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English 1130: Modern Novel, Poetry, and Film
Tanya Lewis
tlewis@langara.bc.ca
Office: A203
604-323-5829
In English 1130, students continue the basic literary analysis they began in English 1127
or 1128, but do so by examining more complex forms: poetry, film, and the modern
novel. Classes will include lectures, group activities, discussions, and individual writing
tasks.
Successful completion of the course will depend on the following:
• understanding of the three genres studied, demonstrated through correct use of the
appropriate critical terminology and critical analysis of individual works
• understanding of the individual works themselves
• writing essays about works from each genre that demonstrate mastery of both
form and content—that is, an essay’s insights about at given work must be
expressed clearly at the essay, paragraph, and sentence levels
Required Texts
I Scream Ice Cream: Langara Custom Courseware
Kazuo Ishiguro, The Remains of the Day
Michael Ondaatje, The English Patient
Louis Giannetti and Jim Leach, Understanding Movies (3rd Canadian edition)
Recommended Texts
Timothy Corrigan, A Short Guide to Writing About Film
Furberg and Hopkins. The College Style Sheet. 6th edition
A reliable desk dictionary
Required Films
Sherlock, Jr. (USA 1924, dir. Buster Keaton)
Sunset Boulevard (USA 1950, dir. Billy Wilder)
Run Lola Run (Germany 1998, dir. Tom Tykwer)
Kissed (Canada 1996, dir. Lynne Stopkewich)
These films will be shown on Wednesdays at 12:30 and 15:30 and on Thursdays at 18:30
in room A130 starting Oct. 11th.
Please have The English Patient read by Sept. 11th. You are otherwise expected to have
read the texts in advance of our discussion of them.
Assignments and Marks
20%
10%
10%
20%
10%
10%
20%
100%
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In-class essay on fiction
Short essay on mise-en-scène
Film midterm
Take-home essay on fiction and film
Quizzes
Class participation
Final exam on poetry
Total:
Bonus Marks!
You will be given the opportunity to earn 2% in bonus marks. For the first 1% you may
come to my office and correctly recite from memory one of the Shakespearean sonnets I
will distribute to the class. For an additional 1% you may do the same with any one of
the modern poems in I Scream Ice Cream that is longer than 16 lines. You will only
receive the additional marks if you can accurately recite each poem on the first attempt.
Mark Scale:
A+ = 95-100%
A = 90-94%
A- = 85-89%
B+ = 80-84%
B = 75-79%
B- = 70-74%
C+ = 65-69%
C = 60-64%
C- = 55-59%
D = 50-54%
F = 50% or less
A grade so seldom seen, it is only rumored to exist.
Brilliant!
Nearly brilliant.
Worth gloating about.
Good, solid work.
Above average.
What most people get.
Acceptable, but below average.
Barely passable.
You should see me for help.
See me immediately.
Please note:
In order to pass this course, you must pass the final exam.
Attendance and Punctuality
Attendance is a strong indicator of performance, which is why I expect you to attend
every class. If you must miss a class, collect homework and notes from another student.
If you are absent due to medical or religious reasons, please provide proper
documentation, preferably in advance. If you miss more than eight classes without a
valid medical excuse, I will assume you have quit my course and remove your name
from my list. Similarly, if you miss classes without what I consider a valid excuse, do
not expect me to help you during my office hours. My time is reserved for those students
who attend regularly.
You are also expected to arrive to class on time. If you are late by less than fifteen
minutes, please seat yourself quietly and after the class, find out what you have missed.
If you are more than fifteen minutes late, you will be counted as absent and may not enter
the classroom.
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Electronic Interruptions
Please turn cell phones, pagers, and walkmans/iPods off before the class begins. Failure
to do so may result in public humiliation.
General Instructions for At-home Essays
Essays must be typed and must conform to the MLA format that I will briefly discuss in
class. The most basic formatting instructions, however, are as follows:
Use a 12-point font, double space, and staple your pages together at the top left
corner. Do not include a separate title page, but do include a title, centered above the
introduction. Your name, my name, your course and section number, and the date
should also appear at the top left corner of the first page.
For more details, please refer to The College Style Sheet.
Formatting counts. Even a good essay—if it does not demonstrate an understanding of
academic English formatting standards—will not do well.
Late Policy
Home assignments must be submitted at the beginning of class on the due date. Papers
submitted after the first ten minutes of class will be considered late. Students will lose
one letter grade per day that an assignment is late (e.g. B+ → B → B-) unless there are
extenuating circumstances that are discussed with me before the due date. (If you get
caught in traffic, the bus doesn’t come, your printer breaks, or the Langara computers
crash, I may sympathize with your troubles, but will still penalize you.) After a week,
the assignment will not be accepted and will receive a failing grade.
Please note that each day of a weekend counts as a full day.
In-class assignments must be written on the date they are administered unless the student
can provide medical documentation justifying an absence.
Academic Honesty
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All writing you submit must be your own work, and must not have been
used in another class. Do not allow a tutor or a friend to “clean up” or edit
your writing. I need to know what you can do.
If you need extra help, you can get it by
a) talking to me during my office hours,
b) visiting the Langara Writing Centre (located on the second floor of
the library, Room L201b), or
c) hiring a tutor to work with you on your writing in general.
If you borrow words or ideas from someone else, you must say who that
someone else is. If you misrepresent another’s work as your own, you are
guilty of PLAGIARISM and will receive a “0.” You may also be subject to
academic probation or expulsion.