ENG 2213.008 (23473): MWF 10:00-10:50, HSS 2.02.04
ENG 2213.009 (24343): MWF 11:00-11:50, HSS 3.04.12
Revised 2/19/2010
ENG 2213.008/009 Literary Criticism and Analysis
Syllabus – Spring 2010
Instructor: Elaine Wong
Office Location: MB 2.306E
Office Hours: MW 8:45–9:45 a.m., and by appointment
Email: elaine.wong@utsa.edu
Office Phone: 458-7884
Required Texts
Booth, Alison, J. Paul Hunter, and Kelly J. Mays, eds. The Norton Introduction to Literature.
Portable Edition. New York & London: W. W. Norton, 2006. ISBN: 0-393-92856-X.
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Critical Edition. New York & London: W. W. Norton, 2008.
ISBN: 978-0-393-93219-5.
Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Critical Edition. New York & London: W. W. Norton, 2005.
ISBN: 0-393-92636-2.
Course Description
ENG 2213 provides a study of poetry, fiction, and drama, with close attention to literary terms,
literary criticism, and the characteristics of each genre. This course includes intensive reading and
extensive writing requirements and is designed to prepare students who intend to take advanced
courses in literature and other students who have a commitment to the rigorous study of literature.
-- adapted from UTSA 2008-2010 Undergraduate Catalogue.
Learning Objectives
This course facilitates students to
1. cultivate critical understandings of literature,
2. obtain sound and basic knowledge of major literary genres and theories,
3. strengthen close reading, analytical, and research skills, and
4. develop coherent and cogent presentation of ideas in writing and speech.
Class Policy
1. Observe Scholastic Integrity: Scholastic integrity is of utmost importance in the academic
community. Everyone does his/her own work to achieve educational and personal developments.
No plagiarism, collusion, or other forms of scholastic dishonesty will be tolerated in this course.
According to the Student Code of Conduct, “‘Plagiarism’ includes, but is not limited to, the
appropriation, buying, receiving as a gift, or obtaining by any means another’s work and the
submission of it as one’s own academic work offered for credit” while “‘Collusion’ includes, but
is not limited to, the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing academic
assignments offered for credit or collaboration with another person to commit a violation of any
section of the rules on scholastic dishonesty.” Scholastic dishonesty will result in automatic
failure in the course and possible dismissal by UTSA. See Section 203 of the Code for UTSA’s
policy on scholastic dishonesty.
2. Classroom Etiquette: Be a considerate class participant. Arrive on time. Turn off all electronic
devices before class begins, including mobile phones, pagers, PDAs, laptops, and others. As the
class requires all students’ constant and active engagement, please refrain from using laptops.
Bring your own textbooks and handouts. Be attentive and participate in class.
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ENG 2213.008 (23473): MWF 10:00-10:50, HSS 2.02.04
ENG 2213.009 (24343): MWF 11:00-11:50, HSS 3.04.12
“As members of the University community, students share in the obligation to maintain a
classroom environment that is conducive to learning. Accordingly, students are prohibited from
engaging in any behavior that obstructs, disrupts, or interferes with any class. Inappropriate
behavior in the classroom may result, at a minimum, in a request to leave class. Such behavior
also violates the Student Code of Conduct and may result in disciplinary action.” (Source: Student
Judicial Affairs, UTSA)
3. Absence Policy: Each student can have one excused absence and one unexcused absence not
reflected in his/her grade during the semester. For each subsequent absence, whether excused
or unexcused, 1% will be deducted from the 10% attendance grade.
Excused absences include sicknesses with doctor’s notes, mandatory attendances at University
functions with documentation, and other documented emergencies. All other absences fall into the
“unexcused” category. Notify me of foreseeable absences beforehand and emergencies asap via
email or on Blackboard.
Occasional late arrivals in class can be excused; however, habitual tardiness will lead to a
deduction in the attendance grade.
Each repeated failure in bringing texts/handouts will be treated as an unexcused absence.
4. Late Policy for Assignments: All assignments are expected to be turned in on time. If you
experience difficulties in meeting deadlines, let me know asap—not on the due date or the
evening before—and we can arrange an extension. However, if a student displays habitual
procrastination, no extension will be given. Any late submissions without extension will result in
the deduction of 1/3 of a letter grade or 3 points in a 100-point scale for each calendar day.
5. Format of Written Assignments: Unless otherwise specified, type all take-home written
assignments and follow MLA formatting and documentation styles. MLA formatting: 12-point
Times New Roman, doubled-spaced, one-inch margin on all sides. Put your last name and page
number on the right side of the header. MLA documentation: see Blackboard. All written
assignments should at least reach the minimum word limit. Failing to do so will lead to
grade deduction.
6. Achieve Progress: You are expected to learn from your work and improve as the course
proceeds. I am more than happy to discuss your work in this class and answer any questions
during office hours, by appointment, on Blackboard, and via email.
7. Services for Disabilities: This course provides accommodation for students with disabilities who are
registered with the Office of Disability Services and receive an accommodation letter from the Office.
Grading Policy
Attendance
Class Preparation & Participation
Dialectic Journals & Microanalyses
3 Written Analyses (w/ Writing Journals)
Oral Presentation & Annotated Bibliography
Mid-term Exam
Research Paper
Final Exam
Total
10%
10%
16%
21%
8%
10%
15%
10%
100%
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ENG 2213.008 (23473): MWF 10:00-10:50, HSS 2.02.04
ENG 2213.009 (24343): MWF 11:00-11:50, HSS 3.04.12
1. Attendance (10%): See page 2 for absence policy.
2. Class Preparation & Participation (10%): In every class, I expect you to contribute to
constructive discussion while respecting other people’s views. Always read the texts to be
discussed and come prepared, and participate actively in all class activities. Grades for in-class
assignments and possible pop quizzes will also be incorporated.
3. Dialectic Journals, Microanalyses, & Blackboard Discussion (16%): Dialectic Journal
(DJ)—an informal but thoughtful response to the readings to be covered in that week. See further
instructions on Blackboard. Microanalyses—a one-page (300 words) analysis of one or two
poems focusing on a specific aspect, such as language use and tone. Blackboard Discussion—
follow-up discussion for King Lear performance. Each student will post a comment (250-300
words) on Blackboard and respond to three other comments.
4. Written Analyses with Writing Journals— Blackboard submission (21%): You will write one
analysis (900-1,500 words) for each of the following genre: poetry, drama, and fiction. Discuss
technical details as comprehensively as possible and incorporate your own critical view. Refer to
the guidelines for the analysis of each genre on Blackboard for texts to be chosen and genrespecific requirements. All written analyses must follow the MLA style in format and
documentation. Secondary sources can be used and should be properly documented when used,
but are not required. Append a ½- to 1-page journal to your analysis and let me know how you
feel about the writing exercise, especially if you have encountered any difficulties. I strongly
encourage you to finish the draft early and consult a tutor at the Writing Centre (HSS 2.02.22,
http://www.utsa.edu/twc/) before submission.
5. Oral Presentation & Annotated Bibliography (8%): You will select an article from a reading
list on Blackboard and work out your own annotated bibliography (see guidelines on Blackboard).
You will then work with another student who read the same article and give a 10- to 15-minute
presentation on the article. At the presentation, give a brief summary of the article, discuss the
author’s position and argument, and state your team’s position (whether you agree or disagree
with the author; any disagreement among yourselves) using some of the texts we read as
examples. You are encouraged to use multimodal components, such as Powerpoint and handouts.
Missed presentations cannot be made up for unless due to emergencies.
6. Mid-term Exam (10%): A short exam on literary terms and their applications.
7. Research Paper— Blackboard and hard-copy submissions (15%): You will integrate the
knowledge and skills learned in this class in writing a 2,000- to 3,000-word research paper
(approx. 7-10 pages excluding works cited page) toward the end of the semester. You may
develop your own topic or follow one of the set prompts. The research paper should include at
least four secondary sources, two of which must be print-based. Full documentation in MLA style
is required. Other details will be provided in the instructions and guidelines on Blackboard.
8. Final Exam (10%): A 2.5-hour exam in essay format covering all of the texts and literary
terms/devices discussed in this course.
Final Grade Distribution
A
90% – 100%
B
80% – 89%
C
70% – 79%
D
60% – 69%
F
59% and below
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ENG 2213.008 (23473): MWF 10:00-10:50, HSS 2.02.04
ENG 2213.009 (24343): MWF 11:00-11:50, HSS 3.04.12
Course Outline (subject to changes)
Texts/handouts/guidelines with an asterisk (*): to be printed via Blackboard.
Those with two asterisks (**): to be printed via Blackboard E-Reserve.
Those with a pound sign (#): to be distributed in class.
Week 1
Date
Topic
Texts (to be read before class)
Assignment
due
1/11
Introduction
-
-
1/13
What is literature and
how to do literary
studies?
Poetry: introduction
“Introduction.” Norton 1-10.
-
Norton 398-401, 403-410 (from “Responding”).
Archibald MacLeish. “Ars Poetica.” Norton 558.
-
1/15
Week 2
1/18
NO CLASS—Martin Luther King Day.
1/20
Poetry: speaker
Norton 431-32.
Gwendolyn Brooks. “We Real Cool.” Norton 444.
Sylvia Plath. “Morning Song.” Norton 460-61.
Emily Dickinson. [I dwell in Possibility—] Norton 471.
Paul Dunbar. “We Wear the Mask.” Norton 582.
William Blake. “The Lamb.” Norton 573.
---. “The Tyger.” Norton 573-74.
Personal
guidelines &
response
1/22
Poetry: tone
Norton 416-19, 421-22 (from “Hard Rock Returns to
Prison”).
Robert Hayden. “Those Winter Sundays.” Norton 427.
Robert Frost. “The Road Not Taken.” Norton 584.
-
Walt Whitman. “I Hear America Singing.” Norton 626.
John Keats. “Ode to a Nightingale.” Norton 595.
#
Langston Hughes. “Theme for English B.”
DJ1 (choose
Week 3
Poetry: tone
1/25
texts from
1/25 & 1/27)
1/27
Poetry: situation &
setting
Norton 446, 450-51 (from “The Flea”).
Andrew Marvell. “To His Coy Mistress.” Norton 456-58.
Wallace Stevens. “The Emperor of Ice-Cream.” Norton
614.
-
1/29
Poetry: language
Norton 465-71, 475-77 (”Picturing”).
William Carlos Williams. “The Red Wheelbarrow.”
Norton 472.
Ezra Pound. “In a Station of the Metro.” Norton 610.
-
Norton 481-85, 490-96 (“Symbol”).
Robert Burns. “A Red, Red Rose.” Norton 484.
*Handout: Poetry Terms.
Microanalysis
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Week 4
Poetry: language
2/1
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ENG 2213.008 (23473): MWF 10:00-10:50, HSS 2.02.04
ENG 2213.009 (24343): MWF 11:00-11:50, HSS 3.04.12
2/3
Poetry: sound
Norton 501-04.
Ezra Pound. “The River-Merchant’s Wife: A Letter.”
Norton 402.
Ted Hughes. “To Paint a Water Lily.” Norton 478-49.
Galway Kinnell. “Blackberry Eating.” Norton 599.
Emily Dickinson. [A narrow Fellow in the Grass]
Norton 517-18.
*Handout: Poetry Terms.
-
2/5
Poetry: sound
Norton 512-13 (“Scanning”).
Samuel Taylor Coleridge. “Metrical Feet.” Norton 509.
Robert Frost. “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening.” Norton 584-85.
-
Norton 520-31.
Percy Bysshe Shelley. “Ode to the West Wind.”
Norton 535-37.
Microanalysis
2
-
Week 5
Poetry:
2/8
Internal structure
2/10
Poetry:
Internal structure
Wallace Stevens. “Sunday Morning.” Norton 615-18.
#
Barbara Hamby. “The Mockingbird Invents Writing.”
2/12
Poetry:
External form
Norton 540-46.
Emma Lazarus. “The New Colossus.” Norton 548.
John Milton. [When I consider how my light is spent]
Norton 550.
William Shakespeare. [My mistress’ eyes are nothing
like the sun] Norton 552-53.
Billy Collins. “Sonnet.” Norton 553.
W.B. Yeats. “Leda and the Swan.” Norton 633.
Week 6
Poetry:
2/15
External form
Norton 553-58.
#
John Hollander. “By the Sound.”
-
2/17
Mid-term exam
-
-
2/19
Writing: How to
write an analysis?
*Guidelines for Poetry Analysis.
**Illustrative Essay.
-
Poetry: The visual
e. e. Cummings. [In Just-] Norton 473-74.
-
Week 7
2/22
Visually-oriented poetry packet.
2/24
Poetry: The visual
Visually-oriented poetry packet.
Poetry
Analysis
2/26
Poetry: The visual
Visually-oriented poetry packet.
-
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ENG 2213.008 (23473): MWF 10:00-10:50, HSS 2.02.04
ENG 2213.009 (24343): MWF 11:00-11:50, HSS 3.04.12
Week 8
Drama
3/1
Norton 667-75 (“Elements of Drama”).
Anton Chekhov. “The Cherry Orchard” Act I. Norton
783-96.
DJ2
3/3
Drama
Anton Chekhov. “The Cherry Orchard” Acts II & III.
Norton 796-823.
-
3/5
Drama
Screening of “The Cherry Orchard” film version.
-
Anton Chekhov. “The Cherry Orchard” full text.
Norton 783-823.
-
Week 9
Drama
3/8
3/10
Fiction: The basics
Norton 57-62, 106-08, 119-23, 165-66.
Kate Chopin. “The Story of an Hour.” Norton 314-15.
Angela Carter. “A Souvenir of Japan.” Norton 217-23.
-
3/12
Fiction: Intro. to
Heart of Darkness
**Ross C. Murfin. “Introduction: Biographical and
Historical Contexts.”
Drama
Analysis
Week 10 NO CLASS—Spring Break.
Week 11
Fiction: Heart of
3/22
Darkness
Fiction: Heart of
3/24
Darkness
Fiction: Heart of
3/26
Darkness
Week 12
Writing:
3/29
How to write a
research paper on
literature?
3/31
4/2
Fiction: Things Fall
Apart
Fiction: Things Fall
Apart
Week 13
Fiction: Things Fall
4/5
Apart
Fiction:
Heart of
4/7
Darkness &
Things Fall Apart
Theory:
Introduction
4/9
Heart of Darkness full text 3-77.
DJ3: Heart
of Darkness
-
Heart of Darkness full text 3-77.
-
Norton 1144-74.
Sample research paper. Norton 1175-86.
* Instructions for research paper.
* Guidelines for research paper.
-
Things Fall Apart Chs. 1-12.
DJ4: Things
Fall Apart
-
Heart of Darkness full text 3-77.
Things Fall Apart Chs. 13-25.
Things Fall Apart full text.
Heart of Darkness & Things Fall Apart full texts.
Norton 1190-91, 1203-04.
*Handout: Introduction to Theory.
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Fiction
Analysis
Research
paper – topic
& thesis
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ENG 2213.008 (23473): MWF 10:00-10:50, HSS 2.02.04
ENG 2213.009 (24343): MWF 11:00-11:50, HSS 3.04.12
Week 14
Theory in texts:
4/12
Readers &
reading
** Bennett & Royle. “Readers and Reading.”
*Handout: Branches of Theory.
4/14
Theory in texts:
Text & world
4/16
NO CLASS—Library research day.
Week 15
Theory in texts:
4/19
Ideological
criticism
** Bennett & Royle. “The Text and the World.”
Research
Paper –
outline &
sources
-
Norton 1204-06 (“Historical and Ideological
Criticism).
** Michael Ryan. “Political Criticism: From Marxism
to Cultural Materialism.”
Research
Paper – 1st 4
Pages
4/21
Theory in texts:
Sexual difference
** Bennett & Royle. “Sexual Difference.”
Charlotte Perkins Gilman. “The Yellow Wallpaper.”
Norton 316-27.
-
4/23
Theory in texts:
Performative
** Bennett & Royle. “The Performative.”
Sylvia Plath. “Daddy.” Norton 605-07.
-
Week 16
Theory in texts:
4/26
Ecocriticism
#
Charles Johnson. “Dr. King’s Refrigerator.”
Leslie Silko. “Preparations.”
#
Gary Snyder. “As for Poets.”
-
4/28
* Guidelines for Final Exam.
Research
Paper Final
Draft
Course review
#
FINAL EXAM
ENG 2213.008 (MWF 10:00-10:50) - May 5 (Wednesday), 7:30-10:00 a.m.
ENG 2213.009 (MWF 11:00-11:50) - May 3 (Monday), 1:30-4:00 p.m.
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