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HU/DV English 2200, Introduction to Literature
Requirements

The requirements of this course are connected to the overall student learning outcomes of the English Department and the specific learning outcomes of General Education classes offering Humanities (HU) and Diversity (DV) credit. Below please find a list of these outcomes and, in brackets further below, how they correlate to particular requirements.

General Education Outcomes (GE). All students will (1) read, interpret, and analyze language and texts; (2) compose, revise, and edit their writing.

Humanities Outcomes (HU). 1. Students will demonstrate knowledge of diverse philosophical, communicative, linguistic, or literary traditions, as well as of key themes, concepts, issues, terminology, and ethical standards in humanities disciplines. 2. Students will analyze cultural artifacts within a given discipline, and, when appropriate, across disciplines, time periods, and cultures. 3. Students will demonstrate the ability to effectively communicate their understanding of humanities materials in written, oral, or graphic forms.
 Diversity Outcomes (DV). 1. A student will be able to describe his/her own perspective as one among many. 2. Students will identify values and biases that inform the perspectives of oneself and others. 3. Students will recognize and articulate rights, perspectives, and experiences of others.

 

(1) NOTEBOOK: I will ask you to respond in a notebook to the texts you have been assigned to study and think through, sometimes by giving you queries ahead of time, other times by inviting you to come up with questions (and responses) on your own. These notebook responses will serve as a basis for our discussion and need to be ready at the beginning of each class. These entries must be typewritten and double spaced and should (in a reasonable font) be about 2 pages in length per week. Make sure you include your name, the date and a title to indicate the assignment covered. I will reserve the right to call on you to read your entry or summarize it. Please be prepared! I will collect your stapled notebooks at pre-announced times during the semester (see syllabus) so that I can respond constructively to the way you handle the assignments (GE, HU, DV) .— Please note that notebooks are not essays. They are evaluated on ideas and substance, not grammatical correctness or "form." Write genuinely and thoughtfully; I encourage you to take risks! Note as well that I will read all of your entries each time, but please indicate one entry or more (with a big * for example) to which you would like me to respond in detail.  Here are some student notebook samples: Sample #1 (2200);   Sample #1 (4550)


(2) ESSAY: Toward the end of the semester, you will need to write one more formal paper (of about 1,000-1,500 words) that will allow you to demonstrate on a larger scale the interpretive skills you have acquired in the class and to put your writing skills in action. This paper must be typewritten and double-spaced and written in reasonably good English. I also reserve the right to administer unannounced quizzes, should I feel that you are neglecting your reading and writing assignments. (esp. GE + HU). Here are some lower-division/general education Student Sample Essays


(3) ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION: In addition to these writing assignments, you will earn a grade for you attendance and participation in class.  By not showing up (or not showing up on time) you deprive yourself of valuable class discussion, just as you deprive your classmates of your own insights—the centerpiece of our collaborative enterprise called teaching and learning.  Being present in body and mind is critical for your and our class' success (HU + DV). You will be allowed two (= 2) "freebies" which are intended to cover such emergencies as the day you were sick, going hunting, gambling in Las Vegas, or flying on the Space Shuttle . . . . You get the drift. If you have more than two absences, you jeopardize your good standing in the class and thus your final grade.

If you do have to miss class, please contact a peer -- not me -- to find out what we did and homework for the next class period:
Name:      ___________________   E-mail:     ________________________  Phone number(s):     _______________________
                    ___________________                      ________________________                                             _______________________
                    ___________________                      ________________________                                             _______________________ 

 
(4) DISCUSSION PODS: Finally, I will ask you to get together in groups of 2-3 and take collective responsibility for conducting part of a class discussion about a certain portion of text (or film). You should come prepared to steer our attention in the directions you find most fruitful and rewarding. You should get together once or twice prior to the day you are "on" and have done some research and discussion on the text of your choice. For this occasion, you must also prepare a handout (one sheet, front & back) that includes useful insights/quotes, sources, web sites, question prompts, observations, images, and additional information relevant to our text/author. An "official" sign-up sheet for these assignments is posted on my door (esp. HU + DV). 

 

(5) A FINAL EXAM that will allow you to demonstrate what you have learned this semester (GE, HU, DV). Here is a recent sample of a final take-home exam essay in response to one question.

 

Your total evaluation will be made up as follows:

Notebook (3 x 10%) 30 %
Class participation 20 %
Discussion pod 15 %
Final Exam 20 %
Concluding Essay 15 %

 

Please note that you will have to fulfill each of these requirements to pass this class and do well in it.

It is your responsibility to become familiar with the standards of academic integrity at WSU.  Passing off someone else's work or ideas as your own is grounds for failure.


The Prime Directives, a.k.a. The Ground (or Golden) Rules and Privileges

  • Assignments must be typewritten and are due on the date specified — no exceptions.
  • No electronic submissions, unless specified otherwise.
  • For reasons of class integrity, and out of fairness and consideration to others, do not come late or leave early. For the same reason, I will not be able to accept late work.
  • Electronics (a repeat from the front page): Laptops and notebooks are part of classroom resources, but I expect you to use them judiciously. That means you are focused on class learning, not checking email, surfing, gaming, etc. during class. I reserve the right to ask a student to switch off a laptop/notebook if I feel it is not used appropriately. I do not allow the use of cell phones or handheld devices in class and, in the event of non-compliance, will ask you to leave class for the remaining period. Please turn off your phone and put it away (= into your backpack or book bag) during the class hour. Thank you. -- fyi, The Distracted Classroom
  • If you prefer an alternate name or gender pronoun, please advise me of your preference and I will happily honor your request.
  • Bottom line (repeat): Be there in body and mind!
  • Mid-morning bonus (but no bonbons): A class starting mid-morning may be early — not to say, in the middle of the night — for some of you, but it's also getting close to lunch time (or breakfast, as the case may be). Please feel free to bring a snack or beverage to (re)charge your intellectual batteries and to ward off hypoglycemic fantasizing, but munch and imbibe with discretion.

 

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a violation of the WSU Student Code. To plagiarize means to pass off someone else’s work as your own or to improperly or insufficiently document your sources. If you plagiarize, you will receive an E for the assignment. If it happens again, you will fail the class, and I will notify university authorities about disciplinary action.

WSU subscribes to TurnItIn.com, an electronic service that verifies the originality of student work. Enrollment in this course may require you to submit some or all of your assignments to TurnItIn.com, and documents submitted to TurnItIn.com are retained, anonymously, in their databases. Enrollment in this course constitutes an understanding of an agreement with this policy.


Disability Accommodation: PPM 3-34 notes: "When students seek accommodation in a regularly scheduled course, they have the responsibility to make such requests at the Center for Students with Disabilities (SSD, #181 of Student Services Center) before the beginning of the semester in which the accommodation is being requested.  When a student fails to make such arrangements, interim accommodations can be made by the instructor, pending the determination of the request for a permanent accommodation."  Such accommodations include reading services, provisions in case of mobility impairment, sign language and interpretive assistance, and closed captions for the hearing impaired, among others.

Emergency Closure: In the unlikely event of an extended campus closure, we will conduct our course electronically via email and virtual discussion groups. In this case, please make sure that you check your email account regularly for messages and attachments (in Word, PowerPoint, or audio) coming from me and/or your fellow class participants. Such messages may function as lecture substitutes, provide directions for reading and writing assignments, and contain other relevant information. Also make sure that your account has adequate storage capacity for transmitting documents.  Please let me know by the end of the first week of the semester if you do not have access to a computer and/or the Internet from your home. Thanks.
Core Beliefs: According to PPM 6-22 IV, students are to "determine, before the last day to drop courses without penalty, when course requirements conflict with a student's core beliefs. If there is such a conflict, the student should consider dropping the class. A student who finds this solution impracticable may request a resolution from the instructor. This policy does not oblige the instructor to grant the request, except in those cases when a denial would be arbitrary and capricious or illegal. This request must be made to the instructor in writing and the student must deliver a copy of the request to the office of the department head. The student's request must articulate the burden the requirement would place on the student's beliefs."