WAYLAND BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
Phoenix Campus
Wayland Baptist University Mission Statement: Wayland Baptist University exists to educate
students in an academically challenging, learning-focused and distinctively Christian environment
for professional success and service to God and humankind.
Course Name:
Term and Year:
Name of Instructor:
Phone:
E-mail:
Class Time & Location:
ENGL 3303 Studies in Fiction (American Literature)
Winter 2012-2013
Monique Winfield, M.A.
623-229-7576 (Call from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. or text any time)
Monique.Winfield@wayland.wbu.edu
Wednesdays, 5:30 – 9:40 p.m., Central Park Forest
Catalog Description: Topics vary to include special studies in American, British, and European
short stories and novels.
Prerequisite: Consent of Instructor
Required Textbook and Resources:
Title
Author &
Publisher
Prices*
The American Short Story and Its Writer
ISBN: 0312191766
Charters, Ann
(editor)
Bedford/St.
Martin’s
Hawthorne,
Nathaniel
Barnes & Nobel
Classics
Fitzgerald, F. Scott
Penguin Books
Amazon Used $8.20
The Scarlet Letter
ISBN:1593080123
Amazon Used
$1.50
B&N New
$3.95
The Great Gatsby
Amazon Used
ISBN: 0743273567
$2.85
B&N New
$13.05
Of Mice and Men
Steinbeck, John
B&N
ISBN: 9780758779403
Scribner
10.00
*You do not have to buy the exact copy that I am using for the novels; however, it
does make class discussion a bit easier.
Course Outcome Competencies: Upon the conclusion of this course, students actively engaged in
learning will be able to:
1. Demonstrate the ability to read critically and communicate persuasively about the works
selected.
2. Discuss the overall topic for the course and suggest how this topic is represented in each
of the select pieces.
ENGL 3303 Winfield
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3. Demonstrate knowledge of major literary movements and how these movements are
linked to the select pieces of literature.
4. Conduct research on a topic related to a select piece of literature, articulate and support a
thesis, and follow through with appropriate documentation. Write it as a “book review.”
5. Make a presentation on the same selected literary work.
6. Connect major events in U.S. history to the selected readings.
Attendance Requirements: As stated in the Wayland Catalog, students enrolled at one of the
University’s external campuses should make every effort to attend all class meetings. All absences
must be explained to the instructor, who will then determine whether the omitted work may be made
up. When a student reaches that number of absences considered by the instructor to be excessive,
the instructor will so advise the student and file an unsatisfactory progress report with the campus
dean. Any student who misses 25 percent or more of the regularly scheduled class meetings will
receive a grade of F in the course. Additional attendance policies for each course, as defined by the
instructor in the course syllabus, will be discussed at our first meeting.
Academic Honesty: University students are expected to conduct themselves according to the highest
standards of academic honesty. Academic misconduct for which a student is subject to penalty includes
all forms of cheating, such as illicit possession of examinations or examination materials, forgery, or
plagiarism. (Plagiarism is the presentation of the work of another as one’s own work.) See the current
catalog for sanctions.
Disability Statement: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), it is
the policy of Wayland Baptist University that no otherwise qualified person with a disability be
excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any
educational program or activity in the university. The Coordinator of Counseling Services serves as
the coordinator of students with a disability and should be contacted concerning accommodation
requests at (806) 291- 3765. Documentation of a disability must accompany any request for
accommodations.
Course Requirements and Grading Criteria:
Grading Percentage
Grading for
Course
Paper Presentation #1
20%
A=
90 - 100 %
Paper Presentation #2
20%
Quizzes
20%
B=
80 - 89 %
Participation (Prepared
Questions)
10%
C=
70 - 79 %
Final Exam (Essay)
30%
D=
60 - 69 %
F=
below 60 %
ENGL 3303 Winfield
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Reading Assignments
You have reading assignments from the “textbook” and novels each week. The week’s reading
assignments are listed as “Independent Reading” for the following week. Reading should be
completed before the beginning of class each week. Each student will come to class with an open
ended question about the reading selections for the week.
Be prepared to answer the following, which we will discuss in class:
1. What is the meaning/significance of the title?
2. What is the setting (time and place)? Does it change? How?
3. What, briefly, is the plot? Are there any back stories or flashbacks? Flash forwards? What are
they? What do they help explain in the story?
4. Who are the main characters? Minor characters? How do we learn about them?
5. What themes do you find? How do they connect with the literary movement?
6. How would you describe the author’s style? Make note of any eye-catching literary devices the
author uses, like epiphany, foreshadowing, irony, metaphor/simile, onomatopoeia, oxymoron,
pun, personification, symbolism, allusion etc.
Quizzes
The short quizzes will be about the assigned readings from the novels. Questions on the novels
before we begin discussing them will be on basic information, like setting, plot and characters.
Questions after we begin discussing the novels will be on more in-depth topics we have discussed in
class. The quizzes will take place the first 20 minutes of each class.
Short Papers
There will be two short literary analysis papers due this semester. These papers will be 3 pages in
length and written using proper MLA protocol. A rubric and specific guidelines for the papers will
be discussed during the first week of class. These papers will be presented in class during Week #5
and Week #8
Final Paper
Your final paper will be a comparative literature research paper. You will choose one literary
movement that we discuss in class and compare two different pieces of fiction from that movement.
The paper will consist of a brief description of the literary movement, as well as how the two pieces
explore the themes and ideology of that movement. The paper will be 5 pages in length and include a
“Works Cited” page with at least 3 different sources. The paper will be presented during the last
week of class. A specific rubric for the paper will be handed out in class.
ENGL 3303 Winfield
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Tentative Schedule:
14 Nov Bring Textbook and The Scarlet Letter to class. Read “The Minister’s Black
Veil” (103) before 1st class.
Discuss: Syllabus, Elements of Romanticism and the American Gothic, “The
Minister’s Black Veil”
Independent Reading: The Scarlet Letter (Chapters 1-8) and Shirley Jackson’s
“The Lottery”
Week 2
28 Nov Discuss: The Scarlet Letter and “The Lottery”
Film Clip: ESPN 30 on 30- “Catching Hell”
Independent Read: The Scarlet Letter (9-16) “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of
Calaveras County”
Week 3
5 Dec Discuss: The Scarlet Letter, “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras
County”, Elements of Regionalism (Notes)
Class Read: “How to Tell a Story”(Tone)
Independent Read: The Scarlet Letter (17-24) and “The Luck of Roaring
Camp” (290)
Week 4 12 Dec Discuss: The Scarlet Letter, “The Luck of Roaring Camp”
Paper Prep: Thesis Statements and Incorporating Quotes
Independent Read: The Great Gatsby (1-4) and “Winter Dreams” (635)
Week 5
19 Dec Discuss: The Great Gatsby, “Winter Dreams”, Elements of Modernism (Notes)
Independent Read: The Great Gatsby (5-9) and “Soldiers Home” (681)
Present Paper #1
Week 6
9 Jan Discuss: The Great Gatsby, “Soldiers Home”
Film Clip: The Great Gatsby
Independent Read: Of Mice and Men, “The Snake” (755)
Week 7
16 Jan Discuss: Of Mice and Men and “The Snake”, Elements of Realism (Notes)
Film Clip: Of Mice and Men
Paper Prep: Thesis Statements
Independent Read: “Separating” (1119)
Week 8
23 Jan Discuss: “Separating”
Independent Read: “Big Bertha Stories” (1129) “The Things They Carried”
(1163)
Present Paper #2
Week 9
30 Jan Discuss: “The Things They Carried” and “The Big Bertha Stories”
Paper Prep: Thesis Statements
Independent Read:
Week 10
6 Feb No Class
Online Discussion Board
Week 11 13 Feb Present Final Papers
Week 1