2.
3.
St. Cloud State University
Academic Affairs Use Only:
General Education Goal Area 6 Designation
Humanities & Fine Arts
Response Date: ______________________
Effective Date: ______________________
1. Prepared by: Michael E. Connaughton
Proposal Number: _________________
Phone: 8-6467 Email: meconnaughton@stcloudstate.edu
Requesting Unit: English Department
Department, Course Number, Title: English (ENGL) 201: Classics of Literature
4. New Course Existing Course
5.
6.
Will this course be flagged as a diversity course?
Already Designated as Diversity
No
Diversity Proposal Accompanying This Form
Will this course also satisfy another General Education Goal Area?
If “Yes” specify which goal area.
No Yes
7. Course bulletin description, including credits and semesters to be offered:
+ENGL 201. Classics of Literature
Introduces non-English majors to in-depth study of rich literary traditions of Great Britain, the United States, and/or other nations or cultures; including at least two genres and historical periods. Does not count toward the
English major or minor. 3 Cr. F, S.
8.
9.
Indicate the clientele for whom this course is designed. Is the course for general education only, or does it fulfill general education and other program needs for this or another department? Obtain signatures from any affected departments.
General education
Indicate any changes that must be made in offerings or resources in your department or other departments by offering this course.
N/A
10. For new courses or courses not yet approved for General Education, indicate any other SCSU departments or units offering instruction that relates to the content of the proposed course.
N/A
11. Courses designated as General Education are included in the assessment plan for the Goal Area(s)
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for which they are approved. Courses for which assessment is not included in the annual GE assessment report for two years will be removed from the General Education Program.
The Requesting Unit understands and recognizes the above conditions.
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12. Provide a concise explanation of how the following goal is a “significant focus” of the proposed course.
Goal Area 6: Humanities & Fine Arts
Expand appreciation and critical understanding of changing modes of human expression and systems of thought in the arts and humanities, and develop abilities in the creation and performance of meaning.
This course focuses entirely upon close reading of literary texts drawn from diverse cultures and historical periods. Instruction focuses upon these texts in a dual frame of reference: understanding how the text might have been understood in its own time and place, and exploring some of the ways its meaning has been changed and enhanced over time. Whether focused upon drama, poetry, or fiction, this course seeks understanding of how the particular genre constructs meaning, relates to cultural realit(ies), embodies elements of the human experience, examines principles of appropriate social and cultural behavior over time and space.
13. In order for a course to be designated as fulfilling Goal Area 6, it must address at least 5 of the 7 student learning outcomes (SLOs) below. Check the SLOs below that are focused on in the proposed general education course.
1. Demonstrate awareness of the scope and variety of works in the arts and humanities.
2. Describe and appreciate works in the arts and humanities as expressions of individual and collective values within an intellectual, cultural, historical and social context.
3. Interpret and respond critically to works from various cultures in the arts and humanities.
4. Explore intellectually the ideas expressed in works in the arts and humanities.
5. Engage in creative processes or interpretive performance.
6. Articulate an informed personal response to works in the arts and humanities.
7. Analyze the diverse means of communication in the arts and humanities.
14. Discuss how each Student Learning Outcome checked above is achieved in this course. (Note: Although descriptions of typical assignments or types of assignments may be part of this discussion, it is not appropriate to submit copies of actual assignments.)
See attached page.
15. List or attach the Course Outline (adequately described and including percentage of time to be allocated to each topic). Curriculum Committees may request additional information. Topics larger than 20% need to be broken down further. Indicate in your course outline where the Student Learning Outcomes checked above are being met.
See attached page
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Attachment for Question 14
ENGL 201
Attachment 1: Discussion of Student Learning Outcomes
1. The course deals with at least two literary genres from differing times and cultures. Typically, it includes
Greek tragedy from the 5th century BCE, a classic film from the 20th century, and fictions from America, Ireland,
Great Britain, and other European and Asian nations (in translation).
2. The Greek tragedy is included to identify the earliest expression in Western culture of baseline humanistic values such as individual freedom and the demands of the state for allegiance, the conflict between duty and personal desires, the nature of parent-child relationships, and the workings of free will and fate. A similar range of values and issues are explored in a more modern context in fictions of the last two centuries.
3. Typically, texts in this course are drawn from ancient Greek city-states, 18th-20th century America and Great
Britain, and Continental Europe. Though the focus is on what might loosely be called “Western values” these ideas are placed in a broader perspective by including fictions from other parts of the world, including Latin
America and Asia. We read no text drawn from contemporary society; our most recent readings are typically from the mid-Twentieth century.
4. While the approach to literature is in large measure focused upon artistic and critical ideas, the world of ideas is an important aspect of the course as well. For example, Greek tragedy dealt in part with the concept of the polity and of political authority and its workings. Likewise, we explore the Greek idea of Fate and of adherence to what were perceived as divine laws concerning respect for authority and humane treatment of conquered people, dead heroes, and women. All evaluation in the course is through essays and examinations dealing with ideas and values rather than minute details of event or character. Students are never asked simply to identify specifics from the readings, but always to explore the issues they raise.
6. Inevitably, students in a literature class are called upon to respond personally to what they read, both through class discussion and through essay examinations. One goal of the class is to develop a workable method of attaining personal appreciation and understanding of complex literary texts dealing with cultures other than our own.
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Attachment for Question 15. ENGL 201: Classics of literature COURSE OUTLINE
A. Classic as a Concept (10 %)
What are the aspects of a literary work which cause it to be deemed a classic? What are the socio-cultural implications of the idea of having classic works? What are they for? Who are they for? Who gets to decide?
B. Greek Tragedy (40 %)
1. Society, Religion, and Classical Athens (5 %)
Consideration of how Greeks regarded the state, family and gender roles, obedience and homage to the gods, etc.
2. Tragedy in Greek Culture (5%)
Theatre and the Dionysian Festival, theatre construction, players, key terms such as catharsis
3. Plays by Sophocles, Euripides, Aeschylus (30%)
Examples such as Oedipus Rex, Antigone, Medea are regularly included. They are read and discussed and the issues raised are regularly examined through assigned topic essays and short response essay tests and quizzes.
Modern stage productions are also used both to give students a feel for how the productions appear and how we might change them to meet modern sensibilities.
C. Classic Film (10%)
Using a film such as Casablanca or Citizen Kane, the focus is on how meaning is created in a film, how it is both similar to and distinct from a play, and why some films are designated as classics [while most are popular for a brief period only].
D. Classic Narratives (40%)
1. The nature and history of narrative (10%)
Prose fiction appears rather late in cultural history (18th century in Europe). Why? What are the typical structures [plot, character, etc.] and purposes of fiction? Who and what are fictions written for? What are some of the major issues which fiction writers examine?
2. Selected stories (30%)
Using an anthology, texts by writers such as Poe, du Maupassant, Hawthorne, Chekov, Kafka, Faulkner, Welty,
Ellison, Flannery O’Connor, Garcia Marquez, and Alice Walker are read, discussed, and commented upon in essay form. Evaluation is similar to that used with the plays: short essay quizzes and essay tests on both specific stories and broad concepts applicable to a set of them. Themes considered vary depending upon texts selected, but usually mirror those raised by earlier texts. Issues related to families, generations, gender, and social status tend to be most common, since these are the focal points of prose fiction in the last two centuries.
NOTE: While the individual readings are distinct units within the course, the large issues of genre, theme, cultural values, and critical approaches are spread across the entire course. So, for example, even though the course begins with the conceptual framework of a classic, the ideas raised are re-examined regularly throughout the course.
Ideas about tragedy are re-considered in light of distinctions between the society of Ancient Athens and that of
19th century Britain or Colonial America or France at the turn of the century.
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