic Reserves (ER): http://reserves.emich.edu/,
password 100; 4] Read
Ralph Ellison’s “Battle Royal” (found in the same location or in the
anthology); 5] Bring
copies of everything to class (do the same for all classes to follow).
Monday, September 8: Discuss Elements of Fiction & Ellison /HOMEWORK: 1] Finish “Introduction to Fiction” (ER 21-25); 2] Read “No Name Woman” by Maxine Hong Kingston (ER 2239-47);
3] See
the Group Assignments handout (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/100/group.htm); 4] Make a list of 3-4 significant ways that the
Ellison and Kingston stories compare (or contrast) with each other, focusing on
different aspects of the stories depending on your group number: plot (Group 1), characterization (Groups 2
& 3), point of view (Group 4), themes (Groups 5 & 6),
setting (Group 7), style and symbolization (Group 8); 5] Be prepared to discuss (and turn in) your list during class.
Wednesday, September
10: Continue Elements of Fiction, Discuss Kingston/HOMEWORK: 1] Read
“Role of Good Reading” in Literature: A Portable Anthology (LPA),
pg. 1267-77; 2] Read Louise Erdrich, “Saint
Marie” (ER XXX) and “Comparison: An Analytic Tool” (ER 1-2); 3] If
you are in Groups 1-4, write a response comparing and contrasting “Saint Marie” with “Battle Royal”; if you are in Groups 5-8, do the same with
“Saint Marie” and “No Name Woman” (for guidance, see http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/100/assign.htm).
Monday, September 15: Discuss Erdrich and the Responses/HOMEWORK: 1] Read (and re-read) John Cheever, “The Swimmer” (LPA 82-96); 2]
Note down 3-4 examples of literary devices, focusing on different ones
depending on your group number: flashback or foreshadowing (Group 1), archetype (Group 2),
metaphor or simile (Group 3),
dramatic irony (Group 4), situational irony or
paradox (Group 5), verbal irony (Group 6), imagery (Group 7), foil
or antagonist (Group 8); 3]
See the definitions for these literary devices in the Bedford anthology (LPA
1430+) and be prepared to discuss your list during class.
Wednesday, September
17: Review Literary Devices; Discuss Cheever/HOMEWORK: 1] Begin
Alice Walker, The Color Purple (pg. 1-100); 2] Read “Fiction across Media” (ER 1-4); 3] Be
prepared to compare and contrast the novel with the film adaptation that will
be shown in class (the film is on reserve at the library if you are absent).
Monday, September 22: Watch and Discuss The Color Purple /HOMEWORK: 1] Continue The Color Purple
(pg. 100-40); 2] Begin
“The Writing Process” (LPA 1278-82); 3] Make
a list of 1 important theme and 3-4 symbols, images, motifs, ironies, or
conflicts that Walker uses to evoke that theme; 4] Be
prepared to discuss your list during class.
Wednesday, September 24: Watch and Discuss The Color Purple /HOMEWORK: 1] Continue
The Color Purple (pg. 141-200); 2]
Begin “Common Writing Assignments” (LPA 1302-14); 3] Be prepared to discuss how different kinds of literary critics
would approach the novel depending on your group number: feminist (Group 1), marxist (Group 2),
cultural (Group 3), historical (Group 4), psychological (Group 5),
reader response (Group 6), formalist or
structuralist (Group 7), poststructuralist (Group 8).
Monday, September 29: Watch and Discuss The Color Purple /HOMEWORK: 1] Continue The Color Purple
(pg. 201-40); 2] Continue
“The Writing Process” (LPA 1282-5); 3] Finish “Common
Writing Assignments” (LPA 1314-7).
Wednesday, October 1: Watch and Discuss The Color Purple /HOMEWORK: 1] Finish
The Color Purple (pg. 241-300); 2] Finish “The Writing Process” (ER 1293-1300); 3] Email a
response comparing and contrasting the literary and filmic versions of the
Walker novel to acoykenda at emich.edu by 10AM Monday.
Monday, October 6: Continue Discussion
of The Color Purple /HOMEWORK: 1] Review
Guidelines for Exam One (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/100/exam1.htm); 3] Begin
reviewing literary texts and preparing outline for essay section; 3] Optional:
Read “Writing about Stories,” as well as the sample essay, for review
(LPA 1318-24).
Wednesday, October 8: Conclude Discussion
of The Color Purple /HOMEWORK: 1] Continue
preparing for Exam One (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/100/exam1.htm); 3] Finish
the essay outline (make sure that it fits on 1 page and has no complete
sentences besides the supporting quotes and thesis).
Monday, October 13: ** Exam One: The Short
Story and Novel**/HOMEWORK: 1] Read
“Things to Think about When You Think about Poetry” (ER); 2] Read (and re-read) the following: i)
Langston Hughes, “Harlem” (LPA 539); ii) Dorothy Parker, “Résumé” (ER); iii) Adrienne
Rich, “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” (ER); iv) Samuel
Taylor Coleridge, “Kubla Kahn” (LPA 435).
Wednesday, October 15: Introduction to Poetry /HOMEWORK: 1] Begin
“Writing about Poetry” (ER 200-21); 2] Read
(and re-read) the following: i) Dylan Thomas, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” (LPA
556-57); ii) Theodore Roethke, “My Papa’s Waltz” (LPA 547); iii) Gwendolyn
Brooks, “We Real Cool” (LPA 559); 3] Review “Guidelines on the Presentation and Essay” (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/100/guide.htm); 4] Begin
surveying the anthology and selecting possible poems to discuss for your
presentation; 5] Optional: Listen to the audio files for Thomas, Roethke, and Brooks (ER).
Monday, October 20: Discuss the Poetry and Presentation/HOMEWORK: Finish
“Writing about Poetry” (ER 225-36); 2] Read
the following: i) Edgar Allen Poe, “A
Dream Within a Dream” (ER); ii) Edna St.
Vincent Millay, “What Lips My Lips Have Kissed” (ER); iii) Marge Piercy, “The Secretary Chant” (ER), iv) Dorothy
Parker, “Résumé” (ER); 3] Make
a list of 3-4 examples of a literary device found in any or all of these poems,
focusing on a different one depending on your group number: oxymoron or paradox
(Group 1), hyperbole or understatement (Group 2), simile, symbol, or metaphor (Group 3),
alliteration, (Group 4), assonance, consonance,
or onomatopoeia (Group 5), personification or
apostrophe (Group 6), non-visual imagery or
synesthesia (Group 7), allegory,
intertextuality, or allusion (Group 8); 4] See
the definitions for these devices in the Bedford anthology (LPA 1430+) and be
prepared to discuss your list during class.
Wednesday, October 22: Discuss the poetry and review
terminology /HOMEWORK: 1] Email
a list of the 3 poems that you most want to present to class (in the order that
you most want to do them)
as soon as possible to acoykenda
at emich.edu or, if necessary, bring the list
by hand to class.
Monday, October 27: Watch and Discuss Glass Menagerie/HOMEWORK: 1] Begin
Tennessee Williams, The Glass Menagerie (LPA 956-71), taking note of any poetic or literary devices in the
play.
Wednesday, October 29: Watch and Discuss Glass Menagerie/HOMEWORK: 1] Complete “Poetry Questionnaire” (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/100/quest.htm) and prepare for presentation; 2] Continue Glass Menagerie (LPA 971-94); 3] Optional: Read poems being presented over the coming weeks (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/100/sched.pdf), especially those that seem possible companions for your own poem in the essay.
Monday, November 3: Group 8 Presentations; Discuss Glass Menagerie /HOMEWORK: 1] Finish
Glass Menagerie (LPA
995-1011)
Wednesday, November 5: Group 7 Presentations; Conclude Glass Menagerie /HOMEWORK: 1]
Begin “Introduction to Drama” (ER 839-47)
and be prepared to discuss it in class.
Monday, November 10: Group 6 Presentations; Discuss Theater
Conventions/HOMEWORK: 1]
Finish “Introduction to Drama” (ER 847-55)
and be prepared to discuss it in class; 2]
Begin work on the 4-page Critical
Essay due XXX.
Wednesday, November 12: Group 5 Presentations; Discuss Theater
Conventions/HOMEWORK: 1]
Review “The Writing Process” in its entirety, especially pg. 1280-2, and finish
the remaining section (LPA 1285-90); 2]
Read “Writing about Poems” (LPA 1325-30); 3] Continue
working on the Critical
Essay.
Monday, November 17: Group 4 Presentations; Discuss Writing Technique/HOMEWORK: 1] Continue
working on the Critical
Essay.
Wednesday, November 19: Groups 2 & 3 Presentations/HOMEWORK: 1] Begin
finalizing the Critical
Essay.
Monday, November 24: Group 1 & 2 Presentations/HOMEWORK: 1]
Finish the Critical Essay.
Wednesday, November 26: ** Critical Essay Due at 603G Pray Harrold by 5 PM ** (optional conferences in lieu of class) / HOMEWORK: 1] Begin Charyl Churchill, Top Girls (LPA 1091-1123), taking note of any connections to The Glass Menagerie as well as the theatrical conventions discussed in previous weeks.
Monday, December 1: Discuss Top Girls /HOMEWORK: 1] Finish Top Girls (LPA
1123-52); 2] Review
Handout on Exam Two (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/100/exam2.htm); 2] Review
“Taking Essay Exams” (LPA 1314-7); 3] Prepare
Draft of Outline for Exam Two.
Wednesday, December 3: Groupwork on Glass Menagerie & Top Girls /HOMEWORK: 1] Write
a 300-word response comparing and contrasting Streetcar and Lysistrata.
Discuss Streetcar & Lysistrata /HOMEWORK: 1] Read Conjectural
Response from first day of class; 2] Write
Optional 300-word Extra-Credit Response on the Conjectural Response (due 4/24).
Discuss Top Girls; Discuss Conjectural
Responses
/HOMEWORK:
Monday, December 8: Review for Exam Two /HOMEWORK: 1] Review
Materials and Finalize Outline for Exam Two; 2] Optional: Read
“Writing about Plays,” as well as the sample essay, for review (LPA 1331-37).
Wednesday, December 10:
Friday, December 12
(1:30-3:00): ** Exam Two: Poetry and Drama **
DRAMA then poetry
List of
Links:
· Course Syllabus (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/100/f08/)
· Course
Scedule (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/100/f08/#schedule)
· Electronic
Reserves (http://reserves.emich.edu/eres/coursepass.aspx?cid=1051)
· Coursework
and Extra-Credit (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/100/assign.htm)
· Bedford
Companion Website (http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/portablelit/default.asp)
· Guidelines
on Exam One (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/100/exam1.htm)
· Group
Assignements (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/100/group.htm)
· Guidelines
on the Presentation and Essay (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/100/guide.htm)
· Poetry
Questionaire (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/100/quest.htm)
· Presentation
Scedule (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/100/sched.pdf)
· Peer Editing (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/rubric.htm)
· Guidelines
on Exam Two (http://people.emich.edu/acoykenda/100/exam2.htm)
[Syllabus last modified August 28, 2008]