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Literature 100:
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Section 010;
Registration #27295 |
Course Description: Reading
Literature 100 is a class in which you will explore a wide variety
of literature — novels, short stories, poetry, and drama — ranging in period
from the fifteenth-century to the present and encompassing authors from around
the world. The aim is to provide a
general introduction to literature, including an examination of the major
literary periods, movements, and genres.
By the end of the course, you will have surveyed representative works
written in English, honed your interpretative skills, familiarized yourself
with literary conventions, and learned to think critically and carefully about
those conventions. Whether discussing
literature or world events, we will attempt to expand rather than confine our
engagement with the material, ultimately coming to understand how literature
offers a means to (re)envision and hopefully to (re)create the material world
in which we all live.
Required Texts
The following books are
available at Ned’s bookstore (http://www.nedsbooks.com/emu/;
483-6400;
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v
Literature: A Portable Anthology, edited by Janet E Gardner (Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003;
ISBN #0312412797)
v Robert
Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Dover
Thrift, 1991; ISBN # 0486266885)
v Aristophanes,
Lysistrata (Dover Thrift, 1994; ISBN # 0486282252)
v Arthur
Schnitzler, Hands Around (Dover Thrift, 1995; ISBN #0486287246)
Make sure to get the same editions pictured and listed
above; otherwise, the differing page numbers will make it difficult, if not
impossible, for you to follow along with class discussions. Nothing is more vital for success in this
class than keeping up with, and actively engaging in, the weekly reading
assignments and class discussions.
Many other required texts are located in the Halle
Library’s Electronic Reserves: http://reserves.emich.edu/. (Contact another student or myself if you
forget the password.) If you experience
difficulty opening these texts on your computer, see the link “Problems viewing
PDF or other file formats? Read
this!” You may need to download small
versions applications (Adobe, MS Word, etc.) in order to access them. It is best to print out the Electronic
Reserve materials in one sitting in advance from the computers on the first
floor of the
Make sure to bring a copy of each of the texts that we will
be discussing to class, whether electronic reserve materials, plays, the novel,
or the anthology. You will
need to have read the assigned material, and have it on hand, when I call on
you in class or when we do group work, which will be often. There will also be periodic quizzes.
Grading
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20% |
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Responses, Quizzes, Poetry Presentation, |
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25% |
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Examination #1: Short Story & Novel |
February
9
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30% |
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Examination #2: Poetry & Drama |
April 27
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25% |
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Five-Page Critical Essay |
TBA |
The participation
grade, largely based on responses, quizzes, and the poetry presentation, is a
considerable portion of your final grade — 20% — so keep up with the reading
and response assignments and make your voice heard in class. Late assignments are marked down only
minimally, but they must be turned in within a week of the initial due
date. Your total participation points
will be averaged, put on a fair grading curve, and then bumped up or down
slightly depending on how actively you engage in class discussions.
Responses to the
readings will be posted periodically to the class listserv, emailed in plain
text and without attachments to coylit101@list.emich.edu
and thence dispersed to all of the members of the class at once. See https://list.emich.edu/mailman/listinfo/coylit101 to subscribe to the listserv, and
then visit the listserv archives http://list.emich.edu/pipermail/coylit101/ to double check that your
response went through or to view the responses of other class members. Responses may also be handwritten if you
prefer privacy or have difficulty accessing the internet. All responses are listed on the schedule
below and due by the following class period, but if you post them by 6 PM on
the previous evening, you will get them back much earlier. Each response should be at least 400 words,
or roughly two paragraphs and one page, although longer (or more engaged)
responses will not only enhance your grade, but also enhance the ability of
other students and myself to offer feedback.
The exams will
consist of a brief multiple-choice section and essay questions. The first exam will have one essay question
on short fiction and another on the novel; the second exam will have one essay
question on poetry and another on drama.
You will be able refer to an outline during the exams, but not to the
texts themselves.
The critical essay will be given
two grades — one for the quality of the theme and one for the quality of the
writing — which will be averaged together equally for a final grade. In it, you will analyze a poem of your choice
from the Literature anthology, the same poem that you select for your
poetry presentation, as well as (if you like) a second poem by way of
contrast. This poem cannot otherwise be
covered in class as required reading. Handouts
on writing about literature are available in the Supplemental Folder of the
Electronic Reserves.
Attendance
Because this class
primarily consists of reading and discussion — rather than facts, figures, or
memorization — attendance is crucial. You
may be absent three times without penalty. Each absence after that will result in a
reduction of your final grade by one-third the letter grade: that is, the
fourth class missed will turn a final grade of an A into an A-; the fifth, into
a B+; and so on. The three absences are
for emergencies, so if you ditch the class three times, do not expect a
reprieve from the rule if you become gravely ill or have other extenuating
circumstances towards the end of the semester.
Above all, make sure
to withdraw from the course if you find that you cannot attend class regularly
or fall too far behind in the reading.
Aside from the grade reduction, missing classes will hinder your ability
to do the assignments properly and promptly.
Likewise, even though there will be no penalty for lateness, it can have
several undesirable consequences: you may miss crucial information (such as the
extension of a deadline) often covered in the first ten minutes of class and,
of course, you will likely distract other students and myself while entering
the room. If you are late, it is your
responsibility to ensure that you have not been marked absent. If you are absent from class, contact another
student who can fill you in on missed work before contacting me.
In the unlikely event that you
experience an emergency of any kind at the end of the semester (a death in the
family, lost limb, prison term, &c.), I will go out of my way to help in
any way I can, including giving you an incomplete, supposing that you document
the situation in some fashion and have otherwise kept up with the assignments,
attended class regularly, and finished a majority of the course.
Academic
Dishonesty
Any academic
dishonesty will result in a failing, zero-percent grade for the
assignment. Thus, if you plagiarize on
the essay, you can expect, at most, to receive a C (or 75%) for your final
grade, supposing that you did everything else in the class perfectly. Similarly, if you
cheat on the second exam, you can expect at most to receive a C- (or 70%), again
supposing that you
did everything else perfectly.
Plagiarism is a very serious
offense against the Code of Student Conduct.
According to Funk and Wagnalls’ New Standard Dictionary (1921),
plagiarism is the “act of plagiarizing or appropriating the ideas, writings, or
inventions of another without due acknowledgment; specifically, the stealing of
passages either for word or in substance, from the writings of another and
publishing them as one’s own.” The
general rule is that if you use three or more words of another writer in a row
without enclosing those words in quotation marks and acknowledging your source,
you are guilty of plagiarism.
With the internet, plagiarism is quite easy and tempting to do; however, plagiarism is also that much more easy to catch and document, so do not even think about doing it in this class or elsewhere. Note: Turning in a paper that you wrote for another class as an essay for this class, i.e. recycling the same words for double credit, also constitutes academic dishonesty at EMU.
Schedule
January 5: Introduction to course; First-day conjectural responses / Homework: Get Books;
Review the syllabus and write down any questions that you have; Read Literature: A
Portable Anthology (LPA), pg. 1265-77; Michael Herr,
“Dispatches,” pg. 200-208, and Ambrose Bierce, “Chickamauga,” pg. 213-218, each
in the Electronic Reserves (ER): http://reserves.emich.edu/. Bring copies of all ER materials and the book
to class, as well as the classes that follow. [12/13]
January 12: Discuss approaches to literature; Discuss Herr and Bierce, as well as
the elements of fiction /
Homework: Read “Analyzing Fiction” (ER 2-21);
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “Yellow Wallpaper” (LPA 1388-89; 82-96); Ralph
Ellison, “Battle Royal” (LPA 1385; 196-208); Subscribe to the class listserv
at https://list.emich.edu/mailman/listinfo/coylit101;
Write a 400-word response on Gilman and Ellison, using one of
the questions from “Analyzing Fiction” as a basis for your response; Send the
response as an email in plain text to the listserv at
coylit101@list.emich.edu (if you use
my.emich, the email will automatically be in plain text); Do not send the
response in an email attachment; For confirmation, visit the archives http://list.emich.edu/pipermail/coylit101/ (make sure to
refresh the page to see the latest posts); Email your
response to me (acoykenda@emich.edu) if you have any difficulty, or hand it in as a hard copy
during class. There will be extra credit
for the student who posts the first response.
This response (as well as all future responses) is due by the next class
period, but if you post it by
January 19: Discuss
Gilman and Ellison; Debate on “Yellow Wallpaper” and “Battle Royal” / Homework: Read “Analyzing Film” (ER 54-66); Read the glossary definitions for 1)
“Allegory,” 2) “Allusion” and “Intertextuality,” 3) “Irony” (Dramatic,
Situational, and Verbal), 4) “Paradox,” 5) and “Symbol” (LPA 1430+); Read the
Robert Louis Stevenson Background in the Electronic Reserves (“ER”); Read
Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Chapt. 1-4
(1-17); Find an example of the five literary devices mentioned above: one from
the opening of the Stevenson novel, as well as one from each of the four short
stories that we have read thus far. Make
a list to turn in with relevant quotations (or descriptions of the relevant
scenes), explaining briefly how those passages exemplify the particular
literary device. [20/17]
January 26: Discuss
Narrative in Cinema and Literature, Literary Devices, the Novel, and Stevenson;
Watch Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde / Homework: Read “Common Writing
Assignments” (LPA 1302-17); Finish Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde, Chapt. 5-10 (18-64); Email in plain text (without
attachments) a 400-word response to the class listserv (coylit101@list.emich.edu), comparing and contrasting the literary and filmic versions of the
Stevenson novel, and approaching the novel and its film adaptation as you
imagine one of the literary critics would (e.g. Marxist, feminist, formalist,
etc.); Optional reading, “Writing about Stories,” as well as the sample essay,
for review (LPA 1318-24). [15/46]
February 2: Discuss
Stevenson; Groupwork on Critical Approaches to Literature and Stevenson; Review
for Exam One on the Short Story and Novel / Homework: Read “The
Writing Process” (LPA 1278-90; 1293-95); Read “Taking Essay Exams” (LPA
1314-17); Prepare outlines for Exam One [17]
February 9: **Exam
One: The Short Story and Novel** — Watch Poets on
Video (Creeley, Hughes, Stevens, Olds), as well as the Voices & Visions
segment on Sylvia Plath /
Homework: Read “Analyzing Poetry” (ER 22-41);
Read (and re-read) the following poems: Sylvia Plath “Daddy” (LPA 1412;
602-604); Dylan Thomas, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” (LPA 1421; 556-57);
Theodore Roethke, “My Papa’s Waltz” (LPA 1415; 547); Gwendolyn Brooks, “We Real
Cool” (LPA 1376; 559); Langston Hughes, “Harlem” (LPA 1396; 539); Wallace
Stevens, “Disillusionment of Ten O’clock” (LPA 1420; 513-14); Listen to the
audio files for Thomas, Roethke, and Brooks (ER). [19/13]
February 16: Discuss Poetry, Poetics, and Poetic
Terminology / Homework: Read “Things to
Think about when You Think about Poetry” (ER); Read
(and re-read) the following poems: William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 18” (LPA
1416; 379); Edgar Allen Poe, “A Dream Within a Dream” (LPA 1412; ER, 1 pg.);
Edna St. Vincent Millay, “What Lips My Lips Have Kissed” (LPA 1406; ER, 1 pg.);
William Wordsworth, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” (LPA 1426; 427-28); George
Gordon Byron, “She Walks in Beauty” (LPA 1390; 437); Listen to the audio files
for Poe, Wordsworth, and Byron (ER); Read the glossary definitions of the
following literary devices: oxymoron, metaphor, simile, image, synesthesia,
personification, alliteration, assonance, and consonance (LPA 1443+); Find an
example of all but three of the literary devices, each from different poems
that we have read for this week. Make a
list to turn in with relevant quotations, explaining briefly how those passages
exemplify the particular literary device; Optional
reading, “Writing about Poems,” as well as the sample essay, for review (LPA
1325-30). [10/10]
February 23: Continue
discussing poetry, poetics, and poetic terminology; Discuss Poetry
Presentations and the final five-page essay / Homework: Read (and re-read) the following poems: Adrienne Rich, “Aunt Jennifer’s
Tigers” (LPA 1414; ER, 1 pg.); Sharon Olds, “The Solution” (LPA 1410; ER, 1
pg.); Marge Piercy, “The Secretary Chant” (LPA 1411; ER, 1 pg.); e. e.
cummings, “next to of course god america I” (LPA 1381; ER, 1 pg.); Dorothy
Parker, “Résumé” (ER, 1 pg.); Joy Harjo, “A Postcolonial Tale”
(LPA 1391; ER, 1 pg.); Listen to the audio files for cummings and Harjo; Email in plain text (without
attachments) a 400-word response to the class listserv (coylit101@list.emich.edu)
on one of the poems that we have read for this week, basing it
on one of the questions on the “Things to Think about when You Think about
Poetry” handout; Read the “Poetry Presentations” handout; Review the anthology
and select a poem from the anthology that we have not already covered in class
to discuss for your poetry presentation; *** Email a list of the four poems
that you most want to discuss, in the order that you most want to discuss them,
to me (acoykenda@emich.edu)
by Tuesday, March 8; you will likely get to do your first choice, but if someone
else picks that poem as well, you may have to present on your second, third, or
fourth choice, depending on the earliness with which I receive your list
compared to other students. [1/10+]
March 2: Winter Recess
March 9: Continue discussing poetry, poetics, and
poetic terminology /
Homework: Read “Analyzing Drama” (ER 42-53);
Prepare the poetry presentation, as well as a written version of the
presentation to turn in to me. [11]
March 16: Discuss Dramatic Conventions; Poetry
Presentations / Homework: Read “Tragedy
& Comedy” (ER, 1 pg.); Read the glossary
definitions of the following literary terms: climax,
anticlimax, catharsis, farce, satire, parody, pun, sarcasm, stock character,
hubris, hyperbole, mock epic (LPA 1431+); Read Aristophanes, Lysistrata, halfway
through, including the prefatory material. [15/32]
March 23: Discuss Dramatic Conventions and
Aristophanes; Poetry Presentations / Homework: Finish Aristophanes, Lysistrata; Email in
plain text (without attachments) a 400-word response on Lysistrata to the class
listserv (coylit101@list.emich.edu), basing it on one of the questions in “Analyzing Drama” (ER
42-53). [32]
March 30: Discuss Dramatic Conventions and
Aristophanes; Debate on Lysistrata / Homework: Read Arthur Schnitzler, Hands Around, halfway through, including the prefatory material; Work on Critical
Essays; Optional reading, “Writing about Plays,” as well as the sample essay,
for review (LPA 1331-37).
[32]
April 6: Discuss Schnitzler; Poetry Presentations / Homework: Finish Arthur Schnitzler, Hands Around; Read “The Writing Process” (LPA 1296-1301); Review “The Writing
Process” (LPA 1278-90; 1293-95); Work on Critical Essays.
[32]
April 13: Discuss
Schnitzler; Discuss Essays; Revisit Conjectural Responses; Review for Exam Two / Homework: Prepare outlines for Exam Two; Work on Critical Essays; Optional
reading, “Taking Essay Exams” (LPA 1314-17).
April 27: **Exam
Two: Poetry and Drama**
TBA:
**
Five-Page Essay Due**
[Syllabus last
modified January 5, 2005]