TRENT OSHAWA
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
ENGL1005H : Love & Hate
Section A
Winter 2013
Instructor:
Sara Humphreys, PhD
Email:
sarahumphreys@trentu.ca
Telephone:
905-435-5102 ext. 5027
Campus: Oshawa (room 125)
Office Location: 157
Office Hours:
Mondays and
Thursdays 11am to
1pm
English Department Contact Information: 705-748-1011 x7733 or english@trentu.ca
Course Description:
What is “love” and what is “hate?” How many ways can you love or hate people, concepts,
animals, and even objects? This course will not answer these questions, but by studying a
wide range of narratives, you and I will embark on a journey to explore these questions and
likely ask many more. To help us on our way, we will not only read famous works, such as
William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, that are credited with actually defining “love” and
“hate” for generations of readers and viewers, but we will also engage with works that are
not traditionally considered “romantic,” such as Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns
and Sherman Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. What we will
discover is that almost every literary narrative written in English deals with issues relating to
those key human emotions that comprise love and hate and, in turn, our investigations will
supply us with insight into who we are culturally, aesthetically, politically, and socially.
Course Format:
Type
Day
Lecture
Discussion Groups
Workshop
Wednesdays 6:30 to 7:30
Wednesdays 7:45 to 8:30
Wednesdays 8:30 to 9:30
Learning Outcomes:
Time
Location
Rm 125
Rm 125
Rm 125
By the end of the course a successful student will have:
1. gained critical and abstract thinking skills
2. obtained skills in oral and written expression
3. responded to the opinions of others and learned to discuss and argue respectfully,
logically and persuasively
4. learned research skills, including the use of digital tools specific to online research
5. a greater ability to read analytically, think creatively, and express the aforementioned
skills with precision, coherence, and clarity
Course Evaluation:
Normally at least 25% of the grade in a half-year course offered in the regular academic
session must be determined and made available by the deadline, which is March 8th, for
withdrawal without academic penalty. Your assignments are to be handed in (uploaded) in
the appropriate drop box on Blackboard. I do not accept hard copies.
Type of Assignment
Short Essay
Review
Proposal
Final Paper
Participation Journal
Weighting
15%
15%
5%
25%
15% (3x5%)
Take Home Exam
25%
Due Date
Feb 27
Feb 13
Mar 13
Mar 27
Feb 6, Mar 13, Apr
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April 8
Short Essay (15%)
A five to six page paper that introduces students to the art of close reading and the genre of the
critical essay.
Review (15%)
Students will have the choice of working in a group to dramatize a section of a text for the class;
writing a conventional book review in print form; or writing a multimedia book review to be posted
on Professor Humphreys’ blog.
Proposal (5%)
Students will hand in a short overview of how they will approach the final project.
Participation Journal (3 x 5% = 15%)
Students will log in to Blackboard and write a journal at the end of each unit that summarizes what
the student has learned in said unit. Each journal is worth 5% of the overall mark.
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Final Paper (25%)
A 7 to 8 page paper based on a topic drawn from the course material.
Take Home Exam (30%)
Students will be asked to display their knowledge of the course material through a variety of
questions answered within a specified time limit.
University Policies
Academic Integrity:
Academic dishonesty, which includes plagiarism and cheating, is an extremely serious
academic offence and carries penalties varying from a 0 grade on an assignment to
expulsion from the University. Definitions, penalties, and procedures for dealing with
plagiarism and cheating are set out in Trent University’s Academic Integrity Policy. You
have a responsibility to educate yourself – unfamiliarity with the policy is not an excuse.
You are strongly encouraged to visit Trent’s Academic Integrity website to learn more:
www.trentu.ca/academicintegrity.
Access to Instruction:
It is Trent University's intent to create an inclusive learning environment. If a
student has a disability and/or health consideration and feels that he/she may need
accommodations to succeed in this course, the student should contact the
Disability Services Office (BH Suite 132, 748 1281disabilityservices@trentu.ca).
for Trent University in Oshawa Disability Services office contact 905-435-5100.
Complete text can be found under Access to Instruction in the Academic
Calendar.
Required Texts:
Please note that you are responsible for using the correct editions. Any works listed as “on course site” are to
be found in the appropriate unit on Blackboard (aka learningSystem). This course follows Trent’s official
copyright policy, the full text of which can be found here http://guides.lib.trentu.ca/copyright. You are
expected to be logged into the website where the work is located, and/or print out the work for use in class.
Please be sure to bring the appropriate texts to class.
Chris Baldick Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (bookstore)
Christopher Marlowe “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love” (on Blackboard)
Walter Raleigh “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd” (on Blackboard)
Joy Kogawa Obasan (publisher: Penguin; in bookstore but also available at major booksellers)
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John Lennon “Imagine” (on Blackboard)
Frank Miller The Dark Knight Returns (DC Comics; in bookstore but also available at major
booksellers)
Sherman Alexie The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian (Publisher: Little, Brown Books; in
bookstore but also at major booksellers)
John Madden Shakespeare in Love (film)
William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet (on Blackboard)
Baz Luhrmann Romeo and Juliet (film)
Gwendolyn Brooks “The Lovers of the Poor” (on Blackboard)
Robert Louis Stevenson The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (on Blackboard)
John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester “The Imperfect Enjoyment” (on Blackboard)
W.H. Auden “Funeral Blues” (on Blackboard)
Margaret Atwood “Death of a Young Son by Drowning” (on Blackboard)
Susanna Moodie selections from Roughing it in the Bush (on Blackboard)
Recommended Texts:
The Little, Brown Handbook Ramsey Fowler et al


The Secret to Effective Documentation (Trent University: Academic Skills Centre -http://www.trentu.ca/academicskills/documentation/, 13 July 2011). Note: Citations in this
course must be in the MLA format.
Resources for Essay Writing (Trent University: Academic Skills Centre -http://www.trentu.ca/academicskills/online_arts.php , 13 July 2011).
learningSystem/Blackboard:
You must log into Blackboard regularly and check the course site. All assignments are to be
handed in online without exception. This digital classroom should be an excellent resource
for you as we journey through the course.
Week-by-week schedule:
(subject to change with as much notice as possible)
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Note: please pay careful attention to the topics we will cover each week. You are responsible for understanding
the topics and terms we discuss in class and these will appear on the final exam.
Lecture 1 January 9
Readings: Syllabus
Topics: Course overview, expectations explained and so forth.
Workshop: How to use the course site and read a syllabus; discussion participation
expectations and submission
UNIT ONE: LOVE, HATE, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
Lecture 2 January 16
Readings: John Lennon “Imagine”; Sherman Alexie The Absolutely True Diary of a PartTime Indian
Topics: Ideals and ideology; race and hate; reconciliation; reading texts from other cultures
Workshop: explanation of assignments
Lecture 3 January 23
Readings: Sherman Alexie The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Topics: what is “love?” (we definitely will not answer this question in one class!); Alexie
shows us how to visually destroy hate through love, compassion, and humour.
Workshop: Introduction to basic research methods; using research; how to use MLA format
Lecture 4 January 30
Readings: Gwendolyn Brooks “The Lovers of the Poor”; Joy Kogawa Obasan
Topics: When love is hate; patriotism as love; patriotism as hate
UNIT TWO: LOVE & LOSS
Lecture 5 February 6
Readings: Joy Kogawa Obasan
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Topics: History and loss; forgiveness
Assignment Due: Participation Journal
Lecture 6 February 13
Readings: Margaret Atwood “Death of a Young Son by Drowning”; Susannah Moodie
selections from Roughing It in the Bush; W.H. Auden “Funeral Blues”
Topics: Grief and loss; literature as equipment for living
Workshop: How to get an “A” on an English essay
Assignment Due: Review
February 18 – 22 Reading Week!
Lecture 7 February 27
Readings: Robert Louis Stevenson The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Topics: The figure of the double (or divided self) in literature; making relationships
between good and evil and love and hate
Assignment Due: Short Essay
Lecture 8 March 6
Readings: Frank Miller The Dark Knight Returns
Topics: Vigilantism and hate
UNIT THREE: ARCHETYPES AND MYTHS OF LOVE AND HATE
Lecture 9 March 13
Readings: Christopher Marlowe “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love”; Walter Raleigh
“The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd”; John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester “The
Imperfect Enjoyment”
Topics: Pastoral love as ideal love?; Lust and love
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Workshop: How to create a thesis out of a topic
Assignment Due: Proposal and participation journal
(film viewing Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet time and room TBA)
Lecture 10 March 20
Readings: Baz Luhrmann Romeo and Juliet; William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet
Topics: Archetypes and myths of love in early modern and modern culture
(Film viewing of John Madden’s Shakespeare in Love room and time TBA)
Lecture 11 March 27
Readings: William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet; John Madden Shakespeare in Love
Topics: Myths of authorship; authorship and biography; why do we love Shakespeare?
Assignment Due: Final Paper
Lecture 12 April 3
Readings: none – course review and take home exam handed out
Workshop: exam preparation and course review; how to write take home exams in the
humanities successfully
Assignment Due: Participation Journal
Department and/or Course Policies:
Course Policies
Late Policy: Extensions are granted on a case-by-case basis, and no extensions will be negotiated
after the due date. Any papers without an approved extension will be penalized 5% per day
including weekends. Late assignments should be sent to sarahumphreys@trentu.ca. After seven
days, I will not accept the assignment without a formal meeting with the student and, if required, an
academic advisor and/or counsellor.
Attendance: The course policy regarding attendance is clear and unambiguous: it is your
responsibility to show up for class fully prepared with the required readings.
E-mail: I return email within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays.
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Electronic Devices: I allow and encourage students to take notes using tablets, laptops, and even
smartphones; however, please be advised that during films and slideshows, you will be asked to
close your devices out of respect for your classmates. Abuse of electronic devices is not permitted;
for example, if your classmates complain that you are disturbing them, you will be asked to shut
down your device in class. Remember that people beside you and behind you can see what you are
doing, who you are talking to, and what you are posting.
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