Revised 3/10/2008
Revised 1/08

2
SYLLABUS/INFORMATION SHEETS
OFFICE:
PHONE:
SRC 362
Spring Semester 2008: January 14 – May 12, 2008
7:00 PM – 9:45 PM Mondays in SRC 366
PROFESSOR: Sarah L. Dye
(847) 214-7538 (office)
(847) 214-7609 (school fax, must have cover page)
(847) 697-8441 Home Fax
OFFICE HOURS: see attachment
CATALOG DESCRIPTION OF THE LIT 201 COURSE:
Students in this three-hour course will engage in critical reading and discussion of short stories and novels from a range of literatures. Students will gain knowledge and skills to support more advanced study of literature, as well as an appreciation of reading fiction for life-long learning.
Fulfills the ECC/IAI General Education/Humanities requirement. IAI Course Number: H3 901.
PREREQUISITE:
Reading:
Writing:
Grade of C or better in RDG 091, an ACT Reading score of 18 or above, or an appropriate placement score.
Grade of C or better in ENG 098, an ACT English score of 20, or an appropriate placement score
COURSE GOALS:
The goals for LIT. 201 are as follows:
 To further the student’s understanding of the complex relationship between the literary text and the reader.
 To increase the student’s familiarity with the significant writers and sub-genres of fiction.
 To increase the student’s ability to write about literature in a variety of modes.
 To enable the student to identify the various elements of fiction and to discuss what each contributes to a specific work.
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
Class attendance is an important part of success in any English composition or literature course, especially this once a week section of LIT 201. For that reason, each student is expected to be in class each time the class is scheduled to meet. Recognizing that emergencies and illness can necessitate changes in one’s best intentions to be in class, the absence policy for the course is as follows:
It is, nevertheless, strongly recommended that a student miss NO class meeting since the course is scheduled to meet only fifteen times anyway.
As an instructor, I do not differentiate between excused and unexcused absences. In other words, an absence is an absence whatever its cause. The student is responsible both for any and all work missed during the absence as well as for being prepared to participate FULLY in class on the day of his/her return after the absence. To accomplish this, the student MUST contact the

3 instructor by phone or in person BEFORE the planned absence to discuss the assignments and missed class activities or as soon after the absence as possible.
NOTE 1: A student absent more than twice (INCLUDING THE FIRST NIGHT THE CLASS IS SCHEDULED
TO MEET, I.E. January 14, 2008) will be dropped automatically from LIT 201-200. Beginning in
January 2005, the College instituted a new policy concerning the assignment of W/Withdrawal grades. Professors may no longer assign those grades beyond the 10 th week (check the specific date with the Registration/Records Office at ECC) of the course; instead the student will receive a grade of F/Failing if the student is absent more than twice. Please be very careful about attendance for LIT 201-200 in light of this new policy.
NOTE 2: The College has instituted a new policy concerning Waiting Lists. A student on the waiting list must be present at the first class meeting and identify himself/herself to the professor. If another student does not attend class the first night, then the first waiting list student will be moved into the class with the professor’s approval. In other words, do NOT miss the first night of class in order to retain your position and enrollment in the class section.
NOTE 3:
Students absent the first night of class will be assigned a special essay which must be competed by the second class to receive the required 10% earned for the Author Report Form exercise done in small groups during the first night’s class meeting.
BOOKS and SUPPLIES:
All textbooks are required as noted below. It is impossible to complete this course without purchasing the textbooks.
1.
Charters, Ann. THE STORY AND ITS WRITER: AN INTRODUCTION TO SHORT FICTION. COMPACT 7 th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008.
2.
Showalter, Elaine, ed. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates.
Women Writers: Texts and Contexts Series. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 1994.
(Each student chooses one of the four novels.)
3.
Goldberg, Myla. Bee Season. New York: Anchor, 2001. or
4.
Sebold, Alice. Lovely Bones. Boston: Little, Brown, 2002.
5.
Collegiate dictionary
6.
Notebook, 3-ring binder (1” or ½” size suggested for Reader Response Notebook)
READER RESPONSE FORMS:
Because this is a literature course, there is considerable reading, by the way. In addition to reading the assignments, each student must complete a READER RESPONSE FORM for each short

4 story read. These forms should be available to the instructor each night for “spot checking” upon request.
These forms are due on a date specified in the following pages and should be put in a 3-ring notebook or presentation folder with a title page labeled with the student’s name, course information etc. The forms are graded as a portion of the course requirements, in fact 20% of the final course grade. Failure to submit the READER RESPONSE FORMS by the due date will result in the student failing the course or being withdrawn from the course (the choice is at the professor’s discretion).
The written responses must be in the form of sentences and not just one-word answers. The purpose of this exercise is to give the student the opportunity to demonstrate that he or she has not only read all of the assigned short stories but also has thought about each of the stories and can show evidence of such critical thinking. Reader Response forms carelessly done will receive a lower grade at the discretion of the professor. Please have the reader Response Forms for the stories assigned for each class meeting done BEFORE the class meets to discuss the stories.
One final comment about the Reader Response course requirement: Students need to collect all the forms in one notebook or presentation folder preceded by a title page following the format of
the attached sample. The notebook will be due within the first half an hour of the beginning of class on the announced due. This is NOT an optional assignment nor is it one that students may pick and choose which reader response forms to complete. To receive a passing grade for this course requirement and the course itself, forms for ALL the assigned stories must be included in
the notebook, and each must be filled out completely in order to receive credit.
MANUSCRIPT FORMAT:
For information and advice on how to produce professionally formatted, academic assignments, refer to the English Department handout, “Manuscript Guidelines” available on the professor’s website. The instructor is especially appreciative of typed and/or computer-printed papers and
{WARNING FOLLOWS!} annoyed by assignments carelessly torn out of spiral ring notebooks.
Exceptions to this are the Reader Response Forms which may be hand-written but should be collected in a presentation folder or a three-ring binder.
LATE PAPERS AND ASSIGNMENTS:
No late papers or assignments accepted in this course without the instructor’s permission being negotiated by the student (either in person or by telephone) prior to the due date of the assignment announced in this syllabus.
All graded assignments must be submitted in order to pass the course, by the way.
COURSE GRADES:
There are five graded assignments (graded P/F and/or A-F) for LIT. 201-100. The assignments are weighted as follows:
QUIZZES:




Author Report form
Point of View Essay
Literary Elements Midterm Test
Oates’ Group Projects (essay)
 Reader Response Forms
 Novel Project/Final Class Experience Essay
10%
10%
20%
20%
20%
20%
______
100%
The instructor reserves the right to give periodic reading quizzes to ensure that each student is accomplishing the reading required for the class.

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STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES POLICY:
If a student has a disability (physical, mental, emotional, or learning), he/she may be entitled to some accommodations, services, or support. The law that is in effect at the college level says that the student does not have to reveal a disability. But it is often in the student’s best interest to notify the instructor and the Learning Skills Center of a disability, so that support can be arranged, if needed. If the student wants any support services, he/she will have to provide documentation of the disability to the college through the Learning Skills Center. If the student does not inform the college of the disability, the college is not required to make any exceptions to any standard procedure. ECC will not compromise on any essential skill or requirement in a course or degree.
All students are expected to meet essential requirements. Students with disabilities must also meet these requirements, either with or without accommodations.
STUDENT BEHAVIOR POLICY:
Students are expected to be respectful of themselves, the instructor, and each other. This means that behavior that violates this college policy will not be tolerated. EX: Making derogatory comments about other people, falling asleep in class, interrupting someone else who is speaking, monopolizing the discussions, asking questions, or volunteering information unrelated to the topic, yelling, physical actions that can cause injury, sexual harassment, racial slurs, etc. If the student’s behavior is unacceptable, the student will be warned once; the second time the student will be given a written statement of acceptable behavior and a time frame in which to comply; the third time the student will be dropped from the class with a WF.
Classrooms are not democratic situations, in most instances. The instructor is in charge and what constitutes acceptable behavior in one classroom may not in another. It is in the student’s best interest to know his/her instructor’s behavioral expectations.
Developed by Annabelle Rhodes
Director, Learning Skills Center
The key to being successful in LIT 201-200 lies with you always staying caught up with the reading and writing assignments. That begins with reading and understanding my expectations as described in this syllabus. Please be sure to carefully read the syllabus before returning to the next class meeting. I have tried to explain my policies for the most common situations that arise in this course.
My classes are structured around cooperative learning groups. That means that this class will not be a traditional, teacher-centered lecture course. Instead, each evening you can expect a student-centered class in which you will work with small groups actively discussing the assigned short stories and commentary articles. Then each group will be expected to share the results of their work with the rest of the class. For those reasons, it is imperative that you have read each of the stories assigned for the night
BEFORE you come to class.
All handout and course materials are located on my faculty website. You need to visit that website before each class meeting and print out the handouts you will need for the class. I do not bring copies to the classroom. The website is located at the following URL: http://faculty.elgin.edu/sdye/default.html
Welcome to LIT 201-200 for the Spring Semester 2008. I look forward to working with each one of you.
Professor Sarah L. Dye

6
LIT. 201-200 Sarah L. Dye
Please notice that for each class meeting the assignment sheets should indicate not only what reading homework is assigned in preparation for that particular class meeting but also what activities will take place in class that night. Be sure to read the short stories carefully, perhaps even more than once before you come to the first class meeting during which we discuss those particular stories.
In addition, read any introductory or related commentary materials that may be with the short stories. You will find such supplementary articles by consulting the Table of
Contents in the Charters book. Page numbers listed in any assignments below refer only to the first page of the assignment though a student should read the entire story or
article of course.
For each short story assigned to be read outside of class, you must complete a Reader
Response form. Please note that The Reader Response Forms, collected in a 3-ring notebook or presentation folder, are 20% of your course grade.
Additional critical review and author material for the short stories we read is available in the Renner Learning Resource Center (ECC library); a good starting place is to use
Masterplots (on online EBSCO’s Magill on Literature and Magill on Authors databases available through the ECC online periodical databases library). In addition, be sure to visit the Charter’s book companion website at http://bedfordstmartins.com/charters
NOTE: ALL OF THE FOLLOWING READING IS TO BE DONE BEFORE CLASS, THAT IS, BY THE
DATES LISTED! Most page numbers listed in the reading assignments below are the initial page number only for the story. Obviously, the entire short story or chapter assigned should be read.
SHORT STORY AND OTHER READING ASSIGNMENTS including IN-CLASS AND DAILY AGENDAS
JANUARY 14
DO BEFORE CLASS:
Buy Charters textbook, Compact 7 th edition, in ECC Bookstore
IN CLASS:
Introduction to the course
Reader Response School of Literary Criticism Reading Exercise (in class)
Assignment of Author Reports, presentations, and research time
(NOTE: ALL of the Author Report forms are due at the beginning of the next class meeting. These will require at least an hour of work in the RLRC library on campus. Class will end early tonight by 9:00 PM so you will have some time to visit the library this evening and get started on preparing this assignment. The reports should be written on the forms supplied for this assignment. Use INK only, no pencil.)

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SHORT STORY UNIT
JANUARY 21
NO CLASS MEETING/COLLEGE CLOSED FOR MLK BIRTHDAY FEDERAL HOLIDAY
JANUARY 28
(Note: Check off each task as you complete it in the spaces provided below.)
DO BEFORE CLASS:
_____ “Introduction: The Story and Its Writer,” p. 3
_____ “A Brief History of the Short Story,” p. 1060
_____ “The Elements of Fiction,” p. 1044
_____ “Reading Short Stories,” p. 1039
_____ “Glossary of Literary Terms,” p. 1104
_____ “Chronological Listing of Authors and Stories,” p. 1115
_____ Anderson, “Hands,” p. 16
_____ Atwood, “Happy Endings,” p. 28
_____ Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues,” p. 37
_____ Banks, “Black man and White Woman in Dark Green Rowboat,” p. 68
_____ Bierce, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” p. 75
_____ Cather, “Paul’s Case,” p. 117
IN CLASS:
Turn in completed Author Report Form at 7:00 PM
(Note that this is a required graded assignment)
Present six Reader Response forms for checking at 7:00 PM
(These are to be completed for each of the short stories assigned to be read as homework in preparation for tonight’s class meeting.)
PLOT
Group activity
Presentations/discussion
FEBRUARY 4
DO BEFORE CLASS:
_____ “The Elements of Fiction,” p. 1044
_____ “Glossary of Literary Terms,” p. 1104
_____ “Chronological Listing of Authors and Stories,” p. 1115
_____ Chopin, “The Story of an Hour,” p. 158
_____ Cisneros, “The House on Mango Street,” p. 162
_____ Erdrich, “The Red Convertible,” p. 277
_____ Faulkner, “A Rose for Emily,” p. 286
_____ Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” p. 313
_____ Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants,” p. 350
IN CLASS:
CHARACTER
Group activity
Presentations/discussion

FEBRUARY 11
DO BEFORE CLASS
_____ “The Elements of Fiction,” p. 1044
_____ “Glossary of Literary Terms,” p. 1104
_____ “Chronological Listing of Authors and Stories,” p. 1115
_____ Hurston, “Sweat,” p. 355
_____ Jewett, “A White Herron,” p. 382
_____ Joyce, “Araby,” p. 400
_____ Kincaid, “Girl,” p. 477
_____ Lawrence, “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” p. 493
_____ Mason, “Shiloh,” p. 511
IN CLASS:
POINT OF VIEW
Point of View Essay assignment (in class/graded assignment)
FEBRUARY 18
NO CLASS MEETING/COLLEGE CLOSED FOR PRESIDENTS DAY FEDERAL HOLIDAY
FEBRUARY 25
DO BEFORE CLASS
_____ “The Elements of Fiction,” p. 1044
_____ “Glossary of Literary Terms,” p. 1104
_____ “Chronological Listing of Authors and Stories,” p. 1115
_____ Mansfield, “The Fly,” p. 5506
_____ Mukherjee, “The Management of Grief,” p. 565
_____ Munro “Miles City, Montana,” p. 578
_____ O’Brien, “The Things They Carried,” p. 608
_____ O’Connor, “Good Country People,” p. 634
_____ Olsen, “I Stand Here Ironing,” p. 671
IN CLASS:
SETTING and STYLE
Group activity
Presentations/discussion
MARCH 3
DO BEFORE CLASS
_____ “The Elements of Fiction,” p. 1044
_____ “Glossary of Literary Terms,” p. 1104
_____ “Chronological Listing of Authors and Stories,” p. 1115
_____ Silko, “Yellow Woman,” p. 722
_____ Tan, “Two Kinds,” p. 731
_____ Updike, “A & P,” p. 783
_____ Walker, “Everyday Use,” p. 789
_____ Welty, “A Worn Path,” p. 800
_____ Wright, “The Man Who Was Almost a Man,” p. 813
IN CLASS:
THEME
Group activity
Presentations/discussion
8

MIDTERM EVALUATIONS
MARCH 10
DO BEFORE CLASS
Review all short stories and other reading assignments including
_____ “The Elements of Fiction,” p. 1044
_____ “Glossary of Literary Terms,” p. 1104
_____ “Chronological Listing of Authors and Stories,” p. 1115
_____ Read “Writing about Short Stories,” p. 1070
IN CLASS:
Literary Elements Essay Exam/Midterm Test
SCHOOLS OF LITERARY CRITICISM UNIT
9
MARCH 17
DO BEFORE CLASS
“Writing about Short Stories,” p. 1070
“Literary Theory and Critical Perspectives,” p. 1097
IN CLASS:
Reader Response Notebooks DUE no later than 7:30 PM!
(PLEASE NOTE: There are no exceptions to this RR Notebook deadline.)
Formation of Oates’ Project Groups
Schools of Literary Criticism group library exercise
MARCH 24
NO CLASS MEETING/COLLEGE CLOSED FOR SPRING BREAK

10
JOYCE CAROL OATES UNIT
March 31, April 7, April 14, 2008:
READ BEFORE FIRST CLASS MEETING:
Read all of Showalter’s book, Women Writers: Texts and Context: “Where Are You
Going, Where Have You Been?” pp. 3-165
(This includes the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol
Oates, which is the work of literature upon which this entire exercise is based. Make sure you have completed all the required reading before our first meeting on this unit, March 31 st , 2008.)
And
Charters’ “Writing about Short Stories,” p. 1070
MARCH 31
DO BEFORE CLASS
Showalter, ed. Women Writers: Texts and Context: “Where Are You Going,
Where Have You Been?” pp. 3-165
“Writing about Short Stories,” p. 1070
IN CLASS:
Each student must indicate his/her novel choice to professor tonight
Small group Discussion of Joyce Carol Oates’ story
Individual group meetings
APRIL 7
IN CLASS:
FILM: Smooth Talk
Individual group meetings continued
Note: Project essays due at the beginning of the next class meeting and must be typed and follow English Department Manuscript Guidelines.
APRIL 14
IN CLASS:
Oates’ Group Project Presentations
Oates’ Group Essays DUE (at end of class: put in a presentation folder with title page, group letter, and all group members’ first and last names alphabetically listed)

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NOVEL UNIT
Note: The class decided in March 2008 to strike two novels from the list of novels for their choices this semester. The only two acceptable novel choices are now Lovely
Bones and Bee Season. Please make your selection accordingly now.
APRIL 21
DO BEFORE CLASS
You must have whichever novel you chose completely read and be ready to do both individual and group work on the novel project by tonight. SPECIAL NOTE: A student who has not completed the reading by the beginning of tonight’s class meeting may be dropped from his/her group by vote of that group which would make it impossible for that student to complete this course with a passing grade.
IN CLASS:
Professor assigns groups for the novel project
Assign group tasks and individual tasks for novel unit
Novel small group discussion, preparation, research
APRIL 28
IN CLASS:
Novel small group discussion, preparation, research continues
MAY 5
IN CLASS:
Novel small group discussion, preparation, research continues
All of the groups must present their novel notebook to Professor Dye by the end of class tonight so it can be evaluated before the group presentations next week.
MAY 12
IN CLASS:
FINAL CLASS EXPERIENCE ESSAYS due at the beginning of class
The directions follow on the next page of this syllabus and also in the novel direction packet to be distributed later this semester.
Presentation of Goldberg’s Bee Season and
Presentation of Sebold’s Lovely Bones
All members of each novel team must be present for the group’s presentation tonight for each person to receive full credit for the project.

12
IMPORTANT ASSESSMENT ASSIGNMENT FOR EVERY STUDENT IN LIT 201
two
Consider the novel you’ve chosen and read this semester. Then in a meaningful and welldeveloped essay of 500-750 words (2-3 typed or computer-printed and double-spaced pages), discuss the theme of the work.
In your response, be sure to discuss how the literary elements of the work support that theme. Include at least one long quote (more than 4 lines) and one short quote (four lines or fewer) in your response, and paraphrase where needed. Be sure your essay is in proper MLA form.
This essay does not require any outside research. However, if you do include information from any other sources, be sure to give credit so you don't plagiarize. Even if you do not use any sources other than the work itself, still be sure to attach a Works Cited page in proper MLA format.
The elements of literature include the following: o Plot: o Diction: o Imagery: o Setting: o Characterization:
The actual events of the work.
The author’s word choice.
The author’s similes and metaphors.
Where and when the events take place.
The key traits exhibited by people in the o Dialogue: work.
The words spoken by the work’s o Tone: characters.
The author's attitude towards the material. o Point of View: o Structure:
Comic? Tragic? Ironic? Romantic?
Whose eyes we see the action through.
The organization of the work.
The above list is not meant to be exhaustive. There are certainly other elements of literature, and you can feel free to discuss them if you feel it is appropriate.
Finally, please be aware that not all literary works will exhibit all of the listed elements. In discussing the work, focus on the literary elements that are most meaningful as they relate to the theme.

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Please use this template for the Title Page for each of your writing projects!
[upper third of page]
[lower third of page]
[note ALL CAPS for title]
[note lower case for “by”]
[note normal capitalization for name
[hit return about 15 times, if double spaced]
[about 2 lines should be left here as a bottom margin
[rev. 1/2008]

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Effective Spring 2006
ECC has made policy changes to make certain that our students have the basic skills they need to succeed in college-level courses. Accordingly, several ECC general education classes (like introductory psychology and sociology, for example) now have minimum competency requirements that you must meet before getting into the class.
(effective Spring 2006)
All Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI) general education courses require competencies that students must meet prior to entering these courses. These competencies may be demonstrated by any of the following:


Completion of a designated developmental course with a grade of "C" or better.
An appropriate placement or other college-recognized assessment score.
 Completion of an appropriate equivalent education course that shares the same minimum competency* with a grade of "C" or better.
 Completion of an A.A., A.S., A.E.S., or A.F.A. degree or higher.
 Current matriculation status in another accredited four-year institution and enrollment at
ECC for summer only.* Proof of enrollment will be required.
Students affected by this policy may select non-IAI general education classes while enrolling in one or more developmental classes in order to be enrolled as full-time (12 credit hours)students.
Mandatory placement
 Reading: score.
The prerequisite for all IAI general education classes is a grade of "C" or better in RDG 091, an ACT reading score of 18 or above, or an appropriate placement
 Writing: The prerequisite for IAI general education courses with a writing competency* is a grade of "C" or better in ENG 098, an ACT English score of 20 or better, or an appropriate placement score.
 Mathematics: The prerequisite for IAI general education courses with a quantitative literacy competency is a "C" or better in an appropriate math course, an ACT math score of 23, or an appropriate placement score.
From the ECC Catalog 2006-2008

15
S A R A H L .
.
D Y E
Professor of English
O F F I C E H O U R S
(Subject to change/please call and make an appointment first if making a special trip to campus)
M O N D A Y
4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Office
LIT 201-200
In session from 1/14/08 – 5/12/08
T U E S D A Y
1:00 PM
– 4:00 PM
Office
SRC 362
SRC 366
SRC 362
W E D N E S D A Y
12:00 PM
– 3:00 PM
T H U R S D A Y
No office hours
F R I D A Y
No office hours
S A T U R D A Y
7:00 AM – 8:00 AM
8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Office
Office
ENG 102-150
SRC 362
SRC 362
SRC 380
8:00 AM
– 5:00 PM
Distance Learning Sections: or
ENG 102-151 SRC 380
LIT 201-700+, ENG 109-770, ENG 102-770-771, and HUM/INS 208-770
(847) 214-7538 (includes voice mail)
Faculty Website: http://faculty.elgin.edu/sdye/default.html
E-mail: sdye@elgin.edu

16
Student’s Name: ____________________________________
Graded Assignments
AUTHOR REPORT FORM
(Individual activity)
10%
POINT OF VIEW ESSAY (in-class)
_______________
A/F
_______________
(Individual activity)
10%
LITERARY ELEMENTS MIDTERM ESSAY EXAM
(Individual activity)
20%
OATES GROUP PROJECT ESSAY & PRESENTATION
(Individual and group activities)
20%
READER RESPONSE NOTEBOOK
(Individual activity)
20%
NOVEL PROJECT CASEBOOK & FINAL EXPERIENCE
(Individual and group activities)
20%
FINAL COURSE GRADE
A/F
_______________
A/F
_______________
A/F
_______________
A/F
_______________
A/F
_______________

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(additional copies available on class website)
Title of Short Story:
(underline novels and put quotation marks around short story titles)
Author’s Complete Name:
Date of Publication:
BEFORE YOU READ: What do you anticipate in this short story based on what you know about the author or topic? Do research on the author as necessary.
AFTER YOU READ: Now what is your reaction to the story?
QUESTIONS: List 3-5 questions you wish to bring up during class discussion of the story.
COMPARISON: Briefly compare this story to any other story(ies) you’ve read or we have or will study in this course. Use the LITERARY ELEMENTS we’ve been studying in LIT 201 for this comparison.
Date of reading story:
Length of time spent reading the story:
Your Name:
Complete all of this form to receive credit.
Remember to use complete sentences only. For more space, continue on the back side of this sheet.

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PRINT your responses!
NOTE: COMPLETE AND GIVE TO PROFESSOR DYE BY THE END OF THE FIRST/1st CLASS MEETING.