ENG 164: Introduction to Literature
Semester One
Course Outline
Duration
Time
Venue
Teacher
Webpage
Email
: 15 sessions
: Tuesdays 2:20pm-4:50pm
: 308
: Michael Yee
: wordstuffedpinata.weebly.com
: michael.go.yee@gmail.com
Course Objectives:
This course aims at introducing the writings of mainstream English and American writers to students,
enhancing students’ appreciation and understanding of literature. It also aims to develop students’ critical
thinking and awareness of social, historical and cultural contexts and influences in the study of literature.
Course Outcomes:
On successfully completing the course, students will be able to:

Learn and use literary and critical terminology to describe key features of literary works with concrete
examples from texts;

Read, understand and analyse critical works with a critical mind;

Acquire and synthesize information from a variety of sources, and critically evaluate alternative
explanations, arguments and theories;

Present sustained and persuasive arguments cogently and coherently; and

Engage with different interpretations of texts and relate abstract concepts and theories to specific texts.
Prerequisites:
There are no formal prerequisites, but prior knowledge and experience on the study of literature would be an
advantage.
1
Required Texts:
You will be required to read the following texts:
Essay
Mario Vargas Llosa’s “Why Literature?”
Short Stories
Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”
Roald Dahl’'s “Lamb to the Slaughter”
Anton Chekhov’s “The Kiss”
Kate Chopin’s “The Kiss”
Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”
Fiction
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
Poetry
William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” and “Sonnet 20”
Sarah Kay’s “Peacocks” and “B”
The Holy Bible’s (ESV) “Song of Solomon,” chapters 1 & 4
William Blake’s “The Lamb”
Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and “The Lockless Door”
Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven”
Assessment Methods: 100% Coursework:
1500-2000 word Essay (Individual)
Quiz (1)
Response papers (3)
Poetry Writing & Sharing
50%
15%
15%
5%
Presentation
15%
________________________________________________________________
Total: 100%
2
Session
1
2
Why Literature?
3
Short Stories
4
Topic
Activity
Course introduction
Mario Vargas Llosa’s “Why Literature?”
http://crab.rutgers.edu/~goertzel/vargasllosa.htm
Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”
http://letras.cabaladada.org/letras/hills_like_white_elephants.pdf
Response #1
Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game”
http://fiction.eserver.org/short/the_most_dangerous_game.html
Short Stories &
Writing Workshop
5
*Writing workshop #1
Kate Chopin’s “The Kiss”
http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/861/
Response #2
Short Stories
Anton Chekhov’s “The Kiss”
http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Kiss.shtml
6
Poetry
7
Maurice Ogden’s “The Hangman”
http://mysite.verizon.net/ffaller/The_Hangman.htm
Li-Young Lee’s “Persimmons”
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/171753
Roald Dahl’s “Lamb to the Slaughter”
http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/lamb.html
Quiz
Short Stories
8
Chapters 1 & 3 from Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/f/fitzgerald/f_scott/gatsby/
Fiction
9
Chapters 7, 8, & 9 from Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”
http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/f/fitzgerald/f_scott/gatsby/
Response #3
Fiction
10
11
Poetry
Final Paper Tutorial
William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 116” and “Sonnet 20”
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/
Percy Bysshe Shelley’s “Ozymandias”
http://www.online-literature.com/shelley_percy/672/
Sarah Kay’s “Peacocks” and “B”
http://collectafew.blogspot.hk/2011/08/sarah-kay.html and
http://lipmystockingsprease.tumblr.com/post/5425912081/b-by-sarah-kay
Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and “The Lockless Door”
http://www.bartleby.com/119/1.html & http://www.bartleby.com/155/7.html
12
Poetry
Song of Solomon chapters 1 & 4 (Holy Bible ESV)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Song%20of%20Solomon%2014&version=ESV
Poetry sharing
William Blake’s “The Lamb”
http://allpoetry.com/poem/8438019-The_Lamb-by-William_Blake
13
Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven”
http://www.heise.de/ix/raven/Literature/Lore/TheRaven.html
Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”
http://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Poe/Tell-Tale_Heart.pdf
Short Stories
14
Celebration
Term paper
3
due
Attendance and Other Rules / Regulations

If you miss a class, please inform your teacher ahead of time by any means. No class will be made up. By
the end of semester, you should have come to at least 10 of our meetings, or else you may FAIL the
course. You are expected to monitor your own attendance rate from time to time.

All written assignments should be word-processed or type-written (Font: Times New Roman; font
size 12; double spacing).

The college expects students to do their own work. Plagiarizing is a kind of academic dishonesty and
cheating. When you include information you obtain from research, you should i) use citation (MLA) and
ii) include a reference list. Disciplinary action will be taken if a student is found plagiarizing others’
work.

During the course, you are required to:
 Complete the assigned readings or other tasks before coming to the lectures and tutorials.
 Complete the coursework assessment tasks and submit them before the deadline. There will be a
penalty for late assignments presented without a prior extension for valid and significant reasons.
20% of the marks will be deducted for late submissions. No assignment is accepted if the
submission is late for more than 7 days.
 Turn off your mobile phones and/or pagers during lectures and tutorials.
4