English 1102 H: Composition & Literature
Spring 2003
TR 11:30-12:45
Office Hours: TR 10-11 and 2-4
howellbe@mail.armstrong.edu
www.llp.armstrong.edu/howells
Office: 202A Gamble Hall, 927-5218
Mailbox: 108A
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Dr. Elizabeth Howells English 1102 H: Composition & Literature Spring 2003 TR 11:30-12:45 Office Hours: TR 10-11 and 2-4 howellbe@mail.armstrong.edu www.llp.armstrong.edu/howells Office: 202A Gamble Hall, 927-5218 Mailbox: 108A |
ENGLISH 1102H: COMPOSITION AND LITERATURE
"What is Literature?"
Narrative is as necessary to us as air. We use the story to transmit
information as well as to while away the time. In periods of stress and change,
the story becomes even more important. In the telling of it we discover or affirm
who we are, why we exist, what we should do. The story brings order and delight.
Its form is inherently pleasing, and deeply satisfying to us. Because it has
a beginning, middle, and end, it gives a recognizable shape to the muddle and
chaos of our lives.
Lee Smith, preface to New Stories from The South, 2001
[The "transactional theory" emphasizes] the essentiality of
both reader and text, in contrast to other theories that make one or the other
determinate... 'Transaction'...permits emphasis on the to-and-fro, spiraling,
nonlinear, continuously reciprocal influence of reader and text in the making
of meaning. The meaning-the poem-'happens' during the transaction between the
reader and the signs on the page.
Louise Rosenblatt, from The Reader, The Text, The Poem: The Transactional Theory
of the Literary Work
Students are required to take English 1102, an "introduction to literature" or "composition and literature" course as a "Core Course." This spring our Honors 1102 class will ask "why?" In order to answer this question, we will try to determine what literature is and why we have been reading it and writing it for so long.
We will move back in time to look at some early attempts at drama such as Sophocles'
Oedipus before traveling up to the twentieth-century and investigating how postmodern
novelists might interrogate the novel form. We will journey from Shakespeare's
statement on the nature of drama to Jane Austen's playful reflection on the
novel in Northanger Abbey to Wordsworth's romantic meditations on the nature
of poetry. We will examine non-fiction excerpts of great writers like William
Faulkner and Toni Morrison attempting to define literature in their Nobel Prize
speeches and will ultimately have to make our own arguments about what is at
stake and what is of value when we read, write, and think about literature.
We will focus on literature that inquires into what literature is.
This is a reading course as much as a writing course, and it will demand an
intense engagement in both. While this class will introduce literature as its
subject matter, it will also focus on writing, reading, and thinking. We will
examine our processes for writing textual analyses, comparison essays, and research
papers. We will reflect on how close reading and critical thinking are necessary
tools for superior writing. Finally, we will investigate how strategic research
practices can enhance our reading, writing, and thinking abilities. Beyond intense
reading and paper writing, this course will depend on stimulating discussions:
we will wrestle with these texts and issues on paper and out loud.
TEXTS John Schlib and John Clifford. Making Literature Matter. 2nd
Edition.
Jane Austen. Northanger Abbey. Penguin Edition.
Oscar Wilde. The Picture of Dorian Gray. Dover Thrift
Diana Hacker handbook or Scribner handbook.
Note: Students must have earned a grade of C or better in ENGL 1101 in order to be eligible for this class. Any student who did not meet this criteria must retake ENGL 1101.
REQUIREMENTS:
1. Informal Writing. In order to encourage you to keep up with the reading and to ensure your preparedness to participate in class discussions, you should expect to be asked to respond to your reading in class every day. These in-class reading responses will sometimes take the form of quizzes, sometimes they will be a written response to a particular prompt, and sometimes they may be more creative or experimental. They will require that you read the assigned texts in order to be successful. You will also be required to write two in-class essays which should be considered practice for the state-required Regent's exam. These requirements will be worth 15% of your final grade.
2. Formal Writing. You will be required to write 3 five-page, typed, double-spaced essays based on your textual analysis of literary works. You will receive a formal assignment sheet with instructions on how to successfully complete each essay. These papers must be turned in on time. Failure to complete one of these essays will constitute failure of the course. They will be worth 10% apiece.
3. Research Project. At the end of the semester, you will turn in a fourth paper, a final research project in which you expand one of those earlier arguments with research. This project will consist of a prospectus, annotated bibliography, and a final paper 6-8 pages in length. The prospectus will count for 5% of your final grade, the annotated bib 10%, and the research paper 25% for a total of 40% of your final grade.
4. Final Exam. Your final exam, a take-home essay, will be worth 10% of your final grade.
5. Workshop Participation, Group Work, Class Participation, and Conferences.
This course also demands collaboration and group work: we are working on creating
a learning community. This class values revision and will demonstrate that by
devoting a significant amount of class time to talking about writing and to
talking about your writing specifically in workshops. This demands that each
individual student produce thoughtful and engaged responses to the writing of
his or her fellow students in order to make these workshops, indeed this course,
successful. Furthermore, you and your group will work together informally throughout
the term. You are responsible for making contributions to the group work on
a daily basis.
This course depends on your participation. Learning only happens when you choose
for it to happen. It only happens when you are engaged and active. Therefore,
you must participate in class discussion. Part of being engaged with the class
involves your getting with me and keeping me posted on your work. Therefore,
you are required to meet with me in conference twice during this term: once
before midterm and once after. You will need to come to see me with an agenda
prepared. These are your conferences.
In this way, through the evaluation of group work and class participation, this
course could be considered "speaking intensive" as well as "writing
intensive." These miscellaneous requirements will be worth 5% of your final
grade.
ATTENDANCE
This is a class that depends on your being there. Your participation and daily
writings cannot be made up. Therefore, you must be in class. You are allowed
three absences. No excuses. No penalties. After 3 absences, your grade will
drop a letter until you have failed the course. You can be removed by me at
that point with W or WF.
WRITING CENTER
The Writing Center, located in 109 Gamble Hall, can be a good resource for revising
your essays if you would like a little extra help. It is a free service. Please
consider taking advantage of it. Class time will not be used for formal grammar
instruction. It is your responsibility to undertake any form of grammar remediation
you may need. Make an appointment with me or the writing center or attend one
of their frequent "grammar tutorials" to review any issues of concern
for you.
PLAGIARISM
All students at AASU must agree to abide by the Honor Code and Code of Conduct
found in the appendix to the catalog. Be aware that plagiarism can result in
dismissal from the university, failure of the course, or failure of an assignment.
Cite any sources you use at any time in this class whether you are quoting directly
or paraphrasing. See me or consult the Armstrong Atlantic State University Handbook
if you are ever uncertain about the issue. Plagiarism will not be tolerated.
FINAL GRADES will be based on the following scale:
A=90-100
B=80-89
C=70-79
D=60-69
F=GRADES BELOW 59
Individual grades will be determined on a plus minus scale.
Syllabus:
T.1.7 Introduction
R. 1.9 Tour of textbook response, Regents' Practice Test
T.1.14 Sophocles, Oedipus the King, 496-520
R.1.16 Oedipus the King, 520-540
T.1.21 Hayden, "Winter Sundays" 345; Roethke, " My Papa's
Waltz" 346; Plath, "Daddy" 350 and critical commentaries 353-366
R. 1.23 WORKSHOP, complete typed rough draft due
T.1.28 PAPER ONE due, Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I
R.1.30 Hamlet, Acts II-III
T.2.4 Hamlet, Acts IV
R.2.6 Hamlet, V, Sonnets, tba
T.2.11 Love pPoetry, tba
R.2.13 WORKSHOP, complete typed rough draft due
T.2.18 PAPER TWO DUE, Romantic Poets, tba
R. 2.20 Romantic Poets, tba; Austen, Northanger Abbey, Chap. one
T.2.25 Austen, Northanger Abbey, Ch. 2-9, pp. 13-63
R.2.27 Austen, NA, Ch. 10-15, pp. 64-111
LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW WITHOUT PENALTY
T.3.4 Austen, NA, Ch. 16-23, pp.115-165
R.3.6 Austen, NA, Ch. 24-end, pp. 165-215
T.3.11 WORKSHOP, complete typed rough draft due
R.3.13 PAPER THREE DUE; Gilman, "Yellow Wallpaper" 1149-1161; Poe,
"Cask of Amontillado" 1314
3.17-3.21 SPRING BREAK
T.3.25 LIBRARY
R.3.27 Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray vii-43 ; PROSPECTUS DUE
T.4.1 Wilde, Dorian Gray 44-107
R.4.3 Wilde, Dorian Gray 107-165
T.4.8 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE; Eliot, "The Love Song of J. Alfred
Prufrock" 851; Browning, "My Last Duchess" 1302; Dickinson, poetry
1448-1453
R.4.10 James Dickey poetry, tba
T.4.15 O'Connor, "Good Man is Hard to Find" 1379-1391; Faulkner,
"A Rose for Emily" 969-975
R.4.17 DeLillo, "Videotape" 1470-1474; O'Brien, "The Things They
Carried" 1424-1437
T.4.22 Nobel Prize Speeches, tba (exam assigned)
R.4.24 RESEARCH PAPER DUE; declamations
M.4.28 Final Exam due, 5 pm, my mailbox, G108A
Final Exam and project return, Thursday, May 1, 10-12. 2-4
