Lit 2100 Introduction to Literature
Spring 2010
Regina Sakalarios-Rogers
Office hours: Building 50 room 226
Mon & Wed. 9:00 – 10:00
Office phone: 474-2926
English Dept. phone: 474-2923
Email: ras@uwf.edu (this is the best way to get in touch with me)
"Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate
it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they
will be guided by its light." - Joseph Pulitzer
Required texts:
James S. Brown & Scott D. Yarbrough. A Practical Introduction to Literary Study.
Pearson/Prentice Hall. ISBN#013094786
Euripides. Medea. ISBN# 9781580493468
William Shakespeare. The Taming of the Shrew. ISBN#0312108362
Ian Fleming. Casino Royale. (any edition)
Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes. ISBN#9780812967067
Ernest Hemingway The Sun Also Rises (any edition)
UWF Catalog description of course:
Literature from various nations and historical periods chosen to reflect the
evolution of the major genres of the Western literary tradition. Guides the
student in defining the features which distinguish drama, fiction, and poetry.
Course objectives:
In this course to identify, examine, critique, and analyze the various ways in
which we experience and find meaning in works of literature. We will read short
stories, poems and plays from various cultures and time periods in our study
this semester. The primary goal of this course is to help you to sharpen and
refine your analytical and critical thinking skills. The study of literature is an
excellent way to practice these skills. As you sharpen these skills in this course
you will also find yourself exposed to great works of literature. In the process of
examining the works you may find that you actually like them, that you learn
something from them, or find some valuable insights in them. At the very least
you should discover that there is more to literature than boring and decrepit
texts that are far less stimulating than the latest reality t.v. or action adventure
movie on screen.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Students in this section of LIT2100 will be able to:
+ Identify and interpret major elements of poetry, fiction, and drama.
+ Recognize social, political, and historical contexts in formation of and
reception of literary texts
+ Exercise specific interpretive techniques used in study of literature
+ Identify various sub-genres of the three major literary genres (fiction, poetry,
and drama)
+ Articulate their own critical assessment of the value of literature or of
specific literary works.
Course policies:
Email – You must have an active Argomail account since some readings and
course information will be distributed via email. Make sure that you check this
account weekly (or link it to the email account you use most often). I do not
accept work by email, except by prior arrangement and approval. Do not send
me your work if you miss class or if you are going to miss class. Get in touch
with me first.
Late work – I will not accept any work assigned for out of class completion after
24 hours from the time the due date has passed. Work is late if it is not turned in
when I ask for it in class; this could be the beginning of class, it could be the end
of class. If you are going to miss class on a day when work is due, be sure you
get it to me within 24 hours. Any work turned in late will be docked 10 points.
Do not turn the work in to me at the next class meeting and expect to get a grade;
I will review it, but I will not assign a grade. I will not accept work by email.
Too many things can presumably go wrong and when they do I have to
determine whether or not to believe that work was sent which I never received.
Plagiarism – Plagiarism is academic dishonesty-willfully copying someone else’s
work without acknowledging the source(s) or pretending that the work of a
“ghost writer” is the student’s own. Plagiarism is a very serious offense, and
both the English Department and the University have stringent policies for
handling offenders. A student found guilty of plagiarism may receive a failing
grade on the assignment, text, or for the course. The student may also be
referred to the CAS Dean for further action by the Academic Standards
Committee.
Graded course components:
Essays – There will be 2 essays assigned. One before midterm and one between
midterm and final exam. The essays will be graded according to the grading
rubric attached to this syllabus. Each essay will be worth 100 points of your final
grade.
Personal response journals – I will take up two personal response journals this
semester. The dates I will collect these are listed on the schedule below. Each
should include a 1 ½ page personal response to one or two works covered
between journals. The journals should be comprised of your thoughts on the
work(s) you have chosen. Use the journals as a way to think through the works
(s) you have chosen to analyze for each essay. These are informal journals, but
you should still attend to the mechanics (punctuation and so on) carefully. These
will be worth 200 points of your final grade.
Presentation – This can be a group presentation or an individual presentation.
The presentations will be assigned right after midterm and given in class a week
prior to the final exam. Presentation will be worth 100 points of your final grade.
Quizzes – You cannot make up missed quizzes. Most quizzes will be in class
quizzes and will most likely not be announced. There are some exercises listed
on the syllabus (and some I may add) that will also be included in this portion of
your grade. If you are late for a quiz, you do not get extra time to complete the
quiz. Some of these quizzes will be in the form of group work. There will be 8 –
10 quizzes accounting for 100 points of your final course grade. (10 points each
if 10 quizzes; 12.5 points each if 8 quizzes).
Midterm exam – The midterm will be an in class essay exam. You will choose
one from four possible topics to examine in your essay. The midterm will be
worth 100 points of your final grade.
Final exam – This exam will be in class. Details to be announced the week before
finals. The final will be worth 200 points of your final grade.
Attendance and participation - Excessive absences (over 3) will lower your
participation grade for the course by 10 points. Missing a class discussion may
seriously hinder your ability to produce an informed essay response to the
subject in question. I will not be able to summarize missed class discussions for
you so do not come to me after you’ve missed a class and ask me what you’ve
missed! Attendance and class participation will factor in as 100 points of your
final course grade, so don’t think I won’t notice when you miss class, sleep, don’t
participate in a class discussion, or don’t do the reading!
Grading:
I am going to use a points scale that will enable you to keep track of your grade
from essay to essay without having to do any guesswork.
Paper #1
Paper #2
Quizzes (8 or 10 total)
Presentation
2 Personal response journals
Midterm exam
Final exam
Participation
100 points
100 points
100 points (worth 10/12.5 pts each)
100 points
200 points
100 points
200 points
100 points
1000 points total
Class participation is the only area where you will have to do some guesswork.
You know if you are messing up! As stated above under attendance policy,
excessive absences (over 3) will lower your participation grade by 10 points per
absence.
The scale looks like this:
950 - 1000
A
900 - 949
A880 - 899
B+
840 - 879
B
800 - 839
B-
780 - 799
750 - 779
730 - 749
700 - 729
699 - 0 F
C+
C
CD
100 point Departmental grading scale: (for essays 1 & 2)
A (100-93) A-(92-90)
B+(89-88)
B(87-83)
B-(82-80)
C+(79-78)
C(77-73)
C-(72-70)
D+(69-68)
D(67-60)
Grading rubric:
90-100 (A) essays respond to the assignment clearly, directly, and fully. These
papers approach the text analytically and illustrate their points with numerous
textual references and/or quotations. They show subtlety in their use of the text,
and their own style indicates flexibility and mastery. They need not, however, be
free from errors.
89-80 (B) essays respond to the assignment clearly, directly but with less
development than 90-100 essays. They indicate a good understanding of the text
and suport their points with appropriate textual references and/or quotations.
While their approach is analytic, the analysis is less precise than in 90-100 essays,
and the use of text is competent but not subtle. The writing in these essays is
forceful and clear, but need not be free from errors.
79-70 (C) essays typically address the assigned question intelligently, but do not
answer it fully and specifically. They are characterized by a good but general
grasp of text and by the ability to use the text to frame an apt but imprecise
response to the assignment. They may use textual references and quotations
sparingly or without clearly enough supporting their points. The style of 79-70
essays is characterized by adequate clarity and organizational divisions, but may
be mechanical or banal.
69-60 (D) essays fail in some important way to fulfill the assignment. They may
omit some part of th question, fail to provide minimal textual support for their
points, or base their analysis on a misreading fo some part of the text.
Nevertheless, these essays normally present one or more incisive points among
others of less value. The writing may be similarly uneven in development with
lapses in organization and clarity.
59-0 (F) essays commonly combine two or more serious failures: they may not
address the actual question; they may indicate serious misreading of the text;
they may not use textual support – or may use it in such a way that suggest
failure to understand the text; they may be unclear, badly written, or
unacceptably brief. The style of these papers is usually marked by egregious
errors or by abruptness that suggests the student did not finish; but some may be
smoothly written but devoid of content.
Schedule (consider this tentative; things can change):
Readings listed without page #s are available on eLearning or Library reserve.
January 6th
Introduction to the course
January 11th
Read Chapter 1, 2, & 3 p.1-18
Franz Kafka “The Problem of Our Laws” in class exercise
January 13th
Read Chapter 4 & 5 p.19-33
Read Ernest Hemingway “Hills Like White Elephants” p 296
Read Stanley Renner “Moving to the Girl’s Side of ‘Hills
Like White Elephants’” p 167
January 18th
MLK Day No classes
January 20th
Read Chapter 9 p.50-68
Read Chopin “The Storm” p.268
Do exercise #2 p. 53, #1 p. 56, & #1 p.68
January 25th
Read Edgar Allan Poe “The Masque of the Red Death”
Read Harriet Hawkins “Should We Study King Kong or King
Lear?”
January 27th
Read Chapter 15, 16, &17
Read sample essays posted on eLearning
February 1st
Read Ernest Hemingway The Sun Also Rises
up to chapter ____
February 3rd
Read Ernest Hemingway SAR (finish it)
February 8th
Read Lorie Watkins “Reading Around Jake’s Narration:
Lady Brett Ashley and The Sun Also Rises”
st
1 response journal due
February 10th
Read Chapter 6 p.34-43
Discuss Shakespeare sonnets in chpt. 6.
Do exercise #2 on page 43
February 15th
Read Chapter 10 69-75
Read Byron “Lines Inscribed Upon a Cup Formed from a
Skull”
Read Langston Hughes“Theme for English B” p.301
Essay #1 due
February 17th
Read Gwendolyn Brooks “We Real Cool”
Read Sappho “To Me He Seems Like a God”
February 22nd
Midterm in class
February 24th
Read Chapter 7 p. 44-48
Read “Cultural Studies & New Historicism” p. 234-239
Read “Introduction” p. 8 – 24 (in Shakespeare book)
March 1st
Read The Taming of the Shrew (all of it)
Read “The Law’s resolutions of Women’s Rights” 199-196
Quiz
March 3rd
Read “Shrews & Shrew Taming” p 244 -296
Read “The Household” 200-206
Read “Wife Beating” 218 - 228
Response journal #2 due
March 8th – 10th
SPRING BREAK
March 15th
Read Ian Fleming Casino Royale (the whole thing)
Read Bruce Bethke “James Bond: Now More Than Ever”
Discussing presentation assignment
March 17th
Watching Casino Royale
March 22nd
Watching Casino Royale
March 24th
Read Sarah Zettel “Covalent Bonds”
Read Raymond Benson “Can the Cinematic Bond Ever Be
the Literary Bond?
March 29th
Read Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan of the Apes (all of it)
March 31st
Read Alex Vernon “Should We Take Tarzan Seriously?”
Read on postcolonial theory at
http://www.brocku.ca/english/courses/4F70/postcol.php
April 5th
Read Chesney Baker “And She Liked It: The Romance of
Reading Tarzan of the Apes”
Read John Newsinger “Reader, He Rescued Her: Women in
the Tarzan Stories”
April 7th
Read “Reading Pointers” p8-9 & “Notes) p 6-7 (before you
read the play)
Read pg 64 – 69 of Medea book
April 12th
Read Euripides Medea (the whole play)
Read Aristotle “On Poetics”
April 14th
Discussing Medea
Read ______________________
April 19th
Presentations
April 21st
Presentations
Turn in Presentation Bibliography
April 8th
Final Exam
8:30 – 11:00