Course Title: Research Methods; 3 credit hrs.
Fall ‘10 Location: Ev 251 [except when announced]
Class Meeting Times: 6.00 pm Wednesday
English 697
SYLLABUS
Fall 2010
Adams
REQUIRED TEXTS:
1) MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. Ed. MLA. 7th ed. New York:
Modern Language Association, 2009.
2) Harner, James L. Literary Research Guide. 5th ed. New York: MLA, 2008.
3) Gaskell, Philip. A New Introduction to Bibliography. Reissue ed. New Castle,
DE: Oak Knoll Books, 2007.
>>
http://www.oakknoll.com/detail.php?d_booknr=42436&d_currency=
AUGUST 25: Introduction to Course (Assumptions, Methodology, etc.)
SEPTEMBER 1: Lecture on MLA Handbook
Reading: MLA Handbook, chs. 2-6
Distribute Documentation Problems &
Reading Handout ("All the Pope's Men")
SEPTEMBER 8: Documentation Problems Due
Lecture on Textual Editing
Readings: (1) "All the Pope's Men" (Handout)
SEPTEMBER 15:
Lecture on Textual Editing
Distribute Sample Problem ("Gettysburg Address")
SEPTEMBER 22:
Lecture on Textual Editing
Distribute Mystery Text for Editing
SEPTEMBER 29:
Lecture on Textual Editing
OCTOBER 6: Editing Problem Due
Debriefing
Reading: Philip Gaskell, A New Introduction to Bibliography
Lecture on Analytic Bibliography
OCTOBER 13:
Reading: Philip Gaskell, A New Introduction to Bibliography
Lecture on Analytic Bibliography (meet @ Newton Gresham special collections on 4th floor;
Distribute Analytic Problems
Group 1 @ 6 pm; Group 2 @ 7.30 pm)
OCTOBER 20:
Lecture on Post-Modernist Worldview & Methodology
Readings: (1) The Sokal Hoax
http://www.physics.nyu.edu/sokal/transgress_v2/transgress_v2_singlefile.html
(2) Sokal's Explanations of the Hoax
http://www.physics.nyu.edu/sokal/lingua_franca_v4/lingua_franca_v4.html
http://www.physics.nyu.edu/sokal/afterword_v1a/afterword_v1a_singlefile.html
Students must submit (by Nov. 17) a four-page report on one book listed below, on p. 3
Distribute #1 Set of Research Problems
OCTOBER 27: Analytic Problems Due
More on Post Modernism (Guest Lecture & Discussion)
Distribute Sets #2, #3 of Research Problems
NOVEMBER 3:
Lecture on Internet Referencing
Distribute Set #4 of Research Problems
NOVEMBER 10:
Lecture on Internet Referencing
NOVEMBER 17:
Lecture on Internet Referencing
NOVEMBER 24: NO CLASS THANKSGIVING
DECEMBER 1:
Lecture on Reference Bibliography (meet @ Newton Gresham lounge)
DECEMBER 8:
Lecture on Reference Bibliography (meet @ Newton Gresham lounge)
Reference problems are due Monday, Dec. 13th, by NOON.
Course Evaluation: Your work will be weighted as follows:
1. Research Problems-----------------40%
2. Editing Problem--------------------30%
3. Analytic Problems-----------------10%
4. Book Reports------------------------10%
5. Documentation Problems--------10%
Grading Scale: A = 100-92
B = 91-83
C = 82-70
(No Ds are given in MA-level classes)
The purpose of ENGLISH 697
This course introduces students inductively to the processes and techniques of serious
textual and historical scholarship focused on literature: the discovery, retrieval, and
accurate display of all possible factual information relevant to explaining specific
literary texts and their original cultural contexts. Having successfully completed this
course, students will be able to conduct efficient, reliable and innovative literary
research on their own -- in primary sources -- without constant dependence on others
for expert opinions and bibliography. In addition, students will be able to locate and
confidently evaluate for themselves both (1) the most current and (2) the most
persuasive scholarship available in their chosen literary field.
Random SHSU-mandated information: Student Absences on Religious Holy Days Policy Section 51.911(b) of the Texas
Education Code requires that an institution of higher education excuse a student from attending classes or other required
activities, including examinations, for the observance of a religious holy day, including travel for that purpose. Section
51.911(a)(2) defines religious holy days as: "a holy day observed by a religion whose places of worship are exempt from property
taxation under Section 11.20, Tax Code...."A student whose absence is excused under this subsection may not be penalized for
that absence and shall be allowed to take an examination or complete an assignment from which the student is excused within a
reasonable time after the absence. University policy 861001 provides the procedures to be followed by the student and instructor.
A student desiring to absent himself/herself from a scheduled class in order to observe (a) religious holy day(s) shall present to
each instructor involved a written statement concerning the religious holy day(s). The instructor will notify the student of a
reasonable timeframe in which the missed assignments and/or examinations are to be completed. Americans With Disabilities
Act: SHSU adheres to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and guidelines with respect to providing
reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. If you have a disability that may affect adversely your work in this
class, then I encourage you to register with the SHSU Counseling Center and to talk with me about how I can best help you. All
disclosures of disabilities will be kept strictly confidential. NOTE: no accommodation can be made until you register with the
Counseling Center. Please contact the Chair of the Committee for Continuing Assistance for Disabled Students and Director of
the Counseling Center, Lee Drain Annex, or by calling 294-1720. A course evaluation form will be offered near the end of the
semester. Unannounced visitors to class must present a current, official SHSU identification card to be permitted into the
classroom. They must not present a disruption to the class by their attendance. If the visitor is not a registered student, it is at the
instructor's discretion whether or not the visitor will be allowed to remain in the classroom. If anyone creates a serious
disturbance in the classroom and refuses to leave, I will have that person removed by force. Academic Dishonesty: All students
are expected to engage in all academic pursuits in a manner that is above reproach. Students are expected to maintain complete
honesty and integrity in the academic experiences both in and out of the classroom. Any student found guilty of dishonesty in any
phase of academic work will be subject to disciplinary action. The University and its official representatives may initiate
disciplinary proceedings against a student accused of any form of academic dishonesty including, but not limited to, cheating on
an examination or other academic work which is to be submitted, plagiarism, collusion and the abuse of resource materials.
SHSU Student Code of Conduct:
http://www.shsu.edu/students/StudentGuidelines2007_2008.pdf
Books Available for Written Reports
1. Richard J Evans, In Defense of History (New York: Norton, 1999).
2. Mary Lefkowitz, Not Out of Africa: How Afrocentrism Became an Excuse to Teach Myth as
History (New York: Basic Books, 1996).
3. Alan Sokal and Jean Bricmont, Fashionable Nonsense: Postmodern Intellectuals’ Abuse of
Science (New York: Picador, 1998).
4. John M Ellis, Literature Lost: Social Agendas and the Corruption of the Humanities (New
Haven: Yale UP, 1997).
5. Richard Freadman and Seumas Miller, Re-thinking Theory: A Critique of Contemporary
Literary Theory and an Alternative Account (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1992).
6. Keith Windschuttle, The Killing of History: How Literary Critics and Social Theorists Are
Murdering Our Past (San Francisco: Encounter Books, 2000).
7. Ibn Warraq, Defending the West: A Critique of Edward Said’s Orientalism (Amherst, NY:
Prometheus Books, 2007).
8. Roger Kimball, The Rape of the Masters: How Political Correctness Sabotages Art (San
Francisco: Encounter Books, 2004).
9. Paul R Gross and Norman Levitt, Higher Superstition: The Academic Left and Its Quarrels
with Science (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1994).
10. Paul Boghossian, Fear of Knowledge (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2006).
11. Noretta Koertge, A House Built on Sand: Exposing Postmodernist Myths About Science
(Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998).
12. Bernard Lewis, What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response
(Oxford: Oxford UP, 2002).