A. Zachary Syllabus for 220 F 2015
“Literature is indispensable to the world. The world changes according to the way
people see it, and if you alter, even by a millimeter, the way a person looks at reality,
then you can change it.”
― James Baldwin
ENGL 220 Introduction to Literature
Instructor: Anita Zachary
Meeting Times: Tu. Th. 2:00-3:15
Office: AL 226 B
Office Hours:Tu. Th. 11:00-12:00
Or by appointment
Contact: azachary@pitzer.edu
A Saint, a Sinner, a Scoundrel, a Survivor, and a Soldier.
Course Description: This course will introduce students to representative literary
works from various time periods, cultures, and genres. Through a critical lens,
students will consider literature and its impact on humanity. Particular attention
will be placed on the social, philosophical, spiritual, and aesthetic values literature
brings to bear in the larger contexts of human thought, creativity, and expression
and experience. Students will learn to identify practical aspects of various
techniques and styles in addition to being exposed to various theories of criticism.
Students will acquire useful methods in which they can develop the ability to
identify and critique literature according to their own understanding based on
careful and critical inquiry into its nature and its purpose.
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A. Zachary Syllabus for 220 F 2015
Required Textbooks:
Antigone
A Book of
Luminous Things:
An International
Anthology of Poetry
Sophocles
Czeslaw Milosz (Editor)
Madame Bovary
Gustave Flaubert
Notes from Underground
Theodor Dostoyevsky
The Bluest Eye
Toni Morrison
Billy Lynn’s Long Half-time Walk
Ben Fountain
Additional readings will be posted on Blackboard. These readings will include
poetry, fiction, and non-fiction from a variety of sources.
Learning Outcomes:
This class is one of nine courses that you will take in General Education
Foundations. Foundations courses cultivate skills in reading, writing, research,
communication, computation, information literacy, and use of technology. They
furthermore introduce you to basic concepts, theories and approaches in a variety of
disciplines in order to provide the intellectual breadth necessary to help you
integrate the more specialized knowledge gathered in your major area of study into
a broader world picture. This particular course is one of four Foundations courses
that you will take in the area of Humanities and Fine Arts. Upon completing of this
area of Foundations, you will be able to:
1. Analyze written, visual, or performed texts in the humanities and fine arts
with sensitivity to their diverse cultural context and historical moments;
2. Describe various aesthetic and other value systems and the ways they are
communicated across time and cultures;
3. Argue from multiple perspectives about issues in the humanities that have
personal and global relevance;
4. Demonstrate the ability to approach complex problems and ask complex
questions drawing upon knowledge of the humanities.
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A. Zachary Syllabus for 220 F 2015
Course Objectives
At the completion of this course, students will be able to:


Apply literary terminology to fiction, drama, and poetry.
Recognize the main elements of different literary genres and assess their
significance.
 Analyze different genres of literature, particularly short stories, novels, drama,
and poetry.
 Identify a literary text’s main themes and make reasonable assertions about their
meaning.
 Place authors and literary texts in their cultural and historical context.
 Identify and describe major literary movements and trends.
 Identify and cogently discuss the literary style of a text.
 Recognize and interpret literary images and symbols to infer their relationship to
the main themes of the text.
Course Requirements:
Two essays of five to seven pages (1250 words) will be required.
In addition, you will write a one-page reflection on each day’s reading that you will
turn in prior to our discussion of that material. Each week selected students will
chose and present a brief explication of a poem.
Midterm Essay
20%
Final Essay
20%
Class Participation
15%
Reflections and poetry explications
Final
15%
30%
Course Policies
Participation. This is a class in communication, so your participation is essential. Get
involved. Volunteer. Question. Probe. Share relevant ideas and observations. Offer
your own experiences. It is imperative that you attend class; three or more absences will
damage your grade. It is also important that you turn in informal exercises and come to
class prepared to discuss the day’s assignments. This is a case of mutual preparedness
and respect. In addition, much of the course is collaborative and as such, depends on you
to regularly contribute your insights as well as for you to receive feedback. No in-class
work can be made up. It is your responsibility to contact a classmate to find out what
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A. Zachary Syllabus for 220 F 2015
went on in class. Furthermore, it is your responsibility to officially withdraw from any
classes not attended and to discuss anticipated absences with me.
Writing Assignment Requirements. Specific requirements for assignments will be
discussed in class. Assignments are due on the date indicated in the course calendar. All
assignments must be prepared with appropriate software and should conform to the
conventions of the genre. Keep a copy of all assignments you hand in. Maintain a
cumulative file that includes all your assignments. The documents in this file will serve
as a base for you to judge your improvement during the semester. You do not have to turn
in this file, but in the unlikely event of a lost paper, you will be happy you have kept
copies.
Reading Assignments. The expectation of the course is that you will come to class
prepared, having read the assigned readings. Pop quizzes on assigned readings are a
possibility.
Late Papers. All assignments for this course are to be on time (i.e., due at the beginning
of the class period), typed, and stapled or uploaded to Turnitin before class begins. Try
to avoid late papers. However, you can receive an extension for good cause if you (1)
contact me before the assignment is due by means of a formal memo in which you
explain the reason for the delay and (2) propose in the memo a reasonable deadline (less
than one week), which you then keep. You can use this option no more than once in a
semester.
Plagiarism. While this problem is highly improbable in this course due to the
individualized nature of the assignments, any writing suspected of plagiarism may result
in a failing grade, withdrawal, or in extensive revisions. Plagiarism is a violation of Title
5, California Administrative Code, Part 5, Section 4130(a) and is to be taken seriously.
Use of Media During Class. With the exception of the media used in the class to
complete individual and group assignments, all cell phones and other personal media
devices are to be turned off during class. Furthermore, during class time, the computers
in our classroom as well as personal computers are to be used only for ENGL 220 related
assignments.
Come See Me for Help. You can always make an appointment to see me. You can
email me with any question or comment. Please use email during daytime, weekday
hours if you want an immediate response. Evenings and weekends will have a slower
response time. Also, please make an appointment if you have concerns, questions, or
problems with any assignment.
Turnitin Policy: Turnitin (integrated within Blackboard) will be used in this course for
many assignments. Students in this course agree that papers are subject to submission for
textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism, as well as for
online evaluation, feedback and grading by the instructor, and peer review by fellow class
members. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com
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A. Zachary Syllabus for 220 F 2015
reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. Students
may submit their papers in such a way that no identifying information about them is
included. Another option is that a student may request, in writing, that his/her papers not
be submitted to Turnitin.com. However, this option requires the student to provide
documentation to substantiate that the papers are the original work of the student and do
not include any plagiarized material.
COURSE ASSISTANCE SERVICES
Office Hours: I encourage all students to attend office hours but especially if you have
any questions or concerns about reading, writing, the course or college in general. If you
need to meet outside of the office hours posted, please email me to set up an appointment.
Please bring all of your pre-writing, drafts, and final drafts of your essays with comments
to office hours. It will assist me in answering any questions you may have on the
assignments.
Course Tutoring: If you would like additional assistance and encouragement, SDSU has
a Writing Center with an excellent staff of tutors to assist students in all courses. Their
website is http://writingcenter.sdsu.edu/.
Disabled Students: Every attempt will be made to offer reasonable accommodations for
students with disabilities in this course. Students with disabilities who may need
accommodations in this class are encouraged to notify the instructor privately and to
contact Student Disability Services (SDS) as soon as possible. All discussion of
disabilities will take place privately to protect student confidentiality. SDS staff is
available in the Capulli Center in Suite 3101 or by phone at (619) 594-6473 (voice) or
(619) 594-2929 (TTD/TTY).
Student Athletes: Student-athletes have very demanding, dynamic schedules that place
additional hardship on excelling in both arenas. As an instructor, I am committed to
helping you succeed in the course. To do so, regular and effective communication is
needed. While no exceptions will be made for attendance, assignment deadlines, or
exams, I would be happy to work with all student-athletes in conjunction with StudentAthlete Support Services (SASS) to help you excel in this course. For more information
on SASS’ academic advising and tutoring services, call (619) 594-4743
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A. Zachary Syllabus for 220 F 2015
Literature 220 Fall 2015
COURSE OUTLINE AND READING SCHEDULE
The following schedule is approximate, as dates and topics may shift as the semester
continues. Check Blackboard for current information on due dates.
Week 1
Aug 25: Intro, Syllabus; Understanding Literature
Aug 27: The Bible and Homer—Beginnings (read excerpts) What is the Canon?
Week 2
Sept 01: Antigone Introduction to page 27.
Sept 03: Antigone Page 27 to end.
Week 3
Sept 08: Islamic writing, African oral traditions.
Sept 10: Intro to Early British Lit.
Week 4
Sept 15: Canterbury Tales, Milton (excerpts)
Sept 17: Bradstreet, and Shakespeare (excerpts)
Week 5
Sept 22: Much Ado About Nothing (Joss Whedon 2012)
Sept 24: Native American Creation stories. Letter to Ferdinand & Isabella and Notes
on Virginia from Thomas Jefferson
Week 6
Sept 29: Intro to Madame Bovary Read page 1-30
Oct 01: Madame Bovary Read page 30 to 90
Week 7
Oct 7: Madame Bovary Read 90- 150
Oct 9: Madame Bovary Read 151-226
Week 8
Oct 14: Paper Workshop
Oct 16: Madame Bovary Read 227- end.
Week 9
Oct 21: Paper One Due. Intro to Lit. Theory
Oct 23: Intro Notes from Underground Read 1-39
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A. Zachary Syllabus for 220 F 2015
Week 10
Oct 28: Notes from Underground Read 40-79
Oct 30: Cont. Notes Read 80 to end.
Week 11
Nov 3: Intro Late Modern Period, Hemmingway, O’Conner, Alexie
Nov 5: O’Brian, Jones, Packer
Week 12
Nov 10: Denis Johnson, Lorrie Moore
Nov 12: Baldwin, Hughes, and others
Week 13
Nov 18: The Bluest Eye, Read pgs. 1-100
Nov 20: The Bluest Eye, Read pgs. 101 to end.
Week 14
Nov 24: Billy Lynn’s Long Half-time Walk Read up to pg. 107
Nov 26: No Class Thanksgiving Break
Week 15
Dec 2: Billy Lynn’s Long Half-time Walk Read pgs.108-188
Dec 4: Billy Lynn’s Long Half-time Walk Read pgs. 189-249
Week 16
Dec 8: Billy Lynn’s Long Half-time Walk Read pgs. 249 to end.
Dec 10: Review
Finals Week Dec 15: Final
Dec 17: Final Paper Due.
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