English 2200 CRN 10705 Meeting time MW 5:30-8:00
Summer Semester, 2006 Classroom SS229
Office SS344 Office Phone 626-6543
Office Hours (344) MW 4:30-5:20
home page <http://faculty.weber.edu/dkrantz>
Email: dkrantz@weber.edu

Course description Materials Reading Requirement
Writing Requirement Discussion/Participation Grade weights
Weekly Schedule Presentation



INFORMATION ABOUT ENGLISH 2200

English 2200 is an introductory course in literature with writing in response to reading. We will read examples of each of the genres of imaginative literature: drama/film, fiction, and poetry as well as several essays. We will seek to understand the fundamental qualities and characteristics of those genres. You will learn specific strategies to respond to and eventually analyze and interpret literary texts, and you will be responsible for bringing your ideas and experiences to the texts and the class discussions. I will give notes on basic concepts and, of course, answer questions, but the bulk of the class time will be spent in group discussion.

This course also aims to satisfy some of the goals of the University Gen. Ed. program.  According to the university catalogue, these include the following student achievements:

We will aim especially for the 3rd and 4th goals.

Required Text: Literature and Ourselves: A Thematic Introduction for Readers and Writers 4th Ed.

OTHER SUPPLIES
A dictionary
A notebook for your class notes and essay drafts.
A very cheap folder for weekly journal entries and
final drafts of papers
A small stapler
A backup device for the work done on your computer.

READING REQUIREMENT: We will read all of the pieces in your text under the "Quest" theme and will also watch the movie "The Matrix" as a video "text" that we will "read." You may also watch "The Fellowship of the Ring" for extra credit (3 % added to your average). You must submit a one-page summary and analysis for the extra credit.

WRITING REQUIREMENT: You will be asked to write journal entries on each reading 30% (easy "A"). This is to be a one-page typed and dated response to the reading for the week--not summary or paraphrase. Undated journals will receive no credit. Journal entries are due Wednesday of the week for which the reading is assigned. They may not be made up, but they may be handed in, or, if you are absent, sent by email, ahead of time. Your grade for journaling begins as an A. You can only lower it by a) failing to hand entries in the week they are due or b) by inappropriate responses (summary rather than interpreting or critiquing). Sample Journal. You will take an in-class midterm (10%) and a final exam (15%) and give a group presentation (15%) and a response paper (15%).

DISCUSSION REQUIREMENT 15% (Another easy A). Not only does your attendance contribute to the community we make in this class, your contribution to class discussion shows me that you've read and thought about the assigned texts. I grade your participation according to the number of times you attend class during the semester, working on the basis that you can't participate if you don't attend. Here's how it will work:
0-1 absences = A; 2 absences = B+; 3 absences = B-; 4 absences = C; 5 or more absences results in losing all 15% for participation.
There are 15 class sessions this semester, and you have 1 "freebie". Your freebie is intended to cover a real emergency. While I sympathize with those who through no fault of their own miss class, physical presence is required to earn the participation points.

PAPER SIZE AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION
The full percentage is given only for perfect (A+) work. An A on the midterm, for example, would earn .95 x 10% or 9.5%.
Presentation 50 min 15 %
Paper 5-6 pp 15 %
Midterm   10 %
Final   15 %
Participation   15 %
journal 30 30 %


NOTES 1) To pass this course, you must TURN IN every assignment.
2) The paper will be graded and returned to you one week from the day you hand it in. This analysis, if submitted on the due date, may be rewritten one week after being handed back. Consultation with the instructor is mandatory before a rewrite. LATE PAPERS will be reduced 1/3 grade for each day of lateness including weekends; no rewrite is possible on these.
3) If you are absent, it is your responsibility to contact me or a classmate to find out about additional assignments or handouts. In-class work may not be made up.


SYLLABUS

The syllabus is a contract stating what work is required for a given class period. I will try to adhere to it closely, but if more time is needed for discussion of some of the pieces, I reserve the right to modify the assignments in your favor.

Any student requiring accommodations or services due to a disability must contact Services for Students with disabilities (SSD) in room 181 of the Student Service Center. SSD can also arrange to provide course materials (including this syllabus) in alternative formats if necessary.

Ethics: Failure to maintain academic ethics/academic honesty, including the avoidance of cheating, plagiarism, collusion, and falsification, will result in an E in this course, and may result in charges issued, hearings held, and/or sanctions imposed.

Readings are due on the day they are listed. Journals are due each week on Wednesday at 5:30 pm.
Week 1. June 12
Mon Introduction to course; Computer classroom for my syllabus on the web; thematic introduction: The Quest pp.1280-82; prep for Plato. Sample Journal;  Understanding and reading/writing about Literature, pp 1-25; Annotating and underlining to understand. Sample presentation on Plato and Hawking.
Wed    Plato's Allegory of the Cave  1282-1288; Naipaul, Loss 1288-97; Hawking, Conclusion 1297-1301; Sign up for Presentation.

Week 2 June 19
Mon Rose, "I Just Wanna Be Average" 1301-1311; Presentation; Joyce, "Araby" 1311-1315
Genres; character
Wed Malamud, "Angel Levine" 1316-24
;; Fiction reading guide; Clarke, "The Star" 1324-29; Presentation

Week 3 June 26
Mon;
Roth "The Conversion of the Jews" 1329-1341; Bambara, "Raymond's Run" 1329-48; Atwood "Homelanding" 1348-50;
Wed
How to Read Poetry; Poetic Conventions; word meaning; Preparation for Donne and Blake; Presentation on Eliot and Hopkins

Week 4 July 3
Mon
Donne, Milton, Blake, Wordsworth 1351-1356; Tennyson, Hopkins, Yeats, Eliot 1356-1366; tone words; Presentation
Wed Hughes and other modern poets 1366-72;
Brodsky, Cofer, Song 1372-77; Reading Drama; Presentation on McCullers

Week 5 July 10
Mon ; Begin reading "The Member of the Wedding" since the whole play will be due for Wednesday. Prep for midterm; Take midterm in the testing center by 5:00 pm on Friday     
Wed.
"The Member of the Wedding" 1379-1426

Week 6 July 17
Mon
Writing on literature and poetry 25-44; Intro to Flannery O'Connor Casebook. O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find" 1427-40; Writing Process and devising a thesis. Essay assignment; Student Essays and Suggestions for Writing about lit and film 1472-79
Wed; O'Connor "Greenleaf" and "The Fiction Writer and His Country" 1440-1459; Prep for Critical reading. Hoffman and Muller 1459-69. 

Week 7 July 24
Mon Holiday
Wed
Video "The Matrix"; Whit 1469-72; Appendices A and B 1479-96; Draft Workshop

Week 8 July 31
Mon, Video and discussion; Create Final exam; Paper due
Wed 8/4 Final Exam 5:30-7:30