English 2500, Section 4 Meeting time TTh 10-11:15
Spring Semester, 2005 Classroom SS325
Office SS344 Office Phone 626-6543
Office Hours (344) MW 10-10:50; T 8:30-9:20
home page <http://weber.edu/dkrantz> 		Email: dkrantz@weber.edu

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



INFORMATION ABOUT ENGLISH 2500

English 2500 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:

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 daily 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 many under the theme "Freedom and Responsibility."

WRITING REQUIREMENT: You will be asked to write journal entries on each reading (easy "A"). This is to be a one-page typed and dated response to the reading--not summary or paraphrase. Journal entries are due during 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 and a final exam and give a group presentation and a response paper.

DISCUSSION REQUIREMENT (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:
0-3 absences = A; 4 absences = A-; 5 absences = B+; 6 absences = B etc.
There are 30 class sessions this semester, and you have 3 "freebies" (a week and a half of work). Your freebies are intended to cover such emergencies as the day you were sick, the day the baby sitter didn't make it, or the day you were playing the softball finals. After your three freebies, every absence counts against you in terms of your attendance/participation and journal grade.

PAPER SIZE AND GRADE DISTRIBUTION
Presentation 50 min 15 points
Paper 5-6 pp 15 points
Midterm   10 points
Final   15 points
Participation   15 points
journal 30 30 points



NOTES 1) To pass this course, you must TURN IN every assignment.
2) The papers will be graded and returned to you one week from the day you hand them in. The analysis, if submitted on the due date, may be rewritten within one weeks 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 Thursday at 10:00 am.
Week 1 (1/11)
Tues Introduction to course; Computer classroom for my syllabus on the web; thematic introduction: The Quest pp.1280-82; prep for Plato. Sample Journal
Thurs    Understanding and reading/writing about Literature, pp 1-25; Plato's Allegory of the Cave  1282-1288; Annotating and underlining to understand. Sample presentation on Hawking.

Week 2 (1/18)
Tues Naipaul, Loss 1288-97; Hawking, Conclusion 1297-1301
Thurs Rose, "I Just Wanna Be Average" 1301-1311; Presentation

 Week 3 (1/25)
Tues Joyce, "Araby"; Malamud, "Angel Levine" 1311-24; Genres; character; Fiction reading guide
Thurs Clarke, "The Star" 1324-29; Presentation

Week 4 (2/1)

Tues Roth "The Conversion of the Jews," Bambara, "Raymond's Run" 1329-48
Thurs Atwood "Homelanding" 1348-5; How to Read Poetry; Poetic Conventions; Preparation for Donne and Blake

Week 5 (2/8)
Tues Donne, Milton, Blake, Wordsworth 1351-1356; word meaning; Presentation on Eliot and Hopkins
Thurs. Tennyson, Hopkins, Yeats, Eliot 1356-1366; tone words; Presentation        


Week 6 (2/15)
Tues Hughes and other modern poets 1366-72
Thurs Brodsky, Cofer, Song 1372-77; Reading Drama; Presentation on McCullers

 

Week 7 (2/22)
Tues McCullers "The Member of the Wedding" 1379-1404
Thurs McCullers "The Member of the Wedding" 1404-1427

Week 8 (3/1)
Tues, Prep for midterm; Possible option to take midterm in the testing center by 5:00 pm Thursday
Thurs Midterm on Quest material
            Complete video and discussion.

Week 9 (3/8)
Tues 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
Thurs O'Connor "Greenleaf" and "The Fiction Writer and His Country" 1440-1459; Prep for Critical reading.            

Week 10 (3/22)
Tues Hoffman and Muller 1459-69; Analyzing the analyzers
Thurs Whit, Student Essays and Suggestions for Writing about lit and film 1469-79; Essay assignment

Week 11 (3/29)
Tues Video "The Matrix" Appendix A 1479-84
Thurs Video Appendix B 1484-96

Week 12 (4/5)
Tues Video
Thurs Video and discussion

Week 13 (4/12)
Tues Draft Workshop
Thurs Paper due; Video "The Scarlet Letter"

 

Week 14 (4/19)
Tues Video "The Scarlet Letter"
Thurs Video "The Scarlet Letter" discussion


Week 15 (4/26)
Tues Summary and Finals suggestions
Thurs Finals Prep

Weds 5/4 Final Exam 9:30-11:30