ENG 826 APPROACHES TO LITERATURE
Summer 2013
Carl Singleton
Rarick 363
785-628-4285 (office)
csinglet@fhsu.edu
TEXTS:
Bressler, Literary Criticism. 5th ed and 5th ed ONLY. ISBN: 978-0205-791705
Wharton. Ethan Frome. Norton Critical Edition and Norton Critical Edition ONLY. ISBN: 9780393-96635-0
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed and 7th ed ONLY ISBN:
160329241
Harmon, A Handbook to Literature (any edition)
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS AND OBJECTIVES:
ENG 826 APPROACHES TO LITERATURE is a course in selected modern critical theories and their
application. The study of multiple critical approaches helps us to discover the relationship of literary
study to other scholarly disciplines; at the same time, it helps us to develop a “working theory” of literary
study. As Rene Wellek and Austin Warren point out, the task of the student of literature is to “translate
his experience of literature into intellectual terms, assimilate it to a coherent scheme which must be
rational if it is to be knowledge.”
The aim of the course, then, is to help you develop an understanding and awareness of scholarly and
critical presuppositions. It is hoped that each student will come to understand the rationale which
underlies not only your own biases about literature but also other critical approaches which you have
either rejected or never considered; that you will discover the potential value of other viewpoints, which
will add to your repertoire of strategies to use in approaching literary works; and, finally, that you will
learn to select that combination of critical approaches which will prove most fruitful in interpreting and
understanding any given work.
At the heart of the course stand the following questions, which all teachers of literature should consider:
Where does meaning come from? From the literary work? Or from the individual reader? Or from the
culture within which a work is written and/or interpreted? And is there such a thing as a wrong
interpretation of a work? How can we say that some interpretations are better than others? We won’t be
able to answer these questions conclusively—many before us have tried—but we will at least come to
understand the range of responses that fellow literary critics have come up with and the categories into
which they fall. This knowledge should make students better teachers, critics, and thinkers—and enable
you to read on multiple levels, perhaps in ways that you have never tried before.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Readings from the two texts—their entirety
Review and test on MLA format and style requirements
Attendance/Participation at>>>all<<< class sessions.
Major writing project: the Casebook.
EVALUATIONS:
The Casebook project is 75% of your grade; the MLA test is 25%. The final grade may be adjusted up or
down at the discretion of the professor in light of attendance, of your preparation for each class, and of
your meaningful contributions to class discussion.
PLAGIARISM POLICY:
1. Plagiarism is cheating that consists of using the work of others without adequate
acknowledgement. Any idea, fact, or language borrowed from a source must be documented
formally or informally.
2. Some examples of plagiarism are
1. copying another student's work and submitting as one's own;
2. copying or paraphrasing passages, sentences, phrases, words, data,
statistics, and visual aids without giving credit to that person;
3. using someone else's ideas without giving credit to that person;
4. buying and submitting a professionally prepared research paper;
5. submitting assignments which are the products of collaboration.
3. At the instructor's discretion, the plagiarist will fail the assignment in
question or the course. The same applies to instances of cheating on tests
or other assignments.
See the online university catalogue.
Students must be just as careful about information taken from the internet and
databases as those from hard copy.
All papers will be submitted through Safe Assignment.
DISABILITIES STATEMENT:
If you have a disability that may have an impact on your ability to carry out assigned course
work and if you wish to seek any accommodations for this course, you must contact Services
for Students with Disabilities (SSD). SSD is located in the Kelly Center, Picken Hall, Room
111, 785-628-4401. SSD will review your documentation and determine, with you, what
academic accommodations are necessary and appropriate for you that can be
accommodated in the course. All information and documentation of your disability is
confidential and will not be released by SSD without your written permission.
COURSE CALENDAR
JULY 01
02
03
04
Bressler, Chapter 01
Bressler, Chapter 02
Bressler, Chapter 03
No Class
08
09
10
11
Bressler, Chapter 04
Bressler, Chapter 05
Bressler, Chapter 06
Bressler, Chapter 07
15
16
17
18
Bressler, Chapter 08
Bressler, Chapter 09
MLA Review; preview and directions for Casebook project
MLA Test; preview and directions for Casebook project—continued
22
23
24
25
Bressler, Chapter 10
Bressler, Chapter 11
Bressler, Chapter 12
Bressler, Chapter 13
Note 1> Appropriate reading selections from Ethan Frome will be announced to correspond to readings in
the Bressler text.
Note 2> In idea and theory, students will read both Bressler and Wharton texts before classes begin.
Note 3> On Blackboard under COURSE DOCS, you will find the following
1) Syllabus
2) Instructions for the Casebook
3) Model Casebook (written by former student)
4) Instructions for submitting the final draft of your Casebook into Safe Assignment
Prospective students with any questions, concerns, or comments are encouraged to contact me at any
time. My email and phone number are given at the top of this syllabus.