1
ENG 651 –Literature: A World Perspective – Fall 2012
Caribbean Women’s Literature
6:00-8:50 pm, Tuesdays, Craig 201
Instructor:
Office:
Phone:
E-mail:
Dr. Cheryl Duffus
Craig 206 B
x4409
cduffus@gardner-webb.edu
NOTE: All Gardner-Webb University students and faculty must use their
Gardner-Webb University email addresses for conducting academic
business.
Please note that you should expect at least a 24-hour window for a response
to an email. During university holidays and breaks, that window may be
longer.
Office Hours: T, 5-6 pm
MW 11-12 pm; 2:30-4:30 pm; TR 10-11 am; F 11-12 pm; or by appointment
Course Description: This course will focus on prose writings by Caribbean women. The
cultural scholar Stuart Hall describes the Caribbean as “the first, the original and the purest
diaspora” since “everybody there comes from somewhere else.” The Caribbean shares many
similarities with the United States, especially the South. Europeans arrived beginning in the late
15th century, wiped out the indigenous population, and then captured and transported first
Africans as slaves and later Asians as indentured servants. Out of this cultural mix have come
tensions concerning identity and cultural tradition, dislocation and “home,” dialect vs. the
colonizer’s language, and the struggle for voice and recognition, how to articulate a sense of
“home” and belonging. This course will focus on modern and contemporary literature from
around the Caribbean and will explore questions of power, tradition, conflicted identity, gender,
and representation. Since the course focuses on women’s writing, we will also explore what
defines Caribbean Women’s Literature or a female Caribbean point of view.
Course Objectives
1.
To develop an appreciation for significant texts in literature.
2.
To become familiar with major ideas, concepts, and themes in World
literature.
3.
To contextualize World Literature socially, culturally, and historically.
4.
To improve critical and analytical ability in thinking and writing about literature.
5.
To practice writing and speaking clearly and cogently about World literature.
6.
To become acquainted with mythological figures and their use in literature.
7.
To understand the importance of the educator as a theorist and practitioner and the
four unifying threads of the learner and the learning, methodology, social context,
and professional development.
General Education Competencies
1.
Students will develop skills in formulating well organized thoughts for the
purpose of effective communication.
2
2.
Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze written, oral, or visual forms of
communication and create appropriate responses.
Students will compare and contrast intra- and intercultural realities to cultivate
attributes necessary for adapting to and functioning in a globalized world.
Students will develop skills in effective research using traditional and technologybased research methods.
3.
4.
Texts and supplies: Required primary textbooks (available in the University bookstore):
Julia Alvarez, In the Time of Butterflies
Michelle Cliff, Abeng and No Telephone to Heaven
Maryse Condé, Crossing the Mangrove and Hérémakhonon
Edwidge Danticat, The Dew Breaker
Jamaica Kinkaid, A Small Place
Gisèle Pineau, Exile According to Julia
Elizabeth Nunez, Prospero's Daughter
Jean Rhys, Wide Sargasso Sea, Norton Critical Edition
Secondary reading in the form of handouts and PDFs as assigned on the course schedule. PDFs
will be posted to Blackboard. Handouts will be distributed by the professor. There is one
selection from an ebook available via the Library’s website.
Department Grading Scale – Graduate
In order to insure grading consistency, the English Department established the following grading
scale for all English graduate courses. Please contact the Registrar’s Office if you have any
questions about the chromatic grading scale and how that will impact your GPA and other
academic requirements. Here is a link to a page on Registrar’s web site that might help you:
http://gardner-webb.edu/academics/academic-services/registrar/gradesfaq/index.html
GPA
4.0
4.0
3.67
3.33
3.00
2.67
2.00
0
Letter Grade
A+
A
AB+
B
BC
F
Numeric Grade
99-100
96-98
94-95
92-93
88-91
86-87
85-79
79>
Department Grading Scale – Undergraduate
In order to insure grading consistency, the English Department established the following grading
scale for all English courses. Please contact the Registrar’s Office if you have any questions
about the chromatic grading scale and how that will impact your GPA and other academic
requirements. Here is a link to a page on Registrar’s web site that might help you: http://gardnerwebb.edu/academics/academic-services/registrar/gradesfaq/index.html
GPA
Letter Grade
Numeric Grade
3
4.0
4.0
3.67
3.33
3.00
2.67
2.33
2.00
1.67
1.33
1.0
0.67
0
A+
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
99-100
96-98
94-95
92-93
88-91
86-87
84-85
80-83
78-79
76-77
72-75
70-71
69>
Assignments
Attendance and Participation (10%)
Discussion Boards (10%)
Proposal (10%)
Literature Review (10%)
Presentation (10%)
Final Project (25%)
Theory / Definition Essay (25%)
Assignments as public documents: All work in this class will be public. In other words, other
people may be allowed to read it.
Manuscript requirements
Students should familiarize themselves with Turnitin.com. It is the English department’s policy
to use this service as one tool for encouraging academic integrity. Therefore, unless otherwise
indicated, all papers or other written work completed outside of class and submitted to the
professor must also be electronically submitted to Turnitin.com. As of Fall 2012, Blackboard is
linked to Turnitin.com.
All work done outside the classroom will be submitted electronically to Turnitin.com. If you are
having problems with Internet access in one location, such as your dorm room, you will need to
go to another location such as the Library or a Computer Lab to upload your documents to
Turnitin.com. Unless there is a long-term, campus-wide Internet shut-down or a Turnitin.com
website problem, computer / Internet issues are not an excuse for late work.
Absence policy
You are expected to attend every class meeting. University policy mandates that attending fewer
than 75% of class meetings will result in automatic failure. This cut-off includes absences due to
University activities such as athletics or class trips as well as absences due to personal illness or
family situations. I keep attendance records on the Blackboard gradebook. You may check that
at any time for your total number of absences or late arrivals / early departures.
4
Late work
Every late assignment will be docked 10% for every class meeting day it is late. If you have a
serious illness or emergency, you will not receive a late penalty. However, no late work will be
accepted more than one week after the due date, unless you are dealing with a traumatic
emergency situation such as personal hospitalization or the death of an immediate family
member.
Academic Dishonesty -- Undergraduate:
Using someone else's words or ideas without giving credit with documentation and quotation
marks when appropriate is plagiarism. “Someone else” includes work by people you know,
material posted or sold on-line, and material printed in books or periodicals. You need to cite
any information you take from textbooks, even if that information is found in the footnotes or in
the introductory essays. Information you look up on line also needs to be cited, even if it seems
like “common knowledge” (if you had to look it up, it’s not common knowledge to you). If you
use information from another class, please acknowledge your sources. You are responsible for
knowing correct documentation or asking questions if you do not.
It is the English Department’s policy that a grade of F for the course will be assigned any time a
student submits any draft of a major assignment of which a substantial portion has been falsely
represented as the student’s own. Minor assignments that are plagiarized will also be
prosecuted according to University Academic Dishonesty Policy. This policy includes both final
drafts and rough drafts submitted either to the instructor, to the writing center, or to a peer.
Resubmitting work you have done for another class without receiving prior permission from
your professor will be considered academic dishonesty and will receive the same penalty.
Academic Dishonesty – Graduate
Please see extensive explanations in the Graduate Catalog under “Academic Information.” The
above paragraph applies to Graduate Students as well, but it is important to note that the penalty
for Academic Dishonesty at the Graduate level is more severe. If a Graduate Student receives a
grade of Fx for Academic Dishonesty, s/he will be suspended from her/his program for one
academic year. At the end of the year, the student must reapply for admission, and it is up to the
faculty of the program to readmit or to deny admission. The Fx grade will be permanent on a
student’s transcript.
The Final Exam:
The final exam will be Tuesday, December 11, 2012, at 6:00 pm. The final exam schedule is
set in stone by the Registrar and cannot be changed unless you have a truly serious (and,
generally, unexpected) emergency such as a death in the family, a serious illness requiring
hospitalization, or an obligation to be away on University business (e.g., you are an athlete and
have a scheduled game). DO NOT make personal travel plans before or during the final
exam date and time. Personal travel plans are not a sufficient excuse for rescheduling the final
exam unless you are traveling for some an emergency or University event.
Other policies:
If your learning or participation in this class might be affected in any way by a disability
recognized under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), you will need to do the following:
5
(1) register with the Noel Program for the Disabled at Gardner-Webb University--(704)
406-4270; and (2) educate me about your disability so that I can work with you and the Noel
Program to arrange necessary accommodations. It is important that you take both of these steps
no later than the first week of the semester.
Class Cancellation Notice: In the event that class must be cancelled, I will attempt to give you
as much notice as possible. I will notify you over email, if possible, I will post an announcement
on Blackboard, and our department administrative assistant will ALWAYS leave a note on the
classroom door if class is cancelled. Please note that if class is cancelled due to instructor illness
or emergency, you might have less than 24 hour notice.
Participation and Classroom Behavior: All students are expected to participate in class
discussion. All members of the class are expected to be courteous and respectful to fellow class
members as well as the professor and any visitors to the classroom. A classroom is a welcoming
and supportive place for all students, faculty, and staff, and it is important to respect and to
appreciate the differences among us, including race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation,
disability, religion, or political affiliation. If anyone feels they have been discriminated against in
this classroom or on campus, please speak with me in my office.
Electronic devices: It is important to remember that we all need to self-regulate our use of cell
phones in a classroom. Obviously, calls cannot be made during class unless there is an
emergency requiring us to contact 911. Texting, however, falls into a different category.
Students who constantly text during class send the message to this professor and their peers that
they are not engaged or do not consider class to be important. Students may not use electronic
devices for any reason during an exam.
Assistance Outside the Classroom: I am available to meet with any student as frequently as
s/he would like. You do not need to make an appointment to see me during my office hours, but
if you cannot meet during those times, please let me know, and we can set up a time and day
convenient for both of us. I am also happy to communicate over email and the phone, although
questions about writing are more easily answered either in person or over email. Your fellow
classmates are also valuable resources for out-of-class discussion. Please contact me ASAP if
you are feeling lost or overwhelmed this semester, either in general or in this class, so that
we can work out a solution together.
GWU Writing Center, Tucker Student Center Rm 237
The Writing Center is a resource for all students, regardless of major or level of study. Writing
Center consultants are fellow students who have a solid grasp of the English language and
writing who also enjoy assisting others. They will help you with developing and revising your
ideas as well as polishing your final draft. You can make an appointment for a consultation in
Webb Connect or walk in to see if there's an available appointment. Visit gardnerwebb.edu/writingcenter for important information like semester hours of operation.
6
Week One
August 28 – Course Introduction
Reading: Bhabha (handout); Spivak
(handout); Anne McClintock, Introduction,
“Postcolonialism and the Angel of
Progress,” to Imperial Leather (ebook
available through Library); Deleuze and
Guattari (handout)
Week Two
September 4 –Mohanty (handout);
Kandiyoti (handout); DuPlessis (handout);
Alcoff (PDF); Boyce Davies and Savory
Fido (handout); Fanon (handout); Lionnet
(handouts)
Week Three
September 11 – Wide Sargasso Sea;
following secondary reading in Norton
Critical Edition: Emery, “Modernist
Crosscurrents”; Ramchand, “The Place of
Jean Rhys”; Drake, “Race and Caribbean
Culture”; Erwin, “History and Narrative”;
Rody, “Burning Down the House”; Spivak,
“WSS and a Critique of Imperialism”; Parry,
“Two Native Voices.”
Week Four
September 18 – Hérémakhonon
Condé (PDF)
Week Five
September 25 – Exile According to Julia
Arnold (handout)
Proposals Due – Blackboard /
Turnitin.com
Week Six
October 2 – Abeng
Paravisini-Gebert (handout)
Week Seven
October 9 – No Telephone to Heaven
Savory (handout)
Week Eight
October 16 – Crossing the Mangrove
Ormerod (handout)
Week Nine
October 23 – Fall Break
Week Ten
October 30 – Prospero’s Daughter
Zimra (handout)
Lit Reviews Due – Blackboard /
Turnitin.com
Week Eleven
November 6 – In the Time of Butterflies
Haigh (handout)
Week Twelve
November 13 – The Dew Breaker
Edmondson (handout)
Week Thirteen
November 20 – A Small Place
Fulani (PDF)
Week Fourteen
November 27 – Draft #1 Theory / Definition
– Workshop in Class
Week Fifteen
December 4 – Draft #1 of Final Project –
Workshop in Class
Final Exam
December 11 – Presentations
Final Projects Due
Theory / Definition Due
Blackboard / Turnitin.com