Dr. Roxanna Pisiak
Crawford 226
684.6172
pisiakr@morrisville.edu
Spring 2012 Office Hours:
Monday 12 – 1 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday
11:15 a.m. – 1 p.m., Wednesday 9 – 10 a.m.,
and by appointment.
English 102: Writing about
Literature
Spring 2012
MWF 11 – 11:50 a.m.
Texts:
 The Seagull Reader: Stories. Edited by Joseph Kelly.
2nd edition. 978-0-393-93091-7
 The Seagull Reader: Poems. Edited by Joseph Kelly.
2nd edition. 978-0-393-93093-1
 The Night Country. Stewart O’Nan.
 The Girl Who Fell From the Sky. Heidi Durrow.
Course Description:
English 102 is an introduction to literature course that allows you to continue to develop writing skills
mastered in English 101. You will learn the elements of literature by studying different genres and will
practice higher-level interpretive and analytical thinking skills. English 102 counts as a Humanities General
Education course.
Course Objectives: Students who pass this class with a “C” or better will be able to:
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Construct a literary thesis statement.
Provide a well-supported and well-organized interpretation of a literary selection.
Analyze the meaning of a literary selection.
Identify and show familiarity with common literary terms and conventions.
Write essays that exhibit proper use of Standard English, conventions of writing about literature, and
correct citation of sources.
Course Expectations: As students in my class, I expect you to:
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Complete your all reading and writing assignments prior to class.
Bring your textbook with you to class.
Arrive at class on time and remain in class for the entire period. [Anyone who leaves class during
an exam will be considered finished with the exam.]
Exhibit respectful behavior toward everyone in the classroom.
Turn off and put away all cell phones and other electronic devices while in class.
Be prepared to participate in class discussions and any written, in-class work.
Contact me prior to or immediately after any class absence.
Attendance and Tardiness:
Missing an excessive number of classes (more than
3) will have a negative effect on your grade. When
you are absent you risk missing quizzes or other inclass assignments (which cannot be made up—see
below), missing important announcements, missing
the chance to participate in class discussions, and/or
missing important notes and information that will be
included on exams.
If you miss a class, please contact me—not to offer
an excuse but as a simple courtesy and to find out
what you have missed.
Being late to class once or twice in a semester is not a
problem. Being late to class more often than that is a
problem, however, and you will be asked to resolve
the issue immediately, either by arriving at class on
time or by withdrawing from the class.
Grades:
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2 Exams (Fiction & Poetry, 10% each): 20%
2 Essays (Fiction & Novel, 15% each): 30%
2 Reading Journals (Poetry & Novel, 15%
each): 30%
Quizzes & other in-class graded work,
including class participation: 20%
The grades you receive during the semester will be
numerical. The following scale will be used for
interim and final grades:
93 – 100 = A
90 – 92 = A-
87 – 89 = B+
83 – 86 = B
80 – 82 = B-
77 – 79 = C+
73 – 76 = C
70 – 72 = C-
67 – 69 = D+
64 – 66 = D
Below 64 = F
Academic Honesty and Plagiarism:
Academic honesty promotes continued academic and
occupational success. Maintenance of academic
honesty and quality education is the responsibility of
both faculty and students. Any assignment
(including those in all electronic media) submitted by
a student must be of the student's original authorship.
Representation of another's work as your own shall
constitute plagiarism.
Plagiarism is defined as any representation of the
thoughts and/or words of another as your own. This
definition includes everything from “borrowing” a
paper from a roommate to forgetting to include a
parenthetical citation as well as a host of other
possibilities. Plagiarism is a serious offense and I
will treat it as such in our class. Please be aware of
what constitutes plagiarism and familiarize yourself
with Morrisville State College’s policy regarding
plagiarism.
Special Needs:
If you have any learning preferences that need to be
accommodated in our classroom, please inform me of
them no later than the second week of classes. This
will ensure that your accommodations can be met.
Assignments and Course Work:
Class notes, exam preview sheets, and assignment
sheets for papers are available on Blackboard
(http://www.morrisville.edu/bbwebct/).
The Exams will consist of objective questions (short
answer, identification, etc.) and essay questions. The
Essays will require interpretation and analysis of
texts read in class; we will do some preliminary
drafting work on the essays in class. The Reading
Journals will consist of a series of entries written in
response to readings from class; some of these entries
will be composed in class.
Quizzes are frequent, and will be given almost
always during the first 5-10 minutes of class. Most
quizzes are objective in nature and graded out of 100
points (extra credit questions may be offered on some
quizzes). Some quizzes may be more subjective in
nature and therefore graded “+” (excellent), “√”
(satisfactory), or “-“ (unsatisfactory).
Positive, relevant Participation that fosters class
discussion is strongly encouraged and can have a
significant and positive effect on your grade (and the
opposite is true as well!).
Make-Up and Late Work:
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Make-up exams can generally be arranged, but
only under dire circumstances—serious illness,
legitimate family emergencies, etc. If you
request a make-up exam, be prepared to
demonstrate that you deserve one.
If you need to submit one of the papers late you
must request an extension at least 24 hours prior
to the due date.
You cannot make up in-class work or quizzes
that you miss due to an absence or being tardy.
My policy is to quiz frequently and to drop the
lowest quiz grade at interim grades and the two
lowest quiz grades at the end of the semester.
Therefore, one or two missed in-class
assignments or low grades should not hurt your
overall average.
Computer and/or printer problems are not, under
any circumstances, a suitable excuse for
submitting an assignment late. Please take this
into consideration when you save/back-up your
work and when you print your assignments.
ENGL 102 Schedule:
Any schedule changes will be announced in class.
W 1/18
 Introduction to the Course
F 1/20
 John Updike “A&P” (450-457)
 Plot (see notes on Blackboard)
M 1/23
 Flannery O’Connor “A Good Man is Hard to
Find” (372-388)
 Character (see notes on Blackboard)
W 1/25
 Eudora Welty “A Visit of Charity” (available on
Blackboard)
 Setting (see notes on Blackboard)
F 1/27
 Charlotte Perkins Gilman “The Yellow
Wallpaper” (172-189)
 Point-of-View (see notes on Blackboard)
M 1/30
 Ernest Hemingway “Hills Like White Elephants”
(203-208)
 Bobbie Ann Mason “Shiloh” (265-279)
W 2/1
 Mary Robison “Yours” (available on
Blackboard)
 Symbols (see notes on Blackboard)
F 2/3
 William Faulkner “A Rose for Emily” (155-164)
 Theme (see notes on Blackboard)
M 2/6
 Raymond Carver “Cathedral” (84-98)
W 2/8
 T. Coraghessan Boyle “Tooth and Claw” (61-83)
F 2/10
 Exam #1
M 2/13
 John Cheever “The Swimmer” (99-110)
 Tim O’Brien “The Things They Carried” (354372)
 Louise Erdrich “The Leap” (available on
Blackboard)
W 2/15
 Joyce Carol Oates “Where Are You Going,
Where Have You Been?” (337-353)
 Tillie Olsen “I Stand Here Ironing”
 Richard Bausch “The Man Who Knew Belle
Starr” (available on Blackboard)
F 2/17
 Sherman Alexie “What You Pawn, I Will
Redeem” (8-28)
 Dan Chaon “I Demand to Know Where You’re
Taking Me” (available on Blackboard)
 Anya Achtenberg “Cold Ground” (available on
Blackboard)
M 2/20, W 2/22 & F 2/24
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No Class—Winter Break
M 2/27
 Be prepared to work on your essay in class
W 2/29
 Work on essays in class
F 3/2
 Essay #1 Due
 Intro to Poetry
M 3/5
 Mark Strand “Eating Poetry” (available on
Blackboard)
 Billy Collins “Introduction to Poetry” (74)
 Lucille Clifton “homage to my hips” (65)
 Galway Kinnell “Blackberry Eating” (189-190)
W 3/7
 Robert Hayden “Those Winter Sundays” (14748)
 Theodore Roethke “My Papa’s Waltz” (269)
 Diction (see notes on Blackboard)
F 3/9
 Walt Whitman “When I heard the learn’d
astronomer” (333)
 e. e. cummings “in Just-” (78-79)
M 3/12
 Elizabeth Bishop “First Death in Nova Scotia”
(available on Blackboard)
 David Wagoner “The Other House” (available
on Blackboard)
 Imagery (see notes on Blackboard)
W 3/14
 William Stafford “Traveling through the Dark”
(293-294)
 Edna St. Vincent Millay “What Lips My Lips
Have Kissed” (223-224)
F 3/16
 Neal Bowers “Driving Lessons” (available on
Blackboard)
 James Wright “A Blessing” (358-59)
 Figurative Language (see notes on Blackboard)
M 3/19
 Seamus Heaney “Digging” (149-50)
 Langston Hughes “Harlem” (174)
 Sharon Olds “Sex without Love” (231-32)
W 3/21
 Robert Frost “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening” (129-30)
 Adrienne Rich “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” (256)
 Symbol
F 3/23
 Wallace Stevens “The Snow Man” (297)
 Lucille Clifton “Lorena” (66)
 Robert Frost “After Apple-Picking” (123-24)
M 3/26
 Sharon Olds “I Go Back to May 1937” (233)
 e. e. cummings “anyone lived in a pretty how
town” (79-80)
W 3/28
Challenge Poems:
 John Agard “Palm Tree King” (7-9)
 John Ashberry “At North Farm” (17)
 Rita Dove “Daystar” (102)
 Joy Harjo “The Woman Hanging from the
Thirteenth Floor Window” (145-147)
 Yusef Komunyakaa “Facing It” (193-194)
F 3/30
 EXAM #2
 Poetry Reading Journal due
M 4/2, W 4/4, & F 4/6
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No Class—Spring Break
M 4/9
 Stewart O’Nan The Night Country (3-47)
W 4/11
 O’Nan (48-91)
F 4/13
 O’Nan (92-136)
M 4/16
 O’Nan (137-176)
W 4/18
 O’Nan (177-229)
F 4/20
 Novel Reading Journal due
M 4/23
 Heidi Durrow The Girl Who Fell From the Sky
(1-43)
W 4/25
 Durrow (45-87)
F 4/27
 Durrow (89-130)
M 4/30
 Durrow (131-173)
W 5/2
 Durrow (179-219)
F 5/4
 Durrow (221-264)
M 5/7
 Work on essay in class
W 5/9
 Work on essay in class
F 5/11
 Novel Essay due