Course Syllabus for English 1322
Rhetoric and Composition II
Fall 2006
GENERAL INFORMATION.
Professor:
Office:
Office Hours:
Office Phone:
Email:
Dr. Janene Lewis
Heard 114
MWF Noon-2pm and TTh 12:30-2pm
295-4939
jlewis@umhb.edu
TEXTBOOKS AND MATERIALS.
Schakel, Peter. Approaching Literature in the 21st Century.
Handbook
Folder and spiral notebook
COURSE GOALS.
As students of literature, your first objective is to gain expertise in reading literature in
its many guises, sampling authors, periods, genres, styles, and cultures.
Part of gaining that expertise is learning to write effective, analytical and responsive
essays about literature. That is one of our traditional, major objectives as well. The course
readings are grouped by geographical location (the Middle East, India, South America, the
Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Africa, and England), so I hope for other outcomes too:
 For you to come to love literature of other cultures if you can, but if you can't, to
see that literature can embody (often does) the most serious attempts of all human
beings to understand and express what life means and that literature deserves our
attention and respect for that alone.
 To see that the most difficult literature (and often even the easiest seeming) does
not yield quickly to interpretation, BUT that even the most difficult yields
eventually to our patience and persistence.
 That you have a right to read literature as you have been prepared to, that
literature was meant for YOU to read, and not only for some special group of
insiders who have access to a mysterious code for deciphering it.
 That interpreting well is not a matter of so-called "intelligence" --some mystical
power known as IQ--but rather it is a matter of experience, in reading, of course,
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but also in life. Therefore, reading, or, to be more specific, your capacity to
perform a reading well, matures as you grow.
 That there is no such thing as a "perfect" reading, i.e. one, absolutely correct, final
statement of what a work of literature means, as long as people are different; but
also that some readings do seem more mindful, honest, receptive, and adroit than
others.
 That what we strive for when we read literature is not only knowledge of the
author or work, but also knowledge of ourselves and why we think the way we do so
that we may increase our powers of reflection and choice.
 That the judgment of which readings are the most satisfying must be based on how
they enlighten and provoke.
 That you will develop a better understanding of the humanities. To study literature
is to study life. As we immerse ourselves in these works and the historical periods
and cultures in which they were written, we will become more adept at analyzing
human thought, philosophy, and social issues.
 That you will become a better reader and, thus, a better interpreter of others’
thoughts. As you expand your ability to extract meaning from sophisticated
writings, you will also learn to infer information about audience and purpose, thus
preparing yourself to interpret the complex, often veiled messages you encounter in
law, business, and the media.
As you understand and feel more comfortable with these ideas, you will be able to produce
what are called "strong" readings, readings that are self-conscious of the many factors
that construct them.
OTHER DETAILS.
1. Course Requirements.
Daily reading and writing assignments
In-class writing exercises
Final exam
Two out-of-class essays
Journal entries
Class participation
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2. Grading Scheme.
Journal Entries:
Writing 1:
Writing 2:
Timed Writings:
Quizzes/Daily Grade:
Final:
10%
15%
25%
15%
10%
25%
AN IMPORTANT NOTE: Please do not risk losing your work by failing to protect
yourself. Save your documents in two different places, and print a hard copy before
shutting down.
3. Completing Writing Tasks. You may not skip any writing assignments and still pass the
course. All writing tasks, in other words, are required. (See also "Late-Paper Policy," #8
below, in this section.)
4. Reading journal. To encourage creative ideas and critical thinking, you will be required
to turn in responses to our assigned readings. This means that for most class periods with
a reading assignment, you will turn in a journal entry that responds to or discusses that
reading in some way. For some readings, the topic is listed on the syllabus; for others, I
encourage you to develop your own topics. You might try any of the following approaches:
You can explore parallels between the themes of a text or the conflicts of a protagonist
and your own life experience; 2) You can copy quotations that you see as central to the
meaning of a text and then analyze them; 3) You can write and answer your own questions
about textual meanings and strategies; 4) You might respond to a preceding class
discussion; 5) You can make intertextual links between course readings; 6) You should also
consider including newspaper clippings, cartoons, interviews, or other material related to
the writer or themes of the assigned text.
These entries must be 1-2 pages (typed, double spaced) and must be turned in the day we
discuss the reading; late entries will not be accepted.
Your journal grade is based on your overall performance and encompasses length,
completeness, thoroughness, participation, thoughtfulness, and originality. Merely
summarizing the work will result in an F.
5. Rough Drafts. For all writing tasks you will be required to do a rough draft, which is
considered to be part of the assignment. If you prepare your early drafts on a computer,
print up one of them to hand in. If a rough draft doesn't appear with a paper, I can't
evaluate it.
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6. Daily Grade. Because this course centers on reading and the composing process, I will
require you to do "bits and pieces" of each writing assignment during the period when the
entire class is working on the task. For instance, during one week's work on the
assignment, on Wednesday I might require a set of notes from the reading you are
responding to; on Friday I might require a plan for the paper; on the next Wednesday I
might require part of a draft. Sometimes these activities are done in class.
While these activities may not seem like much at the time, they are deeply woven into the
fabric of each writing assignment. Please take them very seriously. I will assign a daily
grade for each of these activities. The daily grade also includes reading quizzes, which
cannot be made up.
If you must miss class for some serious reason and if you contact me the day of class (or
before) to let me know about your absence, I will allow you to turn in (for credit) missed
writing activities. However, ones that we do in class can't be made up. Furthermore, if you
haven't done any of the class activities for the assignment, I won't evaluate your paper.
7. Timed Writings. I have set four class periods aside for timed writings; these activities
should help you synthesize your ideas about the material we are discussing, but they
should also help prepare you for your essays and for the final. These essays cannot be
made up.
8. Late-Paper Policy. A major writing task is due on the day listed on the assignment sheet
or the syllabus unless for some reason I announce a change or unless you have made special
arrangements with me. Papers turned in after that time receive a deduction of one-half
letter grade per late day. I will not accept major assignments more than three calendar
days late. (See also "Completing Writing Tasks," #3 in this section.)
9. Plagiarism. If you have someone else plan, draft, revise, edit, or even recopy your
papers, you have committed plagiarism. This is true no matter what your relationship is to
this "helper."
If I discover that a student has committed intentional plagiarism, the paper that has
plagiarized materials will receive a zero.
10. Attendance. Six absences in a row or nine absences overall is the maximum number of
absences you may have for the course. If you have a medical excuse or any other reason
for which you believe you should not be charged with an absence, you can petition to me
with a written letter of explanation for the absence. Please make this petition within one
week after the absence rather than waiting until later in the semester.
Each student is responsible for monitoring his/her own attendance. If you miss too many
times, you have these options, depending upon when the absence takes place: (a) you can
(as noted above) petition for me to excuse the absence; (b) withdraw from the class, if
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the absence takes place before the final drop date; (c) remain on the class roster and take
an F grade for the semester.
13. Extra Credit. If your attendance has been consistent, you have two options for
earning extra credit.
a. You may memorize a poem (30 lines or longer) to recite for the class, which is
worth 5 extra points on your final exam. Each student may do this twice
during the course of the semester.
b. This semester’s meeting of the UMHB Central Texas Book Club is scheduled
for Monday, November 27 at 7pm in the Lord conference room in Parker. The
novel we will be discussing is Welcome to Heavenly Heights by Risa Miller. You
may participate in the UMHB book club meeting by reading the novel,
attending the book club, and writing a 1-page response paper. Participating in
book club will add 5 points to your semester grade.
TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE.
(Some details may change based on the needs of the class.)
*Indicates a graded activity.
Date
August 23
August 25
August 28
August 30
September 1
September 4
Assignment
Course introduction
Discuss approaches to reading poetry
In-class writing: Diagnostic essay*
Literature of the Middle East
Poems by Yehuda Amichai and selections
from Psalms (handout)
“Wildpeace” by Yehuda Amichai (p. 771)
“Clockwork Doll” by Dahlia Ravikovitch
(p. 782)
“For Fawzi in Jerusalem” by Samuel
Hazo(p. 665)
Voice, Tone, Sound (pp. 496-502)
“Autumn in Tehran” by Reza Baraheni
(p. 772)
“A Prison Daybreak” by Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(p. 775)
“Letters from a Man in Solitary” by
Nazim Hikmet (p. 776)
“The Small Vases from Hebron” by Naomi
Shihab Nye (p. 697)
Form and Type (pp. 515-30)
Labor Day
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Journal Entry
Develop your own journal
topic, but relate it to today’s
reading.
Journal entry #2 (p. 513)
Responding through the Arts
#2 (p. 542)
September 6
“Half a Day” by Naguib Mahfouz (p. 435)
Symbol and allegory (pp. 127-32)
September 8
“Orbiting” by Bharati Mukherjee (p. 315)
Characters (pp. 63-66)
*Timed writing
Bring your textbook, paper, and pen or
pencil. The timed writing will cover “Half
a Day” and one new poem from the book.
Literature of India
“Surface Textures” by Anita Desai
(handout)
Setting (pp. 124-26)
September 11
September 13
September 15
September 18
September 20
September 22
September 25
September 27
“The Interpreter of Maladies” by
Jhumpa Lahiri (p. 285)
Point of View (pp. 93-98)
“The Prophet’s Hair” by Salman Rushdie
(p. 442)
Irony (pp. 180-81)
“I Dream it is Afternoon When I Return
to Delhi” by Agha Shahid Ali (p. 597)
“Things Cheaply Had” by Taslima Nasrin
(p. 780)
*Timed writing
Bring your textbook, paper, and pen or
pencil. The timed writing will cover “The
Interpreter of Maladies” and one new
poem from the book.
Literature of South America and the
Caribbean
“A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings”
by Gabriel Garcίa Márquez (p. 415)
Style and Tone (pp. 170-78)
“The Moths” by Helena Maria Viramontes
(p. 391)
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Use your journal entry to help
work out your interpretation
of “Half a Day.”
Journal entry #3 (p. 89)
Draw what you think one of
the settings of “Surface
Textures” might look like.
You could do a single picture
showing the main setting for
the story, or two or three
that depict different
settings. Then write one
paragraph explaining why you
think the setting looks the
way you have imagined it.
Journal entry # 1 (p. 116)
Journal entry #3 (p. 199)
Develop your own journal
topic, but relate it to today’s
reading.
Journal entry #1 or #2
(p. 199)
Draw a series of portraits of
two of the characters from
“The Moths,” and then write
one paragraph explaining why
September 29
October 2
October 4
October 6
October 9
October 11
October 13
October 16
October 18
October 20
“The Colonel” by Carolyn Forche (p. 650);
“Years of Exile” by Ricardo Paul-Llosa
(p. 700); “Jose Canseco” by Gustavo
Pérez Firmat (p. 700); “The Dead
Woman” by Pablo Neruda (p. 781)
Words and Images (pp. 460-68)
“Daughter of Invention” by Julia
Alvarez” (p. 10); “Not for Sale” (p. 134)
and “Cold as Heaven” (p. 558) by Judith
Ortiz Cofer
Figurative Language (pp. 544-52)
The Cuban Swimmer by Milcha Sanchez
Scott (p. 890)
*Timed Writing
Bring your textbook, paper, and pen or
pencil. The timed writing will cover
“Years of Exile” and one new poem from
the book.
*Thesis statement and outline due for
writing 1
Summarizing and paraphrasing for writing
1; introductions
*Bring two different introductions for
writing 1 and at least one body paragraph
*Bring an early draft of your essay for
editing practice
Fall Break
*Bring a complete, typed draft of your
essay for peer review.
Writing 1 due (include rough draft and
peer review)
Literature of Eastern Europe
“It Was Winter” by Czeslaw Milosz
(p. 691); “The Extinct Homeland—A
Conversation with Czeslaw Milosz” by Ana
Doina (p. 636); “Begotten of the Spleen”
by Charles Simic (p. 728); and “The End
and the Beginning” by Wislawa
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you think the characters look
the way you have imagined
them.
Create a set of drawings that
represents the imagery found
in one of today’s poems.
Journal entry #2 (p. 562)
Responding through the Arts
#1 (p. 914) focusing only on
The Cuban Swimmer. Write
one paragraph explaining your
choice.
October 23
October 25
October 27
October 30
Szymborska (p. 784)
Students whose last names begin with
A-L (9am class) or A-H (10am class) will
meet in the library for an explanation of
the literary databases.
Everyone else will meet in the classroom
to discuss today’s reading assignment.
Students whose last names begin with
M-Z (9am class) or I-Z (10am class) will
meet in the library for an explanation of
the literary databases.
Everyone else will meet in the classroom
to discuss the poetry from Eastern
Europe.
Literature of Africa
“Dead Men’s Path” by Chinua Achebe
(p. 405)
“The Collector of Treasures” by Bessie
Head (p. 421)
“Amnesty” by Nadine Gordimer (handout)
Hand out research assignment
November 1
November 3
November 6
November 8
“A Gift from Somewhere” by Ama Ata
Aidoo (handout)
*Timed Writing
Bring your textbook, paper, and pen or
pencil.
*Topic due for research assignment
Literature of England
“When I Consider how my Light is Spent”
by John Milton (p. 692); “To His Coy
Mistress” by Andrew Marvell (p. 688);
and A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning”
by John Donne (p. 638)
Rhythm and Meter (pp. 564-72)
Review the appendix on scansion (p. 1469)
“The World is too much with Us” by
William Wordsworth (p. 755) and “My
Last Duchess” by Robert Browning
(p. 511)
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Develop your own journal topic
related to today’s reading.
Develop your own journal topic
related to today’s reading.
Find information about Nadine
Gordimer and the end of
apartheid in South Africa, and
then explain relate that
knowledge to the story.
Explain what you learn about
Islam from this story.
Responding through the Arts
#1 (p. 542)
Journal entry #2 (p. 580)
November 10
November 13
November 15
November 17
November 20
November 2224
November 27
November 29
December 1
December 4
December 6
Thursday,
December 7
@9am
Meet in the library to gather research;
worksheet due end of class*
*List of ten possible sources due;
Integrating sources into your essay
Discuss annotated bibliography and
abstract writing
*Introduction and outline due by 5pm.
Email as a word document to
jlewis@umhb.edu
Documenting and works cited
Three body paragraphs due*
Thanksgiving Holiday
Question/answer time for research essay
Book club at 7pm in Lord conference
room
Typed draft due for editing practice*
Complete, typed draft of essay due for
peer review*
Research essay due (turn in rough draft,
peer review, and annotated bibliography)
Question/answer time for the final
Spend the time preparing for the final. I
will be in my office grading papers.
Final Exam
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