To: Intro to Literature Students, Winter 2016
From: Professor Lisa R. Neilson
Date: December 6, 2015
Re: Welcome
Welcome to Intro to Literature, ENG 255L-721. The course begins on December 19, 2015 and ends
January 15, 2016.
During these four weeks we will be examining a variety of genres, such as drama, poetry, short fiction,
and the novel, and we will be analyzing major elements of literature, including plot, character, style,
symbol and theme. Please realize that we are squeezing work that is usually covered in a 15-week
semester into four weeks. That means there is a pretty intense workload here. Please do not have
misconceptions that this course will be a breeze because it is online and because it is only four weeks
long. You will be earning three credits upon the completion of this course, and that means the same
quality and amount of content will be taught here. You will need to log in almost every day and
participate frequently. A fundamental component of the course is class participation through online
discussion postings. You can read more about these postings and how you will be graded on them in the
course Syllabus. Being away for a few days without an internet connection will most likely lead to poor
performance in the class so please plan accordingly.
I suggest looking ahead on the schedule so that you know what is coming. We have to fit as much as we
can into the four weeks we have together. It is very important that you stay on top of the readings and,
ideally, all of the work. Should you get behind in one area, everything will snowball, and then it can
become impossible to catch up. Please be aware, though, that this is not a self-paced course; you must
adhere to the given due dates.
The first assignment entails getting to know one another and posting thoughts regarding why we should
study literature. Then we are going to dive right in, exploring texts and posing questions regarding wellknown pieces of literature. If you are new to iLearn and an online class format, please take a few
moments to explore our class site. Students will have access to the site a few days before the course
starts. At that time, review the Syllabus, the Class Schedule of Assignments, and the Resources folders
thoroughly. Paying attention to details and thoroughly reading instructions are vital to your success in
this course.
Many of the texts will be available on our course site in the Resources folders. Two additional texts are
required:


Palahniuk, Chuck. Fight Club. ISBN-13: 9780393327342
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. ISBN-13: 9780393956634
These can be purchased from the Marist bookstore (http://marist.bkstore.com) or other online vendors.
Please make sure that you have your textbooks before class begins.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at any time at lisa.neilson@marist.edu or
(845) 594-6725.
I look forward to working with you this winter. I think it will be a great four weeks!