Introduction to Narrative
ENG 105.04, W.I.
TR: 9:30-10:45
Emily Hall
Emhall3@uncg.edu
Office House 8:00 to 9:30 T, R and by appointment
Course Description
This course will focus on a selection of American and British short stories, novels, and poems.
Focusing mostly on contemporary (post-WWII) texts, this course will challenge the idea of what
constitutes a narrative. In other words, the course will push students to think of narrative as
something more than just a plot, as these texts challenge, elude and push the boundaries of
narrative. We will, throughout the course of the class, ask questions like What is a narrative? Are
there elements essential to all narratives? Are all narratives stories? What is a story? What is a
novel? How can a poem be a narrative? By examining “traditional” narratives, graphic novels,
and self-reflexive texts, students will be immersed in various types of narratives and will be
pushed to analyze how form impacts or reflects content.
Student Learning Goals
At the completion of this course, the student will be able to:
--Identify and understand varied characteristics of literature;
--Apply techniques of literary analysis to texts;
--Use literary study to develop skills in careful reading and clear writing;
--Demonstrate understanding of the diverse social and historical contexts in which
literary texts have been written and interpreted.
REQUIRED READINGS
Gibson, Scott, Tammy Lancaster and Summar Sparks. Lenses. Plymouth: Hayden McNeil, 2013.
Print.
Halpern, Daniel ed. The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short
Stories. London: Penguin, 2000. Print.
Spiegleman, Art. Maus I: A Survival’s Tale. New York: Pantheon, 1986. Print.
Vonnegut, Kurt. SlaughterHouse Five. (1963). New York: Dell, 1991. Print.
Blackboard readings
Final Exam sessions:
Per university policy, all English 105 classes will meet during their regularly scheduled final
exam slot at the end of the semester. The final for this class will be December 5th, 2013, from 8
am until 11 am during which time, you will take your final exam.
Attendance Policy:
Students in TR classes are allowed three absences without such penalty. Students who miss six
classes on a TR schedule, will fail the course. Attendance at the final exam session (see above) is
required. Additionally, students are by state law allowed two excused absences due to religious
holidays. These absences do not count toward the total maximums allowed above. If a student
plans to miss class due to a religious holiday, he or she must notify the instructor at least 48
hours prior to the absence. For every absent after your allotted two absences, I will deduct a
letter grade for your overall grade in the class. Thus, missing three classes will make students go
from an “A” to a “B,” etc. I consider any student who is more than 5 minutes late to class as
tardy. Accumulating three tardies equals missing an entire day of class; therefore, students
should strive to arrive to class on time.
Late Work
While I do accept late work, I take a half-grade off the assignment for every day that it is late. As
a college student it is your job to turn in late work; I will not ask you for it. Additionally, I do
not accept work via email; your work must be turned in during the class period.
Grading scale:
90-100 A
89-80 B
79-70 C
69-60 D
59 and lower F
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY: Academic integrity is founded upon and encompasses
the following five values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility. Violations include,
for example, cheating, plagiarism, misuse of academic resources, falsification, and facilitating
academic dishonesty. If knowledge is to be gained and properly evaluated, it must be pursued
under conditions free from dishonesty. Deceit and misrepresentation are incompatible with the
fundamental activity of this academic institution and shall not be tolerated (from UNCG’s
Academic Integrity Policy). For this class, the first time that a student plagiarizes an assignment,
it will result in failing the assignment. Should the student plagiarize a second time, it will result
in failing the course. These terms are not negotiable. Please visit
http://academicintegrity.uncg.edu to further review UNCG’s policy on academic integrity.
RESPECT
All phones, iPods, iPhones, and laptops must be turned off before class. If I see you using any of
these devices during class, I will ask you to leave and will count you as absent. Additionally,
tardiness will not be tolerated, as arriving late to class often disrupts class discussion. Finally, all
sexist, racist, and/or homophobic language will not be tolerated in the classroom whatsoever.
EMAIL POLICY
Please allow 48 hours before I respond to your emails. If I have not emailed you after that period
of time, then please send me a reminder email. Additionally, I will not argue a grade with you
over email. If you want to argue for a higher/lower grade, you must come to office hours with the
rubric and an argument as to why I should alter your grade. Finally, think of your email
interactions with me as anticipating future professional email interactions. In other words, your
emails should have a subject line, be courteous, and clearly tell me your issue/question.
Emails that don’t have a subject line will not be read.
ACCESSIBILITY RESOURCES AND SERVICES
Students with documentation of special needs should arrange to see me about accommodations
as soon as possible. If you believe you could benefit from such accommodations, you must first
register with the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services on campus before such
accommodations before such accommodations can be made. The office is located on the second
floor of the Elliot University Center (EUC) in Suite 215, and the office is open 8 am to 5 pm,
Monday-Friday. Telephone: 334-5440; e-mail: oars@uncg.edu.
WRITING CENTER
Please visit the Writing Center for constructive feedback on your drafts. The Writing Center is
on the 3rd floor of the MHRA building and can be reached online at
http://www.uncg.edu/eng/writingcenter/. As the Writing Center often becomes very busy at the
end of the semester, be sure to leave ample time to have your work read by a consultant.
Grades:
Participation and Discussion Questions 10%
Midterm 15%
Essay One 30%
Essay Two 30%
Final 15%
ASSIGNMENTS
Discussion Questions: two times per semester you will be required to bring in a discussion
question that will be used to get conversation moving in the classroom. This question will not be
one that focuses on content (e.g. Why does SlaughterHouse Five take place in Germany?) but
will help create meaningful conversations about the text (e.g. Why does Vonnegut make himself
a character in his own text?). For the first few classes, I will model these for you, so you
understand what I am looking for. After that, you will bring your question to class and ask it at
the beginning of the discussion as to foster a good discussion.
Midterm: This will be an in-class, all essay midterm will ask you to identify passages and to
write 1-2 detailed paragraphs of close reading per identification.
Essay 1: This essay is a 5-6 page paper that explicates a theme in one of the short stories in your
anthology. I will select a list of 8-10 short stories that you can choose from in order to write your
analysis. The purpose of this paper will be to perform a close reading that will apply the terms
and narrative techniques that we have talked about in class. More on this to come.
Essay 2: This is a 7-8 page paper that requires you to read 2 scholarly articles and to create an
original thesis about Maus or SlaughterHouse Five. This paper will require you to look at form,
theme, techniques, and/or historical context in order to create an argument about the text. While
you will have a library session in order to learn how to do research for literary works, this paper
will require you to do research outside the classroom for the paper. More on this to come
Final: The final exam will be given on December 5th from 8 am to 11 am. It will consist of
identifications of passages and detailed, paragraph-length close readings. The identification
portion will only include passages from the second half of the class (from midterm-final).
Readings and Assignments by Class Period
Days
In Class
Readings
Assignments due for
the day
Tues, August 20th
Introduction to the
Course.
Read over the syllabus
before class. Bring any
questions that you may
have about the course
Junot Diaz: “Ysreal”
(AS)
“Fiction” (L) 35-37
“Why do We
Read/Question
Everything” (L) 1-2
“Previous Definitions
of Narrative” (b.b.)
Martin Amis “The
Immortals” (AS)
Lorrie Moore “Willing”
(AS)
Chapter 7 (L)
Thurs, August 22nd
The Short Story
Tues, August 27th
The Short Story
Thurs. August 29th
The Short Story
Ian McEwan
“Pornography” (AS)
Chapter 9 (L)
Discussion Questions
Tues, September 3rd
The Short Story
Tone and Satire
Carter: “The Courtship
of Mr. Lyon” (AS)
Discussion Questions
Thurs. September 5th
The Short Story
Assignment Sheet for
Essay One
“Writing Is Reading” Print off Student
(L) 4-5; Chapter 2 (L)
Samples to Bring to
Student Samples of Class
Analyses
Tues. September 10th
The Short Story
Chapter 4 (39-46) (L)
Francine Prose
“Talking Dog” (AS)
Rose Tremain “JohnJin” (AS)
Print out “Previous
Definitions of
Narrative,” read, and
bring to class.
Email me your thesis
statement for your
paper by the time class
begins for a quiz grade.
Discussion Questions
Thurs, September 12th
The Short Story
Chapter 4 (47-53) (L)
Colum McCann
“Everything in this
Country Must” (AS)
Discussion Questions
Tues. September 17th
Peer Review
Peer Review
Bring in 2 drafts of
your paper along with
any questions you
have about
Thurs, September 19th
Film
Eternal Sunshine of the
Spotless Mind
Students must watch
movie before class
period, either through
Netflix, borrowing a
copy via the library,
etc.
Tues, September 24th
Film
Thurs, September 26th
The (Graphic) Novel
Tues, October 1st
The (Graphic) Novel
Eternal Sunshine of the Be ready to discuss the
Spotless Mind
film in terms of its
narrative techniques
Maus I
First Paper is Due
Chapter 8 (95-103) (L)
Maus I
Discussion Questions
Chapter 8 (103-106).
(L)
Thurs, October 3rd
The (Graphic) Novel
Tues, October 8th
Midterm
Thurs, October 10th
Last Day to Drop
Class Without
Penalty, October 11,
Library Day
Maus
Discussion Questions
2013
Tues, October 15th
No class: fall break!
Thurs, October 17th
Conferences
Tuesday, October 22nd
Conferences
Thursday, October 24th
The Novel
Second Assignment
Sheet
Slaughter House Five
“Creating Meaning in
Literature/ Irony” 5358 (L)
Tuesday, October 29th
The Novel
Slaughter House Five
“Power: Nation and
Culture” 60-63 (L)
Print off “Identity,
Empathy, and
Narration,” read, and
bring to class.
Discussion Questions
Thursday, October 31st
The Novel
Slaughter House Five
“Story, Plot, and
Narration” (b.b.)
Print off “Story, Plot
and Narration, read,
bring to class”
Discussion Questions
Tuesday, November
5th
The Novel
Slaughter House Five
Discussion Questions
“Identity, Empathy and
Narration” (b.b.)
Thursday, November
7th
Narrative Poetry
“Poetry” 25-26 (L)
“Form and Structure”
(74-76). (L)
Robert Haydn“Those
Winter Sundays” (b.b.)
Elizabeth Bishop “The
Fish” (b.b.)
Print off poems, read,
bring to class.
Discussion Questions
First Draft of Second
Paper Due
Tuesday, November
12th
Narrative Poetry
Print off poems, read,
bring to class.
Discussion Questions
Thursday, November
14th
Narrative Poetry
“Poetic
Voices/Repeating
Sounds/Sample
Analysis” 69-74, 77 (L)
Carol Ann Duffy, “The
Way my Mother
Speaks” (b.b.)
Tony Harrison, “Book
Ends I,II; Marked with
D.” (b.b.)
Seamus Heaney
“Digging” (b.b.)
Sean O’Brien “The
Park by the Railway;
Cousin Coat” (b.b.)
Tuesday, November
19th
Narrative Poetry
Adrienne Rich“Diving
into the Wreck” (b.b.)
Simon Armitage
“Gooseberry Season;
“You May Turn Over
and Begin” (b.b.)
Print off poems, read,
bring to class.
Print off poems, read,
bring to class.
Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions
Thursday, November
21st
Narrative Poetry
Tuesday, November
26th
Last Day of Classes
Thursday, November
28
Exam Review
Derek Walcott “The
Verandah” (b.b.)
Amiri Baraka “An
Agony. As Now” (b.b.)
Second Draft of
Second Paper Due
No Class:
Thanksgiving
Tuesday, December 3rd No Class: Reading
Day
December 5th
Final Exam
8 am to 11 am