ENG 2012 Approaches to Literatur

ENG 2012 Approaches to Literature

Spring Semester 2007 Section UO5

Syllabus

Instructor: Roberta (Bobbie) Cohen Monday and Wednesday

E-mail: cohenr@fiu.edu 8:00-9:15

Phone: 305 348-2993

Office: DM 462C, English Department

Office Hours: 11:00 to 11:45 Monday and Wednesday

Additional hours by appointment

Prerequisite: Successful completion of ENC 1101 and 1102 with a grade of C or higher.

Required texts: The Story and Its Writer, Compact 7^th Edition by Ann Charters and Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, the Enriched Classic Edition published by Pocket Books; a manual such as The Everyday Writer by Andrea Lunsford or Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing

Purpose: The purpose of this course is to improve your ability to write clear, concise, well-organized prose, and to sharpen your critical, analytical, and research skills. Those skills will be evident in your responses as you critique the stories, poems, and play according to the biographical, historical, psychological, and literary approaches to the readings.

Course Requirements: You will be required to compose several essays which will reflect various forms of argumentative or critical writing in response to the literature and will require primary as well as secondary academic references. Ask.com and wikipedia are not considered academic sources and are, therefore, not acceptable. All major essays are to include the rough draft, and there must be a significant revision between the rough draft and the final version or your grade will be affected. If the final paper lacks the rough draft, I will not accept the assignment. Papers are due at the beginning of class on the assigned date and cannot be left in my box or emailed to me. After that time, late papers will not be accepted unless there is an emergency situation such as your court appearance or serious illness that must be documented. If your absence is excused, the paper must be submitted the day that you return to class. You will have the option of rewriting several of the assignments for a better grade. If you elect to revise the paper, the second grade will replace the first. However, the replacement grade will only increase by up to two letter grades, for example a D to a B. If the rewrite is unacceptable due to limited revision, the original grade will stand, and you will receive no credit for the rewrite. The rewrite and the original graded essay are due the next class. If the original essay is late for any reason, no rewrite is permitted.

All papers must follow MLA manuscript format. That means that there is no title page. In the upper left hand corner of the first page, list your first name, last name, my name, the course name and section, and date that the paper is turned in. Subsequent pages include your last name and page number in the upper right hand corner. Staple the pages together. All papers written out of class must be typed using 12 point Times New Roman, double spaced, with one-inch margins. The title is to be properly capitalized and centered and not be italicized, in bold print, underlined, or within quotation marks. The title should be creative and reflect your topic, not the title of the story you are analyzing. Keep a copy of all work that you turn in, and keep all of your graded work when I return it. That way we can resolve any questions that might arise later.

Additionally, there will be short interpretative paragraphs and quizzes that reflect your critical evaluations of the daily readings. Expect to take a quiz on the reading material assigned for each class. Many of these quizzes will be in the form of a short responsive essay. The quizzes are given at the beginning of class and cannot be made up. If you are tardy and miss the test, your grade for that quiz will be a zero. You may drop one quiz grade, either an absence or your lowest grade.

Class discussions play an important part in the vitality of this class and are an indication as to whether you understand the reading assignments. Therefore, you are expected to participate. If you do not participate in the discussions or repeatedly fail the quizzes, I will assume that you have not completed the assignments, and your grade will reflect your lack of commitment

I am posting a listing of the daily readings and assignments so that you may always know what is expected of you. However, the schedule may change due to class discussions or level of competency. For example, responses may indicate a necessity to review research paper procedures.

Attendance: Two absences will be permitted without penalty. Three to five absences may result in the lowering of your semester grade. However, more than five absences places you in danger of failing the course. If there is an extenuating circumstance such as a court appearance or a serious illness, you must submit documentation to remain in class. Baby sitting or work schedule is not an excuse. If an extended illness becomes a problem, contact me during that time. Do not wait until the end of the semester to resolve an attendance problem. If you arrive in class after I have taken attendance, it is your responsibility to verify that I have changed your absence to a tardy. Repetitive tardies will also count against attendance.

All of the elements of the course play an important part of the whole. If your do not complete any part of the course successfully, for example repeatedly failing the quizzes, not completing the essays, or not fully participating in group projects, you will not pass this class.

Ringing cell phones, beeping pagers, late arrivals, and early exits are all disruptions that are not acceptable. Turn off cell phones and beepers. Once you leave class, unless it is an excused emergency, you may not return. Under no circumstance may you leave class and return during an exam.

Conferences: I am available for individual conferences, and I strongly urge each of you to meet with me, especially if you are confused about any aspect of this course or are having problems with the essays.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Familiarize yourself with the FIU statement in the Student Handbook or the policy online at http:/w3.fiu.edu/enc/Academic%20Misconduct.htm. If your work is paraphrased, give credit to the source. Occasionally there will be group assignments; otherwise, your essay is to be your work reflecting your own ideas supported by research or the literature. The penalty for plagiarism ranges from the lowering of a grade on a specific paper to your failing the course. I may check your papers on Turnitin.com, and you may scan your papers there to be sure your work is original or properly documented.

Grading: As an indication of how I evaluate your papers, you should review both the grading standards on my web page and the rubric at http://w3fiu.edu./enc/Grading%20Rubric.htm.

The final grade is determined by averaging the work as follows:

Test on Literary Terms January 22 10%

Essay #1 due January 31 10%

Research Essay on Shaw due March 3 15%

Essay #3 due April 9 10%

Essay exam Topics I and II (no make-up) 15%

Essay exam on Topics III, IV, and V 15%

(no make-up)

Class Participation and Group Projects 15%

In-class responsive writings and quizzes 10%

I reserve the right to change the Syllabus or Daily Assignments at any time.

ENG 2012 Approaches to Literature

Spring Semester 2007

Instructor: Roberta Cohen

Daily Assignments

Unless otherwise noted, the assignments are the readings from The Story and Its Writer the Compact Seventh Edition by Ann Charters. The second major reading is George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion. Other selections such as poems can be found online. Assignments are due on the day indicated and are previewed or explained in preceding classes.

1/8 Introduction to the course. Print the Syllabus and Daily Assignment sheet from my web page and bring them to class on 1/10. Read about my grading standards on the web page.

1/10 Readings due today: “Elements of Fiction” 1044-1059

Topic I: Coming of Age and Alienation

“The Lottery” 364; Jackson 877

On 1/22 there will be a test on literary terms. Since I have given you both the words and the definitions on my web page, all you have to do is memorize them for an easy A.

1/15 Martin Luther King Holiday. FIU is closed. Study the vocabulary words at the beach.

1/16 Last day for drop/add

1/17 “Writing About Short Stories” 1070-1083; “Young Goodman Brown” 339; Melville 889

1/22 Test on literary terms. Test cannot be made up. “Saboteur” 390

1/24 “The Man Who Was Almost a Man” 812; discussion of blending quotes, internal citations, and the Works Cited Page; MLA format, 1087-1096

1/29 “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” 594; Oates 896; Oates’ story is dedicated to Bob Dylan; print his poem and bring it to class; “The Lesson” 60

1/31 Paper due with rough draft. Use at least 2 quotes from the primary source and 2 quotes from the critical sources. Include a Works Cited Page and follow MLA standards.

“A Good Man Is Hard to Find”; O’Connor 622, 964, 967, 972; Fitzgerald 987

2/5 Topic II: Influences on the Mind

“Yellow Wallpaper” 312; Gilbert and Gubar 867; Gilman 870; Gilman 872; “Paul’s Case” 116

2/7 “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” 74; view film of the short story

2/12 “The Cask of Amontillado 698; “The Tell-Tale Heart” 705; Gothic literature

2/14 Poe’s “The Raven”; “Annabel Lee”; read the poems and bring printed copies to class

2/19 Essay exam on Topics I and II. Bring a pen and plenty of paper. The exam cannot be made up unless your absence is documented and approved by me. If made up, your grade will be lowered by one letter. If you leave the classroom for any reason during the exam, you may not return.

2/21 Topic III: Women and Class Distinctions in Victorian England

Background on Victorian England; Pygmalion Introduction xi-xix; Notes 167-175; Act I 11-27

2/26 Discussion of paper due 3/7; Act II 29-65; review blending quotes and internal citations; bring Charters’ book

2/28 Acts III and IV 67-105; review Works Cited; bring Charters’ book

3/5 Act V 106-133; Sequel 135-161; Criticism 179-192

3/7 Paper due on Shaw; must include rough draft, Works Cited Page, and follow MLA standards; refer to The Everyday Writer or The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing

Begin viewing film My Fair Lady

3/12 Last day to drop course with a DR grade.

3/12 My Fair Lady

3/14 Complete viewing of My Fair Lady and compare with Pygmalion

3/19 Spring Break. Enjoy! You’ve already turned in your paper.

3/21 Still Spring Break. Having fun yet?

3/26 Topic IV: Relationships Among Family Members

“The Metamorphosis” 441; Kafka 444; Updike 927; “Girl” 476; Kincaid 884

3/28 “Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter” 250; “Who’s Irish?” 373

4/2 “Two Kinds” 730; Tan 916; “Everyday Use” 789; Chopin 153; “The Story of an Hour” 158

4/4 Topic V: Relationships Between Men and Women

“Sweat” 354; Hurston 873; Walker 930; “A Rose for Emily” 384; Faulkner 866

4/9 Paper due; “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” by Robert Herrick; “To His Coy Mistress” by Andrw Marvell; “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning. Print a copy of each poem, read it, and bring the copies to class with the assigned paper.

4/11 Topic VI: Relationships Among Men

“The Open Boat” 227; Crane 860; “The Things They Carried” 608; Mason 885

4/16 “The Red Convertible” 277; review for essay exam on Topics IV, V, VI

4/18 Essay Exam. This exam cannot be made up. If you leave the room during the exam, you may not return. Bring plenty of paper and a pen.

4/25 Scheduled final exam from 6:40 to 9:15. Don’t panic. The time for your appearance is flexible, but attendance is required.